Episode 14 – Chain Breakers Part 1
A Jedi: Hunted! Following his mission to Anzat, Jedi Master Kyle Katarn returns to Ossus with a long lost Jedi Master: Master T'ra Saa! Master Saa immediately divulges to the Jedi Council the possible whereabouts of another Jedi Veteran of the Clone Wars: Master Quinlan Vos! But weeks of searching have turned up no leads as to the present status of the Kiffar Jedi Master! With the search all but given up, hope of finding the Jedi Master is renewed when Jedi Master Mara Jade Skywalker receives an unexpected transmission from her old employer: Talon Karrde!
In the private quarters of Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker…
Mara sat reclined on the couch of her quarters, watching the toddler Ben out of the corner of her eye, the young Skywalker sound asleep in a nearby chair, while R2-D2 sat across from her, relaying the hologram transmission of the information broker in question.
"He's grown so much since I last saw him. To think it was just a few short years ago you and that farm boy tied the knot." Talon said with a smile to his old friend.
"It is amazing how much time flies. But come on, Talon, you didn't call me just to check up on me. What are you after?" Mara asked with a smirk, knowing Karrde all too well. Karrde merely smiled and shrugged.
"Alright, alright. I actually have some information from you. One of my contacts on Ossus mentioned that you were looking for a Jedi said to have possibly survived the great purge after the Clone Wars: Quinlan Vos. I didn't find Vos per say but I think I might have a lead as to where to find him." Karrde said, Mara arching a curious eyebrow.
"You have contacts on Ossus already? Damn, now I've gotta sweep for bugs again." Mara said with a roll of the eyes, causing Talon to laugh.
"Language, Jade. Don't want to make a bad impression on your son now do you?" Talon asked.
"The information, Talon, that's if you can stop critiquing my parenting long enough." Mara said, still smirking.
"Right-right. Now, I got nowhere looking for Vos by his first name: Quinlan, but then I decided to put out feelers looking for anyone bearing the Kiffar clan Vos's facial tattoo: A yellow stripe across the face. A few bum leads came back but one of them came back that piqued my interest. A contact of mine reported seeing a man with the markings leading a swoop gang on Nar Shaddaa. The interesting thing is that this swoop gang has been leading a campaign against underground slavery rings on Nar Shaddaa for the past several years under the name: the Chain Breakers. Now I may be totally off base but isn't breaking up slave rings and freeing slaves along the lines of something a Jedi would do?" Talon asked as Mara gave a nod.
"It sure is. Maybe not to such an extreme but it's along the same lines. Nar Shaddaa huh? Thanks Talon. I'll send you some credits for the info." Mara said as Talon bowed.
"Forget about it Jade, this was a freebie. Tell the farm boy I said hello." Talon said as Mara gave a nod.
"Will do, Talon. Take care." Mara said, Talon giving a small salute before the hologram shut off. Mara sat pondering to herself for a moment before standing up from her seat and picking up the comlink off the dinner table, activating it.
"Farm boy, where are you?" She asked into the comlink. She waited a moment before hearing the click of someone activating the opposite comm.
"Jade? It's Maris." Maris Brood replied.
"Brood? What are you doing with my husband's comlink?" Mara asked.
"I found it in the council chambers. I think he dropped it." Maris replied as the door to Luke and Mara's apartment opened, revealing Luke on the other side.
"Oh. Never mind he just walked in. Thanks for finding his comlink. He'd forget the force if it wasn't bound to him." Mara said with a smirk towards her husband, Luke reciprocating with a playful bow and similar smirk.
"Ha! That's the truth." Maris replied.
"I'm right here, Maris." Luke said into the comlink.
"Why else would I have said it?" Maris asked. Maris had known Luke since the Galactic Civil War when she was the Padawan of Rahm Kota and was at Yavin when Luke first arrived. The two had developed a mutual respect and close friendship, Maris even being a bridesmaid for the Skywalker's wedding.
"Hate to put an end to the fun but I have to run. I'll call you back in a minute, Brood…on your comlink this time." Mara said.
"Right. Brood out." Maris replied, the comlink shutting off.
"You have to run? Something the matter?" Luke asked as Mara pocketed her comlink.
"As a matter of fact, I just got a lead from Talon regarding a possible location of the missing Jedi Master Quinlan Vos: a swoop gang on Nar Shaddaa." Mara replied, earning an intrigued look from Luke.
"A swoop gang? Are you sure?" Luke asked, not fully convinced.
"A swoop gang that busts up underground slaving rings?" Mara asked back, causing Luke to give a slight nod.
"Okay, good point. Are you going there yourself?" Luke asked, earning a curious look from Mara.
"What? Don't think I can handle it on my own?" Mara asked, a taunting smirk on her face. The argument was in complete jest. R2 was privately snickering to himself at the conversation.
"Well if I say yes I end up needing a suit like my father's right?" Luke asked, Mara putting an arm around behind him.
"Oh you could only wish you were so lucky." She replied before kissing him on the lips. When they separated, Luke gave a nod.
"It's Nar Shaddaa, though." He commented, Mara giving a nod of agreement.
"True. I'll bring back up. R2, you in?" Mara asked, the Astromech whistling in agreement, his third leg extending as he started for the door.
"I'll take care of Ben for a while." Luke said as Mara looked at her son with a smile.
"He could use some daddy time. I just fed him though so he might be cranky when he wakes up." Mara said, Luke giving a nod.
"Like mother like son." Luke replied, Mara rolling her eyes while smiling.
"Well…actually I'd say it's a family trait." Mara replied, implicating the both of them as she walked out the door. Mara and R2 were walking through the halls heading towards the hangar facility where the Jade Shadow sat. As she walked through the halls, she spotted former Senator and Luke's cousin: Pooja Naberrie walking through with a datapad in hand, writing out something as she walked.
"Senator." Mara greeted, startling the former Senator.
"Hmm? Oh! Mara right? I'm sorry, I still haven't learned everyone's names yet." Pooja said, blushing in embarrassment.
"Don't worry about it. Although I hope you remember mine, considering we are family, technically." Mara said, Pooja giving a nod of agreement.
"Indeed. So where are you off to?" Pooja asked, earning a curious look from Mara.
"How did you know I was going somewhere?" Mara asked.
"Your expression, your walk. I'm a negotiator, I'm trained in recognizing people's intentions by their body language. You're going somewhere." Pooja explained.
"Nar Shaddaa. The Smuggler's Moon. Want to come?" Mara asked, startling the former Senator a bit.
"Me? Go to Nar Shaddaa? I'd sooner kiss a Wookiee!" Pooja replied.
"Oh come on, Senator, you're not fooling me. You came here, not just to teach, but to try and add a little excitement in your life." Mara countered. Pooja smirked slightly.
"And how do you know that?" she asked.
