milliways_bar | First Entrance

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First Entrance

There were days when Kyle liked getting up in the morning. Then there were days like this.

He still ached but had insisted he could walk from medical on his own back to his quarters. The taste of bacta hung in the back of his mouth like bantha breath making the young man wonder just what the stuff was actually made of. While it was a life saving item, it was one of the most disgusting tastes he had ever encountered and growing up on a farm there were a lot of things his mother had tried making him eat. After the events on AX-456 he hoped he never had to do it again. The sharp contrast of the Imperial cruiser didn't match is mood at all. Tomorrow there would be a medal ceremony before he was tossed back into the fire and to be quite honest Kyle didn't know if he was up for it. Not after everything his squad had been through.

Scrubbing a hand back through still wet hair he sighed. The collar of his Imperial uniform felt too tight against his neck especially after having been in scrubs for a few hours before being released.It felt like his armor did- uncomfortable, confining. In truth if it hadn't been for the odd things he had seen they'd have all died. But that, in its self, made the stark cadet uniform he wore feel even worse. He was dreading tomorrow.

Hitting the button on the wall he relished in the rush of cool air escaping his quarters as the door wooshed open. With eyes closed he limped in, hand pressed against his still sore side, before stepping in. "Lights on," he ordered, hearing the sound of the door closing behind him. It was when he opened his eyes he saw the most unexpected scene before him. A bar- no, club, no- canteen. What the frak was going on?

Clearly he had to still be dreaming in the bacta tank.

Reaching around he pinched himself on the arm and made a sound, yelping as he did so.

Welcome to Milliways, Kyle.

[tiny tag: Kyle Katarn]

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Nothing else sounds like Imperial boots, Cassian looks up from his datapad and watches the cadet pinch himself.

Good, that gives him an advantage, he walks over in his black leather jacket with a blaster at his side, his hands open and not near his weapon, the picture of a down on his luck pilot, "I guess Milliways surprised you."

His smile is tight, but present, this is what he does.

Edited 2018-02-21 23:29 (UTC)

Don't remind him of the boots. It hurt like heck trying to get them on. Rubbing at his arm where he had self pinched, the stormtrooper cadet glanced at the pilot with a frown. They were no doubt close to the same age- Kyle clean shaven and neat compared to Cassian's disheveled appearance. However for Katarn this was the best chance to get out of the farming business and do something with his life. Just... no. He had to be dreaming. He was still in a bacta tank in medical recovering from his wounds.

Even his expression said he wasn't fully buying it.

"If you mean hallucination caused by too much bacta then yes. I was hoping for my bed, but a canteen will do I suppose," he replied dryly, a tired wry smile crossing his face before he winced again. That's what he got for trying to stand straight. "Will be surprised if I remember this when they dig me out."

"No, its real though it doesn't seem like it. Milliways, Bar at the End of the Universe. End of the Universe is over there,"

He gestures to the Window, not turning himself, its all his childhood nightmares of space battles and waits to see how the cadet acts.

And there is Kyle holding his arm out to Cassian to pinch it this time as he stares at the fireworks going on out there.

It's amazing, wonderful, beautiful, and terrifying. No- no Kyle would not be looking at that ever again.

"There's no way there's anything like this on the ship. Or you." Turning a side-eye towards Cassian he frowned a little, studying the other man carefully. If this was real, truly real, it was like the premonitions he had been getting the last year. Force help him this was adding up to be a heck of a week.

Cassian looks at the cadet's arm, not certain what he's expected to do, "Its real, think of it like a pocket in hyperspace. What ship are you on?"

Edited 2018-02-21 23:55 (UTC)

"Pinch it. Go ahead. Hard as you can." In truth Kyle was probably going to regret that but right then he didn't care. He was beat up enough as it was that a few bruises weren't going to make any difference. All he needed was a true second opinion that he was, in fact, awake. His mother always said that it was the best way to wake ones self up if they were truly dreaming. If it didn't work, well, then he was awake.

However at the question of which ship he was on he simply shrugged his shoulders, wincing as he did so. "Just a ship. You know how our type is- they all look the same."

Space was truthfully cold and uninviting. Kyle liked the feel of solid ground beneath his feet more even if he was a decent pilot. "So how does this work. I mean- expecting the refresher and finding a bar might be interesting."

He eyes the cadet because this would be a good set up if they weren't in Milliways. Cassian gives the cadet a medium strength pinch and his eyebrows go up a little at that loose description.

Ships matter and what kind of ship you're on for Imps usually shows how important they think they are,

"The door opens, you're in Milliways. Time stops on the other side and opens again when you step out. People come in from all times and places. Three rules; no violence, no nudity, no outside business. That means if you meet someone that you have a problem with on the other side of the door, you don't do anything in the main bar. If you want to fight, there's a gym and outside."

Kyle winced, raising his other hand up to rub at his arm. Well there was no fading world, no sounds of medical machines, and certainly no bacta. He truthfully wasn't dreaming. At the quick description of how the bar was set up he grinned. "So I can walk right back out that door and be on-" turning he paused. Then he blinked. Then the frown set up so deep set it would have given Han Solo a run for his money. "And if it's not there?"

