Return of the New Blood
By Michael Weyer
In case I forgot to put it in the first chapter, some situations and dialogue taken from the Star Wars Radio Drama written by Brian Daley
Opening Offers
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There were times when being a witch had its definite advantages and this was certainly one of them as far as Willow Rosenburg was concerned. It took only a bit to create a spell to prevent the ever-oppressive heat of the twin suns to effect her as much as others. She honestly had no idea how normal people lived on this planet, not just from the heat but the burning suns. She adjusted the umbrella she held in her hands to keep it out, not wanting to add more red to her features. Her outfit was as light as she could get, a tan pair of pants and a loose shirt with a nice shawl around her neck. Her boots echoed on the rough gravel of the desert floor as she followed the path to a large shape in the distance.
"This is the right road, right?" she asked to the tall figure walking beside her.
"It is the only way to Jabba the Hutt's palace," See-Threepio said. The droid's golden armor glowed more in the bright sunlight as he made his careful pace along the sand. "It is not a well-traveled road, as you can see."
Artoo-Detoo let out a short beeping from where he rolled in between the two. The little droid appeared almost nervous to be back on Tattooine, not surprising given what happened the last time he had been on the desert world. Willow also suspected that some nervousness came from what they were doing although the droid did a better job of hiding it than Threepio did.
"I have a bad feeling about this."
"Why do people always say that?" Willow muttered. "Oh, yeah. Cause it's usually true."
Artoo let out a beep that made Threepio shake his head. "You wouldn't say that if you knew what I knew. If I told you half the stories I've heard about this Jabba the Hutt, your circuits would melt!" Artoo seemed unimpressed by this. "I mean it! Poor Lando Calrissian and Xander Harris never came back from this place."
Willow stiffened a bit at that but tried to calm herself. Somehow, she felt she'd know if Xander had died but that didn't mean he was perfectly okay. He had volunteered with Lando to go undercover into Jabba's fortress and they'd known he wouldn't be able to let out regular contact. But that had been weeks ago and Willow couldn't help but worry about him. She tried to brush it aside as she concentrated on the mission at hand.
Willow took a deep breath as they headed up the long hill path that led to the palace. There was no other word for it. It was a set of large domed towers that jutted up from the desert floor as if carved from the rock. A massive metal doorway covered the large entrance to the palace, so large that Willow felt a strain in her neck craning it up to see it. They paused before it, glancing about nervously.
"Go ahead," Willow said. "Knock."
"Me?" Threepio asked with surprise and a bit of alarm.
"You're the liaison, remember?" Willow said as she nodded to the door.
Threepio let out the electronic version of a sigh as he reached up to rap his metallic fingers onto the door. There was a long silence before he turned to Willow. "It looks like no one's here. We'd best be off."
Willow grabbed his arm to pull him back. "Try again."
With another of those sighs, Threepio knocked again. This time, a small panel opened and a long mechanical arm exited. The end of it held what looked like an eyeball as it swung right toward the trio and a strange guttural language exited from it. Threepio let out a start. "Goodness Gracious Me!"
The eyeball did more of that odd demanding sound and Threepio quickly began to speak in Huttese at it, waving at the others as he introduced them all. Willow managed a small smile and wave at the eye as it looked her over while Artoo just whistled. The eye glanced over them once more before returning to the door as fast as it had exited.
Threepio turned back to Willow. "I don't think they're going to let us in. We should just leave."
Willow rolled her eyes as she stopped him. "You are the Cowardly Lion of robots," she remarked as a loud creaking sound went out. The door began to rise up with a loud groan as if not wanting to open up. Willow wrinkled her nose at the rancid smell coming out from the doorway but steeled herself to enter. Artoo was already wheeling himself ahead as Threepio followed quickly as he could. "Wait for me!" he called out as he hurried.
Despite the smell, Willow did feel a sense of relief being out of the sun. Like most buildings on Tattooine, the palace was designed to trap in as much cool as possible. Closing her umbrella, Willow followed the droids as they walked down the dim hallways, lit by small torches and lights. Willow noted the large shapes at either end of the hallways as their heads turned to her. They were green skinned, clad in brown furs of some sort, their faces like pigs with protruding teeth and gruff voices. Willow knew these were Gamorreans, dim-witted but very tough enforcers for Jabba.
Threepio was startled at their appearance, more frantic than ever. "Let's just deliver the message and get out of here!" he hissed as another figure stepped forward. He was tall and pale with a hairless head marked by a pair of long tail-like appendages flowing back along his dark robe. Willow identified his species as a Twi'lik and knew his was Bib Fortuna, Jabba's major domo. He bared his mouth of sharp teeth as he hissed in his own language.
