Chapter Text
All communications were silent and no one was answering my calls. I could sense that something terrible had transpired in the galaxy. So I waited. Only time could reveal the truth and it was no use trying to hurry an answer that wasn’t ready to be given. The troops on Tatooine had turned on their commanders and shot them down. Any known Jedi on the planet were dead. Except me, but I don’t count. I was a sleeper knight, hidden away on this criminal planet to keep an eye on things for the Order. Now I was staying hidden for my life.
Eventually, I received a coded transmission from an Alderannian cruiser, one carrying Senator Bail Organa. After getting the access frequencies, I responded, hoping it wasn’t a trap of some kind.
“Kiranya Diekoll, state your business.” A fuzzy but familiar voice responded.
“Kira? This is Obi-Wan Kenobi. I am aboard Senator Organa’s cruiser with Master Yoda and Senator Amidala. She passed away in childbirth and I am bringing one of the children with me to Tatooine. We are all that is left of the order now and Chancellor Palpatine is now Emperor of the Galaxy. He is also the Sith lord we had been looking for and Anakin has become his new apprentice, Darth Vader. You will need to keep a low profile now as they are supposedly going to be sweeping the Galaxy for any remaining Force-sensitives. If possible, I would like to rendezvous with you outside of Mos Espa and have you accompany me to deliver the child to his uncle, Owen Lars.”
“Hmm, that certainly is a lot of news, and none of it good. I will meet you on the south plains and we can proceed to the Lars home from there. Com me when you land.”
“Will do. Thank you.” The signal disappeared and I figured I would gather some gear and supplies for our journey, and summon my Krayt dragon, Virrix. He was one of the Greater Krayts, and he tended to roam when I wasn’t using him. I headed to the market where I had last left him and was surprised to find him asleep, all 40 meters curled up in a shade patch. The vendor near him seemed a bit put off. I smirked and went to a resource dealer and acquired enough food and water for a week. I then got Obi-Wan some local attire that would be more desert friendly and less foreign-looking.
With all the gear loaded, Virrix and I headed out towards the south plains, to a small cantina where I could wait for the call. I told the dragon to stay put thought whether or not he listened was another thing entirely. The cantina was pretty quiet, the band going in the back with just a handful of patrons at the counter. A few couples and smugglers were scattered around the booths, but none of them paid me any mind. I was a regular here.
“Achuta, Chula. Fofo gokola, mwa pateesa.”
“Okie okie.” The bartender, Chula, went to prepare my drink. I surveyed the people around me, some being familiar faces and others just passing folk heading in or out of town. My eyes landed on a friend of mine who was hiding in the back corner as usual, a Nagai bounty hunter my the name of Zebos. He nodded to me and I made my way over to him.
“Zebos. It’s been a while, my friend. Off on any good hunts?” he nodded, taking a drink.
“Yes, indeed. The new Empire has some very valuable targets, dead and alive. I’d say I’ve gotten a pretty good payout so far. Anything new on this dust ball?”
“Hardly. Virrix grew again and Ziro the Hutt was killed, but aside from that its the same wasteland it always is.”
“Good thing we have a pretty face like your’s to brighten things up.”
“Heh, flatterer. I was considering being one of Jabba’s whirlee, actually. Business hasn’t been profitable but I think I could swing a good deal with him. Hutt’s are always willing to bargain for new entertainment.”
“Dangerous game there. They are just as willing to dispose of their fun, right into the Rancor pit. But I dare say you would bring in business.” I nodded, drinking some of the wine Chula brought me. It was mediocre at best, but better than nothing.
“Why not try some of the house brews? They are much more impressive than that garbage.”
“I’m not looking to get drunk. Just a change of pace from blue milk and muck water.” Zebos chuckled, agreeing with me. We continued our small talk until my communicator beeped. “Well, duty calls, then. It was good seeing you.”
“And you. Don’t get eaten by that beast of yours.” I smirked and headed out, answering the call once I was outside.
“Obi-Wan. Send me your coordinates and I’ll be there shortly.”
“Alright, but there are some sand people crawling around here, so be careful.”
“No problem.” I mounted up and set off for his location, arriving in a matter of minutes due to Virrix’s extraordinary pace. Obi-Wan came down the ramp of the cruiser and almost did a double take when he saw my mount.
“Is that...a Krayt Dragon? And here I thought we were trying to be inconspicuous.” I snorted lightly.
“Good to see you too, General. Is Master Yoda still onboard?”
“Yes, and I believe he would like to speak with you. Is that thing…..safe?” He gestured to the dragon.
“That ‘thing’ is named Virrix and yes, he’s perfectly safe. Virrix, saut.” He laid down, being obedient for a change.
“What language was that?”
