Shmi slowly opened her eyes. For a moment she wasn't sure where she was, but as the events of the previous few days came flooding back she fully remembered.
Sighing she sat up, stretching her sore neck and stiff back. She paused at the full height of her stretch. She couldn't hear anything. It was silent. We must have landed, Shmi thought, as she stood and made her way out into the hall of the small, silent ship. She paused again, listening. She thought she caught soft murmurs coming from the cargo hold. Slowly and stealthily she crept down the hall, the closer she came to the cargo hold, the louder the murmuring became.
"Is this it?" Shmi heard a deep voice ask.
"That's what I got," Shmi heard Sky say.
Shmi slowly crept up to the open doorway leading to the cargo hold. She stuck her head around the corner and saw Sky and a large, bearded man dressed in all manner of clothing. The man was holding the box of silvery, metallic pebbles they had brought from Marr. The two men were staring into the box, the larger man was swirling the tiny pebbles around with the fingers of his loose hand.
After what felt like an infinity of silence, the man finally nodded in apparent approval. Without another word, he closed the box of Xyunthal and handed Sky another, smaller box, and he turned and left.
Shmi waited for the echoes of the man's footfalls to descend the ramp, and she stepped out from her spot and crossed the hold to Sky.
"How long have we been here?" Shmi asked, smiling as Sky turned, a startled look on his face.
"Finally woke up, didya!" Sky teased.
"We been here about three standard hours. Ana tried to wake ya, but you were dead to the universe," Sky commented distractedly as he lifted the lid of the small box and peered inside. His eyes moved quickly over the contents, than he shut the lid and pocketed the tiny box.
"Where is Ana?" Shmi asked, when it was evident Sky wasn't going to share anything about the business deal he'd just completed.
"Oh, she's out an' about. Shopping, getting' supplies, making a few necessary stops," Sky suddenly eyed Shmi up and down, and Shmi felt slightly self-conscious.
"You need some new duds," Sky stated, as if it was fact and not up for debate. She looked down at her clothes, trying to see them as Sky did. She knew her monocolor grey pants and tunic were grimy and starting to come apart at the seams.
"Well, that's a wonderful idea, but how do you propose I obtain these new, duds, as you call them?" Shmi asked. "I've got nothing to spend, and nothing worth any value to sell," Shmi unconsciously raised her hand to her throat, as if to make sure her necklace was still there.
Sky nodded. "I know yer situation, Ana an' I have talked, and we're willing to loan you some coin so you can get some decent clothes."
Shmi opened her mouth to protest, but was silenced by Sky's raised hand. He shook his head as he reached into one of his pockets and brought out some large, round coins. He looked at what was in his hand, than reached out to give them to Shmi. She accepted them without argument, and was surprised at their weight. There was no money on Kal'Shebbol, everything was done in trade there. Shmi smiled appreciatively.
"I'll pay you back," she insisted. Sky shrugged.
"We aren't so worried," Sky turned and headed back into the core of the ship, calling back over his shoulder, "Be careful out there. It's a safe port, but there are still them who would take advantage. We aren't in any hur'y, so take yer time."
Shmi smiled at Sky's retreating back, and felt an overwhelming surge of affection for the old couple. Where would I be if I hadn't run into him? Shmi thought as she turned and took a step towards the lowered ramp.
Now that she was alone, she could hear sounds of activity outside the ship and suddenly she was a little afraid to go out on her own. Taking a deep breath, Shmi gathered strength and walked down the ramp, taking in the world around her.
At first she was overwhelmed. The docking bay was adjacent to a long avenue with ramshackle shops and street side vendors peddling all sorts of merchandise. As Shmi walked down the narrow avenue, weaving her way through the masses she was assaulted from both sides by yelling merchants trying to appeal to the passersby to stop and look at their items.
Shmi took it all in, the exotic fabrics, the intense smells, the glittering jewelry and other body ornaments. There were many booths selling clothing of different kinds, but it was all so revealing and not really made for travel. Shmi reached the end of the avenue and found herself at a crossroads. In each direction were streets lined with more shops.
Shmi turned and looked back to where she had come, and was shocked to see how long the avenue stretched. Shmi took note of the shop on the corner, and started down the street across from where she'd come.
These shops were less gaudy, and the street was less crowded and noisy. The stores and merchants seemed to rely on the visual appeal of their product to draw in customers. Shmi stared through the windows of the various stores, her eyes feasting on one shop selling large rolls covered in some sort of sweet spread. Shmi's stomach rumbled at the sight.
Smiling, she placed her hands on her tummy, promising herself she'd try and save some of the coin to get a roll on her way back. Reluctantly tearing her eyes away, she continued down the street. A few windows down Shmi paused again. Inside the window were hanging some sensible, modest jumpsuits.
Shmi took a breath and entered the shop. It was silent inside, not a whisper of sound. Shmi stepped over the threshold and into the main room where she saw more racks of jumpsuits, each made from different fabrics. Shmi softly stepped into the middle of the room and turned in a circle. The shop was full of different sizes and styles of jumpsuits.
"In the market for a new jumpsuit?"
Shmi let out a light gasp at the sudden voice, speaking loudly from behind. She laughed and turned to face an extremely short, plump woman with a kind face and a huge amount of red hair set atop her head in what could only be described as a nest.
