With a nervous hop, Damalis Skywalker exited the shifter booth then turned and surveyed it sheepishly. She was always thinking those pieces of equipment would drop her off incomplete somehow, or malfunction just for her. Electronics tended to do that sorta thing when she used them. That was why she had a lot of her business work done on old fashion paper. A datapad had eaten her work one too many times for her to be completely trusting. With a quick survey of her person, the tall blond woman made sure everything was in it's place and nothing was missing. Long blonde hair, check. Stylish heels on her feet in a lovely pearlish green, check. All the necessary bits in between, check.

Nodding in satisfaction, she moved away from the shifter, her heels tapping a steady tempo. Damalis had just visited the 151st floor to do some banking business, a tedious job to say the least, and was now making her way back to her storefront here in the Astoria Bazaar. While visiting the bank was a necessary evil of owning your own company, Damalis couldn't help but feel apathetic about it. Oh sure, she worried when the money was low, but it just wasn't the fun part of the work. Besides, no matter how many times she'd proved otherwise, the people at every bank she'd ever been in still treated her as a dumb blonde. She'd be the first to admit she could be somewhat feather brained at times, but she was certainly not dumb. The fact that she ran a successful textile business before making this foray into owning her shop should have proved that.

Unfortunately, people made snap judgments all the time. On the surface, Damalis was a dumb blonde more intuned with shopping than anything else. But beneath that she was a caring, sweet, loving person who just happened to have a quite strong Force power. Not that she could control it, or even know when it would emerge, but Damalis had hopes for it being useful. No one could have looked at her and guessed she was quietly involved with people who called themselves the New Rebellion and worked to control the power of the Imperials. Well, work was too strong a word in Damalis' case. She hadn't really done a thing for the group yet, except donate some funds and equipment that no one could trace back to her. Her so called power hadn't come into play.

Smiling to a few familiar faces, Damalis waved back to some of the other shop owners as she passed their stalls along the floor. The Astral Astoria had caused quite a stir when it joined the galaxy, but if one thing was for sure, merchants were not above moving in as quick as they could. To that extent, Damalis was a late comer. She'd just opened her shop last week. The rent for it was much higher than for one of the stalls, but her inventory really called for something more upscale. Damalis carried a lot of designer named gowns and dresses, mostly from those designers that used the cloth that Damalis' own company produced, and there was a small section of the store devoted to things she'd created herself. It did a small and pride boosting business that helped her ego, but her real cash flow came from the more noted designers. The fact that a lot of her clientele were gamblers still bothered Damalis some, but she wasn't about to get too picky. She'd put herself in debt for the very first time to open her storefront and was still nervous about things. Doing good the first week was a great thrill, but not necessarily something she could count on.

Stopping to quickly press the code keys into the security pad beside the door, Damalis went through the needed measures to get the door open. Retinal scan, hand print, voice recognition, key code. You needed them all to get inside. Another reason her rent was so high, but since she had a small fortune in gowns inside, Damalis found it worth it. If nothing else, if the business did go sour, she could resell her inventory and get back most of her losses. With her patents on several fabrics, one of which had just been put into use in the military sector, she didn't have to worry about her money stopping, it was just a matter of pride that this shop work out. Even people she considered really good friends never seemed to think she could accomplish anything and was always surprised when she did good. Again, even from those that cared about her, Damalis was judged by her surface exterior.

Which was, in truth, hard to ignore. She was plainly gorgeous - perfect face, figure and hair. And she was blessed with a bubbly personality that made people flock to her like moths to a flame. A lot of women with those characteristics tended to become jaded spoiled creatures that suck the life out of everyone around them, their beauty and attractions become weapons of pain and destruction. Not Damalis. Her laugh made people feel alive and when she smiled at a person, they felt loved and knew they deserved it too. While her force powers might occasionally give her the future, this paled in comparison to how she made those around her see themselves. And she did it all without ever stopping to consider if she should or shouldn't. It was a natural power she'd been blessed with at birth. While the high fashion clothes in her shop window made customers stop in for the first time, Damalis was one of the reasons they came back again.

Entering her store, Damalis keyed up the lights and smiled as all the bright colors came to life. Several displays along the walls began moving, life sized mannequins coming to life to either parade or dance along their run ways, showing off the cut and designs of the dresses they wore. As a joke, they were all tall and sported long blonde hair, much like the shop owner. The music was soothing and relaxed, the lighting just perfect, neither harsh nor glaring. This had taken Damalis awhile to get perfected, as she hadn't wanted to spend all day under such lights but she also didn't want to make it seem she was hiding anything. Above all else, Damalis was an honest business woman, each customer became personal to her and she really did try to find them the best dress and cut possible for their figure. This could become quite a journey when an alien species came in, especially a non-humanoid, but Damalis loved a fashion challenge. Already twice this week she'd made up gowns on the spot from bolts of fabric in the back room for persons who didn't fit the normal patterns. So, in contrast to the rest of the area, the dressing rooms were well lit, along with the wall of mirrors in front of them.

