Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. The property belongs to Disney and Lucasfilms.
STAR WARS
EPISODE VI
RETURN OF THE JEDI
Luke Skywalker has returned to his home planet of Tatooine with a small force of brave Rebel commandos, ready to strike the base of the vile gangster Jabba the Hutt, in an effort to save his captured friend Han Solo from his carbonite prison.
However, little does the aspiring Jedi know that the evil Darth Vader has planted seeds of his power within Jabba's company, waiting for the moment when Skywalker would strike. The infamous bounty hunter Boba Fett was paid handsomely to wait within Jabbas' court for when the Jedi arrives.
As Luke and his soldiers attack head-first against the defenses of Jabbas' massive castle, a beacon on Fetts' wrist sent a signal that traveled tens of thousands of light years, calling out the Empire's dreaded forces on the other side of the Galaxy. As soon as the battle began, an Imperial Star Destroyer carrying the dreaded Dark Lord was preparing to launch at light-speed, racing against time itself to capture Luke Skywalker before the Jedi Knight succeeded in his harrowing mission…
The planet Tatooine was a world filled with an endless landscape of harsh desert, signs of life on its surface were virtually null to anyone unfortunate enough to cross the vast dunes. However, those who have come to see Tatooine as their home know that there are pockets of civilization scattered about its bleak surface. One of these pockets was a grand city, which to strangers of the planet would see as a mirage if they found themselves stranded in the sandy wasteland. But the inhabitants of the planet know that this great city belonged to the gangster Jabba the Hutt, a powerful criminal who was practically king of the desert planet. His castle was the tallest building of the great city, reaching past the distance where clouds might be if it weren't for the planets near lack of water particles in its atmosphere.
Usually, seeing this city and its magnificent castle would be somewhat of a sight to behold for both off-worlders and the inhabitants of Tatooine. But, instead of a city glimmering with shine thanks to its polished golden and silver colored steel and the harsh twin suns that orbited Tatooine that for many would see it as a city of gold, it instead was now a city of fire as a blazing inferno consumed the city and its inhabitants. A lance of light erupted from a fast approaching star-fighter, blasting one of the golden buildings into a cloud of vaporized gas. Even more, fighters appeared blasting red bolts of energy across the city and taking out entire city blocks from the bombardment.
At first glance many would think this was some sort of horrible attack perpetrated by evil terrorists, however to the fighters who sat in the cockpits of their X-shaped ships, they knew that this city was mostly uninhabited despite its grand size. Jabba the Hutt was known to be a being who lived for the excess, and creating this city was just one of the many ways he proudly showed it. Only his gang of vile thieves and murders were the citizens of this ghost-like city, who quickly responded to the attack by activating the city's defensive grids and boarding large freighters, each one heavily modified to pack the firepower one would see on a frigate. 8 frigates in total appeared to match the 20 X-wing fighters, their heavy blasters and Laser turrets firing against the speedy ships, missing at a hair-breath. The cities large laser towers began to fire against the fighters but thanks to the X-wings speeds it was as if they were targeting the sky itself. One of these pilots smirked to himself as he slowed his X-wing towards one of the freighters. Many of his friends would think of him as mad until they saw the result. Just as laser tower locked on to him and let out a repeated number of shots, the pilot accelerated his starship until the laser tower, which was too focused on trying to take out the starship, accidently hit one of the frigates and vaporized the ship in one blow.
"Hey Luke, that was a good maneuver. Gotta keep that one in mind if we ever wanna fight some other Hutts base of operations."
Skywalker gave a slight laugh at his friend Wedge Antilles, as he maneuvered his X-wing gracefully across the sky.
"That was nothing, Wedge. Jabba over bloated his defenses with so much power that he forgot to put some lithe in his systems. He has no grace."
Luke's fighter traveled to one of the massive laser towers and thanks to the power of the Force was able at the last possible instant fire a laser beam exactly at the same time the laser tower fired, causing a chain reaction that lasted a microsecond which ended the towers' life with a fiery death. The fighters who managed to catch a glimpse of what Skywalker did were left shocked at the feat, it was as if Luke was a droid rather than a human being. But human he was, but with reflexes that would leave any droid in the dust. For he had the power of the Force flowing through him, an ally far more powerful than any technology a species could muster.
"Wedge, you and 3 other guys come with me. I wanna try something out on the freighter that's closest to the castle.
"Roger that. Fives, seventy-seven and two come with Luke and me."
Without a response, the other three fighters Luke requested began to dash at the Freighter, who blasted red laser blasts and missing mere fractions against the X-wing fighters. Luke once again called out to the Force, this time feeling the tiniest cracks that the Freighter's energy shield and heavy armor contained. He raised the power level of the X-wings laser cannons to their full power and spoke once again through his intercom.
"Everyone, aim exactly where I'm about to fire at full power. If my hunch is right, this thing's going down."
