Chapter 21: In Which We Discover…
The remaining two cars rolled up slowly across the desert and parked casually on the outskirts of Mos Eisley Spaceport. Ratchet and Mace Windu, adorned in Storm Trooper uniforms that they scavenged from Coruscant, both climbed out of the driver side of the cars. They walked to the passenger side of each car, and took Keira and Ahsoka by the hand, respectively. Keira and Ahsoka were wearing matching regal blue garments that shrouded over their normal attire, and they were adorned by some of Coruscant's most precious golden jewelry. Once they walked into the city, the cars were cloaked with invisibility, making it impossible for any Imperial Trooper to track them.
Keira and Ahsoka were playing the roles of rich and snobby investors that had standoff, diva-like personalities, while Ratchet and Windu were simply playing the roles of Imperial Storm Troopers escorting them. Tess was playing the role of a pet meerkat hidden underneath a fuchsia shroud. The mission was to gain unlimited access to the dark eco shipments without blowing their cover. It would be a difficult task for them, but the actors are more than eager to play their parts.
Keira whined, "Ugh! I don't get why we have to look for all the rich stuff on this desert rock! This blows!"
"Totally," Ahsoka concurred, "This sand is really staining my dress, and it's getting in my nails!"
"Why couldn't we just bring goggles with us?" Keira continued, "I can't even see where we're going!"
"And I'm PARCHED!" Ahsoka egged on, "How can you survive on a planet with no water!?"
Ratchet and Windu walked in front of them the entire time and listened to the exchange. They both giggled. Ratchet, carrying Clank as if he was a briefcase, turned around and whispered, "You girls are doing great. Keep it up!"
Suddenly, a trio of Storm Troopers approached them and commanded them, "Halt, Soldiers! State your purpose in this sector."
"The princesses of Naboo are here to pick up 'the package.'" Master Windu replied,
'"Package?"' the lead trooper questioned.
Ratchet answered, "They're expecting some shipments of dark eco that need to be transported back to their home planet for recreational experiments."
The troopers looked at the 'princesses', then looked at each other, and then looked towards them. They rejected, "They sure don't look like princesses that came from Naboo to me. I need identification cards and security codes from all of you!"
"Uh-oh." Keira whispered.
Master Windu then approached all three of them, waved his hand in the lead trooper's face, and commanded, "You don't need to check our identification cards."
"We don't need to check your identification cards." The trooper obeyed.
"You don't need to see the security codes for this sector." Windu commanded.
"We don't need to see the security codes for this sector." The trooper obeyed.
"You will grant us unlimited access and privileges to ALL the dark eco shipments here, and you will let us meet with your supplier." Windu commanded.
"We will grant you all unlimited access and privileges to all the dark eco shipments here, and we will let you meet with our supplier." The trooper obeyed.
"Move along." Windu commanded.
"Move along." The trooper motioned and obeyed.
With a gasp of astonishment, Keira whispered, "Wait! How did he-"
"Old Jedi mind trick," Ahsoka replied, "Classic. My master pulled that same trick on troopers and droids all the time. It's almost effortless for most people."
"Wow," Keira gasped again, "I wish I could do that!"
"You'll learn soon enough," Ahsoka began to offer, "I'll even teach you."
"That'll be great!" Keira accepted.
The three hypnotized troopers were guiding the gang to the cantina, where the supplier was supposedly hidden. They entered the cantina and bypassed the rowdy and lively scenery that took place. Several types of species were conversing, drinking, and starting bar brawls as they all proceeded to the back room of the cantina. To the right of them, the troopers opened a door that the gang all entered in. Once inside, the troopers shut the door behind them.
Master Windu instructed as he took his mask off, "We must be very cautious from this point forward. Only the Force will know what lies ahead."
Ratchet followed as he took his mask off, "Yeah, at least we know that in that basement is a giant warehouse completely full of dark eco."
"All under the captivity of the Empire," Ahsoka followed, "but the question remains; who's the mastermind that is behind all of this?"
"I would have to imagine someone that's from my home planet," Keira formulated, "but I can't really put my finger on who…"
The gang descended down the steps that led towards a steel, airtight door. Master Windu used an Imperial gate key to open the hatch that led to a large, dark, and desolate warehouse. Once they stepped inside, a series of bright lights ignited and shined upon thousands of large metal crates, all of which contained dark eco inside. Their jaws dropped, their eyes widened, and they all stood still, frozen and shock in disbelief.
"So that's all the dark eco that came from your world?" Master Windu asked.
"Yup." Keira replied.
"How does the Empire take that much dark eco in one swoop?" Ahsoka followed, "Do you know what they are using it for?"
"Dunno." Keira replied.