Humming to herself, Damalis headed over to them to check her own image. Hair still in good shape, little bit of scuff on one heel defying the sparkly that she so loved. A quick wipe and the shoes were perfect again. A tug to smooth out any wrinkles in her professional looking, albeit short, skirt and, after checking to make sure no one was peeking in the windows, a quick shimmy of the blouse to put two of her attributes firmly in place and looking perky, then she was pleased with her appearance. Really, it never took Damalis long to feel happy with herself, she looked good in practically anything but as a woman she always saw problems where there were none.

That done, she headed over to the counter, turned on the OPEN sign and sat down to wait for business to walk in. It didn't take long. One of the stall owners in her area walked in to look through some colorful scarves to find a present for his wife. It could be assumed he only made the visit to stare at the shop owner, but as she engaged him in conversation, it became obvious he was there for the talk more than the look. As he spoke of his wife, Damalis listened intently, then helped him choose a pinkish gossamer shawl that was indeed lovely, while still being one of the less expensive items. While she was a business woman, Damalis couldn't have lived with herself if she thought she'd talked someone into buying something beyond their pockets. But, listening to the man speak of his wife, she felt good, knowing the wife would be pleased and when the man left with a smile on his face after the compliments she paid the woman, Damalis felt proud of herself. This was what she felt business was about.

With a saucy little skip, she headed back to the counter to sit and wait for the next customer. She was glad she'd chosen the Astoria to set up shop. Coruscant had been the most likely place before then, which was partly why she held back for so long. But the Astoria and her seemed to be getting along just fine. Despite some of the rumors she was hearing, Damalis had yet to see anything that made her regret her decision. Now it was just a matter of waiting to see if she was forced to eat her words...

Kalla - past



"Flanny, she's leaving and there's nothing you can do about it." his dad said. A look of horror crept into the young man's face and the older man knew his son was thinking the worse.

"She's not mad at you. Here," the man shoved a covered box into his son's hands, "she asked me to give you this. Said she'd send you a message on that fancy community holonet system they have in town.

His son's eyes widened even more and the father knew what that mean't.

Would he have enough credits to buy the holo-time needed to retrieve the message?

"D... Did she say where she was going?" the son stammered, still trying to comprehend that the girl of his dreams had left the planet.

"Something...something about Astoria. Don't know much. You'll have to go to the library later to get more details. But I do remember 'Astoria'."

The young man made as if to head directly there but the older man stopped him. "After your chores. Besides," his father added a bit helpfully which was (in reality) no help at all, "there's other fish in the sea."






Astoria, Present Day.



Five months it had taken Flannigan Flanders to save up enough fair for a one-way ticket to the Astral Astoria. Despite doing odd jobs here and there and setting up a "sub" so his father's shop would not suffer in his absence it had taken every bit of self control not to run directly to the bank to take out a loan and jump the next transport off Kalla.

His father had prevented that by freezing (albeit a bit illegally) his funds. Being employed by his parents gave them, he felt, all sorts of unfair advantages over his life.

Still, he persevered and soon learned the wisdom of avoiding early debt. Especially since he was not sure what he would do once he arrived on the Astoria, it was good to have some monetary funds available.

His family had made a little money with Vinda Corporation's defeat of the Corporate Sector Authority. The value of the CSA's credit had been on the decline and almost bottomed out throwing the planet into economic ruin when the Vinda Corp took control. With the unprecedented upswing of credit values not seen since the Imperials took Coruscant, businesses such as his parents thrived.

They, and in turn he, were not rich by any stretch of the word. But, with controlled spending and meticulous saving, he had enough to carry out his desire to find "her".

To this day, he despised the fact that the last words with her were in anger. That night, she had received an urgent message from her grandmother needing care right away. She closed her acco9unt and had booked passage the next day, leaving an Uncle and Aunt to care for her affairs on Kalla.

Leaving them all her affairs except Flannigan. He was out at the Buyer's Market when she stopped by his parent's store to give them a package mean't for him.

He had not heard from her since... No holonet message pending. Nothing.


Driven by an almost unrealistic panic he worked even harder to gather funds quicker.



And so here he was, on the alien station termed: Astral Astoria.


The one thing that hit him the hardest was the smell. Having lived on Kalla his entire life and never having been off-planet he was not used to the scent of an other environment.

He would have gagged but he was a man on a mission.


People were everywhere!


Aliens and humans of all sorts (at least in the station entrance area) were milling about, some setting up shop to "grab" those fresh in from space.

