Star Wars Infinities: The Warrior
By Christopher W. Blaine (darth_yoshi@yahoo.com)
DISCLAIMER: The characters and situations contained in this story are ©2002 by George Lucas and are used herein without permission for fan-related, non-profit entertainment purposes only. This original work of fiction is ©2002 by Christopher W. Blaine and may not be reproduced in part or as a whole without the express permission of the author.
CHAPTER 7
"Mos Eisley? What the hell, Han?" Luke Skywalker asked as they walked through the streets of the Tatooine spaceport. He sniffed the air and wrinkled his nose from the multitude of odors it encountered. "I thought we were going to hit Corellia?"
Han Solo grinned. "Kid, you can go to Corellia any time if you want to, but I'm here to look into something a little more fun."
Luke rolled his eyes. He was the heir to the Sith and really would have rather been on a more civilized planet, one where they knew who he was and feared him. He was the Emperor's Fist, not that it mattered out here. Tatooine may have been an Imperial world, but it was a long shot from being part of Imperial society.
He reached out with the Force, touching every mind he could. There was a level of criminal intent in every brain and Luke smiled. This was a planet full of people who wanted to rise above their station, but were simply unable to. He was indeed fortunate to be who he was.
The planet itself was not unknown to him; he knew that his father had come from here, but he also knew that his father had left here the first chance he got. "What could there possibly be here?"
"I've got a line on a race, an illegal snubfighter competition." There was a twinkle in Han's eye. "What you've learned in the academy is fine, but that only works against other organized militaries. It's time you put those considerable skills of yours to practical use."
Luke waved him off. "I'm a champion podracer already…"
"Which is nice for a kid, but men fly starfighters," Han replied as they passed by a large, green dewback. The lizard seemed interested in Luke, but he waved his hand and the Force burned the animal's brain into slag. The creature fell dead without so much as a grunt. If Han noticed, he didn't let on. He had gotten used to Luke's quirks, such as not being able to tolerate being gawked at, years before when they had first met.
They were an unlikely pair, best friends but worlds apart save for their skill in piloting. Han came from a poor background, a young man who had lived in virtual slavery to a man who lived on the outside of the law. That man had trained Han to be a pilot and then had entered him in everything from swoop bike competitions to illegal air speeder races. It was during one such race that Han had come to the attention of a young Imperial officer looking for recruits for a very special fighter unit.
That man had been Soontir Fel.
"So where exactly are we going? Are there any girls?"
Han laughed and clapped Luke on the back. "Spoken like a true pilot on his first leave away from mommy!" Han was the only person in the galaxy who could get away with speaking so in front of Luke. There was no doubt about Luke's dedication to his mother, but his friendship with Han was also just as important to him. Deceptra recognized that Luke would need people to serve him in the future whose loyalty was unquestioning, so she suffered Han's relationship with her son. "There will be plenty of time for the women, oh young Dark Lord!"
Luke eyed Han suspiciously. Despite the abilities Luke demonstrated, he knew that Han somehow doubted the existence of the Force. By referring to Luke by the august title of the Sith, he was being condescending. "Just remember, we only have two weeks," Luke reminded him.
They entered a smoky cantina, the jizz band playing a tune that was popular several years before. There was an assortment of species and humans from all over the galaxy and Luke again was put off by the smell. Too long, he supposed, had he been living in the clean, sterile environment of Imperial Center. His father had once, briefly, ruled this world before it was turned over to Moff Tarkin and Luke had to ask himself again why his father would have wanted to?
Tatooine was a bleak, dry world with no real redeeming value now that the Imperial weapons facility was gone. His mother had told him that Tatooine had been a special place to his father. Luke now saw how much of a weakness that was. Luke felt that only things that helped you were of value. It was the entire sum of those things that made you powerful. Luke had his mother, the Emperor, Han and the Dark Side.
With these things, he reasoned he could be the most powerful person in the galaxy.
He moved over to the bar with Han, but then his friend told him he would be back and then disappeared into the haze and bodies that filled the cantina. A young waitress walked by in a skirt that was far too short. She gave him a smile and he turned to watch her pass, giving her backside an approving nod. When he turned back around, a nightmarish blue face confronted him. The "walrus man" as the people of Ando were known, had large eyes and twin tusks, and his breath reeked of a cross between ale and fish. It barked something at him and Luke raised an eyebrow.
His mother had taught him that many of the galaxy's species were worthy of respect, that they had something to offer to the overall order of the galaxy. Luke sensed that the Emperor did not entirely agree with this policy and was perhaps more hawkish in his dealings with non-humans. This creature was offending him and for a brief moment, Luke considered just walking away. That would have made Han happy as the other pilot was trying to maintain a low profile. There were no Imperial troops garrisoned on Tatooine anymore, which made the world not exactly the safest place for two Imperial pilots.