"Your expression, your walk. I'm a former Imperial Spy, I'm trained in recognizing people's intentions by their body language. You're bored with politics." Mara countered, earning an amused laugh from Pooja.
"Well done on turning it back on me. Alright, you win. I'll come along if you'll have me. I just need to change first." Pooja said as Mara smirked and motioned her to follow while reaching for a comlink.
"Go ahead. Meet me in the hangar. The Jade Shadow." Mara said, Pooja nodding and running off down the hall. Mara and R2 continued on towards the Hangar as Mara raised the comlink to her face.
"Hey, Maris, are you still there?" Mara asked.
"I'm here." Maris replied.
"Find Master Saa. Tell her we might have a lead on this Vos guy she's looking for and to meet us in the hangar. Tell her we're going to Nar Shaddaa." Mara said into the comlink.
"Nar Shaddaa? Sounds like fun. Mind if I tag along?" Maris asked as Mara shrugged.
"Fine. Could use an extra Jedi." Mara replied.
"Great. Hey, you might want to talk to that Twi'lek kid Katarn brought back from Coruscant. You know, the one that helped ID Senator Naberrie's Sister as the traitor? She's from Nar Shaddaa so she might know someone who could help with whatever you're doing there." Maris suggested.
"Good idea. I'll talk to her." Mara replied.
"I'll find Master Saa and meet you at the Jade Shadow." Maris said.
"Right. Jade out." Mara replied, pocketing the comlink.
…
Griffon Vao was laying on her back beneath one of Anakin Skywalker's preserved Eta-2 Actis-Class Interceptors, a pair of audio emitters plugged into the "ears" of the leather headdress on her head. She was working on fixing the interceptor's forward stabilizer while singing a Huttese cantina song to herself while a white and pink colored astromech sat in the droid socket on the fighter, repairing a series of lesser systems.
"Hey, Katie, what's the diagnostic say on the stabilizer?" Vao asked, the astromech beeping its response in a slightly higher pitched series of beeps, indicative of a feminine programming personality.
"Again?! I just fixed it! E chu ta, what kind of crackpot mechanics work here?!" Vao fussed.
"Such language. Try and watch the swear words around here. There are younglings present after all, including my son. And do be careful about who you refer to as a 'crackpot mechanic.' You happened to be referring to my father-in-law and…well you'd know him when you saw him." Mara said as she approached the fighter. Griff sat up between the interceptor's laser cannon barrels to glare at the Jedi Master.
"I've met him already." She mumbled, shuddering slightly.
"And this fighter is still being restored. It gives him something to do. He likes messing with machines. Anyway, I didn't come here to talk about the interceptor. I wanted to see if you had any useful information for a mission I'm going on to Nar Shaddaa." Mara said as Griff arched a curious eyebrow.
"Nar Shaddaa? What could possibly be there for you besides a case of indigestion and a stink that will never come out?" she asked.
"A Jedi Master for one." Mara replied, earning another curious look from Griff.
"Huh?" she asked.
"We've reason to believe that a Jedi Master has been in hiding on Nar Shaddaa since the end of the Clone Wars. We only want to determine his fate. Any helpful suggestions?" Mara explained as Griff pondered for a moment then sighed heavily.
"I would suggest talking to a friend of mine but he's not going to be very cooperative around Jedi. I better go with you only…I'd need an escort." Griff said, earning a look from Mara.
"Escort? What for?" she asked. Griff fidgeted slightly before answering.
"We~ll, I might have a tiny bounty on my head over a few thousand credits I lifted from a couple of minor crime lords on Nar Shaddaa before Kyle helped me escape to Coruscant." Griff replied hesitantly. Mara rubbed her forehead in minor disbelief.
"You're going to be in the company of at least three Jedi Masters. I'd say that you're protected." Mara said as Griff stood up, dusting her hands off and unplugged the audio emitters from her headdress.
"Fair enough." Griff mumbled as the astromech ejected from the interceptor, beeping at the youth as she approached.
"Sorry Katie, but you gotta stay here for now. Go see if you can be of help fixing the transports." Griff said, the pink astromech beeping in disappointment but rolling off anyway.
"Is that droid yours?" Mara asked but Griff shook her head.
"R2-KT? Nah. Just a friend. I upgraded her data-arm and she's taken a liking to me ever since." Griff replied as she started to follow Mara and R2-D2 towards the Jade Shadow where Maris and T'ra Saa approached.
"I understand you have a lead regarding Quinlan Vos." T'ra Saa said as Mara gave a nod.
"That's right. The source is reliable, don't worry." Mara said, the Neti Jedi Master smiling in appreciation.
"Good. I hope I can be of service finding him. Oh, I was not aware we were taking a Padawan with us. Is this yours?" T'ra asked, motioning to Griff.
"Me? A Jedi? Thanks for the compliment but I'm more-or-less just a freelance mechanic and slicer. I'm just tagging along because I've got contacts on Nar Shaddaa that might be able to help." Griff replied.
"Oh. My apologies, youngling." T'ra said with a bow.
"Youngling? I'm no kid!" Griff replied, offended.
"Take it easy, Griff." Maris said, her arms crossed over her chest in a casual posture, the young Twi'lek calming down.
"So is there a reason we're waiting?" T'ra asked, Mara nodding in response.
"Yeah we're just waiting on one more person…ah, here she comes now." Mara said as they saw Pooja approaching. Pooja had exchanged her regal attire for a more rugged one piece jumpsuit similar to the one her late aunt Padme wore on the mission to Geonosis at the outbreak of the Clone Wars, only brown with a skirt made of a blanket that was tied together at her right hip. She wore a pack of some sort at her right side and her vintage blaster pistol in a holster over her belt buckle.
"Well, I'm ready." Pooja commented, earning an amused smirk from Maris.
"Ooh, the Senator's gonna get her hands dirty for once eh? This I gotta see." Maris said, earning a similar smirk from Pooja.
"I take that as a challenge, Master Brood." Pooja said.
"Ladies, can we get moving?" Mara asked as they headed for the boarding ramp to the Jade Shadow.
…
The Jade Shadow was now in high orbit over Ossus. There were very few ships in the area save for maybe a couple of Corellian Corvettes on patrol in the region, the lack of ships to help keep the appearance that there was nothing of value on the planet so that the Sith would leave it alone. However, they had fitted the Ossus Jedi Temple with a massive Deflector Shield Generator to prevent orbital bombardment as well as an advanced sensor array for early warning detections. The Jade Shadow flew past one of the Corvettes as it reached the edge of the system before making the jump to lightspeed. Inside the ship, Pooja and Griff walked through one of the corridors of the spacious yacht.
"So I understand that you've accrued a price on your head on Nar Shaddaa. What did you do to deserve that?" Pooja asked as Griff scratched the back of her head.
