Poker Meetup (Mayze)

Mayze found himself once again in a tavern, although this time it wasn’t purely to drink or seek contracts. No, instead he was seeking his fellow mercenary and friend, Haupien. The two had become separated out in the saibia-wastes following a rather absurdly large saibia-beast stampede. Mayze was able to escape easily, thanks to his ability to fly, but Haupien… well couldn’t fly. However, the saiyan had faith his friend would survive, and how right he was!

Recently, one of the bartenders told him that message had been left for him by his friend. For a while, Mayze had feared that Haupien might’ve died out in the wastes given the lack of contact. However, a chance encounter with a certain Tuffle named Cheri had informed him that his friend was alive and well, seeking out contracts.

The saiyan reached out, feeling the energy signatures of the denizens of this small, old village. Most of the powers were strong- many were mercenaries or criminals after all- but weren’t of significant strength. One equaled his own, and Mayze recognized the unique signature as Haupien’s. However, it was in the other bar. The saiyan sighed and mentally facepalmed. He was a grade-a moron.

The old stool he sat on creaked as he rose. He finished his drink, tossed a handful of zeni onto the bar alongside the empty glass, and made his way out of the bar.

The saiyan stepped outside, giving a deep sigh as he felt the cool night time air wash over him. He glanced up where the vast expanse of space lay, and watched as he stars brightly glistened as if a large hand had tossed diamond dust into the sky. On a moonless night, it was a beautiful sight to behold, and the saiyan was entranced by the sight for a moment.

He gave another forlorn sigh and then continued on his way. For whatever reason, he was feeling a little blue. Well, he figured he knew why. They’d have to come to a decision today.

He trudged along, feet almost dragging as he slowly approached the tavern. When he came close, he saw two seedy-looking Heran’s leaning against the outside wall. Both were smoking cigarettes, and Mayze could smell the smoke when he neared. He curled his nose in disgust.

One of the Heran’s took note of Mayze, and quickly put out his cigarette. He tossed it to the ground, and tapped his comrade on the shoulder before pointing out the approaching saiyan. The other Heran quickly followed suit.

The duo approached Mayze, a dangerous glint in their eye. One of them pulled out a knife and pointed it at the saiyan. The mercenary gave an irritated sigh. Their battle points were low, mere annoyances. Their decision to acost him would be their last of the night.

“Oi, you know the drill. Give us your valuables and nobody gets hurt.”

Mayze thought Onnio had been exaggerating. Guess not, these guys were just like the type of idiots the teen had described.
The saiyan thought about giving them a reply, but decided against it. In a blink of an eye, he flashed forward and slammed his fist into the gut of the knife-wielder. The Heran doubled over, and dropped the knife. Mayze snatched the knife out of the air, and slammed it into the Heran’s shoulder with stupendous force. The criminal was launched into the air, stopping when he struck a nearby pole. He crumpled over and didn’t rise.

The other Heran immediately tried to run off after seeing how easily his friend was dealt with. Mayze grabbed him by the arm before he could get too far, pressed his arm on the back of his joint, and broke it. A loud shriek pierced the air, and the Heran would’ve dropped to the ground had Mayze decided to let him go, but he wasn’t done with him yet. The mercenary wanted to send a message to any other low-life lurking nearby.

The saiyan spun the fool around a few times before letting him go, sending him flying through the air. The heran crashed through the tavern door, and lay there in a crumpled heap. He did not rise.

Mayze followed in after the Heran, taking care to step around the low-life. Most of the patrons stared wide eyed at him when he entered, but he paid them no mind. He tossed a handful of zeni toward the barkeep to keep any questions out of the way.

In the corner of the sordid establishment, Mayze spotted his quarry, Haupien. When he saw him he gave a brief nod, and made his way over to him.

“Well, look who finally decided to show up. Took you long enough,” he began as he sat himself across from the konatsian. He glanced at the cards lying at the table, and quirked an eyebrow, “Cards? Lemme guess, poker?”

