Log Date: 1/30/99 Log Cast: AnneMarie, Tabby, Shenner, Rekkie and other musicians (NPCs), Kendell, Ariani (NPC), Lando, Sevren, Raj, Gavin Log Intro: Even the auspicious commencement of her very first semester of formal schooling hasn't been enough to keep Shenneret Veery's life from periodic disturbances. There's been the Imperial ball for which she and the rest of the Sandbar's musicians were invited to play -- and the apparent arrest during it of Ambassador Chantinelle Thistleborn -- and there's been the rumors of Princess Leia's death and an NR cover-up about the story all over the local news. Shen's even discovered that a couple of pickpockets, Wil and Tegger, who she'd last seen being impressively intimidated by her swordsman friend Jairen several weeks back, have been trailing her... and that they've come to the attention of a man named Gavin Hollister, who bothers Shen, for she can't figure out why this particular ruggedly handsome stranger is concerned about _her_... ---------- AnneMarie enters the Sandbar. AnneMarie has arrived. Tabby enters the Sandbar. Tabby has arrived. AnneMarie motions to an empty table. "Is this good?" She looks up at the large cat. Tabby gives a feral grin, padding his way over. Leaning down, he swipes up the chair where he would sit and places it off to the side. "Too sssmall." With that, he squats on the floor, just high enough to eat from the table. Up on the Sandbar's little stage, the bar's six musicians are solidly into the middle of a pounding instrumental number, full of complicated percussion and harmony on the horns. Among them, Shenner's got a flute tonight, not her usual instrument of choice and perhaps not one most would expect in a jazz number -- but the flute's silvery voice slices across the top of the melody line nevertheless, sounding exactly as if it belongs there. AnneMarie laughs and takes the seat across from him. "I have to admit you are the first Horansi I've met. And I wish now, I had taken the time to meet some more. You seem to be a very interesting race." A waitress comes up to the table and Anne orders a drink then looks to Tabby waiting for his order. She hears the music and smiles that much more. Tabby merfmerfmerfmerfs loudly, his laugh echoing through the room above many conversational voices. "Mrrrnek innntrrresstting? Maanyy tttimess, reefferred ass ... intressting.." AnneMarie smiles. "Well, I suppose that is because you are. You are very different from anyone I've met before, but I mean that in the best possible way." Tabby merfs again and grins, looking around for the promised food. "Whhhaatt cllannn doesss AnneeeMarrriee beeeloonnnng too?" AnneMarie notices Tabby's search and asks, "What kind of fish would you like?" She realizes the waitress is still standing there, and is thankful she doesn't have to call her back over. Tabby gives the waitress a odd look, before replying. "Gooodd fFisssh.." AnneMarie grins and looks to the waitress. "Good fish it is." She winks at the woman before she takes the order to the cook. Anne turns back to Tabby. "Clan? I'm not sure. What do you mean?" Tabby maarrooofs quietly, "Rerrrrmm... Noottt knnoww terrrm? Faammillyy? Oorrggananziaaaaitioon?" AnneMarie ahs. "Thutmose. My family's name is Thutmose." She grins. "My full name is Anne Marie Thutmose. What is your clan?" Tabby sets his paws on the table top and his claws extend, digging into the wodden surface. "Whhittee-Furr... Of the Kasssasaaa." Kendell enters the Sandbar. Kendell has arrived. AnneMarie nods. "Tabby White-fur. That's a nice name." She notices he's digging his claws into the table and reaches out and grabs his paws. "No, don't scratch the table. It will upset the owners, because they will have to buy a new table." Her tone is still light, although is a bit sharp. Tabby looks down at his paws as if they just grew feathers, "Buutt tissss tradd..." he trails off and continues to stare at his paws. AnneMarie finishes his sentence for him. "Tradition? How about you explain to me the tradition and we'll see if we can make a variation of it to use for now?" She smiles. Kendell makes an unsuccessful attempt to brush the chill off his shoulders as he pulls the heavy door shut behind him. Walking through the hazy room, he idly taps a table here and a barstool there on his way to the bar. As he passes AnneMarie and Tabby, he chuckles and says quietly to himself, "We'd just have to steal another one." The tall man, his face bright and alert from the cold, raises a hand to Ariani as he snakes behind the bar. "Evening, Ari..." he says with a wink. "Good to see people actually braved their way in tonight." Tabby replies with a mew, "Yessss, whheen onnnee eaaatss in aannotherss hoommee, itt's trraddiation to leeeave honnnnnorr mamarrks." Ariani grins, waving to her employer's husband, and tossing a nod up towards the stage where Shenner and the rest of the musicians are engaged in jazz improvisations. "Well, they came in, so some of our diehards managed to stagger in too." AnneMarie thinks out loud. "Hmm... well, this isn't really anyone's home. It's a public place where anyone can eat. Perhaps sometime you can come to my house to eat and then leave some marks. Will that work?" She smiles. Tabby grtfs loudly and grins a mouthful of sharp teeth, "Tthtaatt iss saccceepttabblee.." Kendell laughs, and offers a friendly nod to Shenner whenever she manages to fall inbetween a stanza. Reaching for a glass, he wipes it out with practiced