Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows. Well, that wasn't two weeks. Sorry for the delay, but it's an extra long chapter. I've always had trouble with self-imposed deadlines, but in my defense, I got this crazy idea and ended up rewriting the whole chapter and doubling it's intended length for a new all time high on longest chapter. Usually, I don't like head hopping within a chapter, but I couldn't let the idea go for some reason. Now, instead of being from Percy's view, there are three other POVs. If you don't like head hopping, I won't be doing it again for the foreseeable future since the next chapter is Annabeth's POV, and then back to Percy 1st person to cover the alternate Attack of the Clone events.
Interlude XII – Jrome
From his spot on the sand dune, Jrome stared down at over two hundred of Jabba's heavily armed thugs. He tried to hide his uneasiness for the sake of his troops and because he didn't want Da Soocha or Atalanta to see it. They stood next to him looking imposing in their strange armor. On their other side, the Jedi seemed annoyingly relaxed with his hands in his pockets. As if they weren't facing the barrels of nearly sixty blaster cannons with only a plasma shield from an extremely primitive looking generator for protection. Even if the shield held, it wouldn't stop Jabba's men from charging them, and they were outnumbered three to one.
Jrome didn't understand why they hadn't moved to take Bestine last night before Jabba's reinforcements had arrived. Instead, Atalanta had insisted that they set up camp on the high ground and wait until morning. Apparently, she had a plan that would let them take Bestine without a single casualty on their side. None of it made sense.
Then again, things had stopped making sense three weeks ago: swords passing harmlessly through people, someone manipulating and creating water on a kriffin desert planet, not to mention the absurdity that anyone would care enough to spend what had to be a fortune to selflessly free slaves on the Outer Rim. Because if just freeing them hadn't been strange enough, Da Soocha and Atalanta had given every freed slave enough money for a fresh start. In his experience, no one did something purely for kindness. The universe just didn't work like that.
By now, he'd given up trying to think about it. Instead, he just went with all the strangeness and trusted Atalanta and Da Soocha. They hadn't led them wrong yet. Since Jrome and the other Mos Espa slaves had been freed, Da Soocha, with some help from the Jedi, had managed to organize a small army of freedom fighters, complete with officers and training drills. Jrome had felt honored to be chosen as a centurion in charge of 80 fighters. Meanwhile, Atalanta had helped them establish a governing council. That woman, if she was actually a female human, was a force to be reckoned with. Jrome would never underestimate another female again.
He wasn't sure what Atalanta and Da Soocha were, but he knew neither one of them was normal. He'd heard the rumors that Atalanta could turn invisible, that she could read minds and knew what would happen before it did. And he knew firsthand how physically strong she was. It was all rather Jediish from what Jrome knew of the mystic order that supposedly protected the galaxy, but she didn't seem like a Jedi.
From his experience, Jedi only cared about monarchs, ministers, and senators, not poor slaves in the Outer Rim. Even Master Vos was limited on what he could do for their cause. Plus, he doubted a Jedi would ever point a blaster at a man's family jewels, except maybe Master Vos. That guy was a little crazy. As for Da Soocha, some said he was a god. Despite what he said when having drinks with his soldiers, personally, Jrome didn't think he was. Sure, the guy did things that should be impossible, but when he was alone with a few people and not putting on a show, he just seemed so human and even downright goofy at times. Plus, the lake around Mos Espa was dropping. It was impressive that it had lasted so long against the desert heat, but it still showed that Da Soocha was not all powerful. Unfortunately, others had noticed it too, and the morale of his soldiers had dropped along with the water level.
Jrome jumped as the first blasts from the cannons hit the plasma shield, but the shield bubble absorbed the heavy fire keeping them completely safe.
"Honestly, I don't know why they even bother trying that," Atalanta muttered as Jabba's forces continued to fire at them. "It just wastes their energy cells."
"Well, we're all not as logical as you, Wise Girl," Da Soocha replied.
Finally, the cannons stopped and one of Jabba's Weequay fighters stepped up and shouted, "Surrender the agitator Da Soocha and his female accomplice now, and the merciful Jabba the Hutt will let you live. You are outgunned and outmanned. There is no reason for you to die."
Master Vos snorted, "I think they're just super lazy. First, they hoped they could just blast us to bits with their cannons, and now, they're hoping we'll surrender, so they won't have to do anything."
"Might have been more believable if they'd offered safe surrender before they shot at us," Jrome added. He glanced back at his fighters and was proud to see determined looks on their faces. Not one of them was even remotely tempted by the offer.
As Da Soocha stepped out of the protective bubble, Jrome tensed, getting ready to drag the younger man back at the risk of his own life. For someone who was probably not a god, Da Soocha was exceedingly reckless. "Thanks for the generous offer that will definitely cause most of us to die painful deaths," Da Soocha taunted in that sarcastic tone of his. "But, I've got a better idea. How about you guys surrender? Because, we're going to free the slaves of Bestine, and anyone who tries to stop us will die. This is your final warning." Behind him, Jrome's troops roared their approval. Jrome let it go for a few seconds before raising his hand for quiet.
"There's no water here, Da Soocha. You can't frighten us with your mystic powers," Jabba's thug mockingly called back.
"Wanna bet?" Da Soocha challenged. He quickly jumped back behind the shield narrowly avoiding the blast from another cannon. "Guess that's a yes," he muttered. The weariness in his voice worried Jrome. It reminded him of the battle-hardened generals he'd served under in the civil war back on his home planet before the opposing side had captured him and sold him into slavery. That voice belonged to a much older man. However, he now knew what Atalanta's mysterious battle plan was. Somehow, Da Soocha was going to use water to once again defeat their enemies on a kriffin desert planet.
His fighters shifted nervously as Jabba's thugs charged towards them. "Steady," Jrome reminded them. Da Soocha had warned him to keep the fighters in position until the order came.
"Ten, nine, eight," Atalanta started the countdown. The thugs were sixty meters away, thirty. "Three, two . . ."
When she said, "One," Da Soocha yelled, and a wall of water erupted around Jabba's thugs. The water rose twenty meters in the air before crashing down on Jabba's forces. The sand dunes trapped the water as it continued to sprout out of what must be forty or so geysers so that a pond formed quickly rising in height. Jabba's thugs tried to swim and climb out, but most of them were quickly sucked under. As for those that had managed to get to a shore . . . "Snipers at the ready," Atalanta called. The fifteen designated sniper shooters rushed to the front and stuck their blasters through the shield bubble. "Fire!" By the time Jabba's thugs realized they had more to worry about than the strange water drowning their comrades, it was too late. The last of Jabba's men desperately struggled to keep his head above the water, but Da Soocha used his strange powers to drag him under.
The freedom fighters around Jrome cheered and a chant of "Da Soocha" started, but Jrome couldn't stop the shudder as he looked at Da Soocha. At the moment, those sea-green eyes were as cold and ruthless as the ocean who he claimed to be. Right then, Jrome could believe that he was a god. There was just this otherness about him that made Jrome's instincts scream danger.
A few seconds later, Atalanta gently touched Da Soocha's arm, and his eyes softened. He grimaced as if in pain but relaxed a few seconds later. Jrome glanced back to the water. The geysers had stopped leaving a second lake though it was a fraction of the size of the one by Mos Espa, even in its reduced form. If not for the bodies floating on the surface, it could've been mistaken as another desert mirage.
An awkward silence fell across the four leaders even as the rest of the fighters continued to celebrate. What did you say to someone who'd just killed about a hundred and fifty men in less than three minutes?
