Chapter two: Tatooine
Dack's X-Wing burst through Tatooine's ozone layer as it flew over the planet's sandy surface. By now, the planets twin suns had set, and the time was now night. Dack figured that the best place to get a ship would be Mos Eisley (is that how it's spelled?), so that was where Dack flew to.
Dack landed his X-Wing about two kilometers away from Mos Eisley. After Dack and R7 got out, Dack grabbed the case of lightsabers and planted a remote charge in the X-Wing's cockpit. Dack knew that he wouldn't need the X-Wing anymore and he didn't want the wrong people to get a hold of it. Once he and R7 were back far enough, Dack pulled out a remote and jammed the trigger, sending the X-Wing up in a pillar of fire.
"Dack." A voice said. Dack spun around and found himself looking at the ghost of Mace Windu.
"Oh, Master Windu!" Dack said. "What are you doing here?"
"Before you continue your journey, I must train you to attack with your lightsaber." Windu replied. "This is only the basic training, so don't expect to do anything except attack non-Jedi attackers."
"I understand and am ready to begin my training, master." Dack said as he nodded.
For five minutes, Windu taught Dack everything about basic attacking with a lightsaber. Dack knew that, with this training, he'd only be able to fight those without lightsabers, but at least Dack could now defend himself if he didn't have his blaster.
After the training finished, Windu vanished as Dack and R7 continued their trek through the desert towards Mos Eisley. After twenty minutes of walking, the duo walked through the main gateway of Mos Eisley, walking into the streets of the city.
Dack's first stop was a clothing store. Dack bought a set of clothes that were much more comfortable than his Rebel snowsuit. He walked out of the store in his new outfit, his snowsuit under his arm. His new outfit was a beige shirt, dark beige pants and a pair of brown sand shoes (not sandals).
Dack and R7 next went to the nearest place that sold ships. The man and droid duo walked into the giant garage and found three figures talking. One was an Ithorian, a species of hammerhead-type creatures. The second one was a young looking humanoid with dark hair. The third was a very old Toydarian hovering above the ground with his crumpled wings. Dack and R7 walked over to them.
"Excuse me?" Dack said. This got the attention of all three figures. "I'd like to purchase a ship. One capable of travelling far and capable of holding about four people and an R7 unit."
"Hmm..." The Toydarian said, scratching his chin. "You've a-got a very descriptive a-order. I'll a-see what I a-can do." The Toydarian pulled a small computer out of nowhere and started typing. The humanoid looked at Dack.
"Say, did you hear about Jabba the Hut?" The humanoid asked.
"Jabba the Hut? The crime boss?" Dack asked. "What about him?"
"Well, some say he's got a new slave girl that he ends up torturing far beyond any of the others he has."
Dack's eyes widened. If there was one thing he couldn't take, it would be torture.
"What?! Why is he doing that to her?!" Dack asked frantically.
"She's the only slave girl that hasn't agreed to become a dancing girl." The Ithorian replied. "Every time she refuses Jabba's order to become a dancer, he has her tortured."
"Who told you guys all of this?!"
"Some Gammorean that defected from Jabba's palace." The humanoid replied. "Now before you start asking any more questions, I'll answer the one you're most likely to ask. Yes, some people have gone up to Jabba's palace to try and save her, but they have all returned either mortally wounded or dead. Out of the seventeen people who went up there, only five survived the whole deal."
Dack couldn't take this anymore! There was an innocent girl being tortured at Jabba's palace, and the only one who seemed to be willing to save her was himself. Dack looked over at a landspeeder. Dack turned to the Toydarian.
"Mister, before I purchase a ship, I'd like to rent that speeder over there!" Dack said as he pointed to the speeder. "I'll pay you when I return it!"
"Very well." The Toydarian replied. As soon as he said that, Dack and R7 were over at the speeder. Dack loaded his snowsuit and case of lightsabers into the trunk and R7 into the back seat. Dack got in and started it up by pressing the ignition button. "Where are a-you going, boy?"
"To Jabba's palace to save that slave girl he's torturing!" Dack replied before taking off, leaving the three figures alone again. The Ithorian looked at the humanoid.
"I'll bet you a hundred Trugunts that he'll come back with a mortal wound and without the girl." The Ithorian said.
