Star Wars - Kenobi

remember? That’s his name,” Orrin said. Quickly, he recounted Ben’s questions about extending protection far to the east.
    “Out near Anchorhead?” Veeka asked, climbing down the ladder. “What business has he got out there?”
    “No idea.” Orrin strained to remember details from the conversation. Ben had mentioned the Lars farm. Why he would care what happens out that way?
    Veeka chucked her tool kit into the back of their work vehicle. “You really think he has money—that he wasn’t just talking?” She grinned. “I thought you said he was an idiot.”
    “That I did,” Orrin said, staring at the Jundland peaks far away. “Man lives on the fringe, babbling to himself and dressing like the Tuskens stole his wardrobe. That’s the sort of human driftwood your mother would take in.” And leave with, he did not have to say. “But crazy people need protecting, too. Some even have money.”
    Probably not this crazy person, though. Orrin knew it wasn’t worth wasting thoughts on the man. Ben hadn’t been around in days—and there were bigger problems coming up. He took a last forlorn look at the vaporator. “Let’s pack it in. We’re not going to fix this by the deadline.”
    Mullen was startled. “No harvest? But those people who came to see you—”
    “Shouldn’t have been allowed anywhere near the Claim,” Orrin said, aggravated. It had been a sore point in the family. Somebody on the work crews should have stopped “Master Boopa” before he reached the Claim. Or at least alerted Orrin.
    Veeka stood beside her brother. She looked serious, for once. “What will you—I mean, what will we do?”
    “Your great-granddaddy told me something,” Orrin said. “Every problem’s got two solutions. You wait until you figure two ways out of a problem—and then you try them both at the same time. Because by the time you need a backup plan, it’s too late.”
    Orrin paused and thought about what was scheduled to happen in the next twenty-four hours—and about the plans he had to deal with it all. “You go see if Zedd’s ready to work,” he said, flashing a reassuring smile as he climbed into his vehicle. “I’ve got some things to prepare.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
    LEELEE NEARLY DROPPED HER packages when she opened the door. “Annileen!”
    In the middle of the Claim’s dining area, a scaffold sat tipped at an angle, two of its supports wedged against the domed ceiling above. Annileen clung to the top of the structure, dangling precariously. She looked over her shoulder at her visitor. “Hi, Leelee. What’s new?”
    The Zeltron set her parcels down and rushed over. A bucket lay overturned in the middle of a white, soapy puddle, near where the rickety tower stood. “You’re washing the ceiling?”
    “Not anymore, no.” Annileen’s wet hand slipped again. In grabbing hold, she set the whole structure quaking. “I’ve been calling for Jabe, but I think he’s in the stockroom!”
    “Asleep, you mean.” Leelee pushed a table away to reach the scaffold. She steadied it long enough for Annileen to twist around and reach for one of the vertical supports.
    Carefully, Annileen climbed down. “Thanks,” she said, breathing deeply. “I was afraid I’d have to wait for the dinner rush.”
    Leelee looked around. The afternoon crowd was always thinnest during harvesttime. The store was empty, except for old Erbaly Nap’tee, poking through a basket of remnants. “Didn’t Erbaly offer to help?”
    “No, but she asked me to help her,” Annileen said, drying her hands on her overalls. “I’m pleased to say I know what’s in inventory even in midair.” She turned the fallen bucket upright and searched for the mop, as if nothing had ever happened.
    Leelee marveled. “You decided to wash the ceiling—alone.”
    “Putting up sealant, actually,” Annileen said. “You guys did a good job cleaning up after the raid, but I wanted to get at those blaster score marks on the pourstone before they caused cracks.”
    “What, in thirty years?”
    Annileen shrugged. “I have the time now.” She started mopping.
    Mystified, Leelee walked back to reclaim her packages. “Good thing I came. Though, if you’ve kept that activator on you, you could’ve set off the Settlers’ Call.”
    “That would’ve gone over well with everyone in the fields, for sure,” Annileen said. “I can see the holo now: Woman Summons Militia to Save Her from Own Stupidity .”
    Giving the floor up for