It didn't seem to stop the Jedi though. He slapped Da Soocha on the back, "Well, Da Soocha, I guess that was impressive enough to make all that hard work I did sneakily burying fossils last night worth it." Jrome had known that Atalanta and Master Vos had undertaken a super-secret mission the previous night. Now, he guessed it had something to do with the small lake in front of him and fossils.
"Next time Vos, I'll bury the fossils, and you can make the water in the desert," Da Soocha replied with his familiar smirk even though he sounded rather tired. "Let me know which one is harder."
After their crushing defeat of Jabba's forces and the show of Da Soocha's power, Bestine surrendered without a fight. They'd freed the city without a single casualty just as Atalanta had predicted. Jrome was just grateful that Da Soocha and Atalanta were on his side of this fight. He'd rather go up against a Hutt than those two any day.
Quinlan
Quinlan looked up at the stars from his post on the western edge of Bestine. The view of the stars was probably the only good thing about this Force-forsaken planet, but the usually comforting sight was not helping to soothe his nerves. Two days had passed since the very brief Battle of Bestine. The process of freeing the slaves, relocating those that wanted to leave, and merging the leaders and fighters of Bestine with those of Mos Espa had gone surprisingly smoothly. However, there was a restlessness in the Force that troubled him. He nearly jumped when he felt Percy's distinctive Force presence a few meters away.
That really was annoying. Absolutely nothing and then bam, powerful Force-user a few steps away. Sticking with his fountain analogy, it was like getting splashed in the face figuratively with Percy's power. "Couldn't sleep?" Quinlan asked the demigod. Even though he'd only known Percy for a few weeks he already considered him a friend. Percy just had this way about him. You couldn't help but like the guy despite his annoying quirks.
"Something like that," Percy replied. "I can take your watch shift if you want. I'll catch some sleep later."
Quinlan could sense the falseness of Percy's words in the Force, just barely, but he didn't bother calling him out on the lie. "Na, don't think I could sleep right now either," Quinlan admitted. "The Force . . . it feels like a warning. Like something bad is going to happen."
"Great," Percy groaned. "Exactly what we need. At least we've got SASS backup now. I spent the day contacting the captains since by this point it would look suspicious if an organization devoted to freeing slaves didn't help in an established slave revolt. If Jabba tries to attack us or Mos Espa, we've got some serious air support."
"So that's what you were doing. I thought you were just hiding in an office moping about Chase," Quinlan flashed a smirk, and he could practically feel Percy's annoyed glare. "But, I don't think that's it. It's something different. Can't you feel it?"
Percy shook his head, "It's too hard to calm my emotions at the moment. I won't be able to reach the Outside Force right now. Any idea what this warning is about? Can we stop it?"
Understandable, he was probably too stressed about Annabeth leaving, but Quinlan didn't comment on it. Instead, he closed his eyes and tried to focus on the Force, but it was allusive. Finally, he opened his eyes again, "I'm not sure, but I don't think we're in direct danger because usually the Force is clearer about stuff like that. But I do think it has something to do with Jabba. Unfortunately, besides outright storming Jabba's palace, I don't know what else we can do. I think even you and I might have trouble taking on that fortress at the moment even if we went in with lightsabers blazing."
Percy sighed, "As tempting as that is, I did promise Annabeth that I would wait until she came back. She was worried something might happen because the unrest in Mos Eisley is ahead of schedule. I guess they're even more hot tempered than she predicted." For once, Quinlan was glad he couldn't sense Percy's emotions in the Force, because the worry and longing he heard in his friend's voice when he mentioned Annabeth was bad enough. Annabeth had left that morning to officially recruit Gorga to their cause, so they could finally deal with Jabba before he did anything worse. With the backing of another Hutt, the Hutt Council wouldn't be able to point a finger at the Republic.
"She'll be fine, Jackson, so stop your worrying" Quinlan reassured him. "I've met many people throughout the galaxy, but few are more capable than Chase."
"I know that," Percy acknowledged. "It's just every time she leaves me, I wonder if I'll ever see her again. I just wished she let me go with her. I don't like the idea of her walking right into Gorga's lair all alone. It could be a trap."
"You know it's the right move," Quinlan stated. Before she left, Percy and Annabeth had argued about it for over an hour. "This whole thing would collapse as soon as you left."
"But Annabeth –"
Quinlan cut him off, "Is the brains of this rebellion, but you're the heart." Quinlan wondered if Percy was just that oblivious or in denial of how the people saw him. "Don't you realize how important you are to these people? Even Jrome was willing to step in front of a cannon blast for you. I felt it in the Force. You've managed to unite slaves and ex-slave owners. You've given them hope."
"I never asked for that," Percy protested. "I don't want people dying for me. I'm not who they think I am. I'm not all powerful. I just made them think I am because of a few good tricks. I'm promising them a better life, but I'm not sure if that will happen since the best we can do is keep Tatooine under Hutt rule and just hope this one is better than Jabba." Percy paused his rant to take a breath, but when he continued, it was in a weary, jaded tone that Quinlan hadn't heard from his friend before, "Gods, sometimes I hate hope. You go through so much Bantha poodoo just for a glimmer of it, and then you do it again, and again, just hoping it will be better next time. It's exhausting. Sometimes . . . I wonder what it would be like to just stop for once." Right then, Percy seemed like a man twice his age. Quinlan couldn't blame him for being cynical after seeing only a fraction of the demigods' memories, but he wondered how much worse it was right now because Annabeth wasn't here. As far as he knew, they'd never been separated more than a few clicks since they arrived in this universe. "But, I'll keep fighting because some has to," Percy continued, resigned. "I just hope all these people haven't misplaced their hope."
"They haven't," Quinlan told him confidently. "You're the real deal, Jackson. Sure, some of them might think you're some kind of deity, but that's not how you earned their loyalty. You're a good leader, one of the best I've seen because you lead by example. Jrome was willing to die for you because he knew you would do the same for him and the other slaves. He at least knows you aren't all powerful, and that's what makes your actions all the more meaningful. Your loyalty and dedication to protecting the innocent inspire others. You can't fake that no matter who you pretend to be."
They sat in silence for a few moments as Quinlan let Percy think about what he'd just said. Then, he finally asked Percy something that had been bothering him for weeks. "Jackson, why didn't you kill that man in Mos Espa that day? I know Jedi who would have. Force, I might have. Technically, even the Council wouldn't have complained since it was in self-defense though they probably wouldn't have liked the strangling him in the air bit. It's a little too similar to a dark side technique even if you used water and not just the Force."
"Part of me wanted to," Percy confessed. Quinlan tried to read his expression since that was the only glimpse he had of Percy's emotions, but he couldn't make out his face in the dim light from the stars. "But I knew I didn't have to kill him. Even though I'm good at it, I don't like killing people. So, when I don't have to, I try not to. Besides, in my experience showing mercy has a strange way of helping you in the end. Back home we called it Karma. I've never regretted not killing someone. Well, I did regret sparing Ethan for a while."
Ethan. Quinlan sorted through the flashes of memories he'd seen. "The one-eyed kid?"
"Yep, but he came through," Percy continued. "Ethan helped me understand what the other half-bloods wanted. Not to mention, he betrayed Kronos in the end. If I'd killed him when I had the chance, it might have been another half-blood who'd have found my mortal point, one who wouldn't have hesitated to tell Kronos. Hades, as annoying and as much trouble as he caused, I don't even regret not drowning Octavian in Charleston harbor when I had the chance. He sort of accidently sacrificed himself so that my friend's willing sacrifice really counted. Anyways, as mad as I was at the guy in Mos Espa, I knew I couldn't kill him. I can't imagine having to live for years as a slave, so as terrible as his actions were, who am I to be judge, jury, and executioner."
