AN: Alright, just so you all know, Huttese is bullshit, so most of the Huttese in this chapter is just written in italics. I can do Sith. I can do Mando'a, but doing Huttese without making it look stupid as hell as impossible. So there. That's all! Thank you, my lovelies for all your wonderful comments, suggestions, ideas, ect. You all give me so much to think about. I've been brutally sick and snowed in, which is why I've been able to get such long chapters out so quickly, but expect shorter chapters and/or a day or so in between as I get well/thaw out. Enjoy, kids! I love you all!
Chapter 95: Tatooine
Obi-Wan circled the holotable, a hand to his chin and carefully observing the projected map of Tatooine and its major cities, if any of those cities could be considered major. Around the table stood all of his commanders, those trusted few that would serve as the agents of his revenge. Quinlan Vos, Barriss Offee, Cody, Boba Fett, and Bo-Katan Kryze, all of them silent and making their own observations on the plan of attack. The past week had been spent at the palace of Mustafar, at Quinlan's request, and Kenobi obliged. After all, it would be good to have a chance to regroup and make new plans, especially with the threat of Skywalker looming above his head. Outside of Hutt Space, the last target he had that belonged to the Shadow Collective was Tatooine, and even then, their presence on the planet had greatly diminished with the Mandalorian threat. The Hutts still had a presence there, and a large one, though that wasn't saying much. Tatooine was sparsely populated because of the harsh conditions of living in the blazing desert and because of the rampant criminal presence in its cities. He had considered burning the planet, but with Barriss' information regarding Skywalker's family, the condemned desert world became of much greater interest to Kenobi. He could use this planet. After he slaughtered the filth in the cities, of course.
Nearby Geonosis was a problem, however, and in this, Kenobi felt the Jedi trap for him was set. After all, Geonosis was now a Republic stronghold, and the jump to Tatooine took only a few minutes, making outright attacking the planet an impossibility without facing a crushing defeat. Whatever happened on Tatooine would have to be done with a minimal force, as a tenuous alliance between the Hutts and the Republic guaranteed that Tatooine would be safe from the vengeance of the Mandalorians, especially after Jabba had issued a very public denouncement of the Shadow Collective and their actions. Obi-Wan had to destroy the Hutts. His revenge demanded it. He just couldn't allow insanity to have control of him when he did attack, or it would all be for nothing.
Everything was for revenge. Everything. The revenge of Mandalore, the revenge of the Sith, Quinlan's revenge against Ventress, Barriss' revenge against the Jedi, his own personal revenge against everything, his Master's revenge, the list went on and on, but...it felt good to have something to do. Insanity gripped him often over the past few days, but Quinlan Vos was a constant companion to him, and when madness struck, he was there, not to ease the flames, since nobody could do that, but to redirect it from destruction to shameless debauchery. The past few days had been spent in a drunken, pleasured haze, between his moments of clarity, and in the end, he found himself better for it. The relaxation was welcome, and with Vos around, indulging in shameless debauchery wasn't an option, but a pleasant requirement.
But now, the time for rest and relaxation was over. Several things were happening at once, and in order to manage them all, things needed to be planned exactly right. It was a balancing act in order to safely satisfy the full measure of all the revenge that must be undertaken, but Kenobi had always been good under pressure. The focus helped keep his mind off his grief and his sanity in tact. He pointed to the Star Destroyer that hung over the planet.
"Skywalker's flagship," Vos said softly, and Kenobi nodded. "He hasn't moved from that spot. How exactly are we going to get past that when he can have reenforcements here in under five minutes?" He laughed harshly. "And he is the best pilot in the galaxy, Obi-Wan. If his ship can't get a lock on us, he sure can."
"Then you should be pleased to hear that he isn't there," Kenobi said softly. "My Master contacted me this morning, Skywalker's on Coruscant." He scoffed. "Getting himself married, it would seem. Secretly, of course. Infidelity doesn't appear to bother him as much as I had hoped."
"Will you abandon your plans for him?" Barriss asked softly, and Kenobi shook his head.
"No, this changes nothing. He cannot be allowed to have her, I won't allow it."
"Sounds like love," Quinlan drawled, chucking slightly when Kenobi glared at him.
"Don't be absurd. This marriage is a bandage on a gaping wound, but mark my word, it is still bleeding. After we finish our business here, I will be flying back to Coruscant to remind Padmé who she belongs to."
Bo-Katan hissed in frustration. "What good is this girl anyway?" Kenobi rolled his eyes.
"She is a tool for my revenge on Anakin Skywalker, Bo. She is no replacement for your sister. There is no replacement for her." That seemed to placate the fiery woman, and she nodded, returning her attention to the holographic display. Padmé did, of course, hold some significance, as the Force was drawing him to her, though he had yet to understand if there was a reason why beyond the child she would come to bear. Deep in the back of his mind, though, he could feel need stir within him for her. She wasn't like the pleasure slaves he kept, she was...a comfort.
"We're going to have to attack quickly," Cody said. "With Republic reenforcements so close at hand, we could easily all get trapped on the planet."
"They aren't going to need reenforcements," Kenobi said swiftly. "Skywalker may not be there, but Tarkin is. He'll have us all before his reenforcements can arrive. The past few months have just gone to show how dangerous he is. We're going to need a focused strike on each of our targets. An invasion, he can do something about, but much smaller, localized strikes will be difficult for them to stop."
