TATOOINE
CHAPTER TWENTY
The Dust Bowl
Tatooine was no one’s vacation destination.
First off, the sand wenteverywhere.
I had learned to wear a shawl over my uniform on the planet because if not I’d have to run my clothes through the wash three times just to get all the dirt off, not to mention all the crevices where the sand hid onme. I still sometimes felt the grit between my teeth from the one time Dad got us lost in a sandstorm coming back from a moisture farm, and I rued that day.
Ever since then, when we had to stop on Tatooine, we kept the tour short, to a market day in Mos Espa and then a taxi out to a nearby moisture farm, where Dad would tell the story of young Luke Skywalker and his exploits in blowing up the first Death Star and trying to bring back the Jedi Order—a story most everyone knew.
Most of the guests signed up for the excursion, except for a family who found Mos Espa to be a little too dangerous (though perhaps that was because the family waswanted by one of the factions ruling the city—I didn’t judge). Because there was never a good place to drift in orbit and Dad had a friend down in Mos Espa’s spaceport who gave him a good docking spot, theStarfarerbroke through the atmosphere and landed on the same dusty landing pad we had for the past ten years, and the same mechanics came out to refuel the ship.
The boarding ramp lowered with a clank, and guests wandered out into the port. Maeve stayed behind with Telly, because they’d rather watch a fathier race, while Daaric and Kotti split off to find a good deal on a new long-range communicator for the lander. From what I gathered, Dad was still intent on leaving it here until we came back around in a few weeks, when Dad put Tatooine on the itinerary again.
Kotti inclined her head. “Wanna come with?”
“Eh, I think I’m going to stay back,” I lied, folding my shawl around my shoulders. I had a stowaway to see off.
Kotti hesitated. “Are you sure? You’ve been really distant lately. Ever since Coruscant.”
I bumped my shoulder against hers. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a lot on my mind.”
“Want to talk about it later? A girls’ night after dinner?” she asked.
“I would love that,” I replied, because a moment of normalcy sounded intoxicating.
“Good. I’ll see you when we get back!” She set off with Daaric toward the markets, counting off on her fingers the list of things she wanted to find. I was so caught up with Kotti, I almost didn’t notice Val slipping off in the opposite direction. Where washegoing? After last night, I didn’t trust him—but evidently he sure didn’t trust me, either. I needed to make sure he stayed away long enough for me to get Sian off the ship.
I caught VB-35 by the arm as the droid shuffled back up the ramp with N2-0. “Can you two do something for me?”
The droid turned to me, white eyes flickering apprehensively. “Depends.”
“Could you follow my brother?”
“Oh, does he need help shopping—”
“No, quietly.”
Veebee caught on quickly. Her eyes flickered again. “You know I am not a sneaky droid.”
“You don’t have to sneak. You can just…follow, right? I would,” I added, a little quieter, “but I have to see a man about a stowaway.”
“Captain Quay does not like Entoo and me to leave the ship on Tatooine. Plenty of droids have gone missing here, and as you know, I am a prized possession—”
“I’ll get you whatever ingredient you want. Name it.”
Vee didn’t even have to think. “Dried woodoo gizzard.”
I stared at her.
“You said whatever.”
I huffed.“Fine.”
“Great. Come on, Entoo,” she said, turning around to go back down the ramp. N2-0 blooped unsurely. “We’ll be fine. I need to get some spices anyway, aftersomeoneknocked them all over.”