"I might've sliced into the personal finance accounts of a few local crime lords and stole some credits from them. I'd always make it look like the crime lords were stealing from one another, encouraging fighting between the two…but then one of them hired a slicer that was able to trace the credit transfers back to me. I was captured and taken before one of them. He gave me two options: work for him as a slicer or be forced to become a 'dancer' with some less than pleasant side duties. He threw me in the dungeons to give me a chance to think about it but I escaped. That's when he put a price on my head but by then I had met Kyle Katarn and he helped me escape Nar Shaddaa." Griff explained.
"Are you sure the bounty on you is still active?" Pooja asked as Griff sighed heavily.
"Yeah. It is. Shortly before Kyle hired me to help track down which senator was the one who betrayed the Republic, I looked up the bounty and not only was it still active, but the reward had increased. Worse was they had an updated image of me, a semi-recent one of me on Coruscant. So when Kyle showed up wanting my help, I bartered for transit to Ossus." Griff explained as they entered into the main hold where T'ra and Maris both sat at a table.
"You knew you could trust the Jedi. A sentiment we both share." Pooja replied.
"True. So who exactly are we looking for?" Griff asked as Mara entered the hold, R2 following after her.
"We're looking for Jedi Master Quinlan Vos. He's been missing since the end of the Clone Wars. Imperial Records indicate he was killed on Kashyyyk but according to Master Saa, it was a staged death and that he was very much alive at least eight months after the end of the Clone Wars." Mara explained, T'ra giving a nod of agreement.
"Indeed. He and his wife then retreated to Nar Shaddaa, hoping to blend in amongst the many millions of people there. I have not sensed his death in the force as I have maintained a constant watch for it. This leads me to believe that Quinlan is still alive." T'ra explained.
"Wait, you said he and his wife went to Nar Shaddaa? I thought Jedi weren't allowed to marry in the old order." Maris commented. T'ra gave another nod.
"I keep forgetting that such a rule is nonexistent in this 'new order.' But yes, you are correct. Quinlan married a human woman named Khaleen Hentz. She had initially been assigned to spy on Vos by Count Dooku and the Separatists but ended up falling in love with Vos. Quinlan reciprocated her affections and they had a son together. What became of them after they fled to Nar Shaddaa is unknown." T'ra explained.
"So why are we looking for him on Nar Shaddaa?" Pooja asked.
"According to Talon Karrde, a man bearing the markings of the Kiffar clan Vos has been identified as a member of a swoop gang on Nar Shaddaa. What gives us cause to believe this man is Quinlan Vos is the fact that the swoop gang isn't like the others. From my research they specialize in slave rescues. They launch daring raids on underground slave camps and work to free these slaves." Mara explained, Griff's eyes widening at her description.
"Wait a minute, you're not referring to the Chain Breakers are you?" Griff asked.
"That's right." Mara replied.
"What do you know about them Griff?" Maris asked as Griff smiled.
"Well for starters, depending on who you ask, they're either heroes or villains. The Hutts have a bounty on their heads bigger than mine. They free slaves, like you said, and some join the gang while the rest are smuggled off Nar Shaddaa through sympathetic smugglers. I've even done some business with them." Griff explained.
"Business?" Mara asked.
"I helped them on a raid once. I remotely shut down a security system used by a Zygerian slaver team allowing the Chain Breakers to rush in, free the slaves, and then get out of there." Griff explained.
"So then it sounds like these Chain Breakers are the ones to seek out in regards to our missing Jedi. But how do we contact them?" Pooja asked.
"That'll be the hard part. Finding them won't be easy but that's also why Griff is here. She claims to know someone who can help." Mara said, Griff nodding.
"Yeah. One of the more reputable crime lords on Nar Shaddaa. He openly opposes slavery but declares neutrality when it comes to the conflict between the slavers and the Chain Breakers." Griff explaining.
"A reputable crime lord? Is there such a thing?" Pooja asked.
"On Nar Shaddaa, it depends. But this guy, he's got a sense of…I guess you could say honor. He's an old pirate but he might be willing to help us." Griff said but Maris was skeptical.
"Are you sure we can trust him? You did just call him a pirate after all." Maris commented.
"He's helped me out of tough predicaments on several occasions. I think he might be willing to help." Griff replied.
"Then it'll have to do." Mara said as the hyperspace alarm started beeping, indicating that they were approaching Nar Shaddaa. Soon the Jade Shadow dropped out of hyperspace over the Smuggler's Moon, the ship headed straight into the city below, flying past the towering skyscrapers of the corrupt planet. The Jade Shadow touched down at the base of a rather large tower with red banners draped along the edges of the building. T'ra Saa immediately assumed a more human appearance, growing a nose in an effort to blend in more and not stand out. As the five women and one astromech emerged from the ship they were almost instantly accosted by a trio of Weequay guards.
"State your business." The center guard said in basic.
"We're here to see your boss." Mara replied. The Weequay curled his lip, the other two drawing blasters but the Jedi were unperturbed.
"Did I say something to offend you?" Mara asked. Griff quietly placed a pair of flight goggles on over her eyes in an effort to disguise herself.
"The boss don't take kindly to people who show up unannounced. Who are you?" the lead guard asked before one of them spotted Griff.
"Oye, isn't that the kid with the price on her head?" the guard asked.
"She's with us. We're…here to collect the bounty so unless you want to deal with four women bounty hunters, I'd let us through now." Mara said, drawing her blaster and aiming it at one of the guards. Maris quickly drew her Tonfa-styled lightsabers and held them like a pair of blasters, their shape making them indistinguishable between lightsabers and blasters, while Pooja quickly drew her pistol and aimed it at Griff. T'ra quietly morphed one of her hands to make it resemble an organic looking blaster.
"Did our boss put the bounty out on the kid?" the third guard asked.
"I thought it was one of the Hutts." The second said.
"No-no it was that Black Sun scum." The first argued.
"But if you're lookin' to get at least somethin' for your trouble in capturin' the blighter, I'm sure you and our boss could come to an arrangement." The second said to the women.
"Much appreciated." Mara said as the guards led them into the palace. As they entered, the noxious smells and loud music, typical of a crime lord's palace, bombarded them. They were led into a large square chamber with a single throne sitting in the center, well lit from above, the occasional flickering of a force field appearing around the throne which was facing away at the moment, the throne's occupant admiring a pair of Twi'lek dancers as a Bith band played in the corner of the room. The room full of patrons noticed the women's arrival, unsure of what to make of them.
"Mmm, Nar Shaddaa. You'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy." Pooja commented.
"Why does everyone say that about every underworld slum?" Mara asked, watching as one of the Weequay guards approached the figure on the throne, whispering something in their ear. The crime lord in the throne let out an audible sigh.