"I can remotely detonate several explosives at once, Master," Barriss said softly. "If you just tell me where and when, we can hit key targets you deem acceptable and our forces on the ground can execute the rest in the confusion."
"I knew I liked you." Kenobi took a deep breath, observed the data, and nodded. "Very well. Quinlan, Barriss, Cody, Boba, and myself will go to Tatooine."
"What about me?" Bo-Katan hissed, and Kenobi smiled at her, his gold eyes gleaming deviously.
"You, my dear, will take the Mandalorian fleet to Kessel. Marshall them there and prepare for my signal. By the time I'm done on Tatooine, we will have what we need to launch a successful attack on Nal Hutta, and with them, the entirety of the Hutt Council. That also puts us in range to destroy Nar Shadda, and with the destruction of the Smuggler's Moon, our revenge against the Shadow Collective will be complete."
"Not complete," Bo-Katan growled. "The creature that murdered her is still alive."
"And will be for some time to come, yes," Kenobi said calmly. "Beside being my personal plaything, Maul still has a use to my Master. The witch that allowed him to rise again escaped my slaughter of Dathomir. We need him to entrap and kill her. She is an enemy of the Sith and cannot be ignored." He grinned wickedly. "You are, of course, welcome whenever you wish to see him. Maul does so love visitors..."
"...you will return to Mandalore with me when our revenge is complete, won't you?" she asked, her voice soft and almost pleading, and Kenobi found he couldn't look at her.
"...no."
"No?" She laughed softly in an attempt to ease her tension. "My people need you, Kenobi. You're their Shadow King. So much of our success is because they rallied behind you."
"I never asked to be king of Mandalore, Bo-Katan. I won't be going back." He shrugged. "Besides, the Shadow King is bigger than I am now, your enemies fear the very name. The title is a weapon for you to exploit. No one man needs to be the Shadow King."
"Maybe not," she said softly, "but it will always be you, whether you like it or not. You are our Shadow King, and Mandalore will always stand beside you." She pushed away from the table. "I'll leave you to plan your assault. Don't take too long to get us to Nal Hutta."
"With what I'm planning, you'll be destroying the Hutts by tomorrow evening." The woman bowed, and Obi-Wan watched her leave the room, and was silent for long after she left. None of the others wanted to disturb their Master as he stared almost wistfully at nothing at all. Nobody needed to be told to know where his mind was. "There are six places on Tatooine that are even worth talking about," Kenobi said, putting his finger to the hologram to highlight the points he was talking about. "Mos Entha, Mos Shuuta, Mos Eisley, Mos Espa, Bestine, and Jabba's Palace. We can only bring with us those we can fit on the Umbra, lest we attract the attention of the Republic, so it's down to just us, I'm afraid."
"You really think we can destroy six settlements with five people?" Cody asked. "I know not to underestimate the destructive powers of the Sith, but only three of us have the Force, and the kid here barely counts as a person," he said, thrusting his thumb in a scowling Boba's direction.
"Patience, Cody," Kenobi said softly, his fingers steepled together as his eyes darted over the map. "We do not need to destroy everything. Our goal here is to root out the criminals that infest this waste of a planet, and we will do that. Barriss." The girl stood up straight, her breath held as she looked at her Master. "Mos Entha, Mos Eisley, Mos Espa and Bestine are all spaceports. How many explosive devices did you say you could link up?"
"I didn't say, master," she said softly. "But I suspect I can manage up to fifteen before the rate of errors begins to increase."
Kenobi nodded. "Nobody is going to leave this planet. Blow up the spaceports. You should have ample time to set your explosives while I make arrangements for the destruction of Nal Hutta."
Barriss looked up at the ceiling, quietly mouthing something to herself and counting off on her fingers before she nodded. "It can be done, Master. It will be done."
"Good girl. As for the rest of you..." He pointed to the map, and two of the lit points darkened. "Bestine and Mos Entha are fairly safe, and the majority of the planet's criminal enterprises are conducted elsewhere, most notably Mos Eisley and Mos Espa." Kenobi frowned and regarded the map, considered his options, and then tapped another point on the map, darkening it. "I will handle Jabba's Palace before we begin the attack on the planet."
"The second you attack the Palace, Kenobi, the entire planet is going to be up in arms," Vos drawled.
"Who said anything about attacking the Palace, Quin?" Vos flushed deeply as he shut his mouth. "I have a plan. The Palace will fall into my control, and when it does, the criminals in the city will lose their support. They will be trapped, and they will all die."
"You're so hot when you talk like that, Obi," Vos drawled, and the Sith Lord flashed him a wicked grin.
"After the palace falls, Barriss will detonate the explosives, which will leave the cities in chaos.. I am going to drop rancors in Mos Eisley and Mos Espa and have them do what they do best. In the chaos, we kill them all."
"That seems simple enough," Boba said, his young voice brimming with confidence, and it earned him an affectionate hair ruffling from Cody.
"Don't get cocky, boy, there are a lot of people in those two towns," the clone said softly, and the teen scoffed loudly, rolling his eyes.
"Yes, but the rancors are invincible, aren't they?"