After the open spaces of Kalla, he felt almost claustrophobic and desperately sought a haven.

A clothing store appeared before him and he pushed his way though and into the shop, the little chime sounding (and announcing) his entrance.

The air was a bit fresher and the place had a "clean" look about it which helped to ease Flannigan's distress.

The temperature was just right and his eyes glanced about at the many colored garments that stood on display.

When set against his own garb, he felt embarrassed. His best shirt was loose fitting and his best pants were frayed at the ends. He had a pack that slipped over his head and shoulder and he was at once nervous for he though he looked like a shoplifter.

He had not shaved since boarding the transport on Kalla and so was sporting a bit of fuzz on his cheeks. He was never really able to grow a proper beard as his facial hair seemed to grow in clumps, it's best appearance just patchy and scruffy.

His shoes were also frayed and tarnished and was at once intimidated by the shine of the store.

Still, he felt a strange sort of ease and comfort and not wanting to let go of the feeling, decided to look around.

While she worked in the backroom of the shop, Damalis jerked to attention when the sound of a bell rang through the shop. However, she didn't rush to the front of the store as expected. Instead she made a mad dash over to the side of the backroom, scattering work papers as she went. A door was opening there and out walked a human-ish female-ish looking droid. It had a bright smile plastered on it's generically pretty face and was dressed in an equally generic looking black evening gown. The unique thing about it was that the body, save for the head, was completely see through, allowing a person to plainly see that the cybertronic creation was indeed a droid and not a real human and to watch as the insides whirled and sparked their way through life. As Damalis skidded to a stop next to the door the droid exited, the robot itself was making for the showroom at a brisk pace, fake smile beaming out at the world.

"Oh.. which button.. which button..." Frantically, Damalis surveyed the control panel in front of her and tried to remember the code. She pushed several buttons, jabbing each frantically then looking back to see if the droid had come to a stop yet or not. Finally, just before it exited the backroom, Damalis found the right button and the creature stopped, one foot in the air, the smile on it's face never moving.

"Whooo..." Sagging in relief then whirling around to jauntily skip out of the room, Damalis paused long enough to stop and stick her tongue out at the immobile droid. Buying the automated clerk system had seemed like a good idea, and really it would be on days she just couldn't make it to the shop, but when she was here, Damalis preferred to deal with customers personally.

Seeing a young man with a bag hanging over his shoulder, Damalis treated him to a megawatt smile when he noticed her approach. He certainly looked a little worse for wear, but that was rarely something to make judgments about. "Hello, welcome to SkyGold Boutique. Is there something I can help you with?"

Flannigan turned towards the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on and instantly felt intimidated.

"I..er..." he stumbled out as he shifted his pack. He smiled weakly and scratched his scruffy hair on the side of his cheek that comprised his make-shift beard.

"I ..er.. I am new here. I was wondering where I need to go for lodging?" He felt like a complete idiot and noticed that the woman was probably the main sales lady in the store and wanted him to buy something.

His eyes glanced down at this own garments and felt, at once, very self conscious.

"Um.. I am looking for my girlfriend," he stammered out a little forcefully hoping to remind himself that he had a girl. A hard thought to wrap around when confronted with one of the sexy sirens of fabled tales. Even if, all she wanted to do was sell him something.

"I .. I haven't seen her in a while." and a thought occurred to him, "Can you recommend something for me to wear? Something that says: 'I've missed you?'"

Then nervously, "...somethat that says that and... and... a little bit more?"

"Well, there's a newcomer's center on most levels. It'll tell you about hotels and things, rooms for rent such like that." Still smiling brightly, Damalis ticked things off her fingers as she tried to answer all the young man's questions. Leaning a hip against the counter, she continued to think. "If you look around when you step outside, it's a few hundred feet to your left along the avenue, there's a handy dandy 'You are HERE' sign that'll tell you how to find the center. And I'm pretty sure I don't know your girlfriend, I'm rather new here myself, sorry. But if you know that's she working here, you can enquire at some of the station guilds to see if she's registered. Or if you think she's in trouble and your worried, you can contact the authorities. They keep track of all the legitiment traffic in and out of the station."

Those points taken care of, she walked over to the young man and held out a hand. "By the way, my name is Damalis. I'm afraid I don't know of a way for a gentleman to construct an outfit that says I'm sorry, but I can help you find something that you'll certainly look smart in. Since your hoping to please her, is there a particular color your lady friend enjoys?"

Flannigan had to struggle to look at the woman's eyes rather than shyly turn away from embarrassment. Other than "her", girls never talked to him much less offered to help him. In stores, even the sales ladies made themselves seem too busily engaged elsewhere to take time for the timid Flannigan.

It did not help that most of the sales ladies he'd gone to school with and knew him as Flanny.

