"I've come to collect the bounty on this Nightsister witch." Galen said with a firm tone.
Jabba proceeded to laugh speaking in Huttese he began to taunt the mysterious woman. "Well well, well, nice to see you again Silri. How's Tyber doing?"
the Nightsister spat in Jabba's direction before once again mumbling in a language that no one save Jabba seemed to understand.
"Need I remind you, our peace treaty was under very strict agreement which your boss decided to violate shortly after they were written. Do not blame me if his eyes and mouth are bigger than his brain."
Jabba then turned to C3PO
"The mighty jabba is willing to offer 50,000 credits in exchange for Silri."
Galen shook his head. "100 grand the woman was more trouble than she's worth. Call it hazard pay."
Jabba chuckled. mumbling response to the protocol droid.
"The mighty jabba would like to ask why he should pay you double the bounty."
Galen lifted his hands into the air giving a slight smirk. Everyone gasped in both awe and horror as lighting shot from his fingertips causing the lights to flicker as the power surged. the display of power couldin't have lasted any more than 5-10 seconds, but to the bystanders in the roo, it felt like an eternity. Everyone breathed a visable sigh of relief as the show of power came to an end. Galen couldn't help but chuckle.
"Any other questions?"
Jabba were about the only ones who were not shaken up by Galen's raw display of power. in fact the two looked at each other and snickered. It was jabba however that let out a full laugh.
"ho, ho, ho, ho ho, ha ha ha ha ha. You sith are my kind of scum. tough and intimidating. I can make someone like you a very rich man. I'll give you 75,000 for the girl. Take it or leave it.
Galen paused for a minute staring intently at the hutt before allowing his shoulders to relax.
"Deal, but let's make one thing straight Jabba. I'm no sith."
"You're no Jedi either." the woman lying on the luxury sofa barked back.
Galen looked to woman before looking back at jabba.
"You normally allow your slaves to speak so freely?" Galen asked
Jabba laughed. "You speak to my daughter, Force user. She's allowed to speak as freely as she wishes in my court."
"Your daughter?" Galen couldn't help but smirk upon unknowingly gazing at Leia once again. "I see the resemblance. Pleasure doing business with you."
Jabba let out a laugh as he commanded Fett to lock her away in the dungeons below. Silri began to curse and scream as loud as she could but the animalistic howls were quickly drowned out by the sound of the band.
"You've done a good service for me force user. Feel free to take advantage of my hospitality."
Galen looked over to a bar and let out a smirk "I think I'll take you up on that offer."
As the young man sat down he noticed "jabba's Daughter" causally unfashion her chain and walk to toward him before taking a seat.
"What do you intend to have thrown in the dungeon for calling you fat?"
"You're Galen Marek right? You served aboard the salvation under General Rahm Kota and Captain Juno Eclipse of the Rebel alliance correct?"
Galen felt his muscles tense up as he felt himself reach for his lightsabers. however the woman touched his wrist getting him to stay his hand.
"Sorry, that may have been a little too upfront."
"You think? How do you know so much about the rebel alliance? Who are you?"
"I know so much because my father was with you when the rebel alliance was founded."
"Your Father? The only man I knew that had a daughter was..."
Galen's eyes slowly began to widen. "Leia?"
Leia nodded her head giving him a warm welcoming smile. Galen on the other hand felt his face go red with a different feeling. "Dank farrik, your highness I'm sorry. I..."
Leia just proceeded to laugh. "Galen, Galen it's alright. You didn't do anything wrong.
"Insulting a superior officer to her face sounds like doing something wrong."
"Look at me." Leia commanded as she swept her hands across her body that was now practically twice its size since she entered the palace. "I'm starting to look rather huttlike." Leia turned to one of the twi'lek servants "Hey, a couple of Boga noga's please."
The woman nodded and proceeded to pull out the drinks. taking a gulp Leia then looked once more to Galen.
"Did anyone else make it out alive. General Kota is he...?"
Galen Shook his head his voice spoke in a cold and very matter of fact tone. "Kota is gone. Went down with the salvation trying to get as many out as he could, only a handful of us made it out alive. We managed to get to the escape pods, but I know for a fact that most of them got blasted to pieces. For all I know juno and I were the only survivors of the salvation left."
"Galen I'm so sorry."
"He knew the risk. He died the way he wanted, with his boots on." Galen then looked over to Leia, still shocked by the unusual state of the former princess of Alderaan
"How are you doing? You look...well fed."
Leia couldn't help but snicker. "Yeah, hutt food is quite rich, that and DNA splicing has a habit of enabling….growth spurts. Don't let my girth fool you though, there's a surprising amount of muscle under this fat"
"Jabba's splicing your DNA?"
"Yeah, I'm sort of like this human/hutt hybrid now. It's a long story"
"I've got time."
Leia spent the next serval minutes explaining what had gone on over the past several weeks, from her offering her life in exchange for Solo's to Jabba asking her to let him adopt her. She had looked to see Galen give any kind of hard reaction but his face remained cold and still.
