-Chapter one-
The beginning of the end
There it was, Jabba's palace. It was the first time in 15 years that I saw it from the outside. The first of the two suns just disappeared from the horizon and the second was about to do so. I managed to get this far, and at this point, there was no turning back. Since it was dawn, the excruciating heat from the desert planet was settling down. It was about 30 degrees right now, but it wasn't a little heat that was going to slow me down.
I started walking northeast, to the nearest city, Bestine. The trip would take all night, so I had to find a place to stay. Everyone knows that the nights on Tatooine are dangerous, with all those Tusken Raiders wandering around, searching for someone to mess with. I did not have anything to defend myself, except for this wooden stick I found on the ground just outside from Jabba's Palace. I used it to lean on it. I often heard that the nights on Tatooine were freezing cold, so I needed to find a place to stay and quick; because the second sun just disappeared, and I could feel the temperature dropping at a fast rate.
My name is Cel-Edhowi Art'k, daughter of Drymi-Edhowi and Lekma Art'k, and here is my story. I used to live on a farm on the beautiful planet of Corellia in the Core Worlds region. My dad was a hunter so he taught me how to survive in the wild. When I was 8, criminals came to Vreni Island, and threatened to kill my family, so they had to sell me, and my brother, Dan-Edhowi, in slavery. We got separated right away, and I didn't hear from any of them since. Then, they took me to a smuggling complex and they had some other exotic dancers teach me how to dance so I would catch Hutt's attention. I stayed until they felt I was ready for Jabba, and then they flew me to Bestine, Tatooine. I've been 'living' at Jabba's Palace on Tatooine for almost 15 years.
I never really wanted to leave, fearing that I would get caught by one of the many guards surrounding Jabba's Palace. But now was the perfect time, because yesterday, the disgusting crime lord, after killing one of my only true friends, Oola, was killed by some Jedi called Luke Skywalker.
My friend, Oola, had the 'privilege' of being chained to Jabba's throne, because she was the best dancer of us all. When Jabba wanted her to do more than dancing, she refused. Seeing that she denied serving him, he opened a trap and fed her to his ferocious Rancor right before my eyes. Since Jabba's dead, all the guards were distracted, so I could escape without any problems. So, here I am, running for my life outside Jabba's Palace.
I kept on walking when suddenly this big canyon appeared in front of me. I could see miles ahead, and at about one and a half kilometers in front of me, I saw a light. It was a fire. I started running towards the fire and, as I approached, I could recognize a campsite. I approached the campsite carefully, to find that the place was empty. As I entered the tent, I saw that the owner left a few things. Right on the ground, there was a CDEF carbine, some bovine food, a personal computer and some male's clothes. There was also a small backpack and a droid. The droid was torn apart, and of no use. I opened the backpack to put the food in it and to my surprise I find some credits, a 150 of them. This will come really handy since I don't have any. The clothes were too big for me, but they would fit me better than the slave outfit that I'm currently wearing.
As I started walking towards the tent's entrance, I heard something. It was the sound of a speeder bike! I needed to get out of there as fast as possible. I got back in the tent, lifted it and made an escape under it. As I got out of the tent, the owner got in. I quietly made a run for the bike. I hoped on it and quickly pressed on the gas. As I escaped, I saw the man get out of the tent screaming at me in some Zabrak language.
I soon arrived at my destination; Bestine. I must not be noticed. I parked the bike at the city entrance and I got in. The city was swirling with clone troopers, so I had to fade in with the crowd. I entered the city and headed right away for the Cantina. I needed to eat, because it's been hours since I've had a bite of anything. As soon as I entered the Cantina, I spotted an empty seat at the bar and sat down. Quickly, the droid barman spotted me and came over.
