Star Wars: Knight of the Empire (The Second Episode in DuracellEnergizer's New PT Re-Write) *CANCELLED* — Page 2

EXT. ZORQO'S ZOO OF ZANINESS/PLAZA -- DAY

Some minutes have passed and Anakin and Nashira are utterly lost within the park.

ANAKIN: So where are we going?

NASHIRA: Why ask me? I haven't a clue.

ANAKIN: I thought you knew the layout of this place like the back of your hand!

NASHIRA: My parents do, I don't. This place was closed down for decades until a few days ago, remember? This is my first time here.

ANAKIN: Great, so where ever this Wormhole of Love is, we'll never find it.

NASHIRA: (frowns) Don't be a stick in the mud. We'll just ask someone for directions.

The two then spend the next few minutes asking others for directions to the Wormhole of Love. No one, however, seems to know where it is.

ANAKIN: Well, that was a dead end.

Nashira then notices an OBESE DRESSELLIAN CLOWN standing propped up against a sign post with a DIMINUTIVE NEAR-HUMAN NELWYN sitting on the ground beside him; both are currently smoking cigarettes.

NASHIRA: They work here. They're bound to know where the Wormhole is.

Pulling Nik along behind her, Nashira approaches the two odd figures.

NASHIRA: (smiles) Hello.

The Dressellian clown -- RUSTYK -- takes a drag on his cigarette, takes one glance down at 'Shira, then takes his gaze back off her, exhaling a big cloud of purple smoke without the slightest change coming to his surly face.

RUSTYK: Hey, kid.

NASHIRA: We're looking for the Wormhole of Love, but we've kinda gotten lost.

RUSTYK: Lost, eh? (takes a puff on his cigarette) Shoulda bought a map at the front entrance, kid. 

ANAKIN: (irrate) Do you know where the damn ride is or not?

Rustyk centres his gaze upon Anakin for the first time.

RUSTYK: You got spunk, kid.

Taking another deep drag on his cigarette, Rustyk blows the thick, purple smoke in Anakin's face. As the cloying miasma hits the young man, he begins coughing violently.

RUSTYK: (cont'd) I hate spunk.

Starting to lose her own temper, 'Shira takes a menacing step forward toward the unappealing clown.

NASHIRA: Do you know where the Wormhole of Love is or don't you?

Finishing his cigarette, Rustyk tosses the butt away then looks down upon his companion.

RUSTYK: You know where the Wormhole of Love's at, Mr. Eenyt?

Without a single word, MR. EENYT points upward. Following his finger with her eyes, Nashira finds a sign with "WORMHOLE OF LOVE" stencilled in big, white letters upon the sign post pointing the way to the ride's location.

RUSTYK: Have the time of your life, kid.

EXT. ZORQO'S ZOO OF ZANINESS/ROUTE 999 -- DAY

Having followed the sign, Nashira and Nik have reached their destination. Instead of finding the entrance to the Wormhole of Love, however, they instead find a ride labelled "ROUTE 999", the entrance into it consisting of a large, monstrous head with an open mouth leading deep into a dark abyss. The ride's barker -- a TALL, GAUNT PAU'AN dressed in a black top hat and tailcoat -- directs visitors over to the ride with dramatic flourish.

BARKER: Do you pitiful, vulnerable, ephemeral souls have the heart, the spirit, the gumption, the bravado to brave the sorrows and torments of the Nine Corellian Hells and emerge unscathed? If so, take your chances on Route 999!

'Shira and Nik approach the barker.

BARKER: (removes his hat and takes a bow before them) Greetings, my fine young kidbits. My name is Caryon Adder and I'm your usher into the harrows of Hells! Do you wish to endanger, to sacrifice, your immortal souls travelling down Route 999?

NASHIRA: Isn't this supposed to be the Wormhole of Love?

CARYON ADDER (BARKER): It was -- forty-five years ago. Kids today don't want rides into dimensions of mushy gushy romance, though -- they want descents into chaos universes of wailing and gnashing of teeth -- so it was deconverted into the cannon into carnality which now stands erect before you!

ANAKIN: (points behind him with his thumb) But the sign back there said this was the way to the Wormhole.

CARYON ADDER: The sign was meant to be replaced before reopening, but someone obviously forgot to do so. A temporary oversight, I'm sure. (beat) Now, again, must I reiterate -- do you wish to ride Route 999?

'Shira and Anakin exchange glances.

NASHIRA: Since we're here, we may as well.

Anakin merely shrugs, then they step forward toward the ride. As they pass by Caryon, though, the Pau'an reaches behind him, pulls a cane hidden within the folds of his tailcoat out, then, gripping the diamond head, unsheathes a thin sword hidden with the shaft. Taking a swing downward, he blocks their advance. 

CARYON ADDER: (frowns) Tickets please.

Dumbstruck by the eccentric barker, Nashira and Anakin give the Pau'an a pair of tickets. His frown instantly transforming into a wide grin, he accepts the tickets.

CARYON ADDER: (removes and resheathes his sword) Carry on, kidbits, carry on!

Caryon Adder begins to laugh maniacally as the two lovers disappear into the open maw of Route 999.

INT. ROUTE 999 -- DAY

Sitting within a repulsorcart, Anakin and Nashira travel along Route 999. 

Surrounding them is a holographic panorama of the nine hells from Corellian myth. All about the young couple can be seen a plethora of profane images; in one corner a squat imp smacks down a floating torso with no legs or head; in another a young man with an old man's voice plummets into a pit of icy fire; and in still another a man with a flailing, broken neck dodges a flurry of flaming arrows launched from the bow of a reptilian/insectoid hybrid standing only a metre away from him. 

Unfortunately for 'Shira and Nik, the ride is a complete bust; the holograms, already poorly rendered, constantly go staticky and often wink completely out of existence. As a result, the expressions on the young man and girl's faces are not ones of pleasure.

NASHIRA: (deadpan) The banality of evil, ladies and gentlemen. 

As their repulsorcart makes its exit, a distinct electrical CRACKLE is heard, quickly followed by a sharp POP. Immediately the holograms and lights go wholly dead, the power systems completely fried.

Since I'm bored and have yet to progress with the screenplay, I feel now's as good a time as any for another game of "Assign a Face to the Name".

Last time, I hadn't yet assigned any particular faces to the Sith lady, Mistress Taniss, or Logan Halcyon. Needless to say, that's no longer the case.

The Sith lady and Mistress Taniss look like Ann and Nancy Wilson (respectively).

Though I hadn't intended on making the Sith look exactly like her when I came up with the character's look, Ann's appearance back in the '80s -- large, curly black hair and dark clothes -- did serve as an inspiration.

When it came time for me to think about Taniss' appearance, I remembered Ann's influence on the Sith lady. From there, I began to think if the Sith and Taniss are reversed mirror images of one another -- black and white -- then why not base Taniss' likeness off of Nancy's, since she is basically a reversed mirror image of her sister -- blond instead of brunette. Deciding it was an inspired idea, I ran with it.

I think I subconsciously based Logan Halcyon's basic physical attributes off of Courtney Gaines' from Children of the Corn and failed to recognize it at the time. ;-)

Llomon the Trandoshan and Mahttoh the wookiee are based on Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau (respectively).

For some time now, I've wanted to write a SW story that featured a wookiee and Trandoshan living and working together as friends and partners, as the two species have always been depicted as blood enemies in the EU and I've always been interested in seeing a relationship between members of the two species which broke from that mold.

When I finally decided to create two such characters for this re-write, I decided to make them a homage to Matthau and Lemmon, who starred in a number of films together and were friends in real life.

As the name would imply, the character of Cmdr. Sheridan Jeffreys is a pseudo-hybrid of Cmdr. Jeffrey Sinclair and Capt. John Sheridan, two characters from the TV series Babylon 5.

As I didn't want my character to just be a carbon copy of either character, I decided to make her female and based her likeness off of Marjorie Monaghan, an actress who made a few guest appearances on B5.

Kurasij the Barabel is yet another character inspired by a character from Babylon 5; in this case, it's the character Londo Mollari, played by the actor Peter Jurasik.

Rustyk the Clown is an obvious knockoff of Krusty the Clown. As such, his voice would be identical to Dan Castellaneta's voice for Krusty.

As with Rustyk and Krusty, Mr. Eenyt is based off of Mr. Teeny, Krusty's rollerskating chimp. I didn't want to make Eenyt an ewok or dwarf wookiee or other simian creature, though, so I made him a nelwyn, one of those little people from Willow. By making him a little person, I couldn't then stop myself from making him look like Phil Fondacaro, an actor who I've always enjoyed even in his crappier movies.

Alice Cooper is Caryon Adder. Nuff said.

(And yes -- "Caryon Adder" is supposed to sound like "carrion eater".)

As I've mentioned before elsewhere, I'm planning on introducing the Sith with this episode of my re-write.

There are many different factions of Sith in my personal canon, though, and so to hopefully save myself from using too much exposition in the screenplay later on, I'm going to give everyone a list of the major Sith sects which existed before and up to the time period of this storyline. Hopefully it'll help paint a clear picture of the different sects and eventually help the reader figure out which Sith I'm using in this storyline.

***

HOUSE OF ADAS

Prior to 28000 BBY, the world of Sith was made up of a great many independant nation-states with their own seperate governments and leaders. This changed when Adas -- a powerful sorcerer-king -- came to power within his homeland. Using his charisma and Force powers, he persuaded his people into following him into a crusade of conquest against the other nations of Sith. The crusade lasted three-hundred years, and by the time it ended, a billion Sith had died and nearly the entire surface of the planet had been reduced to ruin. Adas succeeded to realizing his dream, though, and he became king over a single, united Sith race.