“Old Sith. I trained him in a language few would recognize so he only listens to me.”
“Strayed from the light, you have. Alone too long, you have been.” Master Yoda appeared from the ship, looking rather tired.
“I suppose I have gone a bit gray, but this place will do that to you. It has a corrosive effect on one’s morals.”
“Excuses, excuses. But matters not, hide, you now must.”
“That’s all I’ve been doing. I just need to make the facade permanent.”
“Hm. Your old masters, contact you both, they may. Watchful in the Force, you must be. Strong, Vader is. Sense you, he may.”
“Our old masters? But, how?”
“Done through the Force, many things can be. Advise you from the other side, your master’s will.”
“Alright...what else is there? Do we make a stand, or do we wait for a rebellion?”
“Patience, the answer is. Until Skywalker is grown, nothing we must do. Protect him, we must.”
“Skywalker? As in Anakin? He is the father?” Obi-wan nodded gravely. “That can’t bode well for him. And he has a twin?”
“A sister, named Leia. The Organa’s are taking her as their own.”
“I see. Then we will watch him closely. I will stay out here as usual, though I was considering relocating to Jabba’s palace. I shouldn’t be disturbed there and I can move about fairly unnoticed.”
“Caution with the Hutts, there should be. Scheming and untrustworthy, they are.”
“But even a Hutt won’t go back on a contract.” Yoda nodded.
“No more is there to tell. Into hiding, go, I shall. Meet again, we may not. May the Force with you be.” Yoda took his leave of us and we mounted up, Obi-wan clearly uneasy. I handed him the Tatooinian garb I had purchased.
“I’ll find you somewhere to change. You stick out like a sore thumb. What’s the boy’s name?”
“Luke. Padme named them before she passed.”
“What killed her?”
“We don’t know. She was perfectly healthy, according to the droids. There was no reason for her death.”
“Dark side power, then. Where was Anakin?”
“Dying from the burns and blood loss on Mustafar. Why?”
“Palpatine probably killed her to save him. There are powers that can do that. It transfers the life force of one being to another. I would guess that Palpatine wanted to save his most powerful apprentice and used Padme in order to completely cut off all of Anakin’s ties to his former life.”
“You really have strayed from the Light, haven’t you?”
“I may have acquired several holocrons and manuscripts of the Sith. You’d be surprised what turns up out here, and since no one knows what things are, I get them for nothing.”
“That’s a dangerous game.”
“And this is a dangerous place. I’m just holding my own.” From then we rode on in silence until we reached a small settlement on our way to Owen’s moisture farm. There, Obi-wan changed gear and we had lunch while Virrix hunted for his own food. After that we continued on, reaching the farm at sundown. We had picked up a Eopie for him to ride as he was increasingly uncomfortable with Virrix. After delivering Luke, we came up with a plan for our wait.
“I will go into exile in the canyons and keep a close eye on him. What are you planning on doing? Should we stick together?”
“No. Two Jedi in the same place is bound to go poorly. I will go make a deal with Jabba, that way I will be easy to find if you ever need me. It will be a nice change of pace.”
“Very well. Best of luck to you, then. Perhaps we shall cross paths in later years.”
“Indeed. May the Force be with you, my friend.”
“And with you.” I headed home, enjoying the cool of night. Once there, I packed my few possessions and got some sleep. A week later, I arrived at Jabba’s palace with a contract written in both Basic and Huttese. I was shown in to the main room where Jabba sat upon his throne. I spoke to him in Huttese to make things easier and quicker.
“Mighty Jabba, I am Kiranya Diekoll and I come with a proposition.” He narrowed his eyes, intrigued by my bluntness.
“What is this propsition?”
“I want to trade. I will be your best dancer and entertainment in exchange for not being your slave. You cannot use me as you would any of your slave girls and you cannot kill me, but I can draw in business and woo tough crowds. I won’t disappoint, but if I do, you can send me away. What do you say? I have the contract here. I also speak several languages and know much of the business on this planet, if that is any incentive.” Jabba contemplated this for a moment, looking me up and down. He chuckled.
“We have a deal. You will make a pretty addition to my dancers. Go with one of the guards. They will give you a room and outfits to wear. You start tonight. Lets’s see that contract.” He signed it after reading through the more gruesome details. I had already signed and he gave it back to me. I kept it hidden in the room I was given to avoid any foul play. I unpacked and sent Virrix to roam. I told him he wasn’t allowed to eat Jabba’s sarlacc though, as that would probably go over poorly with the Hutt. I picked one of the flashier costumes and settled myself into my new life. Now, I just had to wait. For what, I didn’t know.
Huttese: “Hello, Chula. Double wine, my friend.” , “Okay.”
Whirlee- Dancers
Sith: saut- wait