“I’ve been telling you Orrin’s a great guy,” Jabe said.
“I guess I was wrong,” Kallie said. His older sister, also cleaned up in colorful clothes from off the rack, read from the gold-colored slip in light from the window. “To Annie. This certificate good for …
“ … Ben!”
Annileen glanced at her daughter, startled. What?”
“There!” Kallie said, lowering the document and pointing out her window. “To the right! Ben Kenobi!”
Annileen braked and banked the massive machine at the same time. Sure enough, Ben and Rooh came into her field of view.
It was a comical sight, one that reminded her of her first visit to his place, and the angry bantha calf. Ben was on his hands and knees in the middle of a blasted plain, trying to talk to Rooh. The eopie was lying on her belly in the sand, legs folded underneath as she chewed on a lonely patch of desert foliage. Her harness was connected to a makeshift sledge, upon which sat a heavy and ancient coolant pump.
Annileen pulled the LiteVan up alongside. “Going somewhere?” she asked.
“That was the original idea,” Ben said. “It isn’t working out.”
Annileen stopped the engine. Kallie went for her door latch. Jabe leaned over the front seat, aggravated. “Not again, Mom. This guy—”
“Helped us, and needs help now,” Annileen said. “You just sit here and stay out of the suns.”
When Annileen climbed out of the vehicle and onto the desert floor, Kallie was already there, trying her best to get her festive red outfit into Ben’s field of view. But the cloaked man’s attention remained on his eopie.
“Rooh just stopped,” Ben said. “She’s eating this—whatever it is.”
“It’s desert sage,” Annileen said.
“I didn’t think anything grew here.”
“Something grows everywhere.” Annileen knelt next to him and stroked the lackadaisical eopie’s snout. “There, girl. It’s all right.”
Seemingly discomfited by Annileen’s proximity, Ben stood up and gestured to the cargo. “I can’t seem to get her to move. I keep thinking I’ve attached the sledge wrong.”
“No, it’s fine,” Annileen said.
“Then she’s just objecting to carrying extra weight,” Ben said, standing over the prone animal.
“That’s for sure,” Kallie said. She tried to stifle a chuckle, and failed. Annileen gestured for her to pipe down, but found herself smiling, too.
Ben stared at them, mildly flustered. “I’m missing something, aren’t I?”
“No, you’re getting something,” Annileen said, kneeling beside the animal and touching her abdomen. “In a couple of days, it looks like.”
“You can’t mean …” Ben looked at Rooh’s midsection, flabbergasted. “Pregnant?” He stammered. “That’s simply not possible. I only have one eopie!”
“Not for long,” Kallie said, snickering.
Annileen scooted over and felt Rooh’s abdomen. “How long have you had her?”
Ben shuffled. “Er—I don’t recall. I bought her some time ago.” His brow furrowed. “You don’t think this—er, happened at the oasis, do you?”
Kallie burst out laughing.
Annileen smiled, too, but looked down so as not to embarrass Ben any further. “Eopie gestation times are a bit longer than that. It looks like you got two for the price of one on that purchase.”
“One cannot cast blame in matters of love,” Ben said. “Or whatever.” He cracked a smile, in spite of himself, and knelt. He rubbed the animal’s face. “You’ve been keeping secrets, my little friend!”
“Congratulations, Grandpa,” Annileen said.
With Kallie’s help, Annileen removed the harness from Rooh’s back. Freed, the animal stood up and resumed chomping on the weed. Annileen looked at the coolant unit. “Pretty beat up,” she said.
“It’s seen use,” Ben said.
“In the Great Hyperspace War, maybe.” Annileen shook her head. “I’ve never seen a coolant pump this old.”
Ben cleared his throat. “Yes, well, I was hoping they’ve seen one at the repair shop in Bestine.” He gestured to the east.
“You’re going to another store?” Kallie said, eyes filling with dismay.
“People are like that, sweetie,” Annileen said. “Give them a discount once and they’ll never respect you again.”