"Would you like something to drink?" Said the droid as he approached me,
"Yeah, I will take a vasarian brandy." Suddenly, this handsome, tall, young human male sat right next to me. He looked at the droid and replied,
"Make that two, and put it on my account." He handed over his card to the droid. The man was about 25 years old. He was pretty tall with brown hair and sizzling blue eyes. He looked at me and said,
"What's a beautiful lady like you doing in such a dangerous place so late at night?" I looked at him, staring in his deep blue eyes.
"I'm searching for a place to stay." A grin slowly appeared on his face as he replied nervously,
"I've got a small house a few kilometers from here? Would you be inte—" The droid re-appeared with two glasses full of a blood red liquid, cutting the conversation.
"Here are your drinks, enjoy!" The droid then disappeared behind the huge counter. The man took a sip of this devilish liquid before continuing the conversation.
"As I was saying, I've got a small house a few kilometers from here, just north of Bestine. You are more than welcome to come and spend a few days with me." I looked at him trough my already empty glass and said sarcastically,
"I don't just leave with anybody without at least knowing their name…" As the man finished his drink, he looked at me, and nodded,
"Oh, you're right! My name is Chadi Jekell Ekacalendes of Dalku Haush, a small city at about 4 to 5 kilometers north from here. I'm originally from Tena Vivra, a few kilometers south from Theed, Naboo, but I established myself in this little city a few weeks ago. I'm on Tatooine for some business. And you are?" I finally handed the glass over to the droid,
"My name is—"Chadi looked at me and leaned a finger over his mouth.
"Shhhh…" He looked over my shoulder. "Don't turn around, but at the entry, there are three of Jabba's Gamorrean guards. One of them is pointing at you. I don't know about you, but this doesn't look good. There is an exit in the back and I think we should leave right now!" I slowly got up from my seat and one of the guards approached me, but I did not turn around. Chadi looked at me, and whispered,
"Let's go, now!" I looked at him and replied,
"No, not now…" I turned around, quickly got my carbine in my backpack and shot the guard down to the other two guard's feet. The two guards surprisingly looked at the dead man on the floor. I looked at Chadi and said,
"Now's the time! Let's go!"
We quickly ran towards the back exit and left the Cantina. I looked at Chadi and asked,
"Do you have a ride?" He replied, embarrassed,
"I don't live far from here, so I walked." I took a moment of reflection and then quickly replied,
"Quick, in front of the Cantina, there is my speeder bike. Let's run!" We both made a run for it. We quickly arrived in front of the Cantina. There it was, at the exact same spot where I left it, still floating in thin air. We stopped in front of the bike and looked at each other. Chadi then said,
"Ladies first." I gave him a smile and hoped on the bike with his help. He hopped in front of me and said,
"Hang on!" I squeezed him as tight as I could as we left at an incredible speed, flying through the laser beams delivered by the two guards that were now far behind us.
We quickly arrived at Chadi's house. It was a small typical Tatooine house situated on the left side of the town, next to a small garage. Chadi parked the speeder bike in the garage where it will not be seen and we hopped off the bike.
"I didn't get that name of yours?" Said Chadi as I carefully pulled back my lekku and tucked in my oversized shirt as we walked towards the house.
"Oh yeah, that's right, we kept getting interrupted. My name is Cel-Edhowi Art'k from Vreni Island, Corellia. I've been living here for almost 15 years." He then looked at me and asked,
"What are you here for? Business?" I looked at him embarrassed and replied,
"Not exactly... All those years, I've been one of many Jabba's dancers. I was enslaved to that disgusting Hutt. Tonight, I managed to escape from his palace. Now, here I am, talking with you." He suddenly stopped walking, turned around and looked at me with a surprised look on his face.
"You really were…? What a coincidence, I've had my problems with this sucker before. You must've had a lot of courage to tackle Jabba's guards like that?" I giggled and replied,
"Yeah, I really wanted to get out of there. But everything went okay; I knew the place a little bit. But now that I'm out of there, I want to start a new life on a new Identity." He then looked at me and said,
"Well, I guess this is the beginning of the end."