Chapter 23

Blaster fire danced across the hallways.

It was namely Ann Gella who was leading her sister and the rest down. She had been influenced the most by Vader, having been in his presence the longest, and unless there was actually a confirmation of his death, she would not lose hope.

Ann fired her blaster at whoever was in sight. Fortunately, there were not many of them left, having been slaughtered by Vader earlier, and these were fleeing reinforcements who had gathered up to stop them.

Jabba likely had heavy security within the throne room.

Ann turned to the slaves who they had freed who had been scurrying behind. "Hide."

The slaves nodded in affirmation up at these heroes before running out, a few of them stumbling over at moving at such a speed.

Having remembered where Jabba was in his place of power, Ann led the rest of them, their hands tightened over their blasters. Finally arriving at the stairs, Ann took a moment to reinforce calmness in herself, for she too was terrified.

They fixed their blasters on the fools positioned where a door once been and opened fire. The henchmen retaliated, having been waiting for them. Unfortunately, there was a small number of them left so they didn't stood a chance.

Amid the battle, some of their shots hit nearby wires and fire began crackling in the palace, earning surprise. Once the final henchman collapsed on the ground, they all surrounded the Hutt, who regarded them with a smirk as if he won, the deflector shield still up helplessly.

Those who didn't fired earlier - the bounty hunters - were still standing within the palace but they hadn't shown any outright signs of hostility, reassuring them that they didn't have to fear them just yet.

Some of the freedom fighters aimed their blasters at them, but most were centered on the main target, the one that was to be taken out.

Ann walked forward, blaster trained onto his direction, saying in a voice that brook no argument:

"Jabba the Hutt, you are found guilty for the crime of enslavement, for cruelty, for refusal to acknowledge our sentient status. Your rule has come to an end."

Jabba chuckled slightly. "Bold words, now I see why you used to be one of my favorites, only challenged by your sister. Where would you have been now if this vigilante hadn't rescued you?"

Ann tried to remain as calm as possible, speaking as she remembered tormented memories as she had to refrain from taking several steps back... "That is behind me. I will never be your pleasure slave again."

"Is that so?" Jabba taunted, looking over at all of them, namely the women. "You were born for your service, not for anything else. That's all women are: whores."

The women in the group glares intensified.

Ann replied sharply. "We will never be used to appease your clients or anyone we are not willing to do so with again. You don't owe anyone."

Jabba laughed, motioning over to the bounty hunters who surprisingly haven't taken up aim yet. "You foolish Twi'lek, you kill me now and risk an orbital bombardment."

The bounty hunters finally found their bearings and angled their blasters at the former slaves, though some of them seemed to be in doubt. Most bounty hunters have a moral code, and they had to respect them for making it this far. But they valued credits over everything.

"Not with our leader-" Tann protested angrily. "He would never allow you to enslave us or another ever again!"

"You mean your mighty vigilante who freed you all?" Jabba asked, looking at her as if she was truly pathetic. "He fell into a pit with his friend. They are both dragon's food now. Such an admittedly anticlimactic ending to such a brave crusader."

Jabba cackled mockingly, pissing many of them off, but inspiring doubt into others. Yes, they had superior numbers, but the bounty hunters had more experience.

Suddenly, something shifted, the mad laugh becoming a cough following as a suffocated sound escaped him as he was suddenly lifted off of the throne of power. The deflector shield around him exploded, shunning the Hutt only somewhat.

It was with a sick sort of pleasure that the Hutt was now squirming in the air, his tongue extracted from his mouth, as he tried to remove the hold from over his throat.

They looked at one another, wondering what was going on with the Hutt.

At the same time, Cuthus froze, slowly aiming his blaster when he was shoved backwards into the wall, a slight grunt being the only sign that he was still alive as he fell unconscious.

They all turned around to see their leader, Vader, in his glory, his right hand poised in his direction, left arm wrapped around his wounded companion who was doing his best not to fall over.

Vader walked forward, lowering his hand back to his side as he looked over at the once mighty slug and the remaining minions that he had left - the bounty hunters whose hands were trembling over their blasters, all except one who had his blaster poised certainly.

Looking up at the cause of his baffled condition, his eyes go wide as he scrutinized the two men. Earlier confidence was gone, now faded into outlines of fear of what could be done to him. Few survived the krayt dragon, and it had to be by outrunning.