"Okay. I bet a hundred Trugunts that he's gonna die out there." The humanoid said before looking at the Toydarian. "What do you think, Watto?"
"Well, I a-think that the boy has a-spunk." The Toydarian replied. "I haven't a-seen this a-much spunk in over fifty years when Anakin Skywalker entered a podrace. I bet a hundred Trugunts that a-he'll be successful in his a-mission and return with that a-poor girl."
"You realize that the chances of that actually happening are pretty slim?" The humanoid asked.
"Yes. But for a-some reason, I think I a-have faith in a-that boy." Watto replied.
Dack and R7 tore across the desert in the speeder. R7 squealed at Dack.
"What do you mean 'you're going too fast'?" Dack asked. "Speeders are BUILT to handle these speeds!"
Within five minutes of high-speed driving, Dack had arrived at Jabba's palace. Dack had to find a way to sneak in quietly, as everyone in the palace was most likely asleep. The speeder came to a halt about fifty feet from the front gate. Dack got out and looked at R7.
"R7, stay here." Dack said. "Don't worry. I'll be back out soon." With that, Dack walked towards the front gate. Dack found a smaller door to the side of the giant gate. He found it unlocked and walked in.
(Author's note: This probably explains why Jabba had such a tight security system in ROTJ)
Dack looked around Jabba's palace. The whole place was dirty, disgusting and slimy. Gammorean guards were lying all over the floor, sound asleep. Dack tiptoed past the snoring pig guards and continued his search.
After several minutes of sneaking and searching, Dack came across a door leading down some stairs. He figured that the torture chamber would be down low, so Dack quietly opened the door and walked down the stairs.
At the bottom of the stairs was another door. Dack opened the door and walked into the room. It was indeed the torture chamber. Dack was disgusted at the amount of devices used for torture. But one thing in the room caught his attention: A young Twi'lek girl about the same age as he.
(Author's note: For those of you who don't know, Oola is a Twi'lek, so you know what this girl looks like)
Her skin was white, but Dack figured that it was her natural colour. Her clothes were ripped and she had dried blood on several parts of her body. She was on her knees and her wrists were chained to the wall. She was crying tears, but Dack didn't know if they were from fear, pain or sorrow. Well, that was the least of his worries at the moment. Dack rushed over to the girls side as he pulled out his lightsaber and turned it on. The sound of the lightsaber activating made the Twi'lek girl react by looking up at Dack as she stopped her sobbing. Dack made quick work of the chains with his lightsaber, cutting through them like butter. Within seconds, the girl was freed. She stood up and looked at her rescuer, now crying tears of happiness.
"You have saved me, sir!" The Twi'lek exclaimed with a wide smile. "I am forever in your debt!"
"You don't owe me anything, miss." Dack replied with a smile of his own. "I'm just glad that I found you before Jabba tortured you any further." Dack grabbed the Twi'lek's hand and started leading her out of the chamber.
"Wait." The girl said. "Since you saved me, I think that it's only natural that we introduce ourselves."
"Yeah. I guess so." Dack replied. "I'm Dack Raltar."
"And my name's D'looa." The Twi'lek said.
"Pleased to meet you." Dack said with a smile. "Now let's get out of here."
Dack and D'looa tiptoed back up the stairs and back into the corridors of Jabba's palace. They sneaked around the dozing guards as best as they could without waking them.
However, just as the duo reached the main door, one guard stirred. The pig groaned as it woke up. The first thing he saw was Dack escaping with a prisoner. The pig squealed loudly, waking all of the others up. The guard explained what he saw in the Gammorean language. The rest of the guards quickly realized what was going on, and they all charged out the door after Dack and D'looa.
Outside, Dack and D'looa had heard the pig-like squeals. They turned towards the door and saw about thirty guards rumble out of the door and run straight at them. Dack quickly turned to D'looa.
"Run for it, D'looa!" Dack shouted as both he and the Twi'lek girl bolted towards the speeder where R7 was waiting. They both got in and Dack started the speeder, making it charge off like a bolt of lightning, leaving the Gammorean guards shouting at the escaping trio.
During the ride back to Mos Eisley, which had slowed down now that there wasn't anyone following the speeder, R7 heard a loud bleeping noise coming from the seat beside him. R7 looked at the seat and suddenly got excited. He started squealing at Dack.