"Yeah, it's not like you're a god. You're only half," Quinlan joked.
Percy snorted. "Trust me, my mortal half is the better side. Though, I'm not sure how good my mercy was that day since I kind of got caught up in the moment and forgot about the transmitter chip, so the guy probably died anyways."
"No, he didn't," Quinlan corrected. "I was curious, so I kept an eye out. He made it to a farm I think, and then, I sensed him again when we were in Mos Eisley."
"Huh, well good for him. Hope he does more with his second chance."
Quinlan chuckled, "I guess I see it now, how you won Kenobi over. Somehow you manage to be so righteous, but you're humble about it. That's something even he hasn't accomplished. He still has that annoying holier than thou vibe, but Qui-Gon had that quiet humbleness too. No wonder you were able to bond with his lightsaber."
"I don't know about that," Percy muttered. "Qui-Gon was so calm and collected. I could never be like that."
"No, but Kenobi's got that part down, so together, you're like one Master Jinn," Quinlan mused. "That's why you guys work well together. While Kenobi and I . . . well, we respect each other's abilities, but we don't actually work well together. He cramps my style too much."
"That's because," Percy suddenly switched to an exaggerated, prim Coruscanti accent, "the Jedi Code forbids style."
Quinlan burst out laughing, and Percy joined him. It was the kind of laughter that just kept going because of all the stress and pressure and worry leading a slave revolt caused. Finally, though they both got control over themselves. "Well, guess I should warn the guards that are out patrolling," Percy said his tone serious once again. "Annabeth thought Jabba might target the farmers next and based on that Force warning, she could be right." Percy started walking away.
He seemed in a better mood, but Quinlan was still worried about him. "Jackson, try to get some sleep," he called out.
"Only if you do Vos," came the reply. Touché. Quinlan had a feeling he wouldn't be getting much sleep that night.
Quinlan was right. His watch shift ended a few hours before dawn, but sleep didn't come. Four hours later, he felt it. A disturbance in the Force that could have only come from one thing, a mass slaughter of sentients.
It took their patrol less than an hour to find the massacre on the Bestine side of the Western Dune Sea. Jabba had wanted them to find it. The sick bastard had even left camera droids hovering around, so he could watch their reactions because right in front of them was a sandy pit filled with bodies that had been blown apart. Some were humans. Others were Twil'leks, Togruta, Theelin, Zabrak, and Weequay. Their different colored blood ran together like some sick imitation of an abstract painting. It was hard to estimate how many people had died, but Quinlan guessed it was around five hundred. Only one thing could have caused this much death in such a brutal manner. Jabba had used the slave chips on all of his slaves.
Even though he couldn't exactly feel Percy's anger, he felt the result. Percy's power rolled off of him in waves. "There's nothing we could have done," Quinlan told his friend. "There's nothing you could have done." The rest of their patrol hung back behind them in silence and shock and horror.
Through gritted teeth Percy said, "Jabba will pay for this." His voice was flat, emotionless, and dangerous. It reminded Quinlan of the calm before a storm. "You hear me, you giant slug!" Percy, shouting now, looked directly at the floating camera droid. "You made a huge mistake. We've been holding back for their sake," he waved his hands at the bodies in the pit, "but now, it's all-out war. Let's see how long you can last on this planet without water." Quinlan had wondered why they hadn't tried to stifle Jabba's water shipments earlier. With Percy, it would've been an easy move, but he realized now that Annabeth's strategy must have been to avoid personally antagonizing Jabba until after they'd found a way to free his slaves to prevent Jabba from taking out his anger on them. She'd overestimated Jabba's intelligence or underestimated his vindictiveness, but from a strategic point, Jabba really had made a grave mistake. He'd just blown any leverage he had and made Percy very angry in the process. Quinlan knew revenge was not the Jedi way, but not for the first time, he was glad that Percy was not a Jedi. At least, he could make sure Jabba got what he deserved even if Quinlan couldn't.
"Shoot them," Percy ordered. Quinlan gladly drew his twin blasters and made quick work of the camera droids. As soon as the droids fell, Percy slumped his shoulders as his gaze returned to the gruesome sight in front of them. Quietly, just so only he could hear, Percy murmured, "Gods, what have I done. I shouldn't have pushed so much. I'd always hoped this vision would never come true. It was one of the first things I saw meditating, trying to understand your Force. I should have realized . . ."
He trailed off, and before he could say more or Quinlan could snap him out of his self-pity and guilt, Jerome stepped toward them, "We'll help you Da Soocha, all of us. Whatever it takes to make Jabba pay, we'll do it. That slug won't know what hit him, Boss." The rest of the fighters shouted their assent. Percy nodded his head in thanks. A small smile flickered across his face, almost like he remembered a fond memory, but it quickly faded.
Quinlan felt a pulse in the Force, a warning. Danger was coming, not immediately, but soon. "Well, you can start planning your revenge back in Bestine," Quinlan advised. "Because I think Jabba's noticed our small numbers and lack of a shield generator."
Quinlan turned to leave, but Percy didn't follow. "No," Percy declared. "I'm not going to leave them like this." He nodded his head towards the hundreds of bodies in the pit.
Careful, that no one else could hear him, Quinlan hissed in his ear, "Jackson, we don't have time for this."
Percy replied in a normal voice clearly not caring about being heard, "I can't just leave them here in this pit, like their lives, their deaths don't matter." By now, Quinlan recognized that look in Percy's eyes along with the clenched jaw and wanted to swear. Sometimes his new friend was more stubborn than a Eopie. He looked to Jrome and the seven other members of their patrol for support, but all he found was adoration. This was why the people loved Percy because he did stupid, emotional stunts like this.
Sighing Quinlan tried to come up with a quick solution, "Well, given the number of bodies and the situation, I wouldn't recommend cremation, but maybe we can bury them. I can use the Force to lift the sand."
Percy shook his head, "No, they deserve more than an unmarked grave. I'll do it my way. Make sure everyone is on high ground."
"Yes, Da Soocha," Jrome replied and lead the rest of the patrol back towards the cliffs and Bestine, but Quinlan stayed.
"This is not a good idea," he argued, trying to get Percy to see sense. It was strange being the sensible one for a change. Quinlan didn't like it. "Jabba's men are coming, and I thought you were out of fossils."
"Let, them," came the hard reply. "And I don't need fossils, they just help. Besides, I'm sensing some already below here. This used to be an ocean."
Quinlan had a bad feeling about this. "Jackson, what exactly are you going to do?"
"Look, Vos, all I know is if I went back to Bestine right now, I'm so angry, I'd bust all of the moisture vaporators," Percy gritted out. It sounded like he was struggling to hold a huge weight. "I need to release this now, and I figured I might as well do something meaningful with it. If Jabba's men get here, you guys can cover me though I'll probably have enough water to make them regret coming."
"How big are we talking?" Quinlan asked.
"I don't know. A large lake, a small sea? Depends how many ancient dead sea creatures are around. Just make sure everyone's safe. I can't handle any more innocent deaths."
Quinlan frowned at that. Between their talk last night and finding these bodies, he was worried about Percy. Even without his Force sense, he knew Percy was feeling a lot more than anger. Someone like Percy couldn't help but blame themselves for these deaths. "You're not going to do anything self-sacrificingly stupid are you? Because if anything happened to you, Chase would kill me."