A snarky voice bellowed from inside the darkened window of the LiteVan. “You won’t get that fixed in Bestine!”
Ben looked at Annileen and raised an eyebrow.
Annileen rolled her eyes. “My son. The other hermit.” She walked to the speeder truck and slapped the window frame. “How do you know that, Jabe? You haven’t even seen it!”
Jabe peeked out at them. “The supply shop in Bestine is closed. The Geelers’ son is getting married. They’ll be gone for a week.”
Ben looked worriedly up at the suns and then down at the damaged unit. He swallowed. “A week, you say?”
“Or more,” Jabe said, vanishing back into the darkness of the backseat. “The wedding is on Naboo. They decided to make a vacation of it.”
“How wonderful for them,” Ben said, deflated.
Kallie grabbed at her mother’s arm, nearly knocking her down. “Mom! Ben can come into Mos Eisley with us!”
“Mos Eisley?” Ben’s face froze. He looked to the east, his expression apprehensive. “I don’t need to go to Mos Eisley!”
Jabe’s voice called out again. “Hear that? He doesn’t need to go to Mos Eisley.”
“You hush,” Annileen said. She looked back at the coolant pump. “You can get same-day service there,” she said.
Ben waved his hands. “No, no. I’m sure you’re on a supply run. You’ll need room—”
Kallie bubbled with enthusiasm. “No, it’s fine! We’re not carrying anything!”
“You’re not?”
“No! No!” Annileen’s daughter found the document in her pocket and thrust it toward Ben. “Read this!”
Without taking the slip from the girl’s hand, Ben read aloud the hand-printed words. “To Annie: This certificate is good for a SoroSuub JG-8 luxury landspeeder, at Delroix Speeders of Mos Eisley. Ask for Garn. Sorry for all the trouble with your family speeder, hope this makes up for it.” Ben paused before concluding: “Happy birthday. Love, Orrin.”
Ben looked back at Annileen, his eyebrow slightly raised. He smiled, gently. “Does this mean—”
“I don’t know. Orrin’s been like this lately. How should I know what it means?”
Kallie clapped her hands, elated. “I know what it means. It means I’m getting a new landspeeder. Mom’s old one, as soon as Gloamer fixes it!”
“Like blazes!” Jabe yelled out from the LiteVan. “We haven’t settled that!”
Annileen shrugged. “We’re still negotiating a distribution of assets. Maybe they’ll both get it.”
“Is that wise?” Ben asked.
“Oh, yes,” Annileen said. “This way, when they finally decide to run away from home, they’ll get farther. Now, come along with us.”
“No, really, that’s not necessary,” he said. Ben pointed to a pair of figures by a tower on a distant northern ridge. “I’ll just ask the folks whose land this is for help.”
Annileen squinted. “Don’t bother,” she said, recognizing them. “This is Wyle Ulbreck’s spread we’re on. After the Tuskens ripped him off yesterday, his sentries are probably chained to the vaporators.”
“Anything to save the skinflint from joining the Settlers’ Call,” Jabe said from the van. “He’ll learn one day.”
Annileen pointed at Ben with mock sternness. “And if you keep fighting serendipity, Master Kenobi, it’s going to fight back. Now come on,” she said, walking back to th
e sledge. “Let’s get this unit into the truck.”
Surrendering, Ben patted Rooh’s head. “Should we carry her with us?”
A screech came from the vehicle’s interior. “You’re not putting that animal in my truck!” Jabe yelled.
“Your—” Annileen sighed. “A minute ago you wanted my landspeeder!”
The LiteVan went silent.
“He’s sulking,” she said to Ben. “But that’s okay. I think our expectant mom will be happier at home.” She turned Rooh west and gave her a pat on the behind. Promptly, the animal began loping off, retracing the sandy trail left by the sledge. “She’ll find her way.”
Ben looked after Rooh, concerned. “You know, I really should go with her. To make sure she’ll be all right.”
Kallie laughed. “I don’t know what other trouble she could get into!”
