Star Wars, page 14
After he’d gone, Fee-Na gave Tanabi a small bow of respect, as though she were struggling to find the proper way to interact with her mother-in-law. “Dinner is ready whenever you are. Just come and find us out in the fish pens.” With that, the woman left the room, leaving Vernestra and Tanabi alone.
The Togruta woman sprang into action as soon as the door slid closed. She moved carefully, but her actions were brisk, efficient. She pulled out a pack with a number of weapons—blasters and other strange devices. She laid them out as though she were doing inventory and then nodded before packing everything back into the satchel except a strange domed device, which she put in the center of the room and powered on. An odd melody began to fill the room, not quite music but enjoyable all the same.
“Good. I apologize for the secrecy, but I’m afraid that not even my son knows why I’m here. As you can probably tell, I do not visit often.”
“What is that?” Vernestra asked, gesturing to the small device. It was no bigger than her hand, and a red light on top blinked slowly.
“It’s meant to detect any listening devices in the room and jam them. Obviously I am more than just an old Togruta woman, even though I apologize for my subterfuge earlier. My name truly is Tanabi Yar, and I have not always been the best person.” She smiled sadly and shook her head. “I was a pirate most of my life. Not like these Nihil we have now, who hurt people for fun. My crew and I targeted companies on the frontier who were known to mistreat their workers. We stole and liberated many shipments, most especially from the Grafs, those moffaques. I never much cared for the San Tekkas, either, but at least they were mostly fair to their vassals.”
Vernestra frowned. She didn’t condone stealing, but she had met some of the Grafs briefly not too long ago. She could see why someone would target them. They weren’t exactly good people.
Tanabi was oblivious to Vernestra’s reaction, adrift in memory as she told her tale. “In the early days Miekos was quite wild, and my crew and I used it as an operating base of sorts. After Noparo was born I left him here to be raised by my wife, Kirri, and as more colonists arrived, the planet changed, becoming less of a waystation for pirates and smugglers and more of a farming community. My crew and I continued our work, but we preferred to keep most of our dealings offworld. I did not visit my son as often as I should have, but I love him very much. However, he has no idea of the woman I once was. And I aim to keep it that way.
“My wife died recently, and he asked me to return to Miekos, especially as he and his wife have decided to become parents. And I have every intention of being an amazing grandmother, especially since Kirri did not live to see the miracle of her grandchildren. But first the people here need my help. The local shipping guild that hauls all of the fish offworld for sale has begun gouging the farmers here, and in a few short seasons many of the families will end up indentured. They’re already starving! So I reached out to my old crew to see if they were willing to do one more job.”
“And that’s why you need to get to Vado’s Peak?”
Tanabi nodded and stood, putting the device back inside the knapsack. “Something like that. Those assassins back on the ship were paid by the Confederation of Haulers, the guild that services this part of the galaxy, the same one that oversees the local guild, just using a series of holding companies to hide their misdeeds. We’ve had our run-ins in the past, and I daresay that the last thing they want is for a bunch of old pirates to break up their monopoly and welcome in competition.”
Vernestra frowned. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but are you sure that was why they targeted you? It seems strange to try and curb competition through murder.”
Tanabi laughed, the sound low and deep. “Child, I have the feeling you have never been in business for yourself. Freelancing is very cutthroat. Also, my plan wouldn’t just create competition. It would completely and utterly destroy their monopoly. The fish raised here could be very valuable on the open market.”
Vernestra didn’t have much to say to that, and she still felt like she’d made the right choice following Tanabi off the ship. The Force clearly wanted her to help these simple fish farmers. “Okay, so what now?”
“Now, we rest. We’ll eat dinner and then set out after. The trip shouldn’t take long, and once we are there the work should go quickly. Pretty easy.”
Vernestra nodded. She could sense that Tanabi was not being entirely truthful with her, but there was something about the old woman that felt good, and Vernestra could sense that her intentions, no matter what they might be, were honorable.
