Taris part 7

The next day was spent searching for a used swoop bike. Aiden, Shorcuk and I scoured the local bike shops hoping to get a deal. After the third shop, I was beginning to get annoyed. The owners wanted way more than I could afford. With a determined expression, I pushed open the door to the next stop.
This shop was smaller and dirtier than the others. Bike parts lay scattered about in no certain order; tools for bike repair and customization, hung on pegs and littered shelves along the wall. The air had a stale, stuffy quality. Shorcuk and Aiden began rummaging through the piles of junk, while I moved over to the desk, to find the shopkeeper. I heard the sound of someone tinkering in the back room.
“HELLO?”
I leaned over the desk, hoping my voice would carry over all the noise coming from the doorway.
“Be right with you.”
A minute passed, and out stepped the owner.
“Sorry about that, I was…”
“Dak, is that you?”
The owner smiled, his face covered in grime, which he was vigorously wiping with a cloth, white teeth, making a stark contrast against all of the dirt.
“Well, well, if it isn’t my new friends. Let me guess, you missed me so much, you thought you would pay me a visit?”
Dak’s smile widened as he lay the cloth down on the counter top.
“Wow, I had no idea! Why didn’t you tell us that you owned a shop?” I returned the smile, actually happy to see a friendly face.
Aiden saw Dak and joined us at the counter.
” Good to see you Aiden,” Dak held out a hand. “What can I do for you today?”
“We would like to by a used swoop bike.” Aiden’s eyes scanned the room. “Do you have any that we could look at?”
Dak looked surprised. “A swoop bike? Now why would you want that? Yesterday’s races must have really impressed you, huh?” Dak laughed playfully. “I really like you both, really I do, but I can’t in good conscience sell you a bike. You would get killed on your first ride! Swoop bikes are not for everyone.”
Aiden looked at me, as if saying the next move was mine to make. I gave a small nod and turned to Dak.
“Dak, we really need a bike. It is of the utmost importance that we get one, today.”
The urgency in my voice must have piqued his interest.
“Mind telling me what is so important that you are willing to throw away your life on it?”
I quickly glanced around the room, making certain that we were the store’s only occupants.
“Dak, we haven’t been exactly honest with you. We are here on a mission, under the guise of tourists. There is a young girl, who’s life depends on me getting close to the Blade Vipers and the only way I can do that, is to become a racer.” I looked imploringly at Dak. “Please help us if you can.”
Dak looked at me, a crooked smile on his dirt streaked face.
“I knew it, I knew there was something odd about the two of you!” He cast a glance at Aiden. “Especially you, you have this mystical, do-gooder air about you, like a Jedi or something.”
Aiden shifted uneasily. Dak laughed, “I am right aren’t I? You are a Jedi!”
I placed a hand on Dak’s arm.
“Please, keep it down. We don’t want all of Taris to know who we are. I have trusted you with this, now will you help us or not?”
Dak became more serious, a thoughtful expression wrinkling his chiseled features. “I do have an old clunker in the back. It isn’t much to look at though, and it needs some work. Go on back and take a look.”
Shorcuk headed in the direction that Dak had indicated. The rest of us followed. Dak walked beside me.
“So, does this mean that you and the Jedi aren’t really married?”
I chuckled at his enthusiastic question. “No, we are just friends, good friends.”
The bike was in the corner of the room, covered with a sheet. Shorcuk walked over, dust flying as he roughly removed the cover.
“It’s an older model, but with a few parts and a little muscle, it will run.” Dak said. “It would normally sell for 4,000 credits used.”
Aiden made a face. “It’s a piece of junk! That price is way to steep.”
Dak smiled at me, his eyes twinkling mischievously. ” I might be persuaded to give you a discount, say 500 off , if you have dinner with me tonight?”
I couldn’t help but blush at his flirtatious offer. Aiden walked up to me, placing a hand on my arm.
“We don’t need your discount, we will take it, as is.”
Dak laughed at Aiden’s possessiveness. ” Well, I guess you have yourself a swoop bike. Now, who is going to pilot it?”
“Me.” Aiden said.
“Dak chuckled. Have you ever been in a swoop race before?”
Aiden kept his hand possessively on my arm. “No, but how hard can it be, if you can do it?”

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