He hurries back to the rogue shadow, and they quickly detach from The Animus, and jump to hyperspace, headed for Tatooine.
"Nice work back there," Ahsoka says from the pilot's chair.
Starkiller just shrugs, and takes an open seat.
"I'm serious," she says. "Even Rex is impressed."
She nods his direction for emphasis.
"That was quite a few pirates for just one man- even a Jedi," Rex says.
The ship goes silent for a while, no one talking, then Ahsoka speaks up.
"So, how do pirates like them survive out here?" she says.
"What do you mean?" Starkiller says.
"I mean, why would the leader of the crime empire let them operate in his territory?"
"They pay him tribute. He doesn't care what they do, as long as he gets his cut," Starkiller says.
She nods in understanding.
"How long until we reach Tatooine?" Starkiller says.
"Shouldn't be more than a few hours," Ahsoka says.
"Call me when we've arrived," he says, standing up, and heading back for the meditation room.
What are you doing? A voice in his head asks him over, and over. This isn't his fight. He doesn't know those people. Why should he risk himself for them? It's not how he was taught. It's not how he was trained. Why is he letting a Jedi stay on his ship? He was trained to kill Jedi- all Jedi.
But another part of him, praises him, and tells him that he's doing right. That his training was wrong. That he was beaten, and tortured until they thought that no mercy or compassion existed in him, but they were wrong. He is finding his compassion now. That part of him tells him not to fight it, but to fight the other side of him- the side that Vader created.
But there's something very powerful driving him to these taken children. Is it his own past? He was taken as a child, and made into Vader's slave. He was made to serve his dark master in terrible deeds. After he broke the chains of his slavery, he found himself a slave to someone else. Maybe he just wants to spare these children the suffering that he endured, but isn't that compassion?
The door buzzes, and he opens his eyes with a sigh.
"Come in," he says.
Ahsoka walks in somewhat timidly.
"If... this is a bad time... I can," she trails off.
He motions to a place on the floor next to him, inviting her to sit down. She sits, and crosses her legs.
"Thanks."
"What can I do for you?" he asks.
"I... had some more questions, if that's alright?"
He nods, and waits for her to work up the nerve.
"I had some friends. I wonder if maybe, you know what happened to them?"
"For a Jedi, you sure seem to have a lot of friends."
"This was a mistake. I shouldn't have disturbed you."
"Hold on," he says. "I didn't mean any offense. If anything, I'm envious."
Confusion crosses her face.
"My whole life, until I met Kota, the only friend I ever had was a droid that Vader programmed to stay with me, and try to kill me whenever he saw a good opportunity, so that I would learn to never drop my guard."
"And that was your friend?"
He shrugs.
"It was complicated," he pauses. "So who did you want to know about?"
"Senator Amidala."
"She died giving birth to twins."
"They had twins?" she says.
He shakes his head yes.
"According to Senator Organa."
"What happened to them?"
"He didn't tell me that. Didn't trust me enough. While I was enslaved by Interimo, sometimes his party guests would tell me stories."
"Party guests?"
"He liked to show me off to the socialites of his crime empire after events."
"Events?"
"Battles in the arena."
"The arena? So he made you be some kind of gladiator?"
"His events are real spectacles. Near a half million people from all across the outer rim, and beyond show up on a weekly basis, and I was the main event. After the events, Interimo would host lavish parties for the socialites. Talking to them, and listening to their stories was the only opportunity to gain information about the state of the galaxy."
She shakes her head, looking genuinely sympathetic.
"Anyway, they told me that those twins grew up in secret from Vader, and were instrumental in overthrowing Sidious."
She perks up a bit at that, then takes on kind of a shy demeanor.
"What?" Starkiller says.
"Are you familiar with the name Bonteri?"
He takes on a thoughtful look, then snaps his finger.
"Bonteri, Lux. Senator. Onderon, I believe," he says. "He was assassinated by Vader after opposing Sidous's initiatives one too many times."
He can feel a dam inside her burst at his words. She tries to remain composed, but he can feel the strain, and the pain in her.
"I'm sorry," he says, the words feeling almost foreign to him.
She shakes her head, composing herself as best she can.
"I had one more name."
"Okay," he says.
