"Overtures"

Log Date:
	8/26/97

Log Cast:
	Han Solo, H'rraal (NPC), Rellawy Woodlake, Thraknor

Log Intro:
	Minor altercations weren't unusual at the Burning Deck, and somehow
Rell hadn't been surprised when one broke out involving the obnoxiously
behaved but heavily tipping customer who seemed to favor Table Six. On the
other end of the argument had been Cami Garrison -- and as women were rare
in Lerren's establishment, once the brouhaha had died down, Rell had enjoyed
talking to her. But to learn that the woman was also the employer of Thraknor
came as something of a shock. To learn that Thraknor had apparently spoken to
Captain Garrison of his getting into a 'fight' with Han Solo was something
more of a shock, though, and Rell couldn't help but wonder if the bruised
state in which she'd seen Thraknor had been the result of a clash with Solo
that she hadn't witnessed.
	That felt wrong, somehow, though Rell had to admit that she didn't know 
enough about the Corellian - or, for that matter, about Thraknor - to judge 
what had happened. Nor did she want to question Lerren about it. But as she 
alternated between her work at the Deck and her lessons with H'rruuk and 
H'rraal, she had to shove the matter to the back of her mind, at least until
the next day....

----------
You step through the open archway of the Cafe.
The Meltdown Cafe - Lvl 601 - The Pot [Nar Shaddaa]
    Tired-sounding popular music drifts through the smoky room somewhat 
  sluggishly, as more purposeful conversation centers around tables and booths 
  dotted here and there about the room. Little expense has been devoted to 
  decor here, as the place's purpose seems to be clusters of talk and drink. 
  The tables are dirty, and chairs find new homes occasionally, at other 
  tables or in the skulls of unfortunate beings. A circular bar is in the 
  center of the room, lit from below by blue light, and a droid barman serves 
  drinks there.
    A doorless archway leads out to the north.
 
Contents:
Solo                                              
Obvious exits:
Out  

Solo is seated off in a corner of the fairly deserted bar, turning a glass 
  around and around with one hand as he watches the door fixedly.

The ursoid H'rraal, flanking the much smaller Rell Woodlake, lumbers after the 
  latter into the cafe, scanning the place before whurfling lowly to the young 
  woman. Rell, looking somewhat ragged, lets the big creature lead her to a 
  booth, where she falls into one side of it tiredly.

Solo half-blinks and follows the creature and girl with his gaze a moment, 
  frowning.

H'rraal appears to be scolding the young human, who crinkles her brow at him 
  defensively; the two of them murmur as the larger sentient settles slowly 
  into his side of the booth, still rumbling sternly at the girl.

Solo smiles somewhat grimly and lifts his glass to drink from it, instead of 
  playing with it. He watches the pair, obviously thankful for the distraction 
  from the door.

"Alright, alright, H'rraal, so my aim's as poor as a summer on Tatooine is 
  hot," snaps Rell, a little more loudly than her previous murmurs. "I've 
  gotten the idea, are we needin' to go over it four or five times more?"

Solo chuckles and calls, gruffly, "Don't let up, H'rraal, she needs it."

At the call, the ursoid's head snaps (as quickly as the head of a being his 
  size can) in Solo's direction, then back to the young woman. He whorrrrrrls 
  out something triumphant-sounding, as if pleased that the Corellian is 
  backing him up.

Rell, too, glances in Solo's direction and rather more quickly, but her 
  response is to blush and mutter, looking genuinely upset, "I'm doin' the 
  best I can, dammit."

Solo grins, leaning a bit out of his booth to reply, "Yeah, you will at first. 
  Then you'll get better. Trust me, I know."

H'rraal leans forward and squints nearsightedly at the girl, his muzzle 
  crinkling as he sniffs at her. Evidently deciding he's made his point, the 
  big being gets up and lumbers towards the bar, waving a paw to catch the 
  bar-droid's attention so he can place an order.

Her expression suggesting someone who's very tired and cranky and trying not 
  to show it, Rell casts a look over at the Corellian again and mumbles, "I 
  dinnae like the accursed thing..."

