Despite the late hour, they decided to fly immediately, entrusting Asoka with piloting the ship.
"Don't you want to go back there? I can imagine what you're thinking right now," said Anakin, sitting in the co-pilot's seat.
"No, you have no idea," replied the Togruta with a heavy sigh, as heavy thoughts weighed on her once again, just as they had six months earlier. She had hoped never to see her homeland again, but now, less than a year later, she would have to see everything that had forever etched itself into her soul with a vile feeling of indelible filth. Not just from her body, but from her soul. Again and again, horrific images replayed before her eyes: her father, chained, his face bloodied and his ribs broken, looking at his daughter for the last time with eyes clouded by pain and suffering; the wife of the head of the workers' settlement, her head smashed against the wall with a crunch; his young daughter, pierced by a sword minutes after her mother's death; the head himself, screaming as he fell down the canyon, crying out in terror at the thought of meeting the sharp rocks. All their death cries merged into one. A single symphony of pain and horror. Asoka shuddered and almost let go of the helm. The ship shook violently, and Anakin almost hit his forehead on the dashboard.
"Ahsoka, are you okay? Maybe I should take over," Anakin said anxiously, seeing his mentor's face turn pale and her eyes fill with fear. Togruta, hearing his voice, shook herself and tried to pull herself together. The last thing she needed was for Anakin to see her weak. Back when they were just children and friends, she could afford to be herself around him. Now she couldn't. Everything had changed. Now Ahsoka was older, a Jedi Knight and a mentor, responsible not only for herself but also for her Padawan, whom she had to set an example for so that he could look up to her and follow her lead.
"It's okay, Anakin," Ahsoka said as calmly as she could. "I can handle the controls myself. You should go get some sleep. We still have a long flight ahead of us."
"I'd rather stay here, I don't want to miss the moment when you decide to kill us again," Skywalker couldn't resist a sarcastic remark, his mentor's rebuke hurting him, pointing out his shortcomings once again.
"Yes, she talks to her chancellor in a completely different way. She certainly doesn't tell him where to go," Anakin thought with annoyance, turning away to the window, where bright silver stars, seemingly close by, were already twinkling. And yet he heard his teacher's dissatisfied voice:
"Hold your tongue, Tail.
"Here we go again," he thought with annoyance. "Will it always be like this, with no hope of changing my fate? Not long ago, I was just a little boy, and now I've become my own child's toy. I can't fall any lower!"
"I can hear everything," said Asoka in a stern voice, hinting that his thoughts were no secret to her. "You'd better think about where Jango could have hidden Hutt's son. And most importantly, why does he want him in the first place?"
"Yes, just as I said," Anakin's new thought was more optimistic. "We can't go down, but we can go up. She's already consulting with me, I won't disappoint her!"
"Maybe the separatists hired him. Remember who he worked for before he became a clone trooper," he suggested, which seemed reasonable.
"That's right, mercenaries always serve those who pay well," Tano suddenly agreed. "Who is the most creditworthy right now? That's right, the KNS!
"But why did he get involved with the Hutts?" Anakin still didn't understand his motives.
Ahsoka thought for a moment, recalling the structure of the Republic and the fact that Tatooine had always been a neutral planet in all wars. So, most likely, the reason was some kind of agreement with the Hutt clan, which the KNS clearly did not want. And they had calculated everything correctly — continuing the Hutt line was all that mattered to them, except for wealth, but that couldn't be taken away so quickly and so quietly. They have so much of it, although, as far as Asoka remembers, the Hutt offspring are not much smaller. Yes, that's probably true, and the girl decided to voice her thoughts to her student.
"I think Jango, being on the run, won't go far from where he lives. Remember what planet he named when you overheard him talking to his son?" Anakin reminded her of an important piece of information that Ahsoka had almost forgotten, considering it unnecessary.
"Geonosis?" the Togruta replied, realising what he was talking about. "You think he hid the Hutt's son where he lives? That's not very smart."
"Yeah, at first glance," Anakin replied, taking out his datapad. "But look here!"
And the teenager brought up a star map on the screen, zooming in on the layout of Geonosis.
"See that object?" He pointed to some unremarkable-looking ruins.
"I see, just another abandoned construction site. Unfortunately, there are many of those now. The KNS is taking all the funds, and construction has been put on hold." Ahsoka found nothing here that caught her eye. But Anakin thought otherwise:
"Nothing remarkable, you say? Well, now," he said, squinting slyly and moving the hologram downwards, towards the construction site. Soon it became apparent that only from the outside did it look like ruins where stray homeless people might spend the night. Beneath it lay a rather large underground complex. You could really hide a child in there, and there would be enough room for his father too.
