Jannis grabbed a basket off the manor’s porch as she left, and waved to the two Amani who were clumsily raking at the garden.
The road into town was paved, although rarely did any speeders make their way into the lush, spacious estates from the city below.
The municipality itself was very uniform, with a circular wall limiting the entry and exit to a few select locations. Fortunately for Jannis, it was much easier to walk into the city than to try and enter via one of the few bustling intercity transit highways.
The high rising walls and the slate gray metal that comprised most of the city always made Jannis think of a regal fortress, and she usually found herself intimidated when walking through one of the gates guarded by the soldiers in white. But today, she felt a rush of excitement as she was essentially free, barring the tracking binder tightly strapped to her wrist of course.
The marketplace itself was fairly clean, and all of vendors were so colorful and exotic. Her senses were overwhelmed as she walk by stands filled with barrels of dry barley and oats, slimy fish covered in spines and teeth, and even a little old lady selling tarts so sweet that you could almost see the sugar clouds waning through the air above.
At the end of the long market road, she saw what she was looking for: the fruit stand.
This was such an easy task, and Jannis wondered why everyone had been so worried about her. All she needed to do was hand the vendor the credits, fill her basket with Jogan fruit, and make the short hike back to the estate.
She hastened her stride as she approached the fruit stand, but did not notice the bloated Shaak cattle crossing the intersection. Not until it was too far late.
She collided with the side of the rubbery beast, and felt herself be thrown backwards onto the ground. The credits in the front pocket of her corduroy dress went flying up past her head, and she watched in horror as most of them tumbled down into the storm drains on the side of the street.
She frantically grabbed at them, but was almost trampled by more Shaak spilling onto the road.
As Jannis scurried up onto the curb and watched the last of the credits the Baron had given her be kicked out of sight, she felt icy chills run down her back. How had things gone so wrong so abruptly?
She sat still for a moment trying to think of what to do next. She knew she couldn’t go back to the Baron empty handed, but she didn’t know what other options she had.
A few people on the streets noticed what had happened, but the moment they saw her restraining bracelet, they would look the other way. Why were the people here so mean…?
Without Mama, Jannis no longer knew who to turn to.
She glanced over at the bin of Jogan fruit, and the vendor briefly looked in her direction as he stroked the tentacles hanging from his face.
She recognized his species, and remembered that Vick had said his original owner had also been one of those tentacle-faced people called Quarrens…
“Vick!” she said aloud, “he must know what to do!”
She gathered herself together and took back off through the crowded street, weaving under all of the much larger pedestrians.
She neared the city gate and rushed past the armored guards, who she felt watching her with curiosity through their scary dark eye holes.
As she exited the city, she looked at her bracelet and then at the position of the sun over the distant Lothal mountain range. The master usually took his naps around this time, even if guests were over. She hoped and prayed that he would not glance at his tracker and see her back at the estate without his Jogan fruits.
She was able to quickly climb the steep paved roadways that led to the residence, and slowed her pace as she began to sneak onto their own property.
While she was definitely fearful, the rush she felt while sneaking among the bushes and buildings gave her a surprising thrill. It was almost as if she were an intergalactic spy on an incredibly dangerous mission. One where the stakes were far too real.
She snuck by Bruthus and Strathos still tending to the garden, as well as Sheev hanging some dish cloths out to dry. She began to peer through the windows of the manor, hoping she could knock and grab Vick’s attention. However, a familiar sound drew her to the back side of the home.
In front of the stables she saw Vick chopping away at a block of eucelium, using only the rudimentary tools provided to him by the Baron.
When he went to wipe his brow and saw Jannis standing there, he squinted his eyes with confusion.
“Where are the fruits?” he asked wiping his hands clean.
“I didn’t get them… is the master asleep?”
Vick concernedly nodded his head as he approached the young girl, “yeah, he and his guests are passed out in the lounge. Are you bleeding?”
Jannis glanced down and realized the bottom of her sundress had been sullied by her oozing scraped knee. She didn’t even remember scraping it, and wondered if she had left a trail of blood all the way back from town.
“I’m ok,” she said before frowning, “well not really. I…”
She paused and felt around in her skirt’s front pocket one more time, feeling it to be just as empty as her stomach. “I tripped and lost all of the credits he gave me.”
Vick’s eyes grew wide as he threw his hand towel down, “you what??? He’s going to kill you, Jan.”
“I know,” she said glancing at her bare feet, “I thought you might be able to help?”
With a downturned grimace, the young boy crossed his arms and tapped his foot while he was clearly racking his brain for a solution.
He finally looked up at her with a smile fueled by desperation. “Okay, follow me.”
She scurried after him as he quickly ran to their run down barn shed, and she watched him pry up a board from underneath his frameless mattress. How had she never known about this little secret compartment?
He reached his arm inside and pulled out a small satchel of what must have been credits, smirking at her as he put the cloth sack into his pocket.
He motioned for her to stay at the entryway to the shack as he ran up the front steps of the manor and disappeared inside. A moment later he came silently scampering back down and grabbed her arm, never breaking his stride.
As they began their hasty descent back towards the town, he looked towards his companion. “I didn’t give him the details, but I told Sheev to make sure the master stayed undisturbed until the last possible second. We should be able to be back before he even checks our trackers.”
She smiled as he continued to pull her behind him, “you’re amazing, Vick! I knew you’d have a plan. You’re like a knight in shining armor.”
