Ask Nar Shaddaa Float on By

[Yoshiko "Sleek" Ryder]

Location: Nar Shaddaa, Sleek's Shinies — 17:37

___It was a day like any other on Nar Shaddaa. Sleek had been working hard taking inventory, assisting customers, and keeping herself occupied. It was difficult keeping the shop running on her own sometimes, but the payoff was worth it. The woman was doing what she was passionate about every day, working on droids and starships, collecting salvage, and refurbishing equipment others thought was broken and beyond repair.

___Of course, Sleek wasn't entirely alone. She had Di-Gi to help her as much as he could, usually involving menial tasks such as retrieving something or interfacing with computer terminals or sockets. He might have been a small BD unit, but he was immensely helpful to the woman. There wasn't a day that went by that she wasn't grateful for his invaluable assistance and constant companionship.

___There had finally been a lull in the day's activity. Sleek sat on her stool behind the counter, playing a handheld game while Di-Gi squatted on her shoulder to watch, chirping and whirring as she played.

___"Yeah, yeah, I see 'im," Sleek huffed at the droid. "I en't blind, y'know! Hush and lemme concentrate. Yer distractin' me," she grumbled, tapping at the handheld console. "It's hot enough in here already, too, and you squattin' on my shoulder en't helpin'. Do me a solid and go turn up the air," the Fiani asked the droid, still focusing intently on her game. The droid beeped and dismounted her shoulder to approach a panel in the wall, interfacing it with his scomp link to control the air and turn it up higher. Sleek breathed a sigh of relief as she felt the chilled air wash over her body.

___"Much better. Thanks, Di-Gi."

@TheDudeMike

 

[L'Arra]

The Lightdancer descended into the starport, the exactly port of Sleek's Shinies. L'Arra lit a death stick from the cock pit, taking a couple quick puffs as she maneuvered the sticks and pedals to get her on the ground. Word around Shaddaa was that Sleek was a go-to for anything ship or droid related. Did their job, did it well, sometimes even threw in an upgrade. L'Arra had two reasons to be here: the first was regular maitenence that she couldn't perform herself on the Lightdancer. The second was a crumbled mess of blasted IG-89 assassin droid that tried to kill her on a job. She wanted it repaired, refitted, and most importantly, working for her.

Lightdancer's lowered rather slowly. Slowly enough that L'Arra was dragging the box with the broken IG-89 behind her, half way down the ramp by the time it touched the ground. Once she got the box all the way down, she sat on it, wiping her brow. Her trimmed ears twitched, picking up all the sounds one would hear on Nar Shaddaa. Speeders, ships coming and going, blaster shots. A lot of blaster shots. Her trimed tail waved lazily behind her as she took one last drag of her death stick.

Flicking the death stick away, L'Arra got to her feet and started moving toward the shop area of the port. "Ay!" she called. "Anyone home? Heard this was the place to be; best service on sh'daa."

@Remileah

 

[Yoshiko "Sleek" Ryder]

___The sudden voice coming from the back of her shop caused Sleek to jump. She fumbled with the handheld controller from the sudden spook, getting hold of it just in time to hear the sound of defeat and see the large 'YOU FAILED' on the screen.

___"Gorramit," she huffed, slapping the console on the counter. "Son of a ruttin' bantha-arse-sniffin', gamorrean-kissin'—" she grumbled with a growl as she rose to her feet, her words trailing off. Sleek made her way towards the area leading to the hangar, Di-Gi quickly rushing up behind her to leap up and attach to her back. The Fiani woman navigated towards the voice until she eventually located its source. She stopped. Seeing another Fiani on Nar Shaddaa was not what she was expecting.

___"Hey," Sleek called calmly, lifting a hand in greeting. Her sudden frustration was gone in an instant when she saw L'Arra, for a variety of reasons. "Whoever told ya t'come here's got good taste. Welcome ta Sleek's Shinies. I'm Sleek," she introduced herself, walking closer to the other woman. Di-Gi trilled his own greeting from his spot on her back. "This is Di-Gi. Since yer walkin' from the hangar, guessin' y'got work what needs doin' on yer ship?" Sleek asked.

@TheDudeMike

 

[L'Arra]

L'Arra gave a wide grin as Sleek came out from the shop area. Seeing another Fiani was one thing, but hells if she wasn't just the right kind of eye candy L'Arra needed right now. This was the mechanic and fencer? More like her new favorite shop owner. The thought of seeing when she was getting off work later, or even making some shit up just to stick around a little longer was prevalent.

