Categories > Movies > Star Wars > Vengeance
DISCLAIMER: See the Prologue.
SPECIAL DISCLAIMER: See the Prologue.
/IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER:/ See the Prologue.
A/N: Well, I have edited the prologue and chapters 1 and 2 of this, just so you all know.
NOTE: Three of the scenes in this chapter have been taken from the book but have been edited to fit AU circumstances. Luke isn't building a new lightsaber because he doesn't need to; the scene with Xizor killing his would-be killer has been glossed over and tweaked; and the scene with the Emperor and Kain watching the security recording of Xizor doing so has been edited to show more insight into Kain's twisted mind. Other than that, the scenes with Piett and Vader were my own writing.
Chapter 3
Luke sat on a couch, meditating.
He was staying at Obi-wan Kenobi's old home on Tatooine. Since it was made of synstone, it was still quite intact as that fateful day when the he and the old Jedi Master left it to go rescue Princess Leia Organa. It was also left untouched with none of its contents robbed by Tusken Raiders, Jawas, or any other potential thieves, since Obi-wan's spirit used the Force to scare and drive them off.
Luke spent his days at Obi-wan's old home as a hideout, waiting for any sign from Jabba's palace to let him know what the situation was with Han. Apparently, Aurra Sing still hadn't delivered him. So, Luke entertained himself in the meantime by meditating, training himself, reading through old and rare books which survived the Jedi Purges, and even catching up with the spirit of Obi-wan himself.
While Luke had long since forgiven Vader for Obi-wan's death, Luke also heard things from his former mentor's perspective. It would have never occurred to Luke otherwise that Ben had allowed Vader to strike him down; by doing so, Vader played right onto the old Jedi's hands, making him more powerful in the realm beyond that of the physical universe.
Months ago, back when both he and his father were recovering from their ordeal on Cloud City, Vader told Luke his own story with his newly-restored memory, helping Luke to understand what caused such a good man to fall into darkness like that. Part of Luke's discussions with Ben here at his old home was more or less the same tale, but from his mentor's point of view.
His meditation was interrupted when he suddenly felt something.
For a Jedi to sense something... it was like all the body's normal senses combined, and yet at the same time, none of them at all. He could feel something... coming.
He thought he felt a flash of recognition. He sensed... Leia?
Calmly, Luke opened his eyes, got up, collected his lightsaber and blaster, and walked outside. He only armed himself in case the Tusken Raiders or something else tried to approach this place again.
Gazing out towards the horizon, Luke saw a thin dust cloud. Someone was approaching in a speeder. It was probably Leia, Chewie, or even Lando, since no one else was supposed to know that he was here. If it had been the Empire, it probably would have been a repeat of when stormtroopers had attacked the farm, killing his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru...
Luke felt his jaw muscles go tight at the memory of his home going up in smoke.
The Empire had a lot to answer for.
Since he really had nothing better to do, Piett socialized with the new recruits, especially those who expressed an interest in being fighter pilots.
By chance, he first met the Trandoshan and the Ho'Din who had resumed their conversation. The Trandoshan was a female named Beeshka who had some experience as a pilot and was looking forward to becoming a Rebel fighter pilot. She said little about herself or the subject, but was polite towards Piett - or at least and polite as one of her species normally was.
Standing even taller than the average Wookiee was the Ho'Din, whose name was Baji. His species was famous for their studies and knowledge of botany, and sometimes they even created their own strands of plants or fungi. However, like all nonhuman races in the galaxy, they were oppressed and used in one way or another. Just like how Wookiees were used for manual slave labor, the Ho'Din were often conscripted into the Empire as medical doctors for troops or even gardeners for high-ranking Imperials.
Piett next met with the female Rodian who pointed him out to everyone, whose name was Akkra. She had lost her family to the Empire, after they were enslaved and later killed. They were all just a few more among countless who had suffered at the Empire's hands.
