Chapter 8

It was an old trick they had used many times during the Clone Wars. Making a short jump to a nearby system, and then sneaking back in by using the gravitational shadow of a nearby gas giant to disguise their reentry.

It took a good half hour to approach Siolara on the sublight engines, blending in with freighter traffic, and the time caused Vader to do something he wasn't accustomed to by any stretch. Second guess himself.

He glanced at Luke, imagining what Padmé would think of him taking their son into a Hutt den. This was a new experience, having his son by his side during his more dangerous work. He didn't want to leave him back at the ship, either. The only safe place for him within any proximity to the pirates, mercenaries, and bounty hunters the Hutts liked to surround themselves with was right by his side.

After a moment, he stood up, going to the storage compartments at the back of the ship. If Pooja was anything like her aunt, she no doubt kept a few disguises on board.

"Take over for a moment," he said, causing a wave of excitement through their idle bond.

"Can I take us in?!" Luke asked, slipping into the pilot's seat.

"No. You can alert me when we are ready to land and I will navigate to the Hutt's palace."

Some grumbling followed, but Vader was confident he'd do as asked. As expected, he found a range of clothing in the ship's bunk rooms, including some typically worn by Naboo pilots. There was also a helmet with a full face shield and HUD. This would do.

Luke did a double-take when he returned with the tunic and helmet.

"See if this fits you," he said, putting the clothing on the co-pilot's seat.

"Why?"

"I want you to be disguised when we visit this Hutt. I have no desire for him to be made aware of you."

Luke inspected the clothes and then began to strip off, reaching out to steady himself as Vader tilted the ship down towards the northern continent, now looming large in the main viewport.

His son made a sniffing noise while pulling on the tunic.

"The last person to wear this had strong cologne."

"You will survive," Vader said, joining a busy traffic lane. It seemed the Hutt oversaw a far better economy than the interim Imperial government. Likely due to an illicit spice trade.

There was little security around the Hutt's lofty den, positioned at the top of a high tower overlooking a medium-sized city. Just an outer shield, a few gun emplacements, and sentry guards. He let Threepio handle the introductions over the comlink, announcing his visit to the illustrious Dusnoli the Hutt. In the end, they agreed to let them land just to move on from the somewhat extended conversation as to whether Threepio had any proof that it was the 'real' Lord Vader on board.

Luke, meanwhile, was struggling with some part of his disguise that resulted in him being half bent over the chair. It was fortunate Threepio hadn't given in and turned on the visual. As he brought the ship down to land, his son finally straightened up and turned to face them, pulling the helmet over his head in the process.

"Well. How do I look?"

Vader rotated his chair and ran his gaze over Luke's appearance. With his face framed by the helmet, and the leather tunic extending over the tight-fitting pants, Vader had the sudden eerie feeling he was looking at an image of his own younger self. When had Luke grown so old?

"Acceptable," Vader said, standing up and turning away. "Put the face shield down. Take this."

Vader extended a hand towards the armament, causing a small blaster to fly towards him.

"Really?!"

"You will not be using it," Vader insisted. "It is only so you look the part."

"Okay, okay."

Artoo was nominated to remain behind and guard the ship, while Threepio, already looking around with what could best be described as disgust, followed behind with Luke. Several security droids were waiting at the bottom and they demanded to see identification, even as Vader raised a hand to push them all over the edge. Beyond them, in the darkened corridor, several organic guards took off at a run.

"Um … should we wait for them to come back?" Luke said, his voice taking on an electronic edge as it was relayed through the helmet.

"No," Vader said, striding forward. "And use our bond if you need to speak to me. Remember, you are merely my pilot."

You have barely let me fly at all today, Luke complained. I can't act a part so far removed from reality.

Vader didn't bother to respond. The corridor leading into the Hutt's audience chamber was marred by walls patterned with blaster burns and broken down cleaning droids. There were also several traps, including a floor panel that led to who knew what terrible fate below. The Hutt was wise enough not to attempt anything, and they remained unassailed until they entered the vast main room, currently bathed in a slowly rotating multi-colored light, of the type that might be used at one of the Coruscant nightclubs Luke apparently thought he was old enough to visit.