H'rraal acquires a couple of mugs of something, then lumbers back to their 
  booth, rumbling softly at Rell and handing her the smaller of the two 
  drinking vessels.

Solo nods, asks, "What don't you like about it?" He seems content to call 
  across the room at the girl, rather than, oh, imposing his Corellian self on 
  the two.

With her mug in her hands, Rell turns where she sits, frowning unsurely over 
  at the man. She, perhaps, seems somewhat more nervous about a conversation 
  at that volume -- and perhaps more than a trifle annoyed at her ursoid 
  companion, for she rises, mug in hands, and approaches Solo's table. When 
  she's within better earshot, she simply stops and says tautly, "I dinnae 
  like weapons."

Solo shrugs, replying with a half squint, "I don't think you have much 
  choice, kiddo." It's a good-natured observation born of years of cynicism, 
  obviously, and it fits him like a flight glove.

H'rraal settles back in his side of their booth, slurping from the enormous 
  tankard grasped in his enormous paw, and keeps his furry visage pointed in 
  Rell's direction, his round ears pricked at her as well.

Rell looks down at her own mug, frowns at it, then takes a long gulp of its 
  contents. "No," she agrees in weary resignment, "I do not."

Solo's smile fades and he nods. "So practice. Take it like medicine."

The girl smiles, but without much enthusiasm. Her gaze goes inward for a 
  moment, as she murmurs, "I'll not be findin' healin' in the learnin' of a 
  blaster." H'rraal, at their table, whulfs out something, and the girl flicks 
  him a peevish look before adding to the Corellian, "But aye. I'll practice, 
  as long as I must remain."

Solo lifts his eyebrows. "Huh, well. I ain't going to go into my theory on the 
  goodness of sentients or anything, but..." He shrugs, dragging his cup over 
  to him and taking a drink. "You'll get used to it."

From the look the girl's wearing, the thought's already occurred to her, and 
  she doesn't care much for it, either. She flashes another glance at H'rraal, 
  crinkles her freckled nose, then asks Solo, "May I sit?" Her tone carries a 
  touch of plea to it, for all that she's striving to keep it out of her 
  expression.

Solo looks a bit deadpan, or at least uncomfortable, but nods. "Sure," he 
  murmurs, turning back to his normal position and motioning at the seat 
  across from him.

The girl sighs out a very quiet thanks, then sinks into the indicated seat. 
  "H'rraal and his den-brother ha' been drivin' me mad, this day." And she 
  grips her mug in both her hands, staring down into it. Up close, it can be 
  seen that her hair is frizzed about her face in sweat-darkened tendrils.

Solo chuckles, giving the creature friend a glance, drawling, "Well, they sure 
  look like they take care of you anyway. Probably used to cubs or their kind 
  of something. Get a bit overprotective that way."

Rell makes a noise that doesn't quite manage to be a laugh. "Aye... they both 
  call me summat that translates to 'hairless heart-cub', or some such." She 
  pauses, swirling her mug's contents, and adds, "H'rruuk has decided he'll be 
  teachin' me to defend m'self without the blaster. I've bruises where I 
  didnae ken I have muscles."

Solo looks at you critically, sitting back and keeping himself from propping a 
  foot on the edge of your seat, out of habit. "I dunno, you don't look like 
  you could match up against some of the bullies around here, even pretty fit. 
  Hey, -I'd- have a job laying 'em out with a blaster." He takes another 
  drink, adding, "They going to watch you though?"

"Lerren doesnae let me into the streets without them," the girl murmurs, 
  blushing again, briefly.

Solo nods approvingly. "Glad to hear he has -some- sense then. I can't always 
  be pulling you out of trouble," he says jokingly, "And Drake neither."

At the mention of Drake, Rell lets out another, longer sigh, and drinks down 
  more of what's in her mug. "Drake," she observes lowly, "has already chimed 
  in his opinion on what I ought to be doin', again."

Solo looks curious. "Yeah? What'd he say?"

Rell's eyes darken a moment, and she doesn't answer immediately; when she does 
  at last, it's to say only, "He wants me off Nar Shaddaa now. Before now, 
  actually."

Solo chuckles low. "That's what everyone tells everyone else. Place isn't 
  exactly a picnic. He say why?"