ease. "What with all the practice they've had staggering out, it shouldn't have been too difficult a task." He retrieves a bottle of near-black liqueur from the wall, and, removing the cork, fills a few fingers into the glass. AnneMarie grins too. The waitress arrives with the fish and a couple of drinks. She sets the fish and a drink in front of Tabby and a drink in front of Anne. Anne smiles and nods her thanks before asking Tabby. "Does that look like good fish?" Tabby looks down at the ... fish and mews. "Loookss arrre nootthing.. Sssmell isss evverrything.." He leans down and begins to nibble on the fish, picking the bones apart. The redheaded flute player on the stage blinks across her instrument, and flashes Kendell a brief lopsided grin. Some of the other musicians -- Rekkie and Aa'leet, who have only their hands occupied for playing -- grin in the man's direction as well, as the song winds up to its close. Ariani, in the meantime, chuckles lightly, both to Kendell's comment and to seeing that he's brought his own liquor with him. "Anything you want added into that?" AnneMarie smiles at the cat. "Perhaps, but I'm guessing your sense of smell is much better than mine. I have to rely on looks as well." She watches him eat with mild interest. Tabby picks the last of the bones from the fish and tosses them off to the side. "Sssorry too heeaarr thatt." With that, his paws grasp the fish and he drops it into his mouth. "More?" Anne asks as he finishes off the fish. Tabby licks his lips as he finishes off the fish, "YEssss, maaany moorrre..." Kendell shakes his head slowly, grinning his thanks as he recorks the bottle. His eyes trail down to the deep brown liquid and he says, "No thanks, this is the practical round. Maybe next one." He lowers his head and raises the glass. "My own personal space heater, you see." With a smile, he quietly drains the contents of the glass. As the drink takes the express elevator through his chest, he taps the bar with a slow gaze around the room, noting the patrons here and there. From the side of his mouth, he says slowly and pensively, "....At the severe risk of seeming melodramatic, I have to say...good to be alive, even in weather like this." AnneMarie waves down a waitress and relays the Horansi's words. "Much more fish please." The waitress takes the order to the cook and Anne returns her attention to the cat. "So how did you get to Caspar?" Tabby waves his paw upwards, "Brrrought herre byy ssslaverrrs...esscaapsedd..." AnneMarie frowns, disturbed by the news. "Slavers? On Caspar? Are they still here?" Tabby shakes his head slowly, his ears laying back. "Nnnooo... Looong goonee.." "It doesn't particularly suck, no," says Ariani amiably to Kendell, pouring up an ale to a half-sodden Rodian just barely managing to keep from falling off his stool. Her eyebrows go up at the man's tone, though. AnneMarie nods, her expression lightening some. "That's good. Although I was hoping the authorities caught them. Slaves are illegal here, so you should be safe now." Tabby gives a wide feral grin, his paws batting togather, "Thhheye wiilll noott reetturrnn... Tabby maadde ssuurre of ththhatt." AnneMarie smiles again. "Good. We don't need their type here." The fish arrives in platefulls that are placed in front of Tabby. Kendell strolls down the bar, offering a polite smile to the Rodian as he does his best to gauge just how many more drinks the poor guy should be able to hold down before either he or Ariani is forced to call out the sawdust brigade. Having noticed the flying eyebrows, he sets the glass down and nods. "Like I said, melodrama was a big risk...especially with a grade A cynic like you." He leans in amiably, asking the Rodian, "Am I right, sir?" Noting no response, immediate or otherwise, he turns back to Ariani and says with a smile of slight disbelief, "Put the rest of his on the house from now on...he'll need the money for the ambulance." Ariani stifles a chuckle, while the Rodian gropes for his ale and slurps it down. "You got it, boss." And on the stage, the band finishes off its number with a crash of chords, Shenner's flute trilling off over the top of the horns, the drums, the keyboards, and Rekkie's guitar. Tabby peers at the fish again, pondering which to eat. He begins to pick one up at the time, dropping them into his mouth. Kendell takes one more cursory glance at the half-baked Rodian, wiping a water ring slowly forming near his limp hand. Setting the glass down for a moment, he claps firmly as the band finishes the tune. As the applause dies down, Kendell takes up the glass again, grabbing a steel shaker in the other hand. Setting both next to each other on the bar, he proceeds to mix a cocktail whose contents are as varied as an average weekend patronage. Depositing some ice, he lifts the shaker and sloshes the liquids around, his wrist working apart from his brain as he leans forward to impart some platitude to a customer on the other side of the long mahogany confessional. Lando enters the Sandbar. Lando has arrived. The musicians exchange mutually congratulatory slaps of the hands, and Shenner, at last, rises off her chair with her flute, leaving the others on the stage to keep up with the music of the evening. She, in the meantime, slides her flute into its black suede bag, stepping off the low stage and making her way to the bar. AnneMarie is sitting at a medium sized round table with a very large cat. She sips from her drink as