Star Wars_ Fate of the Jedi 05_ Allies - Christie Golden [30]
“They cannot be grown anywhere else, you say?” Vestara was asking, her musical voice intense, her brown eyes fastened intently upon a young male Klatooinian. Despite her initial repugnance of the species, Vestara had no problem looking the other being in the eye, or being courteous.
“No, nowhere else in the galaxy,” the young male was replying. Vestara nodded, then bent her head over the lumpy purple fruit currently under discussion. She lifted it to her nose and sniffed delicately, running a thumb over its surface. The young Klatooinian eyed her appreciatively as she did so. Ben suspected that if she had noticed the youth ogling her so openly, she might have wiped the smirk off with her bare hands. Luke had forbidden the Sith apprentice to take her lightsaber on the visit with her.
Ben, for an instant, wanted to use his own lightsaber for just such a purpose, but he sighed and let the impulse go.
He contented himself with stepping close to Vestara, reaching out a finger to run along the skin of the fruit she held as she had, though in actuality the thing held no interest for him at all. A meter or two away, the owner of the booth, possibly the youth’s father, gave them a quick smile before returning to weighing and marking prices on bags of produce.
“Why is that?” Vestara said so firmly that the question almost sounded like a demand.
“No one knows for sure,” the youth said. “No lab has been able to replicate quite the same conditions that are found here. Could be traces of wintrium in the soil, but we’re not certain. If you’re hungry, take it. Free sample.”
Vestara’s always-almost smile widened into a real one. “Thank you,” she said. “And … how do I eat it?”
The boy chuckled slightly, took the fruit from her, and peeled it quickly with a knife. “There you go.”
The fruit was amber in the center and dripping juice. Vestara took a healthy bite of the succulent flesh and wiped as the liquid dribbled down her chin.
“My son Kelkad is correct,” the grocer said, moving forward to join the discussion. “The general conclusion is that the wintrium in the soil enables the pak’pah to grow and reach that unique sweetness. Wintrium is found nowhere else in the galaxy but on our humble world.”
“Can it be artificially replicated?” Vestara again.
“No,” the grocer replied. “And we have refused to let it be analyzed. Any scientific analysis would require more than could be obtained with a soil sample, as wintrium is such a complex element. And the only way to get that would be to violate the Fountain.”
Fountain. Ben knew a cue when one was presented to him. He stepped in quickly. “When my father requested permission to dock, he was told a little bit about the Fountain. It’s called the Fountain of the Hutt Ancients, right?”
Kelkad had been turned away from his father, placing the priced and bagged items on the table. Both Ben and Vestara saw him wince at the word “Hutt.”
“Yes. All are free to behold it. You can even walk right up to it. We would not dream of attempting to come between the Fountain and those who approach to respectfully admire it.”
“There are rules, I understand,” Vestara said. “Visitors to the Fountain are forbidden to approach with anything technological on them. Or to ride on ships or any motorized vehicles.”
“You are quite correct,” and the grocer smiled at them. Still turned away from his father, Kelkad continued to quietly fume. Ben frowned a little. Why was the youth so upset?
“The Fountain is not like any other fountain. You see, it does not spout water. It spouted wintrium—so long ago that its origins are lost to time. It is because of that sacred timelessness that we do not approach with anything technological.”
“And wintrium is unique to your world,