Just a quick fic to fill in a gap.
All characters are owned by whoever owns them etc. etc.
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away
A day before ANH
Ilum
The former Jedi temple was a sorry state. A twist of anger boiled up inside Darth Vader. He had long ago abandoned the hypocrisy of the Jedi and fulfilled his destiny and attained the true power that it was his right to claim as a Lord of the Sith. However, seeing such a symbol of any kind for any culture always bothered him.
He recalled an occasion on the Wookiee home world where two of his personal Stormtrooper unit, the 501st, had set alight to an awe-inspiring statue of one of the elders. The troopers had stood warming their hands over the blaze and laughing. Vader had called them to extinguish the flames and desist their reckless vandalism. One trooper, seemingly drunk on Wookiee ale, had questioned the dark lord's fealty to the ideals of the Empire. Vader's red blade had separated him quickly from his inebriated concerns.
It was the turmoil that rested in Vader's mind. The deep-rooted concept that saw his comfort inside the black suit that gave him life, around the machines that gave him focus conflicting with the simple pleasure he accepted from a well crafted piece of wood or the illustrious art that could be seen in the corridors and chambers of the capital on Coruscant.
He had never opposed the enslavement of the treacherous Wookiees but he hated to see cultures and worlds turned into shells of former glory. This was the disquiet he felt when aboard the Dark Jewel that symbolised the new era of solidarity in the Empire – the so-called Death Star. It wasn't the name that disturbed him; the galaxy was at war after all. It was the rotund, hulking scale of the Death Star that he was at unease with. It was a colossal blemish on the pristine face of the Empire, not as sleek and minimalist as his Star Destroyer, nor as compact and efficient as his TIE fighter.
And of course, the power to destroy a planet was still insignificant next to the power of the force. That was why he was here on Ilum, in the crystal caves, where he as well as many other Jedi padawans had built his first lightsaber - the true weapon of the Jedi and the Sith alike. His original blade – a shimmering blue beacon and the embodiment of the hidden power that lay within him for so long – had been stolen right at the end by his mentor and nemesis, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Now, the power of his true nature and the anger that burned within him from the vengeance he had been denied ebbed like a patient tide within him. The force, the living energy surrounding everything in the galaxy was his to command and he channelled it within his metal body into the fist that clenched the slim black handle of his new saber. The force shifted around him. Someone not unfamiliar was trespassing the upper levels of the cave.
Gunshots echoed in the cavern. Faint screams reached Vader in the gloom. The force flickered as some of his crack troops lost their lives and waves of distress emanated from some others. The Dark Lord calmed the air around himself with organised thoughts. There were few men in the galaxy that could run an orbiting Star Destroyer, locate the crystal caves on Ilum and take out numerous members of the 501st before they even knew it. One of them was Vader himself, most of them were long dead, and the one running rings around his troops was a bounty hunter.
Come out Fett. Stop wasting my time and show me your helmet-covered face.
A faint hint of Tibanna exhaust filtered through Vader's mask as the man clad in Mandalorian battle armour descended from the upper levels with his rocket pack burning steadily. Vader cautiously tested his grip on his lightsaber and stared at Boba Fett with a still metal face as the bounty hunter holstered his blaster rifle. Vader did not honour the gesture with his blade. He had previously learned not to underestimate the hunter's reflexes.
"Why is it Fett, that you feel the need to decimate my troops?"
"No need Vader" the man of mystery answered sternly through the vocaliser in his helmet. "Just a useful understanding of the itchiness of a Stormtrooper's trigger finger. Also I thought I'd do you a favour. The 501st has fallen a long way since the Clone Wars Darth. I caught them pocketing these." Fett held out a gloved hand; in his open palm he held a number of rough edged crystals.
Vader looked at the stones without moving his head. The red, blue and green gems were the main component of the lightsabers and the reason that the Jedi temple existed on Ilum. The Sith lord took the crystals in his free hand and slid them into a pouch on his belt.