she watches the being eat his fish. Lando rushes into the bar, visibly shivering from the cold. For several moments, he stands near the door, rubbing his hands together and knocking snow from his shoes on the mat in front of the door. Satisfied that he wouldn't be dragging the outside across the floor inside, he moves toward the bar, a broad smile across his lips. Kendell stands behind the bar, draining a steel shaker into a nearby Collins glass as he absently converses with an even more absent customer. Tabby finishes with the fish quickly, stacking the five plates that consisted of his meal off to the side. "Ffisssh ggoooodd.." Lando looks at you for a moment. The flute bag is slung over a shoulder, and Shenner herself slings her slender frame onto a stool. "'Ani, gimme a shakla to brace me to go, will ya?" she calls over to the woman behind the bar, and to Kendell she adds, "Yo, boss, evenin'." Sevren walks out of the Sandbar and the door closes automatically. Sevren has left. AnneMarie grins at Tabby. "I'm glad you liked it. You would like a dessert?" Kendell takes a deep sip from the glass, making his way back down the bar to intercept Shenner's path. "I'll get it, Ariani." He reaches for an empty glass and sets to filling it as he offers to her, "Sounded great tonight, Shen...excellent..." he thinks for a moment before grinning sarcastically, "...uh, exhalation and...wrist and finger joint movement. I was moved by the sheer musculature of it all." Winking at her, he sets the glass down. "There you go. This place just ain't the same when you guys are on break." Kendell says, "Or on vacation, for that matter." Tabby merrfs, "Desserrrrrrrt? Whaaat isss ddessserrtt?" Kendell Standing before you is a trim young man in his mid-thirties. He stands at about six feet tall, and looks to weigh approximately 170 pounds. He is dressed conservatively in a sharp, well-tailored suit. Its black, double-breasted jacket wraps comfortably around a neatly pressed, white dress shirt and a brightly patterned necktie, the colors of which contrast sharply with the black fabric of the jacket. The jacket tapers down to a pair of matching slacks, which in turn fall to a pair of black, nicely polished shoes. Covering the suit is a grey wool overcoat which falls sharply from his shoulders to his calves. The collar is turned up, and closely hugs his face, obscuring portions of it from view. The buttons are left undone and the lapels are pushed away from his chest as he calmly places his hands in the pockets of the pants. On his left ringfinger is an austere, shining gold band. Looking back up, you see his light blonde hair is cut closely on the sides and left a little longer on top, where it falls smoothly across his forehead. At first glance, his eyes appear to be a simple dark brown, but as you inspect them more closely, you notice a ring of deep green circling each iris, and that his right eyelid droops just a bit. His face is a handsome one, but not overly so. However, his facial expression always seems to convey a feeling of calmness and pleasant, pensive warmth. He seems to walk with an air of mild confidence. As he turns and notices you, he offers a melancholy half-smile, and nods. -=-=-=-=-=-=<>=-=-=-=-=-=- => Portrait of Avalyshaar Laarken => Light in the Darkness Lando's eyes move about the room, sparkling with a mix of cheer and his usual mischief as they land upon several people he recognizes. As he steps up to the bar, he looks between Shenner and Kendell, saying to each or neither, "Rough night tonight, isn't it?" AnneMarie thinks for a good way to describe a dessert. "It's something special you save to eat at the very end. Usually, it's sweet, but it can be whatever you like." Shenner's dark red eyebrows crook over her green eyes, and she proffers Kendell a lopsided smile by way of reply. She starts to speak, only to be distracted by the arrival of Calrissian -- to whom she starts, sitting up on her stool. Kendell consults the glass for any assistance in an answer. After a sip and a sense of satisfaction with its response, he nods to Lando and grins. "Maybe outside, but in here, well...needless to say, I recommend you stay and enjoy a round." He glances from Lando to Shenner. "Have you two...been introduced?" "Uh, yeah," Shenner says gruffly, the small crooked grin returning as she reaches for the hot brandied cocoa she's been provided. "We know each other." Tabby mmmerfs in understanding. "Yooouu piiciccck ffororrrr Taaby." "We've met a few times, you could say," Lando says cheerily, almost over top Shenner. He chuckles wryly, grinning first at Kendell, then at Shenner. "So what have I missed while I've been toying around in space? I noticed outside that the ice age still hasn't melted." Knowing that chocolate is unhealthy of some types of races, Anne stears clear of anything with chocolate. Looking at the menu for a moment, she finally decides on some fried vanilla ice-cream. She gives the order to the waitress for two, one for her and one for Tabby, and then smiles at the cat. "I think you'll like this." "I like the weather here," the young musician says stoutly. "Lot more interesting than a few other places I been too. As for what ya missed -- you askin' in terms of the planet, the city, the bar, the band, or me?" Tabby's ears twitch a couple times and he turns, looking accross the room at the various people that have arrived and departed. Kendell grins, tilting his head to the