"Nearly, but I had one killed not too long ago by a Jedi," Kenobi said, pulling up the details on his three remaining targets. "There won't be much this backwards planet will have to stop them, though, you're right about that." He enlarged the image of one of the remaining locations, a small city that made those gathered around the table groan in dismissal of the relatively tiny target. "Don't be upset, this is a small target, but an important one. Our mission starts here, in Mos Shuuta. Jabba has a relative here called Teemo, and he rules this city. We will move in and execute all of them while Barriss takes the Umbra and sets her explosives. If we move fast enough, nobody will know what's happened."
"That shouldn't be a problem," Vos drawled, touching the holographic image and observing the town. "It isn't very big, and it doesn't look like they have anything in terms of a communication's array."
"They will, but it will be in the palace," Kenobi said. "Cody will disrupt the communications before we land." The clone gave the Sith Lord a thumb's up to signify the simplicity of the task. "After that..." He touched the map, the point signifying Mos Shuuta going dark as he observed the data of the other two cities. "Quinlan, you will take the rancor and go to Mos Espa. Barriss, Cody, Boba, you will take Yoda and go to Mos Eisley. When I give the signal, Barriss will detonate the explosives, you will release the rancors, and you will begin to attack. I will join you as soon as I am able. Are we understood?"
"Perfectly, my Lord," Cody said, and the others at the table nodded in agreement.
"Remember," Kenobi said softly. "Timing is key to our success. One slip, and we will have the Republic on the ground. We don't want that." Everyone mumbled their acknowledgments of their directives, and Kenobi smiled at his team. "Alright, let's get moving. May the Force be with us, friends."
The plan, so far, had been executed flawlessly. Mos Shuuta had been caught completely unawares, and between two rampaging rancors, two clone Mandalorian warriors, and two fallen Jedi, nobody stood any chance of escape at all. They had even managed to capture Teemo the Hutt instead of simply executing him, which Kenobi did not expect to accomplish. Barriss had even returned in record time, all her charges set except for the ones at Mos Eisley, which she insisted on keeping watch over herself due to the crowds, and would set them as soon as Kenobi dropped the team off.
So it was with great confidence that he landed the Umbra, the ship cloaked to be hidden from sight and scanners, on the landing dock of Jabba's Palace, and he breathed deep of the hot, dry air when he stepped outside the ship, filtered through the breathing apparatus of his horned Mandalorian helmet, his black robes draped over and around the armor he wore. There was something nostalgic about being on Tatooine again after so many years. So much had happened the last time he was here. He had felt the Dark Side for the first time, sharp and cold and frightening, a feel that he would come to embrace, come to love, come to feel balanced in. They had discovered the Sith, hidden after a thousand years of silence, and in a few short years, Kenobi would come to join them in their fight against the Jedi. That same Sith they discovered would go on to be defeated at the hands of a Padawan, would rise from death itself, would kill a Queen and the young Prince inside her. They discovered Anakin, a vergence in the Force, a Jedi that Kenobi would come to oppose...
For such a forgettable planet, a great deal sure did happen here.
Obi-Wan stood before the large, sealed door of the palace, his eyes roving over the thick, solid metal, looking for a weakness, a crease, a crack, anything, but found none, which meant the door opened vertically. It was an old, primitive design, but he expected nothing less from this planet. If it came to it, even a door as large as this could be lifted with the Force. He pressed the button at the side of the door, heard the whirring of mechanics on the other side, and a small hatch opened and an eye on a long stalk extended to look at the visitor.
"Hi chuba da naga?" the creature clicked in thick, accented Huttese, and Kenobi rolled his eyes. He did speak Huttese, but he found the language base, crass, and far below his station. Sith Hells, he was a kriffing Lord, not some corpulent slug.
"Nu'sua Tsis," Kenobi said in Sith, which he knew would go without understanding to the base creature beyond the door. "Liepti Jabba anas jiso ari kash'stai." The large, round eye stared at him in silence, observing the warrior that stood before the palace doors, and Kenobi rolled his eyes and grabbed the eyestalk with a gauntlet-clad hand. "Rejorhaa'ir Jabba te Prudii'alor cuyir olar par gar," he growled, this time in Mando'a, and the eye widened not just in pain, but with a considerable amount of fear. "Meh kaysh nayc copad ibic me'suum at hettir, kaysh Kelir haa'taylir ni." Tell Jabba the Shadow King is here. If he doesn't want this planet to burn, he will see me.
He released the creature, and it swiftly withdrew, the small hatch closing with a resounding bang. Kenobi waited, hands clasped in front of him, his head bowed, and waited, counting in his head to ten, and just as he drew deep of the Force to grasp the door, the mechanisms began to grind and the heavy metal groaned as is rose. When the spiked bottom of the door was high enough to pass under, Kenobi strode inside the large, darkened hall, the inside of the palace resembling an abandoned factory more than any kind of luxury home as he expected out of a wealthy crime lord, though, he suspected that expecting taste out of a Hutt was like expecting Quinlan to not drink and whore his way to an early grave.
A white skinned Twi'lek male in a long, black robe rushed to meet him, his tall form stooped in submission, his hands wringing nervously, his lekku wrapped around his shoulders, the length of them denoting his age. "Master," the man spoke through a mouth filled with filed, sharpened teeth, "do you speak Galactic Basic?"
