Chapter 29

Watto drummed his fingers nervously on the dirty countertop as he waited for Anakin to arrive. The meeting with Jabba had not gone well at all. Jabba had simply laughed at Watto's attempts to cut a business deal with him, and had him kicked out of his palace. I don't need this, Watto thought with a frown. What good is money if I ain't around to spend it?

"Watto," Anakin said as he entered the shop. "Tell me how it went."

"Bad," Watto said. "Real bad."

Anakin frowned. "What happened?"

"I didn't stay long enough to get to your offer," Watto said. "His goons gave me the bum's rush before I could even get that far."

"I see," Anakin said, not entirely surprised. "I guess I'll have to deal with him myself."

"What you gonna do, Ani?" Watto asked. "He's got all kinds of guards, all with blasters. And you know you can't use your Jedi mind tricks on Jabba. So what then?"

Anakin was silent for a comment as he considered his options. "Don't worry about it," Anakin said. "I know exactly what to do."

Twilight had fallen on the desert as Anakin flew over the darkening sand dunes. He had managed to refurbish one of the speeder bikes that had been left in the garage, and he was reminded briefly of the night he'd gone to rescue his mother. It had been twilight, the colours very much like those that filled the sky now. Anakin frowned as he recalled that night. The futility, the pain...if only I'd come sooner, he told himself not for the first time. If only my master had allowed me to leave when I wanted to...my mother need not have died... Anakin pushed the thought from his head, knowing that it was that night that began his descent into darkness. I will not go there again, he vowed. I will never let the darkness rule me again. Jabba's palace came into view, and Anakin slowed down. He would need to be cunning to see his way into Jabba's presence. I must not use violence, he told himself. Violence is the way of the dark side... I'm better than that...

The huge metal door stood silent and intimidating as Anakin considered his options. He took a moment to gather himself before using the Force to open the door. It was dark inside, and the smell of many unwashed bodies and spoiled food assaulted his nose. He frowned, and pushed forward, peering into the darkness. A creature approached, and Anakin braced himself for confrontation. It was a pig like creature, with green skin and it carried a large axe. It grunted something in warning at Anakin, who simple pushed him away with the Force. More guards approached, and Anakin sent them flying against a nearby wall.

"What do you want?" said Bib Fortuna, Jabba's major-domo as he rushed up to Anakin.

"You will take me to Jabba now," Anakin said, using the force to bend the creature's mind.

"I will take you to Jabba now," Fortuna repeated and lead Anakin into the throne room.

Anakin smiled and followed Fortuna through a darkened hallway. The noise level increased, as did the intensity of the smell. Soon Anakin was in front of Jabba who reclined on a large dais.

"Jabba," Anakin said in Huttese. "We meet again."

Jabba narrowed his eyes as he regarded the young man before him. "Do I know you?" he asked.

"Yes," Anakin said. "I'm Anakin Skywalker."

"Skywalker?" Jabba said. "I thought you were dead," he said.

"Not dead," he said. "I have a business proposition for you."

"Watto told me," Jabba said, "before I kicked his sorry ass outta here."

"Yes, he told me," Anakin said. "But I think you'll want to hear what I want to say."

"I doubt it," Jabba said. "But go ahead. Amuse me."

"I want to buy slaves from you," Anakin said. "Three hundred slaves."

Jabba looked at him closely. "You wanna buy slaves?" he asked.

"Yes," Anakin said. "I have need for a workers, a lot of them. I'll pay you with platinum."

Jabba's eyes widened. "Platinum?" he said. "Where you gonna get that much platinum?"

Anakin smiled. "I have plenty," he said. "Do we have a deal?"

Jabba considered this. "You show me the platinum first," he said. "Then we'll talk."

"Very well," Anakin said. "I'll be back first thing in the morning. Expect me."

Jabba nodded. "I look forward to it," he said.

Naboo

"Padmé, it's so good to see you," Dr. Laifatte said as she greeted Padmé. "How have you been feeling?"

"A little rough," Padmé said. "I suppose it's to be expected."

Padmé nodded. "I suppose," she said.

"I can prescribe something for you if you like," the doctor said.

"That would be very helpful, thank you," Padmé said. "It's a lot harder being pregnant with small children than it was the first time."

The doctor nodded. "Absolutely," she said. "Now let's have a look at this little fellow."

Padmé lay down on the examination table as the doctor lowered the scanning device. She remembered when she'd been expecting Luke and Leia, how she'd been told that she was carrying twins. She'd been so excited and yet full of trepidation, so much so that she'd never told Anakin. He was so mercurial in those days, so troubled. He's better now though, isn't he? she asked herself. He's returned from the Dark Side...he will never go there again...will he?

