The planet Thebago had two major cities, with many smaller hubs dotted around the planet's surface. Being a planet that purely existed for manufacturing importing and exporting it made sense that there were only two cities. The one city that produced the goods and services, and the one city that existed for those who profited off the goods and services.
One of the major cities was the heart of the planet's industrial sector. Eryup; It spanned for hundreds of kilometres and was made up of thousands of different factories for hundreds of different industries. Amongst the factories and warehouses were houses for the civilians to live in. This major city was rife with pollution and was quite ugly. Smog blanketed the city and it was so thick the population were unable to see the sky. Only one ship could fly in and out of the city, due to this pollution, a special ship made only for the smoky hub in Thebago. As the air had such poor quality all of the goods coming in and out of Thebago had to be re-routed to a third much smaller city which was located a few hundred kilometres away. It was an inefficient process, but still profitable due to the low wages of those who lived in Eryup.
The fleet of special ships would regularly make the two hour flight to fly its cargo, and very rarely people, to the much nicer city of Whitefield located thousands of kilometres away. Whitefield was located far away enough to have a much better air quality. External spaceships could easily land in its fresh air and such the planet's major spaceport was located in this city. Any non import or export business was always flown through Whitefield instead. There was very little tourism due to the lack of history of the planet, but there were lots of business trips to be had in Whitefield.
The city was a lot nicer too. No ugly warehouses were dotted around. The houses on the outskirts of the city away from the central business district were a lot nicer and there were many modern and impressive buildings towering to create a unique skyline. Whitefield wasn't touched by the industrial disadvantage that Eryup was. The wealth gap was evident on Thebago and the two capital cities highlighted this issue.
Eryup didn't have any high class watering holes for locals. Just dark and dingy places for it's hard workers to have a drink or ten after a long day at work. Whitefield certainly had a lot of charming and clean establishments.
Which is where Poe Dameron found himself one evening.
"So yeah, I'm on this planet as a stopover before my holiday group continue on our holiday. There really doesn't seem to be much to do here does there?" His new companion asked as she took a sip out of the drink he had recently purchased for her.
He eyed the bar around him and grinned madly at the woman in front of him. He had clearly received the attention from the best looking woman in the bar. A very attractive female from Pantora stood before him.
He found her exotic blue skin alluring but that wasn't just what made her beautiful. She was showing off shapely long legs, and her torso seemed very toned under her tight clothing. The woman also was charming Poe with heavy lidded mystic eyes. Her beauty had him intrigued when he caught her eye across the outdoor bar, and he definitely wanted to get to know this woman.
"This is my first time on this planet too. I'm a pilot for the New Republic. I'm based in the neighbouring Mirrin System to protect it, but had a few days free to go exploring. Which brought me here." Poe bragged but gave a shrug to try and convey a nonchalant attitude.
His words had the intended effect. The irresistible woman in front of him slyly smiled and placed a finger at the top of his arm and slowly dragged it down.
"My, you must be quite brave. Remind me to contact you if I ever need protecting." The woman purred as she bat her brown heavy lidded eyes as she spoke.
Poe was about to respond in a cocky manner to almost certainly score an invitation to the woman's hotel room for the night but his response was drowned out by a low rumbling noise in the distance. Both he and his companion looked towards where others in the bar were looking and after not too long, a male just a tad younger than Poe appeared on a flashy Speeder Bike.
The bar was silent as the male turned off his bike's engine, as all conversations had been killed by the loud noise.
"Answer is still no, Dimmey. You can turn up on your shit Speeder you use to compensate for your little prick, but I ain't going out with you." A snappy girl barked from a few tables away. A lot of people in the bar turned to shoot her filthy looks for her improper language and crass sentences.
Poe on the other hand smirked at her statement as he looked over to watch the scene unfold.
She was too far for Poe to make out any of her features aside from long golden brunette hair but there was one thing he noticed about her. She and her female companion were dressed differently from other occupants of the establishment. All the other women around them wore elaborate and showy garments to either show their wealth or highlight their features. Most of them were also wearing fancy headpieces, and this included his seductive Pantoran lady for the evening.
This girl on the other hand was wearing just a plain looking strapless black dress that fell just above her knee, with a black cape made of silk draped over her shoulders. Even without speaking to her he could tell she must be quite the character based on her simple dress sense and her questionable language.
