So it's been over a year...
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Chapter 6:
Barriss Offee, reincarnation of the Dathmori witch Asajj Ventress stood on the deck of her ship watching stars blur past as they sailed into hyperspace. She finally had the last piece of the map that would lead her and her comrades to Amun Sher, to Darth Bane and to total control of the galaxy. Barriss grinned darkly. All her life she had dreamed of the pale woman with her face and the handsome man in red robes she had lusted after, the pure power the pair had together. She had studied the galaxy's history, gaining enlightenment through the Dark Side of the ever mysterious Force. She had even been able to invade the ranks of the sacred Jedi for a short time, learning all she could until she had been discovered and expelled because of the power of the Dark Side that coursed through her. After several years of wandering in the galaxy and making a considerable profit in the illegal artifact trade, she met Dooku. With him, her grand plan had finally been able to come to fruition. After so many years her true self was finally within her reach. Barriss could see the grand Empire laid out before her, Sidious, no, Palpatine, ruling beside her with an iron fist. The Jedi, the Chosen One, and his bitch would be reduced to ash. She would cast aside Barriss Offee and once again become the great Asajj Ventress. So lost in thought, Barriss failed to notice the rotten arm wrapping around her torso, the hot rancid breath ghosting over her skin.
"Soon you will be restored and we will destroy all who dare stand against us." Sidious whispered into Barriss's ear, causing her to shudder. She turned swiftly and crushed her mouth to his. They would be unstoppable. Dooku stepped onto the deck. The ship would soon reach Coruscant. Upon seeing the pair locked in their disgusting embrace, he quickly turned trying not to be sick. He needed to check on the little brat with the cuff anyway.
The Skywalkers and Obi-Wan had acted fast. Everything whirled before Luke's young mind as his parents and aunt quickly prepared their ship. Luke felt like it was an eternity before he was back on the family ship, in reality, it had only been a day. His parents had left in the care of the Jedi for lift-off. But all the man did was stand by one of the large windows, playing with the edge of his beard. Once the ship entered hyperspace the Jedi left to message his order. Luke crept out of the cabin and ran to the cockpit. His father sat silently in the pilot's seat, his mother in the co-pilots. Without a word he jumped into his mother's lap, her comforting arms immediately wrapping Luke in a loving embrace.
"Don't worry Luke, everything is going to be fine." Luke couldn't help but notice the strange edge in his mother's voice.
"I believe you." He lied. Anakin looked over at his wife and son.
"Once we get to Coruscant, I know a guy who can get us into the no fly zone, and to Karnack." Padme reached over the consul and grabbed Anakin's hand. "Hopefully we'll catch up to them there." Anakin had told Padme everything about Leia and the bracelet and all that had happened after she had been abducted to the museum.
"I have faith in you Anakin." She said, gripping his hand as tight as she could. Anakin felt the Force flow around him and his incomplete family. He tried to calm the rage that brewed deep within himself. He found that no matter what, the rage and fear remained.
After what felt like an eternity the Skywalker's ship once again landed on Coruscant.
"We're here way too damn much." Sabe grumbled as she and Luke followed Anakin and Padme through the small port where they had landed.
"Not now Sabe." Padme shot back at her sister before turning back to Anakin. "How do you know this man again?" The group was headed towards an apparent junkyard owned by an old associate of Anakin's who could possibly help find Leia. Anakin merely shrugged, fiddling with the blaster on his belt. He looked like a man going to war, lightsaber, blaster pistol, knife, on his belt and a duffle bag slung over his shoulder no doubt filled with a ridiculous assortment of weapons and explosives that Padme usually would have thought ostentatious but now found strange comfort in. Even she, Sabe and Luke were armed. She had a blaster on her thigh, knives tucked into her boots and up her sleeve. Sabe had her usual rifle and blasters, while on the ship Anakin had fixed Luke's slingshot so that it would shoot concentrated electrical bursts that would knock whoever was hit onto their ass.
"He's just an old friend from my ship days." Anakin stopped in front of a dilapidated gate with a faded hand-painted sign reading "Rex's" in chipped block letters. He banged on the gate and stepped back. After a minute the gate swung open and out stepped a very tan, well-built man with a buzz cut, a scruffy blond beard, and an eye-patch over his left eye. As soon as he saw Anakin, the man's remaining eye widened comically and he paled considerably.
"Nope." He stated before slamming the gate shut, hard enough that one of the wooden planks fell off. A bolt slid loudly into place, locking everyone out.
"Some friend." Luke muttered.
Anakin rolled his eyes.
"I don't have time for this." He growled before raising his hand and using the Force to blow the gate in. He strode over the fallen gate, "Rex!" He bellowed. Padme, Sabe, and Luke hot on his heels. Padme couldn't help but wrinkle her nose at the various piles of scrap and junk that filled the yard.
"Whatever you want Skywalker, the answer is NO!" The man, Rex apparently, yelled back, sprinting from behind a pile of crushed speeders towards an awning under which stood a lopsided desk covered in junk and… was that a bathtub?
"I haven't even asked anything yet!" Anakin shot back.
"Doesn't matter. Cause whenever you show up, I get shot!"
"Shot?" Padme turned from the strange layout of the place back to Anakin.
"Who are you?" Rex asked, pulling up the eye patch revealing a perfectly good, fully functional eye.
"His wife." Padme stated cautiously.
"Wow, never thought that would happen" Rex seemingly said to himself. "But yes, shot! Last time I was flying get away for a bank job on Ryloth and I get shot in the kriffing ass! Then up comes your husband with two twi'lek dancers and I'm bleeding out in the middle of the street. It was suddenly Anakin's turn to go pale as Padme's eyes narrowed.
"Rex you and I may need to have a little chat some time." From behind her Luke and Sabe tried to hold back their laughter.
Anakin took a deep breath and held up his hands in surrender.
"Rex seriously, you are the best person I can think of who can help us. My daughter has been kidnapped and is being taken to Karnack, right in the middle of the damned No-fly zone, and you are one of the best navigators who can get through the zone undetected. Please, I'm asking you not as a pirate, but as a father trying to save his family to help us." Rex shifted uncomfortably as he scanned the group standing before him. His eyes finally landing on Sabe's bag and the golden scepter sticking out of it.
"That gold?" He asked. Sabe tightened her hold on the pack.
"Maybe."
"Pay me with that gold stick and I'll let you wax me and use me as a surf board." Before Sabe could respond Luke shot forward and grabbed the scepter from his aunt's bag and ran up to his father. Anakin took the artifact, ignoring the fuming Sabe and ruffled his son's hair before tossing the stick to Rex.
"Didn't we do the surf board bit on Scarif?" Rex shrugged too busy examining his new treasure.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Lets just go save your other kid mister family man." Anakin grinned over at Padme as Rex went off to prepare his ship.
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Author's Note:
So it's been well over a year since I updated. In my defense, I'm a college student at the end of her undergraduate career taking a bunch of upper division classes. I'm actually an anthropology major focusing on biological archeology and osteoarcheology, so like 80% of my life is class and lab work the rest is my job and sleep.