The Hutt himself was on a long couch in the middle, surrounded by barely clothed men and women of dozens of species.

Do not look at anyone, Vader sent.

I'm not! Luke insisted. But Vader could sense his embarrassment. I can barely see a thing in this helmet.

Good.

The room gradually fell into complete silence as they came within conversation distance of the Hutt. Many of the room's occupants had fallen back against the walls, and fear emanated from every corner, feeding the Dark Side. Someone finally switched off the background music, which had been playing something that sounded like an engine backfiring. Perhaps its complexity had been lost through his auditory implants.

Welcome, Lord Vader, the Hutt said, speaking in huttese. I heard gossip of your presence on Siolara. Dare I hope you have finally come to deal with your corrupt overseer who frames me for all his crimes?

He still understood every word of that accursed language. He could even identify the regional variation of Dusnoli's accent. He was from a more noble house than the Hutts on Tatooine, but that said little when it came to Hutts.

"Your hope is not misplaced," Vader said. "But I require your cooperation."

Then you shall have it. The least I can do.

"Then tell me what you know about his unauthorized project in the canyon of the waterfalls."

The Hutt thumped his tail on the couch several times, causing the various subjects to scatter into the shadows. Then he slid to the floor, bulk rippling with the exertion of muscle to perform the maneuver.

Come, Lord Vader. We must speak alone about such a ... sensitive subject.

Growing up on Tatooine, there were always stories told of the horrors that went on inside a Hutt's den. The older farmers and traders at Anchorhead told of young people lured into working for the Hutts, and the dire fates that awaited them. What Luke now saw was both worse and better than what he imagined. He and Threepio had been left to stand outside the door to Dusnoli's private chamber, while his father discussed business within.

The main floor was busy and relaxed now that his father and their Hutt boss were gone, and the music, played by a live band, had resumed. Barely clothed waiters and waitresses strolled past, delivering food to the Hutt's guests, and slow-moving projections of colored light rippled across the main floor, giving the entire venue a party atmosphere.

Luke nervously fingered the blaster in the holster, trying to stand at attention, how an actual pilot assigned to fly his father around might do. It seemed to be working, as no one gave him a second glance. No end of unusual people wandered past, including a pair of long-necked twin sisters carrying cocktails, something which made his stomach twist into a knot with embarrassing memories.

The viewscreen inside his helmet overlaid the image of his surroundings with a lot of statistics that made little sense. After he'd been standing here for several minutes, he noticed a cloud of smoke drifting across his field of view, overlaid with some names of the chemicals it contained and in what percentage. He turned his head, following the smoke back to an employee on her break. She was holding a small cylinder that was emitting smoke after she took a breath. He hastily turned his head away when he realized she was wearing clothing so small it defined physics that it even remained on her body.

Something about his movement must have attracted her attention, as she wandered over, swaying her hips slightly as she did so.

"Well, hello. If it isn't a man in uniform," she said, smiling. "Do you like what you see?"

Luke swallowed, feeling his heart start to beat faster.

"Kindly leave us alone," Threepio said, in a clipped tone.

"Oh, are you his chaperone?" she asked, putting a hand on Threepio's shoulder. "You're very shiny. You'd fit in well here."

"Well, really! As if I would ever work at a place as disreputable as this!"

"All right, calm down, Threepio!" Luke said, imagining what would happen if his father and that Hutt returned to find a protocol droid in a fight with a … he really wasn't sure he wanted to know what this person's job was. But maybe asking would diffuse the situation.

"So what do you do here, miss?" Luke asked. "Are you a waitress?"

"Call me Pat," she said, resting against the balcony barrier opposite and taking another draw on her smoking device. "I'm a dancer. If you're still around later, you might see me perform."

"That sounds … interesting," Luke said, glad she couldn't see his face to know he had his eyes closed.

Unfortunately, something about his body language must have given him away.

"Do I make you uncomfortable?" she asked, sounding amused.