Luke pressed the trigger and unleashed a powerful burst of laser energy against the forefront of the Freighters' "face." Wedge and the other pilots followed suit, two of which wondered why they would shoot there of all places since logically that would be the toughest part of any ship. However, in the short time-frame that the red pulses of light smacked against the freighter's front, the shields gave way with the final two laser beams causing the Freighter's front to burst in a flash of vaporized metal, the first one blasting through the thick armor, the second being able to detonate right inside the Freighters cockpit. Soon enough the Freighter began to head downwards to its doom, crashing into several buildings and causing a huge wreckage of smoke and metal.
Luke smiled to himself, knowing that the odds were in his favor. Transmitting that knowledge to the rest of Rogue Squadron, the slow freighters stood no chance against the speed and precision that the X-wings had over them. Skywalker began to fly towards Jabbas' castle, eyeing the huge entrance which was swarming with a large array of different species, all armed to the brim with heavy blasters and thick armor.
"Artoo, I'm leaving the ship in your hands for a bit. I want you to find a place to hover a bit that's about 100 meters away from the castle. Don't worry about having to pick me up, I can get to you in case you get stuck on the road somewhere."
The droid gave a few mechanical beeps and whistles at the fledgling Jedis' whimsical remark, and the next thing Skywalker did would have made Artoos' heart jump if he were an organic creature. Lukes' cockpit opened up, the hot air of Tatooine hitting the young mans' face. He crouched himself like some sort of gargoyle in his seat and within a split second leaped right out from it, plunging downward from over several kilometers. Jabbas' men were awed at the daring warrior's leap of faith, many thinking he was either the bravest sentient alive or just plain crazy. The next sight they saw made them instantly realize what they were up against as Luke grabbed his Lightsaber from his utility belt with the Force, activating a brilliant green blade that contrasted with the bright blue sky of Tatooine.
*"It's a Jedi! I thought they were all killed! Blast it, blast it!"
As the Weequay leader spoke in his heavy alien tongue, the others lifted their rifles and blasted away at Skywalker, who's all black attire made him resemble some sort of creature of darkness. With his speed, Skywalker was able to fashion a literal barrier of pure green energy that easily deflected the hundreds of bolts fired by the blasters. Despite being a military definition of a company, the thieves and murderers could not break through the defenses of the lone Skywalker. Soon enough they paid for it, as the blaster bolts began to rain down upon them, vaporizing anything they hit. Heads exploded, torsos pierced through with burning hot exit wounds left in their wake, the companies' numbers began to be cut down to size as anyone knows that a bolt from a blaster often killed if direct hits were made. Even a grazing hit against an unfortunate limb left one immobilized from a battle, as the poor Weequay leader soon came to know as his left arm literally exploded as his pistols bolt was redirected back at him.
Using the Force, Skywalker was able to strengthen his physique exponentially and landed gracefully with a feline quality feet first. Any other sentient would have had their legs snapped in half from the shock and that was if they were lucky. Skywalker once he touched the ground was already dashing at a speed of a land speeder towards the now two dozen able-bodied thugs of Jabba. Dressed in black with his glowing Lightsaber and approaching at eye-blurring speeds, he resembled an entity of death to the panic stricken sentients, their fear heightened as this entity slashed through one of their comrades with a flaming sword. Two more went down before 5 of the thugs finally raised their blasters, which Luke countered with a wave of force energy erupting from his black-colored gloved hand, sending them crashing against their comrades at neck breaking speeds with the impacts breaking bone. The rest of the thugs that were still standing realized that they were no match for the young man, and threw their blasters to the ground and went on their knees as they pleaded for mercy. Luke responded with a face devoid of emotion, as he deactivated his Lightsaber, staring directly at the massive gate before him.
"Jabba, open these doors at once. You are in possession of someone that belongs to the Rebel Alliance. If you harmed him in any way, then your death is assured. Surrender to him now and you are free to live as you please."
Thanks to the Force amplifying his voice to considerable levels there was no way the crime lord could not have heard him and heard him he did. A camera suddenly peered out from the walls next to the castle's massive doors which appeared to be a literal eye as it blinked at Skywalker before staring intently at him. A voice that spoke Luke's tongue came from it, much to Lukes' surprise as he realized that his studying of the Hutts' language wasn't needed at all.
"The mighty Jabba has taken what you said into consideration, Jedi. He says to not worry about your friend Han Solo, he is safe and sound. But he refuses to open his doors to you, that smuggler knew the price he would have paid if he did not work well with the might Jabba. Unless you have something of equal value, the mighty Jabba will not see you."
Luke's brow furrowed in annoyance. He wasn't here to bargain with the criminal and had little patience to discuss with the Hutt, to begin with. He raised his black-gloved hand in the air and began to tighten it into a fist, the action leading to the remaining thugs that survived the fight to clutch their now constricting throats as they began to struggle to breathe.
