Chapter 6 – Fulcrum
Luke and Vader were standing on the deck of a skiff waiting to be permitted onto Jabba's sail barge. The Imperial shuttle which they had taken to the planet's surface was parked about a kilometer away and out of sight behind a sand dune. Vader had ordered the stormtroopers accompanying them to stay with the shuttle, insisting that they weren't needed and that their presence would only upset Jabba.
"You used to live here, didn't you?" Luke asked, squinting up at Vader.
"Did Kenboi tell you that?"
"No, my aunt and uncle did," Luke said, undeterred by Vader's astringency.
"Oh," Vader said. "Beru and Owen, you mean?"
"I don't think they really knew much at all," Luke shrugged. "They probably just made stuff up whenever I'd ask about you."
"Such as?" Vader inquired curiously.
"Like that you were a navigator on a spice freighter," Luke said, smirking.
Vader laughed, but the sound didn't convey particularly well through his mask. "If only," he said.
"But you are actually from Tatooine? They didn't make that up?"
"Unfortunately, they did not," Vader said, bowing his head.
Luke didn't get a chance to ask any further questions because just then, a rickety wooden plank began to unfurl from the edge of the sail barge toward their little skiff. He and Vader both took a step back as the plank landed in front of them with a thud. Holding a hand to his eyes, Luke looked up to see a trio of axe-wielding Gamorrean guards waiting for them at the top of the plank.
"Come," Vader instructed, stepping off the skiff and onto the plank. Luke followed carefully, the lack of side rails giving him cause for concern. One wrong step, and Luke could find himself buried in the sand below.
Reaching the top of the plank, Luke exhaled with relief as he stepped onto the deck of the sail barge. Brushing himself down, Luke looked up to acquaint himself with his surroundings. They were on the far end of the deck, having walked over the ship's sloped nose. A massive blaster fixated atop a swivel was to his left, and two other ones could be seen a few dozen feet away. Neither were being manned, yet their very presence suggested that this barge was more than a mere party ship.
The deck was tinged red on account of the triangular shades above which mitigated the intensity of the Tatooine suns. Following Vader into the rosy shadows, Luke turned his attention toward opposite end of the deck. Sprawled out atop a concrete block was Jabba himself, surrounded as always by his diverse entourage of scum and villainy. Luke's eyes drifted down from Jabba's face toward the scantily-clad woman seated in front of the Hutt.
"Leia!" he gasped.
Anger surged through him when he saw what they had done to the Princess. She was chained by the neck to Jabba, the end of the chain grasped firmly in the Hutt's meaty left hand. They had also forced her to wear a horribly revealing outfit; the metal bikini and silken loincloth did little to cover her up. Leia's lip was curled in disgust, her eyes fixated on the ground.
"Jabba," Vader said, coming to a stop a few meters away from the Hutt. "I take it you have something for me?"
Luke continued to stare at Leia, his mouth hanging open and his blood boiling. Perhaps feeling his eyes on her, Leia finally looked up. Seeing him, Leia sat up straighter. "Luke?" she seemed to say, but Luke couldn't quite hear.
"Fett and Solo will be brought out after we have discussed terms," Luke heard someone translate for Jabba.
"Terms will be flexible," Vader said. "Name a price, and the Empire will provide."
"Den molla."
"Ten million credits."
"Very well," Vader agreed instantly.
"Ocha."
"Each."
"Fine," Vader said. "Ten million each."
Jabba laughed, tilting his head backward. As he did so, he yanked on Leia's chain, pulling her toward him. Luke's eyes flashed furiously. Subtly, he reached into his robes and wrapped his hand around the hilt of his lightsaber.
"Jabba enjoys doing business with you, Lord Vader."
"Likewise."
"Bring them forward!"
For the first time, Luke looked away from Leia when he heard footsteps. The crowd to Jabba's left dispersed as a couple of Gamorrean guards escorted two chained men forward. The first was the bounty hunter Boba Fett, or so Luke assumed. He had never actually seen the man before. Fett was still wearing his helmet and most of his armor. Behind Fett was a far more familiar face. Han looked horribly pale and he was squinting furiously. On more than one occasion he stumbled, and the Gamorrean to his right had to grab him by the shirt to prevent him from falling over.