She smiled at Shmi, looking at her expenctantly.
"That's the second time I've been startled in the past day," Shmi placed her hand over her fluttering heart. The shopkeeper stared at Shmi, her kind smile and expectant look not wavering.
Shmi cleared her throat, her own smile fading with her nerves. "Uh, yes, I am in the market for a new jumpsuit."
The woman nodded. "You've come to the right place, then. My name's Hena, let me show you some of the more useful jumpsuit styles, you look like a no nonsense kind of woman."
Shmi nodded and followed Hena across the small shop to the far wall where there were several styles of jumpsuit. Shmi thought they were all nice enough, and Shmi tried on a few with cargo pockets, and a zipper to allow her to remove the top from the bottom, creating two separate pieces. After modeling the various jumpsuits for Hena, and receiving praise for her slender form and pure, fair skin, Shmi bought a jumpsuit, spending a little over half the coin Sky had given her.
Shmi stood at the counter as Hena wrapped her purchase. She was nervous but not sure why. She felt a little guilty spending Sky and Ana's coin on clothes for herself, but Sky was right, her own clothes had seen their prime and were on their way to rags. It was time for a change anyway. Shmi wanted to be rid of anything and everything that reminded her of living on Kal-Shebbol.
"That's a gorgeous piece of jewelry you've got there," Hena smiled, bringing Shmi out of her thoughts.
"Oh, thank you," Shmi absently trailed her fingers over the charm, the feel of it calming her.
"It looks so familiar, where did you get it?" Hena asked, as she slid Shmi's wrapped purchase across the counter.
Shmi gaped at Hena overwhelmed with hope that maybe this woman knew where Shmi might have come from. "Oh, I've had it since I was a young child. My mother gave it to me, just before we were separated…" Shmi let her voice trail, unsure if she should share so much of her past with this stranger-Sky's words of warning echoing in her head.
Hena smiled as if she understood why Shmi was cautious. "Well, it looks so familiar to me, I swear I have seen it somewhere. I just can't remember…" Hena crossed her short, pudgy arms over her amble bosom, her head tilted as she stared at Shmi's necklace. Shmi stood still and silent as a statue for what must have been several minutes.
Her heart sank as Hena started shaking her head. "I'm sorry, hon, I can't remember."
Shmi, though her hopes were dashed, forced what she hoped looked like a thankful smile. She picked up her parcel and backed towards the door. "Thanks for your help, and the jumpsuit."
Hena waved and Shmi turned and exited the shop quickly, the disappointment of being so close to a clue finally catching up to her. Her eyes pricked and burned as tears threatened.
"Stop it, Shmi," she whispered to herself as she walked quickly down the street, her head down. She stopped finally, the threat of tears abated for now. Shmi turned to head back to the ship when another shop window caught her eye.
Almost an hour later, having mostly forgotten about the first shopkeeper and the dark figure, Shmi exited the second shop with five additional parcels in her hands. She had found several pairs of fitted trousers and two decent tunics to go with, and she still had enough coin left to buy a sweet roll.
Shmi started back down the street, towards the crowded avenue. Her mind was singular on getting a roll, and she didn't notice Hena chasing after her until another shopper indicated that she was being flagged down. Shmi turned to see Hena waddling after her, red-faced, panting and waving her arms madly. Shmi started towards the short woman, and Hena stopped her jog and leaned over, placing her hands on her knees.
Shmi took another breath and as she looked around, waiting for Hena to catch her breath and speak, she saw a dark figure dash into a shop just behind Hena. Shmi looked around her. There were no other people on the street aside from Shmi, Hena and the woman that had caught Shmi's attention. Shmi felt panic rise within her, that figure looked like the same one I had seen back on Marr, she thought.
"I…remembered…something…" Hena managed to speak between big, gulping breaths.
Shmi momentarily forgot the dark robed stranger, her eyes widening but she said nothing.
"It…was…a…symbol…we …had…to…know…from…school," Hena gasped out, apparently still unable to catch her breath.
Shmi wanted to shake the woman until she spat it all out, but instead she just nodded and gripped her parcels with a tighter hand.
Finally, Hena seemed to be able to speak in full sentences without pausing for breath.
"Sorry…I don't run," Hena smiled apologetically.
"That's fine. Please, tell me what you know?" Shmi asked, sounding more forceful than she meant to.
"I recognized it as an old Jedi Knight symbol. It was a controversial branch of the Order, if I remember my Galactic History correctly. School was quite awhile ago, for me," Hena leaned herself heavily against the window of the shop they were standing in front of.
Shmi was shocked. She'd only ever heard of the Jedi Knights, never had she met one and now, apparently, she had lived among them when she was a young girl. As she tried to process this information she too leaned against the same window. Both women ignored the pounding from the shopkeeper inside.
"Wow. Thanks, Hena. You have no idea what this means to me," Shmi finally said as she wondered if Sky's stash of datapads had information and history about the Jedi Knights.
"I know, hon," Shmi looked down at Hena, and knew that she did know. The two women hugged and parted ways, Shmi completely forgetting about the mysterious man, and remembering she wanted to get a roll after she'd boarded the ship and unloaded her parcels on her bunk.