Vernestra made her way to her pallet and stretched out, intending to lie down for just a few minutes. But as soon as she closed her eyes, she was asleep.
And that was when the dreams began.
Vernestra wasn’t sure where she was.
She was on Starlight Beacon, but no part of the station she’d ever been in before. No part that even existed anymore.
In her mind she knew it was a dream. But she was helpless to pull herself away from the moment, to dream of something happier or even real. This was where her mind wanted her to be.
She and Imri stood in a meditation garden, the sound of water trickling from an unseen fountain. It wasn’t one she’d visited; this garden was strange and somehow wild, as though the gardening droids had abandoned it and left the greenery to its own devices. “Isn’t it great, Vern?” Imri said with his usual exuberance. “Just imagine how much good we’re doing here. And everywhere else. It’s truly a gift to be a Jedi.”
“Imri,” Vernestra said. She wanted to warn him. She wanted to push him into an escape pod and save him. She wanted so many things. It wasn’t fair. She’d worked so hard for so long. How could everything that mattered be gone?
Imri smiled at her in the dream, blood trickling down his pale brow, his gaze unwavering. The far-off sound of water changed, became something less soothing. Shouts of alarm. The sound of things breaking. “Don’t be sad, Vernestra. It’ll be okay. You have people to help.”
And then the skin of his face melted away in flames and cries of despair, his smile becoming a garish, terrible thing.
Vernestra startled awake, already on her feet, hand reaching toward her lightsaber. She stood there, blinking in the dim room, trying to get her bearings. She was still so tired, the dreams making her sleep feel less restorative and more like a battle.
That was when she realized the screaming was real.
Vernestra looked quickly to the bed—empty—before heading to the door and out of the room. The shouting came from the main living area, and Vernestra stealthily made her way there, listening as the voices began to take shape into actual words and not just sounds of fear.
“Look, Tanabi, we get it. You have a very peculiar set of beliefs,” said someone, their voice deep and masculine. “But that doesn’t really work for us. It’s not personal. It’s just business.”
“Save it. I’m not interested in your rhetoric. But your quarrel is with me, not my family. Let them go. They’ve got nothing to do with this.”
“Eh, I’m not so sure about that,” said someone else. It sounded like the pregnant woman from the transport, and Vernestra frowned. Had Tanabi lied to her? She didn’t think so, but there was definitely something afoot.
“Either way, what you want to do is just too dangerous for the farmers,” said a third person, using a vocalizer by the sound of it. “Things are better this way. You are dangerous, Tanabi. And we are very sorry.”
Vernestra didn’t need to hear anything else. It was time for action.
She burst into the main living area and took in the scene in half a second. Tanabi, Noparo, and Fee-Na were all seated on one of the low couches, their hands behind them. The pregnant woman from the hauler, suddenly not pregnant but definitely missing a hand, was holding a blaster on the trio. An unknown human male held another blaster, while an Ithorian stood nearby, arms crossed. From his posture Vernestra took him to be the one in charge.
“It’s the Jedi!” the human woman yelled, and Vernestra held her hand out and used the Force to shove the three of them back into the far wall of the living room. Tanabi was on her feet immediately, and Vernestra pointed to the back of the house.
“Get to safety! I’ll take care of this.”
Noparo and Fee-Na complied, following Tanabi out of the room. “Jedi? There is a Jedi in my house! What is going on?” Fee-Na seemed upset, but Vernestra figured she would worry about that later.
First she had to deal with the matter at hand.
“We’ve got no quarrel with you, Jedi,” the human man said, hands held out in a calming manner.
“I do,” the woman said with a snarl. “That kriffing Jedi took my hand!”
“And I apologize for that,” Vernestra said, powering up her lightsaber. “Please don’t give me reason to take the other one.”
The man’s eyes went wide. “Look, we can discuss this—”
He was cut off by the woman at his side firing her blaster at Vernestra.
A sweep of her lightsaber and the bolt ricocheted back, hitting the Ithorian in the arm. He screamed and backed up.
