Chapter 16: Shadows of Retribution
In the heart of Tatooine's sweltering heat, Revan approached the daunting facade of Gardulla's palace. Using the Force to cloak his presence, he manoeuvered through the intricate corridors, aiming for the audience room.
As he entered, Gardulla, a green, corpulent Hutt, was lounging on her throne. Revan reminded himself of the difficulty in distinguishing gender among Hutts.
Revan was soon spotted by a bounty hunter who raised instantly his blaster at him. He ignited his lightsaber and deflect the beam coming at him, before calling the blaster to him with the force.
But, the guards have already surrounded him.
Gardulla sneered at his intrusion.
Gardulla (in Huttese): Look at that! A new slave offers himself. Before you get your collar, tell me why you are sneaking in my palace?
Revan: I'm here for a boy and his mother brought to you today. They belong with me.
Gardulla laughed raucously, the sound echoing off the walls.
Gardulla: And what will you give me for them?
Revan (maintaining a calm demeanour): Your life, in exchange for theirs.
Her laughter filled the room again, a signal for more guards to encircle Revan.
Gardulla: Subdue him, but don't kill. A Force-sensitive slave is valuable.
Revan centered himself, letting the Force guide his actions. In a swift, fluid motion, he unleashed a force wave, sending guards crashing against the walls.
Summoning their weapons, he compressed them into a tight sphere with the Force.
Turning to face Gardulla, who now wore an expression of panic or what looked like panic on a hutt's face, Revan says.
Revan: I am not here for you…this time. So, I will abide by the agreement I proposed although you obviously rejected it : your life for the boy and his mother. Do not try to stop me or I will revisit the terms to your disadvantage.
That said, he made a choice to leave her alive, turning his back to exit.
But as he did, Gardulla, seething of rage at being dismissed lashed out with a slave whip, its energy blade slicing through the air and tragically cutting a fleeing slave in half.
The unnecessary death ignited a flame of anger in Revan.
Evading the whip aimed for his head, he jumped and drew his lightsaber in one swift motion, severing the hutt head from her body. The tyrannical reign of Gardulla the Hutt came to an abrupt, decisive end.
At that, silence descended in the room with all the bounty hunters and guards present frozen. Revan looked at the body of the deceased hutt with no regret, but a little sadness for what he considered needless bloodshed.
But he also knew that with the Hutts, one must be willing to act swiftly.
He looked with sadness at the slave girl whose life was unnecessarily cut short by Gardulla. Ultimately, he comforted himself that she was in the force embrace now, a much better place.
With the palace now in disarray, Revan focused on his primary mission: finding Shmi and Anakin.
He moved through the chaos of slaves running around and bounty hunters running away from him, his heart set on liberating them, his mind clear but heavy with the weight of what just transpired.
The halls of Gardulla's palace, once a symbol of oppression and cruelty, now echoed with the sounds of liberation and chaos, as Revan advanced, a shadow of retribution in the heart of darkness.