Chapter 25
Sleheyron was an important hub for the Hutt Cartel. It was known for its extensive mining operations, particularly the extraction of valuable minerals and resources. Capturing Sleheyron would cut off a significant source of income for the Hutts and weaken their economic strength.
Despite this, Sleheyron was a volcanic world outright near uninhabitable, made of jagged spires of basalt slag. Most of the planet was covered in urban areas, including numerous industrial areas, spaceports and refinery districts. Sleheyron economic muscle was second only to Nar Shaddaa, as was the level of intrigue that occurred there. Most of the economy was based on slave trade and on the refinement of tibanna gas in starship fuel.
Income and economic aside, this wouldn't be extremely damaging.
Claiming Tatooine was inconsequential in many ways especially since they could be crushed within a month or two. Three at most. Sleheyron would have to be different.
Within a few years, if everything goes as plan, Vader's people would be just as formidable as the Hutt Empire-hopefully without them breathing down their necks.
Vader sat on the edge of a nearby mountain directed at the facility honing mining operations, holding up his binoculars to their direction.
Ann, Tann, and Hakyrr stood at his side, along with a fair number of freedom fighters. Many were the same group who survived the storm on Tatooine with a barely trained few who still wanted to come along even though they had much to learn.
Tann was standing behind him, and she smirked. "This looks very familiar to when we took over the slave market."
Quite frankly, those had been some of the best days in their lives.
Tann trained her sniper onto a Weequay scumbag, enjoying the feel of the weapon.
"How do you wish to start this one?" Ann asked considerably.
"Come on, Vader, you gotta let me take one of them out," Tann responded.
Vader chuckled, having enjoy the girl's enthusiasm. "Do the honors."
She smiled before pulling the trigger, dropping the poor bastard. His allies beside him jumped to attention, realizing threat was near as they attempted to find them. When one of their blasters aimed at their direction, by then, it had been too late, for their fates had already ceased, as that had been the signal that they needed that caused the freedom fighters to activate their jetpacks and dropped before the fools, cleaning them out.
Vader came down on them with a blunt might. He moved to the direction of the tower all the while clearing out the few bastards that stood in his way.
The freedom fighters did their best not to hit the slaves. It helped that many of them crouched out of instincts alone. The slavers who returned blaster fire died for their efforts.
When they were finally cleared out, Ann reassured her. "You are safe now."
When he made it inside, Vader didn't have any reservations. Moving through chambers to chambers where he dealt with the minor security, Vader finally charged into the room.
"You will free all of your slaves," Vader said coldly.
"Who do you think you are?" a Hutt responded.
"Death."
At that moment, the cerulean hilt on his belt went flying, activating in midair. The minions scurried up and fired, but most had already been dead when they finally were able to find it within them to act. When the hilt came back into his left hand while he was cutting through the remaining guards, Vader had accustomed with ease.
Slowly, the Hutts previous condescending nature dwindled.
It didn't helped when many of the livid freedom fighters dashed into the room, undoubtedly finishing up their previous objectives. There were a few blaster shots Vader could hear from his extended senses, signifying that there was a firefight in the city, but they most likely have gained the advantage.
Their opponents had to be careful not killing the Hutts due to a misfire. The freedom fighters had no such reservations. Some of the bastards had tried to protect the Hutts who paid them well, paying for it with a blaster bolts through their chests, including the said Hutts. Other Hutts were taken down out of spite alone, the adrenaline of combat that they weren't used to catching up. Eventually, that would change. After all, many of them were still inexperienced so he couldn't be too harsh on them. They weren't the indoctrinated soldiers expected to carry out orders and fall easily into the call of combat without ramifications.
By the end of the assault, only one Hutt remained, and he slowly placed his hands in the air as he looked at the char bodies of his many allies. Despite how he would love to cut through each one, he would prove that they were not unmerciful tyrants.
They all surrounded him, ready to fire if he so much as made a wrong move, calming down. Some of them trembled, obviously wanting to give them into their instincts. Vader would have to bring them into the following battle.