For reasons that have been lost to history, Adas produced no known children and appointed no successor to ascend the throne in the event he died. When he finally did pass on in 27700 BBY, the House of Adas died along with him.

KISSAI

When King Adas died, it didn't take long for the monarchy he had established to whither and collapse, leaving the Sith race without a goverment to govern them. This led to a dark age of anarchy and chaos, leaving the way clear for the Kissai to step in and assume control.

The Kissai were an order of priests, each in service to a pantheon of deities known only as the Immortal Gods. According to the Kissai, the Immortal Gods were sentient manifestations of the Force, and as the Force was an all-hungry, all-consuming darkness wherein all life died, the Gods were themselves all-hungry and all-consuming gods of darkness. When one died, their soul went to the Force, whereupon it was overtaken and sundered apart, leaving nothing but oblivion as a final reward. The only way to escape this ultimate fate, they claimed, was to be deified by the Immortal Gods, and to be deified required a lifetime of service and sacrifice to the Gods -- blood sacrifice.

Swayed by the fearsome message of the Kissai, the populace of Sith entrusted themselves to the priests, allowing themselves to be placed under the yoke of the most brutal theocracy in the entire known history of the Known Regions. From 27500 BBY to 24393 BBY the Sith civilization rebuilt itself, advancing to the point where they were finally capable of building hyperdrive technology which facilitated their expansion to other worlds. However, this all came at the cost of billions of innocent Sith lives, all of whom had been sacrificed on stone altars to ensue the apotheosis of the Kissai.

While the Kissai engorged themselves on the blood of their oblivious followers, light-years away in Republic space the Hundred-Year Darkness -- a century-long religious war between the Jedi Order and the Legions of Lettow -- came to an end. Having lost to the Jedi, the Lettow Legionnaires were rounded up, escorted to a waiting fleet of ships, herded aboard, and then launched on a one-way trip into deep, uncharted space.

Exactly how long the exiled Lettow travelled through the unknown is, itself, unknown, but in time they finally stumbled upon Korriban -- a minor colony world located on the outskirts of the Sith Empire. Landing their ships on the surface, the exiles found Korriban a wretched hive of scum and villainy; while the citizens lived in filth and squalor without adequate housing, food, or medicine, their leader -- a fat Kissai priest -- lived in great opulence within his citadel. Finding the situation on Korriban intolerable, the exiles deposed the priest and assumed control over Korriban, declaring it a world free of the Sith Empire's tyranny.

Over a course of a few short years, the Legionnaires established a new and better quality of life on Korriban, and news of this eventually spread to the other worlds of the Sith Empire, reaching the ears of those in the populace who had grown weary of the Kissai and their dark religion. Deciding that the Lettow placed too great a risk to their rule, the Kissai dispatched an armada of warships to Korriban. The Legionnaires, with their lack of weapons and adequate ships, were incapable of establishing any resistance against the Sith armada; Korriban was bombarded from orbit with thermonuclear weapons, devastating the surface of the planet and killing each and every living thing upon it.

The Kissai had been unwise with their course of action, though. Had they left Korriban alone, it would have taken at least a decade before the rabble had gained enough confidence to rise up against them. With this genocide, however, the Kissai only served to hasten the dissention along. In years a movement known as the Sith Dissidents came together, took control of the important planet Ziost, and initiated the Sith Civil War.

The Sith Civil War came to a final end in 24379 BBY. Using their Force-empowered technology, the Sith Dissidents caused the sun of the Sith system to go nova, destroying Sith and the majority of the Kissai in the process.

LORDS OF THE SITH

With the Sith Civil War over and their homeworld gone, the leaders of the Sith Dissidents made Ziost the new capital of the Sith Empire. They then formed a new system of government to replace the one established by the Kissai; the Sith Empire would be now be ruled by a council of Sith lords and ladies which, in turn, would be led by a single appointed Lord or Lady of the Sith.

Now the leaders of the Sith race, the Sith lords decided to make themselves the leaders of Sith religion as well. Taking the theology of the Kissai, they pacified it. No longer were the Immortal Gods evil manifestations of an all-hungry, all-consuming dark Force who demanded sacrifice; they were now beings of light as well as darkness, manifestations of a Force that existed in layers of order and chaos. A new Kissai priesthood was created to maintain this revamped religion -- a Kissai which answered to the Sith lords and the Sith lords alone.

Under the Sith lords, the Sith Empire entered a golden age, growing and prospering beyond anything that had been experienced by the Sith before. They maintained this golden age for several millennia. Eventually, though, the golden age of the Sith Empire came to an end. Slowly they stopped expanding their borders and began to stagnate.

In 5000 BBY, hyperspace explorers Gav and Jori Daragon accidentally travelled from Republic space to Korriban, which was now the tombworld for the Sith lords. By coincidence, they landed on the world while the Sith lords were conducting a funeral for the recently deceased Lord of the Sith Marka Ragnos. Assuming the human siblings were spies, the Sith captured them and had them taken to Ziost for interrogation.

Naga Sadow, one of the Sith lords, saw the arrival of the explorers as an opportunity to become the next Lord of the Sith and initiate a new golden age for the Sith Empire by expanding it into Republic space. Through a series of covert killings and attacks, Sadow freed Gav and Jori while making it look like Republican agents had done so. Attaching a hidden tracking device to the Daragons' ship, Sadow had Jori return to Republic space, leaving behind a trail which would allow the Sith to follow after her.

Sadow eventually was crowned Lord of the Sith, and with his new found influence he initiated the Great Hyperspace War between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire. This proved to be the undoing of the Sith Empire. While Sith technology was far more advanced than Republican technology, the Sith Empire was far smaller than the Republic; superior shields and weapons ultimately proved no match against superior numbers, and after years of long, bloody conflict, the Sith fleet disintegrated and the economy of the Sith Empire collaped.

Following the end of the Great Hyperspace War, a fanatical group of Jedi known as the Jedi Shadows came into existence. Obsessed with obliterating all remaining vestiges of the Sith religion, they led a crusade into the fallen Sith Empire, whereupon they massacred any Sith they came across, be they Force-sensitive Sith or not. This dark chapter in the history of both the Jedi and the Sith became known as the Great Sith Purge, and it resulted in the virtual extinction of the Sith species.

A small number of Sith managed to escape the Purge, though, to distant worlds beyond both the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic. There they lived out the rest of their days, preserving what arcane knowledge they had in secret vaults for future generations.

NADDISTS

In 4470 BBY, more than half a thousand years following the fall of the Sith Empire, an up-and-coming Jedi apprentice named Freedon Nadd was passed over when it came time for him to graduate and become a full Jedi knight. Devastated, he enquired Mistress Matta Tremayne as to why he had been passed over for knighthood. When she refused to give him clear answers to his questions, he boiled over into a fit of rage and engaged her in a lightsaber duel, slaying her in the process.

Though initially ashamed and remorseful for the action, in little time he began to blame the Jedi for her own death; by refusing to tell him why he had failed, she had goaded him into attack. From there, Nadd's rage against Tremayne expanded to the Jedi as a whole; if all his years of dedication and service to the Order meant nothing to the other Jedi -- if all his years spent training and studying would lead only to disgrace and humiliation -- then he would serve the Order no longer; he would find some one else -- another organization of Force adepts -- who would recognize his power and embrace him.

Remembering his history lessons on the Sith and the Great Hyperspace War, Nadd decided to travel to the worlds of the former Sith Empire in the hope that he could find Sith who were still alive and willing to teach him their secrets.

After months of searching, Nadd finally discovered a small cloister of Sith hidden on a small planet with more ruins than life standing on it. The cloister was made up entirely of Force-sensitive Sith and was led by a self-proclaimed Lord of the Sith. Though wary of Nadd due to his being both an outsider and a former Jedi, they agreed to accept him into their ranks and instruct him in their ways.

The years passed and Nadd learned much from the Sith -- enough, in fact, to leave him with an overinflated opinion of his own prowess. Believing he was now strong enough to kill the current Lord of the Sith and take his place, he attempted to murder his master. When the murder attempt failed, Nadd was exposed and he became a target for elimination. Before his compatriots could kill him, Nadd fled the cloister; climbing aboard his ship, he left the small world behind to find his own means to rule.

Eventually Nadd found his way to Onderon, a backwater planet inhabited by primitive humans. Landing on Onderon, it wasn't long before he had conquered the whole of the planet, using his Force powers and his technological know-how to crown himself the King of Onderon.

Nadd's reign on Onderon lasted a long time and the dynasty he created even longer. He passed his Sith teachings on to his children, and they in turn passed them on to their children, ensuring that Onderon and the line of Nadd would be held by the dark side for centuries to come. It was only in 3998 BBY, when Queen Amanoa and King Ommin -- the last of Nadd's heirs to embrace the darkside -- died, that the Naddist cult was finally extinguished.

BROTHERHOOD OF THE SITH

In 4000 BBY, a Jedi apprentice named Exar Kun found himself enamoured with Sith history and desired to learn more about them and their ways. When his master Vodo Siosk-Baas refused to allow the apprentice to study his holocron on the Sith, Kun left, deciding to find a means to learn more about the Sith on his own.

Kun's journey eventually took him to Onderon's moon, Dxun, were Freedon Nadd's bodily remains had been reinterred in a new tomb. Visiting Nadd's tomb, Kun found himself visited by the spirit of the dead Sith king himself. From there, Kun was manipulated by the ghost into travelling to Korriban, where a series of unfortunate events culiminated in his final descent to the dark side.

