Space Bar Shenanigans

In a neutral territory of space, Ya Hir was spending his down time at a classy bar. It had a ceiling made entirely of glass which showed off the brightly colored galaxy above them. Unfortunately, Ya Hir wasn't enjoying the view. In fact, he wasn't enjoying any of the visual atmosphere of the bar. His eyes were completely white in color with no pigment. He could see nothing out of either of his eyes.

Ya Hir slipped past a table of cooing women, hoping none of them recognized him. He knew the chance was slim, considering his well-known status as a Pilot even in neutral territories of space far from his home world. He took an empty seat at the bar and smiled in the general direction of the bartender. His short, pointed ears twitched as he tuned into the conversation of the table of women behind him.

Isn't that Ya Hir...? one of them whispered in a hushed tone.
Her friend chimed in, Oh my gosh, it is! Oh, we're so lucky to be in the same bar as him....
Shh, what if he turns around and sees us? the first girl gasped. The other one scoffed.
Don't you know anything? she sighed. Pilots are blind, dumbass. They're only permitted to see when they fly. It's to hone their senses so that when they fly, they can completely tune into that visual world. Aaers have the best pilots in the world because of it. Their Pilots are said to be able to navigate an asteroid field without breaking a sweat. Oooh, can you imagine having nerves of steel like that?
Ya Hir slicked his hair out of his face and he heard the same woman gasp as she caught sight of the ports beside his eyes.
Ooh, see! Okay, so, those ports by his eyes, they're for--
Oh, who caaares about all that, he's just cute, come on, let's go talk to him!!

Ya Hir frowned and tapped his lithe fingers against the bar, a smile forming on his face. Although he had planned to this leave actually spending time on his own, he wouldn't pass up the opportunity to chat up some ladies...

Before either of the women had a chance to approach him, a large man took the seat next to the famed pilot.

"I think I recognize you," he said in a steady, low voice. "You're a pilot or something, aren't you? Tell me where I've seen your face."

He slid a credit card onto the polished surface of the bar, and dictated a simple drink order to the bartender.

Ya Hir was momentarily surprised before he smiled once more. He turned his head towards the new man, stirring the little umbrella in his large and oddly colored drink.

"You probably know me as Ya Hir. Yes, I'mthe Ya Hir; famous, elite Aaer Pilot. I single handedly piloted my ship through unknown space filled with wreckage and asteroids in what is known as one of the most harrowing piloting experiences of my time. I've heard the video is used in training materials for new Pilots." He grinned a bit too widely at his own bragging. "If you want, I could regale you with the tale."

"Asteroids are pretty far apart--doesn't sound too hard. Should I be impressed? Or do you have anything else more interesting to your name?"

He sipped his drink, the glass clinking against his hand--he was wearing many rings.

Ya Hir furrowed his brows for a short second.

"I've logged thousands of hours of flight time, not once had an incident to my name; no crashes, no brushes, not even a near miss. I'm within the top five Pilots with seven medals to my name, most of which I earned in my first ten years of service." He sounded much more insistent to prove himself and less like he was bragging. That 'nerves of steel' attitude that he'd had just a second ago seemed to be all but lost until he smiled at the very end of his short rant. "But none of that matters until you see my piloting skills in action. In fact, I have my own personal ship docked just outside....it's an open invitation if you want to see my skills in action."

"I suppose. It'd be convenient--I have an errand to run today." He paused, then chuckled. "I suppose I shouldn't buy you a drink first."

Ya Hir chuckled as well. "We can have a drink later, if you'd like."

"Fine. But I'm buying--I don't know how much pay a pilot gets, and I want good drinks." He drained his glass and set it down on the counter with a clink. He stood up from his chair, tapping his foot expectantly for Ya Hir to lead the way.

Ya Hir stood as well and made his way through the bar without much incident. Despite being blind, he moved with confidence and without bumping into anything on the way.

He made his way to the docking station just outside the bar and felt along the signs for the one labelled A-5. He tapped away on the buttons on the terminal until the door to his ship finally opened up. It was a small but relatively expensive ship. He stepped inside and reached for the ports to the left and right of him. He shoved them into the ports on either side of his eyes. His eyes flickered for a few seconds before they began to glow a soft blue. Ya Hir turned the ports and pulled out the cords, but the original ports stayed in.

"Make yourself at home."

The man, who stood at an impressive 6'4, rolled his shoulders and smiled. His teeth were clean and white, but his canines gleamed abnormally sharp. Only one of his eyes met Ya Hir's gaze; the other was covered by a black patch. Scars peered through the neatly groomed stubble on his tan face. This was a man who had seen combat.