A corner of Percy's mouth quirked up in a half smile, but it didn't reach his eyes, "No, I'm just hoping to make something to remember those who died, maybe something a bit more permanent than the one in Mos Espa if I can manage. I'll be fine. Nothing some rest and nectar and ambrosia won't fix." His friend still sounded strained. Quinlan suspected that he was literally holding back his power, but he could sense the truth in his words. Percy didn't intend to do anything harmful or even particularly vengeful at the moment.
"Fine, just be careful Jackson." He clapped the younger man's back. Quinlan wasn't sure what made him say it, but he added, "May the Force be with you," before turning to join the rest of the patrol.
On the cliffs above the Dune Sea, Quinlan was too far away to sense Percy with the Force because of that annoying shield of his, but at least he could still observe his friend and make sure he didn't do something stupid. He saw Percy raise that Force-forsaken sword of his and stab it into the ground, just like he did with the Jawas. Except this time, it wasn't just a small salt-water spring. A jet of water shot thirty meters into the air, and the ground trembled as if the planet itself shared Percy's anguish. Cracks quickly spread from where Percy's sword pierced the ground, and where the ground split, water gushed out in waves.
"What's he doing?" Jrome shouted as he and the others struggled to keep their balance.
It was only now that Quinlan remembered something about earthquakes in Percy's file. Kriff. "Letting it all out," Quinlan answered trying to sound calm. "I have a feeling we're all about to find out exactly what Da Soocha can do." Within minutes the pit with the dismembered slaves was covered by water, but the water kept coming as the cracks spread farther across the Dune Sea. The wind had picked up too, blowing sand everywhere. At this point, Quinlan estimated that Percy had generated about the same amount of water that was currently in the Mos Espa Arena. Why wasn't he stopping? He worried how much this was costing Percy. Even with the remains of that long-forgotten ocean, producing this much water this quickly had to be taxing. It needed to stop now before things got out of control, and his friend collapsed or worse. Surely, he'd released enough now to not blow-up moisture vaporators. "I'm going to try and stop him," Quinlan announced to the others. Already, Percy was surrounded by water that churned around him, but Quinlan was a strong swimmer. Force willing, he'd reach Percy.
Just before Quinlan dove, Jrome cried out, "Wait, what's that over there?" He pointed towards the southwest. Between all the sand and spraying water, Quinlan could barely make out a large brown smudge and several smaller ones quickly approaching across the desert heading straight towards Percy. He pulled out his macrobinoculars and swore using some choice Huttesse words, "It's Jabba's pleasure barge and entourage skiffs. This whole thing was a trap."
"We've got to warn him," Jrome shouted. "Even with that water around him, one good shot from those cannons –"
"We don't have time." Through his macrobinoculars, Quinlan saw the cannon blaster on Jabba's barge point directly at Percy and fire. Quinlan couldn't see if it was a direct hit, but suddenly the water stilled.
"No, he can't be," Jrome whispered. Unfortunately, Quinlan couldn't tell because he couldn't sense Percy at this range, dead or alive, but surely, he avoided the blast, or the water protected him. Jabba's barge continued forward leaving the safety of the sand and hovering over the calm, newly created water almost like it was gloating. Then a tidal wave slammed into Jabba's barge. While the repulsorlift engines worked over water, Jabba's barge wasn't built to handle the rough, merciless water Percy threw at it. Within seconds the whole thing along with the other four skiffs had capsized and sank to the bottom of the new body of water.
Quinlan acutely felt the death of every person on board. Everyone on the cliff just watched in silence for a minute, then two, waiting for something to happen. At this point, Quinlan wasn't even sure where exactly Percy was, somewhere under the surface of the water he'd made, which still raged on and expanded, slowly eating away more desert. Jrome finally asked, "You think Jabba was on that thing?"
Before he could answer in the affirmative, a shout full of anger, frustration, and pain filled the air. A crack split across the Dune Sea for as far as Quinlan could see in the macrobinoculars. As water gushed out of it, the water below their cliff swelled and then exploded outwards towards the rest of the Dune Sea.
With the water gone, Quinlan finally got a glimpse of his friend. Thank the Force, Percy's very justified temper tantrum was over. He knelt on the damp ground, head bowed and his body shaking probably from exertion. The pit next to him that was once filled with the gruesome remains of Jabba slaves, was empty. Their bodies swept away with the water. The wreckage of Jabba's barge rested less than a klick away. All across the ground was a series of cracks that still slowly oozed water, morbidly reminding Quinlan of how blood flowed from a body after one too many cuts, something he'd unfortunately witnessed during his time in the galaxy's crime world. Instinctively, he knew Percy needed to stop now. Otherwise, his friend would die.
"I'll get him," he told the others. He gathered the Force, so he could jump off the cliff and take the most direct route to Percy. But a drop of water fell on his nose, then another on his head. Startled, Vos looked up and saw the impossible, rain clouds on kriffin Tatooine blotting out the dual suns.
"He did it," Jrome reverently whispered. "The legend came true." Quinlan vaguely remembered something Jira had said in the cantina, something about ground shaking and rain and water on Tatooine and freedom. The logical part of his mind figured that when Percy had pushed all that water out into the desert the rapid evaporation of such a large amount of water had been enough to form the first rain clouds on Tatooine in millennia. All around them, the sky wept.
Quinlan ripped his attention away from the miracle when he felt Percy suddenly blaze in the Force. He hadn't moved an inch, but for once those annoying shields of his were down. The Force whirled around Percy, as if drawn to him like water at the center of a whirlpool. Percy screamed again. This one Quinlan knew was from pure pain, as he felt it cut through Percy. Once again, water surged from the cracks in the ground at an incredible rate, much faster than it had, even at the beginning. Within seconds, it looked as if there was a full-blown hurricane across the Dune Sea.
"Kriff!" Quinlan didn't even stop to think. He just dove straight into the water heading for the heart of the storm both in the physical world and in the Force. The water was even more tumultuous below the surface. The current pulled Quinlan this way and that as he fought to get to Percy. No matter how much Quinlan pulled in the Force or pushed his body, he couldn't get any closer to his friend and nearly died a few times as he narrowly avoided getting crushed by rocks.
He finally admitted defeat when he knew his aqua breather was running out of air. He clambered back up the cliff, his exhausted body slipping a few times on the wet rocks as the rain continued to pour down. At the top, Jrome helped haul Quinlan up, and Shmi quickly wrapped a waterproof cloak around him. The other members of the patrol must have returned to Bestine, and Shmi must have came when she heard the news. As they huddled in the storm looking out at the raging water and sky, Shmi asked "Is he . . .?"
She didn't finish the question, but she didn't have to. "He's still alive. For once I can actually sense him." In fact, it was impossible not to sense him. Quinlan was pretty sure every Force-user in the galaxy was aware of the storm on Tatooine. The Council was not going to be happy. "But I can't reach him, and he's moving farther away."
Jrome and Shmi quickly filled him in on what they had discovered. Jabba's palace was completely destroyed by a combination of an earthquake and tsunami, and as far as they knew the storm had spread to the whole kriffin planet. Quinlan gave a final look at the ocean that had been a desert only hours ago. The Council was definitely not going to be happy. "Let's go back to Bestine. There's nothing more we can do but wait." He didn't add the part, 'and hope Percy would survive.' Quinlan knew that channeling that much Force energy would kill a normal Force sensitive. He just hoped that Percy was enough not normal to survive.
Quinlan checked his messages as soon as he'd dried off and changed. Sure enough, there were five of them from a combination of the Jedi Council and Obi-Wan. Wanting to get it over with, Quinlan grabbed R2 and headed to Bestine's communication center. Luckily, the storm's interference made holograms impossible, so at least he wouldn't have to see Master Windu's displeasure. With R2's help he was able to patch in an audio connection to the Council Chamber.