As time passed, Kun grew frustrated with Nadd and his constant manipulations. Upon journeying to Yavin IV and discovering the relics Naga Sadow had left on the moon millennia before, the former Jedi used a Sith amulet to annihilate Nadd's spirit, sending the ghost to the oblivion beyond death. From there, Kun declared the birth of a new Sith religion, one that would take the best teachings of the old Sith and the best teachings of the Jedi and combine them into something that was new and better. This new syncretic religion would be called the Brotherhood of the Sith, and he -- a Force adept who, according to him, could wield the power of the dark side without falling to it -- would be the Dark Lord of the Sith.

Following his ascension, Kun travelled to a number of worlds, gaining followers from among the Force-sensitives he encountered there. As time passed, he gained more-and-more-followers and the ranks of the Sith Brotherhood swelled.

As this was all happening, a war was burgeoning between the Republic and a Sith-inspired dark side cult known as the Krath. The Krath, ruled by Aleema Keto and her fallen Jedi consort Ulic Qel-Droma, were expanding out beyond the Empress Teta system to neighbouring systems on a crusade of conquest.

Eventually, in 3995 BBY, the Krath and the Sith Brotherhood came into contact and, from there, conflict with one another. As Ulic engaged Kun in a lightsaber duel, they were stopped by the spirit of Jior-Dan Tahk, one of the last Lords of the Sith. Under his command, they put their battle to an end and joined forces, becoming one unified force against the Republic. Thus began the Great Sith War.

The Great Sith War lasted ten years and almost culminated in the defeat of the Jedi and the Republic. There was a turnaround, though, after Ulic slayed his brother Cay in a duel. Overcome with grief and remorse for his actions, he surrendered to the Jedi and decided to give important strategic secrets up to them.

In 3986 BBY -- months following Ulic's surrender -- key worlds, hyperlanes, and other resources important to the Sith war machine were taken by the Republic. The Sith homebase on Yavin IV itself was finally obliterated in a great Force battle between the Jedi fleet and Kun's Sith.

With Kun and his Sith lords gone -- and following Ulic's execution for war crimes -- it seemed that the last remnants of the Sith Brotherhood had been swept away.

KUNISTS

In the final years of the Great Sith War, Exar Kun had a number of loyal followers secretly infiltrate the Jedi Order so that in the event that the Sith lost in the war against the Republic, they could plan for the future restoration of their empire while hiding in plain sight amongst the Jedi.

With the defeat of Kun and his remaining forces on Yavin IV in 3986 BBY, the Kunist sleeper agents began to plan for the future. As the years and decades passed, these agents had children and started entire families; reared in the Sith traditions of Kun's empire, these descendants continued their forebears' work, covertly manipulating various affairs throughout the Republic to hasten their goals.

Finally, in 3681 BBY, the Kunists revealed themselves on Coruscant and staged a massive coup which placed the Republic Senate and Jedi Temple securely under their control. Literally overnight, the Galactic Republic fell under Kunist management.

With the Kunist Insurrection began the Great Galactic War. Unlike the Great Sith War, the Mandalorian Wars, and the Jedi Civil War which preceeded it, the Great Galactic War lasted only a year and a half. For all its brevity, the Great Galactic War was still the worst of the wars to shake the Republic during that time, and it nearly led to the annihilation of the entire Republic and everyone in it.

Needless to say, the Kunists didn't survive the Great Galactic War.

NEO-SITH

Born to a large Jedi family, Ruyn Phanius proved to be an idealistic and optimistic member of the Jedi Order with a great enthusiasm for his work. However, this relatively brief span of happiness in his life gave way to a long series of disappointments, failures, and tragedies which eventually overwhelmed him and crushed his spirt.

Having lost all faith in the Force, the Jedi, and himself, he was in an incredibly vulnerable state when he became exposed to the teachings of Ludok Vastor. Ludok Vastor, a particularily bitter and pessimistic Sith philospher from the time of the original Sith Empire, had built his entire philosophy upon notions of social Darwinism, moral nihilism, and solipsism. Seeing the words of Vastor reflected in his own heart, Ruyn embraced them.

His new philosophy completely incompatible with the altruistic teachings of the Jedi, Phanius absconded from the Order and, in secret, began to delve further into the dark side of the Force. Once he learned all he believed he needed to know, he began the task of seeking out disciples.

Over the course of several years, Phanius took on fifty disciples, christening them each Dark Lords of the Sith with himself as their Dark Master. Together they rose in power and influence, eventually assuming control over several systems, establishing the New Sith Empire.

These new Sith -- or Neo-Sith, as they later came to be called -- proved to be a formidable threat to the Galactic Republic; had they stayed united, their Fifty Armies of Dark Jedi would have conquered the Republic and exterminated the Jedi. Their own greed and ambition proved to be their ultimate undoing, however. Dissatisfied with their position under him, the fifty Dark Lords rose up against Phanius and slew him. Once that was done, they then turned on each other, fighting until they had all but wiped one another from existence.

ORDER OF THE SITH LORDS

Though it is believed that all fifty of the Dark Lords of the Neo-Sith wiped themselves out for control of the New Sith Empire following the death of Master Phanius in 2000 BBY, there was one survivor: the Dark Lord known as Darph Bayne.

For reasons that are unknown, instead of crowning himself the new Dark Master of the Neo-Sith and reasserting control over the Fifty Armies, Bayne abandoned the New Sith Empire and went into seclusion; it was in seclusion that he formulated his new philosophy: the Rule of Two. According to the Rule of Two, there could be only two Sith at a time -- one master and one apprentice, one to hold the power and the other to crave it. Travelling to the world of Onderon, he found a young girl named Zannah and took her on as his apprentice.

As the Fifty Armies of Dark Jedi fought amongst themselves for control over the fragmented and rapidly disintegrating New Sith Empire, Darph Bayne established a new organization -- the Order of the Sith Lords -- which would operate in secret for the next two-thousand years. It was only after the man who would become Emperor Dantius Palpatine infiltrated their organization, stole their secrets, and eventually brought them to their knees that the Order of the Sith Lords came to an ignominious end.

So is Alice Cooper still in the mix?  I wholeheartedly support that.

Cmon...

Resize the picture to more manageable proportions, and I may reconsider.

Can't do it man, I'm an all or nothing type 'a guy.

I've decided to have Nik and Nashira's ride through Route 999 immediately follow the scene with Adder instead of showing it later on like I originally planned, so I've gone back to my last entry and amended it to include the new scene:

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Star-Wars-Knight-of-the-Empire-The-Second-Episode-in-DuracellEnergizers-New-PT-Re-Write/post/741113/#TopicPost741113

As for whole new entries, I'm writing some more scenes up as we type, so I'll probably be posting anew within the next day couple hours at the latest.

EXT. ZORQO'S ZOO OF ZANINESS/PROMENADE -- DAY

The VERPINE VENDOR at a hog dog stand takes out a fresh packet of weiners, tears it open, and begins laying the lengths of processed, pale green pseudo-meat down on his grill as Obi-Wan and Nemec approach.

NEMEC: Hey, there.

VERPINE VENDOR: (speaking through a translator) Well, howdy! What can I do ya for?

NEMEC: (scrutinizing the green dogs) What kind of dogs are those?

VERPINE VENDOR: Why, those are bona fide processed magenge weiners, hoss, the finest this side of the Roche system!

NEMEC: Magenge? Never heard of it before. What kind of animal is that?

VERPINE VENDOR: Not a creature, hoss. No, not a creature. It's a fungus.

NEMEC: (cocks an eyebrow) A fungus?

VERPINE: Indeed, hoss. A sweet fungus. My peoples' main consumable, to tell ya the gods' honest truth. Its taste is like the seventh heaven, I can tell ya.

Nemec and Obi-Wan exchange glances.

OBI-WAN: (shrugs) I'm game if you are.

NEMEC: (to the vendor) Alright, I'll take two.

VERPINE VENDOR: Either of ya like ketchsup on yours?

OBI-WAN: I'll have some.

NEMEC: None for me, thanks.

The vendor quickly assembles the pair of dogs with silent haste; Obi-Wan cringes when he sees the ketchsup -- a dark, plum-coloured condiment totally unlike the ketchup/catsup he's familiar with -- squeezed onto his weiner.

VERPINE VENDOR: That'll be six ingots, if ya please.

Nemec promptly reaches into his right pocket for his wallet. When he doesn't find it there, he then goes for his left pocket. Not finding it there, he begins patting down his shirt in search of it; obviously, he doesn't have the wallet on him.

NEMEC: Damn, I forgot -- I left the wallet with Corin.

OBI-WAN: That's alright, I'll pay for them. It's the least I can do.

Pushing aside the fold of his coat, he goes for his utility belt and, reaching into a pouch, pulls out six Corporate Sector ingots.

OBI-WAN: (to the Verpine) Here you are.

Obi-Wan hands the ingots to the Verpine, who promptly hands him the two weiners.

VERPINE VENDOR: And here ya are.

OBI-WAN: (takes the dogs) Thanks.

Moving away from the stand, Obi-Wan and Nemec head off down the promenade. The Jedi hands the farmer his green hot dog.

NEMEC: (turns the dog over in his hands) A hot dog made out of fungus ... what the hell was I thinking paying for this?

OBI-WAN: It may not be all that bad.

NEMEC: Only one way to tell, I suppose.