"Master Shaak Ti. Do you know what happened to her?"
His eyes go wide for a second.
"Uhh-"
They feel a jolt as the ship drops out of hyperspace.
"Sir, we'll be arriving at Tatooine anytime now," Rex's voice buzzes through the ship's speakers.
"We can talk later," Ahsoka says. "You should get ready to go."
He nods, and she stands up, then leaves the meditation room. He takes a few breaths to collect his thoughts, and tries to shrug off the dread he feels at the prospect of having to tell her that he himself killed her friend. Not Vader, not the Empire, not the Clones. Him.
He grabs his armor, gadgets, and duster on his way to the cockpit. Ahsoka takes over the piloting controls from Rex, who stands up to stretch.
"Gear up," Starkiller says to him. "You're coming with me."
"Sir," he says with a nod, then heads back to the weapons locker.
Starkiller takes the copilot's chair, and turns to Ahsoka.
"You stay with the ship."
"What? Oh, come on, I can help y-"
"And you will help. Someone needs to stay with the ship, in case we need a quick getaway."
"Captain Rex can stay with the ship," she argues.
"Captain Rex isn't as proficient with the ship as you are."
She rolls her eyes, and grumbles under her breath.
"Entering Tatooine's atmosphere," she says stiffly. "It looks like their ship has landed in Mos Eisley's space port."
"Head for the outskirts."
Rex comes back to the cockpit wearing a tan cloak over his white armor. They break through the atmosphere, and Ahsoka guides them just under the clouds, and lands a good distance from Mos Eisley's space port.
"I'm ready when you are, Sir," Rex says.
Starkiller stands up.
"Ready," he says, then walks for the hatch in the aft of the ship.
"You two, be careful!" Ahsoka shouts behind her.
Starkiller, and Rex don't talk much as they trek across the seemingly endless desert. They made sure to bring plenty of water, and dried food with them. Starkiller brought what he thought would be enough cash for most contingencies, but left the vast majority on the ship.
Time seems to halt in the baking sun, their labored breathing, and crunching footsteps the only indicator of any time passing. Starkiller isn't sure how long they've been walking, but it seems like forever. Though he is trained for this, and a lot more. He lets the force guide his direction. He knows how the desert can trick one's eyes.
They crest a dune, and finally they see Mos Eisley on the horizon. They pick up their pace a little until they finally make it to Mos Eisley.
"Alright, Ahsoka, we've made it to Mos Eisley," Starkiller says, touching his finger to his ear.
"It's about time," Ahsoka says dryly.
Starkiller rolls his eyes.
"What's the status on the pirates?" he says.
"It looks like their leader is meeting with-" She gasps out loud.
"Ahsoka?... Ahsoka!" Starkiller nearly screams.
A worried expression crosses Rex's face.
"Is something wrong?" he says.
Starkiller shakes his head, and puts his palms face up.
"Sorry," Ahsoka says, finally. "Everything's fine."
They both take a huge sigh of relief.
"You scared the bantha dung out of us," Starkiller says.
"Sorry. I just... can't believe it. Their leader is meeting with Rotta The Hut."
"So?" Starkiller says.
"I saved his life when he was a baby- well, Anakin, and I saved him."
A few seconds of relieved silence, then Starkiller speaks back up.
"So where's the ship?" he says.
"Right, sorry," she says.
She gives them some rough directions to a landing bay a few hundred meters deeper into the city. Speeders hover by, and crowds of people with animals, and carts pass by as the walk. They pass a few stands, and carts of people trying to sell goods. They try to keep a low profile, though places like these are rife with the scum of the galaxy trying to lay low.
At least the locals know better than to look too closely, or ask too many questions. They see a large group of Weequa, wearing helmets, and goggles coming out of a landing bay a ways in front of them.
"Must be it," Rex says.
Starkiller nods, and activates his comm.
"I think we're looking right at the bay," Starkiller says. "If you don't hear from us in a couple of hours, don't worry. It probably just means we're dead."
Rex raises his eyebrow, and Starkiller just shrugs. He needs a plan. He figures the pirates leader is meeting with Rotta to discuss price, then Rotta will send emissaries to examine the merchandise before making a purchase. That gives him, and Rex some time to get in, grab the children, and get out. Hopefully before the emissaries arrive.