"Business before pleasure, yes? Fine-fine-fine what sort of business do we have?" the crime lord asked as he spun around to face the women. The crime lord was an older Weequay, in his early eighties, wearing a rugged red and grey coat over worn tan shirt and brown trousers with large black boots. He wore a dome-like helmet on his head and a pair of goggles over his eyes.
"These bounty hunters are here to claim the bounty on someone." One of the guards commented, the older Weequay sitting up in his chair.
"Bounty? I don't recall posting a bounty on anyone. Who is it you want to claim?" the Weequay asked the four women. Mara smiled and stepped out of the way to reveal Griff who had her hands on her hips and a smirk on her face. She had moved the goggles up onto her forehead. The moment the Weequay saw her, he motioned for the band to stop, his eyes widened. The entire chamber's attention was on both the crime lord and the women. The crime lord stared at Griff for a moment before smiling and standing up, throwing his arms open with a delighted laugh.
"Griffon! It has been far too long my little monkey-lizard!" the crime lord exclaimed with a laugh as Griff grinned and ran to him, colliding into him with a hug. The women were confused but they were the minority as most of the chamber seemed to recognize her and smiled happily like they would a friend.
"Papa Hondo, I've missed you!" Griff said as the crime lord put his arms around the youth.
"Ah Griffon, when you disappeared from Nar Shaddaa, it nearly broke this old pirate's heart. Where have you been hiding all this time?" the crime lord asked as he sat down, patting his lap. Griffon immediately sat down across his lap like a child would their father, smiling happily at the old pirate.
"Coruscant mostly. I've got a price on my head and I've been trying to keep low. A Jedi helped me escape Nar Shaddaa and then again from Coruscant. I've been hiding with the Jedi ever since." Griff explained. The crime lord seemed disappointed.
"Mmm-mmm-mmm. I warned you your account tampering would get you into trouble. You remember what I told you, Griffon. If you ever got a bounty on your head…" he said as Griffon lowered her head slightly.
"…that you wouldn't help me get rid of it. I know but that's not why I'm here." Griff replied, intriguing the old pirate.
"No? Oh of course how rude of me. Get up a moment, my dear." The pirate said, Griff getting up off of his lap as he stood up.
"Perhaps I should introduce myself; I am Hondo Ohnaka, ex-Pirate and honest businessman. I would like to thank you for returning Griffon to me." The crime lord stated as Mara cleared her throat.
"Return her?" Mara asked. Ohnaka smiled and put his arm around the teenaged Twi'lek.
"Yes. Griffon is my daughter… adopted more specifically. Found her struggling for life out in the slums of Nar Shaddaa. Feared she would end up a slave or worse. So I brought her here and called her mine. So, now that you know who I am, I'd like to know who you are. I understand you want to claim the bounty on my little monkey-lizard's head." Hondo said, a slight scowl as some of the patrons drew blasters aimed at the four women and one astromech.
"Actually that was a ruse to try and get in to see you, Papa Hondo. Besides, you really don't want to mess with these women. See, they're Jedi." Griffon explained.
"What?! Jedi?! You brought Jedi here?!" Hondo yelped. Mara, Maris, and T'ra immediately activated their lightsabers in a defensive posture, Pooja leveling her blaster at one of the criminals.
"We don't want any trouble, Mr. Ohnaka. We came here seeking your help with a different matter." Mara said as Hondo motioned for his guards to stand down. The Jedi deactivated their lightsabers at this.
"Hmm. You have done me a service, Jedi so I will listen to you. But first, who are you?" Hondo asked.
"Jedi Master Mara Jade Skywalker." Mara replied, Hondo's eyes widening.
"Skywalker? Any relation to Anakin Skywalker?" Hondo asked.
"He's my father-in-law." Mara replied. Hondo belted out a laugh.
"Hah! So once again, Skywalker has come before me but in a different form. You see, Skywalker and I go way back. I once tried to hold him for ransom…but he escaped and we had a few clashes here and there. But that is beside the point. What sort of business do you have to discuss, hmm?" Hondo asked, sitting back down in his throne.
"We might want some privacy for this. Sensitive matters that we really don't want any random person to know." Griff said as Hondo looked at her.
"You're already in for it, Griffon. You get a price on your head and you bring Jedi into my palace. We're going to have a long talk about this later." Hondo said as Griff flinched slightly.
"Yes Papa Hondo." Griff replied as Hondo stood back up.
"Fine-fine. Come, let us talk in my conference room." Hondo said as he and a pair of his guards led Griff and the Jedi into a side room. The band started to play again as they headed for the side room. It was a conference room with a throne for Hondo to sit at the head of the table with other end having chairs to sit in. The table also had a droid interface for R2 to plug in and project holograms via the table's built in holoprojector.
"So, what sort of business do three Jedi, a former Senator, and my little monkey-lizard, have to offer me?" Hondo asked, sitting down in his chair and leaning forward with his fingers intertwined.
"We're trying to find someone. A member of a swoop gang called the Chain Breakers." Mara said but Hondo raised a hand.
"Stop! I admire the Chain Breakers actions, true, but I cannot help you. If I assist you, then my neutrality between the Chain Breakers and the slavers is nullified." Hondo said.
"They're trying to find one person within the Chain Breakers, not help them." Griff commented.
"It does not matter. I cannot risk my neutrality in the matter." Hondo replied. Mara however smirked thoughtfully.
"How much?" she asked, Ohnaka's eyebrow arched.
"Mmm I'm suddenly hearing a tune I like. What can a Jedi, Skywalker's daughter-in-law, offer me?" Hondo asked.
"Depends what you want. I have contacts, rich and powerful contacts. I can get you almost anything you want." Mara replied as Hondo thought.
"Hmm…I want the bounty removed from Griffon's head." Hondo said, startling Griffon.
"Papa Hondo, you said you'd never help me if I got a bounty on my head." Griff said, earning a coy smirk from Hondo.
"And I'm not. The Jedi are. I'm neither helping nor hindering you. But a father does want what's best for their child. Am I wrong?" Hondo asked, Mara smiling slightly, thinking of Ben.
"No…you're not. Mothers are the same way." Mara said as Hondo gave a respectful nod to her.
"I thought you had the look of a mothering type about you, Jedi. As parents, we will do anything to help our children, but sometimes there are lessons that must be learned the hard way." Hondo said as Mara nodded in agreement.
"So in exchange for clearing the bounty on Griff, you'll tell us where we can find the Chain Breakers?" Maris asked.
"Yes. But that will be the extent of my assistance. The person who posted the bounty on Griffon is one of the lesser crime lords here on Nar Shaddaa: Molak Gorun. He is no friend to the Chain Breakers either. He is in charge of a refugee center and likes using them as 'unofficial' slave labor." Hondo explained, reclining in his chair with his feet on the table.