“You aren’t paying me enough to get shot at,” he said, and fled out the main entrance, off into the night.
“You should take his cue,” Vernestra said. There was no heat to her words. She just felt exhausted. She could already see how this would go. The human woman would fire again, and perhaps the next blaster bolt would be deflected back at her. If not, Vernestra would be forced to subdue the woman in some other way. More violence. More pain. Where did it end?
The human man clearly was not in the business of actually fighting, his fine clothing more suited to a fancy party or a business meeting, and he held up his hands in surrender. His expression showed he was as reluctant as Vernestra to engage in anything further.
“Talk some sense into your friends,” he said. “They aren’t going to want the trouble that comes with trying to break up what the guild has built here.” He jerked his head toward the exit, and the human woman gave Vernestra one last murderous look before they both ran out of the house.
Vernestra heaved a sigh of relief and powered down her lightsaber before going to find the rest of the household. Fee-Na, Noparo, and Tanabi were huddled in the kitchen, and once Vernestra had freed their hands, Noparo rounded on his mother.
“Okay, you’d better start talking. Because as far as I can tell, there is no good reason for Werner Klop to bring a crew of heavies to threaten me.”
Tanabi heaved a sigh. “It is a very, very long story, my monshhee. I do not want you to think less of me in the telling.”
Vernestra took a seat at the kitchen table, trying to stay out of the way. This was a family matter, and if there were somewhere else for her to be, she would have left. But she had a feeling that Werner Klop, who she assumed was the well-dressed human man, would be back and she wanted to be able to keep everyone safe. Plus, there was something nice about being able to put her own problems to the side for a moment.
Fee-Na bustled about, making tea for everyone, her body stiff. Worry radiated off of her in heavy waves. Not just worry, but actual fear.
“Fee-Na,” Vernestra said before Tanabi could begin her tale. “What’s wrong?”
She turned around, eyes wide. “I knew I recognized you, even though we’d just met.”
The already awkward mood became something more uncomfortable, and for a moment Vernestra thought perhaps Fee-Na was talking to her. But then she rounded on Tanabi. “The Lady Ascendant. That’s your ship, right?”
Tanabi opened her mouth but then snapped it shut. “Yes, that is mine.”
“Lady Lavera,” Fee-Na said with a laugh. “Oh, my goodness. I just. . .you’re a legend. When I was a kid my brothers and sisters and I used to pretend to be you and. . .my lady, why didn’t you tell us? Our homestead is no place for a princess.”
Tanabi winced, and Vernestra had a feeling akin to falling from a great height. “Wait, a princess?” The ship they’d flown in on had been about as far away from the royal treatment as a ship could get. There was a story here, and Vernestra wanted to hear it.
“That was a long time ago,” Tanabi said, seeming annoyed. “And my cousin sits upon the throne now. I gave up my claim long ago.”
Noparo looked from his mother to his wife. “Can someone please make this all make sense?”
Fee-Na brought the teapot and mugs over to the table, her thin lips twisted into a grin and her eyes shining impossibly bright. “Once upon a time—”
“Fee-Na, please—” Tanabi interrupted, but her daughter-in-law ignored her.
“Once upon a time there was a princess of the royal family on Shili. She was the favorite and destined to be queen. But she fell in love with a commoner and gave up her crown for her lady love.”
“She isn’t talking about Mama Kay, is she?” Noparo said, looking incredulously at his mother.
“She is,” Tanabi demurred, sipping her tea.
“The princess and her lady love could have been content to see the galaxy, spending the rest of their lives happy and in love,” Fee-Na said, leaning in. She was truly enjoying the revelation that her mother-in-law was a runaway princess, and she leaned in to the telling of the tale. “But the princess was much aggrieved to see the injustice wrought by the corporations on the frontier.”
“There were children starving. It wasn’t a difficult decision,” Tanabi muttered, and Fee-Na continued, undaunted.
