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Star Wars Saga Background in Progress
15 years ago
Name: Capt. Luka Gaph
Species: Ryn
Age: 25
Profession: Entertainer/Pirate Captain
Current Photo: http://i44.tinypic.com/5x64uo.jpg
Fingertips toyed with a small trinket, twisting the metallic piece this way and that along the length of chain. Pressed iron embossed with a symbol of a wandering spirit for she indeed was that. Humor twisted her lips and eyes narrowed against the bright light of the single sun overhead. It was refreshing to be out in the real air finally after days underwater on Manaan. Ahto was a pleasant change of pace as far as she was concerned and a hand lifted to shade her eyes when she turned away from the open window.
The room she’d turned back to was a simple set of rooms where she’d holed up while investigating a little trouble down at Bik’s. It was one of the first times in recent months that she was actually on her own, usually accompanied by members of her small crew. However this detail was her own, a chance perhaps to further prove herself to the Black Sun and find herself her own ship. No more dingy, hand me down freighters for her. Not if she could help it anyway. Falling heavily back into the bed, she let out a sigh and closed her eyes.
This was definitely different from where she started out; though the story changed depending on her mood and the crowd she told it to. Couldn’t let people get too comfortable with the life they chose to live and she seldom told her own the same twice. A few details seemed confident in their placement along the timeline of her life though, so that the people who had know her longest might gain an inkling of understanding into the reasons why she was who she had become.
Her planet of origin was not one of the ironed down facts, if only because truthfully she wasn’t too sure of it herself. Very few slaves were, though she wouldn’t throw something like that out just willy nilly. Could ruin a girl’s reputation. The earliest solid fact she could really remember was from her time on the Wheel. She was a dancer and an entertainer, something she spun into a more luxurious career when she actually told it. In truth she was slave under the thumb of a drunkard who happened to have run into luck at one point in his life, bought a bar and then proceeded to squander what luck he’d had on booze and women.
Luka was only 13 years old at the time and had won quite a bit of affection from the clientele, though many of them were more near scum than most people could appreciate. She was far from the usual little girl, well aware of her early budding body and various attributes that led men to lean their ears just that much closer to the secrets that dripped from her lips. She had a hand with a deck of Sabacc cards and could outplay most of the men who came around though she seldom shared that, instead offering herself as a little luck charm between dances, settling herself in some man’s lap and whispering her tricks into his ear as if it were only the passing giggles of a pretty girl. No one lost with her at their side, though they never presumed it had anything to do with her suggestions.
At least not until one man recognized her for more than a little luck. He was a darker gentleman, not only in physical appearance but in humor. Often teasing her when she offered to help, threatening her as if she might bring him only bad luck instead, for pretty girls often were fickle. She had dismissed this with a giggle and instead offered him a song, playing at the table long after the deck had soured and the money was gone. The stranger had smiled at her and tipped his hat to her, leaving her a nice tip and then was gone. She’d almost forgotten him when he returned again several weeks later, again only asking a song, watching her carefully when she offered luck to his competitor’s. It came to a point that when he played she no longer offered help to anyone else, watching him pointedly while she entertained the party
He came and went nearly the entire year, until shortly after her 17th birthday when he disappeared. It was rather disappointing, because she’d hinted to him that he might be a better patron if he perhaps visited her on her birthday. Perhaps it had been silly of her to think he might’ve taken her seriously and though she’d eventually learned his name and become genial with him, it was by no means a close sort of kinship that they shared. Just recognition in a smoky bar.
It was a month or so later perhaps that he’d returned, but he’d bypassed his usual table to disappear into the back with her master. She hadn’t been lax in her curiosity over the man and had learned through several of the men he usually played with that he was more than he at first appeared. Though she’d not discerned his personal name, one echoed in his wake, Black Sun. Apparently this should’ve at first been obvious to her, because when he’d returned that day she’d noticed for the first time the tattoo that poked up from under his heavy jacket, the mark of the Black Sun Crime Syndicate. It sort of made her tremble inside, a girlish fear and revelry in a man who was dangerous. But she didn’t get much chance to wonder on that.
When he returned from the back room he looked smug, something that didn’t seem quite right on his handsome face. (Few could call a Falleen anything but.) It may have just been the way he watched her as he moved, as if she was less than worth his time. He’d even sneered as he’d left and she probably pouted the rest of the night. It was only later she learned that he’d come interested in her purchase and that her master had turned him away, saying that she was worth far more to him than whatever Rax was willing to pay. This of course was a bluff, Luka had a knack with liars and her master was an easy read. He’d fall for the right price, though what Rax was willing to pay was another question entirely.