A heavily scarred human stepped up, his odor equally foul. "He doesn't like you," the man said with a crooked smile.
"I don't care," Luke responded, trying to turn around and put down the rage that was building within him. Any other world in the galaxy and these two sentient bacterium would have been cut down by stormtroopers for getting so close to him.
The man put a hand on Luke's shoulder and spun him around. "I don't like you either! You better watch yourself…I have the death sentence in twelve systems!"
Luke took a deep breath and stood up to his full height, which brought him close to the man's own. He regarded the face and searched his memory. Surely someone as twisted as this individual would be easy to recall, especially with such a large bounty on his head. Twelve death sentences, if it were true, would most likely attract the best of the bounty hunters. "Ah, Dr. Evazan I presume? Or, are you going by Dr. Cornelius or Dr. Roofoo today? You have so many aliases, it's hard to keep track." He turned to the Andonian. "And this must be Ponda Baba, your pet."
Baba surged forward, but Evazan held him back with an arm. "You just signed your own death warrant, Imperial pup."
Luke almost laughed at the man when Han came up and tried to diffuse the situation. "Nobody wants any trouble here…"
Baba pushed past his partner and struck Han full force in the chest. Even before his friend started falling, Luke had reached out through the Dark Side and was drawing his lightsaber. With a snap-woosh the dark blade came to life, nearly invisible in the low light of the cantina. Ponda Baba was cleaved neatly in two by the time Han hit the floor.
Evazan went for his blaster and through the red haze of the Dark Side; Luke began to see all of the future actions of the patrons. He saw which ones would involve themselves in the fight, which ones would cower and which ones would sit in admiration of Luke's abilities.
Luke spun and caught Evazan at the knees, separating both legs at the joint. The lightsaber instantly cauterized the wounds so that there would be no blood. The man who was known affectionately as "Dr. Death" screamed and his blaster went bouncing across the crud-encrusted floor. Someone made to pick it up, but Luke simply grabbed the blaster, turned the muzzle towards the unfortunate fool and pulled the trigger, all through the Force and while parrying another attack from a crazed Ithorian.
The Ithorian was intoxicated, Luke could tell that from the way the creature moved, but he had no mercy in his heart. The established penalty in the Empire for attacking an agent of the Emperor was death and Luke was ready to dish it out. As the alien died from two swift strokes to the torso, Han leapt to Luke's side. "Can't let you have all of the fun!"
Han fired at a human who was pulling out a holdout blaster, all the while the bartended was screaming "No blasters! No blasters!" Luke smiled, enjoying his first bar room brawl. Someone tossed a mug at Luke's head, but he caught it with the Force and sent it back at its owner with enough power to crush their skull.
A stalemate was finally reached and Luke and Han stood there, weapons at the ready. None of the other patrons seemed interested in testing their mettle against the two and satisfied that the ignorant savages had been cowed, Luke deactivated his lightsaber. There were whispers from the customers and Luke picked up the word "Jedi" several times. It angered him to be compared to the pacifistic weaklings who once ruled the galaxy through treachery. He was a Sith, someone willing to stand in front of any enemy and demonstrate his ability to lead through martial prowess.
Someone clapped from the corner and Luke looked over. He could sense something coming off of Han through the Force and he realized it was lust. A woman, blonde-haired and long-legged stepped forward. She was dressed skimpily, with high boots and dark gloves that matched the barely-there top and short pants that accentuated her figure. Two blasters hung at her shapely hips in quick draw holsters. "Never seen an actual dark knight in action."
Luke smiled and bowed his head slightly. He almost reached out to take her hand and kiss it, just like he had seen so many times in the Imperial court, but then he remembered his mother's comment about such people. "They kiss your hand when they should be kissing something else!"
She stopped in front of the two, several burly guards behind her. Luke sensed that these were all professional men, probably former stormtroopers by the way they carried themselves. "I'm Commander Silver Frye of the Aquarius Freeholders."
Han explained. "The Freeholders are a mercenary group hired by the Empire to keep an eye on this section of the galaxy. They don't enforce the law per se as much as they stop illegal smuggling."
"We try, but without the vast resources of the Empire, we can only do so much," she said with a smile. Her face brought a charge of electricity to Luke's body. "I'm sure that your service is commendable nevertheless," he replied.