“Don’t worry,” Annileen said, wiping her hands together. “She’ll be home before the happy event. And you’ll be living in a cool and comfortable house.”
Resigned, Ben turned to help them lift the coolant unit. “I really do hate to prevail upon you to change your plans—”
“You’re not changing these plans,” Kallie gushed. “We’re going to Mos Eisley!”
Annileen smiled. Ben’s reluctance was almost charming—the man, she suspected, simply didn’t want to be in anyone’s debt. She’d just have to convince him it wasn’t a concern. “The clan has spoken,” she said. “You’d better come along.”
Ben responded with a pained smile.
The Shistavanen had an evil-looking face, Orrin thought—nothing but fangs, pointy ears, and mud-colored hair. And yet Tar Lup was as cheerful a being as he’d ever known. More cheerful still, standing behind the counter of Dannar’s Claim in his neat city-bought jacket.
“Thanks again for this chance, Master Gault,” Tar said, the natural growl in his voice somehow sounding amiable. “It’s good to be in charge, if even for a day. I don’t get that in my regular job.”
Standing atop a chair in the dining area, Orrin lowered the holocam he was holding. “That’s fine, Tar. Glad you could come back and help out.” Snapping the device off, he stepped down. He’d made sure he, too, was looking his best today, in the fineries Annileen had ordered from offworld. He needed to.
Pausing in front of the substitute clerk, Orrin looked down at the holorecorder in his hands. “Oh, this is part of another surprise for Annileen,” he said. “Gonna get her some decent flooring in here for a change.”
Tar smiled toothily. “That’s wonderful. I was always fond of the Calwells.”
“Me, too,” Orrin said, stepping past Bohmer at his table. The Rodian had picked a day when Annileen was out to make his return, but she wasn’t missing much. Patched up but heavily medicated, Bohmer seemed even more catatonic than usual. Orrin walked through the gap in the counter. “Tar, I need to get back in there for another second, if you don’t mind.”
“Certainly.” The Shistavanen stepped out of the way.
That’ll do it, Orrin thought, taking another look at the electronic manifest behind the cashbox. He checked the chrono on the wall. He had everything he needed and plenty of time to get to his meetings. All was going according to plan. Both plans.
Veeka walked in from the parking area. “Ready when you are, Dad.” She walked to the bar and pulled her flask from her vest. Hopping onto the surface, she reached past the startled Tar to grab a bottle.
“No, you don’t,” Orrin said, before she could start filling. “Not today.”
“Whatever.” Irritated, Veeka dropped the bottle, which landed back into place with a glassy clank. Orrin passed her the holorecorder.
Tar watched, puzzled, as father and daughter walked toward the exit. “Will you be back for lunch, sir?”
“No, I’ll be out most of the day,” he said, giving the store a last look. “But, uh … tell Annileen I’ll have something to talk to her about tonight.”
Tar responded, but Orrin didn’t hear. He had things to do.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
FOR THE FIRST HALF of Annileen’s life, Mos Eisley had been no more than a concept. Her father had feared the place, and clerking gave her few opportunities to travel. But the city was always out there: a magnet drawing the starships she occasionally saw high overhead. It had inspired her young imagination.
Images she had seen depicted Mos Eisley as a knotted web of crowded streets separating dusty domes, used and decaying. She hadn’t wanted to believe the pictures. Those vessels in the sky hailed from cosmopolitan places with shining spires. Why would they visit Tatooine at all, if the city weren’t something special? She’d looked forward to finding out for herself.
When the day came, it was one that already ran high with expectations: her wedding day. After the raucous sendoff from their friends, Dannar had surprised her by steering Orrin’s borrowed landspeeder past Bestine and continuing east. As the kilometers sped by, the young bride’s anticipation only grew. Spacecraft that soundlessly soared in the oasis sky rumbled and gleamed here, all heading to or from the steaming mirage on the horizon. For a few wonderful minutes, Annileen had allowed herself to imagine that her surprise honeymoon included a trip on one of those starships. To the Core Worlds, perhaps. Or better, to one of the wild places shown in the university safari brochure. Reaching the streets of Mos Eisley, which turned out to be as shabby and hectic as the pictures had shown, did nothing to still her hopes. Her sights were set higher.