In synchronous tandem, the two men take bites out of their magenge dogs.

OBI-WAN: (disgusted) Ugh! Revolting!

NEMEC: (shrugs) Really? I don't think mine's half bad. It's probably the ketchup on yours -- you shouldn't have gone for any.

Spitting the unpalatable mash out of his mouth, Obi-Wan is quick to toss the rest of the dog in the nearest trash can. Nemec is quick to finish his.

NEMEC: Not bad. They don't hold a candle to real dogs, of course, but they're decent for all that. (beat) We should have a barbeque next Benduday. Corin makes the best hot dogs on the planet, and I mean really makes them; she grinds up the meat, mixes in the starch, the whole works.

OBI-WAN: I didn't know Corin was such the gourmet. 

NEMEC: She took a course offworld fifty years ago. She hasn't put the spatula down since. (beat) Does Siri cook at all, Obi?

OBI-WAN: (grins) Afraid not. I'm the breadmaker in the family.

NEMEC: Well, let me tell you -- when you have fifteen children to take care of, it helps to have two parents who can cook to feed them.

OBI-WAN: Fifteen children? Is that all?

NEMEC: (laughs) I'm ninety years old, Obi. I married Corin when I was twenty-two. When you've been in a fulfilling marriage as long as I have, you have plenty of time and opportunity to sow, grow, and harvest your own oats -- especially when there's nothing to do between sleeping and working. (beat) Besides eating and that other thing, of course.

OBI-WAN: (sighs) I suppose not.

Nemec's brow furrows as he hears the forlornness in Obi-Wan's voice.  

NEMEC: I'm sorry. I forgot about the ... situation with your wife.

OBI-WAN: It's alright. It's just ... it's just difficult to think about right now. (beat) We should have waited, but we were too impatient to become parents -- too damned impatient.

NEMEC: Are you going to try again?

OBI-WAN: Perhaps. I'm not sure. I was so anxious to have a child before, but now ... with this ... I'm just not sure. 

NEMEC: It's just a matter of finishing the treatments, isn't it? You've just got to wait until the doctors say she's fit to carry a child to term and everything should be alright.

OBI-WAN: If Siri gets pregnant again, she'll constantly worry about losing it. I don't know if she can handle that stress. Besides ...

NEMEC: Besides what?

OBI-WAN: I've thought about it -- run it over-and-over again in my mind -- but I've never openly discussed it with her ...

NEMEC: What?

OBI-WAN: (sighs) You know that Siri and I follow different paths in the Force?

NEMEC: Aren't you both Jedi?

OBI-WAN: Yes, but Siri's a Jedi of the Coruscanti Order. I'm a ronin Jedi. The two schools are very different from one another -- in some regards, the two are in complete opposition. (beat) You've noticed that I don't have my lightsaber on me at present?

NEMEC: Your lasersword? Yeah, I noticed it wasn't on your belt when you went to pay the bug. Siri's had hers on, though, front and centre. 

OBI-WAN: My master Yoda taught me that weapons -- lightsabers included -- are only to be taken into situations where their presence is justified. The Coruscanti Jedi, on the other hand, teach that the lightsaber is an extension of the self -- another limb, basically, that must never leave one's side. (beat) Siri and I have argued and disagreed on this and many other subjects over the years, but we've come to respect one another's differing beliefs.

NEMEC: But with kids ...

OBI-WAN: With children, there'll always be the question of what to teach them, which doctrines to expose them to and which to steer them clear of. Can either of us step aside and allow the child to follow teachings we, personally, don't believe in? Can we reach a compromise? (beat) I honestly don't know what to do in that sort of situation.

NEMEC: (pats Obi-Wan on the back) This is why I'm happy Corin and I are both atheists. No religion, no conflict.

OBI-WAN: No conflict, hmm? Sounds like a recipe for boredom.

Hearing this, Nemec can't help but grin.

^Isn't Obi-Wan an atheist too? Unless the Force is a God, or some Jedi believe in a God as well as the Force....

In my canon, different Jedi hold to different beliefs when it comes to theism; some are theists (monotheists, polytheists, pantheists, etc.) and some aren't.

In Ben's case, he's an agnostic theist -- ie. he believes in an intelligent higher power, but he doesn't know what that higher power is; it could be the Force or it could be something else entirely.

As for Nemec's comment, it's more a comment on religious conflict between lovers than on Ben's particular beliefs. 

CUT TO

Siri and Corin elsewhere on the promenade.

With a pair of ice cream cones in their respective hands, the two women make idle small talk. As they pass by a shooting gallery booth, a CARNIE WITH IMPOSSIBLE HAIR lunges out the open booth window, a preternaturally wide, toothy grin plastered across his wizened face.

CARNIE: (chipper) Why, hello ladies! You wouldn't happen to be interested in a little target practice, would you?

Hearing the man's exuberant voice, the two women stop in their tracks. As they turn to face him, his already unnaturally big grin expands tenfold.

LARGE CARNIE: (cont'd) Why, of course you'd be! So step right on up, my dears! I don't bite! Scout's honour!

Exchanging glances, Corin and Siri give a collective shrug. Finishing their cones, they approach the booth. 

Drawing back into the booth, the carnie moves over to a small gun rack holding a small number of lightweight toy rifles. Collecting two of them, he activates their small power packs before returning to his visitors.

CARNIE: (hands the rifles to the women) Here you are! Two laser rifles! These are true laser rifles now, mind you, not blasters! They project low-powered laser beams, not concentrated plasma bursts! Fit for family fun on all civilized worlds, but if you're looking to fight a pitched battle with enemy forces on an open battlefield, this is not the ordinance for you! (lowers his voice) I have to say all that for legal reasons, you see. The Authority would flay my hide if I did otherwise.

Accepting the toy weapons, the ladies give them a once-over, looking for all the world like they don't know how to handle the guns or to what purpose.

Reaching over to the wall on his right, the carnie presses a large red button. Almost instantly, thirty small holograms representing various game birds and other flying creatures familiar throughout the Known Regions flicker to life at the far back wall of the booth. Every couple seconds, the various holograms wink in and out of being along an irregular pattern.

CARNIE: Your objective is to shoot out as many of the holograms as you can within a minute! Repeat hits do not count! I repeat -- do not count! (beat) Now begin, and be careful not to shoot yourselves or me in the eye!

Stepping off to the side, the carnie allows the two blondes a clear shot at the holograms. Not used to handling firearms, it takes a couple moments for Siri to get a grip on how to handle her rifle. Corin, on the other hand, wields the toy like a pro; in a micro-second she has the rifle held at the ready, eye focused along the sight of the barrel with her finger tensed over the trigger.

A minute passes. Siri hits eleven of the holograms, not counting repeats. Corin hits twenty-nine.

CARNIE: (whistles) Wow-ee! I've never seen a soul hit twenty-nine of the thirty holograms in non-repeating succession before! Not in sixty years on nineteen worlds! 

CORIN: (hands her rifle back to the carnie) What's my prize?

CARNIE: (flabbergasted) Your prize? (beat) Ah, right -- your prize! Just a moment!

The carnie crosses over to a shelf loaded with various prizes. Reaching for the top shelf, he grabs and then pulls down the top prize.

CARNIE: (hands the prize to Corin) Here you are, my lovely girl! A prize worthy of a prize such as yourself!

Corin accepts the stuffed bantha with subdued joy.

CUT TO

Corin and Siri back on their trek along the promenade.

SIRI: You're an amazing shot, Corin. I'm serious -- you handled the toy like a professional sharpshooter.

CORIN: (shrugs) I've had practice.

SIRI: So tell me -- where'd you get your "practice".

CORIN: My father was a police officer. When I was a kid, he took me up to the shooting range every weekend. He'd spend three hours with me each time, teaching me how to hold, aim, and fire a blaster the right way.

SIRI: Police officer? You mean --?

CORIN: He wasn't an Espo. (beat) Or I guess you could say he was, but this was before the Authority became so militarized, so corrupt. (beat) He was a good, honest man. He hated what the Security Police turned into.

SIRI: Is life so bad here?

CORIN: When Nashira was young, Nemec and I could take her out on hunting trips into the woods. Ten years ago, though, all undeveloped regions of Orron III were declared "agricultural reserves" by the Authority. Anyone who goes into a forested area without authorization is quickly picked up by Espo scanners and twice as quickly tracked and shot down like an animal.

SIRI: Did you ever consider leaving? Just packing up and moving out of the Corporate Sector?

CORIN: We could sell our farm -- stars know the Authority's eagre to buy the remaining independent farms out. That way we'd have enough money to charter a flight to some place where we'd be able to dip our feet into a running stream without fear of receiving a fine. But then what? We'd be flat broke. We'd never be able to start over.

SIRI: Corin, you must know that Obi-Wan and I'd be perfectly willing to help you. I have connections. I could --

CORIN: (holds up her hand) Thank you, Siri, but no thanks. (beat) Were it up to me, I'd accept your generous proposal at the drop of a hat. Unfortunately, Nemec's not as liberal-minded as I am. He's always believed a sentient makes its own way in the Galaxy; he'd never accept a "free lunch" as he calls it.

SIRI: That is truly a shame. The war aside, the Empire's a wonderful place. You wouldn't have to live in fear of totalitarian brutality there.

CORIN: I'll admit your Empire sounds like a nice place to live. Still, you'll excuse me if I don't quite buy into your utopian appraisal.

SIRI: What do you mean?

CORIN: You make it out as if the Empire is run by benevolent caretakers who just want to keep its people safe and warm, but didn't your government place the Wookiee homeworld under martial law following your previous war?