Of course, Piett was not the only one meeting the new recruits. People from all different parts of the Alliance were introducing themselves to the recruits, regardless of their role in the Rebellion or how open or friendly they typically were. In fact, Piett could even spot a Falleen tech greeting the new recruits who were also Falleen. His name was Zefulin, and he had been a member of the Alliance ever since it was still a single cell back on Yavin 4. Piett had developed a small kind of friendship with the Falleen tech, especially since he was interested in seeing the new designs which Piett had contributed to the Rebellion after defecting to them. Zefulin was good at making polite conversation and small talk, but one thing he never talked about was his own family. Naturally, Piett didn't push the issue.
Just then, he heard a female voice address him.
"Second Commander Piett?"
He turned around to see Mon Mothma. "Yes, milady?" he asked with a respectful bow.
The head of the Rebel Alliance stood there in simple yet elegant white robes, hands clasped. "As you can see, our number of pilots and pilots-in-training has at least doubled more recently. Because of these numbers, it would be wise to create a new, separate squadron... one which I was hoping you would be the leader for."
For a moment, there was shock, but that was quickly replaced by pride and even enthusiasm.
"Yes, milady. I feel up the challenge."
Mothma gave him a small, appreciative smile. "It's settled, then. You will train the new pilot recruits starting tomorrow. I trust you have enough experience in training?"
"Of course, my milady," Piett responded dutifully.
"Good. One other matter: What will you name your squadron?"
The polite smile on Piett's face slowly faded as he began to look thoughtful.
In contrast, his superior's grin grew a little wider. "Don't fret over that. It took a little while before Skywalker and his squadron could find the name for their squadron."
"Thank you, milady."
"That is all."
After he bowed and she subsequently left, Piett turned back to talking to the new recruits. It was a good thing that he had already gotten started on getting to know them, if he was going to be their squadron commander.
Xizor and his bodyguards walked down one a corridor after the meeting with Darth Kain, past its rows of fanciful plant life and even small animals that lived with them. The protected corridors in the core of the Imperial Center were available only to those with proper identification and admissions were strictly limited and enforced... well, at least in theory, anyway.
Because just then, a lone man appeared in front of them and started shooting at Xizor with a blaster.
The exchange was both brief and unexciting. The assailant hit a guard in front who took a shot for his prince, and then dropped to the ground with a smoking hole in his concealed hardweave armor. In return, a second guard returned fire and managed a direct hit on the attacker's blaster, knocking it from his hand. With that, the threat was over.
Apparently, the man didn't seem to think so, because then he screamed and charged at Xizor and his remaining guards barehanded.
Intrigued, Xizor let the man come. True, the man was bigger than himself or any of his guards, built like some heavy-gravity weight lifter, but he was obviously out of his mind if he thought he could take on three armed guards while he himself was unarmed.
This could be interesting...
"Don't shoot him," Xizor said to his guards as the attacker was only twenty meters or so away and closing fast. "Leave him to me. He's mine."
His guards obeyed, tucking away their own blasters and backing off.
The Dark Prince allowed himself one of his tight smiles in anticipation.
The assassin continued to run at him, screaming incoherently like some insane beast.
As this brief fight proved, size didn't always matter, because with a few moves, Xizor had sufficiently knocked the man off balance and had beaten him to the ground.
As the man got back up, Xizor asked smoothly, "What seems to be the problem, citizen?"
"You murdering scum! You bog slime!"
Xizor dodged a punch that would have shattered his skull and countered by kicking the man in the chest so hard that he got the wind knocked out of him.
As the attacker tottered back a few steps to catch his breath, Xizor spoke again. "Have we met? I have an excellent memory for faces, and I don't recall yours." He also took that moment to casually brush a bit of lint off his shoulder as though nothing was happening.
"You killed my father. Have you forgotten Colby Hoff?"
With that, the man charged again, his fists swinging wildly.
Once again, Xizor stepped aside, but this time he delivered a hammerfirst into the man's head, knocking him down.
"You are mistaken, Hoff. Your father committed suicide, as I recall. Stuck a blaster in his mouth and blew the back of his head off, didn't he? Very messy."
Hoff got himself up off the floor, letting his rage drive him as he went at Xizor again.
Xizor moved to his right and drove his left boot into Hoff's left knee, and hard. The Falleen could even hear the joint go with a wet snap as he connected.
