Scrapyards in the Spaceport were ten-a-penny, but like all places with an abundance of a particular tone, the quality of parts available in such places tended to vary, depending on which one you frequented. By mid-morning the next day, Mira had already vetoed three of the yards Yana had taken her to, and Yana was beginning to regret volunteering to take her out at all. If it wasn't for the fact that Kalen wanted some time alone to speak to BB-D2 about a past he himself barely remembered, she might have insisted he did it, instead. As it was, she followed Mira into the next yard, nodding to the owner in his office as they passed him by. The teenaged mechanic seemed more impressed by this yard, ducking away from the ships being stripped toward the heaps of discarded parts with every sign of interest, leaving Yana to find somewhere reasonably clean to sit and wait.
Like most places at the Spaceport, there were all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds milling around the scrapyard. Some of them, like Mira, were searching for this or that part to fix this or that piece of machinery. Some of them were what was known as "pickers", looking for rare parts and items so they could sell them to someone else at a higher price. There were scavengers and mechs and various others, all looking to either buy something they needed or sell something they wanted to get rid of. There were workers there, too, some of them working to strip down equipment so that they could salvage the parts that were still worth selling.
It wasn't long before Yana lost sight of Mira altogether. The young mechanic had apparently found exactly the place she had been looking for, roping in a random astromech to help her locate some of the more specialized parts on her list. Unlike Kalen, however, Yana wasn't bothered that the girl was out of her eyeline. She simply took up station by the entrance, arms crossed comfortably, to wait as long as it took, which was turning out to be longer than she had expected.
"Should have brought a book," she was muttering to herself when Mira came back into view, hauling a heavy basket of parts with her.
"You look after these," the young mech told her. "I saw a hydraulic compressor back there that'd be perfect."
Before Yana could say anything in response, the girl was gone again, leaving her to defend the basket of parts against anyone who thought they could pick out of it.
Some were human or humanoid, others were anything but. It wasn't the kind of place where you'd expect to run into someone you knew, but then Fate had a way of doing that to people, especially on Rhy'Din. It wasn't so much the looks of the young man that might have drawn anyone's attention as it was the debate that was going on between him and a Trandoshan who seemed to be arguing over the same piece of scrap metal.
As the argument went on, Mira's attention was drawn that way. She didn't really take much notice of the two arguing, her eyes focusing on the part held between them. With a nonchalance that would have made Yana's eyes bug out, she wandered in that direction.
"Excuse me, may I have that?" she asked the Trandoshan politely as he gesticulated with the part, and because she was young, and sweet, and softly-spoken, he handed it over without even breaking his tirade at the human male in front of him. Mira grinned. "Thanks." And with the part tapping against her leg, she wandered off once again, still looking for the hydraulic compressor she could have sworn she'd seen a moment ago.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" the human declared, as the large lizard-like humanoid handed over the item they'd both been arguing over. He turned to stalk after Mira with the intention of reclaiming it, when the Trandoshan gave him a shove, knocking him off balance, just for the hell of it.
"Hmm?" Mira turned back in time to see the shove. "Hey!" Brandishing the part, she gestured in the Trand's direction. "Back off and find something you know how to use, lizard-features!"
"Lizard features!" the human echoed, laughing. "I think she just insulted you, Gris. He's a T'doshok," he corrected for the girl's benefit. "And he doesn't take too kindly to being called a ..." He might have finished that thought if the lizard in question wasn't picking him up by the collar and shaking him. "No offense, Gris. You're the handsomest lizard I've seen in years!"
"I don't care what he is, he's ..." She trailed off as the human was lifted off his feet, letting her head tip back to really take in certain details. "....really big. Hey, are those claws?"
Things might have taken a turn for the worse if Yana hadn't come looking to find out what the commotion was about. The sound of her activating her blaster cut right through all the background noise. "Hello, Gris," she said calmly. "Put him down, there's a good boy. Mira here wouldn't hurt a fly, but I will shoot you. Your choice."