Dannar had pulled the vehicle up to the Twin Shadows Inn, an acceptably clean—if far from posh—establishment off Kerner Plaza. The stay was the gift, all that a rural shop owner starting out could afford.
But even with her stellar hopes dashed, Annileen soon realized that if she was looking for an exotic locale with strange creatures, Mos Eisley easily sufficed. Kerner Plaza was a relatively upscale neighborhood, with clean showrooms alongside outdoor bazaars. Located near the Republic travelers’ aid office, the streets were safe enough to walk at twilight without blaster in hand. And Dannar had even taken her to dinner at the Court of the Fountain, where she had marveled at every sight. Only a Hutt-owned establishment was rich enough to use water for decoration.
Mos Eisley was a violent, congested mess, but it was also exciting and surprising, a doorway jammed half open to another dimension of adventure. If Mos Eisley wasn’t the next best thing to going to the stars, it was still several steps closer than anything else on Tatooine. To this day, Annileen remembered every moment of the trip.
She and Dannar had never made it back to Mos Eisley together; some store emergency always interfered. But Annileen had returned several times since Dannar’s death; usually alone, but once with each child individually. She and Dannar had always talked of bringing the whole family here at some point, but the chance had never come.
Now she walked the streets of the city with both children at once—and, for the first time, with a new companion. Ben walked behind the group, his cowl pulled low over his head. He stepped quickly to keep up with the Calwells, saying little. They looked like any other family, out on the town—only with a son unhappy to have his father along, and a father who wasn’t too thrilled, either.
“He could have waited at the repair shop,” Jabe said as the group turned a corner.
“It was going to be five hours!” Kallie said.
“I wouldn’t have minded,” Ben said, pleasantly. “There was a chair there.”
“It had an engine manifold sitting on it,” Annileen said, shaking her head. Jabe’s annoyance at their hooded tagalong hadn’t lessened since the testy ride in from the desert. The boy started walking faster through the crowd, ahead of his mother and sister. “Slow down, Jabe,” Annileen said. “Stay with the group.” She looked back at Ben and smiled. “You, too.”
Ben gamely followed, but Annileen could te
ll wandering a busy city wasn’t his first choice for a good time. Strange—he had seemed so well traveled to her. Well, maybe she could change that.
Turning the corner into Kerner Plaza, however, the foursome encountered a different form of traffic. Dozens of hammer-headed Ithorians thronged the open space, stomping their tree-trunk feet and jubilantly waving sound-makers and silver tassels. Within a second, the crowd of brown-skinned giants engulfed the human visitors.
“I think we’ve wandered into a wedding,” Ben yelled, straining to be heard over the din.
“They have a lot of them here,” Annileen called back, smiling.
A leather-skinned Ithorian danced past on spindly legs. Spying Annileen, the long-necked creature grabbed her by the shoulders and spun with her into the festive crowd. Whirling, Annileen could see Jabe reaching for his blaster—and then Ben placing his hand on the boy’s wrist. Kallie was in the dance, now, too—as was, Annileen saw, just about every poor pedestrian who had wandered past.
The twirling slowed long enough for her to see a panicked Ben in the arms of a tall female Ithorian bedecked in garlands. The mother of the bride? Annileen didn’t know. As they both spun, she could only tell that Ben definitely didn’t want to dance, and that he just as definitely had no choice, as the wave of partygoers surged again.
Finally, the alien released her, centrifugal force whipping her away to the side of the street. She braced herself against a stone column, laughing between gasps for breath. A delighted Kallie broke free next—followed by Ben. His hood down and hair mussed, he looked like a man who’d just finished a podrace.
Reclaiming her hat, Annileen scanned the crowd for Jabe. She found him against the nearest building, leaning standoffishly and clearly prepared to pull his blaster on anyone who came near. “I thought you wanted to get out of the store to have fun,” she said.
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