Chapter 4

Renos woke to the sound of blaster fire and sat bolt upright in his small bunk, hitting his head on the low ceiling.

"Owww," he rubbed his head as the blaster fire continued. It was still dark outside, the early morning had yet to begin. He quickly recovered and ran down to the ground floor. He could see Kel firing a blaster rifle from behind a windowsill.

"Hey, Jarren, get over here and help me fend of these thieves!"

A blaster bolt hit the wall next to Kel's head

"Karabast! What are you waiting for?! Get your pistol and help!"

Kel returned fire and Renos dashed back upstairs and retrieved the blaster pistol he had taken off the pirate he had hijacked. When he returned downstairs, he took up position on the other side of the door and tried to stay calm. He had used a blaster before, and was a decent shot, but never against this many foes. Letting the Force guide him, he crouched low and fired wildly into the street. A couple of screams could be heard, and yelling followed shortly after. The blaster fire died down after that and the street was silent once again.

"Thanks Jarren. Great shooting, by the way."

"Thanks, but I just got lucky."

"Heh, sometimes that's all you need in this galaxy. Come on, we gotta repaint the front of the store before we open. Can't have it looking like someone shot it up."

"But someone did shoot it up."

"And that's why we're repainting it. Everything we need is in the storage room in a crate labelled 'repairs.' Fetch it will ya?"

Renos went off and retrieved the crate. The two of them spent the rest of the night painting in the near-darkness.

"I'm going to hazard a guess and say that was the reason you needed new employees?"

"Heh, you're sharp. Yeah, the last ones ran off after the last attack. They usually only stay on the outskirts of town, but they seem to think an old lasat won't pose much of a threat. Shows what they know! Hah!"

When morning came, Renos was sleeping in a chair by the front of the store. Kel woke him and told gave him a list of things for him to do.

"And make sure you're careful with those damned capacitors! They're high-end stock and if they get damaged it's coming out of your pay." He added as Renos began his duties. A few hours into the day, a woman dressed better than anyone else Renos had seen since he came to Rishi entered, flanked by to imposing-looking bodyguards.

"Kellon, I assume you have my droid?" the woman said in a tone that implied a higher station than Kel's

"Of course I do. I would never sell off a customer's droid. Ah… Jarren! Come help the lady with her droid!"

"Coming!" Renos walked over and led the woman to where the T3 droid was waiting. It had not been powered up since the previous night and sat there motionless.

"Here you are. All fixed. We replaced the power cell and corrected a wiring mistake which was causing the massive power drain. It should be good to go now."

The woman's face lit up at the news as if she was not expecting this

"Well, that's wonderful. I had heard Kellon was nothing more than a junker, but it seems he knows what he is doing after all."

Kel, at the mention of his name, had gotten up and wandered over.

"Here, what's this?"

The woman turned to him

"Your worker here was just informing me of how you replaced the power cell and repaired the wiring. I am very impressed. I had brought this droid to every repair place in town but no one could fix it. Here, your pay as agreed upon."

The woman paid Kellon and left with her droid without another word while he stood there speechless. He regained his senses and looked at Renos sideways with an accusatory look

"I never repaired any wiring. Did you lie to her?"

"No, you replaced the power cell and I inspected the wiring last night and fixed it. Sorry, I should have asked you first, but I can't help myself when it comes to tinkering."

Kel visibly brightened at that

"Well, the customer is happy, and a job well done is nothing to shake a bo-rifle at. I might just make a respectable mechanic out of you yet Jarren."

Renos thanked him and got back to work