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Aphelion and the Friends Not Forgotten.
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| Davon·Vanden | Date: Wednesday, 15 Jul 2015, 2:43 AM | Message # 1 |
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| Continued from Aphelion and the Home So Far Away. ))
The bar in question was aptly named. In fluorescent neon that flickered and buzzed, staining the boardwalk a sickly green, the establishment's name flashed over Davon's head. Almost in disbelief, having not believed the name when he had checked in with his contact, he had come to the strip joint in question seeking an old friend. What he had found there was something that almost defied belief in how utterly perfect the name was for the sort of services they peddled to a smuggler's moon. Davon allowed himself a drag of his cigarette, resting back against the wall of The Cockpit.
He'd been waiting outside for some time, sent here by the Captain to find Mara and get her on-board while Rawls himself was off finding Ransom. A quick run-through of aliases he remembered had led him here. Patrons filtered in an out, an unsurprisingly male-dominated clientele. Anxious, the navigator checked his wrist crono, cursing under his breath. She's working later than any person has a reason to.
With a sigh that really didn't conceal how excited he was at the prospect of work demanding he enter a strip club, Davon flicked the cigarette out into the gutter and sidled in behind several aliens, keeping his head low. Njon the Hutt was gunning for him, now, and he wanted to be off this damnable moon as soon as humanly possible. As he crossed the threshold, his senses immediately overwhelmed by a rhythmic, trance-inducing beat and mood lighting, Davon's eyes widened and tears threatened to spill. All around him, there were women. Twi'Leks, Humans, Zabraki, even the odd species like a Rodian or a Nautolan to appeal to all sorts of tastes. Situated atop a dais that spanned the length of the entire building, they gyrated and swayed in time with the beat, credit chips being bandied about more than profanities in a Rancor pit.
It was, for lack of a better word, utterly beautiful.
Davon's hands found his pockets, checking to ensure his blaster was ready to be drawn at the first sign of trouble. He skirted the edge of the many tables all facing in the stage's direction, keeping to the darker corners nearest the far wall, as his eyes scanned for any sign of the person he sought.
Davon Vanden
Navigator of the Aphelion
Message edited by Davon·Vanden - Thursday, 16 Jul 2015, 3:18 AM |
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| Mara_Antares | Date: Wednesday, 15 Jul 2015, 9:17 AM | Message # 2 |
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| "I told you that I had to leave early tonight when I talked to you yesterday, Crev. I don't give a damn what Dei thinks about it, and I really don't give a damn how busy the place is either. I have something I have to do." She swept the tray full of drinks that he had concocted off of the counter with ease. Crev Jarrde was the half human, half Kiffar bartender at The Cockpit. Sure, it wasn't the ideal job, for either of them, but it was money and it was good money for what it was. He was one of three individuals that she could have considered a friend in that pit of an establishment; along with Koren Saar, the Epicanthix bouncer who quite often made sure she got home safely when Leroy was out of town, and Vaneer, one of the Zabraki dancers.
They were trying to buy their own bar, a difficult task on a mainly Hutt controlled planet. The Helios Courtesan was right down the street, and Mara was leaving early to sign some paperwork, in theory. It would be nice for her, like Leroy, to work for herself and not be in that strip club any longer.
Dei Kirra wouldn't care, and he would never say a word to Mara about leaving early. Despite just being the manager of the club, and working for a lower level Hutt named Gula Jirumma, he was a little afraid of Ransom and therefore, he left Mara alone most of the time. When he didn't, he quickly realized that Ransom was not the only person that he needed to be afraid of, because his best waitress didn't take any shit from anyone. Not anymore. "Two more tables and I am done, Crev...better get a couple of the other girls as back up." Mara gave him a smile before the manuevered easily between the tables around the elongated stage that stretched through three quarters of the establishment.
It was so busy in the club that she didn't even notice Davon Vanden slip in behind a couple of patrons, and then almost melt into the shadows. He would notice, however, that she looked almost exactly the same; jet black hair, pale skin, visible tattoos due to slinky clothing, and sky high heels. It was a wonder that she could walk on them, but she did so without a single falter. Mara sat the drinks down on tables in front of various beings, pausing once to light one on fire. The last table was near to the back corner of the club, and she set a series of shot glasses next to each other and began to stack them, before she tipped just the top one and it caused a chain reaction that dumped the various liquors into one larger glass, without spilling a drop. It was impressive, to say the least. "Good luck with that Reactor Core." She said, indicating to the drink she'd just created. "Last guy who tried it pissed himself and forgot who he was for about a week and a half." Why did they serve something so volatile? It was a Hutt establishment....and they didn't care.