She laughed and Luke found himself transfixed by the sway of her breasts as she did so. This was a woman who reminded him…of his mother! For an instant, he was sickened, but then he gradually came to realize that he was attracted to this woman's free spirit, to her confidence in her place in the scheme of things. Her physical attributes only served to be the "icing on the spice cake" as Han would say. "So, this is the hotshot pilot you were talking about?"
"He's nearly as good as me," Han said, jabbing Luke in the ribs.
"Yes, I'm so lucky to have Han as a mentor," Luke added icily. The groups briefly stepped aside as bar workers began to clean up the bodies. One of the workers was the pretty young waitress he had noticed before. Luke saw the expression of fear on her face when she looked at him, her initial interest replaced by revulsion.
A subtle nudge in the Force repaired that. In an instant, he caused her to fall madly in love with him. She would pursue him with all of her heart and when he finally rejected her, she would kill herself. Without another thought, he turned back to Silver and Han as they conversed.
Silver stopped speaking to Han and looked past Luke. "Can I help you, sweetheart?" she asked.
Luke suppressed a giggle and stepped aside to let the waitress through. "This is my man," she said, pointing to Luke. "You don't even look at him!"
Han was perplexed and opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of it. Luke always had some sort of unnatural effect on women and experience told him that no matter what he said, it wouldn't do any good. Taking a cue from his friend, who seemed to know when trouble was about to start, he stepped back as well.
Silver put her hands on her hips and looked at the younger woman. "Dear, if I wanted him, you certainly wouldn't be able to stop me. Why don't you go back to work before I get you fired."
The waitress screamed and launched herself at Silver. Three bright green bolts of energy tore through the young woman before she ever made contact. As he body fell, Silver's bodyguards lowered their smoking blasters.
Luke made a mental note about the results of his mind tampering. He had not expected that and while he was displeased at not being able to enjoy the young waitress's company, he had gained valuable insight into the use of that particular talent. "I don't know what got into her," Luke said sheepishly. "I didn't even know her."
"I'm sure; a Sith wouldn't know anything about mind control," Silver said with a smile.
Han scratched his head. "Never seen anything like that before." He looked over to Luke. "Silver here is a believer in your ancient religion, too."
"Really?" Luke asked in surprise. He had met very few people that would even acknowledge the Force as being anything other than a belief system. "A true believer?"
"My mother's brother was taken by the Jedi when he was only a baby. My mother never saw him again. Let's just say that I believe in what they could do and I'm not sad that they are gone." She waved a hand towards her private table. "I'm the one setting up the race; perhaps you would like to go over the details."
"The race is illegal, isn't it?" Luke asked and Han shook his head.
"Perhaps we should discuss it in private, Flight Officer Skywalker?" Luke felt Han's heart sink and he almost felt sorry for him. However, this was one area that friendship did not come into play. "I would love the opportunity to try and change your mind."
"I'm sure you would, but why? Are you worried I would call in the forces of the Empire and deprive you of your lucrative contract?" Luke asked.
She laughed, almost so hard that she choked. "I'm sure, handsome, you could do that, but to be honest, I think it would be far more interesting to see the best rogue pilots out there go up against the two of you."
"Then, by all means, lead on," Luke said.
She cocked her head to him. "I have a private room nearby…"
Han was already scanning the crowd for something to keep him occupied while Luke "discussed" the situation with Silver. Han was all for the race, obviously, but he would not participate at the expense of his career and/or friendship with Luke. Luke sensed the anxiety in his friend and considered telling him that he had already decided to participate, but decided not to.
He got a read from Silver's mind and sensed that she meant him no harm, but she also did not intend to sleep with him either. She was fascinated by him and somewhat attracted and all of this was a test to see how he would react. Because of their age difference (she was at least a decade older than him), she no doubt figured he would be all over her once they were alone.
Such tests were common, as many Imperial officers had told him during his training. Because of his position within the Imperial court, Luke had always been treated differently even as a cadet. He was always being given advice by the older men assigned to instruct him. His mother would only shake her head and warn him that only someone who could truly appreciate the complexities of the Dark Side would be able to be a worthy mate for him.
Luke wasn't sure he was looking for a mate, but Silver presented a learning opportunity, a way to fully investigate the workings of the female mind. The rewards for such study far outweighed the risks. He tried to see the future, to know exactly when he would be able to conquer this scoundrel of a woman, but all he saw were dark clouds.
The future was always difficult to read, but now it was damn near impossible. A chill went up Luke's spine. There was a figure in the clouds, a figure that seemed to represent death. A figure radiating the Force. Was that figure him?
Instantly, the sensation was gone and Luke was surprised to find that he and Silver were walking hand in hand down a back alleyway. Several minutes had passed as Luke had been lost in the dream.
What that actually meant would be on his mind for a very long time to come.
