Author's Note: This story will be taking place alongside - but mostly removed from - the journeys of Luke and Anakin Skywalker, and will feature original characters and events. I will be sourcing items/abilities/locations/history/characters from both established Star Wars canon and extended universe material, and I will rely on my storytelling abilities to explain their significance to the story itself. For example, the majority of this tale will take place during the Twilight of the Republic/Rise of the Empire, but I will be making changes to the Republic and Jedi Order that will contrast with that established in the Prequel Trilogy.
However, the only context needed is that this story takes place 29 years before the Battle of Yavin, when the Jedi Knights are still the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic...
KNIGHTS OF THE CLONE WARS
Chapter 1 - The Tomb Raiders
"Truth requires new beginnings"
There is no sound above the idle sea of Bespin's clouds. They billow into vast formations, stretching undisturbed towards the watercolour blue sky. A low hum disturbs the silence as a ship enters the stratosphere. Amongst the early stars in the wide beyond, a black speck moves cautiously towards the ocean of cotton. Closer and closer it glides, timid in its approach. It skims atop waves as it draws closer to its destination; a floating city. The ship hangs back and floats cautiously in and out of cover, avoiding the watchful orbit of considerable smaller scarlet cloud car. As the tiny security craft drops out of sight, the two pilots inside the black ship take their chance and zoom into a deserted docking bay cut into the underbelly of the smooth city, which soundlessly closes as the ship powers down inside.
Bespin is a paragon of industry and comfort amongst its outer-rim siblings. Mining operations to harvest the gas that flows through the planet have been successful, and it has developed its own niche of culture and livelihood in the otherwise desolate outer-rim. Nevertheless, a liberal and wealthy underworld thrives in the shadows of Cloud City's palaces and apartments, carefully secluded from the buzz of the city. A promenade of shady cantinas and abandoned hangars house a prosperous black market. Curious spices and strange weapons are commonly seen passing under the noses of local dealers, but what truly brings in wealthy rogues is an abundance of treasure. By sunset, the dubious compound is teaming with crooks and scoundrels.
Amidst the music and haggling, another sound could be discerned. From the corner of a bar that spilled onto the market floor, a strange argument could be heard above the low grumble. Strange, because the haggling was between a grown woman, and what appeared to be two children. Eslo, an experienced smuggler, leaned against the wall of a booth, visibly irritated at her situation. She winced as the boys sitting opposite screeched profanities at her, turning heads amongst the other spacers. She chose this moment to interrupt.
"Look boys, you ran into some trouble but it don't change the agreement. The fee is set."
"Trouble?" exclaimed the shortest of the pair in mock disbelief. "I was nearly choked to death by a-"
"-walking-corpse!" chimed in his partner. Eslo quailed under their accompanying glare, more out of embarrassment than anything else. She gathered her professional demeanor once more and pressed their story.
"A corpse choked you? Really? This is all childish make-believe."
The looks on the boys faces turn from disdain to poison.
"How do I know you not sleezing me?" she finished, glaring at them. The shorter boy reached into knapsack below the table, momentarily disappearing from sight, then dramatically slammed a severed arm in front of Eslo with a sickening crunch. The fingers were sharp, and the red skin had begun to fall away from the bone and muscle.
"Thought you might dig. So here's a souvenir to go with this, if you still want it." The taller boy produced a bundle of cloth, which revealed a red pyramid object that he placed gently on the tabletop. The treasure glinted innocently in the orange light of the cantina, and seemed to purr with energy.
The appearance of these objects seemed to irritate Eslo further, as she was forced to accept the evidence to their story, and they were now in prime bargaining position.
She eyed the duo suspiciously. The shorter boy had pale skin and long brown hair tied up in a ponytail. The sides of his head were shaved making his ears appear too big for his head, and she could see a few freckles donning his nose and cheeks. The taller boy had light brown skin and wiry black hair kept in an untidy afro. He had tied a piece of cloth, like a headband, to keep his hair from irritating his dark eyes and thick eyebrows. They wore matching dark vests with flight-suit trousers and small black boots. She spotted red strangle marks on the smaller boy's neck, and knew she had no leverage. Letting out a groan, she gestured for them to name their price.
The boys exchanged a look, and then chorused together: "75,000 creds or no sale."
She had expected this.
The pair are known for not negotiating when it came to treasure, and this was 5,000 on-top of what they had negotiated beforehand. That was nothing in damages compared to other sellers she knew of. She'd have to take this, or risk repercussions from the buy she had scheduled in the week. She tried to pretend her reluctance to push for less had nothing to do with their age too. They must be twelve, maybe thirteen years old? How do they even fly a ship?
"Alright, you got it." She said finally. She unbuttoned a pocket in her jumpsuit and began counting credits on the table. At this, the looks of hardened spirit seemingly vanished from the boy's faces, and were replaced by glee.
She finished counting and pushed the stack of golden chips to the middle of the table, past the pyramid. The boys scooped up their fee and packed it into the knapsack carefully, whilst Eslo slid the pyramid into a container attached to her blaster belt. Before she had stopped to look up however, she heard hurried thanks for her custom and the scuffle of boots as the two boys disappeared into the hustle of the cantina.
The young grave-robbers headed for the quiet views of their special spot: the abandoned rooftop of the west apartment complex. Across two blocks and an escalator ride later, they arrive on the calm and deserted terrace. Dropping the heavy knapsack, the shorter boy falls flat on his back and lets out a sigh of relief, staring up at the glittering sky.
