Indiana Jones and the Sith Stone
Posted by: Darth Danno 02.27.08 12:01am

Master Tenuto's eyes went wide as he let the words sink in. "Under attack, from whom?"

"I don't know!" the Bothan replied. "Some ship came out of nowhere and started strafing us. They knocked out our guns before we were able to get the shields up. They're not letting us take off. What should we do?"

"I'm not sure what is going on, but hold fast, and try to remain calm, I'm on my way!" He clicked off the comm. and re-attached it to his belt. Who would dare to start an unprovoked attack a Republic cruiser, and why? On top of everything else, even with his Jedi skills, it would still take him some time to get back to the landing pad at the enclave. He needed to get there quickly. Plus, once he got there, how was he supposed to take out a ship from the ground? He needed... a ship! Fortunately fate, or the Force, had shown him where to get one.

Aurra Sing had been raised to be a Jedi, spending seven years of her childhood within the confines of the Temple on Coruscant. From there, she was captured by sky pirates, and then sold to a Hutt, who apprenticed her to a group of Anzati. After all this, she took it upon herself to take revenge on all she felt had used her. She killed the Hutt, murdered the pirates, and then set her sights on the Jedi whom she felt had betrayed her. The moment she entered Dantooine's atmosphere, she sensed the Jedi's presence. A chance to eliminate the galaxy of a few more of their revolting Order was looked upon as an added bonus to the job.

As she approached their ship, still on the landing pad, she could tell there were only Padawans aboard, but where there were younglings, the Master could not be far away. Hence the reason she took out the craft's armaments, but not its communications, she not only hoped they'd call for help, she planned on it. It would be far more satisfying to take them all out at once, it would also be more of a challenge, but she liked a challenge. She brought her ship around for another strafing run.

Indy returned to their ship and immediately got to work trying to translate the markings on the Sith cylinder. Even with TC-10's help, making sense of the ancient markings was a daunting task. It didn't aid things that Indy had had no experience with this language beforehand, and Zam expecting results by this evening didn't ease the pressure put upon him.

"I'm catching some shut eye before we leave." Zam said as she came from the cockpit. "C-3, keep an eye on our guest, and don't hesitate to wake me if any situations arise."

C-3PX said nothing, simply nodded its understanding, and gripped the blaster rifle at its side a little tighter.

After Zam had exited the room, Indy rubbed his eyes, stood up, and stretched. C-3PX immediately rose to its feet and pointed the rifle at him.

"Easy, easy." Indy said, trying to placate the droid. "Just trying to get a fresh perspective." C-3 lowered the gun, albeit slightly, and Indy attempted to pace a little and talk some sense into his captor, machine or not. "Look! I don't know enough about this ancient language to be sure I could translate this... cylinder properly. I need help! More help than TC-10 can give. No offense, TC."

"None taken, Sir Indy."

Finally, C-3PX spoke up. "I do not care what you know, or what you do not know. All I know is you are to translate the markings, and I am here to make sure you do just that. So please return to your seat and resume translating."

"I'm trying to tell you, I can't translate this! This language is far bey... "

C-3PX's response was to level the blaster rifle at Dr. Jones' midsection. "I said please, Dr. Jones."

Indy shrugged, sat down once again, and picked up the cylinder. How was he supposed to figure out where to go next from this thing? He could make a guess, but what if the bounty hunter wanted some sort of proof? She surely wasn't about to take off and fly who knows where solely on his word. He needed a plan, and he needed it...

TC-10 interrupted his train of thought. "Excuse me, Sir Indy, but do you hear that noise? It sounds like someone tapping."

Indy sat up, as did C-3PX. They all listened, and sure enough, there was a faint tapping noise, coming from outside the ship.

"What is that?" TC queried.

"Stay here and watch him," C-3 replied. "I'm going to check it out."

"Should we wake Mistress Zam?" TC continued.

"We'll wake her once we're certain there's an actual threat. I'm not going to bother her if it's just some Kath hound looking for a place to relieve itself." C-3 opened the hatch and extended the boarding ramp. Slowly and cautiously, the droid descended the ramp and scanned the vicinity, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

Indy got up and ran to the cockpit, despite TC-10's protests. "I'm just trying to see if there's anything to see!" Looking out the front view ports, he wasn't able to see anything unusual. Zam, brandishing a pistol, shortly joined him.

"I heard the back hatch open. What's going on?" She demanded to know immediately.

"We heard some strange tapping on the exterior of the hull. C3 went out to investigate."

"Did he find anything?" Zam asked, as she also peered out the front view ports.

"Not sure. He hasn't returned yet."

Zam jammed the barrel of her gun into Indy's ribs. "I'm going out there. If you even think of trying anything funny, it will be the last thing you ever do!"

"Indy put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Hey! How the heck would I fly one of these things, and where would I go even if I did?"