"You ruined him!" Hoff yelled as he struggled to get up with his good knee.
"We were business competitors," Xizor said matter-of-factly, as though explaining something simple to a stupid person. "He gambled that he was smarter than I. A foolish mistake. If you cannot afford to lose, then you should not play the game."
"I'm going to kill you!" Hoff hollered, not about to give up.
"I think not," Xizor said. With such speed for someone his size, he stepped behind Hoff and grabbed the wounded man's head with both hands. "You see, to contend with Xizor is to lose. As far as any reasonable person is concerned, attacking me will also be judged a suicide."
With that, Xizor gave a sharp, hard twist.
The crack of vertebrae was quite loud in the corridor. In fact, he wouldn't have been surprised if it could have been heard all the way to the end of the corridor from which they entered it.
"Clean up this mess," he said to his guards. "And inform the proper authorities of this poor young man's fate."
Xizor looked down at the body, and felt no remorse. It was like stepping on an unwelcome insect, and meant nothing to him.
Besides, he had dealt with much bigger and more intelligent enemies before.
And speaking of which...
Making a comment for the surveillance devices he knew were in the corridor, Xizor also added, "I am certain that neither the Emperor nor Darth Kain would be pleased to know that such an unintelligent brute such as this man was able to get into the protected corridor."
There, that ought to do it. Xizor still owed Kain for the barbs earlier in the meeting, anyway.
Take /that, you Sith maniac./
The failed assassination attempt on Xizor's life didn't go unobserved or unnoticed, of course. Sitting in his floating repulsor chair, the Emperor stared at the life-size image of Xizor in a protected corridor, snapping the neck of his would-be killer.
Smiling, he then turned to look at Darth Kain.
"Well, it would seem that Prince Xizor has kept up with his martial arts practice," the Emperor commented.
Unseen by the dictator, Kain scowled under his helmet. "Xizor is a dangerous man who can't be trusted, my master."
The Emperor gave him one of his unattractive, toothy smiles. "Do not trouble yourself with Xizor, Lord Kain. He is my concern."
"As you wish," Kain responded with a bow.
"Although... I wonder how that hotheaded young man got into that protected corridor," the Emperor said. But there was no wonder in his voice at all.
Kain felt himself freeze. The Emperor knew. Kain might have killed the guard who admitted the would-be assassin into the corridor to cover up his tracks, but with his mater of the dark side of the Force, the Emperor still knew.
Think fast, Kain, he told himself
"I'll look into it, my master," Kain said, breaking the tense silence.
"Don't bother," his master said, waving a withered hand in dismissal. "No harm was done to Xizor, and he took care of himself quite well, didn't he? Still, I would hate to see anything happen to him as long as he is useful to us. Even if he were to lose the ability to speak because somebody choked him, I would be most displeased."
Kain bowed again. He also would have been a fool to miss the subtle threat of that last statement, what with how he had Force-choked Xizor a few years back when the Falleen was only trying to congratulate him on becoming the Emperor's new right-hand man. There would be no further attempts to go after Xizor.
Well... not yet, anyway.
In the meantime, Kain would keep a close watch on the Dark Prince. Xizor was all too devious, and whatever his twisted mind could come up with would only be offered to help the Emperor if it also helped the Dark Prince himself.
In other words, he's much like yourself? a voice in Kain's head taunted. Kain silenced that voice and went back to his original train of thought.
After all, Xizor was a criminal. A powerful one, certainly, but still a criminal nonetheless. His morals were perverse, his ethics were situational, and his loyalties nonexistent. He would stop at nothing to get his way, and Kain was pretty sure that what Xizor desired did not include a galaxy that had the Emperor or Kain in it.
"To contend with Xizor is to lose"?
We'll see about that, you slippery reptile.
Vader took his time making his way through Mos Eisley spaceport, because all it would take was even one glimpse of his mask under his hood for people to panic and rumors to circulate.
"Ready to go, Midnight?" he asked his new Astromech droid as he settled himself into the cockpit.
She beeped an affirmative answer, and a minute later, they were taking off out of Mos Eisley.