The girl doesn't move, and doesn't speak for another pause, lifting her gaze 
  to the Corellian across from her; she looks worried for some reason, now. 
  Tentatively, she allows, "Aye. He did."

"So what'd he say?" He's either fairly clueless about someone's discomfort, or 
  exceptionally sly. Given his track record, the former is a fair bet.

Lowering her gaze to her mug once more, her stance and expression both turning 
  more tense, Rell says awkwardly, "It would seem he finds me... valuable."

Solo looks somewhat surprised, but hides it; hey, someone's valuable, great, 
  this is self-esteem, don't blow it. "Well..." he hazards, "He's right. But 
  does he expect you to find your own way off?"

Rellawy murmurs, her voice small, "He offered me passage the day we met."
Rellawy jerks her gaze up a bit, startledly, however, at something Solo must 
  have said.

Solo is about to reply, but pauses as you look up. "What?"

"He... told you?" the girl blurts.

Bewilderment fits him well too. "Told me what?"

Blue-green eyes blink a time or two, as Rell's face of its own accord tries to 
  decide whether to wear relief or further wariness. As her look settles 
  somewhere in between, she breathes to herself, "Air, sea and sky...!" She 
  lifts a hand, scrubs it across her eyes, and peers back at you now to 
  append, shakily, "You... may wish to ask of him, what he knows of me, if ye 
  trust his word."

Solo chuckles, looking at you uncertainly. "I'll ask him...you alright?"

Rell closes her eyes, sucks in a breath, then releases it. "Aye," she roughly 
  murmurs, after a moment. As alright as she can be, at any rate...

Thraknor comes into the Cafe from the floor outside.
Thraknor has arrived.
Thraknor steps out through the open doorway to the north.
Thraknor has left.

Solo's discomfort increases and he hides his expression in his mug for a 
  moment, saying casually, "Well, if I see him I'll talk to him. He around?"

Rell simply nods and says lowly, "He pledged to help me... it'd be tough to be 
  doin' that, if he leaves the moon." She lifts her mug, then, and drains it, 
  then pauses to wait for the stuff to run down through her.

Solo frowns at this idea, and nods, muttering, "Yeah it would. This doesn't 
  make me trust him much more, you know." He settles forward with an amiable 
  grunt. "Well, you got your friend over there, at least. You'll do fine." He 
  pauses. "-Are- you going to try to leave the moon?"

Casting a brief glance back up at you, Rell replies, "Aye. I... hope." She 
  sighs, then looks at you again, more steadily. "I told ye of the Hutt I'm 
  seekin', do ye remember?"

Solo nods in recognition. "Yeah, but I hadn't heard of him." He smirks a bit, 
  adding, "I'm not on first name basis with many Hutts."

"Nor I," concurs Rell. Her gaze goes distant again, as she goes on, "I... I'm 
  hopin' that Kelga will have my father's logs. I'm needin' them, if I'm to 
  have somewhere else besides here to be goin'."

Solo shakes his head, asking nearly a rhetorical question, "What's in the logs 
  that you need so badly?"

With a sigh barely loud enough to register as more than an exhalation of 
  breath, Rell says gravely, "I'm hopin' to find where he met my mother."

Solo looks a bit blank at this, but nods slowly and takes a philosophical sip 
  of his ale. "Yeah, I can see how that'd be important to some people..."

Rell stares at her now-empty mug, drumming her fingertips slowly along its 
  side. "I've nothin', Captain Solo, now that my Da and the _Mystery Lady_ are 
  gone. Lerren has been more than good to me..." She closes her eyes briefly, 
  opens them again, and concludes, "But I dinnae need to be told by him, or 
  H'rraal, or H'rruuk, or... Drake, or you, that I shouldnae be here. I ken 
  it, in my bones. And I've nothin' else to do, but seek my mother." Falling 
  silent a moment, she studies you, then abruptly smiles a little. "If ye grow 
  weary of me yammerin', dinnae fear to hurt my feelin's by tellin' me to shut 
  my trap."

Solo grins, sincerely even. "Hey, it's alright. Everyone has their quests 
  around here. Yours is one of the more wholesome I've heard on this moon." 
  He sits back again, asking, "So how close are you to finding her?"