"Do I appear to be a savage to you, filth?"
"No, no!" the Twi'lek said, bowing deeper and keeping his hands out in front of him. "I apologize if I have offended. His Grace Lord Jabba has been expecting you, Shadow King." Kenobi gestured with his hand for the Twi'lek to lead the way, and bowing profusely, the man started down the hall with the Sith Lord trailing slowly behind him. After a moment of silence, the Twi'lek slowed, coming to stand beside the Sith and matching his ponderous pace. "Are you here to kill Jabba?" he asked, his red eyes wide, the ends of his lekku twitching, and the fearsome visage of the Mandalorian warrior looked at the creature, observing him, and he shivered, focusing on the points of yellow light that could be seen through the T shape of the helmet's visor.
"That has yet to be determined," Kenobi said softly, the helmet giving his voice a cold, metallic ring that unnerved the Twi'lek. "Why. Would that displease you?"
"...not at all." Chuckling softly, Kenobi followed the Twi'lek the rest of the way in silence to the chamber where Jabba ruled from. The room was loud, crowded and dimly lit, the air filled with smoke and the tables occupied by criminals and mercenaries all watching with hungry looks at the scantily clad Twi'lek females, slaves forced to preform for Jabba's pleasure. Many of the patrons were drunk or sat in a spice haze, which would greatly benefit the Sith Lord were the negotiation to go south. Kenobi's eyes roved around the room, observing everything, from the slaves to the Gamorrean guards, and determined that nothing here posed a significant threat.
"You stand before the great and mighty Jabba the Hutt," a protocol droid announced as Kenobi approached, the Twi'lek leaving his side to climb up the steps where Jabba lay sprawled. He whispered something into the great slug's auditory canal, and the big, yellow hued eyes widened, his apparent distress silencing the noisy room. Jabba leaned forward to observe the Mandalorian before him.
"U chowbaso unko," Jabba said in his deep, languid voice.
"The Great Jabba-"
"Send your translator away, Hutt," Kenobi said sharply, interrupting the flustered droid. "I understand your filthy language." Jabba growled, a low, deep rumbling in his massive body, and with a wave of his hand, the droid walked stiffly away. They stared at each other for a long while before Kenobi quietly said, "You know why I'm here."
"I don't," Jabba rumbled, his deep voice in accented Huttese that Kenobi could barely understand, and for a moment, he nearly put aside his hubris and asked for the translator back. The language was easier to understand when not fouled by the lolling, thick tongues of the Hutts, though this being their language, Kenobi found it almost amusing that other species spoke it better than them. "The planet hasn't burned, and I'm still alive, so you must want something, Shadow King."
"...the leaders of the Pyke Syndicate and the Black Sun are dead, as are the entirety of their organizations," he said swiftly, the casualness of his tone making the lawless creatures in the room shift uncomfortably. "The leaders of the crime families that joined the Shadow Collective all died on Mandalore when I arrived. Among the dead were three Hutts." The long, thick body of the Hutt rippled with tension, those wide eyes narrowing in anger at the possibility of a threat. "Shebba, Jiliac, and Boorka, and I have been given to understand that two of those were your kin. Is that correct?"
"If you come before me to threaten me-"
"I don't make threats, Jabba, I just kill people," Kenobi snarled. "If I wanted to kill you, you would already be dead, along with the rest of the planet, but..." He sighed, his hand running over the sloping horns on his helmet. "You weren't on Mandalore. Neither were the other members of the Hutt Council, which makes me think that your involvement in the Shadow Collective was reluctant."
"And if it was?"
"I know it was. I captured Maul, and I opened his mind and he showed me everything." He began laughing, the images that he had seen in the Zabrak's head flashing before his eyes as fires burned at the edge of his vision. He grit his teeth, laughing between them and grasped for control, but he was swiftly losing it. Without the Hutts, the Shadow Collective wouldn't have had the strength to conquer Mandalore. Perhaps it was reluctant, but they were just as guilty as the rest. They had to burn. All of them.
No. He snarled, shut his eyes against the visions, but the flames remained. He couldn't lose control, not now, not when he had a job to do. Not when Republic eyes were watching Tatooine. Not when he stood in a trap and was dangerously close to tripping the mechanism to close it around him.
"If you know the truth," Jabba slowly grumbled, "then you have no business with the Hutts. We have distanced ourselves from the Collective as soon as we were able."
"Yes, but you were still involved, you still must suffer for what has happened. After all, the attack would have been impossible without Hutt support."
"And yet, you are here talking."
"I am," Kenobi drawled, taking a deep breath and centering himself in the Force, and with a wash of the cold running through him, the flames began to ease, giving way to his focus. "Because I'm here to propose a deal. In recognition of your...reluctance to aid that savage, I'm going to let you live. That is conditional, of course," Kenobi said, a tense, manic chuckle laying underneath his words. "I'll allow you to live so long as you inform the Hutt Council on Nal Hutta that you've made peace with the Mandalorians, and we are to be welcomed on your planet to solidify our alliance."