"Finally," Windu grumbled. "Master Vos can you please inform the Council on what exactly happened, or should I say is happening, on Tatooine to cause this storm in the Force?"
Quinlan winced. Despite how much he annoyed the Council, he hadn't heard that tone from Windu since his Padawan days. "Umm, a literal, physical storm?"
"I hardly thing a localized sandstorm is responsible for the disturbance we are all feeling," Windu remarked.
"It's not a sandstorm. It's more like a hurricane," Quinlan corrected.
"On a desert planet? That is impossible," the always rational Mundi reported.
Quinlan sighed and rushed right into the explanation, "I think Jackson used a combination of his powers and the Force to fix Tatooine?" It was a question because even he wasn't completely sure what he'd witnessed. "Whatever he did, it's been raining across the whole planet for over two hours. Also, Jackson killed Jabba during the release of his power after Jabba massacred all his slaves and flaunted it in front of us."
His statement was met by complete silence on the other end. Still plugged into the communication computer, R2 let out a few beeps drawing Quinlan's attention to the messages that were pouring in from Percy and Annabeth's SASS crews. "Kriff!"
"Master Vos!" Windu exclaimed.
"Trust me, Mace. If you knew what I just learned, you would curse too. Things just got a whole lot more complicated." As if they weren't complicated enough already.
Palpatine
Fortunately, Palpatine was alone in his office when the shock wave rippled through the Force. Otherwise, he might not have been able to hide his surprise. The intensity of it was impressive not to mention the strange phenomena that occurred afterwards as the Force whirled around a specific point. A moment of focus confirmed his suspicion that indeed the disturbance in the Force was centered around Tatooine. The whole thing felt like Jackson which in itself was unusual since usually, it was nearly impossible to detect the boy in the Force from afar unless he was clumsily trying to meditate. But this was far more than an accidental wave during meditation. This felt like a storm.
He had often wondered what Jackson could do if he gave into his anger. Most likely Jabba had done something that finally pushed the hot-tempered boy over the edge. This reaction was indeed most impressive. Palpatine was curious how this Force disturbance manifested in the physical world. However Jackson channeled it, he doubted that the Hutt would survive. Palpatine admired the mass chaos he sensed on the planet and reveled in Jackson's pain, but there was a strange lightness to the Force and a disturbing lack of anger. Instead, it was almost as if the Force itself hummed with a contentedness that made Palpatine feel sick.
Regardless, now was the time to set his plan in motion even if he had initially intended to wait until Jackson and Chase had left Tatooine. Whatever Jackson was doing had certainly caused enough confusion to ensure the success of Palpatine's scheme. It also did not hurt that Chase was clearly either absent or indisposed. Otherwise, she would never have let Jackson lose control like this.
As Palpatine, he had purposely kept his distance from Jackson and Chase's plans for Tatooine because as Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, he needed deniability of any coup to overthrow the leader of a foreign system. Plus, when Darth Sidious exploited their efforts, he did not want them to once again suspect a link between him and the Sith after he had worked so hard to dissuade them from that particular suspicion. Therefore, although Palpatine did not know the details for how exactly Jackson and Chase intended to free the slaves on Tatooine much less tackle the more challenging issue of preventing future slaves on the planet, he did know how to spoil it because he had made Chase guarantee him one thing, that the Republic would be kept out of it.
Those children had wrecked his plans all those years ago, so he would return the favor. With one move, Palpatine would ruin years of careful planning to maintain the galactic peace while still achieving their goal and instead propel the galaxy on the path to war. Revenge was indeed sweet. Palpatine discretely pressed a button on his office chair twice. If pressed once, it signaled his assistant. If pressed twice, it sent a pre-recorded hologram to a pre-determined destination from the holoprojector at his hideout. This particular message told Nute Gunray to move his Trade Federation fleet from Geonosis to Tatooine and start the plan for acquiring the planet. Hopefully, the Neimoidian would not fail him this time.
The roundabout communication was a necessary precaution since Chase had left a spying device of her own in his chancellor's office a few years ago. Therefore, even if she was suspicious enough to back track the Trade Federation's movements from Geonosis and compare them with his own actions, she would only find him calmly sitting at his desk going over paperwork.
Despite his best efforts over the past six years, Chase and Jackson still distrusted Palpatine. Due to their impressive shields, Palpatine was uncertain of the extent of their distrust. They clearly had trusted him enough to convince Knight Kenobi to relax his guard some after the blackmail incident, and they were pleasant enough on their visits, even Jackson managed to be mostly polite. That improvement at least had made it possible to develop a professional relationship which had allowed Palpatine to help as much as he could with their anti-slavery efforts while he occasionally asked their advice whenever a particularly interesting problem arose. It was his way of testing them. However, they always seemed on their guard around him and never opened up more than Chase had done after that first Shah-tezh game. They reminded him of skittish Guarlaras who approached only as close as necessary to grab an offered Shuura fruit from the hand only to trot off as soon as it was between their teeth.
He was unsure if Chase had dropped the espionage device because they suspected he was up to something or if it was just a convenient way for her to keep tabs on the galaxy since almost any noteworthy development passed through his office at some point. Knowing Chase, it was probably a combination of the two motivations and maybe even something else. It was a good move on her part because whether or not Chase had intended it to be, the spying device also doubled as a clever test for him. His staff's security sweeps failed to detect it, even though Chase had helped them develop sensors to detect Sidious' latest espionage technology. Therefore, he had no choice, but to pretend he was ignorant of its existence even as he wished to examine the strange technology that flitted about the room. The only reason he even knew it was there was a slight echo in the Force of a presence that did not feel like Chase or Jackson but someone else. Regardless, he did not wish to tip Chase off and intended to use the device to convince the children that he was exactly what he appeared to be, a politician who only wanted the best for the Republic. Maybe, then they would finally trust him with their secrets.
Palpatine was still frustratingly no closer to discovering what Jackson and Chase were or what exactly they were capable of besides excellent strategic abilities and physical combat skills, plus an annoying habit of disrupting their enemies' plans, whether they be his or the slave traders, in a matter resembling barely controlled chaos. Besides the strange name the Force had whispered in his mind to rattle Jackson, he had received no other guidance. It was as if the dark side itself was challenging him to find the answers and prove he was worthy enough to control these powerful new pawns.
Palpatine had tried to pressure Panaka into revealing the secrets of his charges, but the usually compliant captain had been disappointingly unforthcoming as soon as Palpatine asked about his charges' origins and Force-abilities. Palpatine could feel Panaka's embarrassment and fear as the usually honest captain recited the common lie, they told the public. However, Palpatine could tell that these emotions were not caused by telling the lie like he would have expected. Rather the embarrassment and fear seemed to stem from the truth. His other possible informant had not been cooperative either. No matter how Palpatine had phrased the question, young Skywalker would flash that infuriating smile and say it was not his secret to tell, clearly something he had picked up from his Master. Palpatine could feel Skywalker's pride that his friends had trusted him with their secrets, and the boy was determined to not betray that trust. Unfortunately, Palpatine could not push either source further without looking suspicious, so he bided his time, waiting for someone to let something slip either to Palpatine or Sidious.
Palpatine waited five hours before he contacted Gunray again in the safety of his hideout. Through all that time Jackson's storm still raged. "Viceroy, what is your status?" he commanded over the hologram. The signal though was poor.
"Everything is going according to the plan, my lord. Jabba the Hutt is already dead, and the newly elected leaders accepted our gifts and are considering our generous proposal as we speak. They appreciated our reduced prices for the cloth and fruits."