She took a moment, turning to the table adjacent to the one with the brave Mirilan who was attempting a Reactor Core, and checked the silver chrono on her wrist. It was new for her to wear one, but Leroy had gotten it for her (or stolen it- whatever), and she found that she liked it. Fifteen minutes. "What can I get you, sugar?" Mara finally asked as she crouched next to the table so that she could use the table as a writing surface, and so she would be close enough to hear, but she wouldn't be bending over...because that was not an option. And if she had, it would have been right in front of Davon, her friend, that she still had not even seen.
Message edited by Mara_Antares - Wednesday, 15 Jul 2015, 10:25 AM |
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| Davon·Vanden | Date: Wednesday, 15 Jul 2015, 2:36 PM | Message # 3 |
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| He positioned himself back against a free table, directly behind her as she took another order. Well, he was glad to see that she wasn't one of the dancers, if nothing else. So perilously close to the stage, the navigator's eyes trailed upward and fixed his gaze on the rounded hips of one particular Twi'lek, but he shook the sinful thoughts from his head. Focus, Davon, his conscience chided.
"Well I don't know about him," Davon's voice picked up over the din, half-shouting out of a necessity to be heard over the music and ungentlemanly jeering. "But I'll take a Corellian whiskey and a date, if you're giving 'em out."
Mara would, hopefully, recognize the roughened High Coruscanti accent, possessing the faintest hint of what Davon referred to as his 'Rim Drawl'. He had spotted her shortly after her argument with that 'Crev' or whatever his name was, and he'd been pleasantly surprised to see that she was taking care of herself. Well, relatively-speaking; while this dive was something of Vanden's natural habitat, it didn't take someone with his shrewd analytical skills to see that she was miserable here. A better man might not have asked her for a drink, not after witnessing an exchange like that, but he was not a better man.
Davon Vanden
Navigator of the Aphelion
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| Mara_Antares | Date: Wednesday, 15 Jul 2015, 7:26 PM | Message # 4 |
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| At first, she didn't recognize the voice from behind her, as she was busy writing down drink orders for a half dozen males at the table. "I'll get you a Corellian Whiskey, but you are out of luck on the date." She commented, without even turning around at first. She finished what she was doing first, but as she wrote, she slowly realized that the accent she heard was vaguely familiar and...she glanced over her shoulder and first noticed the shock of red hair, followed by a familiar blazer, and then the face of Davon Vanden. Slowly, she stood and turned around.
"What in the nine Corellian hells are you doing here?" She asked, though she wasn't mad. It was more shock than anything else. Davon had never been the issue for Mara. It was Rawls all the way, and she held absolutely no anger towards anyone else. And at that point, she wasn't really even angry at Rawls anymore, because there was no point in holding on to anger towards a person she would never see again.
It would take her a minute, and she hesitated, but eventually she flung her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "I'm glad to see you. Are you alright?"
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| Davon·Vanden | Date: Wednesday, 15 Jul 2015, 10:11 PM | Message # 5 |
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| It was something of a natural talent, his ability to deflect animosity. Nine times out of ten Davon was confident that he could walk into any room; into the darkest, most forbidden room of the Imperial Palace, and emerge unscathed. If anyone ever asked him why he felt that way, he'd toss them a lopsided smile and say: 'Because I'm that damn charming.' But if he was feeling truthful, then, he would have admitted that he'd been expecting one of Mara's stiletto's to lodge itself firmly into his crotch until he cried. And when she hesitated, an emotion he couldn't discern building within her, he felt the slow curtain of fear draw tight around him. And when she leaped, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him into an embrace, he'd flinched and instinctively crossed a leg over another.
His fears were curtailed, of course, the moment her breasts pressed against his chest. Far be it for Davon to complain when such a thing happened, but he hadn't been expecting a hug. It took a moment for the action to register and his surprise to wane, but he eventually reciprocated and snaked his arms around Mara's back, chuckling.
"Hey, Antares," he said after a moment, pulling back after the embrace had run its course. He flashed her a disarming smile and brushed a few locks of hair out of her eyes before he pulled away entirely. After a moment, a realization flashed across his face and he shoved his hands into his pants pocket and awkwardly adjusted his stance, leaning away from her. "So, uh-" He mussed through his close-cropped orange hair with a cough. "-How've you been?"