Luka liked a mystery, a little intrigue, it was all well and good when you weren’t the one in the dark. That position she wasn’t much fond of and her attitude soured for several days until unexpectedly Rax as she now knew him to be returned, this time with a deal her master couldn’t pass up. It would be a card game of course, sabacc with her papers as the prize for the winner. Rax had put his own ship up against her in this contest and though she was want to be embarrassed she saw the move for what it was. In all the times she’d watched him play he’d never lost, not once. He was a shrewd card player and far luckier than any man should be. She’d watched him play for hours and had not yet figured out just how he played so well.
The match was set that evening and she’d played her music softly, dancing in the background of the contest. Her master was perhaps the most sober she’d seen him in her entire life, sweat beading along his brow over narrowed red eyes. The hands had played pretty evenly up until the end, when Rax had fallen behind and only by luck of the draw had drawn up ahead in points. A draw that was far too lucky as far as Luka was concerned. But she wouldn’t point that out just yet, not with her future hanging on the line.
Curses and threats and a small bar fight followed, her master screaming about being swindled and several regulars and the bartenders dragging him down. He always fought when he got sober, silly man. Eventually though, he handed the papers over and shoved her out without much ado. She didn’t even get to scoop up what few possessions she’d had, though she did have a sizeable chunk of money on her.
Later she’d learn much about Rax, like the fact that he regularly cheated at cards, using a trick card he often slipped into his hand. She’d also learn that he was an important man, a leader of a pirate fleet for the Black Sun and he’d be the one to train her for her life in piracy. He’d be the man she looked to as a model for life, a man who was free as he could be and though she wore a chain to mark her slavery (for he had not freed her) she hoped one day to prove herself worthy to him. There had to have been something he’d seen in her, the way he looked at her suggested as much.
For the next few years she’d work under him, pushing pieces into place as he desired. Now and then he’d send her off on her own, even giving her own small command on the outskirts of the Inner Rim. He never let her get too far though, he always brought her back to him and for the time being she didn’t quite mind. Not now anyway.
Species: Ryn
Age: 25
Profession: Entertainer/Pirate Captain
Current Photo: http://i44.tinypic.com/5x64uo.jpg
Fingertips toyed with a small trinket, twisting the metallic piece this way and that along the length of chain. Pressed iron embossed with a symbol of a wandering spirit for she indeed was that. Humor twisted her lips and eyes narrowed against the bright light of the single sun overhead. It was refreshing to be out in the real air finally after days underwater on Manaan. Ahto was a pleasant change of pace as far as she was concerned and a hand lifted to shade her eyes when she turned away from the open window.
The room she’d turned back to was a simple set of rooms where she’d holed up while investigating a little trouble down at Bik’s. It was one of the first times in recent months that she was actually on her own, usually accompanied by members of her small crew. However this detail was her own, a chance perhaps to further prove herself to the Black Sun and find herself her own ship. No more dingy, hand me down freighters for her. Not if she could help it anyway. Falling heavily back into the bed, she let out a sigh and closed her eyes.
This was definitely different from where she started out; though the story changed depending on her mood and the crowd she told it to. Couldn’t let people get too comfortable with the life they chose to live and she seldom told her own the same twice. A few details seemed confident in their placement along the timeline of her life though, so that the people who had know her longest might gain an inkling of understanding into the reasons why she was who she had become.
Her planet of origin was not one of the ironed down facts, if only because truthfully she wasn’t too sure of it herself. Very few slaves were, though she wouldn’t throw something like that out just willy nilly. Could ruin a girl’s reputation. The earliest solid fact she could really remember was from her time on the Wheel. She was a dancer and an entertainer, something she spun into a more luxurious career when she actually told it. In truth she was slave under the thumb of a drunkard who happened to have run into luck at one point in his life, bought a bar and then proceeded to squander what luck he’d had on booze and women.
Luka was only 13 years old at the time and had won quite a bit of affection from the clientele, though many of them were more near scum than most people could appreciate. She was far from the usual little girl, well aware of her early budding body and various attributes that led men to lean their ears just that much closer to the secrets that dripped from her lips. She had a hand with a deck of Sabacc cards and could outplay most of the men who came around though she seldom shared that, instead offering herself as a little luck charm between dances, settling herself in some man’s lap and whispering her tricks into his ear as if it were only the passing giggles of a pretty girl. No one lost with her at their side, though they never presumed it had anything to do with her suggestions.