"Yeah, be a good boy and put me down, Gris!" the young man said, trying hard not to flail, as the lizard hissed in irritation before dropping the human unceremoniously to the ground. He hissed another warning in Yana's direction, but didn't think the scavenged part was worth getting shot over and backed off.
"Same to you," Yana said politely, gesturing with her blaster for the lizard to make himself scarce. As he did so, she turned a weary look onto Mira. "How did you manage to start a fight in a scrapyard?"
Mira shrugged innocently. "I didn't! All I did was ask nicely for the part - he started the fight." And by he, she meant the man now on the ground.
The man in question brushed the dirt from his trousers as he climbed to his feet. Now that the sentient lizard had backed off, he paused to take a look at the pair of women, eyes narrowed first at Mira. "You shouldn't have interfered. I almost had him convinced," he said, making a swipe for the part in question.
As Mira jerked back, holding onto the part she felt she'd gained ownership of fair and square, Yana's blaster swung about to aim at the man making a grab for it. "Uh-uh-uh," she warned, taking a better look at him now he wasn't on the floor. "Gav Rowan, you know better than to snatch something from a woman, especially one with an armed friend."
Mira's head swung around to stare at Yana. "You know him?"
A wide smile spread across the young man's features as he turned to Yana, recognizing her now that she'd called attention to herself. "Yana Triem?" he asked, grinning like an idiot and doing his best to ignore her blaster. "Well, how in the Nine Hells are you?" He might have picked her up off her feet into a bear hug if it wasn't for the blaster. "And who's this pretty young thing?" he asked, swinging his gaze back at Mira.
Yana chuckled at the reaction, holstering her blaster as the tension eased. "Off-limits," she warned her old friend with a smile. "Mira, do we actually need that part?"
Mira glanced between the pair of them, looking down at the rod in her hand. "Not if we find something better," was her qualifying response. "Who's your friend?"
Yana smiled, rolling her eyes. "Mira, this is Gav Rowan," she introduced them. "Gav, Mira."
"Oh, don't be such a spoil sport, Yana," he pouted. He might have gone on to remark that he hadn't even met the girl yet, but Yana took care of that little detail pretty quickly. "It's okay," he said, with a grin at Mira. "Keep it. I was just having fun getting Gris all worked up." He wiped a slightly grimy hand on his pants and offered her a hand. "A pleasure to meet you, Mira."
Like most places at the Spaceport, there were all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds milling around the scrapyard. Some of them, like Mira, were searching for this or that part to fix this or that piece of machinery. Some of them were what was known as "pickers", looking for rare parts and items so they could sell them to someone else at a higher price. There were scavengers and mechs and various others, all looking to either buy something they needed or sell something they wanted to get rid of. There were workers there, too, some of them working to strip down equipment so that they could salvage the parts that were still worth selling.
It wasn't long before Yana lost sight of Mira altogether. The young mechanic had apparently found exactly the place she had been looking for, roping in a random astromech to help her locate some of the more specialized parts on her list. Unlike Kalen, however, Yana wasn't bothered that the girl was out of her eyeline. She simply took up station by the entrance, arms crossed comfortably, to wait as long as it took, which was turning out to be longer than she had expected.
"Should have brought a book," she was muttering to herself when Mira came back into view, hauling a heavy basket of parts with her.
"You look after these," the young mech told her. "I saw a hydraulic compressor back there that'd be perfect."
Before Yana could say anything in response, the girl was gone again, leaving her to defend the basket of parts against anyone who thought they could pick out of it.
Some were human or humanoid, others were anything but. It wasn't the kind of place where you'd expect to run into someone you knew, but then Fate had a way of doing that to people, especially on Rhy'Din. It wasn't so much the looks of the young man that might have drawn anyone's attention as it was the debate that was going on between him and a Trandoshan who seemed to be arguing over the same piece of scrap metal.
As the argument went on, Mira's attention was drawn that way. She didn't really take much notice of the two arguing, her eyes focusing on the part held between them. With a nonchalance that would have made Yana's eyes bug out, she wandered in that direction.