Cassian was tossed another look before the other man reached up to loosen the collar of his uniform. Light blast him it felt good to really breathe again. There were just some things the farmboy couldn't push behind him and that, in a sense, was comfort. Fitting into the Imperial mold was rough even if he was a star at the academy.

"Not every door will open to Milliways and sometimes your door won't open here and you have to wait,"

It hasn't happened yet to Cassian, he thinks Bar knows how he hates being trapped, "First drink's free."

Perhaps he needs it more. Though when the medal ceremony came about he was going to have to act hurt if this place kept him there longer than expected. That was going to be fun trying to explain it to others if they figured it out.

Offering his hand to Cassian he gave the man a smile. Regardless of who or what he was, and regardless of what he most certainly was. Not all Imperials were... bad. Right? "I'll drink to that. Kyle Katarn."

That's an interesting response, this Imp might be useful if he knew a bit more. In Milliways, he couldn't rely on how things seemed, too many variables of time and place even in his own galaxy.

Cassian shakes his hand then gestures to the counter, "Jeron. Drinks are this way and I'll introduce you to Bar. She's the counter and wonderful."

The thing about Kyle was how he was raised. His father was a good man and a very respectable one at that. Even if Kyle had shipped off to go to war after his mother had passed there was a reason for it: being off a planet where he would spend his whole life farming instead of making a difference. While he loved Sulon and his family, there was a larger world out there. Thus why he would offer a hand to 'Jeron' as much as he would some high ranked officer.

"So someone working the bar- because counters aren't sentient unless she's a computer."

"She's not exactly a droid but that's the best way I've found to think of her. In Milliways, its a good idea to keep yourself open because everything here is rarely simple,"

At the counter, he pats it and orders an Alderaan ale.

That made Kyle pause. Keeping an open mind was something he liked to do- well, tried to do. The Empire was pretty closed off at times, but he didn't want to be 'that' Imperial Officer when it came down to it. The Empire was supposed to help people and do all these grand things but... that image was slowly tarnishing. "Like what?" he had to ask. Cassian opened the door so he had to get examples.

And then the drink just appeared. Yes that would be Kyle standing there, looking down at Bar, eyes wide for a second before they started to narrow. Maybe he wasn't as open minded as he thought he was. "Okay. How."

"I've yet to hear a good answer of how. The common one is magic,"

He shrugs and takes a drink of his ale and waits to see what Kyle does.

In truth, what was Kyle to do? He didn't know how Bar worked nor did he know how she just popped a drink up to this other man without him even asking. Besides it wasn't like she would probably let him drink anyway. He still smelled like medical.

So, instead, he simply reached out resting a hand on top of the bar's surface and seemed quite surprised. "Real wood?" It wasn't common those sorts were seen in bars unless it was very high-end establishment.

"Yes, its fairly common here, there's a forest and mountains out back,"

Cassian's learned that's what's normal in Milliways fits different expectations but they're ones he's learned to know. Though he finds it odd that's what the cadet chooses to mention.

Edited 2018-02-24 00:48 (UTC)

A forest and mountains out back.

That made Kyle blink. There was an out back? The expression he shot Cassian was one of curiosity rather than refocusing on Bar. He wanted to see outback. He hadn't seen anything but space and asteroids in months. "Where's out back?"

"Through the back door, you can see it through that window,"

He gestures to the back and also to a smaller window that shows the lake and forest.

Garyn bites down on his pipe and smiles, his red eyes glittering behind a plume of hackle-lo smoke.

"Fair play to you, I thought this place was a dream at first, too."

"I still have to be in a bacta tank. I mean, the pain meds they give can cause a bar to just... appear in ones quarters yeah?" Had to be. That was the only reasoning that Kyle could come up with at that given time for why something strange was going on here. Stepping back and looking out the door he could see people in the hall coming his way so, quickly, he stepped inside allowing the door to close behind him.

There was just no way he could explain this or want to fill out all the paperwork. Or get kicked out. He wasn't sure which exactly was going to be worse. "What is this place?"

"You're in Milliways," Garyn says, "the tavern at the end of the universe."

Garyn taps his pipe against an ashtray and sets it down.

"And you're as awake as you've ever been."

"Tavern at the what?"

It was a logical question- he'd never heard of that before nor knew if he really wanted to be at the end of the universe. Because what really defined the end of the universe? A border or the real end? There was hesitation in his voice as he motioned back to where he had entered from. "No. I'm pretty sure this has got to be one strange medical induced dream."

"It's possible, of course, that my whole life is a dream," Garyn says. "Wouldn't even rule out that it's someone else's."

He empties the rest of the reservoir into the tray.

"But then, the rest of my life, and yours, is no more real than this is, so you'd have to answer where that comes from. Even if I can't tell you how this place exists, or who put it there.

"Besides, would you really turn down a free drink? First one's on the house."

