Zira Darkstar

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A/N: I had a lot of fun writing Carth's inner thoughts throughout this chapter. I hope you enjoy it too. Again (and always) Rate and Review.
~Beta'd by Envy~
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Chapter 7

Carth had crossed the cantina without much distraction. The Tarisians seemed content to leave him be as he moved about. He went into the room on the far west side of the entrance, his nose detecting drink.

He knew he wasn’t the best speaker, but it wasn’t hard to persuade drunk nobleman into spilling their guts about secrets. He looked about the room and noticed that several of the patrons were female, but they were all extremely over dressed.

Carth felt a swell of emotion welling up in his gut. Zira had stirred up some bad memories. Carth felt them bubbling just beneath the surface. Yeah, now’s the perfect time to reminisce. Surrounded by Sith and spoiled little princesses. This is the perfect place to just go completely nuts. He knocked on the bar and the tender didn’t even ask him what he wanted. The man set a large mug in front of him and Carth thanked him with a nod.

He threw the brew back and let it wash down him. He took a long, steady draw from the mug, trying to squash the feelings stirring in his gut. Stupid war. Stupid Sith. Stupid Saul. The bitterness had spread from his stomach to his face.

A rather cute young woman rested a hand on his shoulder. “Hey now, why so down?”
Carth started a bit and looked at her, then he managed to force a charming smile onto his face. “Just don’t like drinking alone.” Go away.

The woman giggled and sat down beside him. “A guy as cute as you shouldn’t have to drink alone!” She reeked of ale, and it had risen a deep red color into her cheeks. She was giving him a toothy grin and looking at him intently.

“Cute, huh?” Carth took another long draw from his drink and set it down. He rotated to face her more directly. “Well that’s a wonderful thing to hear from a beautiful woman.” Drunk little princess, Hutt-slug. She probably hits on anything with a dick.

She rocked back violently with a cackling laugh. With a laugh that would deafen said Hutt. “You really think so? Well, it is probably true. I buy only the best in skin care products and the like. Want to join me and my friend? “

Carth nodded, his charming smile still spread wide. “I’d love to.” Rather shoot myself in the throat.

She laced her fingers with his and stood up quickly. She wasted no time in pulling him away from the bar and towards a side table. Carth knew he was going to need another drink and waved at the bar tender. He seemed to get the message as he barked something and the waiter.

She pulled up an extra chair and sat in one of them. “Gana this is… Wait, I didn’t quite catch your name.”

Gana was a slender woman and wearing clothing that looked to be the most expensive in the room. She wore her hair in a familiar high loop at the crown of her head, a popular style among Tarisian nobles. Her bright red hair was done up with streaking orange-red highlights that stood out, even in the dim light of the bar.

“It’s Shad. Shad Camper. It is truly a pleasure to meet two such gorgeous women.” If that drink doesn’t get here soon the other one is going to end up being thrown up across the table.

Gana looked Carth over. A predator’s smile played across her lips while a hungriness danced in her eyes. He was happy when her appraising look was interrupted by the waiter carrying a tray of drinks. The man quickly set down two large mugs of ale in front of Carth and two other drinks down in front of each of the women at the table. Carth gulped down the remaining drink in his glass and handed the mug to the waiter.

While he was doing that, Gana, grinning, dropped fifty credits onto the man’s tray. “A round for the house, and the extra is for you.”

He bowed and thanked her graciously. Carth was sad to see him go.

“So, Shad,” the way she drew out his name in a long, slow, seductive voice caused the hairs on the back of Carth’s neck to stand on end. “What brings you here?”

Despite the feelings he was getting from this woman, he gave her the most charming smile in his arsenal. “Quarantine.”

“Pish, don’t even get me started on that. Daddy’s business ventures have been put on hold while we deal with this stupid quarantine. I have been reduced to wearing clothes from in my closet!”

Her friend shook her head, “Scandalous!”

“Oh I know! I was telling Daddy just the other day-”

Carth drowned himself in his ale. He was now drinking constantly to try and numb the rising headache. The woman before him managed to talk for ten minutes without so much as stopping to take a breath. She spoke of everything from her “daddy’s” business, to designer clothing, and even the Sith’s poor fashion sense.

The mindless dribble was making Carth longingly stare at the muzzle of his blaster. He wanted nothing more then to put the business end into his mouth and empty the power cell. Problem is, I don’t think she’d notice, or shut up!

Gana’s friend seemed rapt by every spoken word. The deluge of words seemed to have no end. Carth hadn’t even noticed how long it had been since she started talking, or how many drinks he’d had. He finally just looked at her and blurted out, “Hear anything about them Republic space pods?”

Gana finally stopped. Oh sweet merciful gods, the Force exists! Halleluya! I’ll become a Jedi immediately! She regarded him as if she’d forgotten he was even there.

“Oh I know lots about those. Daddy is in the business of information. It doesn’t do to have something like that happen right under your very nose and not know anything about it!” The torture was worth it! Thank, fucking, God!

“I’m just curious, I heard there might be some kind of reward for information about them.” He tried to keep his voice even, but he could tell it seemed a little anxious.