Like some majestic and unique rare bird, the Desert Angel flew across the desert, truly living up to her name.
Vader stretched out with the Force to locate Luke, and within moments, he found his son. Using the Force like some archaic compass from ancient times, Vader flew towards where Luke was.
A/N: Just another progressive chapter, I know, but I at least tried to make it interesting.
Note about the new recruits: Some are my own creation, some come from canon in certain ways...
Baji: More than a decade ago, this small book series came out: The Adventure Continues. It only had six books in it: The Glove of Darth Vader, The Lost City of the Jedi, Zorba the Hutt's Revenge, Mission from Mount Yoda, Queen of the Empire, and Prophets of the Dark Side. The books are obviously meant for younger readers, and on top of that, they just don't seem to jive with the other canon books from the Expanded Universe. Still, if you're bored and have an hour to kill, they might be worth reading. So, anyway, Baji was a Ho'Din who appeared in the second and fifth books in the series, and so I decided to use him here, as a master in botany (as so many Ho'Din are). I just figured it would be a good idea if I were to use him. (Oh, and I got rid of his tendency to speak in rhyme.)
Beeshka: This OC of mine is a female Trandoshan (she's of the same species as that bounty hunter Bossk). No clue how I came up with her name; maybe I tried to make her name sound like a female version of Bossk's name or something.
Akkra: I got this from the Latin adjective for "sharp, swift, keen."
Note about Zefulin, the Falleen tech: Well, okay, technically he's not mine, but he's still worth mentioning here anyway. When I was brainstorming "Vengeance", I asked Kenya Starflight if I could use that obscurely mentioned Falleen Rebel tech (you can spot him in the beginning of ch. 12 of "Innocence"). Apparently, she'd completely forgotten about that guy, and said it was okay if I were to use him. His name is derived from the Hebrew word zevul which means "exalted abode." (As Kenya Starflight pointed out to me, the Biblical name Zebulun is derived from that word.) I have much in store for Zefulin...
Next chapter is where Luke and his father finally meet again, and they plot how to rescue Han... -Quillian
SPECIAL DISCLAIMER: See the Prologue.
/IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER:/ See the Prologue.
A/N: Well, I have edited the prologue and chapters 1 and 2 of this, just so you all know.
NOTE: Three of the scenes in this chapter have been taken from the book but have been edited to fit AU circumstances. Luke isn't building a new lightsaber because he doesn't need to; the scene with Xizor killing his would-be killer has been glossed over and tweaked; and the scene with the Emperor and Kain watching the security recording of Xizor doing so has been edited to show more insight into Kain's twisted mind. Other than that, the scenes with Piett and Vader were my own writing.
Chapter 3
Luke sat on a couch, meditating.
He was staying at Obi-wan Kenobi's old home on Tatooine. Since it was made of synstone, it was still quite intact as that fateful day when the he and the old Jedi Master left it to go rescue Princess Leia Organa. It was also left untouched with none of its contents robbed by Tusken Raiders, Jawas, or any other potential thieves, since Obi-wan's spirit used the Force to scare and drive them off.
Luke spent his days at Obi-wan's old home as a hideout, waiting for any sign from Jabba's palace to let him know what the situation was with Han. Apparently, Aurra Sing still hadn't delivered him. So, Luke entertained himself in the meantime by meditating, training himself, reading through old and rare books which survived the Jedi Purges, and even catching up with the spirit of Obi-wan himself.
While Luke had long since forgiven Vader for Obi-wan's death, Luke also heard things from his former mentor's perspective. It would have never occurred to Luke otherwise that Ben had allowed Vader to strike him down; by doing so, Vader played right onto the old Jedi's hands, making him more powerful in the realm beyond that of the physical universe.
Months ago, back when both he and his father were recovering from their ordeal on Cloud City, Vader told Luke his own story with his newly-restored memory, helping Luke to understand what caused such a good man to fall into darkness like that. Part of Luke's discussions with Ben here at his old home was more or less the same tale, but from his mentor's point of view.
His meditation was interrupted when he suddenly felt something.