A waiter approached from nearby, and asked if the saiyan wanted anything to drink.

“A mug of your finest saiyan-beer,” he replied. The waiter scurried off, leaving the two alone for the time being.

“Find any interesting offers?”

WC: 865

Mayze rolled his eyes at Haupien’s explanation for his tardiness. Of course the airhead forgot the directions. At least it gave reason to the konatsian’s long absence. With the scouter, Haupien shouldn’t have too hard of a time getting around on Vegeta. Scouter’s made locating yourself and finding destinations easy… although he wouldn’t put it past the alien to get lost with even with a scouter.

“Really, that magic sword of yours didn’t point the way here?” he replied, voice dripping with sarcasm. The mercenary mirthfully laughed and shook his head, “Even a ‘monkey-brained’ saiyan like myself didn’t get lost.”

Mayze listened to the rest of what Haupien had to say, nodding along at points. He already knew about the encounter with Cheri- from the Tuffle herself no less- but didn’t interrupt. He opted to remain quiet and get the full story. The opportunity with the saiyan, Haupien had encountered in the wastes was intriguing, but it was a rather moot point if they had no way to contact her.

He frowned when Haupien finished. It seems there weren’t many offers, and the only realistic one was from a Tuffle. Great.

The saiyan picked up his cards and took a look. Hmm, a decent hand. One he could make work, especially when it was one on one.

“We’ll start the buy-in at 100 zeni?” he asked.

A moment later the waiter returned, and sat the pitcher of beer onto the table along with two cups. Mayze thanked her, and poured himself a drink. He took a sip to taste, and finding it great, took a large swig.

“I met with Cheri too. Small world huh. She’s a monster of a Tuffle. Gotta be the strongest one they’ve got,” he shook his head with a sort of begrudging appreciation, “Didn’t seem to care that I was a saiyan, which was... interesting. Caught on pretty quick when I said I arrived here with a fellow merc. Mentioned you right away. Told me to ask how your encounter went with her.”

He sighed and looked away, “Anndddd I haven’t found anything other than that,” he said rather quickly, “Seems like there aren’t many well-paying contracts on planet,” he paused for a moment thinking, “Galaxy’s pretty peaceful at the moment… but I doubt it’ll last for long. We could leave, and look elsewhere?” he secretly hoped Haupien would agree, and hoped he wouldn’t catch on that he was avoiding Cheri’s potential contract.

Another idea came to mind, “Could always try contact Vocado too. See if the Shredder Corps needs some extra manpower. He didn’t seem too… hate us at the very least.”

WC: 458
PL: 5k

Mayze grinned at Haupien’s response, however, his smile faltered at the end. He narrowed his eyes, and snorted, “Some home alright,” his tone was dark, dripping with animosity as he was reminded of painful memories from before he left. It wasn’t Haupien’s fault of course, everything this planet brought back memories the saiyan would rather leave buried. He supposed he would have to face it at some point though, “You’ve already encountered the saiba-beasts. Strange creatures, very dangerous in large groups like the one we saw,”

He nodded along to Haupien’s story regarding his encounter with Cheri. It sounded eerily similar to his own, right down to the part about ‘unlocking a hidden power’. Mayze himself had experienced the exact same thing, “Damn, her blaster was irritating,” he sighed, “And her reflection ability!” the saiyan shook his head, “Managed to absorb the kinetic energy from one of my physical blows and send it right back at me!” he grinned, cocking his head to the side, “Sounds like our encounters were nearly identical. Unlocked a hidden power, hm?” he laughed, “Same here. Pissed me off enough that I found a deep reservoir of latent potential within myself. Increased by battle point by five times,” he felt a sense of pride as he recalled the memory.

Mayze called the bet, tossing one hundred zeni onto the middle of the table. He flipped the first card off the deck, burning it. He proceeded with the flop, and placed down three cards face up. A 10 of diamonds, 9 of diamonds, 3 of spades. He paused for a moment, contemplating a decision. Finally he grinned, “Let’s raise the stakes a bit!” he tossed in fifty more zeni.

