[P8 - Gizer- CE] A turning point

[Ross Fisher]

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Graff Station is a small city. Barely a pit stop for refuelling and engineering. Besides all that, their main industry is the world's famous Gizerian Ale. So, fair warning, the place stinks of brewing and unwashed spacers.
The Mandalorian warrior had told me that her brother Rusty was somewhere in the city. Most likely propping up (or asleep under) a bar in the slum quarter; "dishonouring himself" in her words. 
Now, frankly, some of the best people I've ever met have been utterly stewed at the time, and I'd hope they would say the same about me. But I know not everyone carries it so well. And if you're not used to a heavy alcohol habit, things can go very badly wrong. 
So there I was, in a stinking city; looking for a drunk in a city of brewers. A Mandalorian without his armour. A man who, it seemed, so badly didn't want to be found that he'd lost himself in the bottom of a bottle. 
Like I said, it was a small city. Barely 10,000 souls. And yet there was a bar on every street, corner, alleyway and gutter. I had a likeness of the guy, but few people recognised him, and none knew where he was. 

I'd been all over town. Spent nearly two whole days looking, when I finally stumbled across just about the worst corner of that place. Cable's End is a slum much like all the others; all raw sewage and bad life choices. It backs onto one of the steepest slopes in the town, and it regularly rains refuse in the windier months. 

Well, in that small community, I got a lot of shifty looks. Kept my blaster prominently displayed, just so no-one got the wrong idea. 
And eventually, I found what I was looking for.

"Joe's" barely qualifies as a hostelry. It looked suspiciously like a speakeasy that was set up in someone's front room when the city stopped bothering to send inspectors to this corner of the world. 
Perhaps the former residents had been shuffled off somewhere else, but no-one had bothered to change the decor. The carpet was squelchy, and the air reeked of death sticks. And there, in a corner, I found our boy; slumped over a table. 
Before I even bothered to approach him, I had a quick word with the barkeep and paid off his tab. Didn't want angry locals tearing us apart because of an outstanding bill. 
And then I went over. 
"Get lost," said Rusty. I just smiled. "Don't need company." This wasn't going to be easy. I guess nothing worth doing ever is. 

"Rusty," I said, "I know who you are. I've just paid off your cheque. Do me a courtesy and hear me out." He looked at me like a surly teenager, but he didn't kick off.
"I know things aren't great right now. Believe me, I've been there myself. Couple of years ago I hit rock bottom on Nar Shadaa. I lost everything."
"When the Empire crumbled?" He asked. Still sharp, then. This was going to be even harder than I thought. 
"Yeah, when the Empire crumbled... And yes, I know we did some pretty terrible things. But I'm a diplomat. I try to improve things for everyone; So don't begin to imagine that I'm responsible for the fall of Mandalore. If I'd been there, I would've done all I could to stop that." That, at least, seemed to molify him. Head him off before he could take personal offence to me. I sat down.
"The point is," I said, with a wing and a prayer, "the Empire doesn't exist any more. All that's left are shattered remnants. They rise and they fall.
"But Mandalore! Mandalore is still there. Your people still exist. Your culture endures, and you can still be a part of it."
At that he looked me in the eye.
"The hell would you know about my culture?" he demanded. 
"Your sister saved my life," I told him. "Pulled me and my friend from the burning wreckage of our shuttle. She's still fighting the good fight."
"Val?" he asked. "Always was an interfering little so-and-so. S'pose she sent you here to drag me back?"
"I'm not going to stop you from doing what you want," I told him. "But look around you. Is this what you want? Really? For a warrior, this looks a lot like surrender." At that, he got to his feet. Pretty sure he wanted to hit me, but his body wasn't going to obey that instinct. I caught him before he hit the floor.
"Let me go," he demanded. "I can still fight."
"I believe it," I said. "That's why I haven't given up and left. But I want to see you fighting at your best. Not in some dive bar in the armpit of the galaxy." He fixed me with a gimlet eye (Always wanted to use that phrase, still not sure what it means).
"You're not going to leave me alone, are you?" he asked. Sensing victory near, I doubled down.
"Not on your life."
"Ugh, fine," he relented. "Let's go see Val." And with that, I half-carried Rusty out into the cold bright sunlight. Time to tidy him up and bring him back to his family. 

 

Wider angle:

[Darth Bjorn]

Wow! This is a great build. The angled placement of the buildings works great! It is a bit too clean to give of the vibe you describe in the story, I would love a bit more mess, props scattered around, and maybe more rusted panels. The story is super well written again - it totally pulls me in. You should be a writer!

Great work!

[marvelBoy123]

Nice work, you've managed to make all the angles fit together nicely!

[Ross Fisher]

3 hours ago, Darth Bjorn said:

is a bit too clean to give of the vibe you describe 

I was worried that would be the case. Really tried to mess it up, but I think that floor particularly lets me down. 

3 hours ago, Darth Bjorn said:

The angled placement of the buildings works great!

 

11 minutes ago, marvelBoy123 said:

you've managed to make all the angles fit together nicely!

Thanks, that was something I've been trying to improve recently. Didn't just want square blocks on my buildings. I'm pleased it came together so well.

3 hours ago, Darth Bjorn said:

The story is super well written again - it totally pulls me in. You should be a writer!

Thanks! I'm really proud of my writing, so I'm glad you like it. 

[Simulterious]

Great stuff as usual Ross!

[Ross Fisher]

@Simulterious Cheers buddy.

[MKJoshA]

Absolutely amazing! Your building techniques continue to improve by leaps and bounds! It might be a little clean, but overall I think it looks great. I've found that adding clutter like boxes, bags, or trash makes it look more worn down. Adding rust drips to walls also helps.

And great figs!