Davon Vanden
Navigator of the Aphelion
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| Mara_Antares | Date: Wednesday, 15 Jul 2015, 10:38 PM | Message # 6 |
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| Of course, getting a hug from Mara Antares resulted in a handful of nasty looks being flung Davon's way, including one from the bouncer, who had started wandering suspiciously close in case she needed help. Once the embrace ended, she pulled back and ran her fingers through Her dark, plum streaked hair. He would likely notice a ring on a very important finger of her left hand; a black metal with a large shimmering black stone set into it. "I am....good....." She started as her gaze met that of another waitress that worked in the club, and the girl offered to take the order book for Mara, which she gladly gave over.
"Look...let me go and grab my jacket. I was just about to get off anyway...this isn't the best place to talk." Mara said, though she didn't wait for him to answer before she skirted off through the club and around the tables before she would slip into the back.
Once she reappeared, she dropped her apron off at the counter, an item that was just barely longer than her skirt, had a word with Crev (who she usually go along with, except when he was stressed), before she rejoined Davon. "Let's get out of this pit....pardon the pun." She smirked a little and went ahead to lead the way out into the quieter street.
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| Davon·Vanden | Date: Wednesday, 15 Jul 2015, 10:51 PM | Message # 7 |
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| He noticed the ring as soon as her fingers combed through her hair. Propriety dictated that he not inquire further, at least not while they were inside her place of work. Still, the image of Mara wearing a ring on that finger was nothing short of a surprise. And here he'd thought she wasn't the sort that wanted to be tied down. Not that he begrudged whomever it was that put a ring on her finger; Mara was a decent person and was a stunner in the looks department, but it still caught him off guard. He stepped back and allowed her to flit off to the other side of the club. When she returned, he motioned for her to lead.
Once they were free of that damnably invasive music, cast back out into the veil of night that hung heavily over the planet-city like it intended to smother. Even when it was day on Nar Shaddaa, the pollution and towering nature of almost every structure on the surface often meant entire streets were cloaked in darkness even at midday. This particular street was no different, even though by Davon's reckoning it was only dusk. They crossed the street, putting a bit of distance between themselves and the bar. Davon fished a fresh cigarette out of his pocket and lit the cherry, cursing as his lighter failed to spark the first few times. For reasons unknown even to him, he was reticent to speak. He inhaled deeply of the smoke and let it vent out through his nostrils, effervescing into the air.
"So I see you're keeping busy," he started with a smirk, eyes flicking over to The Cockpit one final time. "Why's it that all the times I asked you to get a stripper pole put into the crew lounge you told me to piss off, and now I find you here?" It was a joke, of course, a defense mechanism to keep from saying anything that could be construed as emotional.
Davon Vanden
Navigator of the Aphelion
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| Mara_Antares | Date: Wednesday, 15 Jul 2015, 11:15 PM | Message # 8 |
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| Her gaze trailed back to the strip club briefly, where she noticed Koren Saar standing out front, watching. The Epicanthix was rightfully concerned, but she just gave him a wave to let him know that she was fine, before she continued walking. "Busy? Sure...it's a job, right?" She paused briefly, ignoring his statement about the stripper pole....for now. "And it pays the bills, which is more than your bestie left us with, huh?" She said, although she didn't mean to take such a hard jab at him. Her anger was truly directed elsewhere.
"So what about you? Anything good going on?" Mara asked, changing the subject. "not working in a strip joint, I assume." She said before she stopped at the door of The Helios Courtesean, and glanced up at the sign. Mara and Leroy had talked about buying it for a while, and she had plans for the place, if they got it, but that was not something Dav needed to know about just yet.
"Have you seen anyone from....you know....Doohan, Perce...?" Of course, no one saw Doohan, and that thought alone made her smile.
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| Davon·Vanden | Date: Wednesday, 15 Jul 2015, 11:46 PM | Message # 9 |
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| They walked at a leisurely place; though Davon kept his right hand hovering close to his unfastened holster, just in case. Nar Shaddaa, for all its charms, was still a dangerous urban jungle. He'd drawn on two separate would-be muggers in the last week alone. He fell into step beside her, matching her long strides. His eyes flitted about the dimly-lit street, ever-aware for signs of danger. "I've just been doing some clerical work," he lied, ignoring the jab about Rawls as he had felt much the same not a day ago. He still did, in fact; but the hard truth was that Rawls was his ticket off Nar Shaddaa and he was of no mind to stay, not with a Hutt looking to turn him into a lampshade. "Nothin' fancy or really all that well-paying, but I get by. I'd caught wind that you were working in this neighborhood, so I thought I'd check in."
