mismanagement | Open RP

Free of his gauntlets, Harper let them fall carelessly onto the desk. Tarkin's desk. Let the man wonder what had been done there and by whom. Small acts of disrespect left Harper with a cheerful feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He walked the coin over his knuckles, another trick he'd learned in disreputable cantinas, and smiled. Then he flipped it up in the air and let it land, hiding it with his hands. "Call it, friend."

They were not friends. It was quite possible they'd get drunk and fuck, to the horror of his niece and whoever Tarkin had watching the place, but they were not friends. Not that it mattered one way or another. Harper liked this game.

"Tails." He was more than happy to give Tarkin something to watch just to make the grand moff suffer a little bit more. He had no doubt that Tarkin had the place recorded at all times so this would give him something interesting. It was the least he could do.

Krennic had no delusions either. He lived his life as someone with no attachments to anyone, except perhaps Galen. Anything else was just fun, an amusing diversion for a long night.

"Ohh," Harper murmured, revealing the coin. "Such a shame."

The Emperor's head gleamed back up at them.

Harper smiled and walked the coin across his bare knuckles. "Whatever will you do?"

"Hmm, I believe I have a solution." He paused with a smirk on his lips before standing slightly to unclasp his cape, never taking his eyes off of Harper. He gathered the fabric into his arms before placing the cape over the chair and settling back down in his seat.

"I believe it's my turn now." He held out his hand for the coin, pleased.

Such a proud man, Harper thought. Under any other circumstance he would have sneered at the arrogance.

In this one, he rather liked it.

"A shame I came in armored," Harper murmured, flicking the coin into Krennic's palm. It would take far longer for him to get out of his clothes than it would Krennic. "How ever will you catch up?"

"I believe I'll find a way," he assured him as he caught the coin and flipped it. He was confident that he could get the Mandalorian to shed his clothes before he got drunk. It would be close, though.

"Alright, call." The coin was smacked on the palm of his hand as he met Harper's gaze.

Harper laughed, flicking a nail against his teeth. "I usually do."

Of course. He was almost fifty and still alive. Scarred and perhaps a bit weathered, but still fighting.

"Tails this time, I think."

"I have no doubt of that."

Krennic lifted his hand to show the Imperial symbol looking up at them. "Well, now that was a lucky call," he chuckled as he flipped the coin back to Harper easily. He was starting to get drunk but his hand was still steady.

Harper caught it lazily. "Perhaps we ought to make it more challenging, hmm? Double the odds. What do you say?"

"Oh? How so?" He loved a good challenge and it had been far too long since he had been able to have an evening like this with anyone who could keep up with him. He had learned to function while hungover so he wasn't worried about the consequences of this night.

"Hmm." Harper smiled, tipping his head to the side. Once his hair had been quite long. In those days, he'd had a habit of braiding it with colorful beads and string, and fussing with them in order to draw the attention of whatever mark he happened to be focused on. It had made them focus on his face and not where his free hand was, which - more often than not - had left him free to snatch a weapon. Alas, he'd gotten set on fire a few months back and the resulting nonsense had ruined his braids.

Such a shame. They would have come in handy here.

"It's not complicated." Harper smiled, flipping the coin into the air and catching it. Just for something to do. He hated holding still. "The rules hardly change at all. But if you win...well."

Harper leaned in close, teeth bared. It might have counted as a threat in certain circles.

"I'll let you pick what I do next."

"Hmm I suppose it's only fair to return the favor. You win, you choose what I do. Same rules, you can't choose the same thing more than twice," he agreed with a wave of his hand. He was aware of every move Harper made, his education had been more extensive than just formal instruction.

"And I call tails."

"Good man."

Whether or not Krennic truly intended to play fairly remained to be seen. Either way, Harper found himself enjoying the game. Regardless of outcome, the night had proven unexpected.

He flipped the coin into the air and caught it, baring it against his arm. "Hmm. You chose wisely, Krennic."

Tails it was.

Harper tipped his head to the side. "What ever shall you pick?"

"Breastplate. That armor can't be comfortable at all," Krennic said with a gesture. "And I have to try to even things out a little, don't I?"

He had no intention of getting too drunk, he liked to remember most of his evenings if he could.

Harper laughed softly. "How considerate of you."

Not that he was complaining.