The predatory smile found her lips again, and she leaned forward resting a hand on his knee. “Oh don’t worry Shad. As long as you’re with me, you don’t need to worry about credits.”

He forced a smile. “That’s good to know. About those pods?”

“Oh we can talk about that later. Right now I feel like dancing, care to join me?”

“Love to.” He wouldn’t “love to.” I’d rather know what a lightsaber blade tasted like.

She took him by the hand and led him from the room and into another. She wasted no time in passing some credits along to put in an urgent request to play a song. However much she’d given, it worked. The band cut short a song to play a much softer, slower song.

Carth inwardly groaned.

She took his hand in hers’ and swept him onto the dance floor. The woman stood a full head shorter than him, but she still managed to pull him forward with a surprising amount of force. She’s about the same height as Zira… He shook the thought from his mind. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking of her.

He ended up taking the lead on the dance floor. He’d been trained the fine art of dance back home on Telos. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d danced. Somewhere along the way the woman in his arms had gotten much closer. She was practically flush with his body now.

They floated across the dance floor until the music stopped. As it did, Gana lazily reached a hand up and intertwined her fingers in his hair. She pulled easily down on his face and pressed her lips to his.

Carth wrapped both his arms around her, his fore arms at the small of her back. He squeezed and lifted her up a bit, holding her tightly against his lips. What the hell are you doing? Don’t you think this is taking things a bit too far?

He could feel her pressing hard against him now, and his body responded in kind. Judging by the ravenous moan that purred in her throat, she could feel it to. He held her against him for what felt like an eternity. For the first time since he’d met the woman, her tongue was finally doing something he wasn’t repulsed by.

She tentatively pushed it past the threshold of his lips and was now rubbing it gently against his own. He pushed back with relentless drive and began to explore the inside of her mouth.

She finally lowered herself from her toes, a knowing smile plastered to her face. “Come now, we should go back to our table.”

Carth nodded once, he could feel the stupid, glazed look on his face. He couldn’t help it though. The more he tried to regain his soldier’s resolve the more he felt like a puppy dog, following in her wake. She led him by the hand, but it might has well have been a leash.

He sat back down to a table of fresh drinks and mindlessly picked one up and took a deep swig of the brew. Gana had seated herself back into the chair with a smug look on her face. Her friend didn’t say much beyond a polite welcome back.

He felt a new feeling in the pit of his stomach. Thinking about the dance sparked memories of his wife and son. He turned the mug upside down and drained it’s contents. Gana had already started a whole new speech about the decline in men’s fashion and how she was going to follow in her “daddy’s” footsteps. In the midst of her ranting, Carth felt something snake up his inner thigh and press down onto his manhood.

A glance to Gana and then again at his crotch told him all he needed to know was happening. She had slipped off her footwear and was rubbing him through his pants with the ball of her foot. Carth gripped his mug tightly in both hands and locked his jaw tightly closed.

It was the only thing that kept a strangled moan from escaping his lips. Gana had gotten quiet and it was now her friends turn to vent. She was talking about some, “dueling chamber” and the introduction of someone called, “The Mysterious Stranger.” What a ridiculous name. Do these people really think that junk inspires “mystery?”

“Shad. Shad. Shad!”

He shook his head and looked quickly to Gana. He’d forgotten for moment he’d used a pseudo name. “Y-Yeah?”

“You wanted to know about Republic pods, didn’t you?”

“Oh yeah.” The recollection in his voice was genuine. The booze and constant stimulus of being rubbed had shaken the present from his mind. “Yeah, just wondering if anyone knew something.”

Gana grinned. Carth was getting the impression she liked things to be in her control. To her, this was some kind of game of kath hound and gizka. “I heard there were Jedi aboard that vessel.” She stated, as if it were some giant secret. Tell me something I don’t know…

Her friend squealed with delight and pointed at a view screen. “It’s her! It’s her! The Mysterious Stranger!”

Carth lazily looked to the view screen. He was in the process of taking a draw from his mug when suddenly Zira was waving a vibroblade on the view port.

He coughed violently, choking on the ail and stood up quickly. The front of this jacket was covered in ale and the sudden cold shocked his system, resulting in dropping the mug to the floor where it shattered.

Gana was looking at him in a state of alarm. “What the hell?”

Carth coughed again and leaned heavily on the table. Gana’s friend began patting Carth on the back. “S-Sorry. Went down the wrong tube.” He said, coughing and gasping between each word. What the hell is she doing!? She’s going to get herself killed! “Excuse me a moment.”

He sauntered out of the room, the drink had left him in a dizzy daze. He grabbed a guy by the shoulder in the connecting room and demanded to know where the dueling area was. The man was a bit shaken up but managed to point Carth in the right direction.

Now I know the name Mysterious Stranger is stupid. It’s even more stupid. Monumentally stupid! She’s going to draw attention to herself and me! We’re both going to get attention and die.

Even he wasn’t entirely sure where his train of thought was taking him. He just knew something bad was going to come of this dueling thing. He entered the room in a rage. The man he’d seen Zira fighting was being carried out of a nearby door on a stretcher with a medical droid working on him as they went.

Zira herself wandered into the room a moment later.

As soon as Carth laid eyes on her, he felt his innards raise to a boil.