My apologies for the lack of updates...literally all summer. I've been crazy busy, and severely lacking in inspiration. I promise I'm not giving up on writing this story, though.
As his friends watched with bated breath, Tom made his way to the center of the hanger. He dragged the toe of his boot across the sandy floor, drawing a line. "We'll pace off from here. Who wants to go first?"
The bounty hunters murmured quietly amongst themselves. Eventually, they pushed one of their ranks from the group, volunteering the male sakiyan to go first whether he liked it or not.
"Skeet Veers has graciously offered to face Thomas Lucitor first," Jabba's protocol droid announced.
Veers met Tom on the opposite side of his line. "We count to thirty-five," Tom reminded him.
"Yeah, yeah."
They turned their backs to one another and each counted off their paces aloud. When Veers turned to face his opponent, his heart palpitated. That scrawny teenager was so far away, he might as well have been shooting at a number 4 wiring conduit!
What have I gotten myself into?
Veers let his right hand hover over the holster at his side. He had to at the very least beat this kid on the draw or his peers would never let him hear the end of it.
He needn't have worried. Tom had no intention of out-drawing his opponent.
The hanger fell eerily silent as everyone anxiously watched to see who would make the first move.
It was Veers. He yanked his blaster pistol from the holster and fired. Tom stood rock steady, and didn't so much as flinch as the amber energy bolt streaked pass his head.
Everyone, including Veers, stared in surprise.
As the echo from his opponent's gun faded, Tom calmly drew his own weapon, aimed, and fired. The bolt hit Veers squarely in the chest, knocking him backwards and to the ground.
An embarrassed and defeated Veers picked himself up and abdicated his position, moving to an empty area on the sideline.
Tom slid his WESTAR-32 back into its holster. "Who's next?" No one volunteered. If it were possible for the hanger to become even more silent, it did. "Well? Come on, my friends and I have places to be!"
A trandoshan roughly shoved his way out of the crowd. He wore a massive rifle on a strap across his back. "No sssstupid child is going to besssst me! I'm not afraid!"
Jabba loudly grunted an introduction. "The great Jabba welcomes Bossk'wassak'Cradossk," translated the droid.
The name sent a chill down Janna's spine. She was familiar with the name. Bossk was well-known in the outer rim for his ruthless nature. Tom, however, hadn't heard of Bossk, and was so far away from the Trandoshan he couldn't be intimidated by his appearance.
Bossk took up the place where Veers had stood. The silent waiting game commenced once more. Bossk did not have a pistol, so he drew his rifle from his back. Janna was impressed by how quickly the big lizard could bring the big weapon to the ready, but the heavy rifle was cumbersome to aim quickly and, in his haste, when Bossk pulled the trigger, his shot was not even close.
Tom drew as soon as Bossk moved, but took much more careful aim. Just as in his duel with Rasticore, the trandoshan made a large target even at such a distance, and his training bolt landed squarely in Bossk's stomach.
There was an audible collective gasp.
Bossk was visibly angered, and he sneered at Tom as he joined Veers. The spot was taken up by a tentacled parwan, a gas-filled being which levitated off the floor.
"Derrown the Exterminator," Jabba's droid introduced.
Derrown would be a more difficult target. The parwan was rather slender, and it constantly bobbed up and down as it floated in place over where Bossk had stood. Derrown's almost bulbous head would be a bit easier to hit.
This time, Tom did not wait for his opponent to draw first. He timed his shot with the parwan's bobbing motion, and took his shot carefully while Derrown's spindly limbs tried to outdo him. Tom made his shot. His opponent's long aim was thrown off his constant movement, and the training bolt impacted the sand at Tom's feet.
Another bounty hunter stepped forward.
"Jabba welcomes Carib Diss." Tom thought he was human at first, until he noticed that Diss had no eyes or nose. A huge, grimacing mouth filled with terrifyingly large teeth dominated his face beneath a sensor dome worn atop his cranium.
Tom was unsure how to approach this encounter. Diss had no eyes, but it was entirely possible that his sensor dome would allow him to know exactly when Tom moved for his pistol. Tom hoped that the distance between them would be enough to baffle the sensors' accuracy.
The standoff lasted a long time. Tom was certain that Diss was waiting for him to move first, and he was correct. But Tom could be patient, and Diss eventually grew tired of waiting. When he drew and fired, Tom didn't even think about returning fire. His eyes were trained on the blaster bolt streaking toward him. It was by far the closest anyone had come to hitting him, but it took so long to erase the distance between them that Tom had plenty of time to lean ever so slightly to the left and let it pass harmlessly by. Then, before his opponent could register what had just happened, he drew and returned fire, striking Diss squarely in the chest.