“And so she and a crew of her friends decided that they would be the light on the frontier, and Lady Lavera began a career of piracy, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. She fed the hungry and healed the sick. She kept the corporations out of the pockets of the people. So many people are alive because of your mother, my darling.”
“You cannot be serious,” Noparo said, and Fee-Na nodded.
“I am. This is. . .it’s a great honor, my lady,” she said to Tanabi before being overcome with emotion. She sniffed, and then her joy and excitement fell away and she began to cry. Noparo went to his wife, cradling her in his arms, and she hiccupped as she tried to regain control of her emotions.
“Your mother is the reason our colony on Kilstra didn’t starve our first winter there,” she said, swiping at the tears on her cheeks. “The Grafs had the contract to supply our colony, and they reneged at the last moment. I would be dead if it wasn’t for your mother. Please don’t be angry with her. She is a hero.”
A strange feeling came over Vernestra, and she set down her cup. “Tanabi. What is on Vado’s Peak?”
“The communications array,” she said with a heavy sigh. “The guild has locked down the messaging so that all outgoing transmissions are scanned. They then delete any that could be considered competition, including reports of their price gouging to outside sources. There’s no real government here on Miekos, since this was a San Tekka settlement before they abandoned it as not being profitable. We’ve little more than a makeshift sheriff, and that is it.”
“So your plan is to. . .what, Mother?” Noparo asked. “What is it you think you’re going to do?”
“Child, who do you think built that communications array in the first place?” Tanabi asked, her tone sharp. “Once I see what they’ve done to tamper with things, I’m going to correct it. And then I’m going to send a message to every single hauler in the sector offering an exclusive contract to take the fish the farmers grow. Instead of someone paying you for your fish,” Tanabi said, “we are going to pay them to take the fish to an offworld buyer. I’ve been traveling across the galaxy, meeting with friends and family, and I have several contracts in place. All we have to do is deliver the fish. You’ll triple your profits overnight, even after paying the haulers.”
“Like a collective,” Fee-Na said, nodding. “We get to set the prices rather than letting the guild give us what they want.”
“Exactly,” Tanabi said with a satisfied nod.
Noparo sighed again and scrubbed his hand over his face. “So, what is there to stop Werner and his guild from slicing the communications array again?”
Tanabi smiled mischievously, and for a moment Vernestra saw the pirate she had once been. “You leave that to me. I have a little something in store for them.”
Noparo seemed resigned, while Fee-Na looked at Tanabi like she’d birthed the galaxy. Vernestra for her part was happy to help, but she still wondered just why the Force had led her there. But she was patient. She knew that things would be revealed in their own time.
They always were.
Noparo stood, causing everyone else in the kitchen to stand, as well. “I guess we should get going, then. The ponds will have to be recirculated in twelve hours, and I’ll need to be here for that.”
“Why don’t you stay here and I’ll go along with them?” Fee-Na said, standing. “I can drive. If we take the landspeeder, we should be there and back in less than half a day.”
“Night will be coming soon,” Noparo said. “Why don’t you leave first thing in the morning?” It was clear that he didn’t have Tanabi’s sense of adventure. Vernestra got the idea that he’d rather be anywhere but about to embark on such a foolhardy task, even if it was in the best interest of his community.
“We should leave right now,” Tanabi said. “Werner and his goons may not understand what the plan is, but I daresay they’ll be back sooner rather than later.”
“Agreed,” Fee-Na said with a sympathetic look at her husband. “It’ll be okay. I can feel it.”
“Then it’s settled,” Vernestra said. “We’ll get to the communications array and unlock it. That’ll give us the chance to send out the messages like Tanabi said. As long as we can do that, it seems like the guild’s stranglehold will be broken and things can return to normal.”
No one said anything, and so it was that Vernestra, Tanabi, and Fee-Na set out for the communications array.
Miekos glowed at night. The water gave off a weird light, bright enough to blot out the stars overhead so they appeared as little more than specks, none brighter than the others.
