Star Wars: Infinities – The Apprentice
Chapter 3
By: Christopher W. Blaine (darth_yoshi@yahoo.com)
DISCLAIMER: The characters and situations contained in this story are used without permission for non-profit entertainment purposes only and are ©2002 by George Lucas. This story (pertaining to this chapter and all subsequent chapters) is ©2002 by Christopher W. Blaine and may not be reproduced in any form, except hard printouts for personal enjoyment, without the express permission of the author.
"I am here to establish order to this world," the figure in the dark cloak said. Behind him, a slightly larger individual in matching attire stood, head bent slightly. Their features were masked by the shadows of their garments and the setting of the twin suns of Tatooine.
Jabba, undisputed criminal ruler of the planet, laughed and slithered across the floor. For a Hutt, he was still small, but was working hard to remedy that deficiency. It was rumored that he ate at least his own weight everyday, but then sweated it all off as he traveled under the burning suns of the desert planet. His large eyes squinted as he laughed.
"You are brave, Jedi, but foolish as well," he commented in Huttese. A protocol droid started to translate when the speaker for the intruders responded in the native Hutt tongue.
"The only fool I see here is you, Jabba, if you think I am not serious. I offer you the chance to keep your life. Turn over all of your operations to me and slither back to Nal Hutta." The man pulled back his cloak to reveal the handle of a lightsaber.
Again the Hutt laughed and his bodyguards, a motley crew of aliens and humans, joined in as well. All had their weapons drawn. "Stupid Jedi! You try to scare me with your little toy!"
The man stood tall and pulled back his hood to reveal youthful and handsome features contrasted by a cruel sneer. Cool brown hair and deep blue eyes gave the appearance of innocence, but it was appearance only. "Don't call me a Jedi."
A Rhodian stepped forward, wanting to increase his status with his employer by tossing the duo out himself. "You leave now!" it barked in crude Basic.
As the Rhodian reached out its elongated fingers to touch the man, the dark-clad warrior reached down and pulled his lightsaber. With a quick snap-hiss, the silver blade came to life and ended the Rhodian's with a clean slash that cleaved the alien in two.
From behind the Jedi, his partner pulled back his hood to grace the assembled thugs with his ruined visage. Summoning the Force, Darth Maul leapt up and over his apprentice and landed in front of him. In a single motion, he pulled his own double-bladed weapon and activated it. Crimson death whirled and came down on two humans who were too shocked to pull the triggers on their blasters.
Anakin rushed forward to aid his master, taking the protocol droid out with a wave of his hand that send the mechanical being crashing into the nearest wall. Working together, Anakin and Maul cut down being after being, moving ever closer to their prey. Jabba, immediately sensing that he was in great danger and that these were not Jedi he faced, started moving as fast as his blubber would allow him. He managed to get to the secret passage behind his aquarium of exotic snacks and then beat a hasty retreat to his private hanger bay.
Maul took down the last guard by crushing the unfortunate mercenary's throat with the Force. He turned to Anakin when he sensed a new presence. He turned just in time to deflect a sweeping blow from a blue-hued lightsaber. Anakin saw that his master was battling a woman of pale skin and a single long ponytail. She was quite beautiful in a cold way he thought as he positioned himself to join the fray.
Her style of dress indicated that she was used to action but Anakin could sense the turbulent aura of the dark side coming from her as well. Was she a Nightsister, one of the infamous Witches of Dathomir that had been able to ward off the Jedi so long ago? If so, she could prove to be an ally. He wanted to voice his suspicions to his master, but Darth Maul was not interested.
"Aurra Sing, we meet at last," Maul said, hissing in anger. Anakin reached out with the Force and detected confusion coming from the woman. Darth Maul knew her, but it was obvious that she did not know him. It was not surprising; Lord Maul made very few visits to the world outside the domains of the Sith and when he did, death followed him.
Death and his faithful apprentice.
"The only thing I can't stand more than a Jedi is some scrag wanting to be a Jedi," she snarled. She brought the lightsaber up and feinted a head strike, moving in for a chest thrust at the last second. Maul easily deflected the killing blow and countered with a backhand strike to her face.
"You have potential, but no skill woman," Maul laughed. "You will make a fine companion for my bed."
She screamed and swung for the legs of the Sith Lord, who jumped back several meters. "Go, my apprentice, get the Hutt while I continue with this…foreplay."
Anakin raised his eyebrows. In the last ten years, he had never seen Lord Maul display anything like lust, but he was now giving it off in hot waves. It was fueling the Dark Lord, giving him easier access to the Dark Side and he could feel Aurra Sing straining to overcome the ocean of dark desire being thrown against her. Her fate was sealed. Despite the obvious skills she possessed, she was simply outclassed by Darth Maul.