What he said made sense to her, but she glared at him just the same before she headed out of the cockpit and out of the ship calling, "C-3. C-3, where are you? Did you find anything?"

Indy spent a few more moments staring out the front view ports before returning to the main hold to join TC-10.

"Anything?" the droid queried.

"Nothing yet. Maybe we'll know more when C-3 and Zam return."

Suddenly, a figure clad in a brown robe ran up the ramp, pressed the button retracting it, closed the back hatch, and then turned to face the duo. "I'm not sure what you're doing here, but something tells me you need my help. There will be plenty of time for explanations later, but for now, I need your ship, my students are in trouble!"

As the twin suns of Tatooine began their daily ascension over the planet, the denizens of Jabba's palace began to stir, and go about their duties. It wasn't long before the body of Bordiss Mak was discovered, along with the bodies of the other seven assigned to guard duty the previous night. Mak's body was found with a solitary hole burned into the top of his skull, as if a weapon capable of intense heat pierced his head, and continued down until it reached his brain. Death was believed to be instantaneous. As for the others, some were decapitated; others were stabbed through the heart with a weapon similar to the one that killed Mak. Needless to say, the Hutt was not at all pleased to have his domicile violated, and ordered an immediate search of the premises. The perpetrator was to be found and brought before Jabba as soon as possible, and a hefty reward would be given to whoever accomplished the task. So extra body armor was strapped on, vibroblades were sharpened, and blaster rifles and pistols were set at their highest settings. Parties set off to search designated areas in groups of six, and were not to return until something had turned up. A good portion of the day was spent accomplishing this task, and when it was over, the results were not promising. Twelve members of the search party were found dead; in the same way the previous victims met their fate. This infuriated Jabba even more, he was just about to give the order to hire some outside help and raise the reward, when one of his cronies came in carrying some sort of transceiver.

"Master Jabba! Master Jabba!" the thug proclaimed as he entered his Master's chambers. "This was found near one of the bodies!"

Jabba instructed the device to be set down in the middle of his throne room; after it was inspected to be sure it contained no explosive charges. The gathered preferred to watch the transceivers activation from a safe distance, like the next planet over, but the Hutt ordered everyone to stay. The device was activated, and the image of a dark robed individual came into view. The person's hood obscured the upper features of his face, including his eyes, yet the voice was distinctively human.

"Greetings, Master Hutt. My name is Sidious, and I understand you have taken an interest in the artifact I am seeking. At this very moment you have a bounty hunter by the name of Aurra Sing pursuing my party across the galaxy, keeping track of their findings and reporting back to you. I am here to tell you that my affairs are none of your concern. What I suggest is a compromise. Your bounty hunter will now work for me, taking care that my interests are met, instead of yours. So you are aware, a time is coming when the old Republic will crumble, and a new... Empire will arise. A new regime controlled by myself. In return for your assistance in this matter, I will allow you an extended sense of freedom to pursue your endeavors on an even grander scale, providing your interests do not clash with mine. You will have the ability to increase the funds in your coffers one hundredfold. However, if you decide to refuse this more than generous offer, by now I am sure you have found the bodies of some of your compatriots. This was the handiwork of my... associate, and the only thing stopping him from wiping out every remaining member of your hive is my word to do so. Please consider my offer very seriously before deciding. Make the wrong choice, and there will be no turning back, no matter how painful things may get. You have much to gain, and everything to lose. My hope is that you see the gains most definitely outweigh the losses here."

Jabba didn't like to be ordered about, he was the one who gave the orders, not took them. He also didn't respond well to threats, but the facts were as such: Twelve members of his clan were no more, and no evidence could be found regarding the person or persons responsible, in addition, the killer in question may or may not still be lying about somewhere, awaiting word from his mysterious master as to what to do next. This did not bode well for anyone in the immediate vicinity, and considering the gangsters considerable size, moving quickly under ones own power was not a feasible option. However, he could take the deal, at least long enough to get some of the best killers out there on his payroll to act as his protection, and get to some super secure location away from here. As long as he drew breath, there were always possibilities, and the key point here was to keep drawing breath.

"Eniki." Jabba replied, which is Huttese for "Okay".

The dark-robed image nodded, "excellent! Please note that any deviation from our agreement on your part will result in quick and severe punishment. Nothing personal, mind you, but I do know how your kind tend to be. You have made a wise choice. Our time is coming, my friend. Soon I will rule the galaxy, and your compliance will not be forgotten. One more thing, I will contact you with specific instructions to pass along to your assassin when the need arises, so make sure nothing happens to this transceiver." With that, the image disappeared.

The gangster didn't share his new business associates optimism. He would play along, for now, and would also use this time to find out more about this hooded stranger and his mystery associate. Perhaps, if enough money was offered, this accomplice could be turned against the master. That thought pleased the Hutt greatly.

Darth Danno