INT. CORUSCANT - DEX’S DINER - EVENING

The front entrance opens, and Anakin steps inside the diner. As soon as the door closes behind him he freezes, awestruck at his surrounds.

ANAKIN : What is this place?

All around Anakin a number of customers - mostly blue collar labourers and freighter drivers - sit at booths and a long counter situated in the centre of the room, eating their meals and drinking their drinks. Waitress droid WA-7, carrying plates of half-eaten food, walks past a young waitress, Hermione Bagwa, who is finishing up a cleanup job at one of the booths. The entire atmosphere is unnaturally clean and bright, and almost painful to look upon.

Her job done, Hermione looks up, and notices Anakin standing there.

HERMIONE BAGWA : Can I help you?

ANAKIN : Help? Oh, yeah ... I’d like a table. (cont’d) I don’t need a reservation, do I?

HERMIONE BAGWA : (laughs) This isn’t the Clarendox, kid. Find a free booth or take a seat at the counter. (cont’d) I’ll be with you in a minute.

Anakin nods once in acknowledgement, then takes a seat in one of the booths. He picks up a menu sitting on the tabletop, and begins to read through it. In a few minutes Hermione walks over to him, ready to take his order.

HERMIONE BAGWA : (pulling a stylus from her garter belt) Anything catch your interest?

ANAKIN : How about a slice of Stenness pie?

HERMIONE : Sure. Comin’ right up.

The waitress dictates Anakin’s order into her stylus, then departs. Anakin pulls the datapad Obi-Wan gave him out of his pocket, and begins to check the amount of money he has sitting in his account.

At that moment the diner door is pushed violently open, and a figure staggers in. The figure is humanoid, encased head-to-toe in gleaming blue armour, with a locked metal briefcase in its left hand. WA-7 notices the armoured figure, and moves up to it.

WA-7 : Can I help ya?

KANNEN DOOM : (anxious) I need to see Dexster.

WA-7 : Waddaya want him for?

KANNEN DOOM : (angry) I don’t have time for this! Move!!

Before the waitress droid can respond, the figure violently slams its briefcase against the robot, sending her crashing into an occupied booth. The armoured warrior runs past Hermione, who is carrying a slice of Stenness pies back to Anakin, and up to the counter.

KANNEN DOOM : Dex!!!

Hermione comes to Anakin, and hands the plate of pie to him. Anakin picks up a fork and breaks off a piece of the pie, stuffing it into his mouth. Both of them have their eyes transfixed on the armoured humanoid.

KANNEN DOOM : Dex! I need you here right now!!!

At that moment Dexster Jettster, a large, whiskered, four-armed Besalisk comes walking out of the kitchen. He freezes when he sees the armoured humanoid.

DEXSTER JETTSTER : Kannen!

The armoured figure goes up to Dex, and seizes him by the front of the shirt.

KANNEN DOOM : They’re after me, Dex! They know I have the case! I need the key!

DEXSTER JETTSTER : The key ...?

KANNEN DOOM : Yes, the key! Do you have it?

DEXSTER JETTSTER : Y-yes! Right here!

The Besalisk puts one of his hands down the front of his shirt, and he pulls out a chain; on the end of the chain is a triangular shard of circuitry-inlaid crystal.

KANNEN : (grabbing the chain and pulling it free of Dex’s neck) Good! There’s no time to lose!

Kannen takes the key and, dropping her briefcase up on top of the counter, quickly slides it into a slot in the case’s side. The armoured humanoid then begins to enter a code into the keypad set into the top of the case.

At that moment an explosion goes off at the entrance to the diner. The door, and its surrounding frame, disappears in a flash of intense light and dark smoke. Clientele cry out in fear as debris is hurtled inward, and dive for cover; only Anakin remains seated in place, captivated by the action going on around him.

KANNEN : No! He’s here!

Kannen hurries to finish typing in the code. As she moves to press the ENTER key a blaster bolt lances out from beyond the diner’s threshold, and strike’s the figure in the side of the head. Without a sound Kannen collapses, a rather nasty blaster mark burned into the helmet.

A tall, muscular Devaronian then appears in the demolished doorway, and enters the diner with a pair of large blasters in both hands. A confident grin sits upon the devilish face of Vilmarh Grahk.

VILMARH GRAHK : Now you seeing what you made me do? You had to try and destroy merchandise, to cheat Villie. And Villie had to shoot you. (cont’d) If only you had been letting go, I would have let you go.

As the Devaronian approaches the fallen form of Kannen Doom and her briefcase, Dex moves threateningly towards him.