Then, Clank sprung from his briefcase form into his normal form. He flew to the top of one of the large crates, and used his UV lenses to scan the inner components of the crate. He scanned every inch; from the top, to the sides, and collected enough information and data he needed to know about all of these shipments.
He delivered his analysis, "According to my scans, it appears all the dark eco in each individual crate is actually sealed up in fifty individual Precursor canisters. The crates themselves are made of the highest grade of layered steel; the same steel that is used on star destroyers. However, each of these crates is coated with a reflective solvent, meaning that they are impossible to destroy. Any attempt at shooting or striking at them would backfire. Looking at the tracking codes, it says that all of these shipments are to be transported to Dromund-Kaas, the planet that has held Empire's main military base for thousands of years. They are scheduled to be shipped out of here in approximately two hours."
"So now what do we do?" Ratchet inquired.
"We wait," Keira replied, "until the transport that is scheduled to arrive here. Then we play it by ear from there." She turned to Clank and instructed him, "Clank, I'd like you to deliever these findings to Ashelin and the others. The sooner they get this, the sooner they can travel to this military base and intercept all of the Empire's secrets. We'll need all of them to take them down."
"As you wish, madam!" Clank obeyed.
As Clank was sending the data to Ashelin, the rest of the gang heard a maniacal cackling that came from the very far end of the warehouse. It caught the attention of all of them, especially Keira, who drew the most alarmed of them all.
"I got a bad feeling about this." Ratchet trembled.
"Me too," Ahsoka agreed, "this guy that's supplying all the eco doesn't sound very sane. It sounds like he's poisoned by all the dark eco surrounding him."
"Yeah," Keira followed, "It also sounds very familiar." She removed the regal garments that shrouded over her normal attire, and slowly walked closer towards the back of the warehouse. As the others followed her close behind, the hysterical giggling intensified more and more, until they approached behind an old man that was controlling all of the dark eco. Currents of dark eco energy was flashing wildly on the desk he was sitting in front of, just like his white hair was. Keira observed that there were two pipelines of dark eco fluid that were chilled in a massive incubator that crystalized all of the fluid. The crystals were then all placed in small canisters, and transported into one of the giant crates. It was a massive factory of terror, and this slender old man was operating it all. He wore nothing but brown overalls and boots, and had his right forearm replaced with a red mechanical hand, similar to the one that Master Windu has. He sensed the intrusion, and sprung up from his chair. His stunned countenance displayed pale, purple skin, blue goggles that had a series of unique lenses, and a long goatee that extended to the floor. When Keira saw his face, she knew exactly who it was.
"TYM!?" She exclaimed in shock.
"KEIRA!" The old man screamed in reply.
"You know this guy!?" Ratchet chimed in. That caused Tym to draw his eyes towards him and Master Windu, still adorned in storm trooper attire. He scurried in fear underneath the desk, and dragged his legs up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them and shivering with horror.
"Please…K-K-Keira…" Tym whimpered, "D-Don't hurt me! P-P-Please! I-I-I-I Know I'm behind schedule and all, but don't kill me, please! I'm almost done!"
"What are you talking about!?" Keira asked, confused.
"What am I talking about!?" Tym repeated, "You work for, for, t-them!" He pointed his asthmatic arm at Windu and Ratchet, "The Empire! They captured you back at home, didn't they!? And now you're part of their forced labor trade!"
"WHAT!?" She shrieked.
"Look buddy," Ratchet interrupted, "Have you ever seen a lombax as a storm trooper before?"
"He doesn't even know what a lombax is!" Ahsoka included.
"Sorry for trying to help." Ratchet talked back.
"Look Tym," Keira persuaded, "we got chased out of home too. We narrowly escaped from the Empire's clutches. We only disgused ourselves in Empire attire to get past their security checkpoints. We've come here to find these shipments so we can destroy them before the Empire uses all the dark eco from our world for whatever they're going to use all of it for. You'll have to trust us, Tym. We're here to help you."
Tym crawled out from underneath the desk, stood himself up, and approached to Keira. He asked her, "And why should I trust you, child?"
"Because," Keira answered, "You trusted us when we saved you at The Brink, right?"
He smiled, nodded slowly, and piped, "Well, I can't let you destroy it!"
"Say, what!?" Ratchet yelled.
Tym explained, "You see, all of these shipments of dark eco are actually not going with the Empire. Instead, they're going to my actual employer."
"Who's that?" Keira asked.
"A gang lord by the name of Jabba The Hutt," Tym replied,
"I know that name," Ahsoka whispered to herself.
"All too well." Master Windu softly followed.
Tym continued, "He knew I was deployed out here on this desolate rock and offered to liberate me from the Empire's control if I were to help him smuggle these shipments away from them."