"Well, you certainly know how to capture a girl's attention," L'Arra said, looking Sleek up and down with a quick, fanged lip bite. "Just standard maintenance on the ship, if ya can. Got this IG unit that's pretty busted up. Tried to take a chunk outta me on Nal Hutta. Wan' him repaired, wiped, and workin' for me."

As she explained what she needed, L'Arra put her hands on her athletic hips, tail still swishing side to side lazily. "Bonus points if ya know a good bar around here." She extended a hand to Sleek. "Name's L'Arra."

@Remileah

 

[Yoshiko "Sleek" Ryder]

___Sleek had seen that grin before. It was the thin smile of someone who appreciated a person's looks and body, and as it happened, Sleek was in a very flattering outfit. It had been a hot day in the shop, so the mechanic had chosen to dress lightly. A sports bra was hardly what most people would consider appropriate attire for everyday interactions, especially with her figure, but this was Nar Shaddaa. People barely looked twice.

___"Yeah, well, if it's yer attention, I don't think I mind," Sleek replied with a wink. Having the attention of a woman as lovely as L'Arra was appealing. "Standard maint on yer bird? Sure thing. C'mon over," she continued, gesturing for L'Arra to follow as she walked back to the counter. Her tails swayed with her hips as they walked, and Sleek's ears twitched as her new companion mentioned an IG droid.

___"En't so busted that I en't able t'fix it, I assure ya," Sleek continued, plopping onto her stool with a wink. "Sleek, but pretty as you are, y'can call me Iko if it fancies you," she continued as she tapped at the computer to start processing L'Arra's order. "Prob'ly know one'r two y'might like. Depends on if y'want doxies'r not."

@TheDudeMike

 

[L'Arra]

L'Arra followed Sleek into the shop to the counter. The earth colors of her trousers and shirt would stand out quite a lot more in the closer lights. She almost had the look of a military contractor about her, complete with an AZ-1 blaster pistol holstered on her hip. She had more weapons, but it was more fun to have someone else search for them.

"That's what I hear! Got some pretty good holes in it though.," L'Arra said. Hery yellow eyes did what they always did as she entered the shop; observing every nook and cranny, checking for IEDs, mines, tripwires or any other sort of thing that would lead her to an early day in the dirt. Gave her a chance to see what the shop was about too. Droids, ship parts, salvage. Just the kind of shop L'Arra was looking for.

Turning back to Sleek, her grin widened. "Well how's about you show me 'em after work?" L'Arra beamed, unapologetically proud of herself. "Got some time to kill b'tween jobs. Be a lot more fun with a pretty lady."

@Remileah

 

[Yoshiko "Sleek" Ryder]

___"Trust me, darlin', prob'ly en't any worse than the poor sod what pulled in with half-a his ship's guts spillin' out on the hangar floor," Sleek chortled. "I managed t'fix that up right pretty. Guarantee I can do the same fer you," she said, spinning a datapad around for L'Arra to look at. It was approximately ᖬ8,000 for a complete routine maintenance workup.

___"Fer all yer bells and whistles, includin' replacement parts," Sleek elaborated. "Hyperdrive diagnostics, stabiliser adjustments, engine tuning, repulsorlift alignment," she rambled, making a circular motion with her hand. "Basically, anything that's wrong, won't be when I'm done. It'll be like yer flyin' it fresh out the yard," the woman concluded, laying her elbow on the counter to rest her chin in her hand.

___When L'Arra proposed the two go get drinks together when the work was finished, Sleek blinked with surprise. Another smile tugged up the corners of her lips, the tails behind her faintly wagging with a display of subdued delight. The last thing she expected was to be propositioned. It wasn't an uncommon thing, but she always turned them down.

___"Y'know what? Sure, why not?" she asked. "On one condition. When we're done hittin' up the bar, y'let me see the inside-a that bird again. It's nice t'be able t'admire the inside when there en't no work what's gotta be done. How's that fer you?"

@TheDudeMike

 

[L'Arra]

L'Arra's eyes widened at the price. Sleek drove a hard damn bargain. Eight grand was just about everything she made from the Drexl hunt. Was going to be well worth it to have that IG unit working for her instead, though. He handed her credit chip over to Sleek. The promise of the Lightdancer being as good as new was something she couldn't pass up.