SIRI: It was an unwelcome decision but a necessary one. The circumstances on Kashyyyk had become dire. The planet had become a hotbed of Separatist activity; the disarmament procedures weren't running well so we had to crack down. It was better than the alternative.

CORIN: Alright, I'll grant you that one -- desperate times call for desperate measures -- but this was several years ago; you can't tell me matters haven't cooled down since then.

SIRI: We've been engaged in a devastating war with the Clonemasters, Corin. Our men and resources have been stretched far and thin for far too long. We haven't had the luxury of being able to focus our attentions on Kashyyyk and the Wookiees.

Corin silently decides to let the conversation end there.

Just in case anyone didn't realize, I don't intend on ever showing Yoda in my PT. Beyond references made by Obi-Wan (and perhaps a small cameo at the end of my Ep. III re-write), he doesn't factor into this storyline at all.

To make up for his absence, I felt I'd post this crude drawing I made of Yoda when he was a mere two-hundred years old, long before he put down the lightsaber, left the Coruscanti Order, and exiled himself to Dagobah.

EXT. ZORQO'S ZOO OF ZANINESS -- MONTAGE

Eventually Anakin and Nashira, Siri and Corin, and Obi-Wan and Nemec regroup. From there they go to various different attractions together, enjoying the fun parts and suffering through the painful bits together as one collective family.

As the suns lower on the horizon, the collective family leaves to return home.

INT. DUQUESNE HOMSTEAD -- MONTAGE 

Back at the homestead, the three couples steal away into their own seperate bedrooms. There, under the sheets, beneath the deep shadows of night, the men make love to their women, slowly and tenderly.

INT. NAR SHADDAA -- CHANCE CASTLE/CORRIDOR -- EVENING

Slipping discretely inside, Llomon and Mahttoh are led by Jukassa's man to a door guarded by his comrade-in-arms. After exchanging salutes with his peer, the guard steps aside and opens the door leading through to the dark room inside. 

INT. CHANCE CASTLE/JUKASSA'S QUARTERS/LIVING AREA -- EVENING

Stepping inside, the three find Jukassa seated in a spacious armchair in wait for them, an activate datapad in his hand. The former despot is reading the contents of the pad casually and without haste, seemingly oblivious to the presence of his guests.

GUARD #2: Lord-Commandant.

Taking his eyes away from the pad, Jukassa focuses them on his servant. In all other regards, he remains statue still.

GUARD #2: (gestures toward the Trandoshan and Wookiee) These are Llomon and Mahttoh, lord, the bounty hunters I have sought out for you.

GOG JUKASSA: Yes, I know. (to the bounty hunters) You can come forward. (to the guard) You -- leave.

As the guard steps away to leave the room, it is clear from his body language that in spite of his own bearing as a born-and-bred warrior, he lives in abject fear of this ex-tyrant. As the pair of merciless killers step toward Jukassa, on the other hand, it is clear that whatever emotion the man elicits from them, it certainly isn't fear.

GOG JUKASSA: You're precisely on time. I admire that in a being. Were either of your races bred for punctuality?

LLOMON: (sneers) What?

GOG JUKASSA: (cocks an eyebrow) No, I gather not. Still, your races have potential. They would do well to adopt eugenic programs in the near future.

LLOMON: (matter-of-factly) You have a job for us.

GOG JUKASSA: Yes -- yes, indeed I do. (beat) My name is Gog Jukassa, out of Lod by Maag. Have you heard of me?

MAHTTOH: No.

GOG JUKASSA: (sighs) Unfortunate. (beat) I was the Lord-Commandant of Ophuchi, the 45th of one-hundred sons. Ours was a proud dynasty, one which endured for over twelve generations, shepherding our people faithfully to keep them free of genetic contamination and regression.

LLOMON: How sad. What point are you driving at?

GOG JUKASSA: (frowns) My point is that I was dethroned and exiled. In disgrace I was forced to leave my Ophuchi -- my beautiful, gem-oceaned Ophuchi -- for this rancid Hutt cesspool. Forced by infidels and traitors to wallow amongst genetically impure filth. (angry) I crave retribution! It will be mine!

Taking the datapad in his hand, Jukassa hurls it across the room, dashing it to a thousand pieces against the far, marble-inlaid wall.

LLOMON: We aren't mercenaries.

MAHTTOH: If you want help retaking your world, hire the Federation Neimoidia.

GOG JUKASSA: I'm not looking to recapture the throne. I'm too keenly aware that I don't have the finances to support such a crusade. All I seek is a pure and final revenge.

LLOMON: Who's our target?

GOG JUKASSA: Your targets (reaches inside his tunic) are these.

Withdrawing a pair of photographs, Jukassa hands them to Llomon. Taking the squares of flexible plastic, the lizard man looks them over.

GOG JUKASSA: Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Jedi.

MAHTTOH: Jedi?

GOG JUKASSA: They humiliated me in dishonourable combat. They have earned my wrath above all others.

LLOMON: Jedi will cost you extra.

GOG JUKASSA: All that I still have will be yours if need be. Honour is of greater worth to me than coin. 

MAHTTOH: What info do you have on this Kenobi and Skywalker?

GOG JUKASSA: What I have compiled I have saved to datacard for your perusal. 

Reaching back into his tunic, Jukassa pulls out a datacard.

GOG JUKASSA: The basics, though, are these: Kenobi shares a home with his wife on Coruscant. Skywalker, meanwhile, calls the Corporate Sector home. He lives on one of the planets in the Orron system.

EXT. BAJILON PRIME -- IMPERIAL RESEARCH STATION -- DAY

On the crystalline surface of the planet, standing out like a sore thumb against its brilliant blue-white surroundings, is a short tower panelled with drab gray metal. This tower is a research station owned and operated by the Empire. Directly adjacent to the station is a small landing pad, upon which stands a Lambda-class shuttle.

Various figures, each encased in environment suits to shield their bodies and lungs from the unbreathably caustic air of Bajilon Prime, are in the process of evacuating the station for the shuttle.

One of the suited figures -- a FEMALE RODIAN -- halts in her tracks before the open hatch of the shuttle. Turning around, she grabs the shoulders of a MALE GRAN following behind her, bringing him to a halt as well.

FEMALE RODIAN: Where are Tranya and oYu'rE?

MALE GRAN: They're still inside. There's some equipment they don't want left behind.

FEMALE RODIAN: (incredulous) What!? Are they insane?! We have to get going before the --

At that, an OMINOUS SOUND begins to course through the air -- that of two pairs of twin ion engines screaming through the midnight green sky. Though faint in the distance, they are quickly growing louder.

FEMALE RODIAN: Oh gods!

Wasting no more breath, the two colleagues hurry to climb aboard the shuttle.

As OYU'RE and TRANYA finally emerge from the station, hauling a crate between them, a pair of TIE fighters flanked by four Y-Wing fighters emerge from the turbulent sky of Bajilon Prime. All sporting distinctive white wing panels/paint jobs, the fighters clearly belong to the Athan Directorate AKA the Clonemasters.

Waiting no longer, the crew of the Lambda begin closing the hatch. Deciding that the equipment they carry isn't worth their lives, Tranya and oYu'rE drop the crate and break out into a run for the Lambda. It's a decision made too late, however. As the shuttle lifts off, both researchers make running leaps for the closing hatch, but only Tranya manages to hook his arms over it; before he can pull himself up, over, and through, however, the hatch closes completely, shearing his arms off and sending him plummeting back down to the ground.

Turning in the air, the shuttle takes off at top speed in the direction opposite the approaching Athan fighters as they finally arrive over the station.

While the two TIE fighters break off in pursuit of the fleeing Lambda, the Y-Wings stay behind to take care of the station itself. Releasing a barrage of proton torpedoes, they obliterate the tower completely, reducing it, Tranya, and oYu'rE all down to their basic component elements. 

EXT. SKY -- DAY

As the shuttle heads off on a trajectory towards outer space, the TIEs close in on it, releasing streams of red plamsafire which pepper the shuttle with jarring impact. The Lambda's deflector shields manage to hold, however, barely protecting the ship as it continues upon its escape.

EXT. SPACE -- BAJILON PRIME

Leaving the crystalline planet, the Lambda heads off toward deep space. Unfortunately for the small craft, several Athan ships -- including one very large, very intimidating Imperator-class star destroyer -- form an impenetrable barricade preventing any hope for escape.

As the TIE fighters and their Y-Wing escorts finally join the Lambda in space, they waste no time in swarming the shuttle, opening fire with their blasters. In a minute the shields buckle. In less than a minute the craft is completely disabled, a cripple in space. Rather than take their kill, however, the fighters peel off, leaving the craft dead and floating. 

As the shuttle begins to drift back towards Bajilon Prime, threatening to send it hurtling to a fiery doom to the surface far below, the star destroyer engages its tractor beam and locks on, pulling the tiny ship into its belly. 

INT. PURIFIER/SGW-0027'S QUARTERS

Aboard the star destroyer Purifier, SGW-0027 sits seated behind the desk in her spartan, white-panelled quarters. Shrouded in shadow, we cannot make out her face. Judging by her profile, however, it is a safe bet that she is a rather lovely woman. 

Sitting upon the desk, aglow with brilliant silver light, is a holographic statuette of a Human woman. Tall, slender, with shoulder-length blonde hair, intense pale eyes, and a broad smile, we can see that she is a radiant beauty. We can also see, by the pair of lightsabers secured to the ornate silver belt almost hidden beneath her robes, that she is a Jedi Knight. SGW, her hidden eyes unblinking, sits with her gaze locked upon the hologram.