"Ah, hello," Threepio said. "I am See-Threepio, this is Artoo-Detoo and Willow Rosenburg. We are here to deliver a message from Jedi Master Luke Skywalker." Artoo let out a beep. "And a gift," Threepio added before turning to Artoo in confusion. "Gift, what gift?"
Bib moved his hand out to Artoo, who backed up. "I'm afraid the message has to be given to Jabba in person," Willow quickly said. "So, just bring us to him and we'll get it out of the way."
Grumbling, Bib reluctantly backed away and made a motion over his shoulder for them to follow him. Willow had to lift Artoo up to follow down a flight of steps that led them to the main throne room of the palace. She almost gagged at the rancid smell, her head dizzy from the pure haze of alcohol, drugs and who knew what else. The sight that met her nearly made her pass out totally.
The room was literally crawling with alien life forms, most intoxicated, all showing signs of hard living in crime. Some were listening to an alien band playing in one corner while the rest just talked amongst themselves. Light filtered from shafts designed to capture the light from the windows above. A large grating was at the center of the room, right before the large platform where the center of attention sat.
Despite all she'd been told by Xander, Willow was still jarred at the sight of Jabba the Hutt up close. The…creature was a repulsive, oversized slug who lounged on his huge seat, smoking from an odd tube of some sort. He had no neck, no legs, simply a huge head on his bolbulous body with the tail flicking about. Sitting at his side was a small creature that looked like a rat on steroids with a long tail and a cackle as he looked at them. Bib leaned in to whisper in Jabba's ear, the creature letting out a loud laugh as he looked at the group before him.
Threepio drew himself up as he bowed his head. "Good morning." He tapped Artoo. "Play the message, Artoo."
Artoo leaned his head back, his holo-emmiter flashing on to bring up a ten-foot tall image of Luke Skywalker. He was dressed in black robes as he nodded. "Greetings, great Jabba. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, friend to Captain Solo. I seek an audience with Your Greatness to bargain for Captain Solo's life."
That was met by a blast of laughter from the entire crowd. "Tough room," Willow muttered under her breath.
"With your wisdom," the hologram continued. "I'm sure we can work out an agreement that is beneficial to us both and help us avoid unnecessary conflict. As a token of my goodwill I give you a gift. These two droids and their keeper."
"What?" Threepio asked, startled. "What was that?"
"They are loyal and will serve you well. I hope to be able to work this out, Great Jabba." The hologram faded, leaving the room to laugh once more at it.
"Artoo, what are you doing?" Threepio exclaimed. "You're playing the wrong message!" He looked up at Jabba. "Forgive him, Jabba, he is an older droid, his wiring comes loose sometimes."
When a crime lord received a slightly threatening message from a Jedi Knight, said crime lord's best options were to either negotiate, flee or surrender outright. Jabba's reaction was different as he let out a booming laugh, his head shaking as much as it could. He began to speak, Willow happy she had cast that translation spell earlier. "There will be no bargain. I do not intend to rid myself of my favorite decoration." He nodded to a nearby wall where a large block of metal hung suspended in an anti-gravity beam. The figure was still clear with a face in agony and hands pressing outward.
"Han," Willow whispered as she remembered the horrible sight of him being frozen in carbonite. Jabba meanwhile simply made a motion toward her as he muttered something to Bib. The Twi'lik let out a wicked smile as he came toward her and Willow couldn't help but swallow back a bit of fear.
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"I'll kill her," Willow muttered under her breath as she stumbled through the hallways. "I swear, I will kill her." She shuffled the tight top and hissed as she felt it chafe into her skin. It was a metallic halter, red in color, of course with a bare back and only the flimsiest of wires holding it all together. She wore a pair of boots with metallic tendrils going up her ankles and what amounted to the intergalactic version of Daisy Dukes shorts which were only slightly less uncomfortable than the top. Her red hair was now done in a series of braids, a couple of which felt rather painful as she brushed at them.
"The old saying is true. Beauty is a curse."
Willow glanced up to see a man in a dark uniform gazing down at her. The outfit was almost entirely black leather with gray stripes and a dark cap over his head. His face was almost entirely covered by a mask that looked to be made out of bone. He pulled it down slightly to show a handsome black face with a pencil-thin moustache over the smiling lips.
"Flatterer," Willow said with a smile of her own. "You'd flirt with your own executioner if she was a woman."