And so it went on. One by one, Tom defeated every challenger. Occasionally, he would actually out-draw his opponent, but most of the time, he was content to let them fire first. The huge distance between them was simply too great for anyone to overcome, no matter their skill.
Some tried to be smart and take an extra split-second of time to take more careful aim, but that extra split-second was all the time Tom needed to beat them to the trigger.
The droids were more difficult. They could easily aim no matter the distance, and were far quicker on the draw than Tom could ever hope to be. Fortunately, Tom still had plenty of time to lean one way or the other just enough to avoid being hit. The droids could not do so without also moving their feet, and they would find themselves defeated when he returned fire.
Star, Janna, and Rosado cheered Tom with every victory. They paid little attention to everyone else, although about halfway through the contest, Star did happen to notice Ludo storming off in disgust. She paid him no mind.
At last, only one bounty hunter remained, a selkath. "Karp Lago."
The selkath was short, barely over a meter tall, and presented a very small target. Tom waited until Lago had taken his shot and missed before taking very slow, careful, and deliberate aim, and returning fire. The WESTAR-32 barked loudly, and the amber shot struck Lago in the chest. The little selkath was propelled backwards several meters by the impact, and lay sprawled out in the sand.
Tom had done it. He had out-dueled every challenger. His friends cheered noisily, and even Jabba the Hutt clapped his hands with delight. The defeated bounty hunters remained silent, embarrassed.
Tom gave his pistol a twirl about his finger and slid it back into its holster one last time. "Well…it would seem that I've won," he said confidently as he rejoined his companions. "My friends and I will be on our way now, but don't worry, we'll be in contact with each and every one of you when the time comes to-"
"Just a minute there, kid." The deep, gravely voice announced the entrance of one last bounty hunter, the one whom had been quietly observing from the shadows. A pair of red eyes glared at Tom from beneath the wide brim of a hat. "You still haven't faced me."
The hairs on Janna's arms stood on end. It was rare that anything could spark fear in her gut, but this particular bounty hunter did just that.
Jabba's droid made the introduction. "The great Jabba welcomes Cad Bane."
Tom gulped down a nervous lump in his throat. He was glad he was too far away for anyone to notice the color draining from his face. "Uh-oh…"
"Cad Bane?" Star scratched her temple. "Where have I heard that name before…?"
"Probably almost anywhere," said Janna. "Cad Bane is the bounty hunter all bounty hunters fear. And he's never lost at dueling pistols."
"Ohhh…Tom's toast, huh?"
"Yup."
Bane motioned to the weequay guards standing behind Jabba. "Bring me them training cartridges."
One of the guards brought over the basket of cartridges, and Bane rummaged through it until he found one that would fit one of the identical LL-30's which hung from his hips. He drew the one at his right, ejected the gas cartridge, popped in the training rounds, and slid it smoothly back into its holster.
Something about his actions didn't sit right with Star. She watched Bane with close scrutiny as he took his place opposite Tom.
To say the Demonicite was nervous was an understatement. Cad Bane was legendarily quick on the draw and a deadly accurate shot despite his favoritism for LL-30 pistols. (Unlike Rasticore, Bane had learned to compensate for their slightly right-favoring barrel.) Even at seventy paces, Tom could see Bane's cold, red eyes glaring at him from beneath the brim of his hat.
"Are you ready, Boy?" Bane asked mockingly.
A moot question. Tom didn't think he'd ever actually be prepared to face off against Cad Bane. He just nodded.
The duelists took ready stances, fingers hovering over their holstered weapons.
And Star noticed something. Bane held his hands as if he were preparing to draw both blasters, not just the one at his right hand. And she quickly realized why. Oh, corn! He's gonna shoot Tom with live ammo!
The thought had barely cleared Star's mind when Bane drew. The blaster he had loaded with the training cartridge remained untouched by his right hand as his left quickly slid the other LL-30 free and took aim.
Star acted on instinct alone.
Tom reached for his own pistol the instant Bane began to move, but it was already too late. Bane was squeezing the trigger before Tom's WESTAR-32 had cleared leather. He could only watch as the blaster bolt streaked toward him as if in slow motion. He never even had time to register that the bolt was red instead of yellow.
At least, not until it stopped. The energy bolt froze in midair half a meter away from impacting his chest.
"TOM!" Star screamed at him. Her hand stretched out toward the blaster bolt, using the Force to hold it back. "MOVE!"