"Fine. That does not explain why you have come here bounty hunter."
"I have information for you."
"What makes you think that you would have anything that my agents don't?"
"Well that depends. Have your agents contacted you recently?"
Vader's blank mask did not betray any impression of interest in what Fett had to offer. The hunter's mask concealed his face in the same way but Vader could detect subtle changes in his calculating mind. Boba Fett was good at bluffing but he didn't often need to.
"Very well," Vader decided tentatively, "what do you want?"
"We both fully know that you could just take the information I have from me so let's make an arrangement that will potentially benefit us both."
"I thought you might say that."
"I simply want in on any opportunities that come the way of the bounty hunters. I have some big ambitions that involve cutting the percentage commission that I have to dole out whenever I claim. I want you to give me direct routes on big jobs."
"And in return?"
"In return, you get the best bounty hunter that lived in this galaxy since my father died."
"What's to stop you taking the same generous offer elsewhere?" Vader asked, his regulated voice mislaying the intended sarcasm.
"Well it's a special offer for you. I've thought a lot about the mutual nature of our acquaintance Dark Lord. The Mandalorians warred with the Sith true; but then I've always been more Stormtrooper than Mandalorian. After all you are the man who killed the Jedi that murdered my father."
Vader holstered his saber at last. The sound of his rasping air filter stirred the silence in the area. "I see," he said slowly, "I've not known you to speak so convincingly before Fett, but what you say is undeniably true. What do you have for me?"
Boba held out a small spherical probe. "This is for you. It's from Imperial command. It has been damaged and missed your intercept by some way."
Vader took it and tapped in his personal command code. A feint blue hologram appeared on the probe's outer node. A tall and gaunt but imposing figure stood sternly staring into the space between them.
"Lord Vader," the holographic image of Grand Moff Tarkin began, "we have a top priority security breach on our hands. Rebel spies have stolen the plans for our ultimate weapon. Though Admiral Motti assures me that there can be no way to exploit the plans we cannot afford to allow the rebels to gain any further edges."
Vader didn't react at all to the message. He'd seen enough already today to be unsurprised by the misguidance of some Imperial agents. Fett nodded as though he were taking some hidden meaning from the depths of the recording.
"We have been unable to track the rebels who escaped but we expect that we may be dealing with at least one member of the splinter in the senate. Your orders are to dispatch the fleet to intercept any diplomatic vessels. The bulk of the according flight plans are contained in this probe. When you catch the perpetrators, bring them to me."
The probe fell silent and Vader turned back to look at Fett.
"Now the good news," Fett said wryly, "I know where they are."
Later on the bridge of the ISD Devastator
Hyperspace beyond the Tatooine system
"Well Fett, it is time now" murmured Darth Vader while the sound of his breather kept rhythm with the humming of the ship's engine. "You should hope that you were correct or, at the very least, our deal will be off."
"Then it is time to take my leave. I have an appointment to keep with Jabba the Hutt. I am certain my intel was correct. I'll be around. Expect me when you see me."
Some of the bridge officers sneaked looks over their shoulders as the bounty hunter left the bridge. The stout Captain Ozzel stepped up next to Vader.
"We're approaching the hyper buoy m'Lord."
"Very well Captain. Drop out of hyperspace. Go to full tactical alert."
The coalescent stars before the ships main view port slowed and split as the Star Destroyer dropped out of hyperspace. Captain Ozzel barked orders in the background as Vader trained his force senses, looking for the target. As the Corellian corvette appeared as a small dot in the distance above Tatooine, Vader turned to address the bridge.
"Captain Ozzel, plot a pursuit and intercept course. Match speed with the target vessel. Aim for the shields and engines and stop them. Tactical station, prepare the tractor beam. General Tag, Major Veers, assemble your troops and prepare to board. Today the rebels will suffer a new humiliation if they so wish it. If they must know peace, they will join us… or die."