door. "No, it, uh, it....hasn't, I..." Preferring Shenner's eloquence to his current state of mushmouth, he smiles and defers to her. And lifts the glass again for good measure. Lando gives both Kendell and Shenner his full attention, his good mood only magnified by his fortunate run in with these two folks. He covers a smile at Kendell's expense by licking his lips, turning fully toward the young musician as he says, his own baritone rolling musically off his lips, "Well, how about the more interesting of those choices. What's new with you, my dear?" Lando Before you is a tall, dark-skinned male of average build, with short, wavy dark hair. Many would probably regard him as handsome. His brown eyes gaze coolly about the area with an air of friendliness and confidence, bordering on cockiness. A simple, short black mustache decorates a slightly angular face. Perhaps it is the set of his jaw, or perhaps it is the cocksure air about him, but he looks as if he usually would wear a knowing, maybe even arrogant, smile. A grey, synthetic coat makes up the bulk of his attire, going from a high, turned up collar down to the middle of his thighs... perfect for the current, frigid conditions Caspar has been experiencing of late. Around the collar is clasped a simple, black cape that flows behind the man, not quite touching the ground when he's standing still. Black pants cover the man's legs, stopping over plain, soft soled shoes of brown. -=-=-=-=-=-=<>=-=-=-=-=-=- => DY-255 Heavy Blaster Pistol Shenner's eyebrows go up again, as she shifts on her stool to survey the dark-skinned man before her. "Started school," she says, her tone gruff as always, but perhaps relaxing a bit. It's frequently hard to tell with this redhead, around men. "The semester just kicked in at U of Caspar." The waitress returns to the table with the Horansi and the woman and sets the fried ice-cream before them. Anne picks up her spoon and motions to Tabby. "Like this." She shows him how to scoop the ice-cream with the spoon. Tabby grasps the spoon with his paws and jabs it in, sending ice cream everywhere; the table; the floor; his fur; Anne's hair. "Grrrft!" he mews, looking around nervously. Kendell grins at the two and leans back as Ariani passes, mumbling some question or other under his breath. Raj enters the Sandbar. Raj has arrived. From afar, Kendell asks Ariani, "What's the deal with these two anyway?" AnneMarie giggles. "That was a good try. I must admit, though, it takes a little practice." She uses the napkin to get the ice-cream out of her hair. Long distance to Kendell: Shenner and Lando are glanced at, casually enough, by the bartender. "Shen collects odd friends," Ariani murmurs in reply. "She hasn't told me what she knows of this one, though." Raj comes in from the outside...Snow drifting in with him to unecessarily prove it. He scans the patrons of the SandBar tonight. He walks inwards of the Sandbar. Tabby merfs again and tosses the spoon off to the side, the small metal object clinking accross the floor. In true cat tradition, he grabs the bowl and begins to lap at the soft food with his tounge. Lando's eyebrows raise at that and he says in a sincere, impressed voice, "That is good news." He opens his mouth to say something else, then stops and looks over his shoulder as some of the other conversations in the bar carry across the room and meet his ears. He looks with well hidden amusement toward the individual floundering with his utensil, then continues speaking to Shenner, saying, "Do you like your teachers so far?" AnneMarie laughs at the cat's approach and also sets her spoon aside and raises her bowl to her mouth. "I think you have a better idea of it." Kendell nods and straightens up again, sending a "Usually means there's a lot to say" after Ariani. He returns his attention to the two at the bar. A beep from his coat catches his ear, and with a sigh, he says to the two, "Duty and/or leisure calls...gotta run. See you both soon." Sliding around the bar, he heads quickly for the door. Tabby finishes off the bowl quickly and sets it on the table. Another feral grin appears on his lips as he speaks, "I liiikkee 'dessert', Tabby willll reememmberr ttoo haavee dessertt moorre offtten.." Up on the stage, the five remaining musicians kick in with their next number. Shenner casts them a brief glance, before returning her full attention to Calrissian. An expression somewhere between smirk and smile still curls one end of her mouth, and as she nurses her shakla, she snorts softly. "Enh. Most of 'em I could do without. Couple of 'em are okay though." She nods her red head at Kendell, though, hearing his farewell. AnneMarie sets her bowl aside, there is still some dessert in it but she's finished. "It's called ice-cream, and I'm glad you like it." Tabby merfs loudly and grins, reaching up to stroke his mane with a paw. "Taabby tthhannnksss yoou." Raj heads up to the bar. Raj sits down and orders a Flameout. A differ from the usual small glass of brandy. The bartender goes off and then comes back with it. He takes it, with a thankyou and a couple of credits for the bartender. He sips at the drink, savoring its unique flavor. Lando turns in his position at the bar to follow Kendell out with his eyes. As the door closes behind the man, Lando leans his back against the bar and turns his attention toward the musicians, nodding in rhythm to their music. He turns his focus once more to the red-head at his side as he says