"We'll make sure the bounty is removed." Mara said as Hondo looked towards Griffon.
"What are you just sitting around for? That bounty isn't going to remove itself." Hondo said as Griffon nodded, standing up and quickly giving him a kiss on the cheek before following after the departing Jedi. Hondo smiled warmly at the sight of his daughter as she departed before reaching into his coat and placing a holoprojector onto the table. He activated the hologram to reveal a figure cloaked in robes.
"What is it?" the figure asked.
"I just wanted you to know, the price for my information has doubled." Hondo said to the figure.
"I sense something. Someone has come to the Smuggler's Moon. Jedi if I'm not mistaken." The figure replied.
"Bup! My price?" Hondo stated with a grin. The figure sighed heavily in frustration.
"Very well. Consider your payment doubled. Now what is the information?" the figure asked.
"Three Jedi, a former senator, and an expert slicer are on their way to…complicate things for Molak Gorun in the refugee center." Hondo replied.
"Gorun…excellent. Inform him of what is heading his way." The figure instructed.
"One small piece of additional information. One of the Jedi is the daughter-in-law of Anakin Skywalker. Mara Jade Skywalker." Hondo added.
"Skywalker? Interesting. I'll pass the word along." The figure said as Hondo smiled.
"A pleasure doing business with you as always, my friend." Hondo replied with a smile and a nod before shutting off the hologram.
…
A few minutes later, The five women and R2 were traveling through Nar Shaddaa's seedy underbelly via an airspeeder that Griff had hotwired.
"So how exactly did you get to be that old pirate's daughter?" Maris asked as Griff sighed in sadness.
"My parents were slaves to a Hutt here on Nar Shaddaa. When my mother became pregnant with me, they tried to escape. Their escape coincided with a visit from Hondo. My parents were caught escaping and the Hutt ordered my parents execution for their attempted escape. Hondo stepped in, refusing to allow my parents to be killed, especially a pregnant woman. A firefight broke out, the Hutt and my father were killed, and my mother was mortally wounded. In an effort to save me, Hondo helped my mother induce labor and I was born mere minutes before my mother died from her injuries but not before she gave me my name. He took me in and raised me as his own daughter. Taught me how to survive, scam easy marks, to find value in things that most people would otherwise find to be worthless, and how to sell them at a higher cost." Griff explained.
"Real fathering material." Maris commented sarcastically.
"Better than nothing though." Pooja said softly.
"Yeah. Hondo might be an old pirate but I've never doubted for a second that he genuinely cares for me. He and his pirates…they're the only family I've ever known. When I started showing an aptitude for slicing he sent me on a few missions to see just how good a slicer I was. By the time I finished the slicing missions, my tampering managed to eliminate a number of lesser crime lords for the Hutts, giving Hondo room to move in and usurp their territory." Griff explained.
"You mean he used you to gain power in the underworld." Maris stated.
"Yeah but I don't care. It's how things work here in Nar Shaddaa. The battle lines shift constantly even though they're not always visible. Hondo gave me a home, a family." Griff explained.
"That is what matters, Griffon. A heart that is open allows love to flow free." T'ra said, confusing the slicer and a couple of the Jedi present.
"What?" Griff asked.
"Just roll with it. Master Saa was always spouting this weirdness even before the purge." Maris replied, recalling the times she was at the Jedi Temple as a youngling when Master Saa was there.
"It's good to know you still remember those times Maris." T'ra said as Maris shrugged.
"It's been a long time but you don't forget things like: 'if there is a light in the forest, can anyone see it' or my personal favorite…there's another speeder behind us." Maris said.
"I don't get that one." Pooja replied.
"Because she's not being metaphorical! It's literal!" Mara exclaimed as she leapt behind the controls, the airspeeder racing ahead, the one behind them accelerating to keep up.
"E chu ta! Where did these guys come from?!" Griff yelped.
"Doesn't matter where they came from but where they're going that counts!" Pooja replied, drawing her pistol and firing a few shots at the pursuing airspeeder, one shot grazing their engine. The thugs in the speeder immediately opened fire with blasters, a firefight breaking out between the two. Griff quickly grabbed Mara's blaster from her holster and joined Pooja in firing at the thugs. As she fired, she spotted something emblazoned across the hull of the airspeeder.
"Oh slag! That kriffing heap of bantha poodoo!" Griff cursed angrily.
"What is it?!" T'ra asked as Griff groaned.
"The guys chasing us are Gorun's men! The guy who put the bounty on my head!" Griff replied.
"Well considering we're going to pay him a visit, it might make some sense!" Mara replied as their airspeeder rounded a corner, flying towards a large open air area full of shipping containers but with small blaster turret emplacements. The turrets immediately targeted the airspeeder and started firing, knocking out one of the airspeeder's engines.
"I think we've found Gorun's hideout!" Maris yelped as they started plummeting towards the refugee area below. Mara quickly brought the speeder in low, the damaged vehicle scraping along the ground.
"JUMP!" Mara exclaimed, the five women leaping from the vehicle while R2 ignited his boosters and touched safely down on the ground. The refugees were scattering in a panic as the Jedi ignited their lightsabers, Pooja and Griff rushing for cover as the thugs in the airspeeder came to a stop in midair and started firing at the Jedi below. R2 let out a scream as he rushed into cover with Pooja and Griff.
"So senator, how do you like your first foray on Nar Shaddaa?!" Griff asked as Pooja spotted a group of thugs rushing into the area with blaster rifles.
"So far I'm not impressed!" Pooja replied as she and Griff fired at the thugs. At the same time, T'ra quickly used the force to grip onto a pair of empty shipping containers and tossed them at the turret emplacements, smashing them before turning towards the airspeeder and crushing the damaged engine, causing the thugs to crash into the ground, dying as their speeder exploded upon impact.
"Nice work Saa!" Mara complimented as she picked up one of the thug's blasters off the ground and started firing at a few more thugs that came rushing into the area. She suddenly noticed many of the thugs grabbing the cowering civilians and holding them as human shields, blasters pointed to their heads.
"Hold fire! HOLD FIRE!" Mara yelled, raising her hands as the blaster fire stopped. The Jedi quickly surrendered along with Pooja and Griff. R2 was left alone as he had taken to hiding in amongst the refugees. He was about to roll forward but was stopped by a figure clad in armor and with a hood up over its head.
"Quiet, droid. You'll do little good to help them." The figure whispered as the thugs rounded the women up, confiscating their lightsabers and blasters.
"Well look what we have here boys. Little Vao. The boss is gonna enjoy seeing you again." A Rodian thug said in basic as he smirked at Griff who scowled.
"We're all going to enjoy having you around." A human man said with a dark smirk, running a lingering finger across her cheek, Griff openly shuddering at his implication as they were led away by gunpoint. From his hiding spot, R2 beeped worriedly.
