Chapter 16
I would like to thank my reviewers, those who added my story to their alerts and favorites, and to all anonymous readers.
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars or Prototype.
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The Aerith squeaked and creaked as it pushed through Tatooine's atmosphere, the vessel groaned as it veered to the right towards Anchorhead. Carth reached towards the console in front of him but stopped just short, in Republic space every vessel had to go through clearing procedures before landing. Out here in the Outer Rim the Hutts ruled and close to no regulations existed. It was in this moment he wished they'd traveled to a Republic controlled world, it's overly protective security brought safety. In these parts of the galaxy there were no protection whatsoever, anything could happen at any time which made it a security nightmare.
"Are we there yet, Republic?"
Alex's bored voice entered his auditory senses, the man had pestered him all the way from Dantooine and it was starting to annoy him. He still couldn't fathom why Voren would contact him of all people; the man had no consideration for orders or for a chain of command.
"I have a name you know." Carth said.
"I'm sure," Alex began. "and I'm sure I won't be using it."
Carth sighed in defeat. "Yes, were there soon."
Before he could gloat, Voren cut him off. "Alex, you're with me and Bastila. A small team will be able to move around without too much suspicion."
Alex chuckled as he observed Voren's retreating back. "See Republic? He's already replaced you with me. Now be a good soldier and guard the ship."
Carth narrowed his eyes as Alex disappeared down the corridor.
"I hate that man."
There was a saying, if there's a bright center to the galaxy; Tatooine is the farthest from it. A desert world covered in rock formations. Orbiting two suns caused a very hot climate, so hot in fact that water only covered one percent of the planet. This in Alex's book was great; he and water didn't get along too well. Not to mention the planet housed one of the greatest predators in the galaxy, the Krayt dragon. All in all, he could have some fun here.
Once the Aerith touched down, the guards tasked with authorizing their presence on the Hutt-controlled world simply asked them a few routine questions and finished with demanding a docking fee.
As a Good Samaritan, Alex couldn't help but whisper, "I can take care of it for you, real quite-like."
"You can't be serious?" Bastila asked with shock.
"I think it's easier to just pay the twenty-five credits." Voren said.
Safely out of earshot, he continued. "The Star Map seemed to be inside a cave, first we need to gather information about a likely location."
"What do you mean seemed?" Alex asked.
"Our vision showed the map surrounded by rock, most likely a cave."
"Jedi can have visions? That's neat."
"Indeed," Bastila began. "The Star Map must have been placed inside a cave to protect it from sandstorms. The Dune Sea is a likely place."
"Right, then let's go."
The blast doors protecting the docking bay rose, blowing up sand in all directions. As it cleared, the city of Anchorhead revealed itself. Dome-shaped low-grade duracrete, stone, and plastoid structures spread out as far as the eye could see. The streets were broad and packed with beings of every shape and size, most from off planet. Some rode the desert-seasoned eopies. Domesticated banthas, massive and homed, and lumbered dew backs hauled carts, sleds, and wagons that ran on wheels and mechanical tracks by turn, a mishmash of commerce trafficking between Tatooine's smaller camps and the worlds beyond.
Alex had only seen the planet for a few minutes and it already lived up to its reputation as the 'armpit of the galaxy'. He kept a close watch for trouble, there were Rodians and Dugs and other beings whose intentions were always suspect. Most of them passed by without paying them any attention. One or two glanced at them, and dismissed the two members of the group once they got a good look at them. However, their gaze remained longer on him. He figured it was natural, though he had the shape of a human he still wore clothes previously unseen in the galaxy.
"Please, will you help me? I have nothing left."
The voice belonged to a brown-haired human woman in her mid thirties; one glance at her dust-covered rags was all he needed to see to know where this was going. The woman practically screamed of desperation, best to just ignore her and move on.
"What do you need? I might be able to help." Voren said. Alex held in a sigh as he prepared for the woman's sob story.
"My husband was a hunter; this wraid plate is all I have left. Please, will you buy it?"
"Why don't you sell it to Czerka or to a hunter?"
"I don't have a license; Czerka has strict rules about this. And the only way to be allowed out of Anchorhead is to get a hunting license."
"And how much for a license?" Bastila asked.
"Czerka sells them for about 200 credits. Please buy it from me; I don't have the credits to buy a license."
Nodding in understanding, Voren asked. "How much for the plate?"
"You'll really buy it? It's worth more than 600 credits, but you can have it for 500."
Alex wasn't surprised when his so called 'Leader' decided to buy the plate, stupidity seemed to be something the Jedi actively advocated.
"You're an idiot. You just bought a piece of trash for a bunch of credits. Credits we might need later."
"I don't think its wrong helping people; even you could see she needed help."
"So you'll help every desperate soul we come across?" Alex asked with annoyance.
"Being a Jedi means helping people."
He was about to retort that helping one desperate woman would have a real impact on the galactic good, but decided against it. It seemed to be his lot in life to be surrounded by stupid people with stupid ideals. Speeders nosed by them, and droids of every size toiled in service of the desert-garbed aliens. A pair of domesticated banthas rumbled down the broad street, clearing a path for a sled train of quarry blocks and metal struts. Their padded feet stirred sand and dust in thick clouds with each slumbering step.