"No, the krayt dragon was meant to deal with you both!" Jabba shouted, obviously having thought they had been devoured by his creature.

Vader only faced him with indifference. "Your dragon and I came to some sort of conclusion. We mutually agreed that you and your type must die. Your days are numbered."

This Hutt had gotten away with so much.

"Kill him!" Jabba barked. "Kill him now!"

At that moment, the bounty hunters raised their blasters in their direction, behind the one who already had his blaster trained on Vader and his allies.

The two opposite sides stood across from one another. The spy looked at Vader, his blaster still trained on him. Vader simply tilted his head. Many wouldn't have caught the nonverbal gesture that the two just engaged in, nor would they be prepared for what was about to happen next.

The spy opened fire - yet not at the ones who Jabba nor anyone else expected. Having not seen this coming, the bounty hunters collapsed onto the floor.

All of the freedom fighters trained their weapons on the bounty hunter, but there was no fear from the bounty hunter all others. To the confusion of many of them, Vader didn't move, all except a hand gesture that prevented them from engaging this possible threat.

They stood in silence. Jabba gasped as he registered what just happened to so many skilled bounty hunters across the galaxy. They didn't even saw what was coming nor have time to counter it.

"Jango Fett, you change allegiances quickly..." Vader spoke in a monotone voice.

The man - Jango - holstered his blasters. "What can I say? I consider myself an opportunist." The man shrugged. "Was waiting to see if you survived against Gardulla's pet."

"That I'm aware of," Vader dryly replied.

In truth, Jango Fett had more independence than the Clones with the exception of ARC Troopers and Clone Commandos. At the end of the war, the Clones came to accept they were slaves and saw the Jedi as their taskmasters throwing them to the snakes.

"I have been in this game long enough to know you couldn't confirm the likes of you dead without a body, dar'jetti."

Vader remained unmoved.

"I confess that many of your type wouldn't have been able to survive against the Hutt's guards. Their precious code weakens them." He spat.

"Ah, there is your mistake, Fett, some of them could always see change."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Fett spat, "assuming I don't kill them all first."

Vader cautioned. "Don't get too caught up in this game. Your gadgets would be useless against the power of the Force."

Fett growled. "Without those Force tricks, you would be nothing, Vader."

"Perhaps," Vader acknowledged, curling his lips into a devilish smirk. "Bounty hunters luck always runs out eventually. Should you value your credits over reality, your death would be an eventuality."

Fett snarled, turning his remaining blaster onto the cameras and firing. "I rather not have to deal with the Hutts on my back. Gardulla's enough of a pain to deal with."

"Wait! Your treachery can be forgiven! I would offer you five million credits! Just kill him!" Jabba shouted pathetically. "Look at his friend; he is in a vulnerable position! Surely, he couldn't defend them both and kill you at the same time!"

Fett ignored the Hutt's blabbering, pressed several buttons on his comlink. "Your slaves transmitters have been deactivated. Don't know what to say about the rest as he has plenty of allies."

"I'll deal with them soon," Vader said, darkness coursing across his face now. There were the Hutt families. Krayn. All the types that Vader would have to dealt with in the coming weeks to prevent the Hutts from recovering from this and issuing the end of Tatooine and so many lives being lost.

Jabba shouted. "Twenty million! A hundred! Think!"

"Jabba, Jabba, Jabba," Fett said mockingly, "do you really believe I would lower myself to human trafficking for a Hutt too ambitious to not even recognize his power being stolen from him?"

Realizing that ransoms were useless, the mighty slug attempted to assert his dominance. Unfortunately for him, words would not save him this time.

"You're a bounty hunter! You're mine!" Jabba snapped at the man, pointing at him with a trembling finger. "Now do what I say, or I would do well to make it known that you are a threat to the Hutts-"

Fett chuckled before the Hutt even finished the threat that they all knew was empty. "You would not be leaving here alive. Your time is up, Jabba. Get it through your head."

"So wait, you serve Vader?" Remy questioned.

"I serve no one," Fett responded bluntly. "I was guarantee a favor from Vader," he glared at the man, "and I trust you to honor it." Fett's hand tightened around the blaster.

"I'll grant you two others should the Hutts and their allies be delayed from countering." Vader declared ominously.