"Don't worry, droid. They won't come to harm." The figure near him said as he knelt down next to R2, pressing a button on his wrist guard, a small light on it starting to flash periodically.
…
The five women were shown up to an observation room overlooking the refugee area. The observation room had been converted into a private throne room for the crime boss as well as a room to showcase slaves that were available for purchase by the underworld's elite. The five were brought before a portly man in his late fifties that was clearly balding and wore an old Imperial Moff's uniform. The man was accompanied by a scantily clad human woman that had her arm draped around his back. He smiled darkly at Griff as she was brought in.
"Ah Vao. Glad you saw fit to come back. Too bad you don't get a choice as to your choice of professions this time." Gorun commented as Griff snarled.
"You'll pay for this! My father will see you burn!" Griff spat but Gorun laughed.
"That old pirate? Ha! He doesn't have the stones to lead an attack against me. Besides, who do you think told me you were coming?" Gorun asked, Griff's face falling in shock.
"No. No that's impossible! Papa Hondo would never turn on me! He'd never sell me out!" Griff yelled.
"No?" Gorun asked, pressing a button on his chair and activating a hologram of Hondo.
"Gorun! My friend!" the hologram stated.
"What do you want Ohnaka? I'm rather busy at the moment." Gorun's recorded voice replied.
"Oh don't worry, Gory baby, we can continue later." A woman's voice said seductively. They couldn't help but notice the woman seated next to Gorun smiled and shifted slightly, indicating that it was her voice in the recording.
"I'll be quick, Gorun. I just received word that a group of Jedi are on their way to arrest you. Apparently, my trouble-maker daughter is leading them to you! Can you believe that! AND they stole one of my speeders to get to you!" Hondo stated. Griff's face turned to shock and disbelief as she watched the hologram.
"Vao?! The little schutta! Thank you for the information, Hondo. Don't expect me to be gentle on her." Gorun's voice replied.
"But of course. But bear in mind that you owe me a favor now and favors can get…expensive." Hondo said before the hologram shut off.
"You see, Vao, your old man doesn't care for you. He's just interested in the same thing I am. Power and money. But in addition to those two, I also desire women. Most women wouldn't have anything to do with an old Moff like me so when they don't come willingly; they have to be…persuaded. But this is definitely a first, in that five women have come to me willingly. And what an interesting assortment we have here. Three Jedi and an ex-senator. You'll all fetch decent prices." Gorun commented, eyeing the other four women over.
"I believe you'll find that we'd make poor slaves." Maris commented but Gorun's smile widened.
"Oh I agree, but you're still profitable, only, not as slaves. You see, I'm well aware that I cannot make you three Jedi into slaves, but there is a nice bounty that the Sith Empire has on Jedi. All I need to do is contact the Sith Empire and they'll send a representative out with my credits to oversee the transfer. I've already sent one of my men to contact them and we should hear back from them shortly." Gorun said as the three Jedi scowled at him, Mara resisting the urge to force choke him if it wasn't for the fact that there were too many guards in the room.
"Don't think I haven't forgotten about you, Senator. You might take some breaking in, but you'll make a fine concubine. I've not been with an older woman before." Gorun said as Pooja looked repulsed by his suggestion.
"I'd rather die." Pooja scowled.
"That can be arranged as well." Gorun said as the woman next to him slid low next to his head.
"Gory baby, why are we still talking business? I'm tired of hearing about all this talk of business, I want to get back to pleasure." She pleaded seductively as the old Moff smiled and cupped the woman's chin.
"Meria darling, I'd love to join you but I've been looking forward to this moment for a while. Doesn't mean you can't join in though." Gorun said as the woman smiled.
"Thanks babe but you know I don't work with slaves or concubines. I'm a solo act." Meria replied.
"Second to none too. Oh well, then perhaps we can-WHAT THE-?!" Gorun yelped as the lights went out in the entire city block the refugee center occupied. Suddenly the darkened refugee center was illuminated by the engines of over three dozen swoop bikes, the pilots firing blasters into the air and whooping and cheering as they rode into the area. Behind them flew a small stock freighter, bearing a large white circle icon with two yellow semicircles in the center. Gorun recognized the insignia instantly.
"Chain Breakers! It's the kriffing Chain Breakers!" Gorun yelled angrily. The Jedi quickly took advantage of the chaos and pulled their lightsabers to their hands, breaking free of their restraints and quickly eliminating their captors. Gorun quickly spun around to face the freed captives, leveling a blaster at them while activating a personal shield unit and raising a detonator.
"Don't try anything stupid Jedi! I'll blow this whole block to-UNGH!" Gorun cried out as a vibrodagger plunged into his skull. The Jedi were startled to see that the killer was Meria, who scowled while snatching the detonator from his hand and flipping it shut while watching his body fall to the floor.
"Sleep well in hell, slime bag." Meria said in Huttese, spitting on his corpse before pulling the dagger from his skull then looking at the Jedi curiously.
"Who are you?" Maris asked as Meria's body began to twist and contort until finally she took the form of a very different species.
"A changeling!" Griff exclaimed.
"Clawdite I think is the word you're looking for. Come on, let's get you five out of here!" Meria said as the doors into the throne room flew open, revealing several guards. The Jedi swiftly cut them down as they made a run for the exits. As they ran, they found a squad of Ubese mercenaries in their path. The Ubese saw the Jedi and raised vibroblades in preparation of the imminent fight. Before they could make a move, they heard the beeping of an astromech unit followed by a sudden white and blue blur that flew around the corner, spewing a thick cloud of white flame suppressant into the air.
"R2!" Mara exclaimed, the cloud confusing the Ubese for a moment before the cloud started flashing with the red lights of blaster fire.
"How did you escape little guy?!" Griff asked. R2 beeped his response, swiveling his head towards the cloud as a group of armored men and women of varying races, all bearing tattoos or armor markings of the Chain Breakers, came running up towards them. One of them was the hooded figure that had helped R2 hide.
"Glad to see you found your masters, little one. Ladies, if you will follow us, we'll get you out of here!" the figure said, motioning for them to follow. The women didn't waste any time, following the Chain Breakers out, past the dead bodies of the Ubese mercs, as they entered the commons area of the Refugee center. The Chain Breakers were still in combat with the remaining slavers and thugs as the refugees were quickly herded onto the stock freighter. The women and R2 quickly climbed aboard the freighter as the Chain Breakers climbed back onto their swoops and flew off with the freighter into the Nar Shaddaa skyline, leaving not a single slave in the refugee center. Inside the freighter, the hooded figure turned to Meria.
"Well?" he asked the changeling who smiled and nodded, holding up the bloodied vibrodagger.