DEXSTER JETTSTER : You lousy murdering ...

Vilmarh Grahk sets the twin blasters upon Dexster, and the Besalisk freezes.

VILMARH GRAHK : Allo’ Dex! Long time no eats, hey? (cont’d) You be backing up now, hokay?

Dex narrows his eyes, but begins to slowly back away.

DEXSTER JETTSTER : You’re not going to get away with this.

VILMARH GRAHK : (rolling eyes) Yes, yes. Always I am being told this.

Vilmarh comes up to the counter and the prone form of Kannen Doom. Holstering his guns, he grabs hold of the briefcase, pulls the key from the slot, and picks the case up. The Devaronian then crouches down over the armoured warrior.

VILMARH GRAHK : Poor, poor Mandy. And was such a tasty yum yum, too.

Grahk grabs hold of Kannen’s helmet, and pulls it off, exposing a beautiful female face framed in blond hair; her eyes are open, alive and full of anger.

KANNEN DOOM : Don’t worry, Villie. I won’t hold it against you.

She then brings her knee up into the Devaronian’s groin. He cries out in pain, and falls over onto his side. Kannen scrambles to her feet, and picks up the case. She then breaks off into a run for the door. The Devaronian quickly unholsters one of his blasters and, taking quick aim, opens fire on the fleeing Doom; the blaster bolt strikes Kannen in the back of the thigh, and she goes down. Laughing, Vilmarh rises to his feet, and walks over to the groaning woman.

VILMARH GRAHK : Silly Mandy. Would have maybe let you go before.

The Devaronian comes to Kannen, and he plants one foot down on her back, pinning her in place.

VILMARH GRAHK : Now I be killing you for good. Bye bye, Mandy.

Vilmarh Grahk brings the blaster down, aiming it at her head. His grin grows wider as he begins to squeeze the trigger.

At that point Anakin bolts up from his seat. He takes the plate of Stenness pie, and hurls it at the Devaronian; the plate makes contact with the Devaronian’s head and shatters, throwing shards and bits of pie into his face.

VILMARH GRAHK : (bringing his hand up to his face) Ahhk!

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Kannen Doom twists around and sends a powerful kick into Villie’s midsection. The Devaronian staggers back, grunting in pain, as Kannen leaps to her feet and unsheathes a vibrostaff.

She presses a button, and twin blades sprout from both ends of the shaft, vibrating fiercely. She swings the weapon once, knocking the blaster out of Grahk’s hand, and swings it again, slamming the flat side of one of the blade’s against his face, knocking the Devaronian to the ground. She then steps over him, pointing the blade threateningly down toward his chest.

VILMARH GRAHK : Hokay! Hokay! I be giving up! Truce! Truce!

KANNEN DOOM : Truce?

VILMARH : Yes, truce! (cont’d) I just be taking case, and going on my way, hokay?

KANNEN DOOM : You’re a true waste of life, Grahk.

She deactivates the vibroblade, and takes a step back from the Devaronian. He sits up, holding out a hand for assistance.

VILMARH GRAHK : Little help?

Without further words Kannen kicks Villie in the head, and he falls back to the floor, out cold. She then walks over to her fallen briefcase, and picks it up. With the showdown over, the others in the diner begin to rise from their hiding places.

Dexster Jettster comes walking up to Kannen as she slips the vibrostaff back into its sheath. He hands the key of crystal to her.

DEXSTER JETTSTER : You lost your copy, I take it. Here, take mine. I’ll be happy to be rid of the damn thing once and for all.

KANNEN DOOM : (taking the key) I shouldn’t have mixed you up in this.

DEXSTER JETTSTER : Circumstances brought us together. There was no way of avoiding it. Let’s just be glad no one got hurt.

Dex leaves Kannen’s side. Kannen then walks up to Anakin.

KANNEN DOOM : Thanks for the assistance. I appreciate it.

ANAKIN : No problem.

KANNEN DOOM : The name’s Kannen Doom. If you ever need me for anything just look me up.

ANAKIN : Sure.

Kannen turns away from Anakin, and with her case leaves the diner. As Anakin stands there, his brow creases with thought. His eyes widen as an idea then comes to him.

ANAKIN : Hey, Kannen, wait!

Anakin sprints out of the diner, and spots Doom heading down the street.

ANAKIN : Hey, Kannen! Wait up!

Kannen freezes, turning to face the boy. He jogs up to her.

ANAKIN : That debt you owe me? I’d like to collect on it now. (cont’d) You know the way to a world called Nabu?