Chapter 1 - Mala's freedom

It was another normal day for Malait'kla, she was getting dressed in her private quarters which had gotten larger over the last few years since she won the Tera Kasi tournament for Jabba. She had become his prized possession. His obsession with her even became amplified when she saved his life against a would-be assassin she was entertaining as one of his guests.

The most recent event that was secretly terrifying her was the death of her best friend and mentor, Oola. Jabba had been abusing her as of late and when she protested to his latest abuses he fed her to his pet. Oola had been dancing for Jabba almost as long as Mala had been. Mala secretly felt that the other twi'lek, however unfortunate her demise was, had just gotten too old. Jabba had an obsession with young beautiful women, and Oola was just turning thirty-five. Mala was happy she was still young and in her prime.

Three days ago, Mala had turned twenty-eight. For the most part she hid her age from Jabba. He thinks she's still in her early twenties. The force may be part of the deception. She didn't know.

She finished tucking the dress in on her bikini. She had modified her metal bikini that Jabba had given her to hold both of her lightsabers. The funniest thing about being a jedi in hiding is that not anyone can know that the decorative cylinders engraved into her bikini bottom are weapons. Especially Jedi weapons. Otherwise, the Empire's bounty on the force sensitive then affects her.

Due to her recent winnings in the tournaments Jabba had been putting her in, she had been given more and more freedoms. Jabba has really started about 3 years ago letting her roam around Tatooine. Of course, she didn't go far. She took a speeder and went straight to Obi-wan's house. He had been visiting her since she was about eleven, giving her gifts of holocrons and telling her stories. Teaching her to touch her special power as he called it. Jabba had been clueless as to why old Ben Kenobi loved private dance sessions with her. And Master Kenobi paid well each time to satisfy Jabba.

Two years ago, she felt Ben die in the force. Another lost close friend. A list that had been getting rather short as of late. She built the lightsabers three years ago. And Ben trained her again how to use them, but it was almost like a natural art for her. She remembered all her lessons at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant when she was little. And with a blade, she was extremely good.

Mala shook her head. I need to quit reminiscing in the past before I'm late and Jabba feeds me to his pet too.

Mala pulled her bikini harness tighter to hold her chest in place and made her way to the main audience chamber. Looking up she saw the new shiny droid that Jabba had acquired from some Skyhopper, or Nightwalker, or whatever, that claims he's a jedi too. Mala shook her head and glanced to Jabba's new prized possession, a large block of carbonite with Han Solo in it.

As Mala started to sit down among the other dancers, Miko and Mara, a sudden bustle brought her attention to the main entrance to the audience chamber, a bossk dragging a wookie came forcing their way down the stairs. As the bossk started speaking, Mala began to fade into another vision…

A woman, human, and beautiful, in a metal bikini similar to the one Mala was wearing was using the chain that she was attached to, to choke the life out of Jabba. There was a lot of commotion and a big fight going on outside. No one noticed Jabba being killed….

Mala shook her head again only to see the bossk holding a thermal detonator. She gasped.

Jabba only let out a hardy laugh. “You are the sort of scum I like,” Jabba told the bossk in Huttese. Of course that new shiny golden droid with a fresh dent on it's chestplate translated it.

Mala didn't pay much attention to the bustle of activity that accompanied the transfer of credits to the bossk's bank accounts and the transfer of the wookie to Jabba's prison cells. “The mighty Chewbacca,” Jabba had called the wookie. Doesn't look so mighty in those cuffs, Mala secretly laughed.

Mala did her sley-sue routine for the bossk and then the other dancers danced for him. Mala excused herself and begin to try to figure out her vision. A beautiful woman…

Who could it be?

Mala must have fretted over this for hours wondering what the force had showed her. Then there was a large commotion in the main audience chambers. Mala had almost thought they had went to sleep because it was so quiet there. Apparently not…

When Malait'kla entered the audience chamber, Lando and Boba were holding the new prisoner. It was bossk. But he was a she.

That face! Mala was stunned. It's the woman from the vision. But what should I do? Should I tell Jabba like I have so many times before? Or should I let him get what he should for killing Oola?

Frustration hit Mala again. Oola's death had hit her harder than she had thought I would have. Oola was like a mother to her. Anger hit her eyes and she glared at that fat slug with a look of death. Her blue skin twisting over her eyes in anger.

I hope it does happen. I would be there to watch. But I have another idea…

Mala went back to her room to think about the upcoming events. Boba came to get her when she stayed to long.

“Jabba requests your presence,” Boba told her appearing in her doorway.

Mala looked up into that T-shaped visor and wondered how many had seen that visor just before they died. “I'll be there immediately, mister Fett,” Mala told the bounty hunter.

As he walked away his weapons clinked against his armor and Mala wondered how on earth he could possibly sneak up on someone making all that noise. Mala knew better. She was quieter. Stealth was her secret weapon.

She slipped into the main audience chamber. This time, Jabba really was sleeping. Why she was supposed to be there, she wasn't sure. That beautiful lady was resting on Jabba's platform. She was wearing a red and gold metal bikini like the one from Mala's vision and a look of pure hatred. Her eyes met Mala's, and she could feel the anger flowing from the woman.

I wonder if she knows that she is force sensitive, Mala wondered.

Bib Fortuna made his way to Jabba's ear followed by a man swallowed by a black robe. Mala could definitely feel the force from him. This had to be the infamous, Nightwalker…. Was that his name?

Jabba awoke with a snort and began to cuss in Huttese. “You fool. I told you not to let him in here!” Jabba screamed.

“You have served your master well,” Nightwalker said.

“I have served my master well,” Bib repeated.

“You should be rewarded,” Nightwalker continued waving his hand

“I should be rewarded,” Bib repeated.