For a Jedi to sense something... it was like all the body's normal senses combined, and yet at the same time, none of them at all. He could feel something... coming.
He thought he felt a flash of recognition. He sensed... Leia?
Calmly, Luke opened his eyes, got up, collected his lightsaber and blaster, and walked outside. He only armed himself in case the Tusken Raiders or something else tried to approach this place again.
Gazing out towards the horizon, Luke saw a thin dust cloud. Someone was approaching in a speeder. It was probably Leia, Chewie, or even Lando, since no one else was supposed to know that he was here. If it had been the Empire, it probably would have been a repeat of when stormtroopers had attacked the farm, killing his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru...
Luke felt his jaw muscles go tight at the memory of his home going up in smoke.
The Empire had a lot to answer for.
Since he really had nothing better to do, Piett socialized with the new recruits, especially those who expressed an interest in being fighter pilots.
By chance, he first met the Trandoshan and the Ho'Din who had resumed their conversation. The Trandoshan was a female named Beeshka who had some experience as a pilot and was looking forward to becoming a Rebel fighter pilot. She said little about herself or the subject, but was polite towards Piett - or at least and polite as one of her species normally was.
Standing even taller than the average Wookiee was the Ho'Din, whose name was Baji. His species was famous for their studies and knowledge of botany, and sometimes they even created their own strands of plants or fungi. However, like all nonhuman races in the galaxy, they were oppressed and used in one way or another. Just like how Wookiees were used for manual slave labor, the Ho'Din were often conscripted into the Empire as medical doctors for troops or even gardeners for high-ranking Imperials.
Piett next met with the female Rodian who pointed him out to everyone, whose name was Akkra. She had lost her family to the Empire, after they were enslaved and later killed. They were all just a few more among countless who had suffered at the Empire's hands.
Of course, Piett was not the only one meeting the new recruits. People from all different parts of the Alliance were introducing themselves to the recruits, regardless of their role in the Rebellion or how open or friendly they typically were. In fact, Piett could even spot a Falleen tech greeting the new recruits who were also Falleen. His name was Zefulin, and he had been a member of the Alliance ever since it was still a single cell back on Yavin 4. Piett had developed a small kind of friendship with the Falleen tech, especially since he was interested in seeing the new designs which Piett had contributed to the Rebellion after defecting to them. Zefulin was good at making polite conversation and small talk, but one thing he never talked about was his own family. Naturally, Piett didn't push the issue.
Just then, he heard a female voice address him.
"Second Commander Piett?"
He turned around to see Mon Mothma. "Yes, milady?" he asked with a respectful bow.
The head of the Rebel Alliance stood there in simple yet elegant white robes, hands clasped. "As you can see, our number of pilots and pilots-in-training has at least doubled more recently. Because of these numbers, it would be wise to create a new, separate squadron... one which I was hoping you would be the leader for."
For a moment, there was shock, but that was quickly replaced by pride and even enthusiasm.
"Yes, milady. I feel up the challenge."
Mothma gave him a small, appreciative smile. "It's settled, then. You will train the new pilot recruits starting tomorrow. I trust you have enough experience in training?"
"Of course, my milady," Piett responded dutifully.
"Good. One other matter: What will you name your squadron?"
The polite smile on Piett's face slowly faded as he began to look thoughtful.
In contrast, his superior's grin grew a little wider. "Don't fret over that. It took a little while before Skywalker and his squadron could find the name for their squadron."
"Thank you, milady."
"That is all."
After he bowed and she subsequently left, Piett turned back to talking to the new recruits. It was a good thing that he had already gotten started on getting to know them, if he was going to be their squadron commander.
Xizor and his bodyguards walked down one a corridor after the meeting with Darth Kain, past its rows of fanciful plant life and even small animals that lived with them. The protected corridors in the core of the Imperial Center were available only to those with proper identification and admissions were strictly limited and enforced... well, at least in theory, anyway.
Because just then, a lone man appeared in front of them and started shooting at Xizor with a blaster.