"Jabba the Hutt, if you don't at least let me speak to you directly, then your men will suffer the consequences for it. If that isn't enough, I will tell one of my fighters to blast your castle to ruins. Han Solo would know that it's better to be dead then the state you have him in, so that's of little concern to me. But I know how much you love your own hide, open the gates and we can settle this with a little bit of diplomacy instead. Much more civil, wouldn't you agree?"
Luke unclenched his fist and all could be heard in that area were large gasps for breath. Some time passed and Luke was getting impatient, his hand began to rise in the air once more with the aliens frozen in fear as they stared at that evil hand. However, the voice that addressed Luke began to speak once more which put everyone there at ease.
"The mighty Jabba enjoyed your performance heavily. So much so, he wishes to face you in person. You may enter the grant castle of Jabba the Hutt!"
The doors began to open for Luke as he began to view the massive halls of the castle. A pale-gray alien with red eyes and a tentacle sprouting from his head suddenly appeared, flashing a smile that contained sharp teeth at Skywalker. The aliens voice was akin to a raspy yet loud whisper, which would have unsettled an ordinary being.
"Welcome, Jedi Knight. I am honored to greet your greatness within our castle. I am Bib Fortuna, at your service. Come, my master is eager to see you."
Luke began to walk towards the entrance, one of the aliens was adorned with a pitch-black cloak that caught his eye. Using the Force, he removed the cloak and fastened it upon himself, drawing the large hood over his head that hid his features. Another alien who remained on the floor began to slowly reach for one of the blasters within his reach, only to stop millimeters away as the familiar sound of an activated Lightsaber hit his eardrums.
"If a hundred of you didn't stand a chance, what makes you think one of you could do it? Especially with that poor excuse of a surprise attack you almost did."
Luke's voice was spoken matter-of-factly despite the words it carried. The alien knew what he said was right, he had no chance against Skywalker. Nobody did, at least that's what he thought. Little did he know that the man capable of challenging Luke Skywalker was preparing to travel to the desert planet with the intent to capture the young man. There was another still, who remained next to Jabba the Hutt as he craved the reward that would yield if he delivered him to the dark traveler. Luke remained oblivious to these two forces as he entered the castle and walked side by side with Bib Fortuna, the doors closing shut.
The ominous sound of mechanical breathing echoed off the walls of the small chamber that was closed off from the rest of the Imperial Star Destroyer, the mighty warship of the Galactic Empire. Within its confines was a figure all dressed in black, barring the miniature lights that flashed on the interface of his mechanical suit. He is a mighty Dark Lord, who's name brought fear across the Galaxy. Even his own men were terrified uttering it, knowing the only times they were made to say it was when they had to address him personally. It was Admiral Pietts' turn to face the Dark Lord, entering the half machines' personal chambers.
"Darth Vader, m-my lord. I am here to inform you that the final calibrations to the Hyperdrive will be finished very soon and the ship will be ready to leave at light-speed towards Tatooine. Do you require anything before we begin our journey?"
The black pod that Piett faced slowly began to open like some sort of demonic egg, the sphere turning simultaneously. Once it finished turning halfway, Darth Vaders' visage now filled his vision, complete with the dreaded breathing all sentients who were unfortunate to meet him in person were shaken by.
"No, nothing is needed. Hurry with those calibrations, I am eager to depart."
Piett gave a farewell and left Vaders' quarters. The master of evil smiled underneath the cybernetic mask. He knew that Skywalker was impulsive and would not have simply idled knowing full well where his friend was. Who knew that pitiful planet would have been destined for their coming showdown. Though the bounty hunter was there, Vader knew that Boba Fett had only a small chance against his son. A chance was there, but again it was very small. Using the Force he was able to reach out with his minds' eye and see just how powerful his son has become. His fist tightened in a hard grip as his warrior's spirit began to swell within him. He would enjoy crushing Luke before drenching him in the Dark Side of the Force.
After climbing a seemingly endless amount of stairs the fledgling Jedi Knight finally reached the castle's peak. Before him, a crowd which was mixed with an exotic array of species from across the galaxy gathered around a podium that contained a large, obese worm-like alien with skin that was a dull green barring the front of its body, which was a sickly yellow and who's fat filled the entire podium. The Hutts were considered a revolting species to many of the humanoids of the galaxy and Luke was no exception. He stared into the Hutts large, orange eyes that had a hint of glee staring at him. Jabbas large, gray tongue licked the Hutts gaping mouth and the alien clasped his hands together giving Luke a strange hand gesture which meant he welcomed Skywalker into his home. Jabba began to speak in a thick alien language, his voice bellowing across the large room. Bib Fortuna began to translate Jabbas words into Lukes' language, walking towards to his master's side as he did so.
"The mighty Jabba wishes to once again say he enjoyed your skills and powers, mighty Jedi. So much so that he would gladly give back your friend the smuggler Han Solo, if you take his offer."