"Transfer all the funds to this datapad now," Ann said, with Vader's right hand angling his lightsaber at his direction, a threat that the Hutt would do well to take seriously. "This is your only chance to survive."
"I won't be able to do so," he swallowed, and Vader sensed the truth from the Hutt behind that massive fat. He also sensed there was something that the Hutt wasn't telling him.
Vader's expression twisted into a frown, and he asked with raised eyebrows. "Do you wish to die?"
Of course, the Hutt valued his survival over the Empire, as he turned to face Vader. "You must reach the top of the tower. It controls the funds here. That's all I know!"
Truth rang yet again in the Force.
In the past, he would have killed him regardless of his cooperation. Now, he was a different man.
Vader scowled as he deactivated his lightsaber. "Hakyrr, kill him if he attempts to try anything."
And damn it all, he would have to deal with that slavery problem with the Cathars soon. It would raise problems if he'd decided to recruit Mandalorians due to their history but keeping them as far as possible from each other was definitely a possibility. Officially, they were said to be wiped out. The Republic pushed for that belief. But the actual reality was they were enslaved right under the Republic's nose with the lack of competency."
Vader turned around and pointed to the more eager ones. "Ann, Tann, you bunch with me. Stay sharp."
And before all that, he would have to establish proper military ranks sooner or later. Calling them by their names wouldn't do for long, not when Vader admittedly couldn't remember everyone's name.
The Hutt held out his hands to the Cathar's direction. Hakyrr slapped cuffs on his wrist, and the people who stayed behind watched him closely. The Hutt would be standing trial for what he had done. They were not butchers after all and wouldn't kill those of the defenseless. Besides, they could use this slimeball to send a message to the galaxy.
Moving down to the doors which led to the bridge, Vader opened the doors and saw there was no security on the bridge. Undoubtedly, any of the defenders left scurried to the second building, but Vader had a brief moment to contemplate why the Hutts weren't in the tower instead of in a simple corridor.
Perhaps they had grown too confident that they were secured on this planet, but regardless of the reasoning, the outcome wouldn't have been different.
More minions awaited them the moment they entered the second building, and they were much more coordinated, waiting for them.
The makeshift battalion following Ann and Tann took them out without challenge. To be that young and ambitious again... the emotions spilling off of them were delightful but would require much management for them to not rushed into combat and get themselves killed.
Once they finished up, some of them calmed down a bit.
"I take it you don't require for me to babysit you," Vader said, turning to face his allies as he grinned slightly.
"Reluctant kriffer," Tann replied, rolling her eyes as she already suspected what Vader was about to do.
"Keep guard," Vader winked before launching down the hallways, making his way to the top of the tower. His lightsaber slashed through the unsuspecting fools before they even gained their bearings.
It was only a matter of time before Vader reached the top of the tower.
The top of the tower, for some reason, was pretty much an enclosed place. Worst, they had heavy reinforcements.
It mattered not, his lightsaber did all the talking. Their weak security defenses had gunners, but Vader simply absorbed several bolts without challenge and used the Force to pull the shards out, telekinetically tossing them against the bastards.
This would actually have been much more advantageous to Vader's condition in the suit. He had been used to moving in enclosed spaces then with the incredible loss of his mobility. Now, he had to fall back on the more controlled and stalking movements he'd learned as Darth Vader.
As a regard of his attack, most guards were cut through by the shards, bleeding out. Those in the back who were fortunate enough to avoid such fates came face to face with his lightsaber. After cutting down the last guard, Vader scowled as he moved up the stairs, keeping his lightsaber in front of him.
There was a bronze protocol droid standing there. Not a current threat to be worried about given the overall model was known to be useful in merely being a servant of some sort or translator. Still, it attempted to steal his attention.
"You are not authorized to be here!"
Vader looked around and swung his lightsaber around, killing the last remaining guards who were attempting to spill his body with bolts without him noticing. Extending the Force to his surroundings, he sensed no other threat within the area for the time being.