"Excuse me, may I have that?" she asked the Trandoshan politely as he gesticulated with the part, and because she was young, and sweet, and softly-spoken, he handed it over without even breaking his tirade at the human male in front of him. Mira grinned. "Thanks." And with the part tapping against her leg, she wandered off once again, still looking for the hydraulic compressor she could have sworn she'd seen a moment ago.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" the human declared, as the large lizard-like humanoid handed over the item they'd both been arguing over. He turned to stalk after Mira with the intention of reclaiming it, when the Trandoshan gave him a shove, knocking him off balance, just for the hell of it.
"Hmm?" Mira turned back in time to see the shove. "Hey!" Brandishing the part, she gestured in the Trand's direction. "Back off and find something you know how to use, lizard-features!"
"Lizard features!" the human echoed, laughing. "I think she just insulted you, Gris. He's a T'doshok," he corrected for the girl's benefit. "And he doesn't take too kindly to being called a ..." He might have finished that thought if the lizard in question wasn't picking him up by the collar and shaking him. "No offense, Gris. You're the handsomest lizard I've seen in years!"
"I don't care what he is, he's ..." She trailed off as the human was lifted off his feet, letting her head tip back to really take in certain details. "....really big. Hey, are those claws?"
Things might have taken a turn for the worse if Yana hadn't come looking to find out what the commotion was about. The sound of her activating her blaster cut right through all the background noise. "Hello, Gris," she said calmly. "Put him down, there's a good boy. Mira here wouldn't hurt a fly, but I will shoot you. Your choice."
"Yeah, be a good boy and put me down, Gris!" the young man said, trying hard not to flail, as the lizard hissed in irritation before dropping the human unceremoniously to the ground. He hissed another warning in Yana's direction, but didn't think the scavenged part was worth getting shot over and backed off.
"Same to you," Yana said politely, gesturing with her blaster for the lizard to make himself scarce. As he did so, she turned a weary look onto Mira. "How did you manage to start a fight in a scrapyard?"
Mira shrugged innocently. "I didn't! All I did was ask nicely for the part - he started the fight." And by he, she meant the man now on the ground.
The man in question brushed the dirt from his trousers as he climbed to his feet. Now that the sentient lizard had backed off, he paused to take a look at the pair of women, eyes narrowed first at Mira. "You shouldn't have interfered. I almost had him convinced," he said, making a swipe for the part in question.
As Mira jerked back, holding onto the part she felt she'd gained ownership of fair and square, Yana's blaster swung about to aim at the man making a grab for it. "Uh-uh-uh," she warned, taking a better look at him now he wasn't on the floor. "Gav Rowan, you know better than to snatch something from a woman, especially one with an armed friend."
Mira's head swung around to stare at Yana. "You know him?"
A wide smile spread across the young man's features as he turned to Yana, recognizing her now that she'd called attention to herself. "Yana Triem?" he asked, grinning like an idiot and doing his best to ignore her blaster. "Well, how in the Nine Hells are you?" He might have picked her up off her feet into a bear hug if it wasn't for the blaster. "And who's this pretty young thing?" he asked, swinging his gaze back at Mira.
Yana chuckled at the reaction, holstering her blaster as the tension eased. "Off-limits," she warned her old friend with a smile. "Mira, do we actually need that part?"
Mira glanced between the pair of them, looking down at the rod in her hand. "Not if we find something better," was her qualifying response. "Who's your friend?"
Yana smiled, rolling her eyes. "Mira, this is Gav Rowan," she introduced them. "Gav, Mira."
"Oh, don't be such a spoil sport, Yana," he pouted. He might have gone on to remark that he hadn't even met the girl yet, but Yana took care of that little detail pretty quickly. "It's okay," he said, with a grin at Mira. "Keep it. I was just having fun getting Gris all worked up." He wiped a slightly grimy hand on his pants and offered her a hand. "A pleasure to meet you, Mira."