Chapter 9
Anakin landed his new ship outside the Lars Homestead. Thats one of the few things he liked about Tatooine, outside the cities and townships, there was nothing in the way of a port authority to tell him where he could or couldn't land a ship. Owen and Beru rushed out hearing the ship land. They were gobsmacked by it. They had never seen anything so elegant. They were even more shocked when Anakin disembarked. Anakin walked straight up to them and asked "How was the honeymoon?". Beru smirked and said "Owen does not know how to sit still or sleep late. Every morning he was up before the crack of dawn! He did not know what to do with himself!". Owen said plainly "I'm a farmer! Sitting round does not get the work done. But we are home now.". Anakin looked at Beru, feeling a subtle difference in the way the Force flowed through her, he smirked slightly. Anakin said "Beru, you might want to go see a doctor tomorrow. The Force tells me that you are pregnant". Both Beru and Owen looked stunned. Owen was the first to regain the power of speech "How did you know? We didn't even know!". Anakin replied "The Force is created by life, and by tapping into the Force, I could sense new life inside Beru." Beru had the look of someone caught between being overjoyed and terrified. Owen took the chance to guide her inside the house, with Anakin following.
"DAD! SHMI! WE HAVE GREAT NEWS!" yelled Owen. Shmi came running out from the kitchen while Cliegg hovered over as fast as his chair could come. "Whats this great news Owen?" asked Cliegg. Beru with a dazed smile said "I'm pregnant!". Both Cliegg and Shmi's faces lit up with happiness before Cliegg looked at Owen and smirked slightly before saying "First of all son, thats incredible news, I'm glad that our family will be growing. Good news is you have a lot of sleepless nights ahead of you, and thats even before the baby is born.". Owen, looking more than a little nervous asked "Is there any bad news?". Cliegg gave Owen a big toothy grin and said "Yeah, you are going to have grandpa Cliegg laughing himself silly remembering when you were that age!". Shmi gave Cliegg a very light slap around the back of the head and said "Don't take him seriously, whatever help we can give, all you have to do is ask.". They had a huge dinner to celebrate before Cliegg asked "In all the commotion, I forgot to ask. Anakin, what brings you out here? You literally just got back from Coruscant, you haven't even been back to your house yet.". Anakin, considering his words carefully said "Theres something I would like to talk to you all about. While I was on Coruscant, Padme introduced me to some people, they are looking to end slavery in the Outer Rim.". Cliegg said with conviction "Good! Slavery is something that needs to go!". Anakin said "I'm glad to hear that. We are looking for local support. Cliegg, the Lars family is well respected amongst the moisture farming community on Tatooine. If you were to talk to some of the other farmers, we can start building a foundation.". Cliegg, looking thoughtful asked "Who else is involved in this plan?". Anakin answered "There are at least three Senators. Garm Bel Iblis of Corellia. Bail Organa of Alderaan, and Padme. Theres also me, because from what I have been told, my story has become legendary, from slave to one of the richest beings in the Outer Rim. There are also several small business owners in Mos Espa who I know have a desire to see slavery end." Cliegg said slowly "It's a good start, Bail Organa is a good man. But what I am wondering is how you plan to make this happen. Over the next hour, Anakin outlined in broad strokes how the coalition planned to free the slaves and prevent slavery returning. Cliegg said "Its a good plan. There are a few faces I can speak to.". Shmi said "Anakin, I want you to be careful. I don't want someone coming after you because you made it impossible for them to keep slaves.".
Anakin returned to Mos Espa, after finding a hangar to put his ship, he went straight home. He switched on the comm unit and input Padme's private frequency. It took a moment before Anakin heard "Anakin, did you get back safe?". Anakin said "Yeah, tell Bail that Cliegg is in.". Padme replied "Thats good news, we also managed to find out where the transmitter is for the slave explosives. It's in the palace of Jabba the Hutt.". Anakin said thoughtfully "Jabba is the Daimyo for Mos Espa, if we were to find someone to replace him, someone who agrees with our goals, that would be enough to wipe out slavery on the rest of Tatooine since Mos Espa is the trade hub for the entire planet. But who should it be?". Padme said "We will cross that bridge when we come to it. We have the beginnings of a plan. But we need to get someone inside the palace to find the exact location of the transmitter.". Anakin said "Let me worry about that, I have an idea how to accomplish that.".
The next morning, Anakin waited at the front entrance of Jabba's palace. Next to him was Artoo and Threepio. Attatched to Anakins belt was a small pouch with an aurodium ingot valued at one hundred thousand peggats. Anakin knocked and a Gatekeeper droid emerged, not wanting to let on that he spoke Huttese, he let Threepio do all the talking. Satisfied, the Gatekeeper droid retreated and the door began to rise. Anakin walked inside followed by his two droids. Two Gammorean guards fell into step, escorting them to the throne room. Once they got to the throne room, Anakin saw Jabba the Hutt, slimy as ever. Suppressing the urge to throttle him using the force, Anakin motioned for Threepio to step forward as he dropped to his knees. Anakin spoke as Threepio translated his words into Huttese "Mighty Jabba, it has come to my attention that I have not paid you any tribute, please accept this gift as a sign of my contrition and sincere regret.". Anakin handed the pouch to Bib Fortuna who promptly opened it and showed the contents to Jabba. Jabba spoke in his booming voice as Threepio translated "That you have given me aurodium shows that you now have the proper reverence for me, therefore I will forgive you just this once young Skywalker. You may go, I expect regular tribute from now on.". Anakin said "Thank you mighy Jabba."
Anakin walked into his house, accompanied by his two droids. Arto went straight to the computer and plugged himself in, downloading the scans that he had taken of Jabba's palace during their visit there. Anakin looked at the scans and said "Well done Artoo, I was right. Jabba is far too lazy to have sensor jamming installed.". Anakin went to the comm unit and punched in Padme's frequency. "How did you go Anakin?". Anakin with a cocky smirk said "Went off like clockwork, while I was buttering that overgrown slug, Artoo managed to scan every inch of the palace. He found the transmitter. Its in the throne room, built right into Jabba's throne. And I have figured out a way to make it useless.". Padme asked "What do you have in mind Anakin?". Anakin answered "I found out that the slave shipment from Zygerria arrives in five days. I can fit Artoo with a focused electromagnetic pulse generator, one zap from that and the transmitter is useless. Once thats done, I can broadcast the information all across Tatooine, it'll trigger a slave rebellion. Jabba wont stick around for that, once hes gone, we can install a new Daimyo who will end the Tatooine slave trade for good."