"Your makers have been disposed of. Work with me, and I'll guarantee you are not scrapped." Albeit not preferable, killing the droid and doing all the work for himself was certainly an option.
"Acknowledged." The droid replied, looking down at the lightsaber aimed. Even some droids valued their survival.
"Good droid, what is your designation?" He inquired softly, wanting to give the droid the knowledge that this was nothing personal.
"TC-25," the droid answered.
"Deactivate the slave transmitters. And cut communication. The Hutt Empire mustn't discover this attack."
The droid did the work without much question. Vader watched over his shoulder, wanting to make sure he doesn't let the bastards still alive here of what he was planning to do, or something else that could cause the remaining guards to charge up the palace and kill some of his allies below.
The droid didn't do either of the such. The red screen turning green confirmed the deactivation of the slave transmitters.
"It's going to take longer, sir, to deal with the communication problem."
"Take your time," Vader said simply, knowing that rushing headfirst could result in predictable tragic results.
The protocol droid acknowledged this order and began cutting into the communications. Several codes here, passwords there, and at last the communication was severed from this planet, something that would buy them time.
"Done sir.
"Now hook this datapad up and transfer all funds and ownership over to me," Vader pulled out the device from his cloak and held it out to him.
This time, Vader wouldn't have to worry about the slaves being separated. Jabba always allowed his people to have his fun with them while the slaves here were mostly only working for servitude. As a bonus, many of them weren't as deeply scarred as their Tatooine, Nar Shaddaa, or Nal Hutta counterparts, which may make it easier to convince them to join the freedom fighters.
Still there were a great number of them, and all of them had to worry about these bastards killing them in any other way. Slavers were slavers after all, even though some of them valued their "merchandise" differently.
"Ann, your current orders no longer stand. The tower is secured." Vader spoke into the com while the droid was working.
The freedom fighters made it to the top. Seeing that Vader hadn't already scrapped the droid, they assumed that the inorganic being wasn't a threat.
"Transfer complete, master," the droid replied as if on cue, handing the datapad back to him.
Vader took it from him, gave it a once over, and placed it back into his cloak, feeling another surge of victory crawling up his spine. They could have raided Nal Hutta first, but it would allow their most powerful fractions to counter. There would already be headaches that Vader would have to deal with soon.
Now, all they had to do was to get off the planet and move to Varl. He couldn't wait to put an end to Krayn and Gardulla particularly, but he was not going to rush them if it wasn't strategically wise.
"We are taking the droid with us. He has been most helpful." True to his word, Vader would not destroy the droid. He always had a soft spot for droids, understanding their feelings. Padmé only came to acknowledge Threepio later due to his efforts.
Fortunately, Luke and Leia seemed to care about the droids within their services.
Moving to the dungeons underneath the tower itself where most of the slaves were located, unblissful and unaware that they would be free shortly - some of them waiting to be told their daily duties - Vader observed the surroundings. Sickeningly, they were placed in cells and given little food to eat, but what was advantageous was that such a huge number was here.
Vader charged into the room and focused on each armed threat. Their blasters dropped out of their hands as they shot to their throats, eyes wide as they looked with horror. Vader didn't have time for cleaning each one, so he cracked their windpipes and dropped them onto the ground.
He pushed the entrances to the cells open. A clean extraction, cleaner here. Jabba had time to be paranoid and start an outright war. The least the Hutt's lackeys here expected was for someone to come down on them all. Even without his interference, the slaves were often spread out.
Tatooine was inevitable. Here was not. Unless Vader was an idiot and revealed himself to the mass populations too soon, they wouldn't have to worried about such things. For a place important to the Hutts, they hadn't shielded it well, and despite keeping silent about Jabba's death likely over choosing a successor, an orbital bombardment was going to become less likely.
In only approximately six hours, their slave chips were out. At the absolute worst, they had IVs stuck into their arms or legs, keeping them hydrated. At best, they were sleeping on the beds, aware when they woke up it would be to a new galaxy.