He set the coin down between them and began unbuckling his armor. Underneath he had a compression shirt on, nondescript but snug. Harper had a feeling he'd be losing that soon enough.

Carefully, he shrugged out of the chest plate. He wasn't nearly so careful letting it hit the ground. It was tough armor. It would survive.

Tarkin's carpet, probably not.

Harper lifted his chin. Part of him wondered what Krennic would do if Harper just reached out and pinned him against the desk. Probably shoot him. "You I like, Imperial."

He couldn't care less about Tarkin's carpet. He was sure that after tonight Tarkin would be scrambling to replace everything in his office. He watched the other man intently, eyebrows raised. "The least I could do."

He reached over to pick up the coin, tossing it idly as he watched Harper. "Why, that is such high praise coming from you," he said with an easy grin. "Now, I believe it's my turn and I believe I can guess what you'll want if you win."

The coin was tossed up high.

"You have no honor," Harper continued, leaning in close, "but you are not empty. All your officers are useless, reciting rules until we cut them down. Empty. Boring. No, no."

He smiled.

"Heads. You are interesting. I'll forgive your for the uniform. But you better lose it quickly."

Krennic took his hand away to reveal the image of the Emperor.

"It seems to be your lucky night, Mandalorian," he said as he placed the coin on the desk. "'l'll be gracious and give you two then," he said as he peeled off his gloves one by one, placing them aside carelessly. When he was finished with those, he unclasped his belt and tossed it aside. The blaster, however, was placed on the console, just in case.

"Lucky indeed," Harper murmured. He would have asked for Krennic's gloves regardless. But the belt was interesting, especially with the weapon it carried. It looked like a DT-29. "Oh? I haven't seen one of those in years."

An antique. And very far from regulation.

Harper liked Krennic a little more for the defiance, and reached for the coin. Again he walked it over his knuckles, letting it flash in the low light. Just because. But tonight was full of luck for him, wasn't it? He wasn't particularly worried about the blaster. It was smart for Krennic to keep it close by.

"Your turn to guess, Imperial. Whatever shall you do?"

"I've had it since before the Clone Wars. Could never bring myself to upgrade to the newer models when this not only is efficient but unique as well," he said with some pride. He was rather attached to the weapon by now no matter how other Imperial officers looked at him.

"Tails." He was more relaxed now, leaning back comfortably.

And very far from regulation, Harper thought. He liked that. It told him a great deal about Krennic.

Harper flipped the coin, then caught and revealed it. "Hmm. My win."

The Emperor's face gleamed up at them.

Harper smiled, sliding the coin across the desk.

"Jacket."

"So it is." He reached down to unclasp the snaps on the inside of the jacket, He knew that he would most likely lose his clothes before Harper but he couldn't exactly complain.

One of the benefits of the new Imperial uniform over the Republic one was that it was much easier to remove, something he appreciated tonight as he slipped the white jacket off and let it drop to the floor to reveal to gray t-shirt he wore underneath.

"Call." he flipped the coin up, the metal catching the low light with a faint gleam before it was covered by Krennic's hand.

Harper didn't bother hiding his approval, smiling as the jacket hit the floor. Partially because of the utter disrespect it showed to both the uniform and any property of Tarkin's, and partially because it was clear Krennic took some care with his appearance. Harper could appreciate that. He wasn't one to pursue people - most often, though not always, men - based on appearance alone, but rather by what it said about them.

Despicable as Harper would have otherwise found him, he rather liked Krennic's seeming contempt for the ways of the Empire.

Besides, Maize would have hated him. That was reason enough to continue. Harper had always gotten a certain thrill out of annoying the memory of his sister. Only in small ways, of course. He would never dishonor her on purpose.

Teasing, however, was certainly allowed. Harper liked to think she would have continued their games if she'd lived. If she hadn't been too stubborn to abandon their homeland entirely.

"Heads," Harper murmured.

He had no doubt that Tarkin had access to the security feed in this office and he hoped that the grand moff was watching in horror. It was what made this just that much better. Krennic uncovered his hand to reveal the Imperial symbol.

"I think we both need a drink, it would be a shame to let this brandy go to waste," he suggested, letting the coin roll over to Harper as he raised his bottle.

"A shame indeed," Harper agreed. He was pleasantly buzzed, but not yet drunk. "Give it here."

He was getting tired of their game. The rules were stifling when there were far more interesting pursuits to be had.

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