Star Wars : Arise In The Future

Threepio peeked out from behind the throne as Bib walked up. For the first time in many days, he scanned his hope program. "Ah! At last Master Luke's come to take me away from all this," he beamed. Bib stood proudly before Jabba. "Master, I present Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight."

"Someone might get demoted...", Rex quipped at the furious look in Jabba's face.

"Let's not be so confident at that, Captain", Ahsoka chimed in, a bit humorously. "Who knows, maybe it's the other way around"

"I told you not to admit him," the gangster-slug growled in Huttese.

"I must be allowed to speak," Luke spoke quietly,though his words were heard throughout the hall.

"He must be allowed to speak," Bib concurred, only for Jabba to bash Bib across the face and sent him reeling to the floor. "You weak-minded fool! He's using an old Jedi mind trick!"

Master Mundi cupped his chin. "For someone who is as depraved and disgusting, we could say that Jabba had a keen eye and a strong mind to compensate for him", he commented, albeit reluctantly.

"Having to manage a cartel for countless years would certainly gift him that experience", Plo Koon agreed with him.

Luke let all the rest of the motley horde that surrounded him melt into the recesses of his consciousness, to let Jabba fill his mind totally. "You will bring Captain Solo and the Wookiee to me."

Jabba smiled grimly. "Your mind powers will not work on me, boy. I am not affected by your human thought pattern." Then, as an after thought: "I was killing your kind when being a Jedi meant something."

The audience could not help but relent on Master Mundi's earlier sentiments regarding the crime lord having a strong mind but still frowned at his statements to Luke, especially considering that the Jedi are a rarity in this future. "Something that you are too drowned ito your vices to even understand", Obi-Wan remarked in contempt.

"But since Luke couldn't get through Jabba's head, what could he do since he's inside of a fortress?", Caleb asked.

"Have faith, young Padawan", Yoda advised him, confident of Skywalker's son and anticipating on what he could possibly do. "Foiled the first step they may have, another one takes place"

Luke altered his stance somewhat, internally and externally. "Nevertheless, I am taking Captain Solo and his friends. You can either profit from this... or be destroyed. It's your choice, but I warn you not to underestimate my powers." He spoke in his own language, which Jabba well understood.

"Master Kenobi's art of negotiation sprinkled with Senator Amidala's talent of diplomacy has certainly took its form", Saesee Tiin observed, sounding impressed on the young Jedi Knight's gestures at the Crime Lord.

"Perhaps if he have the right training, Luke would be a fine diplomat for the Republic should he ever choose", Master Fisto suggested.

Anakin blinked momentarily as his son's words caused him to have images on what he had seen earlier, and something he was not so proud off. You underestimate my power!", his voice echoed, causing him to flinch at the memory flashing before him. "I just hope Luke didn't inherit too much of me in this case...", he mumbled.

Jabba laughed the laugh of a lion, cautioned by a mouse. Threepio, who had been observing this interplay intently, leaned forward to whisper to Luke: "Master, you're standing—"

A guard abruptly restrained the concerned droid, though,and pulled himback to his place. Jabba cut short his laugh with a scowl. "There will be no bargain, young Jedi. I shall enjoy watching you die."

The Jedi were now focused, seeing the scenario taking its turn for the worse. Immediately, all eyes were on the Jedi Knight, as Padme and Anakin tensed at the confrontation.

Luke raised his hand. A pistol jumped out of the holster of a nearby guard and landed snugly in the Jedi's palm. Without any second to spare, the Jedi pointed his weapon at the crime lord.

Jabba spat."Boscka!"

The floor suddenly dropped away, sending Luke and his guard crashing into the pit below. The trap door immediately closed again. All the beasts of the court rushed to the floor-grating and looked down.

"LUKE!", Anakin, Padme and Ahsoka cried out for the teen in dismay. They were sure this wasn't some sort of normal pit judging by the poor slave girl's fate. The rest only watched in anticipated silence, not letting their worry break their focus on the scene.

"Luke!" yelled Leia. She felt part of her self torn away, pulled down into the pit with him. She started forward, but was held in check by the manacle around her throat. Laughter crowded in from everywhere at once, set her on edge. She tried to flee. A human guard touched her shoulder. She looked. It was Lando, who only shook his head.

"I might not like Lando, but at least his heart is in the right place", Anakin spoke, sounding appreciative in the man's efforts to keep Leia safe.

In the pit below, Luke picked himself up off the floor, finding himself in a dungeon. Bones of countless animals were strewn over the floor, smelling of decayed flesh and twisted fear.

Above him, he saw Jabba's courtiers peering. Beside him, a guard screamed as a door in the side of the cave slowly rumbled open. With infinite calm, Luke surveyed his surroundings as he removed his long robe down to his tunic, to give him more freedom of movement. He backed quickly to the wall and crouched there, watching.

"His lack of fear would prove pivotal if he is to pass whatever trial that lies ahead", Windu observed, seeing the boy's posture to befit a Jedi. Which constrated his father's often rash behavior.

"But by the looks of it...he does not have his weapon with him", Saesee keenly observed, seeing that Luke does not have the Jedi's signature weapon at his disposal.

"I remember, when he had fought Va-", Shaak Ti took a pause mid-sentence, noticing a glance from Master Kenobi. "His father, he had lost his weapon along with his right hand"

Out of the side passage emerged the giant Rancor, who roared at his next meal The guard picked up the pistol fromthe dirt where it had fallen and began firing laser bursts at the hideous monster. This only made the beast angrier. It lumbered toward the guard and devoured him whole, to the audience's glee.

"There goes the weapon he needed to get out of there...", Caleb muttered in dismay, before he felt Master Yoda's cane poke his back.

"Impossible to win without a weapon, it is not", he stated, seeing Luke's current situation.

Anakin and Padme only looked in a bit of nostalgia; something familiar had happened to them a few years back. "This takes us back a Geonosis, doesn't it?", the Senator said to her spouse, who looked a bit amused.

"Yeah, I remembered my face being dragged in a floor of sand while Obi-Wan was almost a meal for the Geonosians to watch", he replied.

"I heard that", they both heard Master Kenobi's snide remark.

The Rancor turned and began to rush at Luke, only for the young Jedi to dash away just ahead of the monster's swipe at him, and picked up the long bone of an earlier victim. The monster grabbed Luke and brings him up to his salivating mouth. At the last moment, Luke wedged the bone in the monster's mouth, causing him to be dropped. The monster bellowed in rage and flailed , hitting the side of the pit, causing a small avalanche in the dungeon.

"He is crafty, but he will need to find another way to bring down this beast", Master Fisto stated, eagerly watching the Jedi's methods of escape.

The monster crushed the bone in its jaws and sea saw Luke, who squeezed into a crevice in the pit wall. Luke looked past the monster to the holding cave beyond. On the far side of the holding cave is a utility door-if only he can get to it. The Rancor spotted Luke and reached into the crevice for him. Luke grabbed a large rock and raised it, smashing it down on the Rancor's finger, causing it to howl in pain while Luke rushed for it.

"He has the tools in his disposal to get through this spectacle", Master Windu said after further analyzing the dunegon's layout. "How he would use them remains to be seen"

"He will, Master Windu", Anakin chimed in determination and confidence in his son. "I'm sure of it..."

...

I have started two new fanfics on my P atreon.

Star Wars: Madness

Warcraft : Stray Lion

For now, they are exclusive to P atreon, but I may publish them here in the future.