Freeport was one of those spaceports that attracted a variety of travelers. Located in the Mid Rim Confederation, it welcomed all comers, be they upright citizens or some of the more unsavory elements that roamed the space ways. And while Mos Eisley still undisputedly held the title as "the most wretched hive of scum and villainy" in the known galaxy, Freeport was a very strong contender and would probably take the title in the future.

Kylo and Rey have been here for 3 days, making repairs on the Falcon and scoping out the job boards for something worth their time. At the moment Rey is shoulders deep in disassembling an onboard condenser. She's hot, sweaty and her arms are greasy up past her elbows.

"That's a good look for you." teased Kylo as he came into the main deck from the crew quarters. Rey just gives him a side eye glare and whacks the condenser with a wrench. "It's dead, for a ducat dead. Sound taps."

"What do you mean dead?"

"As in nonfunctioning beyond any hope of recovery."

"Can we fly without it?"

"Sure. How long can you hold your breath? It's part of the air recirculation system."

"You could have just said no."

"Kylo, I'm hot, sweaty, covered with grease, and I've been beating on this damn thing for 2 hours. Don't expect sweetness and light today."

"Alright, alright." he says, holding his hands up in front of his chest. "Pax, ok? Do we have to replace the whole unit or just some parts?"

She frowned at the condenser. "By rights we should replace it, but if I can get the parts I can baby it along for a bit longer."

"I guess the old girl is showing her age. I checked her records once. She was put into service nearly a hundred years ago."

Rey grabbed a rag and started wiping the grease on her arms. It's a valiant attempt to clean up but mostly it just pushes the grease around. She glares at the grease, the rag, the condenser, and Kylo in that order. "Let me get cleaned up and I'll hit the salvage yards. You can find just about anything in Freeport."

"I'll head back to the Open Terminal and scope out the job boards again. Maybe I can find something worhwhile that isn't arms running or glitterstim smuggling."

"You're not going to let me live down Mos Eisley, are you?" grumbled Rey.

"Oh, I suppose I will." grinned Kylo. "Eventually."

"Smart ass." muttered Rey as she headed to the fresher to scrub off the grease.

"Meet for dinner later?" he called after her.

"Sure. Charley's Cantina in a couple of hours?"

"It's a date."

"We are not dating." she threw over her shoulder from the fresher.

A few hours later Rey is back at the Falcon with replacement parts for the condenser. "The scavengers at this dump are lazy slobs." she grumbled. "It's going to take me hours to get these parts clean enough to install. Unkar Plutt wouldn't give a quarter portion for something this dirty."

She carefully lays the parts out next to the condenser, hits the fresher for a quick wash and heads out to meet Kylo at Charley's.

As she walks through the door to the cantina she looks around for Kylo. She spots him at a booth in the back and Who Is That With Him? Why is he sitting with a woman? As Rey walks closer she looks the woman over with a potentially lethal stink eye. Holy Force, the woman is beyond beautiful. Long flame red hair, slanted emerald green eyes, pouty full lips, porcelain skin, and Merciful Gods, her figure! She makes Rey feel like a stick figure. She almost turns around and leaves but steels herself and continues back to the table. She has never run from a fight, and this one has the potential of being a doozy.

She reaches the table and stands there, fists clenched, glaring at Kylo. He's still in deep conversation with the … the … floozy and finishes what he was saying before he turns to look at Rey.

"Hi Rey. Did you find the condenser parts?" says Kylo. Rey nods. she doesn't trust herself to talk yet. Kylo tilts his head a little and looks at her some more, trying to read her mood through the bond. Why is she seething? "Would you like to sit down?" he asks.

"I suppose." she says sourly. She sits on the bench next to Kylo but puts a much distance as she can between them.

"Kateria," he says, addressing that woman, "I would like you to meet my partner and friend, Rey Skywalker."

"Charmed." said Rey shortly. Kylo shoots her an inquiring look but she won't look at him.

"Rey, this is Kateria Ren. We were both at the Jedi Academy back in the day."

Oh, this is even worse. Not just a girlfriend, but a Force sensitive girlfriend.

"Hello Rey." said Kateria. "I've been looking forward to meeting you. Kylo has been telling me about you." Stars, even her voice is gorgeous, thought Rey in despair.

"Uh, well, Uh, Kylo, I think I'll just go back to the Falcon and work on the condenser. Let you spend time with your friend."

"Hells Bells woman, what's wrong with you? Did I do something wrong? Say something wrong?"

Rey just looks miserable and stands up. About this time Kateria decides to jump into the mix, "Rey, I know you are Force sensitive." She holds out her hand. "If you will take a quick look I think it will clear things up." Rey reluctantly touches Kateria's outstretched hand and concentrates. "Oh! Oh Maker, I'm so embarrassed."

"Don't be." Kateria sighed. "It happens more often than I would like."

"You know, I'm completely lost." complained Kylo.

"Let me sum up for you." said Kateria. "I just let Rey see that you and I were work colleagues and platonic friends, nothing more. It helps when you can just show a few memories to explain."

"So did you just happen to bump into Kylo?" asked Rey, relieved that this beautiful woman was just a friend.

"No, I was looking for him. Fortunately, the Millennium Falcon is a very recognizable ship. I just waited nearby until I saw him." Kateria looked around, waved down a server and ordered drinks and a platter of sandwiches.

"Are you one of the Knights of Ren? I thought they wore masks and black from head to toe."

"I guess you could call me a former Knight." said Kateria. The server bustled up with the drinks and sandwiches so Kateria waited for him to leave before continuing.

"When Lemash Ren told us we were being sent to Exegol to kill Kylo I said 'Bugger this for a game of soldiers' and handed in my resignation by stealing a TIE Fighter and taking off."

"I glad you made that decision Kateria." said Kylo. "I didn't want to kill you."

Well thank you, Kylo. I didn't want to die."

"So why were you looking for me?" asked Kylo.

"I wanted to pass along a warning." Kateria replied."You and I were best buds at the Academy, and you always treated me well when we were with Snoke. Hell, you took some of my punishments from the old bastard - and you didn't have to do that."

"So a warning. You can't hide under the name Ben Solo very much longer. Someone from the First Order knew your original name and has been pushing it hard as a 'reliable rumor' to the right people." Kateria paused to take a drink and a bite of a sandwich. "My girlfriend's a bounty hunter and the price for bringing you in alive is up to a ridiculous amount. The price for you dead isn't as much, but it's still enough to make anyone comfortable for quite some time."

At this Rey goes cold. She couldn't lose Kylo again.

"One more piece of advice," continued Kateria, "You need to do something about the Millennium Falcon. Getting a splicer to alter the ship signature might help for a while, but the hunters chasing you know what the old girl looks like." She finishes her drink and stands up. "Loorie, my girlfriend, has agreed to let you alone while you are at Freeport, but when you leave you will be fair game. I'm not helping her on this one - for old times sake."

She smiles at Rey, gives Kylo a friendly peck on the cheek, and strolls out of the cantina, the sway in her walk attracting male eyes from every corner of the room.

"She is a very beautiful woman." said Rey quietly.

"So are you, Rey." said Kylo with a smile. "Let's finish up here and get back to the ship."