"I believe you are making us both uncomfortable," Threepio said.

"Yes, but you are a droid," she said. "You're uncomfortable for a different reason than this one here. What's the matter? They don't have girls where you're from?"

"No, no, there are," Luke insisted. He tried to take a calming breath and then said, "So do you like working here, Pat?"

"It pays the bills. There are worse places."

Luke felt curious then. "Would you do something else if you could?"

"You mean like work for a different extremely rich person?"

"Uh … I mean like … do something that means you can wear more clothes."

She frowned then. "What are you saying?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"You think I'm a victim only worthy of pity, don't you?"

"No, I—" Luke was glad his face was covered because he was sure it was bright red. "I didn't mean to offend!"

She smirked then. "Relax! I'm just messing with you. Yes, I've done other jobs in the past, but there isn't a lot available right now and this is what I can do. You do need to keep your wits about you, though." She gestured over the balcony, indicating a waitress serving a plate of fruit to a leering weequay. "If you know of any other places to work, Hyra there would be interested. She's so ashamed, she hasn't even told her family she's working here. Crosses the border from her family's drought-plagued farm in the eastern continent every day."

"That's … too bad," Luke said, frowning.

"But I've told her, she'll mostly get treated well here." She paused to take another draw of smoke, and let it out slowly. "The people here … they know what it means to live on the edge. Hell, many of their mothers and sisters have done this work. Now, working for the upper classes … that's a different story. A friend of mine, she was hired for a party down in Imperial territory at some classy event filled with the sons of officers. Do you think those men would ever teach their sons to show any respect at all to a woman entertaining them? No, she was paid half what was promised, and when she complained, she was taken away by stormtroopers who called her 'bottom-feeding scum'. I would go hungry before I'd work for them."

A deep sense of shame filled Luke as he sifted through his hazy memories of Greein's party. Had he been disrespectful? All he remembered was shoving cake in his mouth and feeling completely confused while other boys urged him to do things that would have made him blush if he'd been sober. Is that what that woman had thought of him? Had Greein's brothers even paid her properly?

His father had certainly never given any advice about such things, and he couldn't imagine Uncle Owen doing so. But he'd never heard his father talk about 'bottom-feeding scum' either. He knew he certainly wasn't above hiring bounty hunters if he felt the Imperial military couldn't do the job.

"So who do you work for, then?" Pat said. She gestured to the door. "I was out on break, but someone said Dusnoli had an important visitor."

"Uh, yes, he's—"

Before he could respond, a Quarren guard walked up, waving a datapad. "Pat! Put that away and get downstairs. This area is restricted right now!"

She quickly deactivated the device, and Luke hastily said, "It was nice to meet you, Pat."

She gave him a wink and went off down the nearest flight of stairs to the ground level.

"She was okay," Luke said. "Sometimes you just have to give people a chance, Threepio."

"That is sometimes true, Master Luke, but according to the information in my databanks, the type of people one might find in a place like this are not to be—"

The vast doors slid open behind them, and two of the Hutt's guards stepped out, followed shortly after by his father and the Hutt himself. His father didn't say a word, merely gestured for him and Threepio to follow.

Luke, still feeling unsettled by the conversation with Pat, didn't say anything until they had left the Hutt den and were back on the ship. His father went to the pilot's seat, while Luke changed out of the guard uniform. Threepio offered to put it back in the closet, which Luke was grateful for. This project was turning out to be more tiring than he had expected, and it wasn't over yet.

"So did he say we can go through his territory?"

"Yes, and he provided a map showing the rumored location of this Amplifier artifact the commodore is seeking." His father gestured to a projector he'd left plugged into the controls.

"Really?"

His father was silent while he adjusted their course and then added, "His agents had bribed a member of the commodore's forces to obtain it. They have reached a dead end. The last intelligence on the matter said they were considering taking a risky action that could poison what water remained and collapse the caverns."

"Then we've got to stop them!" Luke said, leaning forward.

"We will try." His father breathed through a few cycles and then added, "This may be dangerous. You must do exactly as I say."

