Arani Jakal was not ready to be stranded on an unfamiliar planet, causing her whole life to change. But in the chaos, a friend or two popped up - seemingly from nowhere - wishing to help. Ari gladly accepted and quickly became part of a small town...
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FEW THINGS IN THE GALAXY could change Din's mind. So when he relented and agreed to help Peli fix the Starfighter, he was just as surprised as she was. As it turned out, fixing the damned ship was more of a hassle than anything else. And the fact that BD became attached to him did not help matters.
Din huffed. "Higher. Yeah. Just a little. No, a little higher. I can't even see what I'm doing. Can you stop moving?" The little droid was getting on his nerves, he did not understand how Ari could love such a thing so much.
The droid beeped at him in response.
He pointed to the spot he was fixing. "Just focus right here."
BD tilted its head, beeping once more.
"Yes. Yes, thank you." Din was known for hating bots and not being polite to them, but something in him had changed. The little droid reminded him too much of the past, it bothered him, yes, but for Peli to have found another working one was almost like a miracle.
"Great news!" shouted Peli, interrupting the quiet. "I found you a turbonic venturi power assimilator. You're gonna be the fastest ship on the Outer Rim.
Climbing out from under the ship, he inspected the assimilator. "Where did you get this?"
"It's brand-new. Well, Jawa knew."
"The Jawas had a turbonic venturi assimilator from a Galactic Republic-era starfighter?"
"Well, they didn't have it. They got it."
"From where?"
"Tatooine is a garden of many bounties."
"I don't understand."
"I gave 'em a list."
"Of parts?"
"Yeah."
"And they find them for you?"
"I don't ask. They don't tell. They give me what I ask for. In exchange, I let 'em pick through my dumpster."
"Can I meet them?"
"Yeah, sure. R5! See if the Jawas are still out back. Dated a Jawa for a while. They're quite furry. Very furry. Lot of issues." Two Jawas toddled up behind her, whispering to each other. Peli turned, smiling. "Oh, here they are."
One of the Jawas shouted at them in their language.
"If I give them a list of parts, could they get them for me?" Din asked.
Peli turned to the two, restating his question. She nodded as they talked, listening intently. "They said make a wishlist and they'll see what's available."
"Okay, I'm looking for mostly bolt-on aftermarket speed mods. This is all hand-built, custom. I'm guessing we need vintage hyperware if it's gonna fit this antique."
"Listen to you. Don't worry about the shape and size. just the parts you want with the specs you need, and I'm gonna make it work, all right? I dated a Jawa. I know what I'm doing, right?"
One of the Jawas interrupted Peli, but it was short.
"Oh, that's okay. I'm working on me right now. Just go find the parts. Furry," she repeated as they walked away.
They were only halfway through rebuilding the Starfighter when the Jawas returned with a combustion booster. To say Din was surprised would be an understatement.
"That was fast."
"These critters could find a skud in a krill pond. Will that do?"
"Where did they get a cryogenic density combustion booster?" He asked as he inspected it, the part looked brand new.
"Do you really wanna know?"
"Sure."
Peli spoke to them in Jawaese and they answered right back, with no hesitation.
"I got it. They said they crawled under a Pyke spice runner and crimped it off while they were refuelling."
"Guysy little fellas."
"Let me tell you something. Pukes do not mess around. Ever since they've been moving spice through the system, everything's gone to hell. Everyone's afraid of 'em and law enforcement won't even go near 'em."
What Peli told him piqued his interest but he kept it at bay, shrugging it off. He was just here for a ship, nothing more.
"Well, thanks."
"Thanks?"
He tossed a bag of credits to the little creatures and turned away, ignoring Peli.
"What? Are you kidding me? What'd you do that for? You're gonna spoil 'em. Are you trying to make me look bad?"
By sunrise the next morning, the ship was finished. It was a sight, to say the least. The Starfighter glimmered in the sun, its paint stripped away to its bass medal. They didn't wait for a diagnostic, within minutes the ship was airborne.
The Starfighter was liberating, nothing could compare to such a ship. Din wished Ari were there to experience it with him, she would have loved it.
When he got back to the ground Peli came up to him. Apparently, an old friend was looking for him.
"Did she tell you her name?"
"Fennec Shand," said a female voice over the comms.
Peli jumped, shrieking. "I thought you said that the hanger security system was on. Don't get away from me, You come right back here." she scolded one of the droids and chased after it.
Fennec smiled and jumped down from where she sat on a wall. "By any chance, are you looking for work?"
"I could be."
She pulled a bag of credits from her belt and threw it at him. "The pay is good."
"What's the bounty?"
"No bounty. We need muscle."
"Boba Fett."
"He sure would appreciate it."
He tossed the credits back. "Tell him it's on the house. But first, I got to pay a visit to a little friend."