The exchange was both brief and unexciting. The assailant hit a guard in front who took a shot for his prince, and then dropped to the ground with a smoking hole in his concealed hardweave armor. In return, a second guard returned fire and managed a direct hit on the attacker's blaster, knocking it from his hand. With that, the threat was over.
Apparently, the man didn't seem to think so, because then he screamed and charged at Xizor and his remaining guards barehanded.
Intrigued, Xizor let the man come. True, the man was bigger than himself or any of his guards, built like some heavy-gravity weight lifter, but he was obviously out of his mind if he thought he could take on three armed guards while he himself was unarmed.
This could be interesting...
"Don't shoot him," Xizor said to his guards as the attacker was only twenty meters or so away and closing fast. "Leave him to me. He's mine."
His guards obeyed, tucking away their own blasters and backing off.
The Dark Prince allowed himself one of his tight smiles in anticipation.
The assassin continued to run at him, screaming incoherently like some insane beast.
As this brief fight proved, size didn't always matter, because with a few moves, Xizor had sufficiently knocked the man off balance and had beaten him to the ground.
As the man got back up, Xizor asked smoothly, "What seems to be the problem, citizen?"
"You murdering scum! You bog slime!"
Xizor dodged a punch that would have shattered his skull and countered by kicking the man in the chest so hard that he got the wind knocked out of him.
As the attacker tottered back a few steps to catch his breath, Xizor spoke again. "Have we met? I have an excellent memory for faces, and I don't recall yours." He also took that moment to casually brush a bit of lint off his shoulder as though nothing was happening.
"You killed my father. Have you forgotten Colby Hoff?"
With that, the man charged again, his fists swinging wildly.
Once again, Xizor stepped aside, but this time he delivered a hammerfirst into the man's head, knocking him down.
"You are mistaken, Hoff. Your father committed suicide, as I recall. Stuck a blaster in his mouth and blew the back of his head off, didn't he? Very messy."
Hoff got himself up off the floor, letting his rage drive him as he went at Xizor again.
Xizor moved to his right and drove his left boot into Hoff's left knee, and hard. The Falleen could even hear the joint go with a wet snap as he connected.
"You ruined him!" Hoff yelled as he struggled to get up with his good knee.
"We were business competitors," Xizor said matter-of-factly, as though explaining something simple to a stupid person. "He gambled that he was smarter than I. A foolish mistake. If you cannot afford to lose, then you should not play the game."
"I'm going to kill you!" Hoff hollered, not about to give up.
"I think not," Xizor said. With such speed for someone his size, he stepped behind Hoff and grabbed the wounded man's head with both hands. "You see, to contend with Xizor is to lose. As far as any reasonable person is concerned, attacking me will also be judged a suicide."
With that, Xizor gave a sharp, hard twist.
The crack of vertebrae was quite loud in the corridor. In fact, he wouldn't have been surprised if it could have been heard all the way to the end of the corridor from which they entered it.
"Clean up this mess," he said to his guards. "And inform the proper authorities of this poor young man's fate."
Xizor looked down at the body, and felt no remorse. It was like stepping on an unwelcome insect, and meant nothing to him.
Besides, he had dealt with much bigger and more intelligent enemies before.
And speaking of which...
Making a comment for the surveillance devices he knew were in the corridor, Xizor also added, "I am certain that neither the Emperor nor Darth Kain would be pleased to know that such an unintelligent brute such as this man was able to get into the protected corridor."
There, that ought to do it. Xizor still owed Kain for the barbs earlier in the meeting, anyway.
Take /that, you Sith maniac./
The failed assassination attempt on Xizor's life didn't go unobserved or unnoticed, of course. Sitting in his floating repulsor chair, the Emperor stared at the life-size image of Xizor in a protected corridor, snapping the neck of his would-be killer.
Smiling, he then turned to look at Darth Kain.
"Well, it would seem that Prince Xizor has kept up with his martial arts practice," the Emperor commented.
Unseen by the dictator, Kain scowled under his helmet. "Xizor is a dangerous man who can't be trusted, my master."
The Emperor gave him one of his unattractive, toothy smiles. "Do not trouble yourself with Xizor, Lord Kain. He is my concern."