Sleek accepting her proposal for drinks, even adding on they go back to L'Arra's place afterwards made the fanged smile return. Way too damn proud of herself for her own good. "Certainly wouldn't be askin' ya to go anywhere else!"

The smile faded a bit, and L'Arra leaned against the counter. "They say you fence goods too? Could use a reliable dropoff for when shipments don't get paid for."

@Remileah

 

[Yoshiko "Sleek" Ryder]

___"I know yer prob'ly thinkin' I'm chargin' a lot," Sleek said as she took the credit chip, seeing L'Arra's eyes widen at her prices. "I promise if y'took it t'anyone else, they'd charge ya double and do the work half as good as I will. There's a reason y'got recommended t'me," she concluded as she finished applying the charge to the credit chip, then handed it back to the other Fiani. Once the account was settled, Sleek rose to her feet.

___"Sounds like we got a deal once all-a this work's done," she cooed sweetly. "Di-Gi, go get the energiser an' repair grid fired up," she told her BD unit, who promptly rushed off to do as his mistress instructed. Sleek walked out from behind the counter, grabbing her tight-beam emitter and servodriver from the improvised workbench behind her.

___"Ayup, sure do," Sleek confirmed L'Arra's second question. "Why? Y'got some scratch y'need cleaned and skiffed off-world?" she asked as she approached the door leading to the hangar bay. "I can set it up, but yer cost fer the repairs en't cover that. S'gonna be extra, 'specially if it's still hot. Gonna be more if it's somethin' Imperial, Senate, or Hutt. But," she paused, "I might be convinced t'let our get-together after work pay fer it," Sleek teased with another amused titter.

@TheDudeMike

 

[L'Arra]

L'Arra beamed as everything went through. It faded shortly after though, as Sleek began talking about the salvage to fence. She shook her head. "Don't got any goods yet, that IG unit ruined it all before we were able to take 'em down," she said, pointing at the broken droid. "Tough fucker, him." She'd spent five years in the Imperial Navy and that was still one of the more intense fire fights she had ever been through.

She shook her head again. "Nah, I'll pay in full. After work is after work. Girl deserves to be paid for the work she does, yeah?" L'Arra turned to Sleek, hands on her hips again. "Sometimes a job doesn't get complete. One side forgets the other is sendin' a shipment. Just gonna bring the goods here instead."

@Remileah

 

[Yoshiko "Sleek" Ryder]

___"Well, whenever yer in the market, feel free t'come on by again," Sleek said, focusing her attention on the droid L'Arra pointed out. "Not t'be devil's advocate, darlin', but I'd hope it was tough. IG-series en't nothin' t'scoff at," she continued, leaning forward to examine the droid closer. "Damage-resistant armour, acid-proof servo wires, more sensors than we got fingers."

___While examining the droid, Sleek squinted closely at the chassis. She hummed thoughtfully.

___"Surprised this one en't self-destruct. Last I remember, IG-series were hard-coded t'destroy themselves. Ol' Holowan didn't want their corpo secrets gettin' out," she mused as she rose. "Well, lucky fer them, I en't int'rested in nickin' their secrets. I'll wipe it like y'asked. Rather not risk havin' any-a these cans comin' after me fer yoinkin' their specs'r whatever." With the repair grid and energiser started by her droid, Sleek approached the starship to begin looking it over and assessing the needed work.

___"En't you the considerate sort?" she asked. "En't tryin' t'shave off some-a the extra credits fer havin' a night at the bar? What made y'wanna ask me t'join, anyway?" Sleek inquired. Her curiosity got the better of her. "Just the pretty face? Obviously know nothin' 'bout me, so I know it en't the personality."

@TheDudeMike

 

[L'Arra]

L'Arra nodded as Sleek mentioned the features of an IG droid. She wasn't actually there when the droid got taken down, but she did notice a few bolts had hit the circuits in the head. The memory of running away with that guy that was gonna buy her haul filled her mind. Strange guy that one.

"Got into a bit of a scrap after he popped out a crate. I ran with the guy that wanted to buy my shipment. Came back to find him like this," L'Arra explained. "If I hadta guess, I'd say Hutts wanted him intact. Doesn't matter though, I got 'em instead."