The mercenary listened to the rest of what Haupien had to say. What the konastian said made sense. It was likely that the conflict on Plant would offer far more lucrative contracts then any other location once the war kicked off into full swing again. Waiting was the best option, but it was also a boring one. Mayze had plenty of money to wait, he just wasn’t sure if he wanted to.

He sighed, glancing at his hand before back up at Haupien, “Well… I suppose we can hear what Cheri’s pre war offer is… I’m just worried. She might not be too concerned with me being a saiyan, but what about the other Tuffles? I’m not sure how they would react to one of my kind fighting alongside him,” he paused for a moment, thinking. Before long he continued, a hint of trepidation in his tone, “I guess it can’t hurt to hear what the contract is.”

He still thought talking to Vocado was a good idea, “I think listening to what Vocado has to offer is worthwhile. He seems alright, and while the pay may not be as high as the tuffles, I think it would still be plenty. I can try to get into contact with him if you wish… I might have contacts within the military still.”

Mayze ran a hand through his hair, ruminating on a thought before voicing it, “If I’m being honest, I’m not sure the Tuffles have a great shot at winning this war. Cheri is strong, but I still believe the fighting power the Saiyan’s have outweighs the Tuffles, even if we threw our lot in with em’.”

WC: 574

“Hmm, maybe. It was a difficult fight. Let’s just say, I had to get very very angry to unlock this power, and I may have uhh… lost it,” Mayze chuckled, looking back on the event of fondness. He may have lost the fight too, but unlocking increased power certainly outweighed that tidbit, “I actually out classed her power with my strength, but I wasn’t really able to utilize it well. Like I said, I wasn't exactly sound of mind at first.”

The saiyan grinned when Haupien folded, “Gotcha!” he raked the money in, and returned his cards to the deck, allowing his konatsian companion to shuffle the cards.

“Well, maybe. I’m not sure how… rational versus emotional tuffles are. Perhaps they can see the reason in it. I’m not sure. They are a very intelligent species. Dunno if they would take kindly to us kicking their ass though,” he said with a frown.

He grabbed the shuffled deck, and handed out the cards. Two for himself, two for Haupien. Mayze would wait for him to start the bet in.

“Perhaps it would be more profitable, but to be honest, I’m not concerned about money. I guess joining the Tuffle’s would offer a higher sense of challenge…” he frowned. Could he really turn on his own race? The saiyan honestly didn’t have a clue, “I keep thinking back to our adventure with Onnio and Vocado, and I would hate to find myself on the opposite side of them in this war. Still, doesn’t mean we’d have to kill them,” he ruminated on his thoughts for a moment before speaking out once more, “Honestly, I don’t think this war will last much longer. Once both sides sort out their leadership situation, it’ll kick off, and it’s going to be fierce, but quick. I wager one or two major battles and it’s over. Both sides have been stretched thin over the last twenty years after all. Neither side can afford major losses.” he finished, knuckles rhythmically rapping against the table.


WC: 350

“A force indeed,” he agreed with a laugh. He took the opportunity to check his cards. A seven and ten of diamonds. Not, exactly, a great hand, but not a terrible one. He could get a flush, but he probably shouldn’t count on it. Those didn’t happen often, not often at all. Still, he could make it work. After the flop he could make a decision. He called the bet and pushed 50 zeni in.

He listened to the rest of what his companion had to say, breathing a sigh of relief when he said the money wasn’t too important. That made things a lot simpler, and now he could rest a bit easier. They just had to somehow get in contact with Vocado and see what kind of offer the saiyan could make.

Before speaking, he laid down the flop from the deck of cards. Five of diamonds, six of diamonds, and seven of diamonds. Wow… he was… lucky as hell today! Holy shit! Wow, he could barely contain a surprised gasp. He hoped he kept his bluff okay.