"When do I ever not do exactly as you say?" Luke asked, smirking.

His father gave him a look and then said, "It will take us a while to fly out to the border. I suggest you get some rest."

"Okay, sure, but just don't go off into one of your meditations again and forget to concentrate," Luke said, standing up. "Artoo, maybe you should keep watch."

Artoo whistled out a reassuring beep.

"Just because I am meditating does not mean I am not aware of my surroundings." His father sounded irritated.

"I'll add that to my project diary," Luke said. He didn't wait to hear the reply.

Anakin accelerated quickly across the Siolarian plains, causing Obi-Wan to grip the sides of his seat.

"Anakin, I know there isn't any traffic here, but this isn't a podrace."

"Sorry, Master," Anakin said, slowing slightly. "I'm just … sensing we will find something."

Obi-Wan studied the map Prince Gem had provided, making sure they were still heading in the right direction. Master Wilsy's tracking signal had last been detected on the bottom of a canyon that marked the border between the northern Hutt territory and the land still controlled by the Siolarians. The Republic assessment of the place said it was prone to border disputes, with outbreaks of violence from time to time, but they had encountered no one so far.

"So what did you think of Prince Gem?" Obi-Wan inquired. "Did you sense anything unusual?"

"He seemed sad about his brother," Anakin said. "He said he died a long time ago, but his grief still felt raw and fresh."

"I noticed the same thing. But it seems the Siolarian royal line is long-lived, judging by the dates on the portraits, and it can't be easy being the last remaining member. They will face some difficult decisions once he reaches the end of his life."

"Do you think he had anything to do with the disappearance of Master Wilsy and his padawan?" Anakin asked.

"It seems unlikely. But we'll be mindful and see what we can find within the canyon."

Anakin looked ahead, seeing the vast split in the ground had appeared on the horizon.

"Nearly there, Master."

As soon as they came within visual range of the canyon of the waterfalls, Vader could tell something was very wrong. There were TIE bombers in the distance, flying in formation over the Imperial side of the canyon and distant explosions were lighting up the horizon. Streaming across to the Hutt side were several speeder bikes, troopships, scout walkers, and one all-terrain armored transport.

"Artoo, give me a visual on that ship," Vader said, gesturing to the nearest troopship.

Artoo zoomed in on the spacecraft and presented it on Vader's side of the main viewscreen. As suspected, the only person on board was the pilot, who was not dressed in an Imperial uniform.

"And the speeder bikes," Vader added.

Their occupants confirmed Vader's suspicions.

"The commodore's forces are razing the project site," he said, turning the ship towards the AT-AT. "Mercenaries are stealing the remaining equipment amid the chaos."

Artoo whistled in agreement and added that the ship's scanners could detect another squadron of TIE fighters some minutes away.

Vader glanced over the ship's controls. The weapons were minimal, but it did have good shields. It was no match for an AT-AT, but fortunately, he was.

"Artoo, take over," he said, standing up. "Get me as close as possible to that armored transport, and then find a safe place to shelter."

As he walked to the back of the ship, Luke popped out of the bunk room.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing. Continue your rest."

A warning screech echoed from the cockpit, and the ship rocked with blaster fire.

Vader slammed a hand down to extract the boarding ramp. "You will regret that."

"What? Who are you talking to? Who's firing at us?" Luke said, looking around.

The ramp fell open, revealing the back of the AT-AT directly below. Vader jumped, already igniting his saber. The armored plating of its back rushed up below, and he bent his knees as he landed, prosthetic legs cushioning the impact. Then he strode quickly down the length of it, already raising a hand to open the cockpit hatch. The surprised mercenary in the driver's seat screamed in surprise as he was ripped into the air by an unseen force, and then unceremoniously thrown to the ground. Judging by the slight bump in the walker's gait, he may have ended up under one of its feet.

He was just about to jump over the neck joint into the still-open hatch, when another figure dropped out of the air, landing neatly beside him.

