Chapter 44 - The Loser's Plight
Galen and Luke sat in tense silence in the back of Anakin's ship as they rode towards Nar Shaddaa. The truth of how serious and dangerous this mission could be was starting to dawn on Galen. Before he'd left Tatooine his father nearly had a crying fit saying goodbye, and he'd made Galen promise to be as safe as he could be. At Alderaan, Bail had given them some research on Nar Shaddaa and the criminals that usually occupy it, and Galen had only scanned the information, yet he was feeling he might just be unprepared for this after all.
"Alright we're here," Anakin announced as he was pulling their ship out of hyperspace. "Wait. Is that them?"
Galen looked at the front viewscreen to see a ship that resembled Yoda's already in orbit.
"It has the same call numbers," Obi-Wan remarked.
"How did they arrive before us?" Anakin asked, still perplexed.
"I told you, you should've let me fly," said Luke.
"Hey, I've been piloting a lot longer than you have," Anakin complained.
"This wasn't a race." Obi-Wan tried to be a voice of reason.
"Wasn't a race," Anakin whispered. "We came from Alderaan. Given the timetable, we should've arrived before them."
"Getting slow in your old age, old man," Luke teased.
"Heeeeey" Anakin growled. Just then he noticed Obi-Wan was laughing, and Anakin turned to glare at him. "Think this is funny?"
"Oh ho-ho." Obi-Wan's laughter became louder and more pronounced. "To hear you be the one called an old man now. Yes, yes I do. Ah-ha ha ha!"
Anakin's eyes scanned the rest of the cockpit. Galen felt lucky he was able to keep his laughter silent and unnoticed by his master, as he forced his lips into a frown. Beside him Luke was loving the moment as he guffawed louder than Obi-Wan.
"Oooh, alright. Have your laugh. I'm gonna Comm Yoda and see what the reason for his haste was." This quieted the rest of the cabin as none of them had yet thought about that.
"Skywalker here, Master... Leia?" Anakin called.
"Yoda here. Anakin. Successful, your trip was?"
"Yes… Um, any reason for the rush or are you just ahead of schedule? Where's Leia?"
"Hi Daddy, I'm here." came the voice of Leia. Anakin could be seen breathing a sigh of relief. "Okay, I'm getting back to work. Gee, you argue with your master once, you get homework out the…" Leia's voice faded out. Galen knew Leia sounded frustrated. She and her master must have had an argument.
Yoda's voice came back with a laugh. "Safe, your youngling is. Ahead of schedule, we are. With us, Ahsoka sent a new pilot. Juno Eclipse, her name is. Very talented, she is. Fly circles around you, she can."
Behind him Obi-Wan and Luke chuckled. Anakin turned to glare, then coughed. "We shall have to see about that. Welcome aboard, Juno."
"Nice to meet you, General Skywalker." Came the voice of a young lady. Galen thought she sounded interesting, and he looked forward to meeting her.
"It's just Skywalker now. Thank you very much. Master, did Snips give you any intel?" Anakin asked.
"Yes. It now, I am sending." said Yoda. A map of the planet appeared on the screen with a section highlighted. "Where they are holding Huyang, this is."
"Alright, Obi-Wan will send them a message and we'll see if they'll play nicely. Otherwise we'll need to meet down below and plan a strike," said Anakin.
They'd landed in an empty hanger about a quarter mile from their target. Galen got to help Anakin stake out the location where the pirates were holding the droid, while Leia helped Master Yoda and Juno Eclipse get supplies together for an assault. Luke would rather have had either of those jobs.
"Luke, Luke. Don't space out now. I need you to focus." Obi-Wan lectured.
"Yes master." Luke pressed a button on the device in front of him. A holo-background appeared around his Master, who was wearing the uniform of a cargo-ship captain. When he nodded, Luke pressed another button and above a device in front of Obi-Wan popped a hologram.
"Captain Benjamin here, of the Vigilante's Pride. Your associates said you were the one to talk to." The names were all made up of course, because when you're negotiating with Pirates it's important they don't know how desperate you are. "I heard you have a droid, Mark Four. You won't have much of a market for an outdated piece of equipment like that, but I'd be willing to take it off your hands for," Obi-Wan stroked his chin like he was thinking, "let's say three hundred."
The face on the other end of the line studied Uncle Ben for a moment. "Already have a buyer, but." he thought for a moment. "If you can beat Seven hundred… We might be able to make a deal."
"I'll go up to five hundred. No one, short of a Mudlicker, would pay seven for a droid who's wires are probably loose."
'It's a good thing R2 isn't here. He'd probably be offended' Luke thought. Still, he heard the code word in there, and he put on his crewman hat disguise.
Luke stepped into view of the holocam and saluted his Master. "Captain, you are needed on the bridge."
Obi-Wan sighed. "It looks like we won't have time to barter. My offer is on the table for the time being, but we're leaving the system after this drop."
"Very well, Five hundred and fifty thousand it is then," the pirate countered his offer, probably hoping Obi-Wan wouldn't notice the extra fifty thousand credits.