So Tom did, hurrying quickly out of the way. Star dropped her intense concentration, and the bolt resumed its path, zooming out the open hanger door.
For a moment, everyone was too shocked and confused at the events which had just transpired to even know how to react. Bane, one of the only bounty hunters in the room to have previously encountered Force-users, figured it out first. "The girl!" he snarled. "She's a Jedi!"
"Annnnd that's our cue to leave!" Janna said, pushing Star and Rosado in the direction of the hanger door, same as Tom, who was already slowly backing away toward an escape. "Jabba, my friends and I thank you for your hospitality, but we really must be going now."
"Not so fassssst, younglingssss!" hissed Bossk. "The Empire will pay handssssomely for a Jedi."
"Oh, no! I'm not a Jedi!" Star quickly protested, unable to quell a nervous laugh. "I don't even know how I did that!"
If the bounty hunters even heard what they said, they didn't show it. "Kill 'em!" Bane yelled. Every being in the room quickly drew their blasters and opened fire.
As Jabba commanded that the hanger door be closed, Rosado and the teenagers sprinted toward it under a hail of blaster fire, quickly catching up with Tom, whom was returning fire. The hapless group were sitting ducks under the deluge of energy bolts, and all were struck several times. Fortunately for them, everyone in the room had forgotten that their blasters were loaded with training ammunition. The firing briefly stopped as the bounty hunters quickly swapped back to live-fire cartridges.
They reached the hanger door just as it closed. "No!" Rosado yelped. "Now what?!"
No one had an answer. The hail fire resumed, pinging off the huge door behind them. With no cover, the quartet would not last long. Star greatly regretted leaving her lightsabers behind.
All seemed hopeless. In seconds, they would all meet their fate.
And then…
"Star Butterfly! Over here!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice. A small, nearly hidden door had opened on the adjacent wall, and waving to them from beyond was Ludo.
"This way! Quickly!"
They sprinted for the doorway, and Janna shot out the control panel to seal it behind them.
"Follow me!" Ludo called, already turning the corner at the end of the narrow corridor beyond. "Come on!"
Janna briefly considered if it were wise to trust Ludo, but she couldn't see an obvious alternative, so she quickly followed after her friends. The corridor was narrow, only wide enough for the gang to traverse single-file, and so dark that they could barely see where they were going. Janna was simply following Rosado, who was following Tom, who was following Star, who was blindly following Ludo and hoping that the tiny Kappa was not leading them into some other trap.
They turned right at an intersecting corridor, equally as narrow and dark. After a bit, the tunnel curved as it climbed sharply upwards. After what began to feel like an eternity of hiking up the steep incline, the tunnel finally leveled out, and then came to an end at a door. Never breaking stride, Ludo jumped to reach the activation panel and slapped it as hard as he could. The door slid open, and they burst out into the sunshine. A little ways off to their right was the Raventalon, right where Janna had left it.
"There's your ship," Ludo said simply, panting to catch his breath. "Go."
"Sweet! I'd say we're even now." Janna was already taking off toward it. "Thanks, Ludo!"
Tom and Rosado followed, but Star did not. "Ludo…Why did you help us?"
Ludo looked her hard in the eye. "The job your friend with the horns mentioned…you want to take back Mewni from the Empire, don't you?"
Star nodded. "Yes. I have to. It's my duty as-" She paused, the words she was about to say causing a pang in her chest. "…as the last of the Butterfly's."
"Yes, I heard about your family," Ludo said solemnly. "I am so sorry. Do them proud and save Mewni from that horrid wretch, Toffee."
"I will. Thank you, Ludo." Star turned and took a few steps, hearing the engines of the Raventalon whirring to life, but then stopped. "Come with us. Mewni is your home just as much as it is mine. We could use your help."
Ludo shook his head. "No…I can't do that. Mewni isn't really my home anymore. It hasn't been for a long time. Besides…I'm no good in a fight. I just act tough and pay people who can fight to do my bidding."
"STAR! C'MON!" Tom yelled from the boarding ramp.
"Go," Ludo urged. "Mewni needs you."
Star nodded, and bowed in farewell. "Goodbye, Prince Avarius."
Ludo blinked in surprise. As Star turned to leave, he was shocked into silence. But he quickly found his voice. "Princess!" She stopped and looked back. "Do not underestimate Toffee. Unlike me…he actually does know how to fight."
"I won't."
"Farewell, Star Butterfly."
"Goodbye, Ludo."
Star took off running for the Raventalon. Ludo ducked back into the tunnel and sealed the door shut long before the freighter lifted off and disappeared into the Tatooine sky.