Once Fortuna was back at Jabbas side he turned to face Luke himself, the Hutt continued to speak his alien tongue.
"Jabba the Hutt wishes if the strong Jedi Knight were to be his personal bodyguard! Think about it, you will have great power and wealth for you to exercise, your influence reaching across hundreds of worlds throughout the Galaxy! You would only answer to exalted Jabbas words. Join him, and your friend would be set free. You truly have nothing to lose, Jedi Knight."
Luke only gave a furrowed brow in response to the Hutts offer, Fortunas toothy smile began to disappear at Lukes' silence. Jabba himself was beginning to get impatient at Lukes silence, never so sure on how to read humanoids. He began to speak once more, Fortuna matching the low tone that belonged to his master.
"Jedi Knight, this should be an obvious decision. Join us, and you can have much power as Jabbas bodyguard. In fact, your rebellion would benefit much from an allegiance with the Hutts. Jabba doesn't have any love for the Empire and-"
"Enough. I know you're lying to me, your thoughts can't be hidden. You plan to sell me to the Empire to the highest bidder if I did accept. So it's very obvious that the decision is no."
Luke cutting off Jabba the Hutt was a great disrespect to the crime lord, who let out a large roar towards Luke. Suddenly a dart flew towards Skywalker, who caught the projectile between his fingers. Next, a cable wrapped itself around Luke and pulled him right in front of the Hutts podium, Jabba responded by smashing his fist against a button on his armrest which caused a trap door underneath Luke open wide, the young man began to fall and hit the sandy floor. Luke rolled himself over onto his back and with the Force grabbed his lightsaber, activating it with great precision that it sliced the wire that held him captive in half yet his clothes were not singed. He quickly got to his feet, his cloak flowing across the stale wind from his movement. He hears loud laughter from above as alien faces peered through the trap-door, which was akin to a grate. Luke threw his lightsaber with the intent that it slice the grate in half. Instead, the blade of light bounced off and deactivated before it even hit the trap-door, a faint glow surrounding it for a moment from the impact before disappearing from sight.
"The door has a field of energy, just like everything else in that chamber. Your Lightsaber cannot cut through the shield, Jedi Knight. Giving you to the Empire would have been mercy compared to the fate you're now destined for."
Fortuna's words were filled with hateful poison towards Luke. Soon after, a monstrous roar came from the shadows of the chamber. Heavy footsteps slightly shook the ground beneath Skywalkers feet and soon he came face to face with a literal monster. Standing over dozens of feet in height with large claws for hands and a drooling maw, he faced off against Jabbas pet the dreaded Rancor. It roared again, its black and beady eyes staring intently at the fledgling Jedi as its maw began to drool for its prey. Luke used the Force to pull the Lightsaber back into his hand and tried to activate it, yet the brilliant green blade would not erupt. More laughter erupted from the aliens above him, the voice of Bib overpowering the others for Luke to hear.
"The energy shields weren't average ones. They are ion shields, which short out any electrical device that comes in contact with. Your Lightsaber isn't any different and now you will face certain doom for your arrogance!"
The Rancor continued its slow march towards Luke, its hands raised and ready to grab onto the warrior. With surprising speed, the Rancors left hand nearly grabbed Luke who barely dodged its quick attack. With the Force, he leaped to actually meet the Rancors face, who responded by clapping its hands against Luke as though it were a child catching a bug. Jabba let out a massive laugh as he was pleased with what he saw. Surely, the impact from that would have crushed the Jedi Knight. But that thought that crossed his mind ended in a flash as he saw something that he thought was impossible. Luke began to push back the hands of the Rancor apart, the Force swelling within him and granting him superhuman strength. Not even the Rancors blows which were capable of shattering boulders as large as an X-wing fighter was able to strike down Luke, who now fully pushed apart the Rancors hold from him. Luke used his arm strength to throw himself back into the air and landed right on top of the monsters head, placing his right palm firmly upon it. The eyes of Skywalkers captures could not believe what they are seeing, several began to step back in fear of what the Jedi would do next. Fortuna saw them as nothing more than cowards, the alien being took out his hidden blaster and fired several shots, taking the lives of the potential runners.
"*You fools show so much fear, yet do not realize that you are in the stronghold of the great Jabba?! Look closely, the Jedi Knight does not have any victory over the Rancor! Soon enough the Rancor will fling him off and crush his bones in its mighty jaws!"
An armored figure who remained in the shadows nearly burst out laughing from Fortuna's false bravado. He knew how these Jedi Knights were and their mysterious strength after studying some banned files that the Empire believed to be destroyed. He knew what the Jedi was doing, drawing strength from the Rancor itself in order to not just strengthen his own body, but weaken the Rancor in the process which is why he performed that feat of strength. He survived the impact most likely because of his ability to make a nearly indestructible barrier of Force energy, and what he seems to be doing now is trying to mind control the monster. He knew that soon enough things will get very bad, of course, he is prepared. That Jedi will bring him a fortune if successfully captured, and he knew that nobody here apart from him could harm the Jedi, so he did not need to worry. Except of course for that Fortuna character, who is more than what he seems.