"I hope everything is to your satisfaction, Lord Vader," the translator said when Fett and Han came to a stop to the left of Jabba.
"Why the helmet?" Vader asked.
"Pardon?"
"Why does Fett still have his helmet?"
Vader's question was met with a pause. "Because he is a Mandalorian, Lord Vader," the voice finally answered. "It wouldn't be right."
"It wouldn't be right?" Vader repeated, incredulous.
"You may do with him as you want. Jabba will not condone it on his watch, however."
"I see." Vader took a step in front of Luke toward Fett. He considered the bounty hunter for a moment before reaching out and grabbing his arm. Fett resisted, but Vader's grip could not be escaped. Dragging him forward, Vader looked back up at Jabba. "I thank you for your cooperation," he said. "That will be all."
"No it won't," Luke growled.
Vader's head swiveled toward him. He seemed to freeze when he saw Luke had drawn his weapon.
"Release her now," Luke demanded, speaking directly to Jabba.
"Ho ho ho," the Hutt laughed, giving Leia's chain another pull. Luke face twitched and he activated his lightsaber, the blue blade humming by his side. Jabba's yellow eyes narrowed at this aggressive gesture as everyone else collectively inhaled.
"This is your last chance, Jabba," Luke said.
A tense silence followed as Luke and Jabba stared at each other unblinkingly. The Hutt's mouth stretched into a sneer as he pulled on Leia's chain even harder. She made a strangled sound and clawed at her neck, unable to breath…
A massive explosion threw Luke off his feet. He sailed through the air before landing hard on his back. Somehow, he managed to hold onto his lightsaber, however. Furious more so than hurt, Luke flipped over and staggered up to his feet. There was a smoldering crater in the ground directly in front of where Luke had previously been standing. All around him, Luke heard the deafening sound of blaster fire. Where it was coming from, he couldn't tell for sure. He only had eyes for Leia who, amidst the chaos, had jumped to her feet and wrapped her chain around Jabba's thick neck. She pulled with all her might, the Hutt's eyes rolling back and his tongue flailing.
"Luke!"
Looking around, Luke saw Vader on one knee. Lying on the ground was Fett. The bounty hunter wasn't stirring – unconscious or perhaps dead.
"We have to go!"
Only then did Luke register that half a dozen or so men in white armor had leapt onto the sail barge, having climbed up from ropes which were affixed to the side railing with grappling hooks. Luke frowned as he looked at them closer. They looked a bit like stormtroopers, but the design of their helmets was slightly off.
A stray bolt whizzed by him, startling Luke back to his senses. Raising his lightsaber, Luke made to run toward Jabba when he stopped, a flash of white catching his eye. Turning toward it, Luke saw a lithe Togruta wielding two bright white lightsabers rushing through the fray and toward the Hutt.
"Leia!" Luke called out, yet she couldn't hear him over the noise. She was pulling on the chain with all her strength, utterly oblivious to the Togruta running toward her.
"Luke, come on." He felt Vader grab his arm and pull him away. Luke squirmed, desperately trying to free himself.
"Leia! We have to help Leia!"
"We have to go now. Help me carry Fett."
"No!"
Luke felt as if his arm nearly tore out of its socket when Vader pulled him away. Losing his footing, Luke fell to the ground and rolled away a few feet. Dazed, Luke groped around for his lightsaber yet was unable to find it. Craning his head up, he saw Vader looming over him, Fett's unconscious body draped over his shoulder and red lightsaber grasped in his left hand.
"Get up," he barked.
Terrified, Luke did as he asked. Holding a hand to his forehead, Luke vaguely realized that he was bleeding.
"Get to the skiff," Vader ordered, his breathing labored as he began walking.
Luke hesitated for a moment as he tried to see what was happening behind Vader. Deciding there was nothing he could do, Luke spun around and ran down the deck and away from the fighting.