Opening his mouth to reply the Imperial Cadet paused, frowning instead, not knowing how to respond to that. The man did have a point.

Pushing past the riddle of words he nodded his head, moving closer to the where the man is at. Free drinks even in an unconscious state couldn't be that bad could they? "Can't say I say I disagree with that. Free drinks are always nice and appreciated."

"Seems to be something every world has in common," Garyn says. "Alcohol. The similarities are stranger than the differences, sometimes."

Even after all this time, he still finds it off putting how people from all these different realities have the same small, universal cultural aspects. It's the second-most off-putting thing about this place at this point - behind all the Earthers who look at him like he has a third foot growing out of his face. That this man didn't tells him quite a bit about what his reality is like already.

"So where are you coming in from?"

Hey, X! Are you watching Baze not beat on the random Imperial?

The Jedhan still glares at the boy. Old habits die hard.

"It's not a dream. You're in Milliways."

Baze's words are terse and clipped. He wastes no breath when he speaks, and remains completely still, arms folded. He's not a man given over to excess motion anyway, but that's especially true when he's devoting all his attention to glaring at Imperial scum, resisting the urge to reach for the staff strapped to Baze's back.

Well. Kyle certainly appreciates not being beat up even more than he already has been. Stepping inside he pressed his hand to his side feeling sore muscles tense at the sudden movement. He despised being shot but, when you were a Stormtrooper, it was going to happen. However the glare nor the tone went unnoticed to the young Cadet.

Which was why he hesitantly moved around Baze to keep a table between them. He knew that sort of glare all too well. "Are you sure? Because stuff like this can't just pop up over night on a ship. So... still got to be a floater." It was the only thing his mind could wrap around it.

See Baze.

See Baze glare.

Glare, Baze, glare.

"You're not on a ship anymore," he says, and it's only by virtue of his patience that the words aren't a snap.

"You're at the bar at the end of the universe. First drink's free."

Though it shouldn't be to Imperial scum, says his tone.

Every farm boy who joined the Empire had a reason to do so and Kyle had a pretty decent one. Please don't judge the man based on the uniform he wears, Baze. He's a pretty decent guy.

Tugging at the collar of his uniform jacket he frowned. How could he not be on the ship anymore? That was near impossible unless they transported him somewhere else. Were his injuries really that bad? His side twinged in response causing him to flinch. "What do you mean not on the ship and the end of the universe? Because I either got to still be a floater or, well...."

Dead.

Baze sighs. Are all new people this obstinate?

"The bar pulls people in from all over the multiverse," Baze explains, though his tone suggests that some people are pulled in, and that's just unfortunate. He raises a hand and waves down a waitrat.

"One welcome pamphlet, please. And a tip for yourself."

The rat chitters happily at him. He squeaks something back and the waitstaff skitters off, leaving him alone with the Imperial.

Yes. Yes they are. Welcome to being a welcomer, Baze.

Frowning the uniformed man pursed his lips slightly clearly catching on to the attitude towards him. It wasn't a lie there were people out there that didn't like the Empire, but this was the best career shot he had outside of being a farmer. Kyle needed this chance.

Opening his mouth to respond he had to stop when a waitrat came running over and while he shouldn't have been surprised he couldn't help but blink. Okay. So. Strange waiters and rude customers. It felt almost like home. "Thanks..." Kyle replied slowly unsure of what to actually say to the man to get him to, at least, lighten up. "Name's Katarn. Thanks for your help."

Baze waits until the rat comes skittering back with the welcome pamphlet and a glass of water. The Jedhan squeaks something at the waitrat, who chitters happily at him, and then picks up the brochure. He takes a gulp of water, and then offers the pamphlet to the Imperial.

"Baze Malbus. Now. Peruse that. Elsewhere."

Bodhi looks up from the fresh plate of seedcakes he'd just made, eyes widening at the sight of an Imperial uniform. "Oh, hello."

Please forgive Kyle for just standing in the doorway gawking at what should be his quarters. Either he is still floating in a tank of bacta, dead, or someone was playing a very strange prank on him. Kyle honestly didn't know which he was experiencing.

However at the kind greeting he turned his head towards the other man and frowned. "...hi. What's going on here?"

"This is your first time in Milliways? I think there's a pamphlet here somewhere that explains it better than I can." He looks around, trying to find it. "It's a cantina, outside time and space."

Edited 2018-02-24 13:04 (UTC)

Kyle nodded his head. The look of an Imperial star destroyer behind him along with the sounds of it. When he heard people coming he peeked back around the door before quickly stepping in allowing it to close. It was going to be hard enough explaining this to his commanding officers if it was some elaborate prank. Could it be a prank? Force help him he didn't know up from down right then.

"A cantina outside of time and... space? That's really sort of, you know, holovid story yeah?" because that is exactly what it sounded like to Kyle at that given moment.

Bodhi laughs softly. "It is a bit. Takes a lot of getting use to but it is real. And I'm told once you close the door, time stops where you're from. So you can spend as long as you like here without being AWOL."

He nods to the bar. "And the first drink is free."

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First Entrance

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