Anger was not the only way to tap into the dark side, as the Jedi had named that part of the Force which gave a Sith their power. Jealousy, lust and envy worked just as well, opening a conduit for the Sith Lord to pull power from life itself to bring order from chaos. Lust caused chaos and using the Force to satisfy that lust brought order.
His thoughts were interrupted when Maul launched a discarded blaster at Anakin's head. "I said go!" he screamed as Aurra landed a kick to his kneecap. Maul reached out and caught her leg before it moved out of range and used the Force to augment his already impressive strength. The woman flipped and fell onto her back, groaning as her lungs emptied of air.
Anakin needed no further encouragement and took off to the passageway that Jabba had gone into. He saw no sign of the Hutt wondered how something so bulky could move so quickly. He immediately ran down the passageway and turned the corner and found himself in a large hanger bay.
There were several vehicles, including some new Z-95 Headhunters, which he reminded himself he needed to come back and check on. The coming war required all of the materials they could get and a true Dark Lord understood that advantage came from the least likely of places. Stopping in front of a civilian heavy transport, Anakin deactivated his lightsaber and reached out with the Force.
Hutts were immune to most of the subtle mind tricks that the Force would allow him to employ, but Jabba would still radiate as life in the Force. Light or dark side, it didn't matter. If it was alive, it was in the Force and it would leave a clearly visible trail for those who could follow it.
There was a large sail barge at the very end of the bay and Anakin saw several workers scurrying to load crates on board. Anakin could sense their fear; Jabba had them whipped up into a panic and that fed Anakin's power. He started walking slowly towards the barge.
A would-be assassin stepped put from behind the transport and put the barrel of his blaster pistol to Anakin's head. Anakin reacted out of pure reflex and used the Force to crush the man's hand so he couldn't pull the trigger, relishing in the telltale crunch of bone. The man screamed and Anakin gave him an upward palm strike to the nose, driving it deep into the brain and killing the man instantly.
Silently, he cursed himself for focusing only on Jabba and narrowing his perceptions. That had allowed the assassin to get the jump on Anakin. Frustrated with his failure and embarrassed that for all of his bravado, he was still the learner, Anakin pulled on all of the life forces in the hanger bay.
Two of the workers fell immediately, spasms ravaging their bodies as if they were being electrocuted. Another tumbled down from scaffolding overhead, clutching his chest. His body landed with a thud and Anakin released his grip through the Force. "Jabba, I'm coming for you!" he taunted.
In response, an alien guard who was shaken, but not incapacitated, moved to a large turbolaser mounted on the forward deck of the sail barge. Anakin continued to walk slowly towards the ship, allowing his foe to power up the large laser and bring it around to bear down on him. Unlike what some myth's might state, even a Dark Lord could not hope to deflect a light turbolaser with just a lightsaber and when he sensed that the being was going to fire, Anakin used the Force to slam the gunner's head onto the control panel. Sparks flew as the creature's skull popped open and split the control panel casing as well. A small electrical fire started sending blue and green smoke rising up into the overhead as alien flesh burned.
Anakin was almost to the sail barge when he detected Jabba's presence cowering inside a large container next to the ship. Anakin activated his lightsaber and used it to cut off the locks, one by one, letting them fall to the floor and scatter away. Jabba suddenly pushed the door open, throwing his weight into it and knocking Anakin back several meters. Anakin's lightsaber tumbled away and the Hutt rushed towards him, hoping to crush him under his weight.
Jabba yelled and flopped down on the prone form of Anakin. "Die Jedi! Die!" he cried in Huttese.
As the Hutt thrashed, he failed to realize that he was slowly being floated higher and higher, raised by the Force. He did notice after he caught a sickening grin on Anakin's face. The dark clad youth scooted out of the way before he allowed the Hutt to fall face first onto the hanger bay floor.
Jabba rolled around onto his back, dark blood oozing from a deep cut on his massive head. Anakin called his lightsaber back to him. "I told you not to call me a Jedi."
Jabba vomited up something still alive, but Anakin remained unaffected. He kicked at the squirming creature and ignited his weapon. He put the tip of it centimeters from Jabba's eye. "If you're lucky, this will only boil your eye away and I won't be forced to stick it in your filth-ridden brain."
"What do you want?" Jabba asked, nervously trying to look away from the glowing point of the blade.
"I want you to turn over this planet to me," Anakin said.
"I don't own this world…ahhhh!" Jabba cried out as Anakin popped the eyeball. The odor was sickening, but Anakin ignored it.
"I know that if you say this world is mine, the Hutts will respect it. They may not respect you afterwards, but they will respect my claim and they are the only ones I'm concerned with." Anakin waited as the Hutt bucked and he had to use the Force to subdue him, lest he get away.