He motions for Rex to follow him, and heads for an alley next to the landing bay. He heads midway through the alley, stops, looks at the roof of the tall dome shaped building, then turns to Rex.
"They'll have all the entrances, and exits to the bay covered," he says. "How's your climbing skills?"
Rex pulls out a kind of cylinder shaped gadget, and attaches it to one of his pistols.
"Grappling hook," Rex says.
Starkiller nods, then without a word, he leaps high into the air, as high as he can. The building is too tall for him to reach the roof in one leap. He plants his feet on the side of the building, and leaps off. He blasts energy behind him to propel him back towards the building, and lands on its roof. He crouches, and waits. He helps Rex onto the roof. They both walk crouched across the rooftop. Starkiller stops, and points to a spot on beneath their feet.
"There," he whispers.
He ignites a lightsaber, and cuts a hole in the roof, just big enough for a man to jump through. He shuts off his lightsaber, holsters it, and jumps through. He lands silently in a dark closet. He helps soften Rex's landing. He finds the door, opens it quietly, and leads Rex into a dusty, tan colored hallway. He reaches out with his mind, looking out for guards.
He doesn't sense any too near them.
"We should be okay until we hit the lower levels," he says.
"Right," Rex says.
They trek down a staircase, winding down, and down, and down.
"Where are all the guards?" Rex says as they quietly descend the stairs.
"They think they made a clean escape. They'll cover the exits, but how many men do they need for that? Most of them are probably holed up in a bar somewhere, or pursuing less honorable desires."
After a few long minutes, Starkiller finally nods to a door, and takes a few breaths. Rex nods back, and they head through the door, and into the hall.
"End of the hall," Starkiller says. "Door on the right. There will be guards in the hanger."
"Understood."
Starkiller reaches the door first, cracks it an inch, and peeks inside.
"I think I can sneak into the ship. Stay here, and cover me," he says.
Rex draws his pistols in response, and Starkiller takes off, moving silently towards the ship. The guards at the hangar's entrance don't see him, because they have their backs turned. He moves quickly up the ship's ramp, and finds himself in a long, narrow corridor. The walls are a faded tan, and everything looks covered in grime, and muck.
There are hatches every few feet on both sides of the corridor. He starts making his way towards the end of the hall, where he sees a ladder, leading to the higher decks. He senses lifeforms on the move somewhere in front of him. He quickly opens the hatch on his left, and ducks inside, closing it quietly behind him.
The room, if you can call it that is very small. Nothing in it, but two bunk beds nearly touching each other. He waits for the lifeforms to pass by, then sneaks back into the hall, and climbs the ladder. He climbs five decks up, then steps off the ladder, and finds himself in an identical corridor, but this time, he can sense lifeforms in distress.
He walks to the end of the corridor, and pauses at the door on his left, then the door on his right. He senses young lifeforms inside, and a few hostile ones as well. He opens the hatch, and is greeted by the confused faces of two Weequa pirates, and the frightened faces of multiple children varying in ages, and species. Starkiller holds his hands out, then slams them together.
As he does, the pirates feet leave the ground, and their bodies collide, head first in midair. Now Starkiller isn't exactly great with children, but he'll have to do. He clears his throat.
"Hello, I'm here to help you."
The children look just as afraid of him as they were of the pirates, maybe even more so after seeing his power. He decides he needs a new approach.
"Is one of you named Moya?" he says.
No answer.
"Lieutenant Forbes- Your sister sent me," he says.
A little blond girl steps in front of the others.
"Anna?" she croaks.
He never actually caught her first name, but he senses both sincerity, and love in the child's voice. He nods.
"She sent me to save you- save you all."
She comes slowly, timidly towards him. He reaches out his hand, and waits for her to take it. When she does, the rest of the children follow suit, and come to him.
"Is this all of you?" he asks the group. "Did they separate you- take any of you away from here?"
"No," a green Twi'lek girl, maybe ten years old says. "They locked us in here, and those guys said they'd hurt us if we were bad, but they didn't take anyone away yet."
Starkiller offers a reassuring smile, and motions for them to follow. He starts leading them down the corridor, to the ladder. Moya holds tightly to his hand, and he finds that he doesn't mind. He takes a quick headcount, so that he won't lose any of them without noticing. He keeps his senses on a sharp lookout for any signs of danger.