Obi-Wan nodded. That price was well within what they were willing to pay. 'Let them think they got one on you. It makes it easier to convince them to trust you.' Luke remembered his Master had taught him.
"We have a deal. I shall have my men forward you the credits, after I see the merchandise in person. Will send you the details." Obi-Wan let a small smile through as he shut off the holocall. "That was very good Luke. I'll make a negotiator out of you yet."
Luke smiled, "Yeah, but wait. Does that mean we won't get to raid them."
Obi-Wan looked down at his Padawan's disappointed face. "I wouldn't rest too soon. Even boring missions can become dangerous, fast."
"Oh, really! Oh, I mean I won't Master. I'll be ready if things go sideways," Luke promised.
"Just as long as you don't go looking for trouble. Now, why don't you go see if Master Yoda needs any help." Obi-Wan watched his Padawan with a stern face, but as he left an amused smile leaked through.
Master Yoda had set Luke up unpacking crates of medical supplies that were already stored in his cargo hold. After a couple of minutes, the new task was starting to seem just as boring as the one with the Negotiator. Occasionally Juno or Leia would come to bring him another box, but that was the only thing that changed, until his father and Galen returned, that is.
"Good, good. Help young Luke, you may," Yoda said to Galen, before turning back to Anakin. "Success, have you had?"
"Yeah, we'll have several openings. They aren't very well guarded. This looks amateurish." Anakin said to Yoda as the two walked away.
Luke looked at Galen and gave him his instructions. "We need to empty these crates here. The First Aid kits go here. Droid parts go into that bin, and if you find any food or water packs, put them in there. Everything else goes under here. Yoda says the stuff might be useful, but I think this is just an excuse to get us to clean out the grandmaster's cargo hold."
Galen chuckled and he started to work. "So, did Master Kenobi have any success negotiating a payment with the pirates."
"Yeah, Five Fifty Kay and we're golden," Luke sighed.
"Oh, that's good news!" Galen exclaimed.
"You're happy about that? A deal means we won't get to raid the Pirate lair. I told my brother this would probably happen, but that's because I didn't want Leo to be disappointed he couldn't come. I was still hoping for a little action on this trip." Luke complained. "But, hey. At least you and my dad got to go into the lair and have a look around."
"What, are you jealous?" Galen looked down at his friend.
Luke shrugged. "Wouldn't you be?"
"Maybe, but look. We didn't actually go into the building. We walked around it, like seven times. And your father wouldn't leave me alone. I had to stay in his view at all times!"
"Over protective much?" Luke joked, and Galen moaned as he rolled his eyes.
"So where's your Master?" Galen asked.
"I don't know. He sent me in here when we finished the negotiations, and I haven't seen him since," Luke answered.
Just then Leia and Juno carried another couple of boxes into the hanger. Luke pushed his empty box aside and waited for them to carry the new ones to him.
Galen didn't wait. He ran up to Juno. "Here, my lady. Let me carry that for you."
"Thank you, you are so polite," Juno replied.
Galen beamed with a smile. Luke stared at him disapprovingly.
"So polite. I could use some help here, brother." Leia complained, though she didn't seem to be struggling with the weight she was carrying a moment ago.
"I'll go get the next one, if you two have these." Juno said. Then she disappeared out the door she came through.
Galen watched her leave with disappointment on his face. Then he turned back towards Luke. "What?" he asked when he saw the glare pointed at him.
"Oh I don't know. I don't think it's right for you to be flirting with another girl, after you dated my sister." Luke gestured towards Leia.
The sister in question rolled her eyes. "Oh Luke, come on. It was one date, and it was more than a year ago! Please, I don't need you to defend me, but I am touched." She turned back to Galen. "No, you two would make a cute couple, I think, if you can get past the whole distance thing."
"Oh yeah," Galen looked disappointed.
"Unless this isn't the last mission we have with the Rebellion," Leia suggested, and Galen perked his head up again. "I'll mention a few things. Gage how interested she is. And you know what, maybe she'll even have a sister or a friend." She turned and smiled mischievously at her brother.
"NO!" Luke protested vehemently. "No, you're not setting me up. Not again." Leia only chuckled in response as she deposited her box on the table in front of her scowling brother.
"Where were you at?" Anakin asked his former Master as the man tried to slip, unseen, back into their hanger, slash Center of Operations.
"Oh, nowhere really important." Obi-Wan replied. He looked down, avoiding eye contact.
"Mmm-hmm." Anakin hummed, still thinking. "When Yoda said you'd gone off somewhere, I told him I didn't know where you could possibly be. So… Is the old leather-skin in the bag?"
"Not yet." Obi-Wan's reply was as cryptic as it was brief, and Anakin didn't have a clue what he meant.
"Oh okay." Anakin knew pressing his Master to say more would not meet success, so he dropped his shields, leaving their old training bond wide open so when the Jedi Master felt inclined to share more with the Force, he could.
'Patience, Anakin. All will be revealed in time.' Obi-Wan spoke through the old bond.