At that moment, the computer to her left CHIRPS. Turning to face the screen, she presses a button, filling the display with the face of UIY-2249, her second-in-command. A slender Mirialan male, the expression on UIY's olive green face is that of utmost serenity. 

UIY-2249: Captain.

SGW-0027: Commander.

UIY-2249: We have brought the Imperial shuttle aboard as you instructed. How shall we proceed?

SGW-0027: If there are any suitable men aboard, take them into custody. (beat) Do what you will with the rest.

UIY-2249: (half-smiles) The usual, then. (beat) When would you like to begin the interrogation?

SGW-0027: When I'm in the mood, I'll contact you, Commander.

UIY-2219: Quite right. (bows head)

Done with the commander, SGW severs the connection. Turning her attention back to the hologram, she locks gazes with it once more, immersing herself in those unblinking pale eyes.

Just in case anyone's wondering why I haven't updated lately, it's because I've spent the last couple weeks revising both my Episode I re-write (hopefully for the last time) as well as this very screenplay. Now that I've finished with both, I may be posting some new material soon.

And if you're wondering what the revisions to my Ep. I script was, there was only one major one: I changed the colour of Siri's lightsaber from fuchsia to yellow. Long story short, I've decided to stick hard to the idea that only ronin Jedi and other independent Force-adepts get unique lightsaber colours. Since Siri's a member of the Order of Coruscant -- and the Coruscanti Jedi traditionally stick to blue, green, and yellow sabers -- she has to follow the crowd.

That's a major change? What, were all the minor revisions corrections of typos? :P

No. There was also some minor rewording, a little reformatting, etc, etc. ;-P

INT. ORRON III -- DUQUESNE HOMESTEAD/NASHIRA'S BEDROOM -- EVENING

Curled up nude under the covers, Nashira lies asleep on the right side of her bed. Her face serene in slumber, she unconsciously reaches out to the left side of her bed; when she finds nothing there, her eyes slowly slide open.

NASHIRA: Nik?

Taking care to keep her breasts covered against the slight night chill of the room, 'Shira sits up in bed. Before the open door of the bedroom, clad only in a pair of boxer briefs, stands Anakin, stock-still with his back turned to his girlfriend.

NASHIRA: Anakin, what are you doing? Come back to bed.

Slowly, Nik turns to face 'Shira. His eyes, dark and wet with shed tears, burn straight through into her soul.

ANAKIN: (voice breaking) Nashira -- don't follow me.

Turning back away from her, the young Jedi steps out of the bedroom.

NASHIRA: (alarmed) Anakin, what's wrong? Wait!

Rising from her bed, 'Shira quickly slips on her robe and follows her lover out of the door.

EXT. DESOLATE WORLD -- DAY (DREAM)

Stepping through the door, Nashira suddenly finds herself standing on an alien world; the surface is a dried up river bed, the sky dim brown with swirling dust. Anakin stands before her, now clad in black robes and armour, his handsome face livid with rage.

ANAKIN: (angry) I told you not to follow me! Why didn't you listen to me, Nashira?! Why?!

In fear of her lover, 'Shira turns around to retreat back through the doorway. Unfortunately for her, it has disappeared, replaced by a WOMAN. Dressed in robes of vermilion and aureolin, her long, jet-black hair beaded with precious gemstones, the woman is humanoid, with bright red skin, a pair of short facial tentacles dangling from her cheeks, and a slight simian cast to her facial features; she is a lovely creature, though not in a conventional sense.

NASHIRA: Who are you?

The woman refuses to answer. Before 'Shira can repeat her question, several vines suddenly erupt from the ground around the girl. Entangling her before she can escape, they seize her in an unbreakable hold and pull her down to her knees before the strange woman.

RED-SKINNED WOMAN: I am the past.

Raising a single arm, the humanoid woman points at Anakin.

RED-SKINNED WOMAN: (cont'd) He is the future.

The vines realign themselves, turning 'Shira around to face Anakin. Anakin, though, is no longer Anakin; he has been transformed into a petrifyingly hideous TRANDOSHAN-WOOKIEE HYBRID.

As Nashira releases a bloodcurdling SCREAM, the creature that was once Anakin reaches to the lightsaber hanging from its belt and unclips it. Engaging a blade with a corona of mixed indigo and red-violet, it brings the weapon down on 'Shira's head, splitting her right down the centre.

INT. ORRON III -- DUQUESNE HOMESTEAD/NASHIRA'S BEDROOM -- EVENING

With a cry, Nashira bolts upright in bed. Breathing and sweating heavily, she turns to her right; beside her, fast asleep and snoring lightly, is a very Human Anakin.

ANAKIN: (mumbling) If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding. How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat ...?

Slowly, cautiously, 'Shira lies back down. She remains wide awake, though, her eyes fixed open, unblinking.

INT. DUQUESNE HOMESTEAD/DINING AREA -- DAY

It is another brand new day on this side of Orron III, and Corin is busy brewing a fresh batch of caf when Siri comes staggering in through the doorway, her eyes dark and her hair mussed from sleep.

CORIN: (turns to regard Siri) Can I fix you a cup?

SIRI: (combing her fingers through her hair) Yes -- please!

Corin takes out two mugs and fills them to the brim with steaming black caf as Siri plops herself down at the table. 

CORIN: How do you take it?

SIRI: As black as a singularity in the centre of the Maw Cluster.

CORIN: Pretty black, then.

Picking the mugs up, Corin takes care not to spill any of the hot caf as she carries them over to the table. Setting them down, she slides Siri's over to her before taking a seat opposite the Jedi. Picking up the mug, Siri takes a sip.

CORIN: Good?

SIRI: (smiles) Yes, very good. Thank you.

CORIN: (takes her own sip) You're leaving for Coruscant today.

SIRI: Yes. Obi-Wan and Anakin have to return to active duty within two weeks and I'll have to report to the Jedi Council for my next assignment. Who knows? I'll probably be assigned to the front lines along with the boys.

CORIN: Siri, how are you? About the baby, I mean.

SIRI: (sighs) I'm still grieving, but it's easier. (smiles) Being here has helped.

Returning Siri's smile, Corin reaches out and touches Siri's hand, giving it a gentle, supportive squeeze.

INT. DUQUESNE HOMESTEAD/ANAKIN'S BEDROOM -- DAY

Anakin is busy making his bed when Nashira appears in the doorway. Standing there, she regards him silently until he turns his head her way, noticing her for the first time.

ANAKIN: (grins) Hey.

NASHIRA: (smiles weakly) Hey.

ANAKIN: Well, come on in. I won't bite.

Tentatively, 'Shira enters the bedroom. Noticing her grave expression, he stops making the bed and approaches her.

ANAKIN: (rests his hands on her shoulders) What's with the long face, 'Shira? Something wrong?

NASHIRA: (gazing into his eyes) Nik ...

ANAKIN: Yes?

Seizing him in a tight hold, Nashira hugs her man close to her.

NASHIRA: Don't go, Anakin. Please, don't go.

ANAKIN: I'll miss you too, 'Shira, but I'll be back -- I promise.

NASHIRA: I had a dream last night -- a nightmare. You were in my room and you were crying. You told me not to go with you, then you stepped through the door. I ignored your warning and followed after you, followed you through to some barren desert planet. There was a woman there -- this strange red-skinned woman. She said that she was the past, you were the future, then ... then ...

Pulling away from Nik, she stares hard at him, unblinking.

NASHIRA: (cont'd) You changed. You changed into this ... this ... hairy, scaly thing, took out your lightsaber -- only it wasn't your lightsaber -- ignited it, then ... God, Nik! It was horrible!

ANAKIN: (runs his fingers through her hair) It was just a dream, honey. (laughs) I promise you, I'm not going to change into a hairy, scaly thing. When I get back, I'll be my great, gorgeous self, just as always. You'll see.

NASHIRA: (takes hold of his wrist and pulls his fingers out of her hair) It was a warning, Anakin. Something's going to happen to you out there, and it'll change you. When I see you again, you won't be you. You'll be someone else.

ANAKIN: (sighs) It was a dream, honey. Just a plain, straightforward, random-firing-of-neurons dream. Believe me, I know. I've had pretty intense dreams, myself, and there's been plenty of times when I was sure they were inspired by the Force. Most of the time, though, nothing ever came of them. (beat) If it can happen to me, it can happen to you, too. Don't sweat over it.

Kissing 'Shira gently on the forehead, Nik returns to making his bed. Nashira just stands there silently, anxiously, watching him work. 

EXT. DUQUESNE HOMESTEAD -- SUNSET

Later in the day, the DuQuesne family, the Kenobis, and the Skywalker kid make their final farewells. Climbing into a rented speeder, the latter three take off, waving goodbye to their hosts. 

As Nemec, Corin, and Nashira stand there, watching the three Jedi shrink into the distance, the young girl's features darken, her brow creasing with worry.

INT. PURIFIER/INTERROGATION CENTRE

In the days of the Second Clone War, this spacious, white-panelled room served as the Purifier's rec room, a place for the non-clone officers of the ship to relax and have fun while off-duty. Since the issuing of Order 66 -- the order which placed the star destroyer firmly under the command of the Athan Directorate -- all the recliners, games' tables, and consoles have been taken away, replaced with wicked tools and devices designed to extract information from captive enemy agents in the most excruciating ways imaginable.

