The small Lambda-class shuttle, christened Beautiful Lie reverted to realspace several hundred clicks from the Astral Astoria space station. In the shuttle's cockpit, a young woman leaned forward and pressed a key on the control panel and said, "Astral Astoria control, this is Beautiful Lie out of Coruscant, requesting landing clearance."

Nothing happened.

The young woman sighed, but her spirits were lifted when she heard the soft whirring of electros and the shuffling of metallic feet on the metal of the deck. She turned to see a protocol droid walk in. "Mistress Eos, can I offer my assistance?"

"Yes," she muttered. "Which key is it that opens a communication channel again?"

"The green one, Mistress."

Eos nodded and pressed the green key and repeated her message. Thank goodness the ship was built mostly like others, so she could fly it. It was a graduation present from her parents, as was the droid and the trip to the Astral Astoria. She had just graduated from the Coruscant Institute with a degree in business management and psychological studies.

What she was really looking forward to was the casino level of the place. She has read stories of super-elegant people walking around casinos, betting huge sums of money and carrying around sweet-smelling liquor and smoking sweet-smelling cigarettes. She smiled to herself as she got clearance to land and followed the instructions.

The young woman went to her quarters on the small ship and changed clothes, out of her piloting suit and into a tailored black business suit with a white blouse. It felt good to slip her slender frame out of the constricting flightsuit, and she shook her long, black hair loose. She took her luggage (a large overnight bag) and told the protocal droid, which she had named Chippy, to watch over the ship. She made her way out of the ship, registered it and herself, and then walked to the turbolift banks. She wanted to go to the casino, but she was hungry, so she headed for the restaurant level.

She found a nice-looking cafe and went in to the bar area. She ordered a mineral water and a plate of fried bovine, and sat back to wait for her order.

Dressed in a fancy black shirt with matching slacks, a light jacket and black dress shoes. Doyae made his way through the cafe's main door way and made a beeline for the bar. Propping himself up on a stool, he picked up a menu and immediately looked through the various delicacies it had listed.

He was celebrating his first payment from a small delivery run he did for a few fellows done in the shopping bazaar. A local clothing designer needed some dyes and sowing materials devlivered to her from corellia. Doyae had accpeted the job and used his ships quick speed to reach the planet in under two days. He was able to gather the supplies he needed and deliver them to the fasion designer on time. For his service she paid him 6,000 credits and paid 3,000 more for his speedy delivery. With about 9,000 credits burning in his pockets, doyae felt like painting the entire station red.

As he looks at the menu with slight interest, he notices a patch of black hair waving in the corner of his eye. He turn slightly and noticed that an attractive young woman was seated next to him. Apparently she had already ordered and was waiting for her meal to arrive.

" Shes gorgeous." he thought as a small patch of pink pigment appeared on his cheeks. Suddenly feeling a bit warm, he called the waiter over and asked him for a glass of ice water. The water wrote down his order and politely bowed to the young man. " Must be the air conditioning in her or something." he thought innocently. He quickly stole another glance at the lovely young lady before returning it to his menu quickly.

" Man, why do I feel so nervous?" he questioned himself mentally, as the strange warmness once again appeared on his cheeks.

Eos drummed her finely painted nails on the glossy surface of the bar. The waiter dropped by, setting a glass of cold mineral water on a coaster. She took it, stirred up the fizziness of the drink, and added one of the flavor capsules that came with it. The drink turned a violently bright blue.

Corellian berries was one of her favorite flavors; she had them imported at a small sum while she was at the university. Although she had never been to Corellia, the system's history enthralled her, and she found herself enjoying many of its exports. Her perfume, for instance, was derived from Corellian vanilla beans, which were far richer-smelling and -tasting than regular vanilla beans.

She gave up her tapping and began drawing circles on the table instead, waiting for the order to arrive. It wasn't long. The waiter set a platter of fried food in front of her, and Eos' eyes widened.

Yes, it was a guilty pleasure. But since she had a good metabolism and exercised frequently, she allowed herself to enjoy the food. She picked up a steaming piece and delicately tasted it. She couldn't help but making an appreciative sound. "Mmm."