Skywalkers hand remained on the flailing beast, probing the monster's mind through the Force. Its thoughts were little more than basic primal instincts, with its main directive to kill the tiny creature that was Luke. Just as easily as he penetrated into the creature's mind, he began to take it over, ceasing the Rancors rampage.
"*Good good, just stay calm. Now, look up."
The Rancor did as it was told and stared straight at the grate that Luke fell from, the alien crowd in shock as the monster's eyes stared right at them. Jabba the Hutt began to roar in some horrible alien rage, the crowd began to disperse in fear despite Fortuna's previous actions. The tentacle headed alien snarled in front of such cowardice as the only ones who stood their ground were him, Jabba, and the armored bounty hunter who simply stayed in the shadows. He prodded at Jabbas shoulder with his sharp talons, grabbing the fat slugs attention.
"*My lord, I believe it is time you departure. Your sail barge is ready and contains enough supplies to hide out for weeks if need be."
The Hutt stared at Fortuna. Although he did not like to run away he realized that the Jedi might have been more than he bargained for. Suddenly the ground beneath them began to shake violently, which caused Fortuna to stumble. He and Jabba peered into the grate and saw the Rancor began to smash against the shielded walls of his den. Another mighty collision from the Rancors claws caused the shields of the entire structure to flare up, knowing that another collision could possibly cause the Rancors holding shields to short out and giving the Jedi a chance to escape. Fortuna was about to tell Jabba to escape when he saw the fat slug slid off the podium and onto a hovercraft capable of supporting his massive weight and began to fly downstairs towards the hangar that contained his private barge. Fortuna held back a look of disgust at the horrible Hutt, at the end of it all he was also nothing but a coward. He quickly shot a glance at the armored bounty hunter who still remained in the darkest corner of the room, his dull-green and rusted armor blending well with the dark. He let out an annoyed snarl and walked towards the next room and waited for when the Jedi made his escape.
The Rancor let out one more mighty attack which destroyed the walls of his den and shorted out the shields for the entire structure. The room next to it contained the enormous quarters where Jabbas men slept and several were already there when the Rancor knocked down an enormous portion of the wall, shrieking in fear at the sight of the great beast. The monster let out a blood-curling roar and began to wander into the room at its new prey. Skywalker gathered some of the life energies that the Rancor contained and focused it into a sphere of destruction that broke through the trap door he fell from and jumped through, all in in a split moment. He quickly scanned the area with his eyes and the Force and realized he was alone in Jabbas throne room. With the Force, he called his Lightsaber back into his hand and flipped the switch, this time the brilliant green blade burst through. Luckily the effects of the ion shield were temporary and now he was reunited with his weapon as he shut off the blade for the time being. He looked around once more to see if Hans carbonized form was to be found but with no luck. Suddenly, a large voice spoke loudly in the intercom of Jabbas chambers as Luke made it out to be the familiar voice of Bib Fortuna.
"Jedi Knight, if you were hoping your smuggler friend was in the castle then your expectations are foolish, I'm afraid. He remains in Jabbas possession, and soon enough he will throw your friend into the pit of Carkoon straight towards the gaping jaws of the great Sarlaac! Don't bother trying to dart straight towards him, I recalibrated the city's shields to specifically trap us both in the throne room, the Rancors den, and the room in which I'm in. If you wish to save your friend in time you have to get past me, but do not think it will be easy. I am Jabbas greatest warrior and strategist, and I aim to make you dead, Jedi Knight."
Skywalker nearly rolled his eyes from the aliens bold claim, though the shields existence were correct. He'll just have to cut down Fortuna if he wishes to save Hans life, which was a fair bargain. Skywalker headed towards the next room and burst open the doors with a wave of the Force. Walking inside the dome-shaped room, he found himself face to face with a massive heavy blaster turret with a single barrel, powerful enough to take down the snow speeder he rode during the battle of Hoth. He probed into the turret to view its insides to see if he saw Bib within it and simply choke the life out of him, but he was not to be found. Suddenly, multiple voices of the alien began to speak in every direction at massive amplitudes that slightly shook the dust of the grand walls in the room and caused Skywalker to clasp his ears shut but did nothing to prevent the noises. Fortuna's voice also spoke at different times which distorted Lukes thoughts and his concentration which destroyed his mind's eye.
"I know all about your dirty tricks, Jedi Knight! You use that energy called the Force to do things like reading minds and see through walls. But you need to be concentrated on those things, don't you? I must admit that your skills were astounding, but your little crusade ends here. I grant you a quick death, Jedi."