frankly, "I'm glad your studies haven't interfered with your music." "They wouldn't," Shenner says firmly. "I'm gonna be a xenomusicologist. Goes with the territory." AnneMarie smiles. "You are welcome. Besides, I like those fish in the fountain, so it was my duty to save them." She winks. Her crono beeps and she glances at it. "It was nice to meet you Tabby, but I must go. Perhaps we will run into each other again?" Tabby bobs his head slowly and waves his tail, "Perrrrshhhapppss.." Lando's brow creases as he fumbles Shenner's study over in his head. "That would be someone that studies alien music?" he asks. Shenner smiles a bit more. It's a crooked smile, but a smile nonetheless. Her chin comes up slightly, though, as if she expects to get challenged for the mere fact that she's studying at the local university to begin with. "Yeah," she affirms, "though right now I mostly gotta take the general required courses they dump on everybody. Won't really start takin' the good stuff till next term." Shenner adds, "You want anything, pal?" She starts to wave for Ariani, while giving Calrissian an inquiring green glance. AnneMarie stands up from the table and bows her head to the Horansi. "Until later then." She smiles and starts for the door. Before she steps out, however, she hands the waitress enough credits to cover the meal plus a little extra for her efforts. Then she zips her coat up tight around her and steps out into the cold snow of Caspar. AnneMarie walks out of the Sandbar and the door closes automatically. AnneMarie has left. Lando nods once and says, "Something warm. I'm going to have to head back into that cold weather pretty soon." He turns his attention once more toward the musicians, enjoying their tune as they continue to play. Ariani nods obligingly, asking, "You want alcohol involved, pal, or just tea or cocoa?" She keeps a fairly discreet distance from the two at the bar, though she does survey Lando with curious eyes. If she is recollecting the man's activities _last_ time she saw him in the bar, she's doing a good job of masking it. And Shenner shifts around on her stool, leaning against the bar behind her, cradling her mug of shakla in her hands. "I was lookin' for you," she says lowly to Lando, then. Raj notices Lando, just through the side of his eyes, then looks over to confirm it. Well, it /is/ the famous Lando Calrissian. He recognizes the face from newscasts and such. He's only seen someone of Lando's status once before. He goes back to his drink, taking a drink from it. "Since it's warmth I'm looking for, go ahead and put a healthy helping of Corellian Brandy in a warm mug of Kaf," Lando says to Ariani, giving her one of his more charming smiles. He turns back to Shenner and says, lowering his voice, "Is it something you wish to discuss here?" As he says this, his eyes move about the room, taking in those he hadn't noticed before. Did that fellow just look at him twice? "You got it," says Ariani affably enough, in her Companionable Bartender mood. Brandied kaf is shortly provided, while Shenner considers, and then murmurs, "Depends on what you got to say to what I got to tell ya. Might be old news." She rolls a black-clad shoulder in a shrug. Lando considers Shenner's words while he non-chalantly tries to keep an eye on that fellow that at the table. He says, keeping his voice low, "Well, tell me what you can, then, and we'll go from there." Shenner, apparently long practiced at pitching her voice so that only someone right next to her can hear her, does so now, murmuring something in that husky near-tenor of hers to the man beside her. Shenner mutters to Lando, "... if... yet,... gonna... here... Leia." You whisper "I dunno if you seen him yet, but General Solo was gonna come here lookin' for Princess Leia." to Lando. Lando blinks back at Shenner at first, then nods as he lowers his voice to respond. He mutters to Shenner, "I... when... came in,... the... I assumed... Han... Caspar... find... still haven't... know if... had..." You sense Lando blinks back at Shenner at first, then nods as he lowers his voice to respond. "I saw the _Falcon_ when I came in, and I saw Leia in the news. I assumed it had to be Han coming to Caspar to find her. I still haven't been able to see her. Do you know if Han's had any more luck than I?" Shenner glances away, something shuttering across her eyes. Shenner mutters to Lando, "... talkin'... called him up... Holonet.... exactly... on current events." You whisper "Not really... I only know this 'cause I was with Miz Laarken talkin' about it, and she called him up on the Holonet. I ain't exactly up on current events." to Lando. Lando emits a dry, mirthless chuckle as he says, his voice raising just a little, though obviously still intended for only Shenner, "Missus Laarken I have been able to see. She hasn't been able to arrange for a meeting between myself and Leia, but she was able to find an Ushton for me to take out of mothballs." Shenner gives another sort of shrug, the look one of casual indifference, at the further discussion of the Princess; on the other hand, the girl's eyes are still veiled, so gauging her mood might prove tricky. Her eyebrows go up again, though. "What's an Ushton?" Lando says, turning to pick up the drink that Ari had long since delivered and taking a quick drink, "It's a very large ship. Normally, they're used for hauling large amounts of items from one place to another, but I'm having this one renovated