She turned to Sleek, tilting her head. Her ears twitched, tail swishing enthusiastically. "When you've seen the shit I have, you learn to shoot your shot at what you like," she said, grinning. "Gorgeous thing like you, and you can fix ships to boot? Hells. You're lucky I'm not getting ona knee here."

@Remileah

 

[Yoshiko "Sleek" Ryder]

___Whether it was luck or skill, Sleek wasn't going delve too deep into how L'Arra and her "friend" successfully avoided making the IG-series self-destruct.

___"S'pose it en't," she answered. If it hadn't exploded yet, chances were it wouldn't at all, and whether or not the Hutts wanted it, it was in L'Arra's possession now. Sleek wasn't one to ask too many questions. She was content to let go of the why and how of things. The woman approached the ship to begin her work on the exterior, beginning with cleaning off carbon scoring as Di-Gi rushed inside the craft to start his work there.

___"When y'say gorgeous, I gotta wonder what yer talkin' 'bout, though I think I might already know. Call it curiosity," Sleek said as she buffed out the superfluous damage and blemishes on L'Arra's starship. She first wanted to clean it up to look new and shiny, and she could take care of the maintenance when that was done. Besides, Di-Gi could do most of it himself.

___"Y'got a weakness fer gearhead tomboys'r somethin'?" the woman asked with a laugh.

@TheDudeMike

 

[L'Arra]

L'Arra fished a death stick out of her pocket and lit it, taking a deep drag, turning to her ship as the BD unit ran inside. Her yellow eyes scanned the hangar, despite the lack of danger. Old habits die hard. "A cursed Fiani with a bright smile? Yeah, I got a weakness for that. Your... assets are certainly a plus," she said, turning a quick grin to Sleek.

"Been around the galaxy a time or two. Flew in a lot of ships, dropped bombs from most of 'em. True beauty is something you rarely get to see out there," she said. "So when I see it, I call it how I see it."

@Remileah

 

[Yoshiko "Sleek" Ryder]

___Cursed Fiani. That was a stigma Sleek hadn't heard in a long time. After living on Nar Shaddaa for so long, she had grown accustomed to people ignoring the colour of her hair. She was just a starship mechanic and salvage operation, not a font of bad luck on two legs.

___"Cursed Fiani with a bright smile? Y'sure ya en't just lookin' in a mirror, darlin'?" Sleek chuckled with amusement, her head turning to look at the other Fiani. L'Arra wasn't too hard on the eyes, herself. She looked marginally shorter than Sleek, and their eyes and hair were the same colour. If L'Arra let her hair grow out, they might even be a spitting image of each other, discrepancies in their figures aside.

___"That last bit was what I was expectin'," the mechanic said as she returned to her business. "It's on the list-a every person I asked so far. S'pose I can't blame ya, though. They are just kinda hangin' out, en't they? Didn't expect ya t'be attracted t'bad luck, though," she mused with a chuckle. At least L'Arra was forward. Sleek could respect a woman who didn't shy away from speaking her mind, especially considering the modern propensity for more modest phrasing. Someone willing to tell it how they saw it was a welcomed reprieve.

___"I weren't never a dogfighter," Sleek said, cleaning up the last few carbon scores. "My interest is purely technical. 'Course, I can admire a well-flyin' bird, and I know how t'fly, but y'throw me in a fight, I'd prob'ly be floated in a second." She wasn't afraid to admit she'd never fought before. After all, if L'Arra was going to be honest with her, it would be discourteous not to be the same way. "Y'tell all the girls y'try t'pick up that same line?"

@TheDudeMike

 

[L'Arra]

L'Arra took another drag from her death stick, blowing the smoke out of her nose slowly. "You bein' down here is what keeps me up there," she said, pointing to the sky. She gave Sleek a quick, fang filled, grinning glance. "I only use it on the girls that deserve it."

L'Arra looked around, finding a long container that neither the droid nor Sleek had touched yet. She sat down on the ground, putting her back to it, and making sure she wasn't blocking the thing from opening in anyway. "Aren't too many dogfights happening in that bird though," she said with a frown. It seemed like every day she missed the nimble TIE she flew for the Empire. "It's got some good handlin', but it can't do anything crazy to get someone off your tail." Another long drag from her death stick.

"What about you?" she asked, looking at Sleek. "You been a mechanic the whole time or is it something you just fell into?"

