"Jabba the Hutt dead or at least presumed dead. His palace was destroyed by some sort of explosion. The crater was larger than even a thermal detonator could cause. There was no radiation," Vader thought.
The Dark Lord of the Sith had heard that a second squad of Storm Troopers tried forcing their way into the cave with the same results as the first. He had quickly ordered them to stop trying and concentrate on finding out who lived in the cave.
"Whoever this person is, is quite powerful."
The rasping of Vader's breathing was all that could be heard, as he tried sensing this new Force user. He caught a glimpse of red hair and red eyes, but nothing more visually. A cold chill ran up his spine as he saw a black lightsaber form.
"Black? Lightsabers can not glow black."
Vader looked out the window to gaze upon the stars beyond. "I sense we will meet soon, but will I know you?"
_______________________________________________________________________
Back on Tantooine, Boba Fett had returned after doing some bounty hunting work for Jabba. He guided Slave I to where Jabba's palace stood. Well, it used to stand. Boba looked on in shock, as he saw a crater where Jabba's palace was. He also spotted an Imperial patrol investigating the wreckage.
"Did they? No. They wouldn't still be here if they did this," Boba Fett muttered. "All that work, and I'm not going to get paid."
Boba Fett stood up and went into the back of the ship. He unchained the prisoner he had there and looked at him.
"Apparently someone has killed Jabba the Hutt. Because of that, I have no need of you anymore."
The prisoner smiled. "Does that mean you're going to let me go."
Boba opened a hatch on the side of Slave I. "Sure. Have a nice life."
The bounty hunter shoved his prisoner out the hatch and then closed it. Boba snorted, as he went back to the controls and switched his receiver to an Imperial frequency commonly used by Storm Troopers. He heard about the strange cave that had claimed two squads and how it might be related to what happened to his employer.
"Interesting. Maybe if I catch this person, I can get a decent bounty."
Boba Fett looked back and gave another amused snort. "So, he survived the drop. If he can survive the Storm Troopers and the desert, he'll have his freedom back."
Slave I headed over to Mos Eisley where Fett could pick up some rumors about what was going on.
_______________________________________________________________________
Ignoring Ben, Chewbacca and the droids, Lina gave Luke some more lessons in magic. She taught him the way to bring down and set up the wards that she used on her home.
Luke asked, "Why are you teaching me that?"
"When I find a way to go home, that will be the only place where you can learn magic from," Lina replied. "The library will give you a good start."
Han came out of the cockpit and said, "We'll be exiting in a few moments. Brace yourselves. Chewie."
Chewbacca stood up and headed to the cockpit and the group waited. Suddenly alarms blared and the ship was rocked.
Luke ran to the front of ship and demanded, "What's going on?"
Han said, "Our position is correct, but no Alderaan."
Luke asked, "What do you mean, no Alderaan."
Han replied, "That's what I'm trying to tell you. It's not there anymore."
Ben calmly said, "Blow away by the Empire."
Han gave a startled glance at Ben. "That's not possible. The entire fleet doesn't have enough power combined, doesn't have enough power to blow away a planet."
Lina quietly asked, "How many people lived on Alderaan?"
Han said, "Around four billion people."
Lina sat back in numb horror, as she thought about the death count. She quietly turned Galvayra over in her hands.
She thought, "Before I leave, I'm going to make those responsible pay for this."
She looked up when Han started chasing a starfighter. She gave a slightly amused snort, as she heard the group talk about the fighter. Lina quickly became concerned when they talked about the ship being caught in a tractor beam. She nodded to Ben, as the group hid in the hidden cargo bays on the Falcon, while Han launched the escape pods and modified the logs. Soon the ship was pulled aboard the Death Star and the group waited. After the Storm Troopers made their initial sweep and left, the group emerged from their hiding spots.
Han asked Lina, "What now?"
Lina looked at Ben, who said, "There must be a central location for turning off the tractor beam. We'll need to find it."
The group planned their ambush to get into a computer terminal by taking out two Storm Troopers and having Han and Luke wear the armor. After they managed to get into the computer room, Luke glared at Han.
"We're lucky we don't have the whole place down on us with him roaring and you shooting the place up."
Lina broke in before it degenerated. "These people are arrogant, Luke. They won't think anyone is nuts enough to break into a place like this. Besides, a few more guards wouldn't really bother you or me."
"What do you mean?" Luke asked in exasperation.
"You're stronger than you know, and I'm used to dealing with groups of twenty or more. Although these narrow corridors limit me somewhat."
Han looked out at one of the corridors. "Narrow?"
Lina just shook her finger at Han. "Never mind."
R2 found the area for where the tractor beam was located and Ben said that he would take care of it and for them to remain here. Han was about to make a crack about Ben, but took a glance at Lina and thought better of it. A bit later 3PO relayed that Princess Leia had been found and was in a detention block. Luke managed to convince Han to go with him to rescue the princess.
Before they left, Han asked Lina, "What do you plan to do?"
Lina grinned and gave a wink. "I intend to find some knowledge that might be on this station."
Han shook his head, as he left with Luke. Lina waved good-bye to them and then turned to the droids.
"All right. Where is Darth Vader's bedroom? If he's asleep, I can get rid of him. If he's not there, I'll just raid his bedroom."
R2 whistled in shock.
3PO said, "Oh my. You can't be serious."
Lina said, "I am serious. By the way, does this place have an archive section?"
R2 brought up a screen filled with text and whistled. Lina nodded and shoved one her storage devices into the standard port. The magic inside it quickly allowed it to download the entire contents of the Death Star's data core. A map showing a room then appeared on the screen, and R2 whistled.
"That is Darth Vader's quarters, Miss Inverse. I beg you to reconsider this idea."
Lina held up a hand. "I live life on the edge and right now, I can think of nothing I'd like better to do than harassing Vader. I would suggest the two of you hide in another computer room, just in case someone checks this one out. Find one that is rarely used."
"Understood, Miss Lina. Miss Lina, how will you contact us? You have no com-link."
Lina said, "I'll find a way."
She left the two droids behind and thought, "The Jedi Holocrons have some knowledge of the Force. I'm betting that this Darth Vader has some Sith Holocrons in his bedroom. I intend to get them. If he shows up, I'll get rid of him."
Read the comments on this episode
See other episodes by Disruptor
(Posted Fri, 03 Jun 2005 12:39)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.