The girl's expression shifts a bit, towards the plaintive. "I dinnae know how 
  to find Kelga," she confesses. "Da never let me see him, when they did their 
  business."

Solo thinks a moment, and says slowly, "Well...finding the Hutts here isn't 
  too hard, but finding them in a way that'll keep you clean is another thing. 
  I take it you don't want to barge in there and ask for these logs?"

Rell's nose crinkles again, slightly. "I know enough of Hutts to grasp that 
  that would prob'ly not be wise, without somethin' to offer in return."

Solo's face lights up and he straightens in his seat. "Yeah, that's it. You 
  need to find something to take to them." He leans forward, gesturing a bit 
  in choppy motions. "These Hutts like to be flattered like you wouldn't 
  believe. Nothing sounds too much to them. Call 'em 'Your Excellency', they 
  like it. But they like gifts. Uh, little tables and things..." A thought 
  seems to occur to him, like a brick to the head, and he continues, "I might 
  have something, if you really need it."

Finding herself relaxing -- part for having stumbled across a source of 
  desperately needed information, and part for the conversation itself -- Rell 
  takes in the offered details attentively. Then blinks, at that last. "Eh?"

Solo grins widely, explaining, "I found this jewelry box a little while ago. I 
  was planning on selling it, but..." Ah, the hesitation... "If you need it to 
  get these logs, I can let you have it to give to the Hutt."

Rell smiles a bit more, uncertainly, but reacting to that grin. Then, her brow 
  crinkles a bit, and she points out, "But ye'd be out the credits..."

"Well, yeah..." he says, on a roll, then pauses. He shrugs, saying vaguely, 
  "You can owe me. Sometime. When you're rich and famous." His grin returns.

Startled, Rell stares almost wonderingly at the man across from her, before 
  the smile she's wearing steadies out with a short little laugh. "That'd be 
  an awfully long time I'd be owin' ye, then, Captain Solo, for it's no time 
  soon that I'll be either of those, rich, or famous."

Off at the booth he'd claimed, H'rraal, keeping a steady eye on his young 
  charge and content to leave her to the conversation in which she's become 
  involved, orders and starts working his way through a large platter of meat. 
  Don't mind the backup bear.

Solo grins, shrugging at the same time and drawling, "Yeah, well, you never 
  know about these things. It was a lucky find anyway, so I'm not really out 
  anything. Just keep me in mind if you have an extra few credits or 
  something. I really think the Hutt would go for it, too. It's just the sort 
  of thing they like." The loss of credits there phases him a little, 
  noticeably, but he's doing a good job with brushing it off.

"It's a fancy box, then?" the girl asks, clearly interested now, her head 
  quirked slightly. She plays with the mug at random, shifting it from hand to 
  hand. "Fancy trinkets, and fancy words, for the Hutts?"

Solo chuckles, nodding, describing a rectangle with his fingers. "About so 
  big, with gems. I don't know what's real on it, but...it sparkles." No 
  jeweler is Solo, but boy, it's shiny!

Thraknor comes into the Cafe from the floor outside.
Thraknor has arrived.
Thraknor strolls in and heads for the bar.

Solo is seated with Rellawy, talking to her animatedly.

Thraknor sees the two of them and stops suddenly, and turns for the door.
Thraknor steps out through the open doorway to the north.
Thraknor has left.

Rell's smile widens a trifle, as she tracks the hand motions. "For bein' the 
  lords o' Nar Shaddaa, it'd seem strange for them to be swayed by shiny 
  baubles. But... I'll gladly be acceptin' your help, Captain."

Solo smirks, admitting, "Yeah, but see, they think they're the best sentients 
  around. Uh, do you know the Hutt language?"

Ah, that knocks the girl's smile askew a little. "Not... well," she admits, 
  ruefully. "'Twas tough for me to study before, Da not lettin' me see a Hutt 
  to practice th' speakin'. Tough now to study, for th' same reason." And her 
  smile morphs towards a smirk. "My accent willnae be helpin', but there's 
  naught I can do for that."