Davon slowed his gait as she neared another bar, gazing wistfully up at the sign. His eyes followed, and a smirk spread across his lips as he regarded the establishment's name. "The 'Helios Courtesan'?" He said with a huff, placing the cigarette between his lips, arms folding across his chest. "Odd name for a bar, 'specially in this neighborhood. Name doesn't scream 'Come here if you want to blow your money and catch a venereal disease.'" He paused, realizing then that there was a hopeful twinkle in her eye as she stared up at that neon sign, and his stomach twisted. "-But it seems like a nice place," Davon hurriedly covered, having himself a long drag to collect his thoughts. Thankfully, Mara broke the silence by inquiring as to the old crew, and he didn't have an answer for her.
"No idea," he lied again. "I'd heard Ransom was planet-side as well, but nothing going on the Captain or the others."
Davon Vanden
Navigator of the Aphelion
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| Mara_Antares | Date: Wednesday, 15 Jul 2015, 11:55 PM | Message # 10 |
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| Her gaze went to him for a moment. "Rawls isn't the captain anymore, Dav." She said slowly, pondering how he still called the man that. "Besides, I don't care where he is. I am worried about Percy, however." The kid had always been a little....well, anyway. "But yeah, Ransom is on Nar Shadda...." Mara said, not saying another word about him for the moment. She was debating on telling him, or just keeping it to herself for the moment. To be honest, she wasn't sure how Leroy would react to seeing Davon.
Mara didn't think that Leroy held any kind of disregard for Dav, but she also wasn't sure if he would want to see the former crews navigator. Against her better judgement, she decided to just see what happened. "I know where he is, if you'd like to see him."
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| Davon·Vanden | Date: Thursday, 16 Jul 2015, 0:53 AM | Message # 11 |
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| "Habit," he explained with a sigh, realizing then that he hadn't taken a drag in a while, the smoke was starting to sting his nostrils. With every exhale, he made sure he faced downwind, to keep the smoke out of her lungs. "Still wake up some days expecting to find I'm at the nav console." Back the way they came, a drunk stumbled into a garbage collector. Instinctively, the young man wheeled around, hand flying to his blaster, but he relaxed once he saw the source. Damn it, he hated feeling on edge, like this. "And I'm sure Percy's fine," he continued, tone confident. "Wherever he is. He all but told the Captain to fuck off after that thing with Ghalf."
Calling it a 'thing' was putting it so mildly it was reminiscent of Ransom's cooking. Ghalf had captured the ship's medic, Kijari; and though they had gotten her back, the fallout from that had split the crew in twain. Percy had struck out on his own, Kijari returned to wherever she hailed from, and Ghalf had sworn the entire crew an enemy. It had been the first time Davon had seen the crew fracture, and that was back when he was still fresh to the crew. He had stuck by the Captain's side out of loyalty, Rawls had given him a second chance. Funny how he was now in such a similar spot as Percy had been.
He was drawn from his reverie by the revelation that Mara actually knew where Leroy was. It struck him as odd, considering she and the ship's muscle had never really spent much time together. But things changed, people changed. "Oh? Yeah, I suppose it couldn't hurt." He answered, having a final drag of the cigarette before he tossed it into an alleyway. "You and he been keeping tabs on each other, or what? I'd left you both alone, figured you'd wanna live your lives."
Davon Vanden
Navigator of the Aphelion
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| Mara_Antares | Date: Thursday, 16 Jul 2015, 8:23 AM | Message # 12 |
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| Ghalf. The name caused her stomach to twist into a knot. Kijari had been Mara's best friend in the entire galaxy. Kijari had also saved her life on Corellia, and because of that, she had come to the Aphelion. Granted, Mara hadn't been brought on the Aphelion in the best shape. She was still healing from the brutal beating and other unsavory things that a drunk ex-boyfriend and his even more drunk friend had done to her. When she met Davon, Rawls, Perce, and Ransom, she had a black eye and bruises beyond imagination, and that was after a week of healing up and care by Kij.
It it still pained her to think of how Kijari left, though she was right in doing so. When she was taken, it was the first time Mara had ever actually gotten angry at Rawls, and only because she felt he wasn't doing enough or fast enough. "My best friend is out there, having the Force knows what done to her, and you are sitting here with a whiskey!" She'd screamed at him, and then took his glass and threw it. Of course, they had been devising a plan to get her, but Mara was anxious and worried. Of course, after Kijari left, she had stayed. Mara didn't feel like she could return to Corellia. Her father had died, and her sister had joined Imperial Intelligence, not that she and her sister were the best of friends.
She he snapped out of it when Davon spoke again, "Kept tabs, sure. You could say that." She said as she fished a small keychain out of the pocket of her jacket as they kept walking. "My apartment is right here, though, so let's stop for a sec...." She said. Boy, did she hope that Leroy had pants on, or at least a bathtowel or something. Mara shoved the key into the lock of the apartment that was just past a Mando take out joint, before she pushed the door open slowly.