Leia hadn't had any idea what was happening, but she sprang into action nevertheless. Capitalizing on the chaos the explosion had caused, Leia leapt to her feet and threw her chain around Jabba's neck. Climbing on top of his slug-like body, Leia had pulled as hard as she could; disgust, rage, and survivalist instinct empowered her as she strangled her abductor to death.
She barely noticed that there was a battle ensuing around her. Only when she felt a hand on her back did she look away from Jabba with a start. Standing below her on the concrete platform was a female Togruta.
"You can stop, he's dead," she told her. "Give me your hands." Leia blinked a few times in bewilderment. Who was this woman and where had she come from? "Your hands! Now!" she said urgently.
Leia complied, releasing the chain and extending her wrists to the Togruta. She slashed upward with a white blade which looked quite a bit like Luke's lightsaber. The blade cut through the chains with ease.
"Come on, I've got to get you out of here," she said, extending a hand to her.
Leia flexed her wrists before accepting her outstretched hand. She winced as the Togruta strengthened her grip and helped her down from Jabba's body. The flesh on Leia's hands was raw from the chain.
"Where's Fett?" the Togruta asked, releasing Leia's hand.
"Fett?"
"Where is he?"
Leia looked around. Jabba's sycophants were in full retreat. Those without weapons were pitching themselves over the railing and into the sandy sea below while those few who remained were being cut down by a relentless hail of blaster fire.
"Vader had him," Leia said, squinting through the fray.
"Vader?" the Togruta repeated, startled.
"There!" Leia exclaimed, pointing toward a dark figure at the opposite end of the deck. The Togruta took a few steps forward, her two lightsabers held in either hand.
"Anakin," she said to herself.
Vader's figure disappeared out of sight when he jumped over the railing and down to the skiff from which he had arrived. The Togruta stared off at the horizon for a few moments longer before turning back to Leia.
"Here," she said, clipping her two lightsabers to her belt and removing her cloak. "Put this on."
Leia gratefully accepted the cloak and wrapped it around her bare shoulders. Feeling lightheaded, Leia sat down on the edge of the concrete platform in the shadow of Jabba's dead body. The battle had ended as quickly as it began. As the smoke cleared, Leia made out a few soldiers in white armor patrolling the deck, prodding bodies with their feet to see if they were alive.
"How are you doing, Princess?"
Looking up, Leia saw one such soldier walking toward her. Removing his helmet, he revealed himself to be Rex.
"I'm… okay," Leia said faintly.
"Did you see him?" the Togruta asked Rex, arms crossed in front of her chest.
"Vader? Oh yeah," Rex said, sighing as he set his helmet down on the ground. "Hard to miss."
"He took Fett," the Togruta told him.
Rex's expression faltered. "That's not good," he said.
"That's an understatement," the Togruta said, shaking her head.
Leia looked back and forth between her two saviors. "Who are you?" she asked the Togruta, her voice hoarse and scratchy. She hadn't had anything to drink in hours.
"I'm Ahsoka," she said.
"You're Fulcrum?" Leia asked.
Ahsoka nodded. "And you're Leia, is that right?" she asked. "Rex told me about you." Ahsoka peered at her curiously for a few moments before looking up toward the dead Hutt behind her. "That was quite impressive," she said. "It's not easy to kill a Hutt."
"It wasn't that hard," Leia said modestly.
Ahsoka furrowed her brow as she glanced back down at Leia. "Indeed," she murmured. She stared at Leia for a moment longer before clapping her hands together. "We should get going," she said. "Rex, tell the men to move out. We've got to get out of here before the Empire sends reinforcements."
"Where are you taking me?" Leia asked, her legs wobbling as she stood upright.
"Back to base," Ahsoka told her. "You'll be safe there."
Despite the searing heat, Leia found herself shivering as she wrapped the cloak tighter around her. She felt so exposed and vulnerable.
"Here," Ahsoka said, her voice compassionate as she took a step toward Leia. "I'll help." Leia stiffened, but didn't object as Ahsoka placed an arm around Leia's back. "Lean on me," she instructed. "You'll be okay."
Leia shut her eyes tight and did as Ahsoka said. Exhaling shakily, Leia allowed herself to be guided away from the carnage and out of this horrific nightmare.