From alliana701@yahoo.com Thu Sep 4 15:06:41 2003 Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 22:11:02 -0700 (PDT) From: April Randall To: cantina@deathstar.org Subject: FoE Role-Play: Mingling With Mern 2/3 Important Role-Play here! Mingling With Mern 2/3 by Aron Sandler and April Randall "You don't understand how I operate, in order for this even to have any significance I need to lose on it." "Fine." She took back a 5,000 credit stick and handed him four 1,000 credit sticks. "You're only getting 19,000 back." She started to turn away. "Pleasure doing business with you, Mern." "Mia." She stopped again. "What?" "I... I need to talk to someone... You are the only person that I feel I can talk to..." "I *what*?" There was a look of total disbelief on her face. "Everyone else on this station either wants me dead or is a Jedi." "Well, I'm kind of of the former," she said casually. "Or at least I did formerly. Sort of." "I know, but that was only recently, before you met Rikka you felt otherwise." "Yeah, before now I wanted to kill you without a doubt." She looked at him closely. "Why do you feel you can talk to me? Simply because I haven't pulled a blaster on you yet? I'm not the cry on your shoulder type." "You are a mercenary, the only other mercenary that I felt I could talk to was Shadow, until I got her arrested...long story. In a nutshell I hired her to run an auction for me, it went bad, the merchandise was stolen Imp technology, she got busted." "Just as long as you don't get me arrested too. And I'm only a sort of mercenary. In fact, I'm not one at all. Not anymore." "Will you at least listen?" "Sure." "Would you mind coming on board where we can sit? If you are uncomfortable with that we can board your ship or go to the cantina." "We can board your ship, sure." She shrugged, looking up at the design. "Ok, please follow me." He led her into his ship, stopping in the lounge area, where there was a couch and several chairs, as well as a dejarik hologameboard. She looked around, and waited for him to sit. He took a seat on the couch and waited for her to sit somewhere. She chose a chair. "How much do you know about me? So that I know where to begin." She ticked off each item on one of her fingers. "Well, I know that you were double-crossing the Alliance at the Blaster Battle, I know that you caught several prominent people last year at Port Lansing, I know that you bought a 10-year-old girl, and I know that I didn't like you." "Well, I can tell you that while it appeared I was betraying the Alliance the Rebels were my bosses, I pretended to be an Imp spy but was really working for the Rebs." "How do I know you aren't just saying that and really working for the Empire?" she countered. "Ask General Solo." "Okay, fine. So you know what I know about you." "When I was twelve I was pulled from my house and put into military training to be a 'intelligence gatherer.' My job was to capture people and extract whatever information I need by any means necessary. That was my life for fifteen years, never did I fail to get a man or the information that I wanted. Last year at Port Lansing I never failed for a bounty, yet this year I failed every time. Whatever is happening to me it has shaken my world, I am not in control anymore. For sixteen years I was in complete control, now I have no control and that has left me as a wreck, I cannot think clearly anymore, the whole situation with Rikka, there is no way I would ever have sold her for that much a year ago, or bought her for that much...and I don't know what to do anymore." She just listened, looking at him. "Why didn't you feel you could tell the Jedi any of this?" "Because the Jedi don't operate like we do, they think only of serving the light side, they would not understand what I'm going through, only someone who lives on their own can." "So just because you messed up a few times, you're freaking out because you don't feel like you're in control?" Mia suddenly started laughing. "You sound like me." "I have not messed up since I was twelve, and for me to not succeed in anything? I have never made a mistake in my memory, except for the past few days." "Give yourself another chance." "I did after my failure to catch Retroy. I thought that I could redeem myself at Port Lansing, every step of the way from the bounties to the auction went bad, and now with this whole Force thing looming over my head, I can't think." "We all have bad streaks." "Not me...when I was in the military I controlled everything, and everything went flawlessly. I've been thinking of late of going back home and rejoining." "Have you never lost at a game of cards?" "I never played, in the military I viewed such things as wastes of time." "Ah. Have you ever been successful at forcing someone to see your opinion, short of brainwashing them? That's something else you can't control." "Yes I have, my job was to break people's minds and then remold them into whatever I wanted." "Well that explains it. People who can control others' minds think that they control everything," she said wryly, then shook her head. "Look, we all have bad streaks. And if this 'Force thing' is looming over your head, as you say, then rejoining the military right now isn't going to give you the answers you're looking for." "Back in Eilat we do not know of the Force. I am the first Eilatan as far as I know to ever even to be close to being a Force user, for someone who has never failed in his memory, to all of the sudden fail in everything..." Mern looked down as voice cracked at the end of the last sentence, hoping that she wouldn't see the utter confusion and helplessness in his eyes. "In my opinion, you need to play a game of cards. Go to the cantina, and ask to join a game of cards. When you lose, see, it's just like life. Sometimes you lose, and sometimes you win. Sometimes other people have a better hand. Sometimes you don't play your cards right; you make a mistake. So what? It's only a game of cards, life goes on. It takes some getting used to, especially if you like being in control, like me and you. But it's a good lesson to learn." "That may be true, but I have never able to trust to chance, or else I would have been killed years ago, I just need... I don't know what I need." "You need a vacation." "It is difficult to vacation when you have never taken one...ever." "I'm sure you'll do just fine. Tell Luke Skywalker when you're on Yavin that you want him to make you take a vacation." "Unfortunately, I am to go before the council very soon after I arrive, whether or not I can take a vacation will be up to them." "Tell them you need one, I'm sure they'll understand. Will you stop being so stubborn??" __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TRANSMISSION FROM: April Randall TO: The FoE Role-Play list Remember: Please send all non-Role-Play to the General Club list foe@deathstar.org If you have any problems or questions, please send them to: cantina-owner@deathstar.org