BESTINE, TATOOINE
The remains of Qui-Gon Jinns lightsaber lay scattered in the sands of Bastines outskirts. One item in particular attracted the attention of the young boy Kitster. The gem was flourescant, its green colour gleaming in the sunlight of Tatooines twin suns. It was the most beautiful thing Kitster had ever seen. Small enough to fit in his palm, he was amazed at its weight; atleast ten pounds.
"Give it here!"
A redskinned nikto forced Kitster to hand over the gem, then pushed him aside and kicked the boy to send him on his way. Kitster knew when to make himself scarce and fled from the small gang of thugs that had surprised him.
"What is it, Sharow?" one of the thugs asked, trying to get a peek at the gem.
"This, my friend" the nikto said as he weighed the gem in his hand, "will feed us for the rest of our lives."
"Doubtful."
The five thugs turned to face the stranger and by simply looking at him, they knew he was trouble. The duros lit up a spice-spike and glanced up at the gangsters from under the brim of his hat, the duros exhaling the addictive fumes as if not having a care in the world.
"Why don't you just hand it over" Cad Bane said, "before you get shot."
The thugs looked at each other and then at the duros infront of them.
"You can't take us all" Sharow pointed out confidently and the gangsters pulled out blasters and knives. "I suggest you walk away and we might consider forgetting this... awkward moment."
Bane grinned, spice-spike in his mouth. "You're just as stupid as you are ugly, aren't you?"
The thugs glanced at oneanother, perplexed and sceptical, unsure if the duros was simply insane or just plain old mad.
"Tell you what" Bane then said and took his spike from his lips. "When this hits the dirt, I start shooting. Run if you want, I will still gun you down."
The redskinned nikto chuckled, amused by the sheer arrogance of the duros. Then, the duros flipped his spice-spike into the air and everyone followed it with their eyes as it tumbled its way in an arch that in the end had it fall towards the ground. As it hit the sand, everyone looked up at the duros. The brief moment of silence seemed like an eternity.
Cad Bane pulled out his two blasters, strapped to each leg, and opened fire; killing two of the thugs in the initial volley. The other three reacted by running for cover, while taking poorly aimed potshots. Bane concentrated his fire at the gran in the gang of thugs and soon had placed five shots in the three-eyed creatures torso, the gran ending up dead in a heap in the sand.
One of the two remaining thugs rushed up to the duros and tried to stab him, but Bane sidestepped the attack, pistolwhipped his assailant over the head and then placed a shot into the petty criminals neck, killing him on the spot.
Sharow was now left on his own and ducking down behind cover. Suddenly, his survival instincts kicked in and took control. "Take it! Just take it!" he shouted, tossed the gem at the duros and then ran for all his worth from the scene.
Three blaster-bolts connected with the niktos back and he stumbled and fell into the dirt, rolling over into a heap, wrapped in his own arms and legs. Cad Bane holstered his weapon, the other blaster already secured by his thigh, and then walked over to retrieve the heavy crystal where it had ended up in the sand. Blowing away some dirt and dust from it, Bane then took a look over at the corpse of the redskinned nikto.
"Told you, didn't I?" Cad Bane said. "I would gun you down."
The duros then adjusted his hat for a better fit and camly headed back for town.
OWEN LARS TRANSPORT
"Why was a Jedi trying to kill the queen?!" Panaka wondered demandingly.
"It was not a jedi, it couldn't have been" Obi-Wan pointed out.
"Then what was it?" Ric asked, having joined everyone while the autopilot was taking them through hyperspace.
"I don't know" Qui-Gon said.
They were located in the transports small medical-ward, where the wounded jedi knight's severed leg was being treated by a medical droid.
"But we will find out" Qui-Gon continued. "But right now we must get the queen to Coruscant unharmed. This mysterious assassin will be dealt with in due time."
"We are greatful, master jedi" Amidala said, joining the others in the medical-ward. "And we are glad you made it to safety alive. We must trust in the Force to guide us and it has."
XXX XXX
A couple of hours later and Qui-Gon closed the cargohold off from the rest of the ship, relying on a crude cybernetic leg to replace his missing limb until they would reach the Republics capitol.
