Chapter 14

The day finally came when Granny Tikva brought, along with their morning meal, the news that Foss Daveen's ship had docked. Shmi and Kern had worked out their plan during the long days of waiting. When Granny Tikva came to take away their dirty plates Shmi slipped upstairs with her, and donned a loose robe Granny Tikva had procured for her. They watched out the window, and when for moment the street outside was deserted, Granny Tikva unfastened the locks and Shmi stepped out into the street.

Kern had instructed her on exactly where to go. She made her way out of the poor sections of Mos Eisley, through the crowded business district, and into a section where the streets widened and the houses were set farther apart. There were few pedestrians here at this time of day. Kern had told her that if things were still as he remembered them, midmorning would be a good time to approach his mother. His father would have departed for his place of business, and the other household slaves would be busy about their work.

Shmi came to the house marked with the proper number. Large as it appeared, she knew it was even more extensive underground. Nervous, she looked up and down the street, but no one was near. She pressed the chime, and heard its faint tone through the thick door.

The response was prompt. A woman opened the door. She was not particularly tall, but she held herself very erect. Her face, though beginning to show the effects of many years beneath Tatooine's harsh suns, retained an elegant beauty. She wore her hair in long straw-colored braids wrapped around her head, and her clothes, though of the common slave style, were immaculately clean and pressed.

"I'm sorry, miss." Her voice was courteous, but curt. "We do not accept solicitors here. We are not interested in anything you are selling or any charity you are collecting for. Good-b –"

"Lani Bluesand?" Shmi cut in, as the other woman was starting to shut the door in her face.

The door paused. The woman looked at her with sharp curiosity. "Yes?"

Shmi put her hand on the doorframe. "Please, I've come from your son Kern. Is there somewhere we can speak in private?"

At Kern's name, Lani's face went blank with shock, but by the time Shmi finished speaking she had recovered most of her poise. She opened the door wide and gestured for Shmi to enter, her hands only shaking a little. "Of course. Come in, please." She shut the door behind Shmi, and ushered her through the spacious, cool, softly lit entryway, down a broad flight of stairs, and into an elegantly furnished sitting room. She sank down on a sofa as if her legs would suddenly not support her any more, and drew Shmi down beside her.

Her eyes anxiously searched Shmi's face. "Tell me, is Kern all right? He's not…"

"No, no, he's fine. Better than fine." Shmi looked around. "Are you sure no one can hear us here? There are no recording devices, or anything?"

"No." Lani leaned close. "You can speak freely."

Shmi took a deep breath. She kept her voice to a barely audible whisper. "Kern is here in Mos Eisley. We escaped from Jabba the Hutt's compound, and found sanctuary here with people who help escaped slaves. There's a ship that's going to take us offworld tomorrow, and he wants you to come with us."

Lani's hands went to her mouth. Her eyes, wide and round, grey-green like Kern's but with a touch more gold, stared at Shmi, then closed, and she bowed her head. After a moment, she reached out and laid a hand on Shmi's knee, and raised wondering eyes to Shmi's face. "Oh, child." She looked away a moment, breathing deeply, then turned back to Shmi with a gentle smile. "You're Kern's friend?"

"His wife." Shmi couldn't help smiling a little with pride as she said it.

Lani nodded, and reached to stroke Shmi's cheek. "You tell Kern I think he's chosen well."

Shmi blushed. "You can tell him yourself." Something in Lani's manner worried Shmi. "You are going to come with us, aren't you?"

Lani shook her head, her eyes bright with tears. "No, child – What's your name?"

"Shmi. Shmi Skywalker."

"I can't come with you, Shmi. My place is here. I have my work, and my status, and Arnell depends on me." She held up a hand to silence Shmi's protests. "And none of that should matter, I know. If I were twenty years younger, it wouldn't. But this would."

She pushed back her sleeve to show Shmi a small scar on her upper arm. Shmi stared at it in horror. She knew what it meant. "That's where they insert the probe, when they implant…"

Lani nodded. "I've had it for nearly a year, now. Arnell had all his slaves implanted. He couldn't very well make an exception for me, could he?" Her voice was rueful and gently ironic, but with an edge of old and deeply buried bitterness.

Shmi bit her lip. "I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be, child. You've brought me great joy today, letting me know my son is alive and well and on his way to freedom. Now tell me, all about him, and you, and your escape, and your plans…"

Shmi poured out the tale of how she and Kern had met, and all the twist and turns of their relationship and their bid for freedom. Lani listened, and questioned, and interjected her own memories of Kern as a child. By the time Shmi had finished, she felt so close to Kern's mother that she found herself near tears that the time was drawing close when she would have to leave, and that Lani could not come with them.

Eventually Lani glanced at her wrist chrono, then toward the door. "Oh, child, I could talk with you for hours yet, but Arnell will be home for lunch soon, and you must be gone before he comes."

Shmi rose hastily. "I wouldn't want you to get in trouble on my account."

"No fear of that, as long as you're safely on your way." She rose and walked with Shmi up the stairs to the door.

Shmi hesitated. "Lani…"

"Shmi, would you like… you already feel like a daughter to me… would you call me Mother?"

Shmi nodded, her eyes filling with tears. "Mother, there's something else you should know." She took Lani's hands and placed them on her still-flat belly. "We're going to have a baby."

Lani sighed, and smiled. "I thought there was something about you…" She stood there a long moment, eyes closed. She took a deep breath, and enfolded Shmi in her warm embrace.

Both their eyes were damp by the time Lani stepped back, her hands lingering on Shmi's arms. "Tell Kern I love him, and my blessings go with all three of you. Farewell on your journey. Hurry now, it's getting late."

"I'll tell him. Good-bye, L– Mother." Shmi turned away, tears blurring her eyes. She knew she would never see Kern's mother again. It was strange, that she could grieve so deeply the loss of something she hadn't even known until just now she had.

She turned back toward Granny Tikva's house, making her way slowly back through the city. Her thoughts were distracted, focused on the memory of her conversation with Lani. She walked automatically, not paying attention to her surroundings, or really seeing anything, until a loud voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Shmi?"