"Babe? I'm home...and I brought some company...." She called out, warning him that no pants Thursday was no longer an option, just in case. Leroy, of course, would hear a bit of hesitation in her voice, which might have been cause for concern. It wouldn't take long, however, for him to realize that no concern was really needed.
"Come on in, Dav. It's small, but it's home." Mara said as she stepped aside to let him go past her if he wanted.
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| Davon·Vanden | Date: Thursday, 16 Jul 2015, 2:20 PM | Message # 13 |
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| The evasiveness she displayed when it came to Ransom was odd, but he didn't ponder it too thoroughly. For all he knew all that meant was that Mara and Ransom had met for a cup of caf, or something. His inherent curiousness compelled him to ask as to the ring on her finger, but referring to the other denizen of her apartment as 'Babe' sort of answered that for him. So she was married, he still couldn't wrap his head around it. They had come upon her apartment without him even realizing it, and he made sure to dust himself off as she swung the door open.
Convenient, that she lived so close to her place of employment. Nar Shaddaa was massive, traffic lanes choked with speeder congestion and incoming and outgoing ships. It sometimes took Davon hours to get from his desiccated husk of an apartment over to the shipping yards for 'business'. Mara and her husband's house, whoever that was, was a short walk away from The Cockpit. Not the worst arrangement, even though the neighborhood was hardly what could be considered safe. He was sure Mara could take care of herself, but on a moon such as this, the thought of her walking without escort sat uneasily. When she bade him, he stepped inside and stood to the side of the doorway, not wanting to immediately make himself at home.
Davon Vanden
Navigator of the Aphelion
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| Lafayette_Ransom | Date: Friday, 17 Jul 2015, 3:33 AM | Message # 14 |
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| Mara was unfortunately robbed of her surprise reveal to Davon. She would find an unoccupied apartment before her, Leroy having left shortly after she had left for work. His gear was missing from the entryway, and a note was pinned to the wall where his gear was stowed. Little did Mara know, he had been doing several extra jobs since they first began looking at The Helios Courtesan, hoping to give her the bar she wanted and to give her and her friends an escape from The Cockpit. The bar would also have the added benefit of allowing him to cut back on his mercenary work, and be able to choose only the jobs he wanted to do, cutting out those he needed to do with exception to moral imperative.
The note found would read:
Quote Turtle Dove,
Something came up. Had to run to Nal Hutta. Be back soon.
Love,
Leroy
Lafayette "Leroy" Ransom
Bounty Hunter, Mercenary
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| Mara_Antares | Date: Friday, 17 Jul 2015, 8:21 AM | Message # 15 |
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| "It appears he isn't here." She said as she pulled the note off of the wall and handed it to Davon. Mara hadn't cared about surprising him, but she was disappointed, and it was obvious by her forced smile. They were supposed to sign some paperwork on the bar; just preliminary stuff, so she supposed it could wait a day or two.
Of course, Davon would probably be curious about the note signed Leroy. But any he question he might have had about her being with someone named Leroy was not just a coincidence of name. Especially if he noticed any of the holo photos around the handkerchief sized apartment, most notably, one of Mara in a very unassuming and innocent looking white dress, with Leroy, who had his arm around her waist.
Mara was anything but traditional. Leroy, it seemed, liked tradition, which was something that surprised Mara a lot. She was more than fine with a courthouse, quickie wedding. She didn't care about having a ring or flowers or a dress. But he had gotten her a ring, and insisted on a real dress, and even brought her flowers from a shop down the street from the tiny little chapel that he had chosen in the Corellian Sector. They offered drive through weddings, complete with a window, but no, that's not how it had happened. Despite that, in the holo images, Mara looked happy, as did Leroy. Sometimes she felt that what Rawls had done had been the absolute best thing he could have for them, and sometimes she almost wanted to thank him for kicking them all off of the Aphelion. If he hadn't, none of this would have happened.
"Want a drink? I'm having a drink." Mara said as she stood on her tip toes to reach a bottle of whiskey that was on top of the cooling chamber that was in the tiny kitchen. She barely got it, having just grasped the edge of the bottle with her fingertips, and she inched it far enough that she could get ahold of it. Suddenly though, as she poured two glasses whether he wanted one or not, she had a question.
"If you've been on Nar Shadda a while, and knew both of us were here, why are you just coming to see me now? Dav...we are...were...I don't know....family." She pushed the glass across the narrow counter to him. Mara got that he probably needed space, after all, he was the closest out of all of them to Rawls. So while she understood that, being close to friends had to have been better than being alone.
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