"Why does he need them?" Ratchet inquired.
"Well," Tym answered, "He wouldn't say who he was giving them too, but lets just say that he's helping someone from somewhere build an army that is capable of overthrowing the Empire. The secret ingredient that Jabba's "client" needs is dark eco to supply all the necessary firepower to ensure that the Empire will destroy them once and for all!"
Ratchet approached to Tym with a pistol in his hand, raised an eyebrow, and followed, "I think you're lying. If you say that you're REALLY working against the Empire, then how come you don't know where all of this eco is really going to, who's getting it, and what it's actually being used for?" Tym whimpered and shivered, which provoked Ratchet to point his weapon at him. He growled in demand, "I suggest you formulate a good answer, pal."
Keira ran in between them and face Ratchet. She pleaded, "Wait! Ratchet, please don't! Tym is telling the truth!"
"How can we trust him!?" Ratchet retorted, "He's a dark eco sage that's working with the Empire!"
"BECAUSE I CAN SENSE HIS FEAR FOR THEM!" Keira screamed back.
"Oh, please!" Ratchet rejected.
"No," Master Windu calmly intruded, and approached all three of them, "She's right. I can sense his fear too. He has a deep fear and a deep hatred for them, as if they scarred him, forcing him to join them."
"They tortured you with dark eco to make you into a sage again, didn't they?" Keira asked.
Tym whimpered and nodded, then fell to his knees and cried, "Where is our hero!? Where is the one that can prove to the universe that a balance of dark and light eco can save all of mankind!? WHERE IS JAK!?" He planted his face to the ground after he offered his pleading.
Keira knelt down to pick him up off the ground and calmly whispered to him, "Don't worry. He's here on this planet. He'll meet up with us soon…"
Meanwhile, Jak and Daxter were roaring through the desert inside their own vehicle, and they were intercepted by several groups of Tusken Raiders. Jak tested every single artillery feature that the automobile had in it's disposal, and both he and Daxter were satisfied with the fact that a band of Tusken Raiders were no match for the one vehicle that they drove.
"Hah!" Daxter chortled inside the rear turret as he was blowing enemies out of the sky, "These Tusken Raiders are complete wimps compared to the marauders we had to deal with back home! I sure am thankful that only a part of our planet was a barren wasteland like this one!"
"This desert kinda reminds me of Spargus though." Jak replied in a forlorn tone.
Once all of the Tusken Raiders chasing them were destroyed, Daxter crawled up to the passenger side seat and spoke to Jak, "You miss Damas, huh?"
"How could I not miss him?" Jak retorted, "He's my father."
"It sucks that he died not knowing that you were his son all along." Daxter told him.
"Oh he knew," Jak disagreed, "I know he did."
"How could you be so sure?" Daxter asked him.
Jak was in deep thought for a brief moment. He didn't want to dispel anything that he saw in the Jedi Temple to Daxter. 'He wouldn't believe me,' He thought to himself, 'but I can't lie to him, either. He's the closest thing to family I got. Him and Keira both.'
Jak replied, "Through The Force, Dax. Through The Force." Daxter scoffed in reply. Soon, Jak would see a small hut stranded in the middle of the desert. To the right of that hut, he saw a small headstone. Once he saw that faint image, the visions haunted him yet again. He saw the same little boy he saw earlier, hugging the same woman that appeared to be his mother. He saw the Tusken Raiders capture her, and tie her away in one of their huts, torturing her, whipping her, and breaking her down to the lowest point of weakness.
That last image caused him to spin the vehicle, stop it once it reached near the hut, and shut the car down. He hopped out of the car and sprinted to the tombstone. Daxter would follow. Once Jak stood directly paralleled to it, he felt a sharp pain in his heart, causing him to grimace, wince his eyes shut, and kneel to the ground. He saw a young man, who looked to about eighteen years of age, with short blonde hair and ocean blue eyes, wearing brown garments. He barged through the very hut than an old lady was captured in. He held her, and her eyes opened up, crying tears of joy that she saw her son come back for her. When she was about to tell her that she loved him in her dying breath, she expired. That caused the young man to fill his eyes with rage. He drew his light saber, which had a blue blade that was similar to Jak's, and he used it to slay every last living Tusken villager, including women and children.
During this young man's burst of anger, Jak faintly heard the voice of Qui-Gon Jinn yell, 'Anakin! Anakin! NOOOO!'
In that moment, Jak opened his eyes, shed a tear, and quivered, "I'm sorry, mom. I'm sorry I wasn't here to get to know you more."
"I'm sorry too, my dear." The voice of Damas appeared behind him. The aparitions of Damas and Qui-Gon appeared right behind Jak, which send Daxter to a fright.