"Sh.. she likes Red." he offered helpfully, gaining new confidence in his situation. If this woman could help him, perhaps others would too.

He began to wonder what the woman would suggest. She had boundless energy and he swallowed. He knew his mother would only see a single girl without a husband and suggest Cousin Gilly. Gilly was a rather large and hairy man and Flannigan did not think that the blonde woman before him would like him.



"What does THAT have to do with anything," his mother would say in that practical tone of hers. "I married your father and I made the best of it. Look at me now!"


Yes, look at mom now... old and bitter. Flannigan barely had the nerve to allow that thought to come across. He'd be damned if he spoke it out loud.

His attention still focussed on the sales lady (as if it would have left), his curiosity began to take root. Cousin Gilly would just have to fend for him self, the fat bastard.

"Well, red is a lovely color, but with your skin tone and hair.." Humming softly, Damalis contemplated the young man before her. She really couldn't help thinking of him that way, even when there wasn't that much difference in their ages. "You know, I think I might have just the thing."

Smiling brightly, she skipped over behind the sales counter, her heels clicking merrily as she danced over. "It's a lovely fabric I just got in last week. I was afraid I wouldn't have it for my grand opening but then it arrived just in time." Punching in a code on the keypad before her, Damalis hummed a note for each key, then flicked her twinkling gaze back to Flanny as she explained. "It's a black silk but has a delightful undertone of maroonish red that you really don't see until you move around. That way, your wearing a flattering tone AND the color your girl likes. Does that sound good?"

From in the backstore room came the sound of a motor running, then a service droid rolled into few. It had a case clasped in it's arms and it rolled right up to Flanny then stopped. The case, which looked alot like a small locker, popped open, revealing it's contents. Unfortunately for Damalis, she couldn't see inside from her angle and couldn't tell that the locker was completely empty.

"What do you think? A shirt, or even a vest, should really catch her eye."

Flannigan nearly missed what Damalis, the sales woman, was saying as he was caught up gazing at the back of her legs as she skipped over to a nearby counter.

She was saying something about a fabric that was supposed to be somewhere but as the woman rounded the counter bringing her ample-ness to view, he shook himself out of his reverie and began to focus hard on what she said next.

"It's a black silk but has a delightful undertone of maroonish red that you really don't see until you move around. That way, your wearing a flattering tone AND the color your girl likes. Does that sound good?"

Actually, it sounded great! But it also sounded expensive. But then again, if it wasn't, he would look ..what was the old word used back home?

Debonair..


He smiled to himself as he heard a droid and approached carrying what could possibly be the difference between a 'happily ever after' with the woman he loved or a 'bitter, lonely, bachelor forever ever after'. His eyes glistened in anticipation.

The case opened.

"What do you think? A shirt, or even a vest, should really catch her eye."


It was empty.


Confusion stirred in Flannigan's eyes as he drew them up to the sales lady.

"Umm.. I am not sure..." He was at a loss for words and began fumbling around for his wallet, shifting the pack he carried. Glancing up at the waiting sales lady he asked, "Did I have to pay something to see it first?"

Then panic struck and his eyes widened.

My wallet!

"Pay to see..?" Damalis blinked as she thought about that statement, then decided this young man must think he had to pay to touch the fabrics. With a bright smile, she walked back around the counter and fought the urge to giggle. She held back however, not wishing to hurt his feelings or make him feel gauche. "Oh no, you don't have to pay until we get a finished product that you like. SkyGold policy."

Stepping up next to the droid unit, Damalis was still facing Flannigan and couldn't see inside the machine. She kept her eyes on his face as she leaned over and began reaching into the unit to take out the cloth, still talking as she moved. "See, we'll take the fabric, drap it this way and that then..." Just as her hand was about to grab empty space, Damalis frowned, noticing her customer's expression. Standing straight once more, she inquired helpfully, still totally oblivious to her missing inventory.

"Is something wrong?"

Panic entered Flannigan's mind as that little beatle called a conscience was screaming bloody murder inside.


"Ummm..." he mumbled to the question. He began to feel really hot and clammy.


His mother's voice crashed into his head stomping the conscience ridden beatle to pulp.

Flanny! I told you this would happen! I knew you were not ready to go out alone! My poor, poor boy just cannot take care of himself!! the voice inside wailed.

And now look, Flanny! The poor girls is upset. What did I tell you about upsetting girls! Of course, that woman has good birthing hips.



Leave it to mother to point out the practical when humiliating you in your own mind.


"I ....um.. I don't see anything.." he mumbled and he began to sway. In an effort to catch himself, he grabbed the droid but the stress was just too much.

And down went Flannigan, case, droid and all.


Before fainting completely, a brief thought crossed his mind.


How am I going to pay for that?