EXT. SPACE – ORRON III – ORBITAL STATION
The Slipstream drops out of hyperspace and heads on approach for the orbital station. As privately owned craft are disallowed on Orron III, Anakin will have to park his new ship there and ride a shuttle down to the surface.
INT. SLIPSTREAM/COCKPIT
Receiving permission to dock, Anakin takes the Slipstream through the docking bay entrance. As the Corvette slips inside, Anakin looks to the empty co-pilot’s chair. Closing his eyes, he turns back away.
EXT. SPACE – ORRON III
Several minutes later, another ship – a passenger liner – exits hyperspace from another direction. Unlike the Slipstream, this ship will be allowed to land on Orron III.
INT. PASSENGER LINER/PASSENGER DECK
Nashira looks out her window. She can spot the orbital station in the distance – the station and the speck that is a shuttle leaving the station.
INT. SHUTTLE/PASSENGER CAB
Anakin sits in the passenger cab. Dressed in a new suit of black light armour, a black cloak clasped around his shoulders, he keeps a long, thin carrying case laid across his knees.
EXT. ORRON III – SPACEPORT/TARMAC – DAY
Disembarking from her liner, Nashira heads for the spaceport proper.
As it was when she left Orron III, she wears the purple cloak across her shoulders, this time with a black synth-leather jumpsuit. In spite of how she actually feels at the moment, the combo makes her look dangerous and sexy.
CUT TO
Anakin leaving his shuttle.
Dahlia told him the black suit of armour made him look sexy and dangerous. With the black cloak worn with it, that is doubly so.
Carrying case slung over his shoulder, he heads for the spaceport proper.
INT. SPACEPORT/TERMINAL – DAY
Nashira gets to the checkpoint. Examining her and her bags for weapons, the Espos find nothing suspicious. The Espos waving her through, she proceeds.
In moments, it’s Anakin’s turn to proceed through the checkpoint.
ESPO #1: (passes weapons scanner over case) Let’s see what you have here, friend.
Another Espo stepping forward, Anakin unslings the case and hands it to him. The second Espo taking the case, the first releases the catches and flips the lip up; there’s a clarinet nestled inside.
ESPO #2: Hang up your lightsaber to join a band, eh, Jedi?
As the Espo seals the case, hiding the Sith warblade from sight once more, Anakin gives him a humourless grin.
Once past the checkpoint, Anakin and Nashira finally see one another. Mouths falling agape, they run up to one another. Standing there, they gaze into one another’s eyes. They both know what transpired. They both know it is now in the past.
Letting their bags and carrying case drop to the floor, they embrace, hugging each other close.
EXT. DUQUESNE HOMESTEAD – COURTYARD – SUNSET
Anakin and Nashira arrive at the homestead as the sun begins to set. They don’t need to see the unfamiliar speeder bike parked out front to sense that there is something deathly off.
INT. DUQUESNE HOMESTEAD/ENTRANCE HALL – SUNSET
Stepping through the demolished door, they find the putrefying remains of Nashira’s parents. Putting her hands to her mouth, Nashira collapses to her knees, stifling a scream. Eyes widening, Anakin steps past the bodies, deeper into the house.
INT. DUQUESNE HOMESTEAD/LIVING AREA – SUNSET
Entering the room, Anakin finds Llomon sitting in an airchair. The Trandoshan, enjoying a glass of absinthe, greets Anakin with a reptilian grin. Anakin instinctively brings up the carrying case as Llomon opens fire. The superheated plasma burns right through the case bue is dispersed against the Sith sword within, saving Anakin’s life. Regardless, the kinetic energy of the blast still throws Anakin off his feet, backward into a wall.
Finishing his absinthe, Llomon rises from the chair, prepared to finish the Sith off when Nashira enters the room. As the Trandoshan turns to fire on her, Anakin takes up the remains of the case and the sword within and throws them into the bounty hunter’s face. The weight knocking him off-kilter, his blast passes over Nashira’s head, punching a hole into the ceiling above her head instead. Anakin rushes Llomon, tackling him, giving Nashira the opportunity to bolt from the room.
INT. DUQUESNE HOMESTEAD – WORKSHED – SUNSET
Flinging the door open, Nashira dashes inside, right for the gun cabinet. When she tries to open the cabinet doors, however, she finds them locked. Swearing under her breath, she begins looking about the workshed for something to break the cabinet open with.