"Dead and gone." She replied. The hooded figure proceeded to take her dagger and toss it aside onto a table before putting his arms around her, kissing her on her scaly lips.
"I missed you." He said as she ran a hand into his hood with a smile.
"I missed you too my love." She replied before hearing a pair of voices clear their throats.
"I don't mean to interrupt, and we are grateful for the rescue and all, but who are you?" Mara asked as the figure turned towards the women and the droid.
"We're the Chain Breakers. I believe you've been looking to get in contact with us, Master Skywalker." The figure said, earning a confused look from Mara.
"How did you know my name?" Mara asked.
"Because that is the name our informant gave us." The figure replied as he approached them.
"Informant?" Mara asked as they felt the transport beginning to touch down.
"Why are we stopping?" Pooja asked worriedly.
"Don't worry, we've just arrived at the drop-off point." The figure replied as the boarding ramp lowered behind him. They slowly disembarked to find themselves in the hangar of an old CIS Providence Class Carrier/Destroyer. There was a familiar symbol splattered across the walls of the hangar with numerous men and women of varying races along with a swarm of medical droids rushing towards the transport with blankets and other relief supplies. Cantina music was being piped into the hangar over the speakers. One look out the hangar shields and you could tell the destroyer was in an exceedingly low orbit over Nar Shaddaa, the tops of one or two skyscrapers at eyelevel with the people in the hangar.
"I know that symbol! That's-!" Griff yelped before the figure clasped a hand over her mouth.
"Shh! Not in public. Not yet." The figure said as the freed refugees were escorted to a make-shift medical examination area in the hangar. As Mara, Maris, Pooja, T'ra, Griff, and R2 were personally escorted away by the hooded figure and Meria towards a door where another hooded figure in black robes emerged. This dark figure ignored the Jedi as it passed by, instead going to interact with the refugees. The figure quietly approached individual refugees and greeted them in a polite handshake or by placing a hand on each of them, muttering something to them in Huttese or Basic that the Jedi couldn't make out. The Refugees seemed to break down in joyful and relieved tears when the figure spoke to them, embracing loved ones.
"What's going on?" Pooja asked. T'ra was watching the figure with quiet intrigue.
"That's the leader of the Chain Breakers. He's informing the slaves that their troubles are over and that they're now free." Meria explained as she pulled on a sky blue robe that a G2 repair droid brought out to her, covering up her scantily clad body. R2 then beeped something in mild alarm.
"Jamming signal? What kind of jamming signal?" Maris asked as R2 beeped his response.
"A comms jammer? Why?" Mara asked. R2 beeped back in mild confusion.
"I don't understand droid speak, what is he saying?" Pooja asked.
"He says that the jammer's been on since the moment we climbed aboard that freighter but got stronger when we landed on this ship." Maris translated. T'ra continued watching the dark figure as he moved from refugee to refugee, each of them expressing some form of relief at his words. The dark figure then approached the last of the refugees, a Selkath man. As the figure shook his hand, he paused. He released the Selkath's hand in silence before raising his hand up in a pinching motion. The Selkath suddenly started choking, putting his hands to this throat as he gurgled his distress in his native tongue.
"What the hell?!" Mara exclaimed as she drew her blaster but was stopped when she saw several of the Chain Breakers raise their blasters at her.
"Let me through!" Mara ordered but suddenly heard a loud snap from the Selkath, the Selkath falling to the floor dead, his neck broken, much to the horror and alarm of the refugees.
"Search him!" the dark figure ordered as a pair of Chain Breakers rushed over and stared rifling through the Selkath's pockets. One of them then held up a small device.
"We've got a transmitter!" the Chain Breaker exclaimed. The G2 droid then hobbled over towards them.
"Give it to the droid." The Dark Figure ordered. The G2 took the transmitter and started examining it.
"Yep, it's a transmitter alright. Accessing its call-logs." The G2 said, plugging the transmitter into a small device attached to the front of his chassis. After a moment, a holoprojector on the device activated, showing a hologram of a Hutt.
"I've infiltrated the camp, boss. What do I do now?" the voice of the Selkath man said in his native tongue.
"Wait for the Chain Breakers to come. They won't pass up an opportunity to try and free our property. When they do come, make sure to board their vessel and report their location. We must show these Chain Breakers that stealing our property is not something we will let continue." The Hutt said in Huttese but with an automated real-time translation in basic.
"A spy. He was a spy!" one of the Chain Breakers spat, spitting on the corpse.
"Another attempt at locating us, failed. Deactivate the signal jammer. We are safe now." The Dark Figure said as he started walking past the Jedi, pausing to look at T'ra Saa. They could see a noticeable yellow stripe across the figure's grizzled human face.
"Good to see you again, Saa." He said softly before walking away.
"Who was that?" Griff asked.
"Certainly not a Jedi." Pooja said but the first hooded figure turned towards them.
"No, actually he is…or at least he was." The figure said, reaching for his hood.
"How do you know that?" Griff asked. The figure removed his hood, revealing a human man in his mid-forties with a head full of messy black hair with a yellow stripe tattoo across his face and the bridge of his nose, the hallmark of the Vos Clan. T'ra immediately smiled and stepped forward.
"Hello Korto. You've grown so much since I last saw you." T'ra greeted, the man bowing to the Jedi Master with a smile.
"Master Saa. My father has told me much about you. It is an honor to meet you in person." The man replied.
"You know this guy?" Maris asked, surprised.
"Indeed I do. Allow me to present Korto Vos, the son of Quinlan Vos." T'ra said, the man bowing to the women in respect.
"Vos's son. Then that man was-…" Pooja said as Korto nodded but their answer came from a different source.
"Yes, the great Jedi Quinlan Vos himself! Friend to the oppressed, enemy to the oppressors!"
"Papa Hondo! What the kriff?!" Griff exclaimed, spinning around to see Hondo Ohnaka approaching from a nearby Weequay shuttle craft.
"Watch your mouth young lady. Such language is so unbecoming of a beautiful young thing like yourself, my dear." Hondo said with a coy smile but Griff was still livid from earlier.
"Some father you are! You sold me out! You sold us all out to that kriffing slaver! Do you know what he was planning on doing to me?!" Griff asked angrily, clearly hurt by Hondo's betrayal.
"Yes, yes I do. But, I had everything arranged with Vos here to ensure that nothing happened to you. Come, come Griffon, do you really think I would send my only daughter into a dangerous situation without a plan?" Hondo asked.
"Wait, you mean you arranged it?!" Griff asked, stunned by the ex-pirate's scheme.
"You see Miss Vao, Captain Ohnaka and his gang are secretly supplying the Chain Breakers. They're our silent partners. Captain Ohnaka did inform Gorun, but not until after he informed us first. We've been planning Gorun's assassination for months." Korto explained as Griffon blinked in surprise.