There was silence for a long while as Jabba stared at the human in disbelief, and then slowly, he began to laugh, loud and hearty, and as he went on, the rest of the room erupted in uproarious laughter, as if someone had told the galaxy's greatest joke. Kenobi just stood there in silence, his hands folded before him, and reached into the Force, centering himself and feeling the lives of the creatures around him, sickly and pathetic and desperate, save for the mighty form of the Hutt. Like Toydarians, the species was said to be immune to Force manipulation, but Obi-Wan knew better. He had broken Hutts before. It just took a stronger hand.
"You have grown weak, Shadow King," Jabba said as he continued to laugh, his whole body seemingly involved in the enterprise. "If you had the strength to conquer the Hutts, you would have no need to be here before me. Why should I give you what you want when you have the power to do nothing without my allowing it."
"As I said, for your life, Jabba," Kenobi whispered, the room growing silent again, and everyone leaning forward to listen to his words. "I'm giving you an option to choose on your own, but I don't need to give you a choice. Really, I'm just giving you and option at all for...myself." He smiled under his helmet. "Just to feel like me again, it's been so long since I've done this." His fingers on the hand by his side splayed, and he pointed at the Twi'lek at Jabba's side. "You. Bring me Rotta the Hutt." The white-skinned Twi'lek stared blankly at the man for a moment, and then slowly bowed, muttering his obediance as he left the room, and Jabba stared at him, wide eyes filled with fear.
"You weak-minded fool!" he cried after his servant. "Don't you fall for that Jedi trick!" But it was too late. The Twi'lek was gone, and when Jabba turned furious eyes on the Mandalorian king before him, he could see all the people in the room, criminal and bounty hunters, murderers and thieves, all still, shaking, their blasters held in their hands and pointed directly at the eminent Hutt. "Who are you," Jabba demanded, his thick, deep voice shaking with rage. "What are you."
"I," Kenobi drawled, casually stepping forward, "am a Lord of the Sith, the Master of all I see, yourself included, Jabba the Hutt."
"Your Jedi tricks will not work on me, Shadow King," the Hutt growled, deep and savage and betraying a danger within him that would have frightened anyone but the man before him. After all, a Sith feels no fear.
"I think you'll find that not to be true, my friend," Kenobi drawled softly as he fished a holodisc out of the folds of the robes that covered his armor. He switched it on, and the image of a Hutt floated in blue above it, the creature beaten and shaking with pain, and Jabba leaned in, looking closely at the image, his tail thrashing in his agitation. "You recognize Teemo, don't you?" Kenobi said. "I hear you're family. I have him held captive in my ship. He has nowhere else to go, since I slaughtered everyone in Mos Shuuta." Jabba howled in furry, his tail whipping ferociously in his anger, and a sudden discharge from a blaster one of the criminals was holding struck the base of the platform on which the slug lay. The Hutt went still, his eyes wide, the warning shot taken very seriously.
"Now, we are going to be calm, Jabba," Kenobi said serenely, his mask filtering out any warmth in his voice and making him sound cold and removed. "We're discussing business here, after all." The Twi'lek returned, in is hand held a small bundle with a wriggling Huttlet inside. He handed the child to the Sith Lord, and he took it, quietly cooing to the young creature when he felt Jabba's gaze fixed on him, filled with fear and desperation. "Here's how this is going to work, Jabba," he said softly. "Deny me again, and I'm going to execute your kin Teemo. Deny me after that, and I'll feed your child to my rancor, and that vicious beast likes to play with his food. The child won't last long, I'm afraid, but while he does live, that rancor will make him suffer. And if you're still resisting me after that, I'm going to break your mind and take what I want anyway, and when I'm done, I'll kill you too."
Resignation and understanding fell over the Hutt as he looked around the room at the people within, their guns trained on him, not as a serious threat, but as a show of force, at the Twi'lek that served him, his red eyes blank and mindless as he stood under the thrall of the clearly Force sensitive Mandalorian, at Rotta, the young child squirming in the gentle grasp of the Shadow King, the child clearly suffering no pain of fear as he lay in the comforting arms of a father, though Jabba knew this not to be the case. The Shadow King was going to be a father, though, until the Shadow Collective destroyed that, and now he stood as a cruel mockery of parental affection. That man's hands would just as soon deliver Rotta to safety as they would deliver him to the huge, feral rancor he was known to keep.
"What sort of Jedi are you?" Jabba asked, his deep, thick voice calm as he looked at the man, his black and red armor interwoven with the black robes of a Jedi appearing far more intimidating than either could be apart. A cold, cruel chuckle was his response.
"I am no Jedi at all."
"You're the Negotiator," he said with sudden understanding, and the warrior seemed to draw back, almost in surprise, almost as if he were hearing a name long forgotten.
"Yes..." he said slowly. "The Negotiator, yes, that's me. Though it has been a long time since I have been called such. I was...a different man then." He shook his head, clutching the Huttlet to him, and grinned wickedly when he felt Jabba's presence strain with terror and understanding of what he was actually dealing with. "Don't be afraid, Jabba," Kenobi drawled. "This arrangement will work out for both of us. You do this thing for me, and not only will you show Mandalore that you stand by them in defiance of the murderers that killed their queen, but you show your desire for alliance by executing the scum that sits on the Hutt Council."
"Many of which are family to me," the Hutt growled.
"Yes," Kenobi said, nodding. "But you are no stranger to killing family for personal gain. And the Hutts still must pay for what happened to Satine. Without them, the Shadow Collective lacked the strength to attack Mandalore, and it is my understanding that the support came from Nal Hutta and Nar Shadda, not Tatooine. Is that correct?"