"As you wish," Kain responded with a bow.
"Although... I wonder how that hotheaded young man got into that protected corridor," the Emperor said. But there was no wonder in his voice at all.
Kain felt himself freeze. The Emperor knew. Kain might have killed the guard who admitted the would-be assassin into the corridor to cover up his tracks, but with his mater of the dark side of the Force, the Emperor still knew.
Think fast, Kain, he told himself
"I'll look into it, my master," Kain said, breaking the tense silence.
"Don't bother," his master said, waving a withered hand in dismissal. "No harm was done to Xizor, and he took care of himself quite well, didn't he? Still, I would hate to see anything happen to him as long as he is useful to us. Even if he were to lose the ability to speak because somebody choked him, I would be most displeased."
Kain bowed again. He also would have been a fool to miss the subtle threat of that last statement, what with how he had Force-choked Xizor a few years back when the Falleen was only trying to congratulate him on becoming the Emperor's new right-hand man. There would be no further attempts to go after Xizor.
Well... not yet, anyway.
In the meantime, Kain would keep a close watch on the Dark Prince. Xizor was all too devious, and whatever his twisted mind could come up with would only be offered to help the Emperor if it also helped the Dark Prince himself.
In other words, he's much like yourself? a voice in Kain's head taunted. Kain silenced that voice and went back to his original train of thought.
After all, Xizor was a criminal. A powerful one, certainly, but still a criminal nonetheless. His morals were perverse, his ethics were situational, and his loyalties nonexistent. He would stop at nothing to get his way, and Kain was pretty sure that what Xizor desired did not include a galaxy that had the Emperor or Kain in it.
"To contend with Xizor is to lose"?
We'll see about that, you slippery reptile.
Vader took his time making his way through Mos Eisley spaceport, because all it would take was even one glimpse of his mask under his hood for people to panic and rumors to circulate.
"Ready to go, Midnight?" he asked his new Astromech droid as he settled himself into the cockpit.
She beeped an affirmative answer, and a minute later, they were taking off out of Mos Eisley.
Like some majestic and unique rare bird, the Desert Angel flew across the desert, truly living up to her name.
Vader stretched out with the Force to locate Luke, and within moments, he found his son. Using the Force like some archaic compass from ancient times, Vader flew towards where Luke was.
A/N: Just another progressive chapter, I know, but I at least tried to make it interesting.
Note about the new recruits: Some are my own creation, some come from canon in certain ways...
Baji: More than a decade ago, this small book series came out: The Adventure Continues. It only had six books in it: The Glove of Darth Vader, The Lost City of the Jedi, Zorba the Hutt's Revenge, Mission from Mount Yoda, Queen of the Empire, and Prophets of the Dark Side. The books are obviously meant for younger readers, and on top of that, they just don't seem to jive with the other canon books from the Expanded Universe. Still, if you're bored and have an hour to kill, they might be worth reading. So, anyway, Baji was a Ho'Din who appeared in the second and fifth books in the series, and so I decided to use him here, as a master in botany (as so many Ho'Din are). I just figured it would be a good idea if I were to use him. (Oh, and I got rid of his tendency to speak in rhyme.)
Beeshka: This OC of mine is a female Trandoshan (she's of the same species as that bounty hunter Bossk). No clue how I came up with her name; maybe I tried to make her name sound like a female version of Bossk's name or something.
Akkra: I got this from the Latin adjective for "sharp, swift, keen."
Note about Zefulin, the Falleen tech: Well, okay, technically he's not mine, but he's still worth mentioning here anyway. When I was brainstorming "Vengeance", I asked Kenya Starflight if I could use that obscurely mentioned Falleen Rebel tech (you can spot him in the beginning of ch. 12 of "Innocence"). Apparently, she'd completely forgotten about that guy, and said it was okay if I were to use him. His name is derived from the Hebrew word zevul which means "exalted abode." (As Kenya Starflight pointed out to me, the Biblical name Zebulun is derived from that word.) I have much in store for Zefulin...
Next chapter is where Luke and his father finally meet again, and they plot how to rescue Han... -Quillian
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