She had a friend with her too, but the friend was long forgotten as all eyes in the bar were only on the boy who had turned up on the loud bike, and the girl he was trying to woo.
"Only you could say that Zarabelle and still keep me coming back for more. C'mon. You're not at the Auction Ball. I'm not at the Auction Ball. It's fate." The male named 'Dimmey' smugly stated to the girl he was chasing.
Poe couldn't help but to overhear the exchange between the two younger occupants. He made no effort to try and drown them out. Not only because he knew he wouldn't be able to - but he also didn't want to. Up until he entered this bar he had found this planet boring. Now he had the company of a beautiful lady, and a lover's spat as a show. He found this all very entertaining.
He also was curious about what an 'Auction Ball' was, but unfortunately for him, he would not find out.
"Dimmey. If you're waiting for me to accept your invitation to go on a date I hope you brought some food and entertainment, because it's going to take a looooong time for me to ever agree." Zarabelle huffed to the boy who had been long asking her out.
Zarabelle Penthurst was sick of the constant attention from Dimmey. Many girls would be flattered to have a valuable suitor attempting to court them. Dimmey's father owned a factory in Eryup and was quite well off. Dimmey was also quite the attractive young male - he had neat dark hair and a big pair of stunning green eyes. But he wasn't her type. She didn't have a physical type, but she had an emotional type. Dimmey wanted a trophy wife. Zarabelle wanted to be more than a trophy wife. She knew they weren't compatible and there was no point looking into it any further.
"Well I didn't bring anything, no. Guess you better hop in and go out with me then." Dimmey winked.
"I'm right, thanks," Zarabelle briskly stated before quietly turning to her friend "C'mon, let's go towards the bar. Dimmey won't leave his precious Speeder unattended. This will get rid of him."
Zarabelle and her female companion then briskly turned their backs and made their way towards the bar away from the tables near the entrance. Dimmey called out to them in a futile attempt to prevent them from departing but the girls ignored him as they approached the bar.
By now they had lost the attention of the patrons of the drinking establishment who had quickly forgotten the loud rumbling noise and had gone back to their conversations. This included Poe and the Pantoran woman who had gone back to flirting with each other.
"...that's why I don't have any facial markings as of yet. I decided to not take my family's markings for a clean slate for when I meet a man and make a family of my own. Tell me more about your family." The female stated as she shot Poe a sultry look when she asked her question.
"Well both my parents were pilots during the Rebellion. Luke Skywalker was so impressed with them he gifted them a Force-sensitive tree at the end of the war." Poe proudly boasted, even puffing out his chest at the end of his statement.
"Wow, Luke Skywalker?! That's impressive!" the Pantoran female responded wide-eyed in amazement.
"Pfffft!" a voice came from Poe's right.
He narrowed his eyes at his naysayer as he turned to give this person an earful. Before he could do this he was caught off-guard by the identity of the heckler. It was the girl from before - the one the Speeder driver was trying to woo.
Up close he could make out more of her features. She had absolutely nothing on the sexy Pantorian he was currently attempting to chat up, but she was moderately attractive- more in a 'cute' rather than 'hot' way. Her figure seemed rather average - but her face was sweet looking. Round blue eyes, soft features and a few almost faded freckles dotted around her nose.
He then composed himself as he remembered she had been attempting to eavesdrop and heckle him. He said nothing but raised an eyebrow at her in an attempt to intimidate her intrusion.
It didn't work. Instead the girl began to address Poe's new companion directly.
"Seriously, who's family HASN'T had any involvement with Luke Skywalker," Zarabelle stated in a cocky manner before turning to Poe's companion "Seriously, you're hot. You can demand something way more impressive from this schmuck."
Poe wanted to get annoyed at the girl. He wanted to yell at her to buzz off and mind her own business. He wanted to be able to re-establish his evening companion's admiration and respect. But he couldn't find himself able to. His own proud and confident demeanor had meant he was deeply impressed with this newcomer. He was ready to step up to the challenge and win against this troublesome girl.
"Oh, and what family member of yours is acquainted with Skywalker?" Poe asked curiously.
His new attractive friend remained silent as she eyed the exchange between Poe and the new girl inquisitively. She was interested to see how this would all pan out.
"My brother. He's force-sensitive and is currently training under old mate Skywalker himself. So you're not special, buckaroo." The new girl teased, keeping a smile on her face in an attempt to keep the exchanges fairly light hearted.