"Yes, but we should've sold the water and moisture vaporators on Geonosis," Gunray's annoying assistant muttered. "The cost of transporting them back will cut into the profits."
Gunray winced in expectation of Sidious' wrath. Usually, Sidious would not stand for the grumblings of Gunray's second, but this time something piqued his interest. "What do you mean? Water and moisture vaporators are Tatooine's most necessary imports."
"It would seem not anymore, my lord," Gunray admitted. "It has been storming for the last five hours with flash floods all across the planet. The climate computer predicts it will keep raining for the next year at least, before the planet's climate balances out."
Sidious knew the timing of the storm could not have been a coincidence. The disturbance he had felt in the Force had to have been Jackson creating the storm. Sidious knew the Sith of old had summoned storms using the Force, but on Tatooine that particular Force power would only have created a localized sandstorm. As far as he knew, generating water like that was impossible, much less on that scale. He remembered what the girl had said all those years ago: Percy and I have a gift of making one question exactly what is in the realm of possibility. They most certainly did. If this was what Jackson could do when he reached out for the Force, then even Sidious could not imagine what would be possible when he used the dark side.
The Force continued to whirl around Jackson for another day, and then it stopped as abruptly as it had started. Jackson's presence vanished, and all was quiet again. Sidious felt a sudden urge to reach out and contact Jackson, so once he had returned to the anonymity of his hideout, he heeded the dark side's suggestion and focused on Jackson's strange Force presence. Sidious had attempted this before, after it became clear that Jackson had found a way to stop his presence from randomly finding Sidious, but his previous efforts had failed. Right now, Sidious reasoned that Jackson was probably unable to initiate whatever preventative measures he typically used.
A few moments later, Sidious felt Jackson's presence a few feet away. It was another strange phenomena Sidious had not witnessed until Jackson, as if the boy's very conscious did not wish to be restrained to his body. He could not exactly see Jackson with his eyes, but his mind relayed what the Force sensed in such a way that he could still visualize a form of the boy.
"Great," Jackson groaned, "and I thought my day couldn't get worse." Instead of the normal sarcastic tone Sidious expected, the words came out flat and uncaring as if all the fight had been sucked out of him. Even in this form, Jackson seemed utterly exhausted. Clearly, channeling that much Force had taken its toll, but Sidious could use the boy's current weakness to his advantage.
"Hello Perseus, it has been a while. I have missed our little chats. However, it seems you have been busy living up to your name." Sidious smirked as the boy winced. "I must admit that even I did not foresee the scale of destruction you are capable of, flooding a whole planet, and a desert one at that. How many lives do you think you destroyed?"
The boy's shoulders slumped. "Gods, what did I do this time," he muttered softly. Then he sighed and leaned against the wall, "What do you want Sidious? I'm too tired for your little game of taunts while you try to convince me that I'm just as evil as you."
"With time, you will come to see that good and evil are simply points of view, young Perseus," Sidious imparted.
"So, you brought my here for a philosophy lecture? Can you just zap me with your lightning instead?"
Sidious resisted the urge to grind his teeth together. Even half dead, the boy was still insufferably disrespectful, but now was not the time to punish Jackson for his insolence. Instead, he needed a different approach if he wished to change the boy's point of view. "I brought you here to warn you and offer my assistance. I believe our needs have aligned."
"I'm still not interested in helping you destroy the Jedi," Jackson responded.
"You may not have a choice. Do you think the Jedi Council will leave you alone after that display of power? They fear you and your power and will try to contain you and maybe even destroy you if you do not submit to their control."
"Kriff," the boy mumbled so quietly Sidious barely heard him. Clearly, the boy had not had the chance to think through all the consequences of his actions. But then he snorted, "And how would you be any different? You want to control me too and use me for your own cause."
"The Jedi wish to restrain you," Sidious explained. "I will unleash you."
"As a weapon," Percy dryly stated. "Sorry, but I'm sick of being people's weapon and pawn."
"Of course, you will be rewarded," Sidious offered. "I will give you anything you desire –"
"Save your breath, I don't want wealth, fame, or power. Isn't that what all you evil lords offer?" Jackson asked sounding bored.
Sidious knew every man had a price. He just had to find Jackson's. Usually, he would prod and poke and manipulate to discover it, but since this was Jackson, he tried a different tactic, "What do you want then, Perseus? Safety for your friends? Peace? I will find a way to destroy the Jedi with or without your willing assistance. You might as well get something out of it."
Jackson did not reply immediately. Instead, he looked up as if he could see the stars through the ceiling, and the light pollution of Coruscant. Then he closed his eyes and whispered so quietly Sidious had to step forward to hear it, "I just want to go home." Not for the first time, Sidious wondered what experiences Jackson and Chase had before they suddenly showed up on Naboo and ruined his plans. Despite his young age, Jackson seemed like a battle-worn solider. He opened his eyes and added, "I probably shouldn't have told you that, but I'm too tired to care anymore."
"Why do you not go home?" Sidious knew he was not referring to Naboo.
"Because we don't know how," Jackson admitted.
Sidious had not expected that. He had of course heard the rumor that they were from another galaxy, but he had never believed the hyperspace wormhole story. It was too much of a coincidence. He did not believe in coincidences. "Perhaps, I could be of assistance then."
Percy rolled his eyes, "What makes you think you can succeed when the Jedi haven't been able to manage it after years of trying, and I know they've been trying. I annoy them enough that they want us gone almost as much as we want to go home."
"The Jedi foolishly limit themselves to only one aspect of the Force," Sidious explained, "while the Sith utilize all facets of the Force, and therefore, we have power the Jedi do not, even power over life and death itself. Finding your home world is well within the range of possibilities, even if it is in a different galaxy."
Jackson hesitated for a moment as if considering something, and then he shrugged his shoulders as if he indeed no longer cared, "But can your all-powerful dark side, get us back to the universe we're from?"
Universe? He sensed the truth in Jackson's words, and it certainly explained many of Jackson's and Chase's oddities. The implications were remarkable. Of course, he knew of the theories of multiple universes, but he had assumed they were theories only. He had always intended to spread his empire to other galaxies, but now, he could extend his control to different universes.
However, why had Jackson revealed this? Was it a slipup of the boy's brought on by carelessness and exhaustion, or was it intentional? With Chase, he knew to be cautions because every action was a carefully planned move, but Jackson was different. Sidious could never tell if the boy did something as part of a clever plan or if it was a blunder or just plain luck. (Although he had not previously believed in the existence of luck, after watching Jackson for six years, he was tempted to acknowledge the possibility of its existence.) It was infuriating, and he wondered if Jackson did it on purpose.
Regardless of Jackson's intentions, Sidious could use this to help lure Jackson in, but he would have to do it carefully. He briefly considered lying to the boy, but in his experience truths or half-truths were far more effective as tools for manipulation than lies. "A different universe. . . most intriguing. Despite the vast wisdom of generations of Sith, I will admit that I am unaware of a means of traveling to different universes. However, with time I am confident that we can find a way if you are willing to work with me. Whatever promises the Jedi might have made, they will be unable to help you in this matter. Unlike the Jedi, I do not fear exploring the absolute limits of the Force, and that is what the solution to your problem will require. If you truly wish to go home, then I am your only hope."
Jackson grimaced, "Sorry, but the problem is I still don't trust you."
"And what have the Jedi done to deserve your trust and loyalty?" Sidious patiently asked.
"Well for starters, they haven't tried to kill either me or Annabeth yet, which is more than I can say for you," Jackson replied, a bit more snark returning to his words.