into a pleasure cruiser. So far, SubPro is doing an exemplary job." Shenner seems to relax again, subtly. "That seems like your speed," she says dryly. Liking what he'd tasted, Lando takes a much deeper drought of his beverage, wondering quietly at how someone can take two things as ordinary as Corellian Brandy and Kaf, and make them work so well together. Must be something else in it that he doesn't know about. As he puts the half-emptied cup back down on the bar, he says with a slight shrugging of his shoulders, "Things are still developing slowly on Nkllon. Besides, it'd be nice to have a good Sabacc game come find me rather than the other way around." Shenner studies Lando, her expression a little odd, but no less frank than seems to be her wont. After a moment, she relaxes a little further, finishing off her shakla and setting the mug down on the bar. "You get around a lot, huh?" A casual enough question, though there's an honest gleam of interest in the girl's eyes. Lando regards Shenner, that warm sparkle of mischief still in his eye as he contemplates momentarilly how to answer that. Rather than a flippant remark, or a series of smarmy words, he simply responds in an honest tone, "More and more these days, it seems." Shenner seems to take this at face value, at any rate. Steadily, she ventures, "That's kinda why I'm takin' xenomusicology; I'll get to go places, eventually. Study music in cultures all over the galaxy, that kinda thing. But I gotta hang out here for a while first." Lando takes another long sip of his drink, enjoying the warmth of it as it rolls down his throat, and then the burst of warmth as the brandy does its trick in his stomach. The perfect drink for a cold winter. He says, tilting his head and donning a cocky smile, "I'm sure you'll be out venturing across the galaxy before you know it, with your instrument strung over your shoulder and your fists on your hips. But you might as well enjoy it now while its a bit easier." Shenner lets off a soft snort. "Yeah well." She waves down Ariani again, requesting, and receiving, a small glass of Corellian brandy, unadulterated by cocoa or anything else. "It's... okay here. But it's still kinda weird. I'm lookin' forward to gettin' on the move again." Lando's brow raises as he asks, "Well will you be around here long enough to help me christen the _Commander of Coins_?" Shenner blinks, tilting her red head. "What?" she says, a little blankly. "That's what I decided to name the Ushton," Lando says plainly, looking down into his cup as we swirls the remainder of his drink about. "It's one of the cards in a regular Sabacc deck, and I couldn't think of a more appropriate name for a ship of its kind." Shenner sits up a bit, looking intrigued. "Christening, huh? Well... what's that involve? I mean, I know what it is, but..." Lando throws back his head and laughs with genuine mirth. He says, his voice retaining some of his amusement, "I'm hoping for just a great big party, really. Free drinks... a lot of gambling. Some music," he says the latter with a slight accent, and continues, "And dancing. If it's going to be a pleasure cruiser, its christening ought to be a pleasant time." Shenner actually grins, to that. And says fervently, "Well, I hope your idea of a party's better 'n' that Imperial thing I had to show up for." Lando shakes his head slowly at that, then tosses back the rest of his drink. As he sets his empty cup on the bar, he says, "I was going to try and crash that party, but the security was too tight." He pauses then, before lowering his voice to almost a whisper as he says, "I was hoping to find Leia's assailant there." Shenner blinks at this, and then huhs. "Well, we played there." She jerks a thumb off at the band, and then at herself. "Didn't see nothin' too odd, 'cept that the ambassador throwin' the thing showed up real late." Lando's brow creases again as he mulls this over. He brings a hand up and gestures toward one of his eyes as he asks, "Did she have a lot of scars, and a false eye?" Shen blinks. "Well -- yeah, but that was the ambassador who had to stand in for the first one," she explains. And then her eyes darken. She belts down a swallow of brandy, and adds, "I've seen the one with the scars, though." Lando lets out a small sigh, shaking his head. He says, "It's that one that made it impossible for me to crash that party. And if you ask, she's the one behind Leia getting injurred. But that's just a hunch." Shenner's dark red eyebrows draw together. "Wouldn't be surprised," she grumbles. "Crazy psycho freak tried to break my harp." Lando glances toward Shenner's instrument while agreeing with the small voice in the back of his head, telling him that had that brash ambassador been successful, the young red-head before him probably would have wound up having her studies interrupted. He says, turning his eyes toward the door, "I should probably head back. I wanted to check on the progress of the _Commander_ before turning in for the evening, and it's getting late." Shenner nods, then, and studies Calrissian for a moment, before offering gruffly, "I'd, uh, like to show up, yeah. For the party, I mean." Shenner pauses, and then abruptly and suspiciously adds, "Would it be formal?" Lando gives Shenner a warm smile, with less cockiness and more amusement. He answers, "It'll most likely be semi-formal. And I'd like for you to be there. You don't even need to bring your harp." Shenner's features crinkle in