Chapter 5

Mos Eisley Race Track, Tatooine

Leia and Carth came running to congratulate Luke on the victory. Ben and C-3PO followed at a slower pace. " You did it! You did it!" Leia shouted over the roar of the fans.

Leia jumped out and hugged Luke. Luke blushed a little. Luke had never really thought about girls much. He didn't leave his farm all that often and when he did, he didn't talk to many people. Now Luke was starting to take interest in the beautiful princess. Leia let go of Luke when Watto came flying over, a wide grin across his face.

"Good job, my boy! I knew you could do it," the junk dealer said as if he had believed in Luke the entire time, "Now I will take my part of the deal."

Luke, Watto and the rest of the group found their way to Brejik. "Were are my- I mean our winnings?" Watto asked as soon as he was in earshot of the man.

"You will get your money but as for the droid, he will no longer be given away. It seems he is of value to the Empire and they have paid a great sum of money to obtain the droid. I accepted the deal and will be giving the droid to them late today," Brejik answered.

Leia, Carth, and Luke were all crushed. Watto didn't seem to care, if anything he was happy that the group was coming away with less. Ben wassilent and emotionless.

"But that's not fair! You put the droid up as a prize for winning the race and I won. Now give my my droid!" Luke yelled in anger. "You better watch your tone boy! I have some powerful connections, you don't want to be crossing me," Brejik warned.

"Give us the droid or prepare to defend it," Carth demanded. Ben still stood there with a blank face. "I've had enough of your attitudes. If its a fight you want, its a fight you'll get!" Brejik yelled furiously, "Guards attack them!"

Carth pulled out two pistols and threw one to Luke. Luke caught it and raised it up, ready to shoot but before he could, Ben stepped in the way. The old Jedi pulled out his lightsaber stabbed the closest guard. The guards unleashed a barrage of laser fire on them. C-3PO helplessly fell behind a stack of crates. Luke and Carth found some cover were they could still fight back. Leia followed Luke and Carth while Ben deflected the fire with his lightsaber. They thinned the guards' numbers quickly. Ben pushed his way through them until he was face to face with Brejik. Brejik pulled out a vibroblade and engaged Ben.

Brejik was more youthful but Ben was experienced. despite his old age, he bested Brejik, disarming and knocking him to the ground. He stood over the gangster with his lightsaber pointing at him. Brejik raised his hands in surrender.

"I thought all the Jedi were dead? But if you're a Jedi, then I could turn you in to the Empire for a lot of credits, more even than for that droid." Brejik said.

Within a matter of seconds, Brejik reached out for his vibroblade only to have his hand cut off by the blue beam of Ben's lightsaber. Brejik screamed in agony. His guards backed down.

"Let's go get that droid," Ben commanded the rest of the group.

A fearful guard led them to were Artoo was being held. With the droid now in their possession it was time for them to get off the planet before they could be caught.

The Leviathan, In Orbit Above Tatooine

"Admiral," the raspy mechanical voice of Darth Malak called. Admiral Saul Karath came running at the call of his master, "Yes my lord."

"The search for the Princess is taking too long. We cannot risk her escaping Tatooine. Destroy the entire planet," Malak commanded.

"But my lord, our own troops are down there. Lord Vader is also searching for the Princess on the surface," Saul said with concern. "I'm well aware of this Admiral! Now, wipe this pathetic planet from the face of the galaxy!" Malak yelled.

"Very well my lord. I will have the fleet put into position for the bombing. It will commence in just a few more hours," Saul said, his voice quivering at the rage of his master.

Watto's Junk Shop, Tatooine

Watto sat counting all the credits he had earned. He had got away with the money while that foolish boy and his friends fought the gangsters. His attention was averted when someone entered his shop. He was in black leather, had a long black cape, and a dark mask over his head. It was Darth Vader.

"I have information that a rebel and her friends were seen inside this shop. I would like to know what their business was and were they are currently,' Vader demanded in his robotic voice.

Watto trembled before the Sith lord, "There have been no rebels inside this shop. Please don't kill me, I've done nothing wrong, I'm just a simple junk dealer. Ask anyone and they"ll tell you that Watto is the nicest junk dealer they know."

Suddenly something clicked in Vader's head. Watto was a junk dealer on Tatooine, his old home. This was the same Toydarian that had owned him and his mother. The one Qui-Gon had saved him from. The one that had mistreated him and his mother for his entire childhood. Rage filled Vader's body. In an impulsive move, Vader drew his lightsaber and thrust it into the Toydarian's stomach. He suffered a far less painful death than what Shmi Skywalker did.