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<blockquote data-quote="Watus" data-source="post: 2684939" data-attributes="member: 14589">Tuan Nguyen.&nbsp; Dogsbody General.They locked eyes for a split second before the big Sydite laid down his cards, and in that moment Tuan thought he might have been in trouble.&nbsp; He knew the lummox had something, his tells would have been obvious from orbit, but the self-satisfied grin that split his slab-like mug made Tuan think maybe the hand was bigger than he'd figured.&nbsp; The big mook played like your typical merc: balls out and aggressive as hell.&nbsp; Always chasing after the big pots, and bluffing like an idiot.&nbsp; Tuan had a more conservative strategy and tended to produce better results.&nbsp; Especially when he cheated.&nbsp; But this was a friendly low stakes game, and not worth the risk, especially when playing with someone who could crush him like a bug.&nbsp; The big man laced the fingers of his outer hands behind his head and leaned back, his grin widening.&nbsp; Tuan glanced down, careful to keep his expression level.&nbsp; Two pair: 10s over 8s.&nbsp; Pretty good.&nbsp; He picked up his own hand from the table as the others turned to him expectantly.&nbsp; Tuan let the tension hang in the air briefly as he examined his cards, cracking a tentha seed in his back teeth and leisurely worrying out the meat.&nbsp; He chewed contemplatively for a moment before turning his head and spitting the shell onto the floor.&nbsp; Locking eyes with the Sydite, he laid down his hand.&nbsp; Full house, jacks full of nines.The table errupted into laughter and backslapping as the grin slowly faded from the Sydite's face.&nbsp; The front legs of his chair dropped back to the floor and he leaned forward, shaking his head.&nbsp; &quot;Nice hand,&quot; he grumbled.&nbsp; &quot;You lucky bastard.&quot;&quot;Luck's got nothin' to do with it, Sakrat my friend,&quot; Tuan clucked, reaching forward and dragging his winnings into a big pile.&nbsp; &quot;Nothing at all.&quot;&nbsp; He stood and smiled genially, wiping his hands on his threadbare overalls.&nbsp; &quot;Deal me out of the next hand,&quot; he said, nodding his head in the direction of the mens room.&nbsp; &quot;I got some business to attend to.&quot;&quot;Alright, but you better not disappear,&quot; Sakrat grumbled, jabbing his enormous index finger in Tuan's direction.&nbsp; &quot;The next round's on you.&quot;As Tuan neared the restroom, out of sight of the others, he paused for a second and pulled out his communicator, a worried look his face.&nbsp; For the hundredth time that day he checked the exchange board for an outbound ship advertising for hands.&nbsp; &quot;Gods damnit,&quot; he muttered angrily, finding nothing - as he knew he would.&nbsp; &quot;How long is this **** going to last?&quot;After 20 years working the lanes, being stuck down the well this long was agonizing.&nbsp; He could see it on the faces of nearly everyone in the startown.&nbsp; Bankrolls dwindled while anxieties heightened.&nbsp; The feel of dirt under their feet was unfamiliar and unwelcome.&nbsp; What were the damned imperials doing up there, anyway?&nbsp; If something didn't happen soon, this place was going to explode.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Watus, post: 2684939, member: 14589"] [b]Tuan Nguyen. Dogsbody General.[/b] They locked eyes for a split second before the big Sydite laid down his cards, and in that moment Tuan thought he might have been in trouble. He knew the lummox had something, his tells would have been obvious from orbit, but the self-satisfied grin that split his slab-like mug made Tuan think maybe the hand was bigger than he'd figured. The big mook played like your typical merc: balls out and aggressive as hell. Always chasing after the big pots, and bluffing like an idiot. Tuan had a more conservative strategy and tended to produce better results. Especially when he cheated. But this was a friendly low stakes game, and not worth the risk, especially when playing with someone who could crush him like a bug. The big man laced the fingers of his outer hands behind his head and leaned back, his grin widening. Tuan glanced down, careful to keep his expression level. Two pair: 10s over 8s. Pretty good. He picked up his own hand from the table as the others turned to him expectantly. Tuan let the tension hang in the air briefly as he examined his cards, cracking a tentha seed in his back teeth and leisurely worrying out the meat. He chewed contemplatively for a moment before turning his head and spitting the shell onto the floor. Locking eyes with the Sydite, he laid down his hand. Full house, jacks full of nines. The table errupted into laughter and backslapping as the grin slowly faded from the Sydite's face. The front legs of his chair dropped back to the floor and he leaned forward, shaking his head. "Nice hand," he grumbled. "You lucky bastard." "Luck's got nothin' to do with it, Sakrat my friend," Tuan clucked, reaching forward and dragging his winnings into a big pile. "Nothing at all." He stood and smiled genially, wiping his hands on his threadbare overalls. "Deal me out of the next hand," he said, nodding his head in the direction of the mens room. "I got some business to attend to." "Alright, but you better not disappear," Sakrat grumbled, jabbing his enormous index finger in Tuan's direction. "The next round's on you." As Tuan neared the restroom, out of sight of the others, he paused for a second and pulled out his communicator, a worried look his face. For the hundredth time that day he checked the exchange board for an outbound ship advertising for hands. "Gods damnit," he muttered angrily, finding nothing - as he knew he would. "How long is this **** going to last?" After 20 years working the lanes, being stuck down the well this long was agonizing. He could see it on the faces of nearly everyone in the startown. Bankrolls dwindled while anxieties heightened. The feel of dirt under their feet was unfamiliar and unwelcome. What were the damned imperials [i]doing[/i] up there, anyway? If something didn't happen soon, this place was going to explode. [/QUOTE]

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