Din and Cordelia retrieve their weapons before heading towards Peli's hangar. Cordelia frowns as they near, knowing how happy Peli always is to see Grogu. She doesn't even notice the struggle from the hangar until Din shoots the creature.
"What an entrance. BD? You good?" Peli calls. The droid emerges from behind a stack of crates. "Oh, good. Oh, boy! Hey, look everyone. It's Mando and Cordelia." Din holsters his blaster and grabs Cordelia's hand, pulling her with him as he approaches Peli. "What do we owe the pleasure? You here to slay another dragon? Chasing down some elusive bounty?"
"I got your message." Din says.
"Message? What message?" She asks.
"You said you found us a replacement for the Razor Crest." He answers. Cordelia squeezes his hand, missing the Crest and all the memories it contained.
"Yeah, that's right. That's what I said. That's what I do. I've been working my butt off, yeah. Did you bring the cash?" Peli asks. Din pulls a bag of credits off his belt.
"It's right here." He tells her, handing it over.
"Mind if I count it? Not that I don't trust you. I just wanna make sure you don't give me too much." She says. She turns. "Hey, droids, make yourself useful. Count this up, and then fire up the grill before that thing gets gamey." She tells them, tossing the bag onto a nearby table. "Right this way. Wait till you get your eyes on this baby. So, where is your unlikely companion?"
"We returned him to his own kind." Cordelia tells her, as Din shifts to wrap his arm around her.
"Why the hell would you do that? I could've made good money off that thing. Open a petting zoo." She says, chuckling.
"Where's the ship?" She asks, changing the subject.
"Right this way. Ready to have your mind blown?" She asks, leading them towards something covered with a tarp. She pulls it off, revealing an extremely run-down ship.
"Where's the Razor Crest?" Din asks.
"I never said I had a Razor Crest. I said I had a replacement for a Razor Crest." She replies.
"We don't have time for this." He says, starting to turn away.
"Hang on a second. Do you have any idea what this is? This is an N-1 starfighter, handmade for the royal guard and commissioned personally by the Queen of Naboo." She explains.
"This is a pile of junk." He tells her.
"Do you want your credits back?" Peli asks.
"Yes." He says.
"No skin off my dip-swap. Droids, bring this lovely couple their money. Here you go. It's that easy. Sorry to waste your time. Okay?" She says. She crosses her arms and sighs. "While we're waiting, can I tell you two a little something about this honey?"
"Of course, Peli." Cordelia tells her. Peli nods.
"I know she doesn't look like much, but you got here a lot earlier than I expected, and I didn't get a chance to finish. I mean, clearly, you can see I've got all the parts right here. Hmm? It all has a home." She says, knocking parts off the ship. "Oh, look, a family of scurriers. Let's not disrupt the nest." She continues moving around the ship. "You know how hard it is to find all original parts from way back in the Galactic Republic? I mean, these are all handmade. No droids. And not only that, what I'm gonna do, just because I like you two, is I'm gonna add on some custom modifications that'll make her faster than a fathier, and because this baby's pre-Empire, she's off the grid. And did I mention, she can jump into hyperspace with no docking ring? I mean, come on! You gotta see the potential."
Din moves towards the ship and pulls off a part.
"I'm telling you two, you gotta believe me. This is a classic." Peli says. She moves to stand on the other side of the wing and pats it, knocking a piece to the ground. "Look, at least let me put her together before you decide. Can you give me that?"
"Sure." Cordelia tells her.
"There we go. Hmm? Get this baby up and goin'." She says, starting to fix one of the broken parts. "You know, it'd be a lot faster if you helped." She says, holding a wrench towards Din.
***
Cordelia chuckles quietly as she listens to Din talking to Peli's BD droid, trying to get the little guy to focus the light on the part he's trying to repair. She looks up from her work as Peli approaches.
"Great news! I found you a turbonic venturi power assimilator. You're gonna be the fastest ship on the Outer Rim." She says as Din climbs out from under the ship. Cordelia sets her tools down and joins them.
"Where did you get this?" Din asks, inspecting the part.
"It's brand new. Well, Jawa new." She answers.
"The Jawas had a turbonic venturi assimilator from a Galactic Republic-era starfighter?" He asks.
"Well, they didn't have it. They got it." She replies. Cordelia chuckles.
"From where?" Din asks.
"Tatooine is a garden of many bounties." She replies.
"I don't understand." He says. Cordelia chuckles again, rolling her eyes.
"I gave 'em a list." Peli tells him.
"Of parts?" He asks.
"Yeah." She replies.
"And they find them for you?" He asks.
"I don't ask. They don't tell. They give me what I ask for. In exchange, I let 'em pick through my dumpster." She says.