Standing in the centre of the chamber, legs chained to the floor and arms to the ceiling, is IAM PUSHMAN. A lean Human male of average height, with sandy brown hair and an aquiline chin and nose, his would be described as handsome features. Judging by the clothes he wears, it would appear that he is one of the Imperial researchers who were captured trying to escape Bajilon Prime.

As the doors leading into the room slide open, Pushman looks up to regard his visitor; though clad head-to-foot in white robes and a niqab which obscures her features, by body language alone we can ascertain that this is the clone captain SGW-0027. Resolving to stand firm, Pushman makes direct eye contact with the veiled woman in a show of defiance. Upon doing so, however, her eyes -- bright against the shadow beneath her niqab -- bore into him, slicing through his confidence like a white-hot laser; unable to withstand her gaze, he recoils, turning his head away. 

SGW-0027: Why do you turn away?

When the man refuses to respond, the clone walks up to him. Bringing forth her gloved right hand, she gently takes hold of his chin, turning his face to face hers.

SGW-0027: Again -- why do you turn away?

Squeezing his eyes firmly shut, he violently wrenches his head out from her grasp.

SGW-0027: (angry) You're not answering my question!

Throwing all gentility to the wind, SGW seizes Pushman's throat in a choke hold and squeezes, pinching his windpipe instantly shut. She holds him there for several seconds, tightening his grasp until he starts wheezing. As soon as he begins to thrash against his bonds, though, she releases him, allowing him to breathe again.

SGW-0027: Now ... are you going to give me an answer?

IAM PUSHMAN: (coughing) I-I couldn't ... couldn't look at you. Your eyes ... your eyes ... I couldn't stand them.

Hearing this answer, the clone returns her hand to his face. Afraid that he's earned her displeasure once more, he draws his head back in a vain, straining against his bonds for escape; she merely begins running her fingers through his hair, though, stroking it as a pet owner would the fur of a beloved animal companion.

SGW-0027: What's your name?

IAM PUSHMAN: (petrified) Iam, ma'am, Iam Pushman.

SGW-0027: Iam, you're a handsome man. A handsome man with a handsome face. You know that, don't you?

When he fails to reply, she pulls his hair back, forcing a pained yelp from his lips.

SGW-0027: Don't you?

IAM PUSHMAN: (grimacing) Yes -- yes!

SGW-0027: The women back home must like it, your handsome face.

IAM PUSHMAN: Yes ...

SGW-0027 reaches under her robes with her left hand and takes hold of something secured there. Drawing the object forth, she raises it up between their faces. Black and cylindrical, it looks exactly like the hilt of a lightsaber used by the Force-adept clones of the Athan Directorate; when SGW triggers the device, though, instead of generating a cohesive blade of plasma with the characteristic corresponding snap-hiss, a small filament of white energy blossoms from the emitter. Gently moving the hilt left-and-right, the clone causes the filament to drag through the air like a smokey candle flame.

SGW-0027: Do you like your face?

Moving the hilt up close to Pushman's face, she causes the white filament to brush up against his cheek; where the filament touches, the flesh burns, causing the poor man to winch with sharp pain.

IAM PUSHMAN: (voice breaking) Yes! I like my face! I like it!

Lowering the black cylinder, SGW releases Pushman's hair, allowing his head to fall forward limp and loose.

SGW-0027: I like it, too.

The clone then seizes the front of Pushman's shirt with her free hand. With one strong pull, she tears it off him, exposing his naked torso with its sparse hair and lean musculature.

SGW-0027: (cont'd) I'm going to leave the face ...

Stepping forward, the clone captain walks around and behind Pushman. As she does so, she removes her niqab and outer robe, discarding them on the deck plating as she moves a ways back from her prisoner; all the while, though, convenient camera angles hide the features of her head and face from us.

IAM PUSHMAN: (desperate) Please! I'm just a meteorologist! I don't know anything! I don't have anything! What do you want from me?!

Turning around to gaze upon the shackled man's back, SGW removes her tunic, exposing the pale naked flesh lying beneath. Right away, we can see several scars -- some fresher than others -- marring her back.

SGW-0027: What do I want?

Raising the black hilt, she draws it back.

SGW-0027: I want to hear you whimper, I want to hear you moan ...

Violently, SGW-0027 swings the black cylinder. As she does so, the tiny filament protruding from the emitter thickens and elongates, transforming into a lash of white plasma. The lash slides across Pushman's back, cutting into it and leaving a bright red line of cauterized flesh behind. As we can judge from his scream, the agony Pushman suddenly feels is beyond excruciating.

SGW-0027: (cont'd) ... but most of all, I want to hear you scream.

SGW-0027 strikes him with the lightwhip again, cutting another red line across Pushman's back. His second scream makes the first sound like a cry of pleasure.

INT. PURIFIER/CORRIDOR

In the corridor directly outside the interrogation centre stands the clone commander UIY-2249. Reaching for the doors' controls, he opens them and steps inside.

INT. PURIFIER/INTERROGATION CENTRE

As the Mirialan clone enters the room, he finds his commanding officer there in the aftermath of her session with Iam Pushman. Pushman, shrouded in shadow, hangs limp from the ceiling, grisly in death. SGW, turned away from UIY, stands over the corpse; looking upon her back, we can see that there are five new lashes there, each identical to those cut into Pushman's.

SGW-0027: I didn't call for you.

UIY-2249: (sarcastic) Oh, I'm sorry. Should I return at a later time? Perhaps after this lovely afterglow you're sporting has faded?

Collecting her discarded clothes, the captain turns to face the commander. Even shrouded in shadow, she still radiates silent, lurking menace.

SGW-0027: My patience with you wears thin. Soon it will run out and I see to it that you are tossed in the recyclers.

UIY-2249: Your prerogative, of course. (beat) Shall I summon the cleaning staff to take care of your -- um -- latest sparring partner?

SGW-0027 merely takes her clothes and leaves. As she steps out of the chamber, UIY smirks after her.

It took me six months give-or-take to write my Ep. I re-write. Nearly twice that many months have passed since I started this one, and I'm probably not even one-fourth of the way done.

I am so disappointed in myself right now. =(

INT. CORUSCANT -- JEDI TEMPLE/COUNCIL CHAMBERS -- EVENING

Siri, now attired in the uniform of a knight of the Coruscanti Order, stands within the chamber doorway, her gaze focused on the twelve Jedi masters seated at the centre of the room. Having assembled to discuss hot topics revolving around acolytes of their order hours before, their meeting is now drawing to a close.

MACE WINDU: (cont'd) So it is agreed -- we will dispatch a party led by Mistress D'kana to deal with the school of heretics on Christophsis. I will issue the order myself. (beat) Meeting adjourned.

The meeting at an end, the Jedi masters and mistresses rise from their seats and begin to file out. Stepping out of the doorway, Siri allows the masters exit, deferentially bowing her head to each and every one of them as they pass through. Only ten of the twelve leave the room, however; MACE WINDU and ADI GALLIA remain positioned by their seats.  

MACE WINDU: Knight Tachi. Please, come forward.

Obeying his command, Siri steps on over to join the two masters, her hands clasped behind her back and her back ramrod straight.

ADI GALLIA: (smiles) At ease, Siri. Save the rigid formality for the Imperial commanders.

Siri allows herself to loosen up.

MACE WINDU: How was your vacation, Siri?

SIRI: It was ... good, Master Windu, very relaxing. Getting away from the capital for awhile was just what I needed. I'm back now, though, ready to resume my duties to the Order.

MACE WINDU: Good, because we have a special assignment lined up for you.

SIRI: Will I be going to the front lines?

ADI GALLIA: No, not that. Something closer to home.

MACE WINDU: As of late, our duties on the Council have kept us completely occupied, forcing us to stay on-duty late into the night. Because of this, we haven't been able to give our son, Uzochi, as much attention as we'd like. 

ADI GALLIA: The nanny 'droid has been taking excellent care of him, but he's a four year old boy; he needs the constant care and attention only another organic being can provide.

SIRI: So you'd like me to be his caretaker.

ADI GALLIA: Only during the afternoon. Your mornings and evenings would be completely free. 

MACE WINDU: The 'droid can handle 'Chi the rest of the day.

The masters give Siri a moment of silence to think things over.

SIRI: Master Windu, Mistress Gallia, I'd be honoured to care for your son. When shall I start?

In response, the two Jedi spouses smile.

INT. IMPERIAL BARRACKS/BUILDING E7 -- EVENING

In this well-lit barracks building, several enlisted personnel are getting ready for lights out. On the surface, they appear no different from any other enlisted personnel. Looking closer, however, what distinguishes them soon becomes apparent; all of them, regardless of gender or species, are Jedi of one type or another.

Obi-Wan and Anakin are also there. At their bunk bed, the two Jedi finish up what small chores they have before getting ready to slip under the covers; Anakin, on the top bunk, makes some final calibrations to his lightsaber while Obi-Wan, on the bottom bunk, clears some lodged pebbles out from the grooves of his left boot. 

ANAKIN: (finishes the calibration) There, that should do it.

Triggering the activation stud on his lightsaber, Nik engages the vibrant cyan blade. Moving the hilt around to get a feel for the blade and to hear its hum as it moves through the air, he smiles.

TEYF BERAL: (O.S.) That's a mighty fine-sounding blade you've got there, Jedi.

Looking toward the source of the voice, Anakin spies TEYF BERAL seated on the edge of his bunk directly across from him. A tall, lean Duros male with viridian skin and scarlet eyes, he's not much younger than Anakin himself.

ANAKIN: Yeah?