"Those assassins were to test your skills," Sidious asserted. "Besides, I stopped sending them when you started your little crusade against slavery."
"Huh, I didn't notice with all the other assassins from the cartels that yours had stopped," Jackson retorted.
"It seems you have a true talent for annoying powerful people, young Perseus."
"So I've been told," the boy shot back.
"And when the Jedi turn against you, where will you go?" Sidious pressed sensing his advantage. "Will it be you and your companion against the galaxy? How long do you think you can last on your own even with your small fleet of ex-slaves?"
"Maybe, the Jedi will understand." Sidious could hear the doubt in the boy's voice. "It's not like I meant to flood a planet."
"Do not be so naïve, Perseus. The Jedi do not tolerate sentients who use the Force outside of the narrow scope that they deem acceptable. But by all means put your trust in the Jedi, and when they lock you up in that temple of theirs, you will not escape without my assistance." Sidious could see it now, using Dooku to release Jackson, and young Skywalker would be so betrayed by what the Jedi had done to his friend that he would leave with them. Palpatine would have all his pawns much sooner than originally planned. "Hopefully, then you will trust me. I do not have to be your antagonist, Perseus, especially since the Jedi seem so determined to make you theirs."
Percy
After his little chat with the Sith Lord, Percy drifted in and out of consciousness, surrounded by pain. At one point he thought he really was drifting, but when he woke up, he was on a hard mattress. Saying he felt terrible was an understatement. He felt like he blew up Mount St. Helens all over again while holding the sky and ingesting Gorgon's blood. Honestly, he was surprised he was still alive. He tasted chocolate and realized that Shmi was feeding him softened ambrosia with a spoon. Relief filled him. At least, she was okay. "What?" he tried to say, but she shushed him.
"Rest Percy. It will be okay." Percy wasn't too sure about that, but his eyes were already closing before he could say anything else. What was that pitter patter noise he heard?
The next time Percy woke, he felt slightly better. There was still that thrumming noise that he couldn't quite place, but instead of Shmi, Quinlan was with him. A quick look around, and he recognized the room he'd been staying at in Bestine. The Jedi looked like he hadn't slept in days, and while Quinlan was never as put together as Obi-Wan, he seemed even more disheveled than usual and worried, very worried, which was strange for the carefree Jedi. "Jeez, Vos you look like Tartarus," Percy croaked.
Vos smiled and some of the worry left his expression, "You should see yourself Jackson."
"I can imagine," Percy grumbled, remembering how bad he'd looked after Mt. St. Helens. Percy tried to prop himself up, but his arms felt like noodles.
"Easy there," Quinlan warned as he helped support Percy, and then offered him a cup of water, "You're lucky to be alive after channeling that much Force for so long." It took all of Percy's will power to not drop the cup as he gulped down the water. Quinlan watching his every move, ready to help. "You've had a lot of that nectar and ambrosia stuff. I didn't want to risk giving you anymore, and it looks like you guys are starting to run low on the originals."
Percy nodded. It was probably for the best to not take any more godly food. He would just have to recover on his own. Even this little bit had made him tired, but he had too many questions to pass out again. Some, he wasn't sure he wanted answers to, so he started with the easiest one, "How long has it been?"
Quinlan sank back into his chair and sighed, "Three days since Jabba massacred his slaves." Three whole days. Quinlan looked like he hadn't slept at all during that time. "But you didn't get here until yesterday evening. I did my best to find you, but without being able to sense you in the Force, I wasn't having much luck. A man found you floating near Mos Eisley. Weirdly enough, it was the same man whose life you spared in Mos Espa. He'd heard we were in Bestine last and brought you over. Said to tell you, he wasn't going to waste his second chance."
"Huh," Percy mused, "Qui-Gon would say the Force works in mysterious ways."
"That it does," Quinlan agreed and then smirked, "though with your luck, I wouldn't have been surprised if the Lady had found you."
Percy shuddered, "No thanks." The smirk quickly fell from Quinlan's face, and he looked at Percy cautiously, like he needed to tell Percy some bad news and was worried Percy might not be well enough to handle it. According to the Sith Lord, Percy knew that he'd somehow managed to flood the planet. He'd known he'd made a lot of water, but he hadn't known he'd done that. Finally, Percy's brain placed the pitter patter noise, but it was impossible. "Is it raining?"
Quinlan nodded, "Yes, and it had been since that day and likely will continue for at least a year maybe more until Tatooine's climate stabilizes according to the models."
"But I couldn't have done that," Percy exclaimed. "I don't have power over rain."
"My guess is that you somehow generated enough water that it evaporated with the heat from the two suns and formed rain clouds," Quinlan said with a shrug. "When I gave you that nickname for the Jawas, One Who Brings Back Oceans, I didn't mean for you to take it so literally. I thought you were going to make another lake or a small sea even. What the kriff happened?"
Percy winced at the accusation in Quinlan's tone. "I didn't mean for it to happen. It just . . . it's hard to explain." He tried to come up with a way to describe what he had felt that day. "Every time I've made a lot of water on this planet, I've felt this sort of presence though that's too strong of a word. It's more like a feeling of extreme thirst. Like, something really needs my water, and it pushes me to keep going. Annabeth's been there to stop me, but this time . . ." Percy shrugged. "I just kept going. Maybe, because I needed an outlet, maybe because I was curious what would happen, but it just felt right.
"Initially, there were a lot of fossils kind of close to the surface, so I used that. Then there was that cannon blast, and I knew Jabba's men must have come. I felt the ships as soon as they touched the water and sank them, but I was mad at Jabba. I wanted to send a message and let him know what was coming, that he couldn't hide behind his grunts forever. I figured a tremor and a wave would get my point across, so I sent them at his palace, didn't know if it would actually reach it or not. After that, I was pretty much spent, but that feeling was still there. It still needed more water. I gave as much as I could, but it still needed more. So I reached out for the Force, and it sort of poured into me. It hurt like Hades, but the water just kept coming. There was a sort of rightness to everything, even through the pain. It sounds crazy, but I think that thing I kept feeling was the planet. It wanted water again. And well, after that, things got blurry."
When he finished Percy tried to gauge Quinlan's response, but the Jedi's expression was unreadable. Percy had decided to leave out his conversation with the Sith for now, but he remembered what Sidious had said and had to ask. "How many people died because I lost control?"
"Omitting Jabba's forces, I think everyone made it to high ground," Quinlan answered. "You have Jrome and Shmi to thank for that. While I was swimming in your hurricane trying to stop you, they sent a planet wide message to evacuate to high ground. Luckily, most of the larger settlements are already on high ground, so it only was farmers and nomads. A lot of people lost their homes though, and I'm not too sure about the Sand People."
Percy sighed in relief, "It could've been worse." At least he hadn't killed a ton of people with his flood like the Sith suggested. He did feel bad for the people that lost their homes though. He knew what it felt like to lose a home.
Quinlan snorted, "Oh, it definitely is worse."
"What do you mean?" Percy asked.
"Well for starters, you killed Jabba."
That wasn't good, "But, I didn't –"
"He was on his pleasure barge that fired the blaster cannon," Quinlan interrupted. "I guess he was so sure that his trap would work and wanted to be there when you were taken out. It wouldn't have mattered anyway though because even if he'd stayed at the palace, he'd still be dead. That little message you sent turned the whole palace into rubble."
Percy winced, "Annabeth's not going to be happy. I messed up her plan, but at least the Hutts will still blame Da Soocha, and if he comes quickly, Gorga can still take over. We can still salvage it."
Quinlan shook his head, "No we can't because it gets worse."
