Chapter Six--Doubled
They arrived at Shakolt to discover that the next shuffle flight to Aosta, Owen's planned destination, had been delayed due to a mechanical failure. Beru felt her spirits rise. Owen, not surprisingly, was exasperated. "Great," he muttered.
Shakot's capital city was a large one, and they had no trouble finding a space in a hostel, so that they could wait in some comfort. Beru looked for an opportunity to give Owen the slip. She found, however, that Owen did not let Luke out of his sight. He was also naturally suspicious; if she went to the 'fresher, he kept the baby with him. Beru tried logic, wheedling, even bribery. Nothing worked: Owen was unmoved. Beru began to see why he had proved so useful to his brother.
She decided tougher measures were in order. She would have to spend rather too much money on them, which was unfortunate. But she saw no other alternative. That afternoon, while Owen was distracted in the capitol's shopping district, she was able to make a purchase.
So the next day, when they stood in the line-up for the shuttle flight to Aosta, Beru was delighted to see that there would be a search. Just what she had hoped. She held Luke tightly.
Owen was bored by the search, and submitted with bad grace. When the security agents discovered a sealed packet in his tunic, he was astonished.
"What is this, sir?" the senior agent asked him.
Owen stared at it. "I don't know what it is! I've never seen it before!"
The senior agent ripped it open, and sniffed the powder inside cautiously. He gave his colleague a significant look.
"Spice," he said.
"But that's not mine!" Owen cried. "Somebody must have planted in on me!" His eyes came to rest on Beru. She gave him a bland look.
"By the gods, Beru," he said, "You're a ruthless woman."
"Do you know this man, madam?" the senior agent asked.
Beru schooled her features into polite confusion. "No, gentlemen, I don't. We were just standing beside each other in the line. And my name isn't Beru--it's Nira, Nira Rallater." She offered them her galaxy passport.
"I'm her husband," Owen said, "See? Here's my passport--" he fumbled for it.
"It's gone!" he said, staring accusingly at Beru.
In fact, it was currently residing, tightly wrapped, in Luke's diaper. Beru planned to sell it to recoup the expense of buying the contraband. She gave the officers a blank look, "I'm sorry, gentlemen. I've never seen this man before. And I would certainly never have anything to do with smuggling spice."
"You bitch!" Owen swore. His temper, Beru noted with interest, was his undoing. It was convincing the security agents of his guilt.
"Quiet, you," the senior agent said, cuffing Owen none too gently. "Sorry, madam. You go ahead."
Beru looked Owen in the eyes. He suddenly seemed to remember that making enough fuss to attract Imperial attention was unwise. He visibly collected himself and looked back at her, his face hard. Beru felt a chill. When he controlled his rage, he was far more formidable.
She turned away and entered the shuttle. Grimly, Owen watched her go. Luke stared over Beru's shoulder at Owen until the sliding doors hid him from view.