something like discomfort at the idea of even semi-formal dress, but... well, this is Lando Calrissian. "Lemme know when it'll be," she concedes, her voice getting gruffer. "You can usually get a message to me here. If I ain't here, Ariani'll pass somethin' on." "I'll do that," Lando says. He fishes into his jacket pocket for some coin and tosses it onto the bar. "You'll be the second person to know when it is, and that's after me." Shenner, with another sort of odd, rueful crooked smile, just nods to that. "Cool... see ya round, then, I guess." Bracing himself for the cold, Lando walks toward the door, thrusting his left hand into his jacket pocket well before he even opens the way with his right. At the first touch of the icy wind outside, the gambler's head drops down almost to his chest. Why oh why did he pick this time of year to come to this planet? Lando walks out of the Sandbar and the door closes automatically. Lando has left. Gavin enters the Sandbar. Gavin has arrived. For once, Shenner isn't on stage with the band; she's at the bar, frowning intently as she finishes off the contents of a shot glass. She's got a suede bag slung off one shoulder, about the length of a flute, and from the look of it there is a flute within. Enter Gavin, stage left. Or rather, enter Gavin, through the main doors. Damp, miserable and all too cold. His black hair is plastered to his head and his corduroy jacket is nearly soaked through to his shirt from the heavy snows outside. Sighing a bit, he begins to dust off the snowflakes from his clothing, trying to preserve some level of comfort. He tromps towards the bar. Ariani, sympathetic to the poor bedraggled individuals who have been staggering into the bar tonight, turns towards her latest customer and asks promptly, "What can I getcha, and how hot do ya want it?" Up on the stage, in the meantime, the band's latest number finishes, and they segue into a new one, Aa'leet singing the lead in her crystalline soprano and in her native tongue. "That shakla, was it?" Gavin tosses out the question, as he lowers himself into a stool beside Shenner. Muttering under his breath, he says, "I definitely need to go shopping. This corduroy jacket isn't cuttin' it." He props up his boot on a stool beside him as he begins to undo the silver buckles. Shenner blinks, sitting up as Gavin Hollister claims the stool next to her, and mentions the name of her current drink of choice. "Uh, hiya," she says gruffly, while Ariani readily starts mixing up a mug of the brandied cocoa for the man. To the bartender, Shen adds, "You better put an extra shot in there, he looks like he needs it." "'ello Shenner," greets Gavin. He keeps his back to you as his fingers remove the last of the buckles of one of the boots. Tugging the black leather off of his foot, he groans a little as he eyes his drenched socks. "Damn it," he curses under his breath, tipping the boot upside down so as to get all the water out. "How're you doing today?" Shenner grins a slight crooked grin, and hazards, "Warmer'n'you, I'm guessin'." Her tone's mildly wry, a trifle mellow, the Corellian brandy she's just finished off soaking through her system. "Uh, yeah. I guess so." Gavin's own tone is a mix between sarcastic and amused. "So, do you know Venus Darkstar, per chance?" Wiggling his toes for a moment or two, he pushes back the boot onto his leg. The same spectacle is repeated with his other boot. This done, he sighs to himself and turns back to the bar. Propping his elbows up, he cants his head so as to chance a profile view of you. "You know, the Prime Minister." Shenner leans against the bar, eyes sweeping a glance up and down Gavin Hollister's frame, and her dark red brows crooking up over her green eyes. "I know her name," she allows. "Why?" "Just curious, Shenner. It was an easy question." Gavin makes his own retort, then shrugs his shoulders slightly. "But if its all hush-hush, don't worry about it." He peers at Ariani as he captures a napkin and dabs at the moisture on his face. "That shakla would sure hit the spot right about now." The shakla is promptly presented. Ariani chuckles softly as she puts in, "We work for Miz Laarken, pal, it's kind of hard not to know the rest of the major governmental figures around here." Shenner, in the meantime, shrugs vaguely. "Yeah. What she said. It ain't like I know her personally, or anything like that." "The President owns this establishment?" Gavin blinks a couple of times, then shakes his head. "Okay," he utters. Cupping the mug between his large palms, he raises it to waiting lips and takes a long, languid sip. "Ah," he groans with contentment, "That hit the spot." Glancing between the two of you as he lowers the mug, "Got any opinions on the Prime Minister?" Ariani, currently customer-free, nods sagely. "Took over between her terms, actually, but yeah. Side business. She's still signing our pay vouchers now, but we see her a lot less often. As for Ms. Darkstar..." The bartender rolls her shoulders in her own version of a shrug. "Polite enough lady, but she's a diplomat, that's her job." Shenner flashes a glance from Hollister to the bartender and back again, not offering an opinion of her own quite yet, but apparently curious about the purpose of the conversation. She shifts the flute bag off her shoulder as long as she's keeping her seat at the bar, laying the black suede length of leather down on the bartop. "Mm." Gavin nods to the statement, then lapses