[b]20 kms North of Bestine[/b]

Onru escaped the wrath of Tatooine's dual suns under the shaded refuge of three GX-8 Water Vaporators. The heat was unbearable. If it weren't for the cool air these moisture installations produced, Onru wouldn't have survived the morning. Vaporators used ion fields and chiller bars to cool the surrounding air. If working properly, the condensation collected would then filter into a chamber, producing undiluted drinking water. Two of the three vaporators were already fixed. The unit in question, the only one Onru was tasked to repair, had puzzled the Mon Cal for hours. The function monitors were the source of the problem, but Onru only found that out after practically gutting the machine of its essential parts. It was a mess, but the unit was still salvageable -- he hoped. Right now, the best thing to do was to relax, cool off, and recharge vigor with a nice vial of prematorin fresh water... 

"What the hell did you do!?" A twangy, gruff voice woke Onru from his midday snooze. Oh, no. How long have I been out? Onru looked up to find a ragged old farmhand circling the bruised vaporator in disbelief. 

The Mon Cal scrambled onto his feet to face Anders Fahn, the unfortunate moisture farmer and owner.

"You know, I wouldn't have been able to answer that question an hour ago." Onru dusted himself off, looking intently at the vaporator in his charge. Upon doing so, he suddenly realized the extent of his "handiwork." The Mon Cal was just as shocked as Anders. It looked like a Tusken raiding party had beaten it senseless with gaderffii sticks. Metal platings were bent outward with tangled wires sticking out, one of the four chiller bars was leaking fluid, and the humidity sensor's antenna was bent off to the side. "B-but I know what the problem is now," He said, nervously. "The function monitors short circuited." 

Anders threw his hands up in the air, face contorting in anger from the overwhelming amount of frustration that had boiled over. "I already told you that, you brainless fish head!" 

"You did?" Onru tilted his head and looked up at the sky trying to remember. "I don't--"

"It was the first thing I said! [i]You might want to take a look at the function monitors first - they're probably fried.[/i] I specifically remember telling you that before I left to run my errands!" 

Onru shook his head. "Yeah... doesn't ring a bell. But hey, don't worry, it's fixabl--"

"Where'd you get that water?" Anders was fuming now. Onru glanced at what the human was referring to-- a near empty vial clutched in his own webbed hand. His eyes widened. 

"Oh, um... well I had to test the, uh... water content levels; Make sure the ion fields weren't ... discombobulating ... the three--no, two-hydrogen, one-oxygen ratio..." The Mon Cal frowned at his own nonsensical lie, but he was going to see it through to the end. "That much you don't have to worry about." He nodded approvingly at the vial. "Still tastes... balanced." Onru cringed. 

Anders swiped it from his hand. "Grab your stuff and get off my property. Now!"

"Hey, wait a minute now! I can still fix this." Onru pleaded, but the human wasn't having any of it. 

"I can do it myself! It's what I should've done from the very beginning -- I see that now!" The human stomped around the moisture units, shouting out into the open valley. Onru saw the look in Anders' eyes. It was time to go. "'I'm a certified vaporator technician' you said. 'A Master's Apprentice to a Pretormin Engineer' you told me. Bah! This is the price I pay for hiring cheap labor! Never again. Never again!"

"Yeah.." Onru grabbed his generator pack and slung it behind him. He looked off to the side, hesitant, but continued. "Sp-peaking about price..." Onru slowly craned his head up to Anders, trying to do his best impression of an innocent child that wanted something from his parents. "I usually charge by the hour..." 

Anders stopped dead in his tracks and snapped his head over to the Mon Cal, raging in disbelief. He mouthed: [i]are you kidding me?[/i] But Onru wasn't.

"However, all things considered... I'm willing to make a discounted offer for services rendered. What do you say? Sounds fair?"

[center]***[/center] 

Onru sped hastily on his lightspeeder, away from Ander's farm -- ducking as laser bolts screeched by. He watched the disgruntled farmer from his rear view --who fired one more shot from his blaster rifle-- until he vanished from plain sight. "I don't think we'll be visiting that area anytime soon." Onru said to his offline pit droid, DUM3-55, who stood motionless in its compact form on the passenger seat. DUM3-55 was a much better listener in this state. "But we gotta come up with something fast! I can't go back to Mahuva empty-handed!" Then a beautiful sight lumbered into view like a prayer answered. 

"Oh, perfect!" He could still turn this mishap around. It was going to take some work, but the Mon Cal was determined -- he had to be, after all, his life depended on it. Onru stepped on the accelerator and steered toward the sandcrawler rolling its way toward Bestine.