"...yes."
"Which puts them at fault!" Kenobi snarled, the weight of his anger stirring the Force, and the child in his grasp began to squirm uncomfortably and cry. Blazing yellow points from behind the helmet's visor silenced the Huttlet. "I understand being forced and coerced, I do it all the time myself, but if the Hutts knew what was good for them, they would have done as you did and sit on their hands." Kenobi shrugged. "So they need to die. One command, Jabba, and I will wipe out all the slugs that sit on your Council, leaving you as the sole leader of the Hutt Cartel." Greed flashed in the Hutt's eyes, and Kenobi knew he had him.
"But you will destroy the cartel."
"I will destroy Nal Hutta," he softly confirmed. "And when I am finished here with you, I will destroy Mos Eisley and Mos Espa." The Hutt reared up aggressively, a deep, dangerous growl reverberating through his huge body, and Kenobi held up a hand, projecting calm through the Force, which managed to take the edge off the slug. "Which leaves you, Jabba, to pick up the pieces and rebuild as you see fit, and this planet and all of Hutt Space will have you to thank, the savior that came to save them in their hour of need. This galaxy has no shortage of criminal scum, and every single one of them is terrified of the Mandalorian wrath. With Bo-Katan ruling Hutt Space under the banner of the Mandalorians, you will find yourself with a powerful ally and the means to take out your competition."
"The Mandalorians stand against the Hutts."
"No, the Mandalorians stand against the Shadow Collective, which the Hutts are a part of, and with the destruction of Nal Hutta, the Hutts will be taken care of, with a little help from their reticent ally Jabba."
Jabba frowned, his stubby arms scratching at the fleshy folds of his chin as he considered it. "Mandalore will rule Hutt Space."
"Yes. And you will rule the criminals that infest it." Kenobi shrugged. "I'd rather have that filth answering to you than to nobody. I'm not an idiot, we can't purge all crime from the galaxy. But we can purge the organizations that run it, and I've already destroyed your biggest competitors."
"The Mandalorians-"
"Will do exactly as I say, Jabba," Kenobi said quickly, sensing the slug's concern. "You will be an ally to them, so long as you do not make yourself a threat. And besides," he said casually, approaching the enormous Hutt and handing the squirming child back to its father, "I sense that this arrangement will come to be of great benefit to me someday." He held his hand out to the creature. "And to you as well, since you won't be dead. Do we have a deal?"
Jabba took the Sith Lord's hand without hesitation, Rotta clutched tightly to his chest.
"Excellent!" Kenobi chirped. "When I return to my ship, I will release Teemo, and then I highly suggest that you stay inside. It's going to get messy out there."
"Is the destruction necessary?" Jabba asked, and Kenobi nodded.
"Oh, it is. Understand, my friend, that this is a strike against the Republic, not you. The lawlessness that will rise from this will only benefit you, when the Republic fails to defend them against us, the people of Tatooine will turn to you." Jabba nodded, a wash of relief filling him as the grip of the Force released on the occupants of the room, and they all collapsed limply into their seats, breathing hard and ragged and on the brink of unconsciousness. The Sith Lord turned and left the room, the com in his helmet activating as he contacted his team and told them to commence the attack.
It was chaos, and it was beautiful. So beautiful in it's destruction, so divine in the death that was swiftly brought that Obi-Wan hardly noticed when the fires of the buildings burning around him became fires that burned in his mind. Perhaps the buildings weren't burning at all. Perhaps the smoke and flames were just visions brought on by the insanity that raged within him. He didn't know, and he didn't care. The city was burning. Everything was burning, and it was beautiful, a masterpiece that soothed and fulfilled him like nothing had since the day Ord Mantell burned, it's destruction tearing a wound in the Force so deep, so complete that he could feel it even now. Yoda roared beneath him, the wrathful creature charging through everything in sight, the swirling red and gold of his eyes reflecting his Master's perfectly as he followed every movement he saw with the fierce commitment of a predator driven not to kill for need, but to murder for the pleasure of it. Obi-Wan wondered if the beast saw the flames too.
The explosions had the desired effect, destroying the spaceport and creating chaos driven by fear of attackers they could not see, and when the rancor was released, even the bravest of those in the city were sent running, scrambling for their lives right into the blasterfire of Cody and Boba Fett. Those the warriors missed were cut down by Barriss, the quiet girl a dangerous whirlwind of red blades that mercilessly cut down all in her path, meeting her mission for her Sith Master with cold, bloody brutality. She wasn't the experienced talent that Quinlan was, but she was small and unassuming, a girl easily but wrongly looked over, a thing she took advantage of even now in the chaos of a city under attack.
When the Sith Lord's boots hit the dusty ground of the streets, it was all over, the fury of the Force he commanded ripping everything around him to shreds, crumbling stone huts to sand and bending the metal of larger structures into unrecognizable lumps. Obi-Wan had never felt so powerful, so one with the Force, so insane as he did now, his madness driving him so deep within the Dark Side that there was nothing left but wrath and hatred as he struggled in the grasp of darkness. Perhaps Padme's defilement would not hurt Anakin Skywalker, but from what Barriss had said, the destruction of his home world would draw the Jedi right into his grasp.