"Fine! Bastard Sith!" Jabba gurgled out as blood began to pour from his wound. Anakin used the Force to numb the area and Jabba seemed to settle down.
"All is well, my apprentice?" Darth Maul asked, tightening the sash on his robes as he approached. Anakin saw that they were soaked on blood.
"Master! You are wounded!" Anakin said.
"It is not my blood," Maul answered coldly and Anakin now sensed the dying Aurra Sing. He started to say something, but realized that to question his master was to invite doom. Images of what happened to her entered Anakin's brain as she passed into the Force and he shivered.
"Who do I say is now master of this world?" Jabba asked from the floor.
"Lord Vader, representative of the independent world of Tatooine," Chancellor Palpatine announced to the assembled senators. Several moved closer to introduce themselves, especially several of the younger female ones.
Padme stood back and observed as Senator Qual from Kuat made a royal buttock of herself as she tried her best to maintain the diplomat's attention. The young man smiled and politely nodded at all of her questions, but his eyes were being drawn slowly from the artificially enhanced cleavage of the Kuat representative to Padme. She blushed, not knowing what to say or do as he approached.
"Ah, Lord Vader, allow me to present my dear friend and philosophical rival…"
"Senator Amidala?" Vader asked, taking her hand and applying the lightest of kisses to it. Many of the other women were put off as he had only shook theirs.
"Padme, actually," she said, not wanting to pull her hand away. There was something beyond the outward charm to this young man. He was like a kindred spirit, far too young for his position, yet seemingly mature enough to accept it with humility. He was also familiar somehow, but she could not place where they could have met. "I was not aware that Tatooine had a formal government."
"My family managed to come to an arrangement with the Hutts that was mutually beneficial," Lord Vader said with some pride. "However, unless we are able to secure aid from the Republic, I don't see how we can hope to bring law and order."
She turned to Chancellor Palpatine. "I'm afraid I don't understand. Please understand, Lord Vader, I am quite sympathetic to your cause. Tatooine holds a special place in my heart…"
Vader bowed his head and put his best grin on. "Then my planet is indeed quite lucky."
She blushed again and was forced to look down. "Lord Vader, you embarrass me."
Palpatine chuckled. "My dear, he is quite charming, which is why I personally am supporting Tatooine's petition for admission into the Republic. By supporting Tatooine, perhaps we can convince some of the other outlying systems to join as well. For too long, the Rim Worlds have been a haven for criminals wanting to remain outside the reach of our laws."
"That would be a fine thing, I am sure," Padme said, mentally licking her lips as she prepared to test the moral fiber of this handsome delegate from the desert. "Tell me Lord Vader, what is your view on slavery? You are aware that the practice runs rampant on your planet? How will you address this issue?" Padme's passion was evident in her tone and mannerisms. The shock and horror she had felt when young Anakin informed her that he and his mother were slaves still burned deeply within her. Then to think about how the young slave boy had risked his life to save hers…it sometimes became unbearable the sorrow she felt.
So many times over the years she had thought fondly of Anakin and would wonder what kind of man he had grown into. He had so wanted to be a famous Jedi, but it seemed that fate and the Force were against him. "Slavery has been banned on Tatooine. We will prosecute slavers to the full extent of our laws, which can be as harsh as the Dune Sea if need be."
She saw a brief flash of rage flash in his eyes as he spoke and she reasoned that he, like she, had ample reason to hate slavery on a personal level. "I wonder, I have never heard the name Vader before; what world does it originate from?"
Before Vader could answer, Palpatine interrupted. "Many of the wealthier families on Tatooine have chosen new surnames in recent years. You do know the planet was originally founded as a mining colony?"
"Yes, but when the mines dried up, so did interest and it became a home for the scum of the galaxy along with the hard-working," Vader added. "I'm afraid I can't answer your question completely. Tatooine is the only world I have ever considered home besides Coruscant. My family is quite…extended and to be honest, I chose Vader only recently. My current position gives me a new lease on life and I would like to best concentrate on that."
"You were educated here?" she asked, not wanting to pry any more than she had. If he were originally from Tatooine, there was every reason to think that perhaps his family had been involved in criminal enterprises at one time. That he was here to try and change his world for the better spoke more for him than a past he seemed to want to forget.
He smiled. It had a very disarming effect on her. "You could say that, yes." Palpatine whispered something in his ear and Vader nodded. He turned back to Padme. "I'm afraid I have to go speak before the finance committee, but I was wondering if I could trouble you to have dinner with me tonight."
She started to answer and then looked over at the two security men who had been assigned to her since the assassination attempt. "You don't mind company, do you?"