INT. DUQUESNE HOMESTEAD/LIVING AREA – SUNSET
Anakin lays into the Trandoshan, punching him hard in the face again and again and again. Starting to bleed profusely from nose and mouth, Llomon swats the Human away with the side of his blaster cannon. Standing up, Llomon takes a swipe at Anakin with his claws. Blocking the attack, the Sith quickly seizes the arm in a strong hold and, spinning the bounty hunter around once, throws him headlong into a couch. His large bulk pushing him right through the couch, the Trandoshan continues on to crash into a table.
INT. DUQUESNE HOMESTEAD – WORKSHED – SUNSET
A mattock in hand, Nashira hammers at the doors of the gun cabinet. Breaking one of them open, she reaches inside and fishes out a blaster rifle. Shoving a power pack into the weapon, she takes off back for the house.
INT. DUQUESNE HOMESTEAD/KITCHEN – SUNSET
Crashing through a wall together, the Sith and bounty hunter now find themselves in the kitchen.
Picking up a skillet, Anakin drives it into Llomon’s gut then up into his chin, knocking the Trandoshan reeling. Quickly finding his wits, the Trandoshan pulls a large butcher knife from a knife holder and, with blinding speed, sends it flying at Anakin. Using the skillet as an ersatz racket, the Sith knocks it away from him. The Sith then pitches the skillet at the Trandoshan, hoping to brain him, but the bounty hunter manages to blast it out of the air before it can connect.
LLOMON: (translator damaged; in Dosh & Basic) Now you die.
But before Llomon can cut Anakin down, Nashira bursts in the kitchen, blaster in hand. Finding the bounty hunter in her scope, she opens fire. Blue blaster bolts raining all around him, strikin his own blaster cannon, Llomon takes aim at Nashira and triggers it. Severely compromised in the Nashira’s attack, the cannon releases a diffused orange ray lacking much of the destructive force it once dealt. Nevertheless, playing across Nashira’s abdomen, the plasma burns through the material of her jumpsuit there, charring the flesh beneath. Releasing a sharp cry of pain, she collapses.
ANAKIN: (enraged) RAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!
Taking a running leap, Anakin throws his leg out to take Llomon’s head off. Ducking, the bounty hunter avoids having his cranium crushed into the drywall. Punching Anakin in the face, knocking him to his knees, the Trandoshan prepares to bludgeon the Sith with his malfunctioning blaster cannon. Anakin is quick to recover, though, and delivers a quick flurry of punches into the bounty hunter’s gut before the reptilian can land the blow. The wind driven out of him, Llomon staggers out of the kitchen.
INT. DUQUESNE HOMESTEAD/LIVING AREA – SUNSET
Returning to the living area, the Sith walks over to the damaged carry case. Retrieving the black warblade, he turns to finish this battle.
INT. DUQUESNE HOMESTEAD/HALLWAY – SUNSET
The Lord of the Sith bearing down on him, Llomon brings his cannon to bear. As the orange rays are released, Anakin positions the blade between them and himself, blocking them. Forced to retreat, Llomon continues firing on the Sith, but the Human blocks each of the attacks. Moving right up to the bounty hunter, Anakin brings his warblade down on the blaster cannon, severing it from the Trandoshan’s arm with a shower of sparks.
LLOMON: (in Dosh) No!
Backhanding Llomon, Anakin sends the large Trandoshan sprawling. Planting his warblade in the floor, the Lord of the Sith then leans over the bounty hunter, seizes his throat in a chokehold, and lifts the Trandoshan up singlehanded.
ANAKIN: (angry) Who are you? (roars) Answer me!
LLOMON: (choking) Llomon … bounty hunter ….
ANAKIN: Bounty hunter!? Who sent you? (squeezes) Who sent you?!
LLOMON: (choking) Jukassa!
ANAKIN: (nonplussed) He hired you to do all this?!
LLOMON: (choking; in Dosh & Basic) He hired me … to take you out.
ANAKIN: Then why did you kill the DuQuesnes?!
LLOMON: (choking) They were in the way ….
Realization sets in. Anakin’s face darkens further with ever-mounting rage.
ANAKIN: Murderous vermin ….
The Lord of the Sith closes his fist around Llomon’s throat. Choking horribly, the Trandoshan begins clawing at Anakin’s wrist with his remaining hand, drawing blood; the Human doesn’t feel it at all.
ANAKIN: (crying) They were parents to me. I loved them. (roars) I loved them!