Fett nodded. "You are pushing it, Vader, but I respect the types who proved their bold words through action alone. I shall do this. However, the Hutts would eventually catch on to the fact that something is up, especially since Gardulla is persistent. You better start immediately, for if you are beaten, I expect being granted ambiguity."

With that, the man activated the jetpack and flew out of the empty hole the man left earlier.

Vader rolled his eyes. Ever the dramatics.

The mood changed in the palace instantly after Fett was gone. Now that they had Jabba surrounded, this was the chance many of them have been waiting for them their whole lives. Decades of their families suffering only for them to hold the weapons that would end his life.

Many of them wanted to get it out of the way, but some couldn't help but felt relief for seeing Vader. Ann just had to rub it in.

"Well, it took you long enough, but I knew you would be back," Ann said with a slight grin, earning the roll of the eyes from some of the others, and an arch brow from Vader.

She turned to face her sister. "What did I tell you? Huh? What did I tell you?"

Tann looked sheepish. "Glad you made it, my friend."

Ann mocked. "See, when you don't see the old man's corpse, don't presume."

"Shut up, you," Tann replied.

"You all are hearing from me about this until the end of time!" Ann shouted, earning groans from the rest, including Tann.

"Okay, Ann, we were right, and they were wrong, but we have one final problem to deal with," Hakyrr interjected, indicating his blaster to the Hutt still breathing.

"Well, Jabba, what do you have to say for yourself?" Cliegg asked.

Jabba's protuberant eyes darted anxiously to each former slave, to the people who he wronged, to another, his slimy appendages writhing. Alas, he registered he couldn't hide from the glares they had given him, nor the weapons in their grips. Fear radiated from his massive form as he stuttered, his voice tinged with panic. He couldn't even form a full sentence.

But each of them, their eyes filled with righteous anger, showed no care. They had endured years of suffering under Jabba's rule, and his pleas for understanding fell on deaf ears. Their collective rage swelled as they closed in, their voices rising in a chorus of determination.

"You enslaved us!" Lilgen exclaimed, her voice quivering with fury. "You treated us as mere commodities, stripping us of our dignity and our freedom!"

Kael, his face filled with righteous indignation, added, "You profited from our pain, reveling in the suffering you inflicted upon us and countless others! You made us fight our fellows! You ain't leaving here alive!"

Jabba's repulsive body trembled, his feeble attempts to escape the clutches of justice proving futile. Sweat dripped down his corpulent form as he stammered, "No... I didn't realize... I didn't realize the extent of the harm I caused!"

They, their voices united in defiance, refused to be swayed. They had long since been entrapped with the horrors of their existence, the cruelty and disregard Jabba had shown them and so many others. They were resolute in their pursuit of justice, unwilling to accept empty apologies.

"No more lies!" a Bothan male - Tresk Mo'humo - shouted. "You had the power to change, to make a difference, but you chose to revel in your own decadence!"

Jabba's eyes darted around the room, searching for an escape route, but his options dwindled as they closed in, their resolve unyielding. The realization of his impending fate sank in, and he pleaded, his voice trembling with desperation. "Please... please, give me a chance to make amends! I can change, I can right the wrongs I've done!"

But the natives under his wrath and the former slaves in particular, their patience worn thin by years of suffering, refused to grant him mercy. They had endured enough at the hands of this vile creature, and now it was time for him to face the consequences of his actions.

Vader couldn't blame them. He didn't felt any sympathy for this monster. They needed this. They needed to be the ones to put Jabba down. His enemy was ultimately Sidious and anyone who attempted to prevent him from putting that vile creature down. Jabba and his slaver types were bonuses as well as the start of a new era for many others when Vader pushed his operations into the Hutt's allies which would take years.

Probably by the time Anakin Skywalker was an old man.

"No," Ann found her voice, the tone coming out with a steely resolve. "Your time for redemption has passed. It is now our turn to be free, to rebuild our lives without the chains of your oppression."

Their eyes filled with a mix of anger and triumph, he found himself devoid of options. Recalling that moment, the Hutt was dead from the moment they'd walked in this palace.

No, they needed this revenge.

They all required that bit of closure if they had any chance to finally move on.

"Unless," Tann continued, dejectedly, "you want to bring him in too, Vader?" Many of them didn't know what he would say, especially since him alive could have at least a few more uses, but there was the possibility of escape, something Vader couldn't allowed for a new Tatooine.