"What is it, R7?" Dack asked. R7 beeped and whirred at Dack. Dack's eyes widened.
"WHAT?!" Dack cried, jamming the brakes of the speeder. Once the speeder was at a complete halt, Dack looked at his droid companion. "The Jedi- radar's gone wild?!" R7 bleeped in agreement. "But the only one in the area besides us is..." Dack looked over at D'looa. Dack quickly grabbed the radar from the back seat and aimed it at D'looa. Indeed, it had gone wild when it was pointing at her.
"What is that thing, Dack?" D'looa asked.
"You see, D'looa, I'm a Jedi-in-training. I'm on a mission to Corosant to defeat four evil Jedis, and there are three people in the galaxies that are destined for me to recruit. This radar tracks those people." Dack explained.
"Are you trying to say that I'm destined to become a Jedi?" D'looa asked, eyes looking like they were twinkling in astonishment.
"That is exactly what I'm saying." Dack replied before looking at D'looa's ripped clothes. "Come on. I'll take you back to Mos Eisley. You can get some new clothing there."
Dack started the speeder again, taking off towards Mos Eisley.
After arriving, the first place Dack stopped by was again the clothing store. He gave D'looa some money, and the Twi'lek girl walked into the store, coming out about five minutes later with a new outfit. Her new set of clothing looked just like Dacks. D'looa got back in the speeder as Dack continued back towards the garage, where all three figures were still talking. Watto saw them pull into the garage, and grinned with an open mouth.
"You're a-back, boy!" Watto exclaimed. "And with a-the girl!" He turned to his friends. "Alright, a-pay up."
The humanoid and Ithorian each paid Watto his money as the Toydarian turned back to Dack, who was walking over to him with D'looa, R7, his snowsuit and case of lightsabers. Dack gave Watto some Trugunts.
"There's the money for the speeder rental." Dack said. "Now abut our ship."
"I'm a-way ahead of a-you boy." Watto said with a smile. "I a-had faith that you would a-come back alive, so I a-prepared your ship."
Watto led the two Jedis and the R7 droid nto another part of the garage, where a large ship was waiting. It was sleek and made of a special Ithorian metal.
"This is the 'Jetstream'!" Watto said.
"Oooooooooooo." R7 whistled in amazement.
"Wow!" Dack exclaimed. "This ship will do nicely if it will get us to several planets."
"Yes, it a-will." Watto replied. "But a-what do you a-mean by 'us'?"
"D'looa here is to accompany me." Dack replied.
"Why is a-that?"
Dack showed Watto his lightsaber. Watto looked at the weapon in awe.
"You're a-Jedi?!" Watto asked.
"I'm only a Jedi-in-training, and D'looa is to become one as well." Dack replied. "Oh, wait, that reminds me."
Dack set the case on the floor and opened it up. D'looa and Watto stared at the three remaining lightsabers. Dack looked at D'looa with a smile.
"Go ahead, D'looa. Pick your weapon." Dack said.
D'looa reached into the case, pulled out a lightsaber and activated it. A deep pink beam sprouted from the base. D;looa smiled.
"I think I'll take this one." D'looa said, waving the weapon around. While she was doing so, Dack turned to Watto.
"How much do you want for the ship?" Dack asked.
"Normally, I would a-sell it for eleven thousand a-Trugunts." Watto replied. "But a-since I a-like you and a-have great a-faith in a-you, boy, I'll a-give it to you for a-eight thousand Trugunts."
"Tell you what." Dack said, smiling. "Since you had faith in me back there, I'll show my gratitude be paying you nine thousand. You can keep the extra thousand."
Dack gave Watto nine thousand Trugunts. The old Toydarian smiled.
"You are a-very generous, my a-friend." Watto said. "I a-wish you good a- luck in you're a-journey."
Watto gave Dack the device that would activate the main ramp. Dack and D'looa bid farewell to Watto as they climbed aboard the Jetstream as R7 wheeled in after them.
Dack sat down in the pilot seat as D'looa sat down beside him. Dack started the engine, lifting the Jetstream off the ground. Watto waved goodbye as the ship took off, shooting through Tatooine's ozone layer in a split second.
Dack is now one-quarter of the way through his journey. Where will he find the next recruit?