"You keep saying that," Percy grumbled.
Quinlan glared at him, "Yeah because it does, and while you were playing a god, us mortals had to deal with it. Annabeth's plan is in shambles. I don't know how they knew, but the Trade Federation showed up three hours after you started that storm in the Force. Tatooine's now a protectorate of the Trade Federation."
"What!" Percy shouted. "How did you let that happen?"
"I didn't have a choice," Quinlan shouted back.
"You shouldn't have even let them land. SASS –"
"Even if I could've convinced the smugglers to help, your ships couldn't have taken on fifteen Trade Federation battleships. Did you want your crews to sacrifice themselves for no reason?"
"No," Percy muttered. He definitely didn't want that. "We can still fight this. They can't just take over planets. I'm not going to let them do what they tried to do on Naboo."
"I don't think we can, Percy" Quinlan admitted. "At least not how you're thinking. Unlike with Naboo, this wasn't a hostile takeover. There were no droid armies. They used a different approach this time. Gunray came down with lots of goods and offered a ridiculously cheap price for them, showing everyone the benefits of being connected to the Trade Federation. Then he made an offer of Trade Federation protectorate to the Tatooine Governing Council. The Council accepted it."
"But the Trade Federation's just as bad as the Hutts, worse even!" Percy exclaimed. "Why would the Council vote for that?"
"You know the Governing Council was never happy about returning to Hutt control. They only agreed to Gorga because Annabeth convinced them he would be better than Jabba, and there were no better options. But the Trade Federation's offer changed that. You and I know they aren't any better than the Hutts. How those big corporations exploit planet locals is little better than slavery. I mean just look at Mustafar. Shmi and I tried to convince the Governing Council of that, but most wouldn't listen." Quinlan glanced down, "I'm not the best with words like Annabeth or Kenobi, and I don't have the people's loyalty like you. I did my best, but in the end, all they saw was that the Trade Federation was part of the Republic which meant Tatooine would be protected by the anti-slavery laws."
Percy's tired mind struggled to work through all the implications. If the Trade Federation had taken over Tatooine, then they were technically part of the Republic which meant, "Kriff, Annabeth's going to kill me. Everything we tried to avoid just happened." Quinlan nodded, and Percy suddenly understood why the Jedi was in his current state. "The Hutts are going to be furious. Gorga –" A terrifying thought occurred to him. "Annabeth! Is she okay?"
"She managed to get out of Gorga's stronghold. Thanks to that hat of hers," Quinlan replied. Percy thanked the Force and every deity he could think of. "Gorga wasn't happy though. He tried to kill her as soon as he found out about the Trade Federation. It's a good thing she went alone because I don't think anyone else would have been able to escape. She should be back here in a day."
With the realization that Annabeth was safe, his brain returned to the other very big problem, "So what's going to happen now? Is there going to be a war?"
"It doesn't look good," Quinlan admitted. "The Hutts are gathering their forces and threatening the Republic with war unless the Trade Federation returns Tatooine to their control. The Trade Federation refuses claiming it was a completely legal acquisition voted for by the planet's ruling government. Chancellor Palpatine managed to negotiate a temporary truce to give the Senate time to meet and debate, something the Hutts probably want too, so they can secure allies if the Trade Federation doesn't give Tatooine back."
"Gods, this is a mess!" Percy massaged his temples as he fought off the headache, and the need to slip back to sleep. "The Trade Federation shouldn't even be part of the Republic. It isn't even a planet."
"No complaints from me about that," Quinlan agreed. "I know you're exhausted and need to rest, Percy, but there's one more thing."
Percy groaned, "There's something else I need to worry about besides possibly starting a galactic war?"
Quinlan wouldn't look at him. Instead, the Jedi gazed at his clasped hands as he said, "The Jedi Council has ordered me to bring you in for questioning regarding the events that took place here."
The Sith had been right. Percy tried to ignore the anger and panic that was setting in and think. The sense of betrayal didn't help. He had started to consider Quinlan a friend. Percy didn't try to hide the hurt in his voice as he asked, "Are you?"
Quinlan winced, but finally met his gaze, "No, not if you don't want to come. The Council won't be pleased. They may even assign me a long mission on Hoth because of it, but I won't force you to come. I can't do that to you."
Percy smiled, relieved that he hadn't been betrayed by another friend. "Thanks man. You're a good friend."
"As your friend though," Quinlan continued, "I think you should come back with me. If I don't bring you in, they'll get someone else to. Maybe it will be Kenobi or maybe Windu or maybe Windu and Yoda. After what you just did, they might just go straight to the big guns. Come in now, willingly, and tell them what you just told me, and it should be okay."
"You don't sound too certain," Percy noted.
"I'm not. Honestly, I'm not sure how they will respond. I just know it will be worse if you run. Please, just give the Council a chance."
Percy snorted, "Like, they've given me one."
"They have," Quinlan argued. "Force, I can't believe I'm defending them, but can you blame them? They've left you on your own," Percy gave Quinlan a pointed glare, "for the most part," he amended. "And you altered a whole planet's climate."
"I didn't –"
"I know you didn't mean to," Quinlan cut in before Percy could even say the words. "But that may be even worse. Force, Jackson, if you can do this without even meaning to, then what can you do when you do mean to?"
Percy opened his mouth to answer but closed it when he realized he didn't know how to respond. After all these years training and fighting, he'd thought he had a grasp on his powers, but once again he'd been wrong. In his mind he heard the Sith's voice taunting him You have been busy living up to your name.
"Look, the Council just wants to understand what happened, and how you did it," Quinlan clarified. "They need to make sure you didn't use the dark side."
"The dark side?" Percy scoffed. "Look I just used my powers, and then that Outside Force of yours sort of tore through me to fuel my power." He winced at the memory of the painful feeling. "I don't even think my power has a dark side. It just is. Though Yoda said I'd resisted the temptation once." Percy frowned. "But I'm still not sure how that worked."
"That's the problem, Percy. The Council doesn't know how you work. All they know is how the Force works, and when a Force-user is angry, it's almost impossible to not use the dark side. And you were very angry before and during your storm."
"And is using the dark side a crime?" Percy questioned, his anger and annoyance making him forget his exhaustion for the moment.
"Not exactly," the Jedi reluctantly admitted, "but it does warrant an investigation by the Jedi. History has proven that dark-side users have a tendency to cause mass death and destruction throughout the galaxy."
"Do you think I used the dark side?"
Quinlan looked at Percy closely before he shook his head, "I don't know what you did Jackson, but I don't think you used the dark side. And I'll testify to that in front of the Council, but if you run now, they'll think you're guilty of something and be even more suspicious. You don't need to decide now. We need to wait for Annabeth anyways, so just think about it and rest."
Percy nodded, his eyes already starting to close despite all the new revelations whirling inside his brain, but another thought made him force them open again, "Does anyone else on this planet know I'm alive?"
"No," Quinlan replied softly, "Besides Shmi and the Wookie and your SASS crews I kept it quiet and made your rescuer promise to do the same. I thought it might be best for the legend, if Da Soocha just vanished after bringing back the oceans as opposed to everyone seeing you in your current state. Plus, I didn't want to risk the Trade Federation remembering you from Naboo."
"Good call," Percy murmured. "Man, that Da Soocha guy must be pretty epic. Would have been cool to meet him."
Quinlan chuckled, "Sleep, Jackson." And for once, Percy did what he was told.
I'd like to thank I Judicator for suggesting the idea of Percy and the Force "fixing" Tatooine in a review comment a long, long time ago. I haven't started the next chapter yet, so please be patient since it's going to be at least a month.