Chapter 8 - Another Interested Party on Tatooine
The group of Jedi moved through Tatooine through the slave districts following Anakin's lead as he walked down the street to his friend's house. Qui Gon was the first to notice it.
The crowd was gradually thinning out and some even avoided them. It wasn't uncommon for for people to avoid Jedi but it was clear when they were avoiding them out of fear. Soon the group arrived to an area and the few people left quickly got inside their houses or weaved in between houses to get away. Qui Gon reached out and grabbed Anakin by his shoulder to stop him walking, Anakin was deep in thought and didn't notice the danger even he knew of in this planet.
"Been a long time since the Jedi graced us with their presence." A voice called out to them. A figure emerged between two houses further up and began walking towards them. He was human but had a rifle slung over his back and a pistol on his side. He was wearing improvised armour over his rags that were torn and revealing tattoos underneath them.
"We have no business with you." Master Koth told him as the Jedi Knights started looking around and checking behind them for anyone.
"You are on this planet. You have business with us."
"We were sent here to retrieve one of our Oder that was stranded on this planet." Master Plo Koon informed him.
"You have been here for almost the entire day, and you have the winner of the race with you now. Looks more like one of your Jedi abductions than rescue." He smirked.
Anger resonating from Master Koth as he struggled to surprise it. "We do not abduct children. Those who show potential are invited to join our order."
"It matters little to us." He informed them for all the windows and ledges to erupt with mercenaries of various races to appear aiming weapons at them. The Jedi in response ignited their lightsabers and stood firm. "You are here on our planet without paying tribute. Our client told us to collect either dead or alive. I'd prefer the Republic not getting involved at the death of your members. So why don't you just pay?"
"What do you want?" Qui Gon asked him moving Anakin to get him behind the Jedi. "Anakin move between this buildings…. Move now!" Qui Gon told him more firmly.
Anakin didn't argue and ran between the buildings on his right. Only to be stopped by a blaster shot near his feet.
"Easy son. They're less likely to put up a fight if you're with them."
"Cowards." Master Koth uttered. A mercenary to the leader's left fired a shot at him for that statement. Koth effortlessly deflected the shot to the ground in front of himself.
"Easy boys. No need to make this harder. Now than, about what you need to pay. Hand them over."
"What?"
"Those glowing rocks in your hands. Sell for a very high price on the black markets."
"That's not going to happen." Master Plo Koon answered sternly.
The mercenaries didn't even wait for a response from their leader and began shooting at the Jedi. All moved into a defensive circle with Anakin at the centre, before they opened to the alley Qui Gon tried to get Anakin to enter earlier.
"Anakin find cover." Qui Gon stated to him.
Anakin ran into the alleyway before turning back and looking at the group. The group of Jedi were deflecting shots everywhere and stray bolts flew into the sky. Anakin began running out of the alley and bolted as something sounded wrong. All shooting had stopped. The lightsabers were still buzzing from being swung around though. Something wasn't right.
The Jedi were being as precise as they could be with the deflection of the blaster shots. Bolts were crashing into the side of buildings and all the mercenaries were only ducking out of cover to fire a single shot and then move back to cover. This was making it harder to return the blaster fire to the shooters but at least it was manageable. Suddenly the leader leaped out from cover and threw two grenades towards the group. Master Plo Koon and Qui Gon raised their hands and using the force pushed the grenades back.
The leader looked frustrated as he jumped over a shop stall and the explosion blasted sand down the street. The mercenaries thought they had an advantage now with the Jedi's sight obscured and let off even more blaster shots, but each one moved their sabres into position before the shots arrived. Some didn't get back into cover while shooting and soon were struck down by their own deflected bolts. More grenades rolled forward and alarmed the group leapt back losing all the ground they made advancing.
Qui Gon looked over and the same alley he could see Anakin peeking out from cover watching the fight.
"Anakin stay in cover." Qui Gon shouted to him. Anakin didn't seem to even react and looked on blankly to the mercenaries advancing towards them. Qui Gon would chastise him later for now their own safety was a higher priority.
The inhabitants of Tatooine were struggling to figure out what was going on. A large group of Jedi were walking down the streets of the slave district. Then suddenly all but a few of them ignited their lightsabers.
The crowd quickly dispersed but a few stayed peeking out from cover.
As if fighting invisible warriors they all twirled and seemed to be blocking attacks from an unseen foe.
Darth Plagueis grinned behind his mask as the boy with the Jedi ran down an alley towards himself and he materialised a mirror image of him at the beginning of the alley.
He had seen the boy moments before and reached out into the dark side to see what this boy was, and was alarmed at what he saw through the force. It was like destruction itself had manifested through the force into a person and it being solely directed at the dark side itself. The boy would be his own destruction and everything the order of Bane had worked so hard for all through the centuries would be undone in an instant.
Was this from his own meddling with the force? He pondered, believing what this boy would become had been a direct result of the force trying to protect itself from him and Sidious.
Plagueis then thought as scientifically he could and came to the conclusion was one of the most basic principles of science. For every action there is an equal or opposite reaction.
Proof was standing personified in front of him at this moment and he instantly knew what to do. Reaching down to his own lightsaber and grasped it ready to bring it out from his cloak. Then as the boy turned his back to him looking down the alleyway Plagueis felt it again.
A small whisper is the dark side. It was subtle and although he heard it his instincts were screaming at him to still kill the child. But this was the first time in years he had felt the Dark Side speak to him.
Science and logic always defined his being. Thinking ahead, plans within plans and never loose scenarios. They were the fundamentals of being a Sith, and his own logical way of thinking helped save him from death many times. But his logic was being eaten away from his instincts telling him to stop. Might there be another way? He could not allow the Jedi to take him and raise the boy as one. That would just lay the groundwork for his own destruction. Another thought entered his head, and he lowered his lightsaber back into his cloak.