Star Wars: Skywalker's Revenge

Chapter Three: Crimson Axe

Cade suppressed a feeling of disappointment as he landed the Mynock back in Socorro. As much as he hated being pushed around by Rav, he at least got to partake in his fair share of adventures. But the time between his contracts were becoming fewer and further between, which wasn't good for him and his crew. They were making less credits, which meant that their meals were becoming smaller and smaller and they were spending more and more time sitting idly about the ship while it was usually somewhere close to Socorro. Socorro was a planet without a controlling government, making it a haven for smugglers, bounty hunters, and other shady dealers. It was where Rav conducted most of his business, and so it was where Cade conducted his.

"Stop! No, you can't..."

Thud. Cade looked over his shoulder to see Jariah and Deliah come forward with their two prisoners. The Jedi, who Cade had learned was named Hosk Trey'lis, had evidently woken up for a short period before being hit shortly with another thud bug. Now both he and the gambler were unconscious enough to be easy moved.

"Okay, guys. Let's go collect the bounty."

Cade attempted to grab the gambler from Deliah, but she drew back in defiance so instead he helped Jariah with the Jedi. They walked out of the ship and across the poor-looking planet. Eventually they came to the Crimson Axe, which was quite possibly the most notable structure on the planet. It was actually a ship that was wedged into the ground of the planet and towered over every nearby building. The ship hadn't seen flight in years, though Cade didn't know the exact number. According to Jariah, it was the ship that Rav was in when he found Cade floating out in space seven years ago. Sometime after then it had been crashed into Socorro, though. The rumor was that Rav was so drunk when landing that he had no idea what was even happening. One thing was for certain, though. Even if the ship was flightless, it was still one of the primary locations on Socorro. Since it's crash landing, it had become Rav's base of operations. It even contained it's own cantina.

Cade approached the entrance to the ship and knocked on the door. He used a rhythmic knock that Jek Zurta, the gatekeeper, had taught him, but he knew it wouldn't do any good. A slat on the door slid open and a pair of familiar amphibious eyes appeared.

"Who goes there?"

Cade sighed. "You know it's us, Jek. You can see us. Plus we used your special knock."

There was a moment of silence, then the door opened up. Standing before them was a Nautolan, which was an amphibious humanoid species. Nautolans usually were depicted with green skin, but Jek's was blue. He was thin too, and was fairly young for a gatekeeper.

"Thank you," Cade said, and he and the others walked inside. Before they could pass by, though, Jek grabbed his arm.

"Is that a Jedi?" Jek asked, his eyes narrowing.

Cade hesitated, trying to find an appropriate response. He decided to dodge the question. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. He just... reminds me of someone I saw one time."

"Well I sure hope he's not," Cade said, "or else we're in big trouble."

Jek nodded and released his grip on Cade. Then he took a step back and finally let him and the others pass on through.

"That was close," Jariah muttered as they made their way through the giant interior of the ship.

"No it wasn't," Deliah argued, slinging around her blueberry hair with a smile. "I could've convinced him."

Cade chuckled. "Yeah, I'm sure you'd love that. You look for a chance to flirt with him every time we enter the ship."

Deliah gasped in mock surprise. "Not every time!"

Cade and the others turned a corner and came upon a room that was flanked by guards, indicating that it was where they needed to be. The guards didn't cause Cade or his crew any trouble, since they were regular clients of Rav, and just moved aside as the group walked into the room. Inside was a barren room with a table in the middle and a chair behind it which was currently occupied by Rav. Around Rav were a few more guards, all ready for a fight if the client didn't deliver.

"We got Screeger," Cade said, cutting straight to the chase. He had learned that Rav was a man who was strictly business, and beating around the bush got nowhere with him.

"Good," Rav muttered, his eyes barely brushing across the gambler in their journey over to the Jedi. "And who is he?"

"A Jedi," said Jariah. "He attacked us in the cantina, so we brought him here figuring you could turn him over to the Sith."

Rav grunted as he looked over the unconscious Hosk. "I need proof."

Cade reached into the side of Hosk's robe, and after rummaging around for a while his fingers found what they had been looking for. He pulled the lightsaber hilt out and tossed it onto Rav's desk. Rav scooted back in his chair a little and regarded the lightsaber with caution and distrust.

"That good enough for you?"

Rav looked upon Screeger and Trey'lis for a moment more, then nodded to the guards. They came forward and took possession of the two men, then left to deliver them to some other location on the ship.

After the guards were gone, Cade and his crew looked to Rav expectantly.

"30 credits," Rav decided, and a guard came forward and placed the credits on the table.

"What? No!" Jariah cried out. "That's ridiculous. We went off-planet to retrieve the bounty, and we delivered a Jedi too. You know how much the Sith are paying for those nowadays. You're just stringing Cade along with these stupid contracts, and you pay less and less each time!"

Rav stood up suddenly, causing the guards to stand at alert but not affecting Cade in the slightest. Rav pointed a finger at Cade. "I rescued that boy. He owes me his life. And until he pays off that debt, I can pay him as little as I please!"

Jariah took a step forward to respond, but Cade put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. He reached forward, grabbed the credits off the table, then motioned to his crewmates that it was time to go. They walked back out of the room and started off down the hall. Once they were out of earshot of the guards, Jariah started to work himself up again.

"I can't believe you let him push you around like that," he said. "It's not fair!"

"I'm not letting anyone push me around," Cade replied. "He wasn't going to pay us any more if we complained. If anything he'd pay us less. I was just cutting losses."

Jariah sighed. "Man, I'm not doing this much longer. We gotta just fly off somewhere and never return. Find some better paying work."

"You know he's got people everywhere," Cade said. "He'd find us within days, and we'd be right back here. Only with a little less freedom."

"Less than we have now?"

Cade stopped walking and turned to Jariah and Deliah. "Maybe you guys should leave and find better lives for yourselves. I'm the one that's in debt to him, so as long as I'm on his payroll he's happy."

"No," Deliah said immediately. "We wouldn't leave without you."

"Yeah," agreed Jariah. "We've got to stick together. We'll find a way out of this together."

Cade smiled painfully as he continued walking. There were times such as these where it became hard for him to keep secrets and stay unattached. His crewmates cared for him, but he knew that he had to stay emotionally separated from them. If someone figured out that he was a Jedi he'd have to run, abandoning his two friends for their own good. He would have to stay prepared to do that.