Happy New All Skate!

[raptorcanaria]

"You know what, let's have a party."

Dinah threw her platinum card (thanks, Oracle) on the Bar and as a result there is free flowing champagne for everyone whose culture, age and religion permits champagne - and top quality soft alternatives for the rest. There are bar snacks doing the rounds around the tables, and delicate winter flower arrangements on each surface.

And most importantly, on the TV screen is a lot of dancing, a giant countdown, and a big ball ready to drop.

...and when the ball drops, something happens.



Welcome to another Milliways All-Skate!
All welcome - yes, that means all. Whether they're retired, deleted, AU, original or already being played by someone else, bring 'em along.

Usual all-skate rules apply:
1. Everyone's stressed out of their mind right now, so have fun!
2. Communication is key.
3. Gratuitous behaviour (either of a violent or sexual nature) will not be tolerated in the bar proper. Take that to an OOM, and then Content Warning the hell out of it before you link it.
4. Much like Vegas, what happens in All Skates, stays in All Skates (in most cases)
5. Please don't be a dick.

Comments

[twoforce]

For everyone's sanity, this particular Warlock is adolescent, cheerful, and hasn't lost his best friend, his master or his brothers yet.

So when he enters the bar and spots the familiar armour, he grins. He's fought with the 21st a couple of times and recognises Bacara immediately - but did not know he came here, so this si good news.

As he strolls up, it's obvious who and what he is - the familiar face of a cadet, but the robes and braid of a Jedi Padawan - and he doesn't expect not to be recognised.

"Marshall Commander," he greets him cheerfully. "Fancy seeing you here."

[OOC: Hi, have a clone Jedi OC. Sorry not sorry.]

[au_bulwark]

[OOC: Heh! OK. 😊]

Bacara stares. It's a face and body he's seen more often than he can count. In padawan robes. When he speaks, his training by Journeyman Defenders is more obvious than usual.

"Tat," he rumbles, "Please tell me you come by those robes honestly."

[twoforce]

The emotion of surprise emanating off the Marshal Commander stops Warlock in his tracks before anything else, his own face creased with confusion for a second. Only a second, though: Milliways gets one used to weirdness.

The questions forces a smirk to crack the side of his mouth. Without looking away he extends his hand towards the nearest table, and a dish of fried paradoxes shudders, shifts, and then leaps out into his waiting hand.

"Does that answer your question?" he asks, grabbing a paradox for himself and offering the rest to Bacara, a level of impishness with an older brother that he definitely didn't learn on Kamino.

It's strange as anything to have to prove himself like that - even with people he's never met before, usually his reputation precedes him by parsecs.

[au_bulwark]

Bacara hesitantly accepts a paradox(!), but just holds it in his hand, for now.

"You know me?" he asks. Then, conditioned reflex kicks in: deference to Jedi, uncomfortably mixed with long habit of commanding younger clones. "Are you a serving Commander? During the conflict with the Separatists?"

Someone should have briefed him about this, if they're from the same time and timeline. (They aren't. Bacara's AU includes one very young Force-sensitive vod cadet, Ottoo, who he doesn't yet know about.)

[twoforce]

Oh there's no doubt that they aren't. Warlock takes a bite of his paradox and gives one nod.

"Yeah," to to all three questions at once. "Master Kolar and I came out to help on Mygeeto a couple of standard months ago."

He wonders for a second how to say 'I'm pretty well known; you must have heard of me' in a way that doesn't make him sound like a slug-rat, and settles on: "you knew of me before we met, though."

News like him gets around.

He puts the dish back on the table and crosses the rest of the way to the bar. "Jedi Commander 65-2490. My name's Warlock - I'm with Commander Viper with the 374th."

[au_bulwark]

"Commander Warlock," says Bacara, "I don't doubt your word, but, to the best of my knowledge, Master Agen Kolar sits on the Jedi Council, on Coruscant, and has never visited Mygeeto. And I have not heard of you before just now, which I certainly should have."

He grabs two napkins, sets the paradox down on one, and wipes his fingers on another. Then he pulls a slightly worn Milliways welcome brochure from a belt pouch.

"Have you been here often enough to know whether this place might have anything to do with the discrepancy? This is only my second visit."

[twoforce]

Warlock's eyes follow the paradox, but decides not to comment. Instead he gives a helpless looking shrug.

"I've been here enough times to know that people from all sorts of different universes come here. Some don't have the Force at all, and I've heard enough people talk about a planet that's like their home planet but different in strange ways.

"Maybe your Kamino had a more reliable cloning process? Fewer... anomalies."

It's not his word, and he's wry about using it.

[au_bulwark]

"Different in strange ways..."

Bacara finds the place he was looking for, in the welcome pamphlet, and reads it aloud:

"The bar is interdimensional; patrons come from different universes, and different times."

"Different universes seem the likeliest explanation, so far. How's the war going, in yours? Any breakthroughs you might be able to share?"