Fortuna's voice was instantly replaced with a high-pitched sound that made Skywalkers eardrums nearly burst but Luke knew that he had to work through the pain. Using the Force he dulled the pain his head felt as much as he could and focused his eyes for maximum concentration. With his kinetic vision increased he was able to see the turret's power began to activate and quickly ignited his blade as the turret unleashed a massive bolt of energy towards Luke. In the last instant, Luke reflected the deadly bolt back towards the turret, expecting an explosion of fire and shrapnel to follow suit. Instead, the bolts dissipated as an energy field of blue flashed quickly before Lukes' eyes before vanishing. Half a second later another bolt fired towards Luke, who blocked it again but the power of the bolt caused him to fly across the room and back into the throne room, his back smashing hard against Jabbas Podium. Luke quickly got up and used the Force to propel himself sideways before the next lance of energy hit him which vaporized the podium that once held the fat slug, causing a billowing cloud of deadly gas to fill the room. Luke quickly made a barrier that protected him from the deadly gas, the taxation from using the Force began to take a toll on his body. Fortuna's voice once more echoed through the multitude of intercoms and with the added high-pitch sound it made a combination that made Lukes' stomach turn.
"What's the matter, little Jedi? Is this too much for you? I thought your kind could take out entire armies if need be, yet a pitiful turret more than enough for you, it seems. Don't think hiding in that room gives you any protection, watch!"
Even though using the Force for his foresight was near impossible at the moment, he didn't need that to know what Fortuna meant. He quickly dashed out to the farthest area from where he was standing, a fraction of a second later the entire stone wall became vaporized gas. Luke once more protected himself from the flesh-searing winds, breathing hard from making two barriers in such a short amount of time. He knows that he could only keep this up a few more times before it becomes impossible for him to do it. Fortuna's laugh rang inside Skywalkers head, the Jedi much preferring the high-pitched sound over that cackling.
"I know you're getting tired from that trick, Jedi Knight! So I'll be kind, simply walk into my turrets line of sight and simply allow yourself to be vaporized, or instead let the vaporized smoke to devour your flesh and bones. Just choose the easy way out, little Jedi. It's the only way out."
As Fortuna made his monologue, Skywalker searched out for the Rancors presence. Although it was difficult to focus thanks to Fortuna's sounds, it was not impossible and thanks to the large signature the Rancor made along with its simple thoughts and their previous connection, Luke was able to reconnect into its mind within a moments notice. Though the command was brief thanks to Fortuna's trap, the Rancor was able to understand that it was being attacked, though, in reality, it was Luke who was in danger. The Rancor ran towards where the danger was by using the sounds of the battle as it knew the blasts of the turret was its enemy, however, the danger was a floor above it. its animalistic anger ran through its mind and let out a roar at its unaware attacker, the Rancor crouched as low as it could and with its powerful hind legs jumped right through the shielded ground where the large turret stood, the gun smashed into many pieces from the sudden shock that the Rancors powerful jump caused. Jabbas right-hand man was shocked by the Rancors sudden appearance, who went back down from the floor it came from only to leap once more and smashed through the many intercoms that lined the walls the room he was in, cutting his voice apart many times. Fortuna began to panic and set the sound at the loudest it possibly could and opened the locker that was within his room, smiling at the large weapon his eyes laid upon.
Luke was able to concentrate even better now that the intercoms were being destroyed by the monster and despite the increased volume, it was nothing compared to all the intercoms blasting that dreaded sound. It was now easier to guide the Rancors actions with the Force, as he sent the leaping directly into more intercoms to be destroyed, which was both a horrifying and hilarious sight. Luke felt Fortuna's presence in the Force flare up for a brief moment which prompted the warrior to get back on his feet with his Lightsaber activated, ready to strike down the criminal. Suddenly a bright flash of light blinded Luke and stunned him for several moments. His vision began to come back but in a blur and saw a large cloud of smoke coming from the portions of the floor that the Rancor destroyed. His Foresight flared and in the last instant leaped right above a massive rocket that zoomed at massive speeds, detonating against the wall of Jabbas throne room and letting in the harsh Tatooine sun inside the castle. Luke barely saw Fortuna's black cloak enter the room he was in, shutting the entrance. Luke ran into the edges of where the Rancor barged through and saw where the smoke came from. Where the Rancor stood was now little more than black, charred remains thanks to the rocket blasting it into oblivion. Its only remains that even indicated that it was a Rancor were the massive claws it had, which were now akin to smoking stumps. Luke stared at the room where Fortuna was holed up and made his way towards it. The remaining intercoms were centered around the entrance and although Luke was tempted to carve up the room via throwing his Lightsaber, he relented as he knew that shields were possibly present. Suddenly he heard Fortuna's voice run through his head again but without the sense of victory held within it, now it was filled with venomous hate.