They all turned to him slowly as he moved away from being at the front to stand at the side, watching this execution. Beyond that, Vader knew instantly what they were waiting for.

Were he another Sidious, Vader would have taken advantage of their loyalty for his own benefit. Putting down Jabba and affirming their loyalties would have been ever so easy. But Vader vowed not to walk down that path. Still, he pitied them.

As Anakin Skywalker, this had been him... at the end of the Clone Wars, holding two lightsabers to Dooku's neck. To anyone else, it would have been from the perspective of the young fearless hero holding someone who had been a total sadistic lunatic who escaped galactic judgment far too many times.

But at the time, Dooku was more personal. The man had cut off his arm on Geonosis and threatened Padmé with his assassination attempts among countless other terrible deeds far too many times. He had practically been begging for Skywalker's righteous wrath.

And unlike the deceptively feeble father figure who had intended to use that permission to welcome the tormented man into the fold of the Dark Side, Vader was no Sidious and made a mental vow to never be him. Wasting so many lives just to reach Sidious was expected, but turning people into his pawns and suspecting them to follow unwillingly was not in the cards.

At the end, Jabba - too - could tell exactly what they were waiting for as well. For so long, it had been him who once judged the slaves after all. Once, they all were expecting something, looking up at him with fear in their eyes, absolute obedience, waiting for him to give him exactly what they wanted:

Permission...

And this, if for any final time, Vader would give them it, simply for how it had been lacking for so long.

"Put him down."

At that, they turned their rage on the Hutt, putting aside any doubts. Finally, today, they would be permanently freed from their shackles of being controlled by this Hutt and very soon all his allies.

Not needing to be told twice, they all aimed their blasters at the Hutt's direction. He felt like a giant weight had been removed from his shoulders. Tatooine would see brighter days soon through much hard work.

Jabba the Hutt, once a symbol of cruelty and exploitation, now faced the reality check that long eluded him—the just consequences that he so ever deserved.

The Hutt opened his mouth to say something when they had enough of him. Blaster shots erupted from their pistols, rifles, and carbines, tearing directly against the Hutt, the once mighty slug falling back as he collapsed...

Once they finished, they breathed a sigh of relief, tasting freedom at last. Some even dropped their blasters onto the ground and looked away from the mighty slug.

As for the Hutt himself, he was still alive, having felt every bolt bursting through his body and so much more. But being dead would have been better. He'd felt nothing but sharp pangs. His entire body was burning from the inside, throughout his very core, from his brain. He managed several words that were untranslated at best.

His father would have looked at him with disappointment were he here, for the Hutt - unlike many others - shunned power incredibly, having fallen along the lines of an entrepreneur than anything else. The Hutt family would have likely pitied his death, but as much as it should bruised his ego, Jabba couldn't felt it within himself to care about anything anymore.

He couldn't remember the last time Tatooine felt so cold. It had been aching but strangely soothing at the same time. His vision was growing darker. Jabba was growing sleepy. Maybe, when he woke up later, much much later, he would tell his guards to investigate. Ah yes, that was what he needed. A lot of sleep would do him well for a while. It had been something common for him but what else was new, for Jabba had everything.

His slaves...

His wealth...

His power...

All of it was all he needed. Without them, he was nothing.

When Jabba let out one last gag, the life faded from his eyes and the Hutt knew nothing else than a painful blackness.

Arthur's note: Fun fact, when Leia was Jabba's slave, Jabba sent her to Fett to "entertain" the hunter. Boba declined but did not send Leia back up as it would be an insult to the crime lord. Instead, Fett and Leia argued about the Rebellion's wrongdoings, what the Empire really has done, and Boba's ignorance of what Jabba has been doing. After getting angry, Fett swiftly curtailed the argument and fell asleep on the floor, letting Leia sleep in his bed. Had there been more time and Luke took longer, it might have been a situation where Boba might have pulled a Din when he first met Grogu in Mandalorian season 1.

I believe Jango has the same moral code and likely would have done the same thing if given the opportunity. Of course he would have been prepared for what would have happened if Vader failed. To take on Jabba and his allies would be suicide to an outside perspective, and anyone with their right mind wouldn't do so. Well, almost anyone. Lol

May the Force be with you all always.