Fallen Stars: A Starwars Story

Chapter 1

The cantina was dark and smokey, the smell of alcohol and music wafted through the room.The lowest life forms in the galaxy were all gathered in the loud, sweaty bar. Assassins, dealers, and crooks all gathered to drink away the day and look out for their next score. Darth Starrus shuffled through the riff raff and scum trying to get toward the main meeting hall. His thick tan robe covered his mouth and hid his eyes from anyone who might try to get a glance at them, such precautions were necessary. If anyone saw his bright yellow eyes they'd know immediately, he was a Sith. Several aliens of various species tried to get close, each hoping to score a few credits or a weapon. Starrus sensed all of them, all of their intentions and greed. He gently nudged them away with the force, bending their weak and desperate mind to his own overpowering will.

"You don't want to rob me, you want to clear a path and let me pass," he murmured while willing the darkside to do his bidding.

The room became silent as everyone slowly moved out of his way and closer to the bar as Starrus passed through the massive golden doors guarded by Gamorian pigs, hulking brutes with no brains and plenty of brawn. They grunted toward Starrus and moved forward drawing their vibro axes, but Starrus waved them aside with the same manipulation as the other scum. The meeting room was adorned with gold and jewels everywhere. All types of creatures and bounty hunters were sitting at a massive gold table, surrounded with drinks, hookah, and many Twi'eleck serving girls all scantily clad. At the end of the table was a large stone stage on top of which sat Orra the Hutt.

"Orra is supposed to be a small Hutt, at least by Hutt standards," thought Starrus.

Orra was easily eight feet tall and at least as long, with thick rolls of fat covering her serpentine body.

"At least the records say it's a she," Starrus thought, eyeing the grotesque creature. "It's so damn hard to tell with Hutts."

As he walked in Starrus could feel all eyes on him, he also sensed at least a few of the seated bounty hunters drawing weapons under the table.

Orra gestured at Starrus and then spoke a warbled language that used spitting to communicate.

"Speak what you wish of Orra, glorious Hutt mistress." lisped a wizened old translator on the corner of the stage.

Starrus bowed deeply, nearly touching the floor.

"Mistress Orra, your humble servant requests passage through your spice routes." said Starrus.

He knew it was always best to act lowely before a Hutt to play to their ego. He did his best to swallow his disgust at the creature, aside from her repulsive form, she also kept pets to attend to her on the stage. Animals and humanoids alike were kept in cages or chains until called upon by the Hutt to "entertain" her.

"Your servant brings you a tribute for service," he bowed again, pulling a stack of credits out of the pocket of his robe.

Orra gestured him forward and Starrus placed the credits in front of her on the stage. The old crone counted out the credits in Orra's native tongue and Orra sneered with her beedy yellow eyes until the count hit several thousand.

"Orra accepts your tribute, you are free to travel safely through the Huttian routes."

Starrus bowed again and slowly made off to exit the room.

"Well that wasn't so difficult," he thought, exhaling deeply.

He could sense the bounty hunters put away their weapons as their attention was drawn to the next of Orras pets. It would have been so easy for him to slip away from the cantina and continue safely on his mission but something caught his attention on the stage. A few of the Gamorian guards opened one of the cages and dragged out a human with long dark hair and pale skin, she had cuts and bruises all over her body, which was barely covered by a tattered piece of cloth. This was a common event amongst the Hutt race, the creatures loved to sadistically torture prisoners their bounty hunters had captured for them. Darth Starrus felt no need to get involved in the Hutts' matters, after all he had gotten what he wanted and only needed to walk out of the room. But suddenly the girl caught his eyes with hers from across the room, they were a piercing dark blue and made him feel her presence. He could feel her subconsciously using the force to make him feel her anguish, a desperate plea for help. Starrus had taken countless lives since he fell to the darkside of the force and never once felt pity, after all it wasn't the Sith way. Nonetheless something about this girl made him step back up to the stage.