"Ah I get it. Publicly you're neutral and you can use this neutrality to secretly supply the Chain Breakers." Mara said as Hondo tipped his helmet towards the Jedi Master. At this point Pooja, T'ra, and Maris recognized that the insignia they saw splattered around the ship's hangar was Hondo's.
"My motives aren't entirely pure as you might believe, Jedi. Whenever a slaver falls, it leaves a significant drought in their other illicit businesses." Hondo explained.
"Thus giving you room to expand and corner the markets. Very clever." Maris deduced with an approving nod.
"Slavery is the vilest of all of the underworld's vices. Spice trading and other criminal dealings are nothing compared to the pain and torture slavery brings to its victims. Captain Ohnaka might deal in spice and other illicit activities but he opposes slavery and is willing to help our efforts." Korto explained as Griff looked up at Hondo with an almost tearful smile.
"You mean you intended on helping us the entire time? Why didn't you just kriffing tell me?!" she asked. Hondo smiled down at her and placed his hands on her shoulder.
"Griffon, if I took care of all your problems for you, what kind of a father would I be? Hmm? I cannot be there for you all the time so you need to know how to solve your problems on your own. I might've assisted a little bit but you and your friends ultimately won out. Your bounty is gone." Hondo said with a smile.
"So then I guess we should meet with Quinlan." T'ra said but Korto stepped into her path.
"Master Saa, I must ask. What do you intend to do with my father?" Korto asked.
"We merely want to offer him the chance to rejoin the Jedi Order. Nothing more." T'ra replied. Korto exchanged worried looks between Meria and Hondo.
"I can't speak for him but I fear you won't have much success in convincing him." Korto replied.
"Then I will at least have tried." T'ra said as she walked past him towards the exit to the hangar. Shortly after she passed through the doors, Korto shivered.
"Wow did it just get colder in here?" Korto asked, looking around but Mara and Maris both had disconcerted looks on their face.
"No…I sense a disturbance in the Force. The Dark Side has suddenly grown stronger on Nar Shaddaa." Mara replied, looking around in concern.
Meanwhile…
On the planet's surface, inside his private lounge in the Jabba's Jive Casino and Holoparlor, sat Rotta the Hutt, chowing down on a platter of exotic cuisine. His meal was interrupted when his translator droid approached.
"Please excuse the interruption my lord, but you have a visitor." The droid said as Rotta swallowed the food in his mouth and looked up to see a hooded yet armored individual approach with a pair of other individuals wearing Sith Knight Battle Armor. One of the Sith Knights was carrying a black cloth bag in hand. Rotta then began to speak in Huttese.
"The mighty Rotta welcomes the Sith Empire to Nar Shaddaa and inquires how he may be of assistance." The translator droid said. The armored individual quietly produced a holoprojector, placed it on the ground, and activated it, causing a hologram of a hooded Darth Akul to appear.
"Rotta, it has been a long time since we last spoke." Darth Akul said as Rotta scowled slightly and said something in Huttese towards the Sith Empress.
"The mighty Rotta is humbled by your contacting us, Empress. He is reminded of the life debt that he owes to you personally, your majesty." The translator droid said.
"Good. I believe we might be able to help one another. One of your…subordinates on Nar Shaddaa, contacted me about having captured three Jedi on the Smuggler's Moon. Unfortunately, it appears that these Jedi managed to escape with the aid of one of your enemies: the Chain Breakers." Akul explained, Rotta breaking into an angered rant at the very mention of the Chain Breakers.
"The mighty Rotta, demands that the subordinate be brought before him to be punished for his inability to stop the Chain Breakers." The droid instructed.
"It's already been done, Rotta." Akul replied. The Sith Knight carrying the bag proceeded to step forward and dumped the contents of the bag onto the floor. It was the severed head of Gorun, decapitated by the Sith for ease of transport. Rotta scowled at the head now staining his lounge floor, furious with the underling's failure.
"The execution was not ours, but rather the Chain Breaker's assassination." Akul explained. Rotta started talking angrily towards Akul.
"The mighty Rotta wants to see the Chain Breakers destroyed. Their actions have cost the mighty Rotta millions of credits." The translator droid said.
"I have already given you the ultimate weapon to use against these Chain Breakers. Before you stands my Apprentice, Darth Stalker. He is the Empire's greatest Assassin and will serve you well. Soon, the Chain Breakers will be no more, and your profits will rise once again." Akul said as the armored Sith Lord pulled back the hood, revealing the intimidating death mask over his face. Rotta smiled sinisterly at the Sith Lord, belting out a laugh reminiscent of his father: Jabba the Hutt.
End Episode 14.
To Be Continued…
A/N: I had to add Hondo Ohnaka. He became one of my favorite rogues in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars series.
The cameo appearance by R2-KT was my homage to the real-world 501st Legion. If anyone reading this is a 501st member, you have my utmost respect and admiration. I included R2-KT because of the touching backstory behind the real-life droid's creation and I want to give R2-KT a respectful representation within my writings. If you feel I have done the droid a disservice, please let me know. I want to portray both R2-KT and the Legion in a good way. I myself am not a member of the 501st but I continue to support your efforts.
For those who don't know the story of R2-KT, I recommend you look her up on Wookieepedia.
I own Gorun and Miera.
Also I wanted to add a couple of details that reaffirms the AU part of this series. The AU details in question today are in regards to: Celeste Morne and Mortis.
Celeste Morne, if you don't know, is an Ancient Jedi from shortly before the Jedi Civil War (that's 4000 years before the original SW Trilogy) that becomes possessed by an even older dead Sith Lord via an talisman that turns people around her into Rakghouls (if you don't know what those are, they're essentially the Star Wars version of Zombies, or near enough at least…and that "Death Troopers" thing is the third thing that's AU. That never happened in this universe). Celeste manages to survive for 4000 years inside a sort of stasis pod and encounters Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and a few other major SW characters (she even, indirectly kills Able by turning him into a Rakghoul) and even survives several decades later, encountering one of Luke's descendants, Cade Skywalker, before finally dying. Well in this universe, she's dead. I frankly dislike the character, especially when I discovered she's the reason Able died! So, in retaliation, I shuffled off her mortal coil in this series. We'll say that she died before getting in the Oubliette 4000 years ago and the Talisman was destroyed too.
The second is the Mortis thing from the Clone Wars series. In those episodes, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka wind up at this strange place in space that is supposed to be a sort of physical manifestation of the Force itself. There they meet the Father, the Daughter (who represents the Light Side of the Force), and the Son (who represents the Dark Side) and are there for about three episodes. I never liked those episodes so in this continuity, Mortis never happened and doesn't exist. Same goes for Abeloth. Non-existent. So those of you wondering if the incidents at Mortis will be referenced or if something similar will occur, you have your answers.