into a bit of a silence. He nurses the shakla without further comment. Water drips down from his hair, across his forehead and over his cheeks. His clothing is in a similar state of disrepair, but at least he is a bit warmer for the moment. Shenner drawls, "So I take it it ain't let up much out there yet?" She surveys the bedraggled figure beside her again, though all that one might note in her expression is general interest in the weather. "No, I guess not." Gavin manages a wane smile, as he takes another long sip at the shakla. "But I probably should be getting back out, anyway. I'm supposed to be working. I just ducked into here to get a drink." Pulling out a few creds for the hot cocoa, the black-clad New Republic loyalist slowly rises from his seat. A brief glance is shot in your direction, "Have you had any trouble recently, by the way?" Shenner's eyebrows go up again. "What, you mean me?" To this, Ariani lifts her eyebrows as well, peering at Hollister, and then at Shen -- the sort of 'what haven't you been telling me, kiddo?' look you might expect the woman to give a little sister. "Yeah. I mean you." Gavin repeats the words with something of a wry smile. Digging his hands into the pockets of his corduroy jacket, he asks, "You know, from our two 'friends'? Those two candidates for the 'upstanding Casparian citizen award'?" Grey eyes crinkle at the edges. "Shen, have you neglected to tell me somethin'?" puts in Ariani, frowning. Shenner, in the meantime, studies Hollister, and then says offhandedly, "I had a little encounter with Wil and Tegger." "When? And what happened?" Gavin's lips play at a frown, which grows into something nearing a full-fledged scowl. He shoots a sidelong glance at Ariani. Ariani, too, is scowling. "Look, kid--" Seeing that pair of scowls turned on her, Shenner scowls in reply, first at the bartender and then at the man who's sitting beside her. "They been trailin' me," she explains curtly, "but I sicced the campus police on 'em when they tried to catch me on the way to class yesterday morning." A wicked little smirk curls her mouth. "They're gonna be yakkin' their way out of bein' mistaken for thieves for a week." "I don't think that is a long term solution to the problem. Maybe I should talk with them?" Gavin's scowl mellows into a frown once more, as he nibbles on his lower lip. "Do they have a particular problem with you or is it...ah, more of the psychopathic variety?" Shenner stares at Hollister again, wariness beginning to cross her eyes, though her expression hasn't turned hostile yet. "I ain't exactly given 'em a chance to catch up with me and elaborate on any issues they got," she answers. "So what's your angle here?" "Shen," says the bartender, disapprovingly, "if that pair of low-lifes has something against you, you can't exactly blow it off. We might not have that sword-toting friend of yours around next time, you know?" And to this, Shenner rounds on Ariani, scowling in earnest now. "Dammit, 'Ani, I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself!" "My name is Gavin Hollister. I'm a Major in the New Republic army. I am head of security for Councilor Leia Organa Solo. And because, just because, I'm a nice guy I care about stuff like this. There you go. Its on the table." Gavin snaps off the remarks without much fanfare, though his tone shows a level of annoyance, perhaps. He shrugs his shoulders and begins to turn, "I help those who want some help. If you've got it under control, more power to you." Troy enters the Sandbar. Troy has arrived. Shenner cuts off abruptly, her green gaze flashing back around to Hollister on the words "Leia Organa Solo". Ariani opens her mouth for a retort, only to cut it off at the sudden change in Shenner's expression... and in a case of exquisite timing, a new customer makes her way into the bar. Disgruntled at the distraction, the bartender nevertheless steps off to do her job, leaving the young musician to stare at Hollister with obvious startlement. Troy walks out of the Sandbar and the door closes automatically. Troy has left. Shenner seems to consider what she's been told, hard, and she finally asks in a gruff, small voice, "You really work for Princess Leia...?" Glancing off to the side, as Troy enters and...leaves the Sandbar, Gavin shrugs his shoulders once more. "Like I said, thats it. Maybe one day you can tell me about that 'sword toting friend of yours'." He raises his fingers, then pinches the bridge of his nose, tiredly. "Anyway, take it easy, singer-girl." Moving towards the exit, he offers, "Because an attitude is just that. An attitude. And it sure doesn't get you a hell of a long way. And yes, I do. Look me up at the People's Hall sometime. I'm pretty easy to find. Just ask for 'the Major'. My officers know where to find me at all times." Shenner's expression turns decidedly strange, something behind her eyes dropping away, some sort of guard perhaps. A pause, and then she turns her attention to her flute bag, reaching to fiddle with the tassles on the end. All she says in reply is a low and rough, "Sorry." "It's okay. It's a cold world out there and it's not too warm in here at times, either." Gavin manages a faint grin, which only touches is eyes for a moment, before fading away. "I'll see you around, Shenner. Look me up sometime, if you want help." He adds quietly, "Or look me up, anyway." Gavin walks out of the Sandbar and the door closes automatically. Gavin has left. [End log.]