"AAAAHHHHH!"Daxter shrieked as he scurried behind Jak, "J-J-Jak! G-G-Gh-Gh- GHOSTS!"
"It's alright, Daxter!" Jak chuckled as he stood up to face the spirits, "They're our friends. Nothing to worry about."
"Wait!" Daxter spoke to them. He turned to Damas first, "Damas? Is that really you!? You came back from the dead!?" Damas nodded, which prompted the ottsel to turn to the other ghost. He asked him, "And you're that Qui-Gon guy that Jak told us all about!?" Qui-Gon nodded. Then Daxter screamed, "Then, how are you…how am I…how-"
"Through the force, Dax. Through the Force." The two spirits replied simultaneously.
Qui-Gon then followed, "You're a Precursor, little one. You must know that being a Precursor means being in tune with the Force, just like eco."
"Oh yeah!" Daxter screamed triumphantly, and bragged, "Being an ottsel is cool after all."
They all chuckled briefly, then the ghost of Damas spoke to Jak, "A lot of pain, isn't it, my son?"
"It is." Jak said with his head hung low.
"But it is worth it," Qui-Gon followed, "You must know the part that you didn't get the chance to discover in order to find out who you really are. You see, your mother, when I knew her, was one of the kindest and most nurturing people in the galaxy, and a lot of that rubbed off on her son, your brother. After I passed, my apprentice molded him into one of the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy. However, in this moment, the moment when he held your mother was the moment that changed his life forever. He became dangerous, and unpredictable, and it led to his untimely death in the clutches of Darth Vader."
"I know how he felt." Jak growled softly.
"You were angry when I passed in your arms, weren't you?" Damas asked his son.
"Yes." He replied.
"It is only natural," Qui-Gon commended him, "but that anger must be controlled in a more peaceful manner. That is part of the ways of a Jedi."
"But, how do I do that?" Jak asked them, "I mean, I can feel all the eco boiling up inside me, and I'm afraid it will force me to lose all control of myself, thus killing me. The dark eco is more potent than the light eco, and honestly, I hate being angry all the time, but sometimes I just can't help it. I just don't want to hurt anyone."
"My son," Damas consoled him, "When it comes to enemies around you, you wait to find their weakness. But when it comes to enemies within you, you must face them head-on. A man that is unable to face his fears and fight for his innocence cannot be a man at all."
"But there is a tool that can help with your conundrum, and it can help you save the universe as well." Qui-Gon offered.
"How?" Jak asked.
"The Sith were born on the planet of Korriban, thousands of years ago," Qui-Gon began, "So many dark secrets reside within a special place on that planet, called the Valley of the Dark Lords. It's where the Dark Council originated, and it is where you will find the holocron of Darth Bane, the ancient Sith Lord that started the very Sith Order that is active now. If you find the holocron deep beneath his tomb, and survive all the tests that the fallen Sith Lords will throw at you, not only will you discover the secret of immortality, but you will also be cured with your eco disease, and you will discover the secret of the Dark Side, so you can use it to destroy all evil that surrounds the galaxy, once and for all."
"But you must be cautious, my son," Damas added on. "The ancient Sith Lords will try and persuade you to fall under their clutches with their tests, and you will be lost in evil forever."
"You must go there next to attain the Secret of the Sith." Qui-Gon instructed him, "You must trust your instincts the entire time you are in the Tomb of Bane. I cannot interfere. You must create your own path to the light by using the dark."
"Sounds like tough odds. I like those odds," Jak said with confidence.
"Not to mention," Damas added on, "You must use that secret to save the galaxy, by finishing what your twin brother started."
"By destroying Vader?" Jak inquired.
"I'm not sure," Qui-Gon replied, "Do you see that as justice, or do you see that as vengeance. Do you think that is even the answer at all? Only you will find that answer yourself."
Jak thought about that statement for a few moments, and conceded, "You're right, master."
Damas departed with Qui-Gon by telling Jak and Daxter, "Now go, and tell the others what we have told you. And remember that the fate of the galaxy will always and forever be in your hands, son!"
"I won't let you guys down! I promise!" Jak shouted as he waved goodbye to them. He heard a beeping noise coming from his pocket. It was his portable holographic communicator giving him an alert. He pulled it out of his pocket, opened it, and saw a small, holographic image of Keira delivering an important message to him.
Keira spoke, "Hey, Jak! I just found a boatload of useful information about all of this dark eco and the Empire as well. It turns out that all of the eco from our world may be in better hands that we originally thought. I'm sending you the coordinates to the location where the eco is being shipped. Meet us there as fast you can! See you soon!"
"Already on my way!" Jak said to himself as the hologram vanished. He turned to Daxter who hopped on his shoulder, "C'mon, Dax!"