"Can I meet them?" Din asks.
"Yeah, sure." She responds.
"Are we sure that's such a good idea? Do you remember the last time you saw Jawas?" Cordelia teases. He chuckles, pinching her arm. She smiles at him as Peli turns to shout for the Jawas.
"Dated a Jawa for a while. They're quite furry. Very furry. Lot of issues." Peli says. She turns as the Jawas approach. "Oh, here they are."
"If I give them a list of parts, could they get them for me?" Din asks. Peli speaks Jawaese to them, then translates.
"They said make a wishlist and they'll see what's available." She tells him.
"Okay, I'm looking for mostly bolt-on aftermarket speed mods. This is all hand-built, custom. I'm guessing we need vintage hyperware if it's gonna fit this antique" He explains.
"Listen to you. Don't worry about the shape and size. Just get the parts you want with the specs you need, and I'm gonna make it work, all right? I dated a Jawa. I know what I'm doing, right?" Peli says. One of the Jawas says something to her. "Oh, that's okay. I'm working on me right now. Just go find the parts." She says. Cordelia chuckles as the Jawas leave. "Furry."
***
Once the ship is finished, the droids wheel it into the center of the hangar. The three approach the ship.
"Oh! Not a gram of fat on her." Peli says, wiping a spot on the front of the ship. "You know, no one's catching you in this thing." Cordelia stays close to Din as he inspects it.
"What happened to the droid port?" He asks.
"I hogged it out. You both need a place to sit, don't ya?" She answers. Din takes Cordelia's hand, running the other over the ship as he walks around it.
"Think she's ready?" He asks Peli.
"Ready as she'll ever be." She replies. He nods. "Start her up."
"Really?" Din asks.
"Yeah, start her up." She repeats. He pulls Cordelia towards her seat in the back. She digs her heels into the sand, stopping him.
"You go without me. Have fun." Cordelia says. He cups her face, inspecting her from head to toe.
"Is something wrong?" He asks. She chuckles and shakes her head.
"I'm just tired. I couldn't sleep last night." She tells him. He does one last inspection before nodding, pulling her into a Keldabe Kiss.
"I'll be right back." He tells her. She nods and steps back, watching as he climbs inside. He starts the ship after a failed first attempt. "That's a lot of engine for a little ship."
"Yeah, well, see what she can do!" Peli replies.
"Shouldn't we run a diagnostic first?" He asks.
"Nah! I can hear her! She's purring! Send her up!" She says, making Cordelia laugh as she moves to stand next to her. They watch as he flies the ship out of the hangar, moving to the office to talk with him. Once Din takes the ship to space Peli turns to Cordelia. "You okay?" She asks.
"Yes, Peli. I'm just tired, really." Cordelia says. Peli raises an eyebrow and she sighs. "I've been having nightmares recently. It's nothing. I'm fine." She says. Peli stands and pushes her towards the doorway at the back of her office.
"Go. Take a nap. I'll wake you when he's on his way back." She says.
***
Cordelia rubs the sleep from her eyes as she follows Peli out of her office. They watch as Din lands the ship in the hangar.
"Whoo! Well? How was is?" Peli asks.
"Wizard." He says before climbing out of the ship.
"Those J-type pulse engines really tighten the old evacuation port, don't they?" She asks. Din moves towards Cordelia, pulling her into his side. "Oh, by the way, an old friend of yours dropped by, said she was looking for you."
"A friend of mine?" He asks, pointing to himself.
"Don't worry. I told her I didn't know where you were. Then I locked her out and engaged the hangar security system." Peli says.
"She tell you her name?" He asks.
"Fennec Shand." Fennec says, getting their attention. Peli shrieks, then sighs. She moves away to scold her droids. Fennec smiles at the couple before dropping down and meeting them. "By any chance, are you two looking for work?"
"We could be." Din says. Fennec pulls a bag from her pocket and tosses it to him.
"The pay is good." She says.
"What's the bounty?" He asks.
"No bounty. We need muscle." She answers.
"Boba Fett." Cordelia says. Fennec nods.
"He sure would appreciate it. He's seen both of you in a fight and knows how valuable you'd be." She says. Din turns to Cordelia as she winces.
"Is he mad about that?" She asks, remembering that last time she'd seen Boba. Fennec chuckles.
"He says it's in the past." She assures. Cordelia sighs, relieved.
"When did you meet Boba?" Din asks. She winces again.
"The last time I saw him was five years ago when my brother knocked. him into a Sarlacc pit. I'll tell you the full story later." She says. He nods and tosses the bag back to Fennec.
"Tell him it's on the house. But first, we gotta pay a visit to a little friend." Din says.