"Could it have been a rogue jedi?" Obi-Wan then asked as his master walked, with a limp, over to him.
Qui-Gon sighed as he thought on it all. "No, it did not feel as if it had any connection to the Jedi Order. It was as if it had focused its entire life on hatred, on gaining strength from its rage. Had it been a jedi, that would have been impossible."
"The Dark Side?" Obi-Wan said, barely believing it himself. "It was trained in using the Dark Side of the Force?"
Qui-Gon did not say so, but he did find it very worrying. "What ever it was, it was without a doubt a corruption of the Jedi ways."
Obi-Wan nodded, finding it troubling to say the least. "But why attack the queen? Could it be an assassin, or bounty hunter, hired by the Trade Federation?"
"I'm not so sure it was after the queen" Kenobi's master admitted. "More likely, it was after the boy, intent on turning Anakin to the Dark Side for its own evil plans. And it would have succeeded, the Dark Side is seductive to youngsters with its lies and empty promises."
"Anakin seduced by the Dark Side?" Obi-Wan whispered, thinking about the boys extreme connection to the Force, and the terrible damage Anakin could inflict on the galaxy should he fully turn to the destructive ways of the Dark Side of the Force. "He would become more powerful than any Jedi... And become our enemy."
Qui-Gon nodded. "I see now that it was our destiny finding this boy and save him from the darkness. The queens fate has become less important. All that matters now is getting Anakin to the High Council."
Obi-Wan was forced to agree. What ever it required, what ever the cost, they had to prevent Anakin from turning to the Dark Side.
HEDNA, REPUBLIC PRISON-WORLD
Medical-droid T4-Q9 and its counter-part, the butler-droid K7-M31, stepped back from their robbed master, hidden behind hood and mask. Darth Sidious made a minute gesture with his hand and activated the transmission-matrix. It did not take long before the holographic transmitters projected a rendition of a kneeling Darth Ahranus, once known as Dooku Serenno.
"My master" Ahranus said, his head lowered in submission.
"Is Baroness Amidala captured?" Sidious inquired.
Darth Ahranus took a breath before he found courage to answer. "No, my master. My apprentice failed."
Darth Sidious sat silent. It was as if the air itself turned to frost. Then, the dark lord gently moved his hand, raised it an inch from the armrest and extended his fingers. Darth Ahranus felt his throat close up, an external pressure closing in around his windpipe. Within seconds, Ahranus began to gasp for air.
"Most unfortunate" Darth Sidious said with a low growl. "I had such high hopes for you, my apprentice. Such a disapointment."
"Th... There was... a boy..." Darth Ahranus forced out the words with what little air he could muster.
Darth Sidious was not impressed. "A boy?" he said without any reflection at all and simply slowly closed his fingers as his grip around Darth Ahranus throat grew ever tighter.
"The... jedi took him... a boy... a teenaged... boy."
Darth Ahranus fell over on all fours as the iron grip around his throat suddenly vanished and his lungs were filled to the brink with air with each breath as his body desperately tried to regain its strength.
"Go on" Sidious demanded as his hand slowly touched down on the armrest once more.
Darth Ahranus pushed himself up on a knee, taking deep and heavy breaths. "Darth Maul felt a strong presence as he entered orbit of Tatooine. When he engaged the jedi, he concluded the vergence was centered on a human boy. A teenager. And the jedi brought the boy along with them."
Sidious leaned forward, curiosity filling his voice. "And your apprentice is certain of this?"
Darth Ahranus, Dooku Serenno, nodded. "Yes, my master. He is certain."
"Interesting" the dark lord said and leaned back into his chair in deep thought. "We shall keep an eye on this boy and we will find out why he is so important to the Jedi."
THE JEDI TEMPLE, CORUSCANT
Grand Master Yaddle sat in her hovering chair, joining Grand Master Yoda as he made his way through the halls of the giant Jedi sanctuary. The grand master of the Consulars had moments before returned from his trip to Cato Neimoidia, a trip that had only strengthened his fears concerning the fate of his fellow grand master, Sifo-Dyas.
Yoda, sitting in his automated chair that was not at all disimilar from and astrodroid, grunted as he rested both hands against his elegant cane of platinum and adamantium. Yaddle seemed distracted aswell.
