A Mother's Touch

IRREPLACEABLE

 Crates of foodstuffs were piled on top of the new generator and mounted on a loading skiff that was as tall as it was wide. Towering four meters, it took Osha and Thembe working on both sides to move it.

"Isn't there a freight droid available to do this?" Osha grunted.

"If it costs credits and can be done by manual labor, the good Lady Khattarine is not inclined to put up the money for it." He looked around the corner of the stacked crates. Sweat streaked down from his temples. "Need a break?"

"No, I'm good." Osha put her shoulder against the skiff and kept pushing. "On second thought, hold on." She knelt down to examine the tracks. "Do you have a hydrospanner on you?"

Thembe came around the corner to hand her one from his pants.

Tapping into an access panel, Osha winced at the sour stench of old grease. Clearly the starport took no pride in maintaining their equipment. She found a faulty rotor screw, tightened it, and gave the platform a push. "I bet the other ambulatory rotors are loose. Give me a second."

"You're pretty handy. Glad Lady Khattarine's not hear to see it. She'd feed me to the Hutts and hire you."

"Like your predecessor?"

"Don't let her fool you, Mae. That old bird is as ruthless as they come. Who do you think sent that man to Tatooine to place that bet? She did. Knowing full well his cargo might spoil." He sighed, exhaling air from his puffed cheeks. "The Hutts should have put her down, not him."

"That's insane," Osha said, fixing the final screw.

Thembe gave the skiff a push. It moved easily with only the slightest adjustment needed to direct it. "Don't tell me you can pilot a ship, too?"

"I can," Osha said with a grin. She handed the hydrospanner back to him. "But I'm not as good as you, and I know nothing about the smuggling backroads."

"How'd you get so handy?" Thembe got behind the skiff and pushed it along.

"I spent some time as a meknek. I can fix just about anything." Osha got beside the loader and helped to guide it from the side.

"A meknek?!" Thembe slapped his thigh. "Uldyr! I knew I saw something a little feral in your eyes!"

"How long have you been with her? Lady Khattarine?" With the skiff working, they made their way through the crowded port. "She doesn't treat you very well."

"Been at the helm of the Maelstruss for about a month now. And that's how most Corellians treat Socorrans. Ever since they landed on Socorro and colonized the planet. Tell me how you colonize a planet when there are people already living there?" Thembe rolled his eyes and shook his head in dismay. "We've spent the last thousand years teaching them how to survive."

"Maelstruss? Is that Socorran?"

"It is. The good lady thinks she's being culturally aware using the name of one of our Judges."

"Judges?" Osha watched a technician walk by her carrying a PIP droid. She yearned for the one she had lost, hoping Mae would care for him as she had.

"Desert entities sacred to my people. There are four of them—all women. The Judges of the Dead watch over the living and help the dead find peace. Maelstruss is the patron guardian of smugglers and pirates."

"Before we left, Lady Khattarine said a word to you—uukei." Osha felt herself getting breathless. Though the skiff moved better, the weight was still there and required an effort to move. "What does it mean?"