The ladder is going to be tricky, he knows, but would prefer to avoid the lifts. He can't- he must take them down a lift. He stops in front of a hatch, and presses the call button. He senses one pirate inside. The door opens, and he blasts the pirate with a sudden blast of energy, knocking him against the wall with a terrible thud.
The pirate crumples onto the floor, and the children let out a collective gasp. Starkiller motions for them to be quiet, then uses his mind to drag the pirate out of the lift, and stashes him in one of the rooms. He leads the kids into the lift. It's a tight fit, if any of the children were any bigger then they would have needed to take two trips.
The lift opens to the bottom floor, and to Starkiller's relief, there's no one in the corridor. He leads the children back down the corridor. He halts a few feet in front of the ramp, and reluctantly takes his hand from Moya.
"I need to make sure it's safe. I'll be right back."
He walks a few feet, and peers out. He spots Rex still peeking into the hangar with both his pistols at the ready. He waves to get Rex's attention, and nods. Rex catches his meaning, and nods back. Starkiller peers all over the hangar from his vantage point. He goes back inside.
"We'll need to be very quiet, okay?" he says, slowly nodding.
They nod back, and he leads them down the ramp. He makes his way about halfway, points at Captain Rex, and motions for the children to approach him, then he takes up the rear, making sure none of them lag behind. They all reach Rex without being seen. He breathes a huge sigh of relief, then Rex speaks up.
"What's our exit?" he asks.
Starkiller opens his mouth to reply when Ahsoka's voice cuts into his mind through his comm.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I thought that you would want to know, one of the Animus's shuttles is landing at the spaceport."
"Can you get a hold of them?" Starkiller asks.
"I'll try."
"That could complicate things," Rex says.
"Or simplify them," Starkiller says, already working on a new exit strategy. "To the roof."
He motions for Rex to take point while, he brings up the rear. He feels Moya's hand find his again, and smirks to himself as they head for the stairs.
"It's Lieutenant Forbes," Ahsoka says. "She came for the children."
"Can you send her our coordinates?"
"Sure."
"Tell her that we'll be awaiting pickup on the roof in about seven minutes. And we have the children- all the children."
They race up the stairs as fast as the small children will allow, Starkiller now carrying Moya up the stairs, the child clinging to him tightly. He senses her fear, and whispers that everything will be alright. Up, and up, they go, the children starting to tire very quickly. They finally reach the closet. He helps Rex through the hole, then levitates each child through, one by one.
He jumps through the hole, and they are finally on the roof. Starkiller guides them a ways towards the alley, and tells them to sit, and rest.
"Ahsoka," he says, holding his hand to his ear.
"Yes?"
"Tell Forbes that we're on the alley's side of the roof."
"Copy that." There's a pause on the comm. "She's en route."
His eyes go wide as he feels a disturbance.
"Good," he says. "Because I think they just discovered the children are missing."
"Do you want me to take off, and fly over?"
"No, stay there," he says just as he sees a shuttle flying low, heading their way. "We'll be coming to you."
Author's note
So, that was Part Five. I hope very much that you all enjoyed it. Please leave me a review, and let me know what you thought.
Yes, I'm sorry, but I didn't want to have "Old Lux" running around, making things awkward, so I gave him a noble death.
Thank you RKF22 for the review. I'm flattered that you think I'm doing a great job, and I will try very hard to keep it up.
Thank you Shadows for the review, I really appreciate it, and no, I'm sorry, but this will not be a Rexsoka fic. No offense to the Rexsoka fans, but I refuse. Also, I'd prefer not to have Juno in the story for the same reason that Lux is not in the story. Thank you so much for the suggestions though. All suggestions are welcome, and I appreciate them a ton.
Thank you CC-645, and TATSUKIxICHIGO, and nina32177 for following. You brightened my week... And finally, thank you Skipernicus, and gta manic for favoriting my little fic. You all helped give me the kick in the pants that I needed to get this chapter up...
Big thanks to everyone who has read the story so far.
Part Six is already well underway, so keep your eyes peeled.
Hope life finds you well. Until next time. Thanks again all.