Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. I, in fact, own very little, so I hope the real owners don't mind me having a little fun with their creations.

As always, reviews are most welcome – but please be gentle. I do not have a beta reader, so please excuse any typos/mistakes. Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 2

Schala Fehr glanced down again at the digital map device she held in her palm, and then eyed the nearby shop signs to see if she could figure out where she was. She was not permitted out of the trade district very often, so she was unfamiliar with the tech district of the city. And, it was rapidly become clear to her, the map Quilp had given her was outdated, meaning she was completely lost. The cantina owner had barked at her to go get a part to repair the hovercraft, had shoved the map device in her hand, and abruptly thrust her out the door. Normally, she welcomed any chance to spend the day away from the cantina and its owner, Quilp, but being lost in the tech district wasn't very appealing either.

There were shops where her map said streets were supposed to be, streets that didn't appear on her map at all, and several turns she tried to make stopped at dead ends. At this point, she'd be lucky to make it back to the cantina, much less find the shop she was looking for. To make matters worse, coming back late last night, with a broken hovercraft no less, had put Quilp in a foul mood. If she came back late again today and with no part, she'd get it for sure.

She was about to give up her search and try to find her way back to the cantina, when she spotted a First Order MO-18 model surveillance droid heading her direction. She motioned to the droid, and it started making its way over to her. The way the MO-18 droids slowly hovered with dozens of thin antennae dangling, always circling, always watching, normally set her on edge, but this was one time she was actually glad the First Order kept an eye on everything.

"Yes, citizen?" the droid's tinny voice asked in Basic.

"My map is a bit outdated. I'm wondering if you might be able to update it. I'm trying to find Perl's Salvage Yard."

A small appendage shot out of the droid, and Schala quickly plugged in her map. When the device beeped after a few moments, Schala knew the update was complete. She detached it from the droid and immediately started scanning for Perl's Salvage Yard.

"I have marked Perl's Salvage Yard on you map," the MO-18 droid droned. "You may proceed to your destination." The MO-18 continued on its surveillance route without another word.

Schala was glad to be rid of the droid and even happier that her map was now updated and correct. She spared no time in hurrying to the salvage yard.

As she came upon Perl's Salvage Yard, her first thought was that it looked like a dump. Her second thought was that it was no wonder that Quilp had sent her there. The cantina owner was a notorious cheapskate, and he certainly didn't care about quality if he could get a bargain part at a bargain price. The front of the yard looked like a graveyard for anything mechanical. There were half-scavenged droids, hovercrafts, speeders and plenty of other things Schala couldn't even begin to identify. She walked past the jumble of parts and headed towards the yard's sole building.

She saw that even the door was not safe from being used for scrap – it was in pieces and barely attached to the hinges. She stepped inside and looked around. There were several aisles with waist-high bins full of miscellaneous parts. Several customers were rummaging through the containers now. She wondered how anyone could find what they were looking for because she doubted the parts were organized in any way.

As Schala headed to the back counter, she placed the map device in her vest pocket and pulled out a small leather satchel with the units Quilp had given her to pay for the part. She was relieved to find that Perl happened to be a rather large, female Iskaal. The Iskaal were a diminutive humanoid species with pronounced jowls on their faces and bright, almond-shaped eyes. They were known for their voracious appetites, and so most Iskaal were rather portly.

Schala reached the counter and waited for Perl to acknowledge her before she spoke. "I'm looking for a small thruster that would work in a FT-495 hovercraft."

"Let's see what we've got," Perl said as she walked back to the bins behind the counter. Schala watched as the woman pulled out one bin, rummaged around, found nothing and then pulled out another. Schala sincerely doubted that Perl could find anything among the jumble, but she waited patiently for the shopkeeper, who happened to find what she was looking for in the fifth bin.

The Iskaal waddled back to the counter. "This should do just fine. You'll have to make a few modifications to make it fit right, but you most likely won't find anything that works better. The FT models are old hovercrafts. You'd be better off replacing it than fixing it." She motioned behind her, "I've got some of the new models out back if you'd like to take a look?"

Schala couldn't help but smirk. "That won't be necessary. I don't think Quilp Kur will be buying a new hovercraft anytime soon."

Perl barked out a laugh. "Oh, you work for that miser, Quilp, then?" Schala nodded. "He still running that dingy cantina? What was that place called again?" Perl put a hand to her forehead, trying to coax the name from memory.

"The Ark," Schala offered.

"The Ark! That's right." Perl chuckled softly. "I haven't been there in forever. He still serving that watered down yapring? That man used to keep it so watered down, you'd have to drink three times as much as normal before you'd even start to feel drunk." She paused and thought to herself for a moment. "And that wanker charges twice as much as most places, right?" Perl laughed again, and Schala couldn't help but join her.