TEYF BERAL: Yeah. You wouldn't mind lending it to me a moment, would you? Just to check it out?

ANAKIN: No problem. (disengages the lightsaber) Here.

Nik tosses the hilt to the Duros, who, snatching it from the air with effortless ease, activates it with one graceful movement.

TEYF BERAL: (testing the feel of the blade) Nice. Not as well-tuned as mine, but nice.

ANAKIN: (cocks an eyebrow) Not as well-tuned as yours, huh? Why don't you show me this "well-tuned" saber of yours, fella, and let me judge for myself?

TEYF BERAL: (deactivates the lightsaber) Sure thing.

Returning Anakin's lightsaber to him, the Duros Jedi goes to his footlocker and opens it. Reaching inside, he pulls out a bronze lightsaber hilt.

TEYF BERAL: Here you are. (tosses the hilt to Anakin)

Catching the bronze hilt, Nik shifts it around until it sits comfortably in the palm of his left hand. With a sharp SNAP-HISS, he engages the blade of deep cerulean.

ANAKIN: (smirks) Good blade, bro, but better than mine? Dream on.

Disengaging Teyf's lightsaber, Nik tosses it back to the Duros, who grumpily returns it to his footlocker.

TEYF BERAL: There's only one way to settle this dispute.

ANAKIN: (grins) Oh yeah? What's that?

TEYF BERAL: (grins) With a duel. May the best blade win. How about it? Unless you're too chicken.

ANAKIN: Just name the time and place, pal.

TEYF BERAL: Tomorrow, in the gymnasium, at 22:50.

ANAKIN: You're on!

OBI-WAN: (sighs) Boys, boys, boys. Bickering over blades is unbecoming of apprentices. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

TEYF BERAL: (cocks a brow) Who said anything about being an apprentice? I may very well be a full-fledged knight.

SEV BERAL: (O.S.) He isn't, of course.

Almost appearing as if out of nowhere is SEV BERAL. Like Teyf, he, too, is a Duros. Unlike Teyf, however, he is older -- with dark teal skin and deep crimson eyes -- a seasoned Jedi Knight.

SEV BERAL: (to Teyf) You were getting ready for bed, weren't you, padawan?

TEYF BERAL: (humbled) Yes, Uncle. As soon as the lights are out, so am I.

OBI-WAN: (to Anakin) I assume the same is true for yourself?

ANAKIN: (quickly lies down on his bunk and pulls the covers over himself) Oh, yeah. Consider me on Dream World.

SEV BERAL: (holds his open hand out to Obi-Wan) I'm Sev Beral, Jedi Knight of the Durosian Order.

OBI-WAN: (takes Sev's hand and shakes it) Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Knight-errant. (beat) I haven't seen you here before. I take it you've been stationed here fairly recently?

SEV BERAL: (nods) I've spent the last eleven years out of the war, training Teyf and my son Jano on Duro. Now that they've completed their first trial together and built their first lightsabers, the time has come to leave sanctuary and join our brethren in the fight against the Clonemasters.

OBI-WAN: Perhaps you should have stayed on Duro. The clones don't hold much territory outside of the Prackla sector anymore. Once we've broken their lines there, Cartao itself will soon fall into our hands. The war'll be over in a year, maybe less.

SEV BERAL: Then me and my boys will fight all the harder to end the war even sooner.

OBI-WAN: (laughs) From your lips to God's ears.

SEV BERAL: (grins) Which one?

Obi-Wan laughs again.

As this is happening, a YOUNG WOMAN attired in the black uniform and rank insignia of a first lieutenant of the Imperial Army enters the building. As she walks over to Obi-Wan and Nik's bunk, Obi-Wan and Sev snap to attention and greet her with salutes.

OBI-WAN KENOBI: Lt. Esson.

LT. ESSON: (returns the salutes) SgM. Kenobi, are you free?

OBI-WAN: (nods) How may I be of service, Lieutenant?

LT. ESSON: I'm here to see you about a reassignment, Major.

OBI-WAN: Reassignment? But Anakin and I were to be stationed on the Resolute under the command of Capt. Wullf Yularen --

LT. ESSON: Please, Major, if you'd just follow me ...?

OBI-WAN: (gestures toward Anakin) What of my apprentice?

LT. ESSON: He may come along.

Turning on her heels, the lieutenant departs. Obi-Wan and Nik exchange glances.

OBI-WAN: (to Sev) I guess we'll continue our conversation another night.

INT. IMPERIAL BARRACKS/MESS HALL -- EVENING

The two Jedi and the lieutenant stand within the mess hall, which is now dark, silent, and empty for the night.

ANAKIN: I take it we're not here for a midnight snack.

LT. ESSON: I have a message for you, Maj. Kenobi.

Reaching into her tunic, Esson pulls out a hand-held holoprojector.

LT. ESSON: (hands the projector to Obi-Wan) It's from Capt. Bail Organa.

Obi-Wan: (accepting the projector) Bail, hmm? I wonder what it is he has for me.

Obi-Wan presses a button set into the side of the holoprojector. Almost immediately, a monochromatic holographic recording of BAIL ORGANA'S head flickers into existence. Almost as if it could see Obi-Wan standing there, the transparent head smiles.

BAIL: Hello, Obi-Wan. I wish I could be there in person to talk to you, you slick trickster, but my duties have forced me elsewhere.

OBI-WAN: (half-smiles) So what else is new?

BAIL: (drops the smile) Almost a month ago, we lost contact with the Bajilon system in the Arkanis sector. Just in case you don't know, the Bajilon system lies along the Crystal Passage, one parsec away from Geonosis. It serves as a junction between Geonosis and the rest of the Empire. (beat) Here's the kicker, though, Kenobi. We haven't simply lost contact with the Bajilon system -- we've been cut off from it.

ANAKIN: (frowns) What? 

BAIL: That's right -- cut off. All primary, secondary, and tertiary routes into the system have become impassable. We suspect the Athans have established interdiction fields at key points along the routes to effective cut the Bajilon system and all systems past it off from the rest of the Known Regions.

ANAKIN: But that's impossible. The Clonemasters would have to use hundreds of interdictor generators and --

BAIL: (cont'd) That's right -- it should be impossible. They'd have to use hundreds of interdictor generators, all set up at key points in space light-months and years apart to cover as many entry points as possible. It's unfeasible. However, it seems to have been done.

OBI-WAN: Here's where he comes to the point of the message.

BAIL: Obi-Wan, now's where I come to the point of this message. The top brass has officially sanctioned a mission to send a team -- a team aboard a single, small ship -- on a short reconnaissance mission into the Bajilon system. We slip in, find out what the clones are doing, and then slip out and return to Coruscant. (beat) Like I said, most conventional routes into the system have been cut off. By charting a roundabout course along the bottom edge of Wild Space, though, we believe we can find a backdoor the Athans failed to cover. (beat) Kenobi, I want you for this mission. I'm not going to lie to you -- this is going to be an extremely hazardous mission. We're going to be travelling close to a region of space we know little about, along routes we've never charted before. We could all fly too close to a quasar and find ourselves atomized. But you know how to strive under pressure -- you proved that a thousand times over on Alderaan, Nabu, and Dania VII. Lord knows you're invaluable. (beat) I'm not ordering you to do this, but I'd like your help. The whitefaces are planning something, Obi-Wan, and whatever it is, it's insidious.

With those final words, the recording comes to an end. Deactivating the holoprojector, Obi-Wan hands it back to Esson.

OBI-WAN: How soon do we leave?

EXT. NAL HUTTA -- SPACE

Leaving the gravity well of Nar Shaddaa and it's parent world Nal Hutta, the Scorekeeper's Ryyk -- a heavily modified J-type 327 Nubian starship -- prepares to makes its entry into the extradimensional fabric of hyperspace.

INT. SCOREKEEPER'S RYYK/COCKPIT

Inside the Scorekeeper's cockpit sit Llomon and Mahttoh. As can be expected, the Trandoshan sits in the pilot's seat while the Wookiee sits in the copilot's.

MAHTTOH: (in Shyriiwook, subtitled) So, which of the Jedi scum do we blast first? Kenobi on Coruscant or that Skywalker kid in the Oblerone system?

LLOMON: (in Dosh, subtitled) That's Orron system, you hair-enveloped numbskull.

MAHTTOH: (subtitled) Whichever. We have to off one of them first, so which do we pick?

LLOMON: (subtitled) Why ask me? I don't kriffing know.

MAHTTOH: (subtitled) We should go for whoever's on the closest planet.

LLOMON: (subtitled) Let me bring up the star charts ...

Activating the navicomputer, the Trandoshan calls up star maps of the Orron and Coruscant systems.

LLOMON: (subtitled) The Coruscant and Orron systems are both of roughly equal distance away here.

MAHTTOH: (sighs; subtitled) I guess we'll just have to flip for it. Do you have a coin?

LLOMON: (subtitled) Yeah, I'm sure I do ...

Reaching into a pocket on his flight suit, the Trandoshan fishes around for a loose coin. Finding one, he pulls it out.

LLOMON: (hands the coin to Mahttoh; subtitled) I don't have the fingers for coin tossing. You do it.

Taking the coin, the Wookiee positions it over his left index finger and thumb.

MAHTTOH: (subtitled) Heads we go to Orron-whatever, tails we go to Coruscant. Call it.

LLOMON: (subtitled) Heads.

The Wookiee flips the coin.

EXT. SPACE

With the coin deciding for them, the bounty hunters chart a course into their navicomp and the Scorekeeper's Ryyk makes the leap into hyperspace.