"Whoa!" Luke said, waving his arms to maintain his balance as the massive machine below them took another step forward. "Who's driving this thing?"

"Luke! I told you to—"

"You said continue your rest! I can rest down here with you!"

Vader looked back up at the sky, but the ramp was already closing as the ship moved away. Too late.

"Come here," Vader said, reaching out to shift his son into a position where he could wrap one arm tightly around his back, and then scoop him up with another arm under his legs. He was going to damage his back doing this. Another aspect of parenthood no one warned him about.

"Hey!" Luke protested. "What are you—"

His words were cut off by the rush of wind in his face as he was carried along with Vader's Force jump, and then he was partially jolted out of his arms with the somewhat unbalanced landing.

"Warn me, next time!" Luke gasped, scrambling to his feet.

"Obey me, next time," Vader said, pointing at the co-pilot's seat. "Sit down."

Vader wrenched the main navigation stick around, causing the lumbering armored tank to groan with the attempt to make a sharp turn. It had been a long time since he'd driven one of these.

Luke made himself useful by closing the cockpit hatch and then stared at the controls in clear bewilderment.

"You've never taught me how to drive one of these."

Vader glanced at Luke, detecting a hint of reproach.

"An oversight, clearly."

Luke smirked. "Do we have time for a lesson now?"

"Forward and back," Vader said, gesturing at the main navigation stick he was attempting to intimidate into doing his bidding. "The main gun turret navigation controls are here." He gestured to the weapons control station that was replicated on both sides of the cockpit, allowing either driver to make crucial shots.

Luke was just testing out the navigation stick that made the head move when Vader finally succeeded in getting the massive machine facing back towards the canyon. Unfortunately, this also revealed an entire squadron of TIEs heading straight for them.

"Are they going to attack us?!" Luke said, his tone panicked. "Can't you transmit some security code?"

The only answer to Luke's words was a volley of green laser fire that caused the whole cockpit to rock back and forth. Or perhaps that was caused by Luke gripping the navigation controls too hard.

Vader grabbed the trigger and sent a volley of blaster fire back in return. He watched in satisfaction as all five of the approaching TIEs spun out of control or erupted into explosions.

"Did you just shoot down Imperial pilots!?"

"No, I believe that was more stolen Imperial equipment," Vader said, checking the scopes. "They were not transmitting any Imperial codes. There are more incoming."

That was an understatement. Two squadrons had appeared on the Imperial side of the canyon. At least twelve TIE fighters, escorting an Imperial shuttle of a new design only released in the last six months. The initial twenty prototypes had been distributed to various Imperial planetary governments.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Luke said. "But maybe they'll just ignore us if we try and be inconspicuous."

Vader gave him a look, and then glanced back to find two of the TIE fighters had broken off and were flying straight for them.

"No, don't!" Luke said, reaching out to put his hand on Vader's glove as he reached for the trigger. "Maybe they won't fire!"

Even as he said the word 'fire' there were green beams of light heading straight for them.

"Oh, come on!" Luke said, throwing his hands in the air. "They didn't even ask us to identify ourselves!"

Vader sent a volley of blaster fire in the direction of the incoming squad. More than half broke off their attack, while the remaining fighters spun out and either exploded or hit the dry terrain. A moment later, the AT-AT was rocked by more fire from behind, and Vader made a noise of frustration.

"Take over," he said, standing up and turning to walk back into the main cabin. "Keep it steady and moving towards the canyon."

"Where are you going?" Luke asked, sounding both nervous and excited.

Vader had a brief moment where he wondered if Luke was ready for such a task and then dismissed it. He had no choice.

"To take care of those fighters."

Luke had no idea what was happening behind him, but judging by the lack of laser blasts and the shields holding steady, his father appeared to be winning. But after a couple of minutes of sheer joy at driving this massive walking tank, he began to notice the canyon was getting a lot closer than he was comfortable with.

Father?

What?

We're nearly at the canyon.

Bring it to a halt.

Luke pulled back on the stick, but nothing changed. He fumbled around desperately at the other controls, but nothing worked.