Perl put the thruster on the counter. "I won't keep you longer by chatting too much with you. I bet he's a rather inpatient man to work for, and I'm sure you're itching to get back before he throws a hissy. It's 450 units for the thruster."

Schala's face fell as she looked into her satchel. "Any chance you could make it 400?" She gave Perl an apologetic look. "That's all Quilp gave me," she shrugged and looked hopefully at Perl.

Perl was quiet for a moment as she studied Schala. "Oh, I suppose. It'd be useless to try to squeeze one more unit from that man. Give me your 400." Perl tried to sound irritated, but she grinned at Schala anyway.

Schala quickly laid all her units on the counter, snatched the thruster and secured it safely in her satchel. "You're a lifesaver! Thank you so much!"

"Now you run along back to Quilp before he has your head!" Perl winked at her.

As Schala walked toward the entrance, she watched Perl head over to two men, who Schala noticed had been there since before she arrived. They had been combing through the bins, no doubt looking for a specific part. She could hear Perl ask them if she could help find what they were looking for, but her ears stopped working the moment she caught sight of one of the men.

Schala didn't get a real good look before he turned his back, but she was almost certain it was the man from the night before – the one who had helped her with the hovercraft. She stopped where she was and pretended to look through the container in front of her, but her gaze was fixed on the man's back, willing him to turn just a little so she could see his face.

This man was wearing a rust and sand colored flight jacket with dark pants; the man last night had been clad entirely in black. The man in front of her, though, had the same dark, thick waves of hair as the man from last night.

If she was being honest, she had thought quite a bit about him. She wasn't sure what to make of him. His behavior was odd, but she couldn't figure out what exactly was out-of-place about him. He had been kind enough to help her, which was in his favor, but he didn't try to make much conversation with her either, which she took to mean he wasn't interested. She thought he was very good looking, dangerously so even, but he probably thought what most men thought about her – that she was small and plain – and then he probably never thought about her again.

The man turned slightly, and Schala saw his profile and was able to confirm it was in fact the man from last night. She allowed herself a moment to daydream about what would happen if she just went over there. She could say she recognized him from last night, wanted to thank him and introduce herself. In her daydream, he was happy to see her again, she would say something witty and he would be charming, and then he would offer to walk her back to the cantina. She knew she'd never have enough guts to actually go over there though, so she just sighed and told herself to keep dreaming.

As she walked past the broken door, she pulled out her map device and started typing in the coordinates for the cantina. If she hurried back and had no problems, she could probably make it back before Quilp had expected her. Even if he wouldn't be impressed with her timeliness, at least she'd been able to complete this errand successfully, which would save her from getting an earful.

She had barely made it down the street when she heard a man's voice calling behind her, "Miss! Hey, miss! Wait up!"

Schala turned to see who was behind her and had to keep her mouth from gaping open. The man from last night and his companion were headed quickly in her direction. She had the sudden urge to bolt, to take off running and never look back, but instead she stood frozen. As they slowed to a stop in front of her, she realized that they wanted to talk to her. She just had no idea why.

"It's you!" the man from before said, surprised. "Last night – with the broken hovercraft?" The man turned his warm brown eyes on her, and Schala saw that he was even more handsome up close and in daylight. Suddenly she couldn't seem to find her voice, so she merely nodded.

"I'm glad to see that you're okay. It kind of sounded like you were in a lot of trouble last night." He sounded genuinely concerned, and Schala could feel heat rise to her cheeks. The other man from the shop took a few steps back as if to give them room to talk.

She willed herself to say something clever, like in her daydream, but her brain would not cooperate. "Thank you…for your help last night," she worried she sounded like she was stammering, so she softly cleared her throat, "…and thank you for stopping to check on me. I'm fine, as you can see. Thank you." Schala could not believe she just said thank you three times in a row. Since the ground was not likely to swallow her up, she figured it was time for her to go and she headed off again.

"No, please wait," the man said, stopping her.

Schala turned back, a quizzical look on her face. Could her daydream possibly be coming true right now? Did he want to talk with her? Introduce himself?

The man from last night asked, "Did you just come from Perl's shop?" His warm brown eyes found hers again, and her stomach did a little flip.

She couldn't believe this was really happening right now, and she found it hard to focus. A simple, "Yes," was all she could muster. At least she was able to form a one syllable sentence. Had he seen her in the shop and followed her out? Was it possible that he was actually interested in her?