Anakin smiled a fond smile. 'You and your surprises. This better not be like the one on Bar'leth. I had to save your butt from that one.'
"Oh, Please. I was hardly in any danger at all. It was for show." Obi-Wan protested out loud.
Anakin folded his arms. "Mmm-hmm. You broke your rib for show too?" Aah, Anakin could debate these old memories all day. Obi-Wan opened his mouth to respond, but Anakin laughed, "Come on. Yoda and the kids have everything packed for us. You and Luke are going to do the hand off of funds and the rest of us will stand back to interfere if anything unexpected happens."
"Huh, ah." The occupant of the small cell tries to push open a hatch on the ceiling. It moves slightly, but by no means enough to allow the occupant to slip through. When you've been functioning for over a thousand years, your joints start to go stiff and the weather on this planet is not the best for an old droid.
'I'll need to find a proper mechanic, when I escape here.' Huyang closed his photoreceptors and added the item to a checklist on his memory bank. It is thanks to his makers, that his captors did not think to install a restraining bolt when they captured Him. Otherwise he would not be able to create such a list, or push his way through the loose shaft. Speaking of which…
Huyang gets back into position under the shaft and reaches up to try another push, when his audio receptors pick up vibrations from a south-east direction. Huyang sits Jedi meditation style on the floor before his captor can come through the door. Sure, droids have no need to meditate, and Huyang has never tried before, but pirates don't need to know that in their quest to steel credits and wealth from as many parties as possible. No, Huyang spent many years working with the Jedi, almost since his activation, and it stands to reason, for simpletons that is, that he'd pick up a few things from them along the way.
"Come on, this way." The pirate instructs. He leads Huyang out through a steel door, and into a hanger type of room, where several of the pirate's goons are playing some game meatheads are fond of. One of those games where you bet credits on rather poor odds of certain pieces of flimsy being handed to you in turn. 'Ah Organics, so simple sometimes it's cute.'
"I thought we were to leave him in the cell until the empire's ambassador's show up. They're not due until tomorrow." One of the skinnier goons looks up from the table to say.
'Let's see, The Galactic Empire, formerly known as the Galactic Republic. Formerly allies of the Jedi, but now declared enemies of the Jedi. That isn't good.' Huyang interprets quietly.
"Not anymore. Got a bigger offer from a Captain Benjamin of the Vigilante's Pride," says the Pirate.
"B-but what does a cargo captain want with a Jedi droid professor?" Asks the goon with the biggest pile of chips, and by what Huyang can calculate, probably a losing hand.
"I don't know. He's willing to pay, so I didn't ask," The Pirate yells.
'Hmm, he probably wants me to work in his ship's engine room. I can do that. It's probably fifth class work, but it beats enemy custody.' Huyang thinks.
"But what about the Empire? They're already sending someone," asks the skinniest goon again.
"Then we tell them they got here too late." The Pirate says.
"We can offer to sell them the information on this buyer instead." The winning goon, but not for long, suggests. "Double our profits."
"No! Did Hondo teach you nothing? If we out our buyers, no one this side of the Core will trust us again. You can't do business if you don't have buyers," the Pirate scolds his men.
"But…" clambored the soon to be loser. "Hondo was a weak leader. You said so yourself."
"A weak leader, but a strong businessman. No, we're not outing them. This is the first deal we've had in months and we're doing it the honorable way." The Pirate says, making his ruling final by laying his fist on the table on top of the goon's card game.
"Fine!" The loser goon pulls out a blaster and stands beside Huyang. He aims the blaster at the other two pirates and he orders Huyang, "Go! In that ship. Now."
Huyang tilts his head to stare contemplatively at the one giving him orders. 'Does he really expect me to obey like some mindless automaton.'
The goon doesn't wait too long though, before he grabs Huyang and pulls him into the ship mentioned before. As he seals it Huyang changes Loser's classification from Pirate-Goon Co-captor to Thief. And he changes his escape priority to URGENT. 'This day is not going well.'
Hello Everyone,
I received a few comments about Leia's reaction to Galen and Juno meeting. I hope you can understand why I made this awkward for Luke and not for Leia. It's all how I see the characters. And no, I don't intend to write about Leia's first attempts to hook Luke up. I hope you all find this humorous.
And I made up a story for Anakin and Obi-Wan. It was originally supposed to be the Cato Neimoidia incident that Obi-Wan insisted in ROTS 'didn't count,' but further research said that incident was explained in a book somewhere. So I did some reading and according to the Wiki, Bar'leth is a core world with the shortest wiki page. In essence, nothing ever happened there, so I felt it was safe to make something up about it.
I had fun writing Huyang's POV in here. I decided to write it in present tense thanks to some other fanfics I read. He is, in essence, a machine reacting to the world around him. I find that in my writing I tend to ignore droid characters too often, and I appreciated the practice. Was going to add some memory of a certain youngling finishing early and adding a few upgrades to his network, but couldn't fit it in there. Maybe next time.