In the middle of this, there was another blast of laser fire and a red warning alarm lit up on the main screen. It was difficult to understand all the numbers and error messages, but the diagram showing a disconnected brake line wasn't hard to miss.

I think we're in trouble! Luke sent his father a picture of the screen, and a wave of fear spilled over the link. Fear for him.

Come here, his father said. Quickly!

Luke took one last glance at the vast crack in the land, only meters from them now, and rushed into the back of the transport. There he found the side hatch was open, and his father was nowhere to be seen.

Where are you?

On the roof.

He should have known his father would be in the most dramatic place possible. It was his own fault for suggesting he spent too much time in meetings. Luke stepped out onto the hatch and then found a ladder leading up to the roof. Just as his head came over the side, he saw his father swinging his lightsaber around, deflecting one last hopeful blast of laser fire back at an approaching TIE. It went for a spin and then exploded into the canyon, the force of the blast causing the ever-advancing AT-AT to rock.

His father turned around to face him, quickly re-attaching his lightsaber to his belt. Luke scrambled up and got to his knees, hearing another engine roaring up behind him. But this time, it wasn't an enemy.

The hatch on the Naboo ship lowered, revealing a terrified Threepio on the other side. He was waving his arms in a panic, but they couldn't hear what he was saying over the noise of the engine. Likely expressing a hope they would both get on board immediately.

"Can you bring it closer?!" Luke called. But then he felt his father's arm reaching around his back.

"No, no, you're not carrying me like that again!" Luke protested, moving before he could grab his legs.

"Luke!"

His father pulled him back towards him, and Luke tried to scramble up his back. But he soon lost the dispute of exactly how he was going to travel for this jump, as his father managed to scoop him up and sling him over his shoulder. As they left the roof of the AT-AT, Luke's eyes widened as he saw the front of it tipping into the canyon.

When they landed hard on the Naboo ship, his father fell into the wall, causing Luke to tumble to the deck.

"Ow!" he complained.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Threepio said, followed by a string of cheerful beeps from the cockpit.

"I could have executed that jump properly if you hadn't caused a delay," his father said, pointing at him as Luke rolled into a sitting position. "You should not have been down there in the first place! This is why I don't bring you on missions."

His tone was harsh, and he turned away immediately, striding back towards the cockpit. Luke looked down, feeling an old hurt rise up once again. The days when he'd watch his father leave Coruscant and desperately wish he'd take him with him didn't seem that long ago. The rejection stung, and he hated how vulnerable it made him feel.

Threepio put a hand on his arm, clearly detecting his distress.

"Never mind, Master Luke. You're safe now. And perhaps we can finally leave this awful place and go home."

"No, Threepio," Luke said, feeling weary as he stood up. "We still have one more stop."

Obi-Wan stood, gazing up at the vast waterfalls that crashed down from impossible heights. He hadn't said much as they'd conducted their examination of this place, where Master Wilsy's tracking signal had transmitted its last hint of life. Anakin was busy analyzing the geological scans he'd made using their ship's computer, trying to decide which cave entrance was the more likely candidate for the one the Jedi and his padawan must have chosen.

"I can't see any difference between them, Master," he said, finally. "They might have gone into either cave. Perhaps they both lead to the same place."

"Perhaps." Obi-Wan still sounded distant.

"Do you sense, something, Master?"

Obi-Wan started to say something, and then said, "Not anything useful. I think we may have to split up."

"Split up? But … what if you encounter the same danger that killed this Jedi and his padawan?"

"Then I will call you and you can come and rescue me," Obi-Wan said, patting him on the shoulder as he passed. "Anakin, normally we would of course explore these caves together, but we only have limited time to complete this mission."

Anakin frowned. That was a poor excuse. Clearly, Obi-Wan had sensed something and he wasn't willing to share it with him. Perhaps he didn't think he was ready for a mission of this nature.

"Fine, then, I will take that cave," Anakin said, pointing to the one Obi-Wan was standing closest to.

"Very well," Obi-Wan said, walking back to the ship. "Let's unload the subs."