15.   Elektra.

 

Scarlett’s already up and sharpening her sword by the time I come back from my morning business.  Just to kill time I suppose, as it doesn’t look like needing any sharpening at all.  I’m glad she’s around and doubt I’d have been able to deal with Tatuine alone.  The night turned out much worse than I’d expected.  Hard as I tried, I couldn’t fit a 5-gallon bottle into the little spring in such a way that a neck would come under water.  I had to do it with a little flask, and there were ten of those bottles.  Scarlett slept through it all hugging her scabbard.  I hope she had good dreams.

 

The job has been finished by the time my ‘partner’ arrived with his enclosed cart.  I still don’t know his name, nor do I care.  In the morning light he looked no less ugly than the last night, and my back was killing me, but I tried to be more or less civil as we talked outside to not wake up Scarlett.  I did learn from him how the commerce’s conducted around here.  Those credits don’t actually exist in any physical form like coins or bills, but represent the status of one’s account with the central bank.  There’re little cards engraved with a bearer’s name and thumbprint, and a magnetic strip on the back.  A merchant processes a purchase via a device that instantly transmits to the bank the respective debit and credit, and updates the customer’s card.  A card can be also updated at any time by inserting it into the same kind of a device.  As long as one doesn’t have such a card, one doesn’t exist on Tatuine for all practical purposes.  The central bank’s controlled by Bubba of course, who else, so he has no problem in collecting his share.  One of the side effects is that slaves find escape impossible because they don’t have the cards.  As a matter of fact, neither do we.  There’s an underground currency however, which is – great surprise – water.

 

My ‘partner’ paid our inn bill, and then for a week in advance.  He also volunteered to have our meals served at his cantina or even delivered to our room if we so desired.  That of course meant I owed him another hundred gallons or so.  I got a feeling that he wouldn’t mind to have us both for the merchandise as well when the water runs out.  But it’s not going to.  It’s rather clear I can’t corner the underground water market on Tatuine, and therefore attract Bubba’s attention, by filling bottles out of the little flask, but perhaps there’re better ways.  I’ve something else in mind by now, which occurred to me the last night.  So I relay all the news to Scarlett, good news about the bill being paid, and bad news about the cards.  As I’m obviously not much for sightseeing after my night labors I suggest she venture on her own for a little while.

 

“Just be careful darling,” I add with a smile.  “You do have my trump though so I’ll pull you through in case of trouble or should you lose your way back.”

 

I got to have some sleep first.  What I’m about to try would require total concentration.

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