Solo shrugs, waving a hand and sitting back casually. "S'ok, you just need to 
  understand it. You speak Basic with them, it's alright, just act humble if 
  you can stand it."

"Playactin' I can do," says Rell, a touch dryly. "If it gets me the logs... if 
  Kelga still has the holos, and hasnae wiped them clean to be usin' the 
  discs...!" She looks troubled a moment, before shielding it. "Is there aught 
  else you'd advise?"

Solo considers, then murmurs, "Not really. Just bluff it, unless you think he 
  might just arrest you on the spot when you ask. What's the danger of that?"

Rellawy frowns. "Can he do that?"

Solo shrugs, answering, "Sure, if they get offended. Depending on what you 
  did, or your dad did, you can talk your way out of it."

Setting her cup down on the tabletop, Rell runs a fingertip around its rim, 
  and snorts. "My Da, as far as I know, had a poor sense o' timin'. The 
  _Lady_'s engine blew, and ripped a hole through him and the hull, before he 
  could finish his last job. Not much I could say to talk free o' that."

Solo hmms, asks carefully, "So what was he hauling for them? Do you know?"

The girl's teal eyes return to the Corellian. Just as carefully, she allows, 
  "Our hold was empty, last I left the ship. I dinnae know what the Hutt had 
  asked him to carry, this last time."

Solo's face turns a bit serious as he mulls this over. "Might be...bad. You 
  should find out what their mood is toward your dad, and you, before walking 
  into their audience chamber."

Rell's dark golden brows knit close over her eyes. "Kelga doesnae know of me, 
  Da said he never spoke o' me to them..." But she doesn't sound completely 
  certain.

Solo shakes his head. "Not enough, unless they just don't -care- after so 
  long. I'd check around though."

Evidently the girl is not quite so fresh off the dock as she seems, for she 
  doesn't immediately question, 'But how do you know what a Hutt thinks about 
  you before you see them?' What she does say, after moments of consideration, 
  is an annoyed and low, "It will take me a bit... as ye say... I stand out." 
  She glances down at herself, darkly.

Solo chuckles, not unkindly, and points out, "They're liable to eat you alive 
  in there. Uh, not literally," he is quick to add. "Might want to ask around, 
  quietly, see if you can get an inside on the Hutt."

Rell half-smiles at the swiftly offered assurance; she didn't look any more 
  troubled than she has up till now, and at your further advice, she nods 
  solemnly. "Aye," is her only reply. That, and, "It's more thanks I'm owin' 
  ye then, Captain."

Solo makes dismissing noises, and adds a few motions in there, muttering, 
  "Nah, it's alright. I don't like seeing you stuck here, so if it helps, then 
  I'm in." A sudden scary thought occurs to him, and he asks, "You and your 
  buddies don't have any life debt things, do you?" Apparently, the thought of 
  collecting an entourage of Chewbaccas seems a bit much for him.

The girl blinks a time or two. "Life debt?" she echoes.

Solo grins, sitting up. "Never mind, it's alright. Say, bring your pals over 
  to my ship and take a look at the box. I'll see what I can find out about 
  this Hutt Kelga. Alright?"

Rell grins back steadily enough at that, a bit of brightness in her worn face. 
  "We'll come," she promises.

Solo nods once, moving to stand. "The Falcon, on top of the Pot tower. Just 
  wave or something." He glances briefly to the 'bodyguard' and adds, possibly 
  to both, "Take care."

H'rraal -- who has been paying discreet attention all this time -- rowls out a 
  reply as Solo looks his way. Rell jumps, as if having forgotten completely 
  that her ursoid friend was over there, but she recovers her composure 
  quickly. To the Corellian, she smiles again, and replies, "Thank ye, 
  Captain... you, as well."

Solo grins, the expression looking only slightly goofy on him. Though, odd, it 
  looks somewhat better than the deep scowl he's been firing at people for the 
  past week or so. He turns to the door, striding out.

It's Rell that watches Solo go this time, and it's with a bemused sort of grin 
  of her own that the girl rises to rejoin H'rraal... her own mood 
  significantly improved.

Solo steps out through the open doorway to the north.
Solo has left.

[End log.]