"So Jabba now considers you his own flesh and blood. Where does that put you high in the food chain?"
"As far as I know I'm his 2nd in command. He's made it pretty clear that he intends to replace Bib Fortuna.
"That creepy pale twi'lek?" what is he like Jabba's Majordomo?"
"in theory yes, but I think the longer I stay, the more Fortuna warns out his welcome and he knows it...the cook's been having Gamorrean guards start testing my food as of late."
Galen looked over to the twi'lek who was staring at the two of them with a venomous leer.
"Want me to kill him?" Galen asked.
"uh, last I checked assassination isn't the jedi way." Leia protested.
"True, but as you pointed out I'm no Jedi."
"I was referring to the fact that you shoot lightning from your fingertips, not you being a cold blooded killer."
"It wouldn't be cold blooded." Galen said with a bit of teasing in his voice. "You have a creep that is a clear and present danger and I would be disposing of him for your own safety."
"A very fine technicality." Leia remarked.
"Aren't Hutts all about those?"
the two proceeded to chuckle.
"So this DNA splicing that Jabba is doing to you, is that why your eyes are orange."
"Yeah, it's also why my tongue is split."
Leia playfully stuck out her enlarged tongue and proceeded to wiggle and twist it. While Galen found the princess's playful manner amusing he couldn't help but see her tongue as two Corellian bull worms performing a mating dance.
"how are you doing emotionally?" Galen asked.
"...guilty. Look at me. I'm practically being treated like hutt royalty while other members of the alliance, if they are even any left, are no doubt being executed by the empire. I've let the alliance down, I've let my father down."
"Leia you haven't let anyone down. If nothing else it was your alliance that destroyed the death star and proved the empire wasn't invincible. The people in the galaxy won't forget that."
"Maybe," Leia said with a chuckle. "But why do I get the feeling it won't matter."
Leia quickly changed the subject. "how are you and Juno and doing?"
"We're…taking a break."
Leia had spent enough time with girls her age to know what that meant.
"What happened?"
Galen couldn't help but smirk. "We both realized the man she loved died on the death star."
Leia winced. So the past was rearing its ugly head again she began to think, but Galen raised his hand as if reading what she was thinking.
"It's not about the clone question. Whether I'm the real Galen Marek or not, I'm still not the man I was before, and truth be told, I don't think she's the same woman either. Too much happened, especially in such a short amount of time.
Leia nodded. "I know how that feels. Sometimes I look in the mirror and I can't even recognize myself. The weirdest part is the changes have just started and yet already I like it…I…I can't explain it."
"It's a since of freedom." Galen remarked. All your life, you've been raised to for one purpose, to be the harbinger of something greater, now that purpose has come crashing down and for the first time in your life…you're free. No rules, no obligations, your destiny is your own. You can be whatever you want to be, for good, for bad, or maybe a little of both."
Leia couldn't help but smile. "Sounds like you have firsthand experience that."
"Twice actually."
Leia nodded. "I guess I've died twice too, once with the destruction of Alderaan, and again with the death of the alliance."
"So here in lies the question. Who are you?"
"Well I mean I am being called Chenlaee now."
"You know that's not
"I guess I don't know yet."
"Then we are on the same boat."
the two proceeded to chuckle before Leia cleared her throat, her tone being more serious and almost businesslike in contrast to the casualness her voice gave before.
"I have a proposition. The fact is your right. I've already got a target on my back, and the more Jabba teaches me and gives me positions of authority, the more those targets will increase. I need a bodyguard and someone who can help…aid my interest, one I can trust and frankly I'd much rather it be an ally than a stranger.
Galen couldn't help[ but smirk. "You need an enforcer."
Leia bit the corner of her lip upon hearing that word. When Galen put it that way, she felt no different than Vader or even the emperor.
"I didn't mean….I'm sorry. Forget I said anything.
"What's the pay?" Galen asked.
"125 peggats a week, plus free total access to the palace save Jabba private facilities of course."
Galen put his finger to his chin contemplating the order. the job wasn't that much different than what he did for Vader, except this time the targets would be easier and fewer, and unlike Vader, Leia would actually appreciate his work and even pay him handsomely for it. Besides he had no quarrels with taking out scum in villainy.
"In that case…." Galen mischievously smiled and knelt to the ground. "What is thy bidding my master?"
"Oh please don't do that."
"Sorry, couldn't resist, but seriously who's the first target?"
"you want to start now?"
"Well, of I'm going to take a job I want to be worth my wage."
"Think you could take on Tyber Zann?"
"I can, but I need a lead."
Leia couldn't help but smile. "I think our little friend in the dungeon can help us with that."
"True but I don't think she'll be willing to talk with me."
"True, but maybe I can help strike a deal with her."
"Good cop bad cop?" Galen asked.
Leia nodded. Let's do it.