@Remileah

 

[Yoshiko "Sleek" Ryder]

___"Yer criteria fer what kinda girl deserves it seems t'be pretty minimal," Sleek responded with a subdued chuckle. There was a vague sense of lingering disappointment in her heart. Was she yearning for some kind of more substantial answer? "Y'seem almost disappointed 'bout that. The lack-a dogfights, I mean. Y'must be one-a those extra crazy adrenaline junkies if y'sound like y'want folk t'actively shoot at ya."

___Once Sleek removed all the carbon scoring, she set down her tools and walked to the external maintenance panel. The woman popped it off and set it to the side to begin rummaging through the internals, checking the integrity of the shield deflectors and inertial dampeners. She grabbed her all-kit tool to start tending to the components and a datapad to jack into one of the ports to run calibrations.

___"Been doin' it m'whole life," Sleek answered. "Ever since I was a kid growin' up on Fiana. I went t'the star port when I was four, maybe five, and that was that," she laughed. "Daddy couldn't keep me outta the place, but all the mechanics there took a shine t'me. They let me hang around, taught me things as they could, and here I am all these years later," Sleek explained, her tails swaying methodically as she reminisced. She cast a glance over her shoulder at L'Arra.

___"And you?" she asked. "What's yer story, Li'l Miss Curse-Bearer? I find that nearly every Fiani like us got some kinda story what's prob'ly more sombre than most."

@TheDudeMike

 

[L'Arra]

"I'd take a good dogfight over a shootout in the street any day," L'Arra said, her sigh mixing with exhaling death stick smoke. "Down here, it's all runnin', shootin', trying to get any piece of cover you can get. Up there it's just... somethin' else." She looked almost longingly at the sky. The adrenaline from going full speed through a narrow canyon was fun too, but she'd made her point already.

Her gaze met Sleek as she talked about her childhood on Fiana. Long way from home here on Nar Shaddaa. More to do though. L'Arra's parents sometimes mentioned Fiana; didn't seem like the kind of place to attract spacers. Sleek probably made a hell of a lot more credits here in a day than the Fiana spaceport made in a standard cycle.

"Not much to tell, really," L'Arra said, taking another drag. "Grew up in a conservative Fiani community on Corellia. Got bullied as a kid. Struck out as soon as I was old enough and sign up with the Empire as a pilot. Flew a TIE with the Navy until my contract ended. Been smuggling for the syndicates ever since, just to keep me in space."

@Remileah

 

[Yoshiko "Sleek" Ryder]

___"You, too?" Sleek inquired. "Granted, I weren't on Corellia. I grew up on Fiana, but accordin' t'Daddy, got born in a real conservative community afore he and mom decided t'go t'Teakroof."

___Sleek, satisfied with the results from the diagnostics, unplugged her datapad from the ship and replaced the panel. As the re-attached it, Di-Gi scampered out of the ship's hull and presented a small data bank to the woman.

___"Thanks, buddy," she said. "Let's take a look." Sleek plugged the data bank into her pad. She scanned over the information, ears attentively flitting as L'Arra elaborated about her time in the Empire. That was information she wasn't expecting. A lovely lady like L'Arra involved with the Empire? The more she considered it, the more it began to make sense. The "curse" of black-haired Fiani could push them towards paths they might not usually take.

___"Why en't y'wanna stick t'the service?" Sleek asked, scrolling through the information presented on her datapad. "Sounds like y'coulda had a real cosy life with the Empire, but y'chose t'go the route-a smugglin'. What's the reason?"

@TheDudeMike

 

[L'Arra]

L'Arra took a long drag of her death stick, flicking the rest of it away. She never could describe the feeling of seeing firebombs exploding where a village once stood, or seeing air defense craft spiraling down into the mud while knowing they were just defending their home. It was something she knew she'd have to do signing up, but wasn't quite prepared for when she got there. She crossed her legs at the ankles, swaying her booted feet side to side.

"I love flyin'. The moment my hands touched my first stick and throttle I was hooked," she started. Her happy outward demeanor fading to a somber remembrance. "Doing it for the Empire takes a toll on ya, though. There's a lot you gotta come to grips with real fast, and most of it stays with you." It had taken L'Arra a full year after getting out for the nightmares to lower to once or twice a week instead of every night. Everything from a simple missing of a morning formation to decimating cities from above. It's like her subconscious mind lived with the motto the crazier the better.

"Anyway, smugglin' gives just as many thrills. Got a lot more perks though," she added, the fanged grin returning as she gave Sleek a wink.

@Remileah