Nar Shaddaa

It was bad enough that he had work overtime, he had to spend it catering to some entitled celebrity who thought the Imperial compound was only opened for her amusement. It was easily the longest hour of his day and he was glad as soon as it was over. Vec paid the Yellow Viper Cantina a visit tonight and he fought through the crowds to grab a seat at the bar. He took some credits from his coat pocket and laid them on the counter preemptively. "One...nah, make that two shots. Something bold and strong."

The bartender nods and gets the Imperial some drinks right away.

Vec gave two approving nods when his drinks were poured before him, in the situation he needed to down both of them in quick succession. It didn't seem necessary in this case as he tossed back the first of the shots and turned over the glass. He gave a slight grunt as the burning sensation was felt on the throat and chest, hit harder than the blaster shot he took yesterday and none of the first-degree burns. "Ugh, good stuff. Just what I needed."

The bartender, a grimy togruta in his later years says, "Rough day, Imperial?"

"Rough?" Vec repeated hypothetically as he looked to the bartender. What? I'm going to complain that I had a rough day because I had to cater to some dumbass celebrity? That'll get me laugh out of the cantina. Heck, that'll get me laughed off the moon. He rubbed his jawline and gave an hapless shrug, seemingly at a loss of where to begin.

"Nah, my man," he said with a wry smirk. "My day's great. Just got off work, got to hang out with a celebrity. Just taking some shots to calm my nerves after all that."

"Which one?" the bartender says as he starts filling another order. "Rubbing shoulders with the rich, must be nice."

"I don't know, the one with the hair and the breasts," he murmured on a defensive note, intentionally keeping the identity to himself. The last thing he wanted to find out was that he was chatting with a fan. "A detail like that must have only happened if someone's arm got twisted, believe me. She probably was looking for inspiration, or a promo, or both. I guess it might be nice if I was a fan, but you know they say about shit and it happened to roll down my way."

"Well no celebrities here, at least of the pop culture kind. Need another drink, bud?" the bartender asks as he cleans his hands.

Vec took his second shot glass and down half its contents this time. It wasn't enough to give him pause like before but enough for a strong sensation. "Yeah, I could use something smoother to follow up with this. I'm not trying to get drunk, just get the edge off. Whatever you can recommend."

He gave a quick a quick stroke of his chin and gave a quick glance at both sides of the bar. "So, what kind of celebrities do you have around here then?"

"Mostly the kind that make the Hutts money," he says pouring a clear liquor for the Imperial.

"Plus whatever we can get from Republic space. None would be caught dead here, too rough probably for their blood. Mandalorians tend to fight first and ask questions later."

"I probably should have figured that's the type of people who pass off as celebrities around here. Not exactly the sort of spotlight that most people want, when people think of fame," he said as he tossed back the remainder of his drink, setting the shot glass next to the point he flipped over from before.

He took the next serving of liquor and set down the credits for it. "Eh, if they're not willing to sit here, probably not my type of company anyways."

"Thanks for keeping me company," he said as he raised the glass in a small toast. "I better let you get back to work around here."

"Any time, Imperial," the bartender says and adds, "One more for the road, on the house?"

Vec did consider it, if only for a moment. It's not every day he was given a free drink on the house. If he truly wanted to poison him, he probably would have done it two drinks ago. He gave a small shrug and waved the proverbial drink over. "If you're offering, why not? Much appreciated."

The man nods and pours one last drink and then moves on to the other customers.