"Again, we this feel" Yaddle said and rested the palm of her hand against her lobe.
Yoda nodded. "We do" he said and sighed with a troubled mind. "A surge in the Dark Side, sudden and brief."
"For centuries, it has continued."
"More frequent of late. Different." Yoda added and sighed once more. "In league with the Dark Side, someone is. A great threat to the Jedi we face."
"Random acts of evil, it could be" Yaddle pointed out to her fellow grand master. "Genocide, betrayal or even great tragedy, all could strengthen the Dark Side."
Yoda agreed with a nod, yet, he was not willing to underestimate what might be hiding beyond his powers of foresight. "Within the Dark Side, a cruel intention I sense. Illusive and secretive. A sinister purpose the Dark Side strengthens."
"Then cautious we must be" Yaddle concluded.
NAR SHADAA
Satele Shan and Kayo Kai Kahn made their way down the crowded streets of Nar Shadaa, more commonly known as The Smugglers Moon. The lunar body was in orbit of Nal Hutta, the hutt homeworld, and the moon had been turned into a haven for all practitioners of illegal activities throughout the Republic. It was by far the most wretched hive of scum and villainy the galaxy could offer. More than that, the jedi could feel how the place fed the Dark Side.
The two jedi headed down a narrow alley and entered a small doorway that was guarded by an old and rusted battledroid, outdated since a few centuries back. The room was sparsely decorated and only offered the essentials required to feel somewhat comfortable. By the rooms only table sat a cruel looking mercenary, her armor showing signs of several shootouts, pistols worn on in a dual shoulderholster and a bandolero cut across her torso and was rigged with five grenades. Her cybernetic eye scanned the two arrivals like some target-tracker ready to launch a missile at its prey.
"Sit down" the bothan female said and Satele and Kayo did just that as they pulled their hoods back to reveal their features. "You do realize you are dressed like a pair of jedi?"
Kayo and Satele merely glanced at one another and realized that perhaps a simple robe and hood was not enough to conceal their identity as members of the Jedi Order.
The bothan female turned to face the twi'lek directly. "You have much to learn if you are to make it as a Ranger, padawan."
"Master Olgý" Satele said. "Forgive us for not disguising ourselves better. Usually, the robe and hood is enough to..."
"To hide you from law abiding citizens?" the bothan asked. "This is Nar Shadaa. And anything that happens on Nar Shadaa gets told to the hutts. Especially the arrival of two jedi trying to blend in, dressed as a couple of jedi."
"Have we compromised you, master?" Satele asked, rather worried.
"It remains to be seen" the bothan jedi said. "My cover is that I deal in information, so with a little luck, the hutts might just think you are here for that specific purpose; to purchase information."
Kayo was next to speak. "It is not that far from the truth then" the twi'lek said. "We have come for information after all."
Olgý, the bothan jedi master of the Rangers disciplin, got out of her chair and walked over to a bookshelf and poured herself a drink. Offering her two guests a taste did not seem to cross her mind.
"I sense you are not interested in the hutts" the fully fledged Ranger said as she turned to face the other two jedi. "Your thoughts focus on Black Sun."
Satele nodded. "Black Sun recieved a specific shipment to Ord Mantell some time ago. A shipment containing four Korriban crystals." The mention of the crystals and their origin had the desired effect and now Satele had the older jedi's complete attention. "What we need" Satele continued, "is to know where those crystals ended up after Black Sun moved them from Ord Mantell."
Olgý considered how she could help, her options, various possibilities. The female bothan eventually turned to look at her two guests. "The hutts will know if Black Sun shipped anything from Ord Mantell. The question is if they know anything about the cargo. You do understand that it could possibly be several dozen of shipments that we are talking about."
"The Force will guide us" Satele said, a response that caused a smile on the otherwise strict bothans features.
"Indeed it shall" Olgý said and nodded. "You were right in coming here" she continued. "The hutts keep their friends close, but their enemies even closer. I will ask around. Don't worry; I will find that shipment. In the meantime, I suggest you return to your ship and stay out of sight."
"We will heed your advice, master Olgý" Satele said and lowered her head in a respectful bow.