When it comes to anything that could help to keep his men alive, Bacara is not proud. At all.

He picks up the paradox and takes a bite. (At this moment, it tastes like cauliflower tempura. Not that he knows that.)

[twoforce]

"Well, we just came out of a narrow loss in the Kiffu system, so if you get the chance to play that out again tell them to provide more ground troops, including ARC and ARF, and not to rely so much on orbital support."

This is parroted almost verbatum from Viper's post-battle report. But it also comes with a wry smile. "I'm not involved in the wide strategic planning, I'm just a Padawan. But I can grab some datachips next time I'm on Coruscant, if you feel like sharing intel."

He is definitely going to have to run this by someone to get approval for interdimensional intel sharing. He's just not sure who.

[au_bulwark]

"Ah." Bacara squinches his eyes closed, and pinches the bridge of his nose, for a moment. Then he makes eye contact, again.

"Not quite what I meant, sorry. I don't know what the risks are in sharing information about events, across universes. I was thinking in terms of improved equipment or newly discovered and exploitable weaknesses in Sep materiel."

"For instance, one particular GAR company on our side has been making experimental modifications to certain standard-issue equipment and munitions, and some of the mods are distinct improvements over standard. Have you heard of anything along those lines happening on your side?"

[twoforce]

Warlock is regrettably not tech-minded, so after he looks away, embarrassed at having provoked the nose-pinching reaction that says you misunderstood the exercise, he shakes his head.

"Sorry, I haven't heard of any. Doesn't mean they're not happening though. I can check?"

There are other men in his company that talk about weapons a lot more, but a side effect of carrying a lightsaber is a lack of knowledge of other weapory.

[au_bulwark]

Bacara, of course, is mentally kicking himself for his own lack of clarity.

"If it won't interfere with your other duties, I'd appreciate any info that you feel might be useful. I gather that messages can be left with the Bar. In return, I can suggest strengthening informal communications with Torrent. If your men hear anything from Torrent about new jetpacks, new jetpack tactics, or pistol-fired explosives, have them get as much information as they can."

"On the other hand, if they hear the words 'bouncy bombs,' I advise prompt retreat. Those have an dangerously unpredictable area of effect, and Marshall Commander Cody does not approve."

[twoforce]

"Torrent - that's Rex, right?" Being the object of curiosity that he is, Warlock has a much more personal connection to his brothers than mission-led. He can remember names of people better than names of units, anyway.

He'll keep an ear open.

But he does grin. "Cody doesn't approve of a lot of things."

[au_bulwark]

For a moment, Bacara's somber face shows just the faintest smile. "Yes, Captain Rex leads Torrent. General Skywalker and Commander Tahno are their Jedi. In this case, I think Lieutenant Hardcase would be the man with the technical details."

He considers the conversational lure about Cody's disapproval. He's curious, but he limits himself to giving Warlock an ironically questioning Look.

Then he finishes off the paradox, and washes it down with miso broth (which has sadly cooled, but is still tasty). He catches Warlock's eye, and nods toward the basket of paradoxes with something that might pass for acknowledging thanks.

Let's see how Warlock responds to Bacara's silence.

[twoforce]

"I know Ahsoka," Warlock says, helpfully.

She's not a particularly close friend - they move in different circles even within the army, but they've run into each other enough times in the temple. They get on, but he finds her annoying in some ways.

He doesn't know Hardcase, but he doesn't know many of the 501st by name. He'll ask one of the commanders he does know and they'll point him in the right direction.

His response to the silence? To raise an eyebrow and cheerfully take a paradox for himself. He can be an annoying little shit when he remembers he outranks all of his older brothers.

[au_bulwark]

Bacara is very, very used to annoying entities. But he doesn't care to allocate any more of his time or attention to those entities than the situation warrants.

This kid's chirpy sass is not conducive to the kind of restful wind-down Bacara was hoping Milliways might provide, tonight.

Still, there is always duty.

With a completely impassive expression, he asks, "Have you any official questions for me, Commander Warlock?"

[twoforce]

Warlock smile fades somewhat, and he shakes his head.

"No, I'm off duty," he says. "And it's a party. I guess I'll grab a glass of something - " drinking ages meaning nothing when you don't have a childhood " - and maybe head outside for some practice later."

[au_bulwark]

Message received, it seems.

And, well, Bacara is more tired than annoyed. It's not the kid's fault that Bacara's life has had so little room for fun and sociability, or even relaxation. So:

"Good hunting, then," he says, relenting just enough to show Warlock a bit of eye-crinkle.

Then he's up and moving, with a kind of inexorability, to the Bar. There, he makes a brief, low-voiced query about his tab balance, and receives a napkin. He glances up at the tab board, gives the main room a sweeping glance, and then heads for the Door.

On his way out, he catches Warlock's eye and nods, just a little. And then he's gone.

[OOC: Thanks for the thread!]

[twoforce]

[Thank YOU. I promise to tag with an actucal canon character next All Skate!]