“You fool! He's using a Jedi mind trick on you!” Jabba screamed thrashing about and knocking Bib from his pallet.

“You will release Han Solo to me,” Nightwalker told Jabba.

Jabba laughed heartily, “Fool Jedi, mind tricks only work on the weak minded.”

“Then I have no choice—”

“Master Skywalker! You're standing on the—” the golden droid screamed.

Skywalker! That's his name! moved with a quickness she hadn't seen in a while. He pulled a blaster free from the holster of a nearby bounty hunter. Boba drew down on the jedi but he had already fallen into the rancor pit. A gamorrean fell in also before the trap door closed.

Mala couldn't get close enough to the grate to see the fight down below. But judging by the moaning and booing of some of the onlookers, it wasn't going well. Normally the underfed rancor ate his meal pretty quickly, but it didn't look like it was going that way this time.

Mala felt the giant beast die in the force. She knew this was about to get difficult.

Guards dragged a bound Skywalker back in front of Jabba. Malakai was crying somewhere in the distance. Other guards brought in the big hairy wookie and… Han Solo?

Mala quickly glanced to the now empty cabonite block. When did that happen?

“This is your last chance Jabba,” Skywalker said.

Jabba's laugh was loud and hearty. Yeah laugh it up, big boy. I got a feeling he isn't lying.

“Luke! Luke! Is that you?”

“Yes, Han,” Skywalker replied.

“I can't see anything. Where's Leia?”

“I'm here,” the woman that is going to kill Jabba said.

“So how're we doing?” Han asked Skywalker.

“The usual.” Came the calm reply.

“That bad, huh?”

The room fell silent as Jabba began to speak in Huttese.

“Now you just wait a minute, Jabba, I was going to pay you back. I have the money.” Han told the Hutt.

Jabba told him it was too late for that. The shiny droid translated.

“Hey Goldenrod, you tell that slimy, blood sucking, slug that he'll get what is coming to him!”

That's an understatement, Mala thought as Jabba laughed again and began explaining to “goldenrod” about their death in the Sarlacc pit.

“The mighty Jabba the Hutt would like to tell you that he's feeling generous and is going to subject you to a quick death in the Sarlacc pit,” the golden droid explained.

“That doesn't sound so bad.” Han muttered.

“Here you'll be digested in the sarlacc's belly over the next thousand years. Where you will discover a new meaning of pain and suffering,” the droid continued.

“On second thought,” Han stated, never finishing the statement.



Mala left the room. She knew if she was around any longer she'd be selected to go on the sail barge ride with the doomed Hutt. She had other plans and she needed to stretch before then intense fight that would soon follow.



Mala had just finished stretching when Weelo came running in front of her room screaming. A blaster shot hit him square in the back and spilled him in her doorway.

It has started. The struggle for Jabba's fortune.

I'm not concerned about taking his money for my own. I just want to survive. I will kill Anikan and I will get out of here alive. If I'm the only one left alive… she paused… welcome to Jabba's world.

Mala tugged the lightsabers free of her bikini bottom and stepped into the corridor. Reema was standing there shooting anyone that appeared in the corridor. The blaster swung in her direction and Reema pulled the firing stud. Mala pressed the activation studs on both of her lightsabers. The purple and silver blades sprang to life from the bottom of her hands. She held both blades inverted and sweeped the purple one in her right hand across her body to return the blaster bolt back at Reema. His mouth went wide as the blaster bolt caught him in the throat. Blood splattered over the wall behind him as the energy left a nice round hole where his voice box should have been. Reema collapsed against the far wall and slid down it.

Mala continued up the stairs to where the blaster fire and screaming was getting more intense. She held each blade down by her hips with her thumbs turned inward and blades angled level with the floor. A gamorrean met her at the top of the stairs with his battle axe, but the fat pig-like alien cut up nicely and was left on the floor in several bloody pieces.

Mala began the dance of death. Vapaad. Mace Windu had touched into it when she was little and some of his personal holocrons had been given to her by Ben Kenobi. She couldn't do Vapaad exactly but she could do what she called the dance of death. The silver and purple blades danced wonderfully around her. Arms and heads fell to the ground around her as many tried to attack her with vibroknives or force pikes.

Veba tried to attack her with his vibrosword. Mala didn't miss a beat, the blade fell away in two pieces and with a twirl and a leap she split the weequay down his spine opening his inards to the air.

The air was thick with the smell of smoldering flesh and the floor was covered in an inch of blood. There was blood on the walls but in the end stood Bib Fortuna and Malait'kla.

Bib had a modified corellian blaster that fired a bolt so small it burned only a little hole through it's target the size of the nail on Mala's pinkie.

“You are a Jedi.” Bib told her.

“No. I'm just the dog that's gonna kill you to get out of here alive.” Mala replied.

Bib hesitated, looking from the small blaster to the blue-skinned twi'lek dancer holding a pair of lightsabers. Bib knew better than to shoot her but he done it anyway.

Pressing the firing stud, a green bolt formed at the tip of the muzzle. Mala was already in the air a meter from the ground as the bolt materialized underneath her. She pulled her legs in and performed a somersault and landed behind Bib.

Bib's head split open between his braintails. Pink gooey liquid spilled from the open wound along with three drops of dark black blood. Bib fell forward and collapsed to the blood-covered floor. Adding more of his black liquid to the multicolored bloods already there.

Mala left the front door of the palace leaving the door wide open and looked out at the bright twin suns still high in the sky in this Tatooine afternoon. She began the long trek in the fine sands. But she knew where she was headed. The swoop that Ben had hidden for her… and then to Anchorhead…..





::::::::::::to be continued::::::::::

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