The Lord of the Sith snaps Llomon’s neck. Spasming once, the Trandoshan quickly falls limp. Face livid with rage and contempt, Anakin hurls the lifeless form into a wall, allowing it to slump to the floor, neck bent at an awkward angle.
INT. DUQUESNE HOMESTEAD/KITCHEN – SUNSET
Anakin returns to Nashira. Crouching down over her, he places a hand under her chin tenderly. At his touch, her eyes open.
NASHIRA: (grimaces) It hurts ….
Taking a look at the horrible burn, Anakin places a hand down over it. Closing his eyes, he concentrates. Within seconds the blisters shrink and the charred flesh smoothens and regains its natural colour. She is healed.
Taking 'Shira’s hand, Anakin helps her to her feet.
INT. DUQUESNE HOMESTEAD/NEMEC & CORIN’S BEDROOM – SUNSET
Anakin has brought Corin and Nemec’s bodies to their bedroom. Positioning them together on the bed, he has lain a clean sheet over their forms.
Lit torch in hand, the Lord of the Sith sets the bed ablaze.
EXT. DUQUESNE HOMESTEAD – COURTYARD – SUNSET
Leaving the DuQuesne house, Anakin and Nashira climb on Llomon’s speeder bike. Kicking the engines to life, he takes them away from the homestead as cleansing fire builds to consume it.
EXT. HIGHWAY – SUNSET
As Anakin and Nashira ride together on the bike, she with her arms wrapped tight around his torso for dear life, the wind blows through their hair, catching 'Shira’s dark purple cloak and billowing it out behind her. They go headlong into the approaching night.
INT. CORUSCANT – JEDI TEMPLE/SIRI’S APARTMENT/COMM BOOTH – DAY
RECORDED MESSAGE: We’re sorry; the number you have reached is not in service or has been disconnected. If you feel you have reached this recording in error, please check the number and dial again.
Obi-Wan deactivates the comm. His face creases with worry.
INT. JEDI TEMPLE/SIRI’S APARTMENT/LIVING AREA – DAY
Siri is seated at the coffee table, drinking tea from a mug, when her husband steps out of the comm booth.
OBI-WAN: I can’t reach the DuQuesnes. Their number’s no longer in service.
Obi-Wan joins his wife at the table.
OBI-WAN: Something must have happened.
SIRI: (rests a hand on Obi-Wan’s) You mustn’t worry so. These things happen. Maybe the Corporate Sector Authority abolished home comm services; I certainly wouldn’t put something untoward like that past them. (beat) I’m sure we’ll get through to Corin and Nemec eventually.
OBI-WAN: Anakin’s out there somewhere. It’s imperative I find him.
SIRI: And I know you will.
They exchange a loving kiss.
SIRI: Ben …
OBI-WAN: Yes, love?
SIRI: Let’s check in on him.
OBI-WAN: You sure?
SIRI: (grins) It couldn’t hurt. C’mon.
They leave the coffee table.
INT. JEDI TEMPLE/SIRI’S APARTMENT/DARTH’S ROOM – DAY
Darth is busy soldering connections on a circuit board when a KNOCK is heard at the door.
SIRI: (O.S.) Is it alright if we come inside, Darth?
DARTH: Sure.
The door opens and Obi-Wan and Siri step inside. As the two Humans look the room over, they find several pieces of mechanical equipment – some whole, most disassembled – taking up an entire side of the room.
OBI-WAN: Do you think you have enough parts yet, Darth?
DARTH: (smiles) Get me a functioning hyperdrive, then we’ll talk.
Obi musses Darth’s hair while Siri plants a kiss on their new son’s cheek.
EXT. SPACE – KORRIBAN
The Slipstream streaks toward Korriban.
EXT. KORRIBAN – VALLEY OF THE SLEEPING KINGS – SLIPSTREAM – DAY
Anakin and Nashira exit the ship. As soon as she is out in the open, the atmosphere of the valley falls upon the young woman – thick and oppressive.
INT. GREAT TEMPLE/BURIAL CHAMBER – DAY
With Nashira close by his side, Anakin enters the burial chamber. Eyeing the robed-and-armoured mummies seated upon the high obsidian thrones, Nashira shivers palpably.
Stopping in the centre of the chamber, the Lord of the Sith gets down on one knee.
ANAKIN: What is thy bidding, my masters?
As the shadows of the dead Lords rise high above their bodies, the unseen eyes of the awesome and terrifying spectres investigating her keenly, Nashira cowers.
IRIS OUT
End titles
> 26/12/2016
S. D. G.