The man from the night before put a hand to the back of his neck. "Did you by any chance buy a thruster while you were there?"

The unusual question brought Schala rapidly back to reality. She responded with a hesitant, "Yes," because she was not quite sure what else to do.

The man looked apologetically at her. "The thing is, my friend and I also need that thruster. Perl said she sold the last one she had to you. Any chance you'd be willing to sell it to us?"

Schala suddenly realized what was going on here. He wasn't interest in her. He'd been surprised that he had recognized her, for sure, but it wouldn't have matter who she was. He was after the thruster. She wasn't sure she'd ever felt smaller or more stupid in her life.

Schala came to her senses as if she'd been slapped. "I'm sorry. I can't." She took some satisfaction that she could make him a fraction as disappointed as she felt.

The man frowned. "The thing is, we're in a really tight spot here, and you may just have the last truncated thruster in the city." He took a step closer to her. "Any chance I could change your mind?" He said the last part rather softly and gave Schala a persuasive look.

She couldn't believe it – was he trying to flirt with her, manipulate her into giving up the thruster? Before, all she could think was that he had one of those dark and handsome faces she had always dreamed about. But now, she thought he just looked proud and arrogant. He thought he could just turn on the charm, and she'd melt? The fact that she had been practically melting over him moments ago no longer mattered at this point.

Schala's blood began to boil. He wasn't interested in her at all, just in getting what he wanted. Schala shook her head. "You don't understand. I can't…"

The man interrupted her. "Whatever it is, I'm sure we can work it out." He smiled at her. "If it's about the units, we'll double whatever you paid for it."

"No, it's not about the units," she didn't try to hide the irritation from her voice. "My employer sent me out here to get the thruster. I can't go back without it, especially now I know there's no chance I'll find another one." She started to walk away. "I'm sorry, but I really can't help you, and I have to be getting back."

The man stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder, and Schala was disappointed that her traitorous body grew warm under his touch. She looked back and met his eyes as boldly as she could. But his deep, dark eyes pleaded with her. "We really need that part," he said softly.

Schala wasn't sure what to do. She knew there was no way she could show up at the cantina without the part, but she also couldn't help but feel guilty. She knew she shouldn't trust him, she knew he was playing her, but she couldn't help but be a little swayed by his plea. He sounded sincere.

Both men were still standing there, just watching her. Against her better judgment, she said, "I may have an idea that can get us both what we want."

"I'm listening," the man said in a hopeful tone.

The wheels turned in Schala's mind as she spoke. "I need to take the part with me back to the cantina. But the owner, Quilp, is a greedy man. I'm sure you can buy the part off of him. That way I get credit for bringing the part back, but in the end you'll have it."

The man from last night shot her a dazzling smile, and Schala had to remind herself that he was just using his good looks to charm her.

Before she could stop herself, she added, "If he thinks you're really interested in the part though, he'll likely gouge you on the price." She raised an eyebrow as she thought out loud, "It might be better if you say you're interested in the hovercraft instead. He'll think he's taking advantage of you by selling you a piece of junk that's liable to break down at any moment. You'll probably have an easier chance dealing with him that way, and it might even save you some units."

"That's a great idea. Thanks," the man said. Schala wondered if they should shake hands or something to close the deal, but she didn't think touching him again would be a good idea.

"Just make sure you come later tonight. That'll give him enough time to put the thruster in the hovercraft. You don't' want to offer to buy it until it actually has the part you're looking for."

"Will do. Thanks again," he shot her another smile.

"Well, you helped me last night, and so I've returned the favor. Now we're even," she said as she began to walk away.

"Uhh…what's your name?" the man asked. "So I can ask for you tonight."

"Schala," she said, before she could stop herself. "But don't mention me when you get there. Quilp makes all the deals, and it'll go better if we act like we've never met."

"Well, thank you, Schala. I don't think you realize how much you just helped us." She just nodded and walked away.

Schala didn't even look at her map device to see if she was headed in the right direction. She just wanted to put some distance between her and the men, because she had a bad feeling about what she had just done. She couldn't believe that she had just invited that man to the cantina tonight. She didn't know a thing about him, wasn't sure if she could trust him, and she didn't even know his name.

She could tell even last night that something was off about him, and she'd just brought that trouble to her doorstep. She hadn't been thinking clearly in the moment, but now one very big question popped into her mind. What did they need a thruster so desperately for? What had he been doing down her street last night? She was sure there was more to the story, and she was also sure she didn't want anything to do with it. Good looking man or not, she sincerely hoped she wouldn't see him again at the cantina that night.

A/N: Thank you for the kind reviews! I am so glad there are a few enjoying the story!