"What do you think, should we go there right away or visit his dad first?" Asoka asked him, preferring the first option, although she understood that the second would be more appropriate.
"I think he'll give us a warm welcome," Skywalker replied, turning back to the window.
"More like a hot welcome," hissed Togruta, picking up speed. The last thing she wanted was to talk to the Hutts.
They said nothing more, preferring to think their own thoughts, although they both shared the same concern: would the baby die in this cold dungeon? Although, perhaps the caring separatists had provided him with a heater powered by explosives, as it was in their best interests to keep as many parts of their precious hostage as possible so that they could blackmail his father if he did not immediately agree to cooperate.
Tatuin greeted them with the slight chill of early morning. The planet's two bright pink suns were not yet very high in the sky, casting a transparent pink haze over the mud-brick huts and stalls on either side of the road. The planet was still asleep, slowly recovering from another drunken revelry, for which it had long been famous. Only the first merchants, who had apparently stayed overnight in their shops, were slowly laying out their wares. But the path of the two Jedi, master and apprentice, did not lie in their direction. They were heading for Mos Eisley, where, in the very centre, stood a large, gaudy palace made of huge cobblestones of various colours and sizes, laid with precious stones. By building it in this way, Jabba sought to demonstrate to those around him his power and superiority over all those he considered inferior. That is, all the inhabitants of Tatooine. At the gates stood two monstrous-looking guards of the No-One race, who immediately stared at the strangers with hostile glances, seeing them as potential criminals and already thinking about how to deal with them. The master loved such spectacles. However, they were soon forced to replace their malicious grins with insincere smiles, which were even more repulsive to behold.
"The master has been waiting for you for a long time, I will take you to him," one of the guards grinned, the smaller one, and he actually escorted both adepts to Jabba's chambers. Despite the early hour, he was already wide awake, although, considering that his only son had disappeared, he could hardly have slept soundly all night, probably not closing his eyes. Although, to be honest, when the Jedi found Jabba, he didn't look much like a grief-stricken parent. The large bright red sofa, covered with a colourful satin bedspread, did not, to put it mildly, resembled the deathbed of a man dying of grief, and the glass of red wine clutched in his right paw could hardly be mistaken for a sedative, nor could the hookah pipe in his left paw be mistaken for an IV drip. However, the several beautifully dressed Twi'lek slave girls dancing merrily to a lively tune on a small stage in front of the sofa did not resemble a funeral choir. Asoka felt disgusted. Was this how a father grieving for his son should look? It would have been much more pleasant to see Hutt on a rumpled bed with his head wrapped in a wet towel. However, as soon as he saw who had entered, Jabba waved his tail and the music stopped.
"Get out of here, you whores!" he said wearily to the slaves. They stopped dancing mid-movement and left without saying a word. They knew that one wrong word could cost them their lives, which the rancor's fangs would gladly end.
"Greetings, most honourable one," said Asoka, overcoming her disgust. It was not in her plans to anger Hutt, and she glanced sternly at Anakin, who had tried to say something. "We have received word of your misfortune, and we also have information about the presumed whereabouts of your son.
"Many know, many have tried," Jabba replied with a bitter smile. "And where are they now?"
He waved his paw towards the corner of the bedroom. Ahsoka looked there and saw a rug spread out on the floor with several heads on it, once belonging to the most famous mercenaries. Tano shuddered at the sight, but remembering why she was there, she hastened to pretend that the scene before her did not impress her in the least:
"Nevertheless, since you have asked for the Order's help, we will grant it to you, esteemed Jabba.
"The Great," Hutt hastily corrected her, "The Great Jabba.
"And Stinky," whispered Anakin, discreetly covering his nose and mouth with his hand after receiving a subtle nudge from Ahsoka.
"I apologise, Great Jabba," Tano corrected her involuntary mistake. "Don't worry, if the Force wills it, your son will be with you by evening.
Hutt immediately gave them permission to search, promising to sign a cooperation agreement with the Republic if they were successful. However, it was clear that he did not have much faith in their success, turning to the Order only because other organisations had proved powerless.
"It stinks in there," said Anakin, breathing deeply as he left Jabba's palace, despite the sand that instantly crunched between his teeth.
"Okay, next time I'll ask him not to wear so much perfume," replied Ahsoka, also breathing heavily, but unlike the Padawan, she covered her mouth with her hand; she hated sand. "Now, march on Geonosis.
Yes, the separatist mercenary sitting at the helm said almost the same thing to the co-pilot, having received a certain signal from his master.
***
Advanced chapters:
patreon.com/posts/star-wars-chosen-144531440