Alex stayed as close as he could to the Jedi, his eyes darting left and right, trying to spot another helpless soul and divert the group in the other direction before they could see it. As a pleasant surprise, nothing he saw gave merit for an intervention. Though hard looks followed after him. Sharp eyes measured him for his worth; stares were at best challenging and at worst unfriendly. He could use some unfriendly right now to ease his mood.
They continued down the main street connecting the spaceport to the main attractions of the city, passing several stalls and shops fronted by awnings and verandas that provided a small measure of shade to their vendors. He doubted anything useful could be found in any of these stalls, they mostly offered spare parts for a large range of equipment or various protective gear used for venturing through the desert. Nothing he had any particular use for.
He spotted their destination up ahead to the left, the Czerka office was one of the better looking structures he'd seen so far and its height reached about fifteen-meters. The Czerka Corporation he realized had potential. A corporation which tolerated illegal and unethical practices as long as the flow of credits was uninterrupted and even encouraged it as long as word didn't leak out. It was widely known that Czerka supplied Sith armies and in return gained exclusive trading rights on conquered planets, because of this Czerka had gained a reputation as an unethical opportunist. Just the kind of corporation he could have use for in the future, when this whole Star Map business was done with.
Ignoring the mechanic working on a speeder outside, they passed over the threshold and into a heated conversation between a Duros and a human wearing Czerka clothes.
"You'll be hearing about this, you Czerka scum!" The Duros sneered. "I'm not going to drop this. You can't just murder a whole village!"
"What's going on?" Voren asked.
"I'm done talking in this office. They won't listen to me. Probably won't even acknowledge I was here. This is what happens when corporations get too big, no accountability."
The Duros gave one last angry glance towards the Czerka employee before storming out of the office. Alex observed the whole ordeal with indifference, why do lesser beings put so much value in such small actions? Righting small wrongs won't help in the grand scheme of things; one should always look towards the future and try to fix the underlying problem. In this case he guessed Czerka wanted to get rid of a village causing them trouble, if the Duros was really committed to stopping them than he should have gotten rid of Czerka's weapons and disrupt their transports, not bitch about it.
Alex zoned back to reality as the Czerka employee explained that they don't sell any hunting licenses anymore.
"So there's no way to get a license?" Voren asked.
"Well, normally we charge 200 credits, but I could make an exception if you agree to perform a small task for us. It's similar to hunting. The Sand People are becoming a problem. They destroy our sandcrawlers and kill our miners. One tribe in particular is the problem; it's as if their chieftain has decided to start a war against us. I want their attacks stopped. Bring me their gaffi sticks as proof. If you agree I'll give you a hunting license and pay a bounty on each stick. I'll even give you a bonus for the chieftain's."
"Alright, I'll do this for you."
"Excellent, here's your license. We believe one of their camps is located in the far south of the Dune Sea. Good luck."
Finally they were getting somewhere, Alex felt the need for action and the Dune Sea both had Sand People and Krayt Dragons. Not to mention Wraids. All of which would suffice for an afternoon brawl. Too his dismay they didn't get far from the entrance before a white Twi'lek whit blue ornaments on her lekku crossed their path.
"Excuse me…" The Twi'lek said in huttese. "Aren't you Bastila, Helena's little girl?"
Bastila nodded. "I am Bastila. I take it you know my mother?"
"Oh yes, I worked for your father on an expedition years ago. Your mother showed holos of you before you left."
Alex found this particular news interesting, and he couldn't help but see how Bastila's posture stiffened slightly at the mention of her father.
"As you can see, we are in a hurry. Is there something I can help you with?"
Alex took a step forward. "Don't be rude, Bastila. Please continue."
"Oh I didn't mean to take up your time. I just wanted to ask if your mother's condition had improved?"
"Has something happened to my mother? What about my father?" Bastila asked.
"I'm sorry, I thought you knew. Your mother is very ill, so she told me. She didn't mention your father."
"I…I understand. Where did you meet her?"
"Here on Tatooine. In the cantina. You should go see her, considering her condition."
Bastila continued conversing with the Twi'lek, not noticing that Alex and Voren had distanced themselves from the conversation.
"Look," Alex began. "I foresee a lot of daddy issues in a not so distant future. When that happens you need to be there to comfort her while I find us a translator."
"Bastila doesn't need comforting, she's a Jedi. And why would we need a translator?"
Alex sighed. "You being a Jedi mean you're not going to kill those Sand People. Ergo I find us a translator for negotiation."
Voren thought it over for a few seconds. "Okay, find us a translator. We'll meet at the city entrance in two hours."
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Au
The first part of the Tatooine adventure is done. And in the next chapter you'll see Alex meet… my favorite character. Suppose it's not too hard to guess who that is. I mean, who else is on Tatooine that joins your group. I'm actually looking forward to writing conversations between them, particularly on how to kill things.