Vick laughed and slowed their shared pace to a saunter, “I’m no knight, but they are.” He pointed towards the two soldiers in white still standing guard near the gate. Usually they checked for ID’s when people were coming in and out of the city, but the master’s fancy bracelets allowed the children to access the city at anytime without interruption. Jannis wondered if the Baron or the white knights were scarier, as both seemed to have a moderate amount of control over the other’s actions.
The marketplace was just inside the city, so it took only moments for them to near the place where she had fallen earlier. Jannis began to approach the fruit vendor, but stopped when she lost track of Vick. She turned and saw him stopped over on the nearby sidewalk.
She turned around and walked back over to him as he fished the small pouch out of his pocket. “Oh right, we’ll need the credits,” Jannis exclaimed.
Vick grimaced as he turned the bag upside down and began to shake it. Jannis was surprised that she didn’t hear the clinking of credit chips. Her newfound suspicions were quickly satiated, however, when a single, crude blade fell out of the bag.
She looked back up at Vick in concerned confusion. “What is that for?”
He pulled her in close, making sure that none of the vendors, especially the Quarren at the fruit stand, heard them. “I’ve been saving this for the master… but I don’t want you to get in trouble. Hopefully I won’t have to use this, but it’s just a precautionary measure.”
Jannis stepped away appalled, placing her hand over her mouth. “You were planning on doing what Mama tried, weren’t you?”
“That’s not important right now,” the young boy said, “I just need you to listen to me. We have to hurry or this will all be for nothing. You are going to go up and talk to the vendor. Just distract him. I’m going to sneak around behind him, grab a handful of Jogan fruit from his surplus, and be gone before he even notices. I’ve seen him when we’ve come to town before, and he always carries a blaster on him, so we need to assume that he won’t be afraid to use it. If something goes wrong, I may have to use this…”
He looked up at the scared girl and smiled, “but this should be easy, right? Nothing’s too difficult for a princess.”
Jannis began looking around the street, hoping to find some spare credits lying around so that she could avoid this whole situation. But the streets were unfortunately money free.
Vick grabbed her by the shoulder, “it’s now or never. Go talk to him.”
He pushed her towards the fruit stand before disappearing into the crowd.
Jannis slowly approached the tentacled Quarren tending to the fruits, hands firmly clasped behind her back and her knees uncharacteristically wobbly. As she neared the booth, the vendor quickly took notice of her and rubbed the long appendages hanging from his upper lip in apparent thought.
“Were you the one that tripped over there earlier?” he asked in a concerned tone.
Jannis tried to swallow, but her throat felt like it was full of sand. This caused her to momentarily gag and cough before glancing up at the man with a forced smile and the most convincing puppy-dog eyes she could muster.
“You… saw that?” she whimpered.
“Yeah, it looked like took quite the tumble. Are you alright now?”
“Oh yes, I’m…” she trailed off as she saw Vick making his way into the small, open space behind the Quarren. His footsteps were soft, but very rushed. And he dabbed the sweat from his face as he continually glanced down at the tracking bracelet attached to his wrist.
Jannis regained her train of thought and looked back up at the amphibious fruit farmer, “I’m fine now.”
For a moment she just stood there, glancing from the exotic fruits and berries displayed in front of her to her friend grabbing the bulbous, purple Jogan fruit only a few meters ahead. He was just out of sight of the unsuspecting vendor.
After a moment of silence that lasted far too long, the Quarren leaned forward and motioned to all of his produce. “So are you just going to stand there, or are you going to buy something?”
Jannis bit her lip and prayed that her continual glances towards Vick would not give him away. She tried to distract herself by looking at the fruit in front of her, but she knew her face was growing red, and she began to feel a little dizzy.
She reached out her hand and pointing at a long, narrow fruit that was arranged in a striped red spiral. “What’s that one? Is it good?”
“Why yes, that one is…” this time it was the Quarren who trailed off, as Jannis watched him notice the slavers band wrapped tightly around her wrist.
He leaned forward further over the counter and glanced around the street. “Aren’t you a little young to be running errands on your own? Where’s your master at?”
Jannis saw Vick freeze and look at the Quarren from behind. There was a fear and anger in the boy’s eyes that she had never seen before.
Had this been festering underneath since Mama had disappeared? Why had he kept so much from her? Where had that wonderfully reassuring smile gone?
She smiled and and twiddled her fingers in front of her nervously, “I’m ten years old, I think I can take care of myself.”
The Quarren squinted his eyes and glared down at her, “that’s not what I meant. You didn’t escape did you? I mean, could explain why you were in such a clumsy hurry earlier…”
At this point, Jannis was staring directly into Vick’s eyes. She was incredibly dizzy, and began to panic. The look in Vick’s eyes told Jannis that he knew this was a mistake.
This final glance was enough to tip the Quarren off, and he spun around with a growl, quickly drawing the blaster pistol from his hip. He grabbed Vick’s arm as the boy tried to slip out of the stand. Jannis saw Vick flip open the knife and frantically slash open the Quarren’s hand.
Then there was a series of screams. First from the Quarren, then from Jannis, and lastly from a woman on the crowded street as the enraged vendor opened fire with the intent to hit Vick.
Jannis watched as the street quickly cleared of people, and by the time Vick grabbed her by the arm, it was as if they were running down the middle of a ghost town.
Vick’s grip was bruising Jannis’s pals, boney arm, and she saw he was tightly hugging four or five fruit with his other arm. The look on his face was something she had never seen from him before. He looked despaired, or even hopeless.
However, as they ran down the barren street towards the city gate, Jannis felt the opposite of despair or hopelessness.
She felt hope.
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