"Especially her," Lando Calrissian said with his smile in place. "I might convince her to botch the job."
Willow rose up as he pulled the mask back up. "How's Xander?"
"Fitting in, best I can tell," Lando said. "He doesn't like the disguise of course but as he's met Jabba before, that's needed."
Willow nodded. "How are we doing?"
"Not as good as I expected," Lando admitted. "I think I may have overestimated the numbers Jabba has on hand. I though more would be frightened off by the Imperials."
Willow knew what he meant. The Empire appeared to be more intelligent than given credit for in this instance as they knew it was inevitable the Rebels would try to rescue Han. As such, a small battle fleet was in orbit around Tattooine, eyes and sensors sharp for any Rebel ships. Of course, they couldn't watch every ship which allowed Xander and Lando to sneak in with the Millennium Falcon. Willow had managed to get on a small transport with the droids but that still left a question of how they'd get off once they had Han.
She pushed that aside as she glanced about. "So what can I expect from this job?"
"Just keep to serving drinks, try not to hit anyone." Lando glanced toward the hallway leading to the main room. "And…hope you're a good dancer." He lifted the large spear in his hands as he headed back out, leaving Willow with a slightly sinking feeling in her stomach. "God, Kasen, wish you were here," she muttered. She did another look on her outfit. "Well…not really….then again…"
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For some unknown reason, Xander hated the eyepatch the most.
Yeah, the fake beard was itchy. Yeah, the wig fit badly and itched too. Yes, the made-up scars and clefts left him feeling swollen. But for some reason, the eyepatch just rubbed him the wrong way. But one glance at the monstrous figure on the other side of the room was enough for him to put aside his discomfort and work with the disguise.
At first, he had protested when Lando had come up with this idea. He had met Jabba before, he had known the gangster and more importantly, the gangster knew him. Being put into such a public spot was going to be far too great a risk. But Lando countered that a disguise would help and more importantly, so would the position.
"Come on, kid. It's not like anyone really pays that much attention to a bartender."
So far, Xander had to admit the reasoning was sound. Yeah, the disguise helped but it did seem people just ordered drinks and kept to themselves afterward. There were some rowdy periods, of course, but Xander had experience keeping his head down when trouble broke out. Of course, it'd help if he didn't have to clean up every time a brawl broke out. And the pay wasn't good but then, he wasn't in this for the money anyway.
It still hurt to look across the room and see the large block that held his friend displayed like a trophy. It was all Xander could do not to run over and open it up right now but he knew he had to wait. Willow and the droids were here so the first part of the plan was in place. All they had to do was show patience and things could work out.
Provided of course that the infamously bad Xander Harris luck didn't kick in. Unfortunately, the armored figure nearby seemed to prove that could happen.
Xander had no idea why Bobba Fett was hanging around now. The bounty hunter was famous for being on the move to take various jobs around the galaxy and his capture of Han had added to his reputation. But he'd been here for several days now, usually aloof at the side although he did seem to enjoy flirting with some of the various women at times. Xander had done his best not to appear too obvious trying to avoid Fett's attention. He was helped by the fact quite a few there were doing the same thing. After all, no one enjoyed being around the most notorious bounty hunter alive, especially criminals with prices on their heads.
So far, Fett appeared to be avoiding the bar (not surprising given how he wore his helmet all the time) allowing Xander a little more breathing room. He knew his role was simply gathering information to get the rest of the group a chance to formulate the proper plan. That meant keeping under the radar and not drawing attention.
He whistled a bit as he cleaned a glass, grateful for the brief break in action. He caught a brief fresh scent among the odor of alien bodies, hinting that it was one of the dancing girls. He did his best to put on a good smile as he turned around. "What can I…" his word died as he saw who it was.
The woman was utterly and completely beautiful, her lush mane of red hair pulled back to frame a face of perfection. Her body was one to match, the blue brassier in a v-shape with silk straps around her neck. Her belly was bare until the lower half, the same metallic shorts and silk coverings as the others ending in blue sandals. Her green eyes widened as she saw Xander and he knew she knew who he was.
How could she not? After all, she knew every inch of him just as he knew every inch of her, the woman who'd shared his bed for almost two years. The woman he had loved. The woman who had betrayed him.
"Well, well," Mara Jade said with a slight tug at her lips. "Fancy meeting you here, Harris."
Xander closed his one eye and shook his head. "I'm cursed," he muttered to himself." That's all there is to it. I'm just cursed."
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