"I applaud you for your quick thinking, but this is the farthest you're getting. My overconfidence has led me to this embarrassing moment, I won't make that same mistake again!"
Suddenly, the metal door was pierced by another rocket, Luke barely sidestepped before it impacted on him. Another rocket followed the next moment, Luke somersaulting right over it. The young warrior thought that the alien was just firing haphazardly, but then his eye caught the first rocket coming towards him once more. He twisted his body enough so that the missile missed by mere centimeters and as soon as he landed on his feet he propelled himself into a twisting jump to the right as the next missile barely missed its target. Luke realized these weren't ordinary rockets the moment he saw the first one bash through the metallic door. The rockets only exploded if they hit a target with a high enough heat signature, much like his own. Soon after Luke began to run at a fast pace, with the missiles right behind him. He saw Bib Fortuna pop out of his room, carrying a massive rocket launcher over his right shoulder and a device strapped to his chest which emitted a red shield around him. His left hand carried a strange, satellite looking device that Luke was not sure what it was. Skywalker began to run towards the alien criminal and planned to leap at the last possible minute for the missiles to impact upon Fortuna, at the very least those missiles wouldn't be chasing him if they don't at least take out the aliens shield.
However, Fortuna raised his left hand and pulled the trigger which released a set of glass shattering waves towards Skywalker. Luke was nearly stunned by this weapon, and with the briefest of instances was able to put up a barrier of Force energy that impacted against the powerful missiles, sending Skywalker flying at speeds that rivaled the X-wings flying across the city and smashed through the remnants of a stone wall, the impact turning the meter thick wall into pulverized dust. Luke fell onto his back with his lightsaber deactivating but still thankfully gripped in his right hand, his body depleted from stamina and knew that at best he could make one more barrier that would cling him to the world of the living, leaving him with a broken arm and a leg if he was hit like that again. He heard Fortuna laugh, the sound of the gun still blaring in the background.
"If this is all the mighty Jedi Knight has to offer, then I fail to see why any would fear your kind! Now you understand why I am the greatest warrior that Jabba has to offer, and I will string up your carcass on the walls of my trophy room if anything remains that is!"
Fortuna took aim and two more missiles that sped where Luke laid, the warrior took in deep breaths that helped him regain some lost strength and used his arms to push himself into the air, the heat seeking rockets followed closely. Luke flew over Fortunas head with the blaring rockets still hot on his trail, and as soon as he got back on his feet began to run across the entire room. Fortuna didn't feel a shred of fear, though he might not be able to react in time from a blow from Luke, the shield he carried could repel both energy and physical intrusions and was strong enough to withstand the blow from an AT-AT, so the missiles nor the Jedis Lightsaber was a worry. The Force also wasn't a danger, he knew that Jedi who employed it too often in a short amount of time would make later usage harder to perform, which is why Luke didn't simply attack his mind or anything of the sort. Combined with the missiles chasing him, Fortuna truly held all the cards in his hands!
But what he didn't take into account was the sudden growing amount of dust and debris emanating from the speeds of Skywalker and the missiles, causing a vortex to arise. Luke pushed himself even further with his speeds, now running at a pace that left the time he flew across the room in the dust. Now Fortuna realized that there was a growing storm of dust and debris surrounding him and leaving him in the eye of this storm, his surroundings barely visible from the thick dust and debris. Fortuna was now completely blind, his nerves on edge as he struggled to remain calm. Suddenly, the sound of Skywalkers saber activating came from right behind the alien criminal, turning around and seeing the warrior with his blade at the ready. Fortuna barely lifted his sonic weapon when all of a sudden the missiles that were once chasing Luke came at Fortunas turned back, the missiles seeking capabilities struggled heavily to lock on to Lukes heat signature thanks to the heavy vortex of dust and debris, and once they found one they went right after it. Unfortunately for Fortuna, they didn't find Skywalkers but rather his own, the impact so powerful that despite the aliens shield the force was still great enough to send him flying across the room and into the dying tornado, causing him to fly everywhere until he finally landed with a hard impact upon the battle-weary floor.
"It's over Fortuna, going by your own standards of this fight your life is now forfeit."
The alien struggled to get back up, making sure his shield generator was still active. He let out a toothy smile as he saw the red glow surrounding him, knowing full well that he was still protected by his powerful barrier. He saw the Jedi Knight, battle worn from his machinations. He let out a howl of laughter, knowing that he was still invulnerable and much better off than the damaged Jedi, at best he was simply dazed from their fight. Fortuna didn't say a word as he lifted his left hand, not realizing that it was devoid of his sonic weapon. Suddenly he saw the weapon slid right between his legs, landing right onto Skywalkers hand.
"Looking for this? You know, you were pretty lucky having it land right under you. Guess you were too focused on having that little shield of yours still working. If you still don't know, you don't have that rocket launcher of yours either."