It took longer than anticipated for the Republic to mobilize against them, and it wasn't until Quinlan arrived in the city with the second rancor that they saw Republic ships in the sky, not just a small division, but thousands. Fighters and carriers and transports and gunships filling the atmosphere like a swarm of insects released from the might of the Start Destroyer that hung low in the sky, the ships not just flying to Mos Eisley, but everywhere, in all directions. Even with the stealth of the Umbra, escape seemed unlikely. Being caught in the trap was enough to clear the flames from Kenobi's sight, and he ordered a quick retreat, and without delay, the rancors, the clones, and the fallen Jedi all rushed to the safety of the Umbra, the ship sitting cloaked and quietly humming, the engines prepared and awaiting the command for flight.
Obi-Wan threw himself into the pilot's seat, activated all the sensor's, and found that not only was the Republic, in fact, swarming the entire planet, but they were actively searching for the stealthed ship. With a hiss of frustration, he lifted the ship out of the sand, hovering no higher than a speeder would, and pressed the acceleration forward, the ship skimming effortlessly over the dunes of sand and away from the burning city, keeping low to avoid the notice of the Republic's scanners.
"We can't outrun them forever, Kenobi!" Vos said, standing behind the pilot's sead and grasping his friend's shoulders. "Can you fly out of this mess?"
"I don't think so..." he mumbled. "We can avoid their scanners, but they aren't looking for us with standard scanners, they're scanning specifically for stealth. Barriss!"
"Yes, Master?" the girl said softly as she poked her head into the cockpit, her green face speckled with dust and blood.
"Where did you say Skywalker kept his family?" he asked swiftly, grabbing Quinlan by the wrist and throwing him into the pilot's seat when he got up.
"I didn't say," she said, allowing the Sith Lord to guide her to the co-pilot's chair as he began rapidly undoing the clasps of his armor and dropping it into one of the passenger seats as he shed it. "But he did talk about locations," she mumbled, punching in the names into the navicomputer. "His brother got a speeder at Anchorhead, they went together to pick up parts for it at Tosche Station..."
"The name of the brother?" Kenobi asked as he pulled his tunic and robes on, the black cloth draping over his thin form, the Sith Lord cutting a much less intimidating figure without the armor.
"Owen Lars, Master," she said quietly, watching the computer flash and beep as it mapped the entered locations with their current one. The radar screen was blaring red with ships overhead. "He has a girlfriend, Beru, and they are moisture farmers." She squinted her eyes to look at the readings. "Both Anchorhead and Tosche Station are located on the Great Chott salt flat of the Jundland Wastes."
"We can't go to either of those places, Barriss," Vos growled, even as he moved the ship around to head toward the desert waste indicated on the navigation system. "If it's a settlement, you better believe that the Republic is going to be there."
"We aren't going to a settlement, Quin," Kenobi said as he retook the pilot's seat. "We're going to a moisture farm, and I'll put credits on the farm we're looking for being located in the region Barriss has given us."
Nobody said anything after that. They just watched as mile after mile of barren rock and sandy dune swiftly past them by, the presence of ships above them thinning as time passed on, the Republic might converging on the cities and towns they were trying to defend or save with only a minimal scouting force flying over the expanse of barren wasteland. Large, black clouds of ships hovered above the cities and towns, casting long, dark shadows on the settlements below them. If it weren't a trap, with Republic presence on the world and the threat of the hunter Admiral Tarkin in the skies overhead, Kenobi would have thought is ominously beautiful. He considered once or twice trying to make a run for it, pulling back on the yoke to send the ship into the skies above, but the incessant beeping of warning lights on the central console alerted him to the danger of the scans that were trying to lock on to his ship. Any higher, and they would be in clear range of their sensors, and while Kenobi was a good pilot, perhaps even a great one, he was not confident in his ability to escape the obvious trap. Besides, some things were more important anyway, and making contact with Anakin Skywalker's family was paramount in his mind.
"Cody!" he called over his shoulder, and smiled when the man's voice echoed down the hallway. "Get you and Fett out of armor, I want you two looking like civilians." The affirmative answer was shouted back at him just as Quinlan pointed out the forward viewport.
"There!" Quinlan shouted, pointing at a speck in the distance, a rounded globe that rose out of the sand, the tall, metal rods of the vaporators rising around it. It was a moisture farm, and Kenobi had a feeling it was the right one. He pushed the accelerator forward, speeding faster over the sand toward it, pulling back as they drew near, and when he saw the large, dug down crater in the rock and sand, no doubt built to keep the homestead cool, he lifted the Umbra up and slowly descended into the wide hole, the ship's powerful engines kicking up sand and dust as they set down within the home. Obi-Wan quickly powered the ship off, shutting off all systems to keep the Republic from being able to detect it on scanners. He extended the boarding ramp, and with a final flick of a switch, the ship powered down with a low whine, sitting inert in the hole deep within the sands.
When Kenobi exited the ship, a young man with a slugthrower rifle stood, the weapon primed and ready to shoot, and Kenobi immediately threw his hands up in the air as he looked down the long barrel of the primitive weapon. Such a thing didn't use plasma rounds like modern blasters, which meant deflecting the rounds with a lightsaber wasn't possible.
