Missing Scenes
Post Revenge of the Sith: Taking a Stand on a Higher Ground
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There is no such thing as coincidence, just the illusion of coincidence. ~ V for Vendetta
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The whispered rumors were hardly a shock to the tattooed Rattataki woman although it certainly piqued her curiosity, as well as her concern. Though it was neither official nor common knowledge word of mouth traveled fast and with it carried a million stories, most being too nonsensical and legendary to be real. But within every tale is an ounce of truth and Asajj had some to understand that while the stories around her were ever changing there was one fact that didn’t change. The Emperor’s second in command was said to be more than just a powerful cyborg, but a fallen Jedi.
Yet even this would have been considered laughable; if it weren’t for the fact she witnessed first hand the black armored form that was known as Darth Vader. The aura that exuded from the being that resembled a living monolith was only too familiar to Asajj. It only took mere seconds for the pale skinned woman to recognize where she had witness this wild swirling aura of sorrow and rage before.
It was a few years before and it was a day Asajj would never forget, for even now it stood out in her mind like a scar that would never fully heal. Only it wasn’t the Sith Lord whom now led an army of massive Clone troop’s mere meters from her location that Asajj had faced. Rather it was a Jedi Padawan known as Anakin Skywalker. He was an easy fight at the time or so she believed. For while he was impressive in battle his pride that made him easy prey; in the end it was her pride that almost cost her life.
Asajj had always taken for granted the Jedi’s need to follow the concepts and ideals of moralistic righteousness. As such she had expected a certain code of honorable behavior from wayward Padawan because of it. For she too once followed these ideals until her Master died at the hands of the same Rattataki Warlord who killed her parents. But Asajj soon learnt the hard way that Anakin had no use for Codes of Honor or the more docile practices of the Order he served. It was a mistake she would not make again.
While this lesson was carefully learnt and put to memory, little did the fallen Padawan realize at the time it was the beginning of many more to come. Now a few years later this experience once more served another purpose; one that confirmed what she had already known deep within. While Anakin was a good Jedi, he was even better as a Sith. For there was no doubt in her mind that one known as Darth Vader could be anyone else but Anakin Skywalker. For the dark signature that exuded off of the towering masked warrior was no different than one she had witnessed from the Jedi Padawan she was ordered to hunt all those years ago. Only difference now was instead of a light filled aura that was riddled with tendrils of darkness, there was only a black swirling storm.
It didn’t take her long after being witness to the resurrected monster that was once the
hero with no fear for Asajj to disappear and move on the run once more. While Xagobah moons for a time was her home the former dark Jedi knew it was time to return to where it all began; Rattatak.
No longer wishing to depend only on the flighty rumors that traveled from a variety of sources Asajj sought to learn the truth of what really happened during the execution of Order 66. While there was much information to be found on the events that followed, Asajj soon learnt that one had to sift through much propaganda and altered facts before finding any real truth. In the end she found what she sought and with it came a new determination she had not known since the days that followed her former Master Ky Narec’s death.
However no longer was she driven by the hateful urges that encouraged her bloodlust and need for revenge. Asajj now served a different purpose, one that was no less dangerous, but far nobler. She would help the very warriors she once sought to destroy and she would do it in the name and memory of the one who had saved her. For like her former master he believed in her when no one else would. And in doing so, gave her the one thing Asajj so desperately needed during the darkest moments of her life; hope.
So in Master Kenobi’s memory, Asajj sought to offer in some small way hope to those who even now were on the run from the madness that was Darth Vader.
While deciding she would now aid in protecting the remnant Jedi in anyway possible, Asajj found making it a reality to be far more difficult than anticipated. The Rebels or so the Empire now called the fledgling Alliance were both secretive and swift in their methods leaving Asajj with nothing but clues and hints of their presence but nothing beyond that. It was frustrating to say the least but it did little to stop her. However it wasn’t until she decided to take the more direct approach and seek out the elusive Jedi Master who saved her life years ago did the former dark Jedi finally stumble onto anything remotely substantial.
While she did not come even close to locating Master Kenobi’s whereabouts Asajj did however stumbled upon an illegal and highly encrypted message that was sent between two Rebel contacts. She doubted it had anything to do with Obi-Wan, but if it did she wouldn’t know as Asajj wasn’t familiar with the codes used amongst the Alliance. All she recognized was the similar format that she had seen too many times before during her failed attempts to make contact with the Rebels. As such she instantly recorded the frequency it hailed on and kept it on hand for future use. Knowing fully well that in reality if she were to ever use it, it would have be within the next week or two for the codes were constantly changing. It was another frustrating lesson that she learnt in her obsessive search for a contact that would gain her access to the underground movement.
But two days ago a message turned up that was completely unexpected but certainly not unwanted. It took her no time to realize just whom this was meant for and with it came the knowledge that they had long since been killed by the Imperial army. For the older smuggler was one of the few people Asajj suspected was possibly a member of the Alliance. As such she had been monitoring his comm channels for some time in hopes of finding more solid evidence of this. But he was just a man who worked the black market who had the misfortune of being captured killed by the Imperial Army for trying to smuggle illegal weapons into Empire territory.
While at the time she had no idea just who was sending the message Asajj saw it as the perfect opportunity to reach the ones she sought. Taking the chance she made contact with the mysterious persons who sought as the decoded message suggested a quick departure out of Imperial territory. Her reply was quick and to the point explaining the Empire had already eliminated their contact and that she being his back-up would like to assist in his absence. It was a poor ruse Asajj knew but one that she did her best to encourage by vaguely hinting that she was in alliance with the Rebel Forces.
If they knew the truth behind her words it didn’t show and soon a few highly encrypted messages were exchanged between them before Asajj finally met the contact in question at the rendezvous point on Rattatak’s only moon. Despite her careful preparations, nothing could prepare her for what she had discovered.
The cargo in question she soon learnt were three Jedi now on the run from Darth Vader himself. They had barely escaped his grasp during the Empire’s recent invasion of Kashyyyk and were even now being hunted. The contact himself was the oldest member of the three survivors the other two being another Jedi knight and her Padawan.
She agreed to assist without hesitation and requested that she be given 52 standard hours or two standard Rattatak days to make the arrangements necessary so that they would have another contact waiting for them at the next rendezvous point. The Jedi knight in turn agreed saying that they would meet here