Chapter 50- A Droid's Lot and Request Denied
A/N: The first half of this is going to be from Threepio's point of view and this will be the first time I have done Artoo or Threepio's POV. The next will be adoptive dad's.
Threepio and his counterpart, R2-D2 made their way across the desert planet. Threepio still didn't like Tatooine. His joints had collected enough sand for a sand storm and the thought of going to Jabba the Hutt's palace was enough to make him short-circuit. "Are you worried?" Artoo said in binary to him. Unless humans had computers, only Threepio knew what Artoo was saying.
"Of course I'm worried. And you should be too. Lando Calrissian and poor Chewbacca never returned from this awful place and the Prince returned to it this morning," Threepio said fretfully as the palace loomed in front of them.
"Maybe nothing happened to them," Artoo said a little too optimistically for Threepio's liking.
"Don't be too sure. If I've told you half the things I've heard about this Jabba the Hutt, you'd probably short-circuit," Threepio said as they arrived at the door.
"Here we are," Artoo said.
"Artoo, are you sure this is the right place?" Threepio asked.
"Of course I'm sure. The only palace on Tatooine," Artoo said sarcastically.
"I'd better knock, I suppose. There doesn't seem to be anyone here. Let's go back and tell Master Luke and Princess Lena," Threepio said after knocking lightly. A hatch then opened and a ball-shaped droid popped out. The droid rattled a question in huttese. "Goodness gracious me!. R2-Dee Toa," Threepio indicated his friend. The droid spoke in huttese and Artoo said something in binary not worth repeating.
"Who are you?" The droid asked Threepio.
"C-3POA. Ay tuta mishka Jabba du Hutt?" Threepio asked to see Jabba in huttese.
"Kuja wanki mitby cosa," the droid said. Laughing it went back into it's hatch.
"I don't think they're going to let us in, Artoo. We'd better go," Threepio said. As Threepio turned, the door opened with a rusty creak. Artoo beeped and whistled as he went into the palace. "Artoo, wait! Oh, dear! Artoo! Artoo, I really don't think we should rush into all this! Oh, Artoo! Artoo, wait for me!" Threepio shouted after his friend as Artoo ignored him and went towards Jabba's throne roome.
Artoo backed up in consternation at the sight of a Gamorrean guard. The pig-like alien hated all droids and were known to dismember them. "Just you deliver Master Luke's and Princess Lena's message and get us out of here. Oh my," Threepio said in despair as he got a close look at the Gamorreans circling him and Artoo. The door then closed. "Oh, no," Threepio said. A sharp voice then got his attention and he turned to a Twi'lek in black clothes with one head tail. He had to be Bib Fortuna, Jabba's major domo.
"Day wonna Wonga?" Bib asked in a raspy voice.
"Oh, my. Dee wonna wygo. We bring a message to your master Jabba the Hutt," Threepio said, switching to Basic.
Day Jabba Wonga?" Bib asked.
"We also bring a gift," Artoo said.
"And a gift. Gift? What gift?" Threepio asked his friend.
"I'm sorry. Master Luke and Princess Lena told me not to tell," Artoo said.
"Ne Jabba no barta. Eezai ohkto," Bib said, touching Artoo's domed head. "Izzi kata o mohkti? Ne charda so dehdi," Bib said, trying to make Artoo give him the message, to which Artoo refused.
"He says that our instructions are to give it only to Jabba himself. I'm terribly sorry. I'm afraid he's ever so stubborn about these sort of things," Threepio said.
"Noht Cha!" Bib said sharply and led them to the throne room.
"Artoo, I have a bad feeling about this," Threepio said as they followed Bib.
Talon stood in the throne room, his face shielded from view with a partial mask. Artoo knew he was here, but Threepio wasn't to know that Lando was here and Talon had returned. Talon smiled briefly as the two droids were led into the smoke-filled room. Jabba was reclining on a dais with a hooka, his little pet, Salacious Crumb, and a Twi'lek dancing slave girl. Talon honestly felt sorry for the poor girl as she was Lena's age. Being a slave to the disgusting Hutt had to be beyond endurance. It had to be ten times worse for her as Jabba was ugly and slug-like in appearance and in a bad temper he would feed slave girls to the Rancor that was imprisoned below Talon's feet.
Threepio and Artoo stood in front of Jabba who was in a drug-induced stupor. "Cava notayce, my lord," Talon heard Bib say in a quiet voice that most people would not have heard. But with his knowledge of the Force, Talon's hearing was sharper than most and Master Plo had insisted that he be fluent in huttese. Bib was telling Jabba that the droids were there and Jabba needed to be lucid.
"Good morning," Threepio said precisely with a small bow.
"Ohnt bat chuay dehr attat," Bib said, trying to make Jabba listen to whatever the droids had to say.
Jabba grunted, like someone who had just engorged himself with food and was about to throw up; something guaranteed to turn Talon's stomach as a Hutt throwing up was never a pleasant sight. "The message, Artoo. The message," Threepio said, tapping Artoo's dome with his hand.
"Oohh shoodah," Jabba said in a gargantuan voice, wondering what the droids wanted.
Artoo beeped and whistled and the hologram came on, revealing Luke and Lena. Talon felt a rush of pride as he looked at his daughter. Lena, Luke, and Leia were all the same age when their father fell, but the Skywalker triplets had more than Anakin had ever had. They looked just like all the Jedi of old with the lightsabers in clear view. "Greetings, Exalted One. Allow us to introduce ourselves. I am Luke Skywalker and this is my twin sister, Lena Organa Skywalker, Jedi knights and friends to Captain Solo," Luke said.
"My brother and I know that you are powerful, mighty Jabba, and that your anger with Solo must be equally powerful. We seek an audience with Your Greatness to bargain for Solo's life," Lena said, to which Jabba laughed.
"With your wisdom I'm sure we can work out an arrangement which will be mutually beneficial and enable us to avoid any unpleasant confrontation. As a token of our goodwill, we present to you a gift; these two droids," Luke said, indicating Threepio and Artoo.
"What did he say?" Threepio turned to Artoo.
"Both are hardworking and will serve you well," Luke said and the message stopped.
"This can't be! Artoo, you're playing the wrong message," Threepio said to the astromech droid.
Salacious Crumb laughed in that annoying cackle as Bib leaned to whisper in Jabba's ear; again Talon hearing everything he said. "Master, bargonay tua knight? They're no Jedi," Bib said, with barely concealed disgust. Really, Bib? You will see how much of a Jedi my daughter and nephew are, Talon thought contemptuously.
"There will be no bargain," Jabba said imperiously.
"We're doomed," Threepio said to Artoo.
"I will not give up my favorite decoration. I like Captain Solo where he is," Jabba said, indicating the slab of carbonite with Han Solo still in it.
"Artoo, look. Captain Solo. And he's still frozen in carbonite," Threepio said in despair and the room broke into laughs with the exception of Talon, Lando, and the droids.