"Wait, don't shoot!" he cried, affecting his voice with mild panic, and the man simply took aim.
"Who are you and what do you want?" he asked gruffly, and Kenobi relaxed visibly with a sigh of relief.
"Are you Owen Lars?" The man looked up curiously, and Kenobi flashed him a warm, easy smile.
"I'm a Jedi Knight, Anakin Skywalker told me to come here if we were ever in need of help." He dropped his weapon and stood up tall, watching with interest as four more people exited the sleek craft, a father and son, from the look of it, and lightsabers attached to the hips of the other two. More Jedi. Owen gasped, dropped his slugthrower to the ground, and clasped the man's hand tightly in his own. The sand blond Jedi seemed to be of age with Anakin, and Owen couldn't help but wonder if this was one of his half brother's many friends.
"Of course I'll help you," he said warmly, pointing up to the skies where ships periodically passed. "Do you know what's going on up there? All our communications have been disrupted, but there are thousands of ships in the sky. Has the war finally made its way out here?"
He nodded, sensing the boy's confusion and silently thanked the Force for this forgotten planet. The locals seemed to know nothing. "The major cities are under attack. There's too many of us to fight on our own, we were just here to solve a matter regarding the Hutts." He pointed back to the ramp where the other four stood. "That's Cody and his son, Boba. Their farm was destroyed in the attacks, and we only just managed to save them."
"We thought it was the Tuscans that would come for us," Boba said, his voice cracking and afraid. "I never thought it would be anything else that destroyed us..."
"I understand..." Owen said softly, his head dropping slightly.
"These are my fellow Jedi," Kenobi said as the two came to stand beside him. "This is Luminara Unduli and Quinlan Vos."
"...Quinlan Vos?" Owen asked, his mouth gaping, and for a moment, Obi-Wan was ceratin he may have made a mistake until the boy grabbed the Kiffar's hand and shook it vigorously. "Anakin has told me so much about you!" the farmer said excitedly, and a cocky grin spread across Vos' face. Kenobi groaned. It would take forever to beat the man's ego back to acceptable levels. "Please, if I can help the Jedi, just tell me what to do!"
"We just need to lay low while all this blows over," Quinlan said firlmy, pointing up to the sky, and Owen nodded in understanding. "Well, friends of Anakin are friends of mine. Do we need to hide your ship?"
"Oh," Vos drawled, "that would be extremely useful." As Owen, Barriss and Quinlan began ruffling around the open space for tarps and long swaths of cloth to cover the ship, Obi-Wan strode off, digging through his robe when he felt his comlink vibrate against him, and answered the device, projecting the small form of Bo-Katan in blue above it.
"So we were just contacted by Gorga, Arok, Oruba and Marlo of the Hutt Ruling Council on Nal Hutta," she drawled, her voice smooth and pleased. "They're welcoming us to their planet as honored guests in honor of our new alliance. They've sent us all the proper security clearance to pass through Hutt Space safely." She smirked. "Your doing, I take it?"
"Yes, but send your thanks to Jabba the Hutt for making it possible," he said softly, looking over his shoulder to make certain he wasn't overheard. "We're in alliance with him, not the other Hutts."
The woman's eyes lit up as she sharply inhaled. "So we are cleared for attack?"
"This isn't an attack, it's an invasion," he drawled. "When Nal Hutta is destroyed, all of Hutt Space will belong to Mandalore. We will see our Empire rise again, and it will begin here. The Hutts have already carved it out for us. It would be a shame to waste it."
Bo-Katan was speechless for a moment, before she said in a shaking voice, "Our revenge will finally be complete."
"Yes. And consider your Empire a gift to mark the occasion." The woman nodded, her sharp features set in fierce determination. "Commence the attack when ready, Bo-Katan. Ib'tuur jatne tuur ash'ad kyr'amur. Make it count."
"We will not fail you, Shadow King," she said, bowing as the com shut off, her blue image blinking out of existence. Kenobi turned just in time to see Owen and the others finish concealing his ship, the farmer brushing the dust off his pants as he approached the Sith Lord, a warm smile on his face.
"Any word from my brother?" he asked, and Kenobi nodded, smiling softly.
"Busy with the war, as it would have it, but he did just get married to a girl, so I hear."
Owen looked pleasantly shocked to hear this, his already wide grin becoming wider. "I knew he was seeing someone. I didn't think Jedi were allowed to-"
"We aren't," Kenobi quickly explained. "But Anakin isn't your typical Jedi, now is he?"
"This is great!" Owen cried excitedly. "I only just got married myself!" He laughed heartilly. "Anakin and I have always been a bit similar, even if we're not related by blood."
"Tatooine boys need to stick together, don't they?" Kenobi said slyly, reaching out through the Force to get the measure of the man and found him...important? No, not quite that, but somehow, Obi-Wan felt as though he already knew the young farmer. He had intended on killing the man and his girlfriend turned wife, but now he wasn't so sure. Something else was at work, and the Force needed to be obeyed.
"You might be waiting here for a while," Owen said, the excitement barely contained. "Do you want to come in? Can we get you anything? You're welcome to stay here as long as you need!"
Obi-Wan bowed slightly. "We would be honored and grateful, Master Lars," he said softly. "And while we're at it, you can tell us all about yourself and Anakin. I'm certain it will be fascinating."