"Well Padmé, I have some exciting news," the doctor said. "You're having twins again."

Padmé looked up at her with wide eyes. "What?" she cried. "Twins? Are you sure?"

The doctor laughed. "Yes, quite sure," she said. "I can tell you the gender if you like."

"Yes, please do," Padmé said.

"One of each," the doctor said. "Same as you have now."

Padmé smiled. Wow...we're going to be really busy, she reflected, realizing that she'd have two not-quite four year olds and two babies at the same time. "That's...wonderful," she said. She only hoped that Anakin would feel the same way.

After leaving the doctor's office, Padmé headed to her parents' house to pick up Luke and Leia. Her mother was just putting lunch on the table when she arrived.

"You're just in time for lunch," Jobal said as Padmé joined them at the table. "How did everything go?"

"Well, I had a bit of a surprise," Padmé said as she sat down beside Luke.

Jobal frowned. "Everything okay, honey?"

"Yes, everything is going well," Padmé said. "I found out that I'm having twins again, Mom."

Jobal looked at her in surprise. "Really? That's wonderful!" she said, giving Padmé a hug.

"Yes it is," Padmé said. "I'm a little overwhelmed, to tell you the truth."

Jobal nodded as she sat down. "Yes, it's going to be busy, no doubt," she said. "But we're here to help in any way we can," she said, putting her hand on Padmé's.

Padmé smiled. "Thanks Mom," she said. "I appreciate it more than you know."

Tatooine

Anakin sat at the computer screen in frustration. He'd been trying to raise Padmé for close to an hour, and had not been able to . He'd calculated that it was about midday there, and couldn't imagine why she wasn't home. He decided to try again in the morning, and headed to bed. On the dresser in the small bedroom sat a metal container that held several hundred credits worth of platinum. He smiled when he imagined the look on Jabba's face when he saw the precious metal. And there's plenty more where that came from, he thought as he got ready for bed. A few hours later...

Anakin woke up to the sound of an explosion. He sat up in bed, his heart pounding. Then he heard another explosion. Jumping out of bed he headed outside as stood in shock as he watched the mining equipment burning. Another explosion was heard and he was knocked off of his feet as the homestead went up in flames. If Padmé and the twins had been here they'd have been killed¸ he thought in rage as he rolled over to look at the fire. As he stood up and dusted himself off, Anakin felt the anger filling him as he realized that there was only one person who could be responsible for this, the one person who would feel threatened by his new found wealth, the person who placed money above all else. Jabba ... "You'll pay for this," he vowed as he watched all his hard work going up in flames. "You have no idea what hell you've unleashed on yourself."

Jabba's Palace

A Gammorean guard snorted awake as it heard the sound of the metallic door creaking open. It shoved its partner and the two of them staggered to their feet to investigate. They'd almost reached the entrance way when a red light saber illuminated the entrance way. The guards shot in the direction of the sabre, but Anakin blocked their blasts with his saber. Then he ripped their guns out of their hands with his powers. He Force choked them, then levitated them and slammed them into the ceiling. Another pair of guard approached Anakin, but he repelled them easily, crushing their bodies against the walls and ceiling, slashing viciously with his red blade. Anakin continued to slash a streak of death through the palace, killing every being who tried to stop him until he reached the throne room. Jabba had been awakened by the sounds of shouting and blaster fire, but was unable to move without the aid of his minions. He could only watch helplessly as Anakin Skywalker entered the room and killed every being in the room except him and the helpless slave girl who was chained to Jabba's dais. She looked in terror at Anakin as he approached the dais, sure that she was about to die. To her shock, he cut her chains.

"Go," Anakin said. "Wait for me outside," he said. "I'll take care of you." The twilek nodded and ran as fast as she could, dodging around the dead bodies of the being she had grown to loathe during her captivity in the palace. Once she had fled, Anakin turned to Jabba. "You made a big mistake, Jabba," he said. "I wanted to make an honest deal with you, but you couldn't do that, could you?" he said, advancing on Jabba slowly. "You're nothing but a worthless piece of filth," he said, reaching his hand out and Force choking him slowly.

Jabba's eyes bulged as he started to gasp for air. His stubby arms grasped as his throat as his windpipe slowly grew smaller.

"Now go back to hell," Anakin said, and finished Jabba off. He looked at him for a moment as the giant being slumped forward, his grotesque tongue protruded from his mouth. Anakin turned and left the throne room, his blue eyes sulphuric yellow.