Despite the massive weight the rocket carried, Fortuna actually didn't know that the rocket also blew away from him. He looked around his surroundings but unlike the sonic weapon, he didn't have it land nearby him. Fortuna's breathing began to go into a panicked frenzy, as anger and fear began to swell inside of him. His face distorted into that of a beast from one's nightmares, his talon-like fingers drawn and ready to tear out the throat from the horrible Jedi Knight. But then he began to chuckle low, as he realized that he still had his shield generator! He erupted in a horrible cackle, pointing directly at the Jedi.
"You might have left me disarmed, little Jedi! But my armor still remains strong! You cannot hurt me, and with the way you're now it will take a while before you can use your pitiful Force on me, isn't that right?! I'll just go back into my armory and-"
The Sonic weapon erupted over Fortunas tall figure, the sound filling his mind into a head-splitting scream. The alien clasped his head tightly, letting out a yell that was silent compared to the sonic weapons high-pitched noise. Cracks began to appear over the glass that contained the shield generators energies and Skywalker remained as still as a statue, blasting Fortuna with that dreadful weapon. Eventually, the generator could no longer prevent the strain that the sonic weapon produced, causing the generator to explode violently on Fortuna's chest and the energy burst exploding directly through Fortuna's midsection, as though a shaped charge was planted on the criminals chest rather than a shield generator. A gaping, red hot, see through hole replaced Fortuna's chest, the alien in total shock as his hands reached towards his wound only for them to stop and shake in place. Luke gazed at the dying Fortuna without a shred of emotion, watching the alien fall onto his knees. He began to walk away when he heard Fortuna attempt to speak, placing his eyes on him once more. Fortuna cleared his throat from the growing bile and blood, throwing up a copious amount of purple filth onto the floor and locked his red eyes against Lukes.
"Yo-you bested me, Jedi Knight. You won our battle, but this little war you caused was already won by me from the start! Jabba is a coward, but he's a dangerous coward! He already is holed up in his private Sail Barge, that's as powerful as a military class starship! Then there's the bounty hunter protecting him, and the Imperials that are on their way! You've lost Jedi Knight, even without me my side already won, and compared to the hell that you'll be brought into you would have wished that I took your disgusting life!"
Bib Fortuna tried to let out a mocking laugh but instead threw up more purple filth from his bloodied mouth. He began to fall, but caught himself before he did and placed his hands on the floor which made him seem as though he were bowing to some God of his. Skywalker began to walk away to let the alien die from his wounds, but Fortuna would not let up. His dying frame was suddenly filled with the strength from a demon and he charged against the walking Skywalker, who was already aware of Fortuna's attack before the alien even launched it. He casually side-stepped his slashing talon, the force was so strong it caused a ripple in the air to fly towards the remnants of a stone wall and sliced it into multiple chunks. Fortuna slashed again, only for Luke to side-step but was close enough to slash his right cheek, giving Fortuna the satisfaction of a hit despite how minor the wound was. Skywalker threw a punch right in the center of the aliens face, causing him to tumble back. Fortuna was not done and charged once more against Luke, who once again side-stepped the clumsy attack. In that moment Luke lifted his Lightsaber overhead, and akin to an executioner sliced off Bib Fortunas head from his shoulders, finally ending the criminals life. Luke deactivated his saber and took in deep breaths as he fell onto his right knee, using the Force to try and ease his exhaustion and pain as much as possible.
He surveyed the area around him, the entire room looked as though a battle that involved tanks took place. Smoking ruins and rubble filled the entire place, the large craters left in several parts of the ground from where the Rancor jumped through began to slowly encroach the stable parts around it, causing the floor to slowly collapse. Luke made his way towards the room where Fortuna was hold up, surveying the main controls. He saw the codes to deactivate the cities defensive grids, punching them in to turn off the shields that contained him. Before he got out he caught his reflection from one of the mirrors Fortuna had, seeing how much damage he took. His black clothes tattered and dirty from the rubble, his face bruised in certain areas with blood coming from his ears and mouth. The scar that Fortuna left was the freshest cut, the crimson blood dripping from his cheek. Luke was surprised that one man as skilled as Fortuna was able to push him this hard, the alien's words repeated in his mind. There was still Jabba and Boba as obstacles to get to Han. Then, there was the lingering threat of the approaching Imperials, the black form of Darth Vader flashed briefly in his mind. Luke knew that this was barely the beginning of their battle, and if he didn't succeed he would know that he would be a failure as a Jedi. But even if he was a failure, he wouldn't go down without giving a fight.
This is the first of four rewrites I plan to do in the future, the next three being rewrites of the prequel trilogy. Afterward, I plan on making my own sequel trilogy and something I dubbed a "final" trilogy, following Lucas's original 12-episode format. I restrict myself to only what is seen and heard in the original trilogy barring most of episode 6, though some elements from the original will remain.