His attire told a different story, however: he wore a clean, fancy uniform adorned with a sash and many metals, and his long hair was neatly slicked back and braided. He was clearly dressed as a high-level politician--an ambassador, perhaps.

"Don't mind if I do--I'm told you and I will be spending a lot of time together during my stay." He extended a hand to shake.

Ya Hir stared blankly at the man, as if he was still blind. His expressions cycled through complete shock to the slightest bit of anger and finally settled on disappointment. So much for sleeping with him, he supposed.

"You could have told me who you were," he replied, putting his hands on his hips.

"You never asked," he responded with a shrug; his grin widened. "You may call me Ambassador Kaplan. You said you're Ya Hir, correct? The pilot assigned with being my escort?"

He glanced around the ship, taking a deep breath. "God, I miss my military days."

Note to self, Ya Hir thought to himself, always ask their name first.

That grin on his face made his own expression sour just a little bit more. "Yes, I am Ya Hir, the Pilot assigned to escort you. Although, if I recall, I'm not officially assigned to you until tomorrow morning."

"I was in the neighborhood," he mused. "I saw you and thought I'd introduce myself--you just never asked. One would assume blind career military men are typically more cautious."

Ya Hir felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment. He'd never had this issue before (somehow).

"Well, I've learned my lesson, haven't I?" he ran a hand through his hair out of slight exasperation. "In any case, what did you have in mind? I can get you anywhere in the galaxy in the shortest time possible."

"Where we go depends entirely on how much of this mission is going to be reported and how much is...off the record." He placed a large hand on Ya Hir's shoulder. "I've been there, pilot--I know how it is. I also know the kind of rewards someone in a diplomatic office has to offer in exchange for a little discretion."

Ya Hir rose an eyebrow and smiled wryly.

"Oh, is that how this is going to be?" Ya Hir clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "That depends entirely on what it is you're asking me to hide and what it is you're offering in return."

"If I were to take a detour to say, an establishment of ill-repute--would word get out? The reward would be up to your discretion, of course." He sat down on one of the seats attached to the wall, his legs spreading in a relaxed but power-displaying pose. He twisted a ring around his finger, his eye never leaving Ya Hir.

"Well," Ya Hir replied slowly. He was jeopardizing his entire career as a Pilot by accepting a bribe like this. On the other hand, having the ability to pull political favors somewhere in the near future could be exactly what he needed.... He shifted his weight to the other foot as he mulled over his next response. He sat down on the installation of seats across from the ambassador. He folded his hands and put them in his lap.

"Since, technically, my mission doesn't start until tomorrow...whatever we do tonight is off the books and purely between the two of us." He said after a few minutes of deliberation. "And, if things go well, we'll see about keeping other things off the books later on. How does that sound?"

He grinned broadly, stretching the scar on his lips.

"Chart a course for the nicest brothel you can think of--I'm not too familiar with this neck of space.

"And do tell me, before we go too far--what price do you have in mind? I'm curious. A man who doesn't name his price first is typically the scheming sort, is he not?"

He stood up, flipping his long braid over his shoulder and chuckling.

"Not that that's necessarily a bad thing."

"I'll name my price when the time is right," he replied with a slight shrug as he moved to the cock pit, motioning for the ambassador to follow him. As he stepped over the threshold a synthetic woman's voice greeted him. "Welcome back, Ya Hir! You weren't gone very long; you better be alone."

Ya Hir just rolled his eyes as he began to strip down to his skintight flight suit. He shoved his clothes onto a nearby counter and jumped onto his pilot's seat. He motioned for the ambassador to take a seat next to him.

The ambassador gracefully seated himself next to Ya Hir.

"You know, I would gladly pay for your own...companionship. Or I suppose we could share, depending on your preference." He laughed. "God knows I got up to all sorts of things when I was in the military."

Now that he was sitting next to Ya Hir, something was a little more obvious; namely, a bulge along the leg of his pants.

Ya Hir laughed at first as he adjusted his position in the seat. He looked over at the ambassador and realized very quickly he wasn't joking.

"What sorts of things, exactly?" Ya Hir asked with a sly grin. "I can't help but wonder if you've done anything crazier than I have."

"Once a friend and I did a particular maneuver resembling a...triangular tower, with a certain worker of the night. That was one of the tamer things I did in my youth--I know, because I remember all of it." He chuckled.

Ya Hir grinned, obviously amused.

"I've done that before. Although, I was sleeping with a higher up of mine and she and her husband were the ones..." he coughed as he blushed deeply. "Never mind."