"Ooooh. She's insulting you. How are you going to take that?" The Pantoran female asked Poe with a devilish smile on her face, as she grabbed his arm and stroked it.
Zarabelle raised an eyebrow at the foreigner's words. She couldn't read this female and thus couldn't understand the meaning behind her words. Either this woman was playing along in a joking manner or she actually wanted Poe to argue for her approval. Zarabelle continued to study the attractive face of the other woman but couldn't come to a conclusion.
It seemed Poe also couldn't tell the intentions of his companion. He therefore made the quick decision to remain neutral. He was willing to impress a beautiful woman in hopes of spending the night with her, but he wasn't willing to enter a fight to win over her affections. That would be trying too hard, and he certainly couldn't have any of that nonsense. He was far too proud to go too far to impress a lady. He was only doing this because the new girl had laid down the gauntlet and he was ready to challenge her.
"What's your name, anyway? May I know the name of my great insultor?" Poe curiously asked his heckler.
"Great insultor, that sounds like a much more impressive thing to be addressed as. But it's Zarabelle." Zarabelle sniggered upon Poe's question.
Poe went quiet for a few moments at the girl's statement. He suddenly realised she may have been flirting with him. Different people had different styles of flirting, light teasing and insulting was one of them. He didn't know her well enough to know her flirting style but he didn't care to find out. He was very happy with his Pantoran girl.
If the girl was only heckling him to be flirty, he had already won. There was no challenge to step up to. The Pantoran female was much more attractive to him than the heckler, even though she was cute. He still chose the Pantoran female. He could now safely back down and get on with his evening.
"Nice to be insulted by you Zarabelle. My name is Poe. Have a good night." Poe grinned towards Zarabelle, turning his back on her to give his full attention to his companion.
Zarabelle understood the social cue and smiled at the couple before ordering a round to go and find her friend. She wasn't offended at the brush off. In fact she was surprised he didn't attempt it the second she rudely butt in. That's what he was supposed to do after all. Poe had just lost her money.
Zarabelle was not flirting with Poe, but instead had put a wager on him with her friend. Once they were able to shake off Dimmey they began to people watch. Their eyes landed on Poe. Zarabelle made a bet with Pegah in that the man they now knew was Poe, would be deeply insulted if he was heckled by Zarabelle whilst trying to court an attractive Pantoran female. The bet was that he would shake her off angrily and quickly - with either yelling, or best case scenario a drink thrown in the face.
Instead Poe embraced the heckling and had outsmarted Zarabelle. Zarabelle had lost the bet.
"That conversation lasted four minutes." Pegah, Zarabelle's friend smirked upon her return.
"Yes." Zarabelle grunted.
"You said it would last thirty seconds after you insulted him. That was the bet. You owe me a round." Pegah sung out.
"Here's your drink. You don't have to pay me back." Zarabelle huffed as she shoved the purple liquid into Pegan's outstretched hand.
Zarabelle's tantrum had grabbed the attention of a table close by. The three males had not noticed Zarabelle and her friend Pegah until a few moments prior when Zarabelle had joined her friend. The three young males were single and hoping to meet other single females tonight to try out their luck. They now had their sights set on Zarabelle and Pegah.
The de facto leader was a very confident boy named Davey. He had an overinflated ego and a very high opinion of himself and his skills. His confidence in the past had drawn his two friends to him like flies. Therefore it was Davey who would approach the two girls, and his two friends would follow in hope.
"Excuse me, but I couldn't help to overhear that you two ladies just had a wager. On what exactly?" Davey asked the two cockily.
Pegah eyed Zarabelle hopefully and remained silent as she sent a coy grin in the direction of the males that had joined them.
"Doesn't matter. I bet on the wrong odds and would like to put it in the past. I'm Zarabelle." Zarabelle confidently stated as she offered her hand for Davey to shake.
Davey smirked as he instead took the hand and kissed it in a gentlemanly way. He assumed he had caught Zarabelle easily and would be going home with her tonight. He would allow his other two friends to fight over the slightly-less attractive friend of Zarabelle.
Pegah on the other hand nervously eyed Zarabelle. She knew Davey certainly was not Zarabelle's type. Zarabelle didn't like cocky boys which is why they just had a wager on another over confident looking stranger - who Zarabelle knew was named Poe. Pegah knew Zarabelle was up to something with Davey and was interested to see how it would unfold.