Aptly Named (Rhi, Spice)

[Spicious]

To the mind of Jack Ovhall, The Cancer was aptly named. A cesspool of degenerates and scum. He had just exited a small, backwater bar with shitty customers and drinks to match. He wasn't surprised he spent so much time on the maze of a space station. He was an assassin, after all, and wherever there was the scum of the earth--or space in this case-- he'd find work.

His current job would be interesting, he knew. It was an assassination, of course, but his target was very lucky it seemed. A pirate captain by the name of Ari Maxwell who captained the sassy juice. According to Jack's employer--An apparent rival of Ari's but Jack doubted the large man would even be remembered--Ari was a "lucky son-of-a-bitch bastard too controlling for his own damn good".

Jack didn't care how lucky this man was. He was his target now and he would die, simple as that.

[Rhi-Rhi]

Ari was lucky. Incredibly lucky! He should have died a hundred times over already, and it was sheer luck (and determination) that found him captaining a ship in the first place.

But luck could be a weird, fickle thing. For instance, it probably wasn't very lucky that just as Jack was exciting the bar, Ari roughly brushed shoulders with the guy on his way heading in.

He didn't think anything of the dude. Just another scumbag like him. And he wasn't dressed for a fight or for business, in a pair of cargo pants, combat boots, and a tank top that showed off the artwork covering both his arms. He stood out in a crowd, and he was just cocky enough to want the attention, good or bad alike.

But even casual, he was never unprepared, either. He had a 9mm pistol holstered at his thigh and a military issue blade sheathed in on boot. He had a knack for seeking out trouble, and having it find him.

Right then, though, he just wanted a drink, and he took a seat at the bar, leaned his cheek on his hand, and yawned as he flagged the bartender down with his free hand. He'd already had some cheap instant coffee to wake him up, and now it was time for the booze! Mixing sedatives and stimulants? Always a great idea! Especially when he was still groggy, but, you know. Gotta get the good booze while he could, because he'd be trapped in space with disgusting shit for weeks coming up soon!

[Spicious]

Jack frowned slightly as the stranger bumped into him. He narrowed his eyes and sent out of a wave of psionic energy towards the man. If he wouldn't be missed by anyone important, Jack planned on slicing him in half when he came out of the shithole.

He was careful to make sure his mental intrusion was subtle, he wouldn't want to spook the man into running off. Jack knew he couldn't stay connected long before he'd be noticed. He waited till the man had entered the building and then moved to the alley next to the establishment.

He closed his eyes and waited till the man had sat down before even beginning to search his mind. In his mind's eyes, Jack pictured himself walking through a museum. A museum of memories and past experiences. He focused on the man's name and he saw the museum shift and change till he saw only a picture before him if a rainbow-haired man with tattooed arms and dark skin.

A name flashed in his mind: Ari Maxwell.

He broke off the connection with a start, grinning at his own apparent luck. His grinned vanished. replaced by a deep frown when he realized his sudden disconnect would be like a slamming door in Ari's mind. And Jack knew the captain would find it suspicious if he entered the bar again. This man was very lucky, indeed.

[visualspice]

She couldn't believe the luck she was sent to patrol out here. Though she had an obscure target of 'Check out any pirating activity and quell those taking advantage of Aedolian goods.' Frankly, without investigating, it seemed almost the whole populace here could fit that description. Thankfully she at least had some leads in the form of visual bounties that she could pull up on her wrist reader when she needed to. But after the long trip out here....

She needed a drink. And when she entered the place, she was soon regretting  her choice. However, recalling her last visit to The Cancer, she wasn't going to really find any bars better than this, and moved to take a seat. But before she could flag down the bartender, she thought she felt something strange, and suddenly looked to the man beside her with the arm full of tattoos.

[Rhi-Rhi]

...Something was off.

Ari felt it indeed, a strange sensation in his head--like he hadn't been alone in it, like a presence had just left it and left behind its taint like oily fingerprints on glass. He shuddered, his muscles tensing and breath stopping as the eerie reality struck him.

Someone had been inside his head.

He had felt it before, and that was how he could recognize it, and just as it had before, it left him feeling unsettled and...violated. Letting his breath out slowly, he cast a look around the bar while trying to be subtle about it, even as goosebumps rose along his bare arms.

I fucking hate psychics. Mind rapists, all of them. And his mind was the only part of him that really felt like it washis, despite all the tattoos and piercings he'd given himself to stake his claim on his own damned skin.

But no one in the bar was giving off any tells. Everyone seemed absorbed in their own thing, no one seemed like they were concentrating deeply. And the moment had passed anyway, but it was still fucking creepy. Someone had been inside his head, and he wondered how long they had been there and what they'd seen.

Also, it probably meant they'd picked him for a reason. He was a criminal. Was someone on the prowl?

Ari scowled into his drink and took another long swallow, his mood souring. Couldn't a guy just enjoy a goddamned drink in peace--oh, hello.

A woman sat down beside him, pretty but not remarkably so, and he looked over at her curiously--because she actually stood out in her plainness. The Cancer was filled with colorful sorts, people riddled with tattoos and colorful hair, people who weren't even human. It had such a variety of colorful people that a lack of color stood out even more. But she carried herself in that stiff, straight-backed, soldierly sort of way, and that stood out, too. Not a lot of people here carried themselves like that, even if they were fighters. Most pirates didn't have that sort of formal military training.

Most might not even recognize it, except Ari's family had been soldiers.

"Hey there," he said with a nod, deciding to leave the head-violation alone for now. Nothing he could do about it until he had more clues. "Just get off a job? Ya should let your hair down. Relax a little. I bet you'd look gorgeous with it down, not that ya don't already."

[visualspice]

Erthe simply stared at him blankly after such a comment. Was this for real? Was this man trying to flirt with her? This is why she avoided these sorts of locations. It was more of a head ache than it was worth.

"A soldier is never off the job," she told him coldly, and once served her drink, she went on to ignore him and hoped to enjoy it in silence.

[Spicious]

Jack stood in the alley, sending out a massive wave of Psionic energy to all the bar's patron's except his target. There were several people near Ari. A soldier. The bartender. Something else the assassin couldn't be bother to remember.

He narrowed his focus, reaching further out to the soldier so that he could see and listen through her eyes and ears. The downside of this, of course, is that it instantly let the host be aware of the impending presence in their mind. People didn't tend to like that.

Still, the risk was worth it and Jack was confident he could hide in the maze for as long as needed.

Ari would die tonight.

[visualspice]

The sudden presence inside her mind made her drop her drink. It hit off the edge of the bar, falling to the ground with a smash. And before any one knew what was happening, Erthe was on her feet, gun drawn. Her eyes scanned the crowd for the culprit, but she was soon swearing beneath her teeth. Whoever was doing it might not even be in the bar. Some magics were so invasive and could reach far and still be precise. And whoever was doing it knew what they were doing.