At least not until one man recognized her for more than a little luck. He was a darker gentleman, not only in physical appearance but in humor. Often teasing her when she offered to help, threatening her as if she might bring him only bad luck instead, for pretty girls often were fickle. She had dismissed this with a giggle and instead offered him a song, playing at the table long after the deck had soured and the money was gone. The stranger had smiled at her and tipped his hat to her, leaving her a nice tip and then was gone. She’d almost forgotten him when he returned again several weeks later, again only asking a song, watching her carefully when she offered luck to his competitor’s. It came to a point that when he played she no longer offered help to anyone else, watching him pointedly while she entertained the party
He came and went nearly the entire year, until shortly after her 17th birthday when he disappeared. It was rather disappointing, because she’d hinted to him that he might be a better patron if he perhaps visited her on her birthday. Perhaps it had been silly of her to think he might’ve taken her seriously and though she’d eventually learned his name and become genial with him, it was by no means a close sort of kinship that they shared. Just recognition in a smoky bar.
It was a month or so later perhaps that he’d returned, but he’d bypassed his usual table to disappear into the back with her master. She hadn’t been lax in her curiosity over the man and had learned through several of the men he usually played with that he was more than he at first appeared. Though she’d not discerned his personal name, one echoed in his wake, Black Sun. Apparently this should’ve at first been obvious to her, because when he’d returned that day she’d noticed for the first time the tattoo that poked up from under his heavy jacket, the mark of the Black Sun Crime Syndicate. It sort of made her tremble inside, a girlish fear and revelry in a man who was dangerous. But she didn’t get much chance to wonder on that.
When he returned from the back room he looked smug, something that didn’t seem quite right on his handsome face. (Few could call a Falleen anything but.) It may have just been the way he watched her as he moved, as if she was less than worth his time. He’d even sneered as he’d left and she probably pouted the rest of the night. It was only later she learned that he’d come interested in her purchase and that her master had turned him away, saying that she was worth far more to him than whatever Rax was willing to pay. This of course was a bluff, Luka had a knack with liars and her master was an easy read. He’d fall for the right price, though what Rax was willing to pay was another question entirely.
Luka liked a mystery, a little intrigue, it was all well and good when you weren’t the one in the dark. That position she wasn’t much fond of and her attitude soured for several days until unexpectedly Rax as she now knew him to be returned, this time with a deal her master couldn’t pass up. It would be a card game of course, sabacc with her papers as the prize for the winner. Rax had put his own ship up against her in this contest and though she was want to be embarrassed she saw the move for what it was. In all the times she’d watched him play he’d never lost, not once. He was a shrewd card player and far luckier than any man should be. She’d watched him play for hours and had not yet figured out just how he played so well.
The match was set that evening and she’d played her music softly, dancing in the background of the contest. Her master was perhaps the most sober she’d seen him in her entire life, sweat beading along his brow over narrowed red eyes. The hands had played pretty evenly up until the end, when Rax had fallen behind and only by luck of the draw had drawn up ahead in points. A draw that was far too lucky as far as Luka was concerned. But she wouldn’t point that out just yet, not with her future hanging on the line.
Curses and threats and a small bar fight followed, her master screaming about being swindled and several regulars and the bartenders dragging him down. He always fought when he got sober, silly man. Eventually though, he handed the papers over and shoved her out without much ado. She didn’t even get to scoop up what few possessions she’d had, though she did have a sizeable chunk of money on her.
Later she’d learn much about Rax, like the fact that he regularly cheated at cards, using a trick card he often slipped into his hand. She’d also learn that he was an important man, a leader of a pirate fleet for the Black Sun and he’d be the one to train her for her life in piracy. He’d be the man she looked to as a model for life, a man who was free as he could be and though she wore a chain to mark her slavery (for he had not freed her) she hoped one day to prove herself worthy to him. There had to have been something he’d seen in her, the way he looked at her suggested as much.
For the next few years she’d work under him, pushing pieces into place as he desired. Now and then he’d send her off on her own, even giving her own small command on the outskirts of the Inner Rim. He never let her get too far though, he always brought her back to him and for the time being she didn’t quite mind. Not now anyway.
