The Odd-Couple
--sparkvallen

Disclaimers: Same as before. I'm not Lucas nor am I Lucasfilm. You get the idea. ;)

Chapter Two

"So... you hear dat somebody knocked'over Merc's place last night?"

"Yeah, sumfin' about a robbery. Heard the ES'ers got there first. Some anony—anonymo... somebody commed the ES and didn't leave no message but they could trace where it was comin' from," Spyder finally managed to say.

Rym listened without comment as Wingnut and Spyder gossiped over last evening's adventure. After escaping Merc's Cantina, she had collapsed onto the sleep couch in her one-room apartment and fell into a restless sleep.

"What we need're more Jedi floatin' 'round dees parts, eh, Rym?"

She peeked her head out from beneath the speederbike and frowned at Wingnut. "'ever you say, Boss."

Wingnut and his other mechanics knew that discussing anything related to the resurgence of Jedi in the galaxy was a sore spot for Svoby. No one knew exactly why such conversation irritated her, but they did understand it was the best way to get her riled up for show.

"Maybe they'd take you wiff them on some adventure, Rym," Spyder suggested with a wink.

"Couldn't have that," she shot back. "Wingnut'd be left with just your lousy mechanic skills around here? Hah!" She slid back under the bike to continue replacing the damaged balance controls.

"Hey!"

"Now, now," Wingnut said in his grating voice. "Don't want either of you flippin' out on me. Gots work to do, ya know?" He paused a moment before adding, "Word's on de Holonet though dat ders some Jedi gonna be comin' here."

"To Coronet City?"

Rym shook her head. There were always rumors like that floating about. Not usually on the Holonet, but still... "Prob'ly just some stupid rumor," she snapped as she forced the balance control's casing back into its place. "Hear 'em all the time."

"On the 'net?" Wingnut challenged.

"Well..."

"Why'd they announ—anno... why'd they say they're gonna come? Not very secret mission if they're tellin' us like dat," Spyder managed.

"Scare tactic," the boss replied, as though he had any idea the Jedi Order's motives. To Rym, he asked, "You done with dat 'bike yet?"

Svoby slid out from under the speederbike and quickly stood. "As a matter of fact, I am." She dusted her hands off. "Just gotta crank 'er up and see that she runs."

"OUTSIDE!"

"Sithspit, I know that," she snapped back at him.

Rym fired up the 'bike on its standby mode just to test and make sure the repulsors worked. Seeing that that at least was successful, she gingerly guided the 'bike out of the open bay door and out in front of the garage. Svoby took a deep breath then climbed aboard the speederbike. Each time she made a major overhaul like this, she silently prayed that her work was accurate. If not, she'd go flying as far as the unlucky Rodian kid had.

The 'bike fired up without so much as a sputter, its over-powered engine roaring.

With a rare smile, she shut down the engine and climbed off. Already, she was counting on what sort of tip she might earn from the Rodian family for finishing ahead of schedule.

"Greetings," came a female voice that was firm yet soothing, just behind her.

Rym spun around, the hydrospanner flying unconsciously into her hand from the tool belt. It wasn't much of a weapon, but instincts were instincts. Her hand dropped to her side as she stared back at the woman, several inches shorter than her with deep, intense brown eyes and dark hair. She was garbed in shades of blue, the outermost layer being a dark blue robe.

"Um. Hey," she said after a moment.

"Do you always greet people with a ready weapon in hand?" the fellow human woman asked. She smiled and nodded toward the hydrospanner than Svoby gripped.

"In this part of town, ya bet I do." Rym had immediate suspicions about this woman. It wasn't normal for a woman to be well-dressed and traveling this part of Coronet City alone, much less on foot. She saw no transport in the vicinity.

The woman nodded.

"So, I take it you lost yer ride or somethin'?" Rym guessed. "Not many show up here without a 'bike or landspeeder..."

"Actually, I'm looking for a guide. Someone who knows the city well—"

Svoby was already tuning her out again, thinking back to how much she could make if Wingnut handed off one of his personal jobs to her.

"—who is looking to earn a fair reward for their services."

"What's a 'fair reward' to you?" she asked, leaning against the speederbike.

"Oh, now you're interested," the stranger teased. "A hefty some of New Republic credits and maybe a bonus of some sort later."

Rym persisted. "How hefty is hefty to someone like you? And what kinda bonus?"

"I believe you're just who I'm looking for," the woman said. "Why don't you just trust that I'll make it worth your while."

Trust you, she thought. Yeah. And you are...?

"You're probably wondering who I am, actually," she said knowingly. "Pharinseaya is what I'm called."

Svoby gave her a dubious look. Struggling to repeat the name, she managed, "Far-as-I-can-see-ya?"

"Close. More like fair-in-sea-ya. My parents had an unusual sense for pronunciation," she said with a light shrug. "And you are?"

"Svoby. Rym Svoby." She looked hard at Pharinseaya then the speederbike and finally toward the dim interior of Wingnut's Garage. "OK, look. I can't be takin' you nowheres as a tour guide 'til I get off my shift. You got credits or not, I got to earn my wage here too. Cuz one day you'll be outta here and I need to stay on Wingnut's good side. As if he had one."

"Fair enough," Pharinseaya agreed. "Why don't we meet when its convenient for you then?"

"When it's--?"

"When is a good time for you," she asked patiently.

"Oh, 'bout 1600 hours would be OK," Svoby said after a moment's thought.

"Alright then. We'll meet over supper. Sound good? Why don't we meet in the bazaar uptown a bit?" Pharinseaya suggested.

Uptown? Well, she gots some sense about her... "OK. I can get there, sure. It's awfully busy up there though, ya know..."

"I'm confident we'll find each other," she said with a wink.

"OK. Deal." Rym turned back to the speederbike and began guiding the hovering vehicle back toward the garage bay. Looking around her, the woman was gone.