"What a score ay Jalrai?" He exclaims to his partner.
"Not to bad partner, not to bad" grinned Jalrai as he counted over the credit chips, pushing a stray afro curl away from his eyes. "Dude!" He said, pulling two pots out of the sack "You packed noodles?!"
"Of course, victory meal!" beamed Jo'jii. The two sat cross-legged, as they pealed the lids off noodle soup, and watched the city glow and move as the evening faded into night. Amber light danced off the shimmering surfaces of Cloud City's smooth skyline. Overhead, scarlet cloud cars float in and out of an ocean of dark cotton. The boys continue to gaze long after they finish their noodle pots.
"We got lucky" piped up Jalrai. Jo'jii looked at him. Jalrai stirred his noodles, sulking.
"What do you mean 'lucky'?" Jo'jii probed.
"We'll never make enough to get out of here" Jalrai put his pot down, hugging his knees tight. "Divided between us and the ol' captain, we'll never get our own ship."
Jo'jii attempted to shrug off Jalrai's pessimism "Come on man, don't ruin this. We've just gotta keep at it."
Jalrai ignored him. Jo'jii stopped trying to cheer him up, and sulked instead. Noticing this, Jalrai changed the subject: "What does you Dad want you to be?"
"Builder" responded Jo'jii. "You?"
"Speeder driver" said Jalrai with a dark chuckle. "Why do they love it here so much?"
"I guess it's got everything they could ever want" responded Jo'jii thoughtfully. "They don't see anything else beyond this stupid city. I get it's safe, removed, but that's kinda it."
"My Mom says the Outer Rim is a dangerous place, but she doesn't know I've seen it" Jalrai smirked. "I bet I know more about it than she does."
"We've seen old ruins and abandoned shipwrecks, not much else really." Jo'jii pointed out. "We're not exactly hardened thieves or bounty hunters are we?"
"We're experienced thieves!" retorted Jalrai, smuggly.
"We're tomb-raiders, barely more than scavengers" responded Jo'jii sternly. "I thought the captain made that clear?"
Jalrai shot Jo'jii a reproachful look, and Jo'jii regretted his words. "Sorry, you know what I mean though. A few more scores and he'll get us a ship. Then we'll get out of here forever."
"What about your…" Jalrai trailed off. Jo'jii stared intently ahead into the stars, feeling a squirm in his chest. "They'll understand" he said, solemnly.
For what seemed like hours they watched the stars push their light through the purple blanket of the coming night. For a few precious seconds, Jo'jii forget where he was.
"Right" said Jo'jii, finally breaking the quiet. "We better get back. Your Mum and my Mum will get suspicious if we're not careful."
"Yeah… I guess you're right," yawned Jalrai. They descended from the roof and lumbered dozily homeward, passing well-dressed partygoers and groups of Ugnaught workers. The city was constructed of platforms and large crisscrossing skyscrapers, and the pair took a stretch of platform that led them upwards towards the worker apartments, where they live opposite each other. Sluggishly wishing each other goodnight, the boys retire towards their respective bedroom windows to sneak in unnoticed.
Jo'jii scales his balcony with ease, slides the window soundlessly open, and drops onto his bed. He immediately stuffs the knapsack with his share of credits under his bed and changes quietly from his flight gear into a standard white jumpsuit, zipping it over his bruised neck. As he goes to check for clean boots, he hears the sound of his father crossing the landing to his room. He stealthily cloaks himself in a blanket and flops onto his bed as his door automatically slides open.
"Are you back then?" shoots his father at the pile of bedclothes now humped on the mattress.
Jo'jii pops his head out of the blankets. "Been here all day Dad" he grins.
"Righto, well, you've got some explaining to do. There's a lady downstairs, and she says she's come to see you and Jal."
Jo'jii's smile faltered. Questions began to pop into his head. His father interrupted his thoughts – "And if you've done anything, I'd like to know now so I don't look too surprised."
He leaned against the doorway, surveying his son menacingly. Jo'jii just gaped at him. His father sighed, and motioned for him to follow. The boy marched, droid-like, behind his father, hands held firmly at his sides and thinking hard. Could it be that swindler Eslo? Would she be stupid enough to come here?
But Jo'jii's inner thoughts where again interrupted by an aggravated parent;
"Alright, he's here, now will you tell us who you are?" said Jo'jii's mother.
The family lounge was a sizeable room, full of squishy chairs and a wide window that overlooked a busy stretch of platforms. Lines of speeders crisscrossed in the sky overhead. Tonight the room housed an uncommonly large volume of guests.
Jo'jii's mother, brother and sister, along with Jalrai's mother and two sisters all sat watching a strange figure in the center of the room. She was looking down into the surprised face of Jalrai himself, who acknowledged Jo'jii entering the room with a quick flick of the eyes. The woman turned to face Jo'jii. She was atleast twice his height, with two horns protruding upwards from her red skinned face, and two striped head-tails dangling gracefully around her middle. She had her hands folded underneath the sleeves of a thick brown robe, and observed Jo'jii through large dark eyes. Jo'jii had only seen the Togruta species in holo-projetions at school. Jo'jii stared nervously back, whilst the silence she commanded become omnipotent.
"Good evening. My name is Master Shaak-Ti, and I come to you with news from the Jedi Council."
Continued in Chapter 2 - The Offer