To be continued...
Dack's X-Wing burst through Tatooine's ozone layer as it flew over the planet's sandy surface. By now, the planets twin suns had set, and the time was now night. Dack figured that the best place to get a ship would be Mos Eisley (is that how it's spelled?), so that was where Dack flew to.
Dack landed his X-Wing about two kilometers away from Mos Eisley. After Dack and R7 got out, Dack grabbed the case of lightsabers and planted a remote charge in the X-Wing's cockpit. Dack knew that he wouldn't need the X-Wing anymore and he didn't want the wrong people to get a hold of it. Once he and R7 were back far enough, Dack pulled out a remote and jammed the trigger, sending the X-Wing up in a pillar of fire.
"Dack." A voice said. Dack spun around and found himself looking at the ghost of Mace Windu.
"Oh, Master Windu!" Dack said. "What are you doing here?"
"Before you continue your journey, I must train you to attack with your lightsaber." Windu replied. "This is only the basic training, so don't expect to do anything except attack non-Jedi attackers."
"I understand and am ready to begin my training, master." Dack said as he nodded.
For five minutes, Windu taught Dack everything about basic attacking with a lightsaber. Dack knew that, with this training, he'd only be able to fight those without lightsabers, but at least Dack could now defend himself if he didn't have his blaster.
After the training finished, Windu vanished as Dack and R7 continued their trek through the desert towards Mos Eisley. After twenty minutes of walking, the duo walked through the main gateway of Mos Eisley, walking into the streets of the city.
Dack's first stop was a clothing store. Dack bought a set of clothes that were much more comfortable than his Rebel snowsuit. He walked out of the store in his new outfit, his snowsuit under his arm. His new outfit was a beige shirt, dark beige pants and a pair of brown sand shoes (not sandals).
Dack and R7 next went to the nearest place that sold ships. The man and droid duo walked into the giant garage and found three figures talking. One was an Ithorian, a species of hammerhead-type creatures. The second one was a young looking humanoid with dark hair. The third was a very old Toydarian hovering above the ground with his crumpled wings. Dack and R7 walked over to them.
"Excuse me?" Dack said. This got the attention of all three figures. "I'd like to purchase a ship. One capable of travelling far and capable of holding about four people and an R7 unit."
"Hmm..." The Toydarian said, scratching his chin. "You've a-got a very descriptive a-order. I'll a-see what I a-can do." The Toydarian pulled a small computer out of nowhere and started typing. The humanoid looked at Dack.
"Say, did you hear about Jabba the Hut?" The humanoid asked.
"Jabba the Hut? The crime boss?" Dack asked. "What about him?"
"Well, some say he's got a new slave girl that he ends up torturing far beyond any of the others he has."
Dack's eyes widened. If there was one thing he couldn't take, it would be torture.
"What?! Why is he doing that to her?!" Dack asked frantically.
"She's the only slave girl that hasn't agreed to become a dancing girl." The Ithorian replied. "Every time she refuses Jabba's order to become a dancer, he has her tortured."
"Who told you guys all of this?!"
"Some Gammorean that defected from Jabba's palace." The humanoid replied. "Now before you start asking any more questions, I'll answer the one you're most likely to ask. Yes, some people have gone up to Jabba's palace to try and save her, but they have all returned either mortally wounded or dead. Out of the seventeen people who went up there, only five survived the whole deal."
Dack couldn't take this anymore! There was an innocent girl being tortured at Jabba's palace, and the only one who seemed to be willing to save her was himself. Dack looked over at a landspeeder. Dack turned to the Toydarian.
"Mister, before I purchase a ship, I'd like to rent that speeder over there!" Dack said as he pointed to the speeder. "I'll pay you when I return it!"
"Very well." The Toydarian replied. As soon as he said that, Dack and R7 were over at the speeder. Dack loaded his snowsuit and case of lightsabers into the trunk and R7 into the back seat. Dack got in and started it up by pressing the ignition button. "Where are a-you going, boy?"
"To Jabba's palace to save that slave girl he's torturing!" Dack replied before taking off, leaving the three figures alone again. The Ithorian looked at the humanoid.
"I'll bet you a hundred Trugunts that he'll come back with a mortal wound and without the girl." The Ithorian said.
"Okay. I bet a hundred Trugunts that he's gonna die out there." The humanoid said before looking at the Toydarian. "What do you think, Watto?"
"Well, I a-think that the boy has a-spunk." The Toydarian replied. "I haven't a-seen this a-much spunk in over fifty years when Anakin Skywalker entered a podrace. I bet a hundred Trugunts that a-he'll be successful in his a-mission and return with that a-poor girl."
"You realize that the chances of that actually happening are pretty slim?" The humanoid asked.
"Yes. But for a-some reason, I think I a-have faith in a-that boy." Watto replied.
Dack and R7 tore across the desert in the speeder. R7 squealed at Dack.
"What do you mean 'you're going too fast'?" Dack asked. "Speeders are BUILT to handle these speeds!"
Within five minutes of high-speed driving, Dack had arrived at Jabba's palace. Dack had to find a way to sneak in quietly, as everyone in the palace was most likely asleep. The speeder came to a halt about fifty feet from the front gate. Dack got out and looked at R7.
"R7, stay here." Dack said. "Don't worry. I'll be back out soon." With that, Dack walked towards the front gate. Dack found a smaller door to the side of the giant gate. He found it unlocked and walked in.
(Author's note: This probably explains why Jabba had such a tight security system in ROTJ)
Dack looked around Jabba's palace. The whole place was dirty, disgusting and slimy. Gammorean guards were lying all over the floor, sound asleep. Dack tiptoed past the snoring pig guards and continued his search.
After several minutes of sneaking and searching, Dack came across a door leading down some stairs. He figured that the torture chamber would be down low, so Dack quietly opened the door and walked down the stairs.
At the bottom of the stairs was another door. Dack opened the door and walked into the room. It was indeed the torture chamber. Dack was disgusted at the amount of devices used for torture. But one thing in the room caught his attention: A young Twi'lek girl about the same age as he.
(Author's note: For those of you who don't know, Oola is a Twi'lek, so you know what this girl looks like)
Her skin was white, but Dack figured that it was her natural colour. Her clothes were ripped and she had dried blood on several parts of her body. She was on her knees and her wrists were chained to the wall. She was crying tears, but Dack didn't know if they were from fear, pain or sorrow. Well, that was the least of his worries at the moment. Dack rushed over to the girls side as he pulled out his lightsaber and turned it on. The sound of the lightsaber activating made the Twi'lek girl react by looking up at Dack as she stopped her sobbing. Dack made quick work of the chains with his lightsaber, cutting through them like butter. Within seconds, the girl was freed. She stood up and looked at her rescuer, now crying tears of happiness.
"You have saved me, sir!" The Twi'lek exclaimed with a wide smile. "I am forever in your debt!"
"You don't owe me anything, miss." Dack replied with a smile of his own. "I'm just glad that I found you before Jabba tortured you any further." Dack grabbed the Twi'lek's hand and started leading her out of the chamber.
"Wait." The girl said. "Since you saved me, I think that it's only natural that we introduce ourselves."
"Yeah. I guess so." Dack replied. "I'm Dack Raltar."
"And my name's D'looa." The Twi'lek said.
"Pleased to meet you." Dack said with a smile. "Now let's get out of here."
Dack and D'looa tiptoed back up the stairs and back into the corridors of Jabba's palace. They sneaked around the dozing guards as best as they could without waking them.
However, just as the duo reached the main door, one guard stirred. The pig groaned as it woke up. The first thing he saw was Dack escaping with a prisoner. The pig squealed loudly, waking all of the others up. The guard explained what he saw in the Gammorean language. The rest of the guards quickly realized what was going on, and they all charged out the door after Dack and D'looa.
Outside, Dack and D'looa had heard the pig-like squeals. They turned towards the door and saw about thirty guards rumble out of the door and run straight at them. Dack quickly turned to D'looa.
"Run for it, D'looa!" Dack shouted as both he and the Twi'lek girl bolted towards the speeder where R7 was waiting. They both got in and Dack started the speeder, making it charge off like a bolt of lightning, leaving the Gammorean guards shouting at the escaping trio.
During the ride back to Mos Eisley, which had slowed down now that there wasn't anyone following the speeder, R7 heard a loud bleeping noise coming from the seat beside him. R7 looked at the seat and suddenly got excited. He started squealing at Dack.