The freedom fighters smiled in pride at their work. Mostly, the fact that they were doing what most of them have never even dreamt of brought about so much barely constricted joy as they couldn't wait to move onto the next excitement.
However, reprieve was still a requirement at times, so Vader called for one of the most trusted person in his army.
Ann's blaster was still in her hands but faced down. She still had much to learn, but the time she spent gaining experience would have to be enough for the time being.
"Vader, what is it?"
"Ann," Vader said, his back facing her. "Do you wonder why I'm doing all of this?
"For stability in the Outer Rim." Ann responded.
Vader nodded. "That's one of the reasons, that's not just it."
"Hmm?"
"We are going to need a system to fall back. Absorbing within the Republic would be the simpler route, but that would give them full jurisdiction over our operations, leading to us having to listen to local governments and the Jedi having some form of jurisdiction over me. Not preferable in the short-term." Especially with how most of them were going to want him arrested.
Ann flickered an eyebrow. "I presumed after all of this was over that we were going to go back to Tatooine and-"
Vader dismissed this idea. "That has never been a possibility post Jabba's death. The funds and ships we have would last us a year at most at this point, but we need the vital points of Hutt Space. We need to be greater than the Empire instead of giving the fractions the chance to wipe us out."
"You're thinking about reorganizing the Hutt Empire?" Ann caught on after a minute of deliberation.
"Of sorts. I rather not take over the dealings the Hutts has. Many systems within the Republic are disillusioned. The worlds in Hutt Space are estimated to have hundreds to thousands of inhabited worlds. We are aiming for key points and areas where we could counter their entire fleets when they inevitably scurry to counter our cause. Us gaining allies from those types can allow us to have the backing we need to stand on our own feet."
"We need to abolish slavery first," Ann replied boldly, standing straight.
Vader shook his head and looked sadden. "Abolishing slavery is virtually impossible within our lifetime. Should you have children, hopefully that won't be the case for them. Viable options are either to form a second Republic, one that may work, but it can lead to becoming just as stagnant without strong leadership and one voice in question keeping things in check. Or, a benevolent Empire would be much preferable to decreasing the possibility of stagnation as long as one doesn't lose sight of the power within their hands. If that is the case, there would be a way to remove that person from office. The people in power would have to play the role of dictatorship as would others who would come after us. They mustn't have control over the people, but not weaken by such limitations such as that foolish Republic that left us to suffer."
Ann checked her jaw. "I don't think everyone would want to get involved, especially with the Hutts who are brutal and merciless creatures."
"The simplest gesture of kindness can fill a galaxy with hope," Vader quoted an old Jedi saying. "The system I envisioned would take swift action without the call of people. Entire worlds will tremble at our might. The quick route isn't always the answer to the problems, but we must be better than those who allowed the Hutts to rule supremely. We would face backlash, possibly having to deal with opponents to keep in check, but if we emerge triumphant, there would a strong government that didn't have limitations and having to answer to corporations solely. Sectors themselves would fear us. In that regard, a Senate, Parliament, call it what you will, would be how we handle such attacks and who would be a good ruler in future generations, instead of wasting time bickering about the slightest things such as petty bills. A strong leadership would keep this Empire from falling into the hands of the wrong people."
Like Sidious, Vader thought with distaste, or any other of the spineless fools who was couped up in the Senate, living off the suffering of their people. This way, there could be a way to not bring about total chaos when the time came for Vader to finally put Sidious down.
She smirked bitterly at him. "You are bidding for "Emperor Vader" then?"
"Of course not. I can't see any iteration of myself being suited as Emperor; oh, I would definitely go for top rank of any Armed Forces, but as a politician? And the one in charge, at that? I would rather prop up one of the more 'systematization is good for the galaxy' Senatorial candidates. To put it short, Ann, any idiot who tries to push me in that position would have a chance to find out if there's an afterlife for morons!" Vader added the last part with complete sincerity, walking past her to help the others to deal with the last few hiccups here, before the planet would entirely be in their hands.
"There's more iterations of yourself?" Ann quipped, following behind. "One of you is enough."