"What is it, R7?" Dack asked. R7 beeped and whirred at Dack. Dack's eyes widened.
"WHAT?!" Dack cried, jamming the brakes of the speeder. Once the speeder was at a complete halt, Dack looked at his droid companion. "The Jedi- radar's gone wild?!" R7 bleeped in agreement. "But the only one in the area besides us is..." Dack looked over at D'looa. Dack quickly grabbed the radar from the back seat and aimed it at D'looa. Indeed, it had gone wild when it was pointing at her.
"What is that thing, Dack?" D'looa asked.
"You see, D'looa, I'm a Jedi-in-training. I'm on a mission to Corosant to defeat four evil Jedis, and there are three people in the galaxies that are destined for me to recruit. This radar tracks those people." Dack explained.
"Are you trying to say that I'm destined to become a Jedi?" D'looa asked, eyes looking like they were twinkling in astonishment.
"That is exactly what I'm saying." Dack replied before looking at D'looa's ripped clothes. "Come on. I'll take you back to Mos Eisley. You can get some new clothing there."
Dack started the speeder again, taking off towards Mos Eisley.
After arriving, the first place Dack stopped by was again the clothing store. He gave D'looa some money, and the Twi'lek girl walked into the store, coming out about five minutes later with a new outfit. Her new set of clothing looked just like Dacks. D'looa got back in the speeder as Dack continued back towards the garage, where all three figures were still talking. Watto saw them pull into the garage, and grinned with an open mouth.
"You're a-back, boy!" Watto exclaimed. "And with a-the girl!" He turned to his friends. "Alright, a-pay up."
The humanoid and Ithorian each paid Watto his money as the Toydarian turned back to Dack, who was walking over to him with D'looa, R7, his snowsuit and case of lightsabers. Dack gave Watto some Trugunts.
"There's the money for the speeder rental." Dack said. "Now abut our ship."
"I'm a-way ahead of a-you boy." Watto said with a smile. "I a-had faith that you would a-come back alive, so I a-prepared your ship."
Watto led the two Jedis and the R7 droid nto another part of the garage, where a large ship was waiting. It was sleek and made of a special Ithorian metal.
"This is the 'Jetstream'!" Watto said.
"Oooooooooooo." R7 whistled in amazement.
"Wow!" Dack exclaimed. "This ship will do nicely if it will get us to several planets."
"Yes, it a-will." Watto replied. "But a-what do you a-mean by 'us'?"
"D'looa here is to accompany me." Dack replied.
"Why is a-that?"
Dack showed Watto his lightsaber. Watto looked at the weapon in awe.
"You're a-Jedi?!" Watto asked.
"I'm only a Jedi-in-training, and D'looa is to become one as well." Dack replied. "Oh, wait, that reminds me."
Dack set the case on the floor and opened it up. D'looa and Watto stared at the three remaining lightsabers. Dack looked at D'looa with a smile.
"Go ahead, D'looa. Pick your weapon." Dack said.
D'looa reached into the case, pulled out a lightsaber and activated it. A deep pink beam sprouted from the base. D;looa smiled.
"I think I'll take this one." D'looa said, waving the weapon around. While she was doing so, Dack turned to Watto.
"How much do you want for the ship?" Dack asked.
"Normally, I would a-sell it for eleven thousand a-Trugunts." Watto replied. "But a-since I a-like you and a-have great a-faith in a-you, boy, I'll a-give it to you for a-eight thousand Trugunts."
"Tell you what." Dack said, smiling. "Since you had faith in me back there, I'll show my gratitude be paying you nine thousand. You can keep the extra thousand."
Dack gave Watto nine thousand Trugunts. The old Toydarian smiled.
"You are a-very generous, my a-friend." Watto said. "I a-wish you good a- luck in you're a-journey."
Watto gave Dack the device that would activate the main ramp. Dack and D'looa bid farewell to Watto as they climbed aboard the Jetstream as R7 wheeled in after them.
Dack sat down in the pilot seat as D'looa sat down beside him. Dack started the engine, lifting the Jetstream off the ground. Watto waved goodbye as the ship took off, shooting through Tatooine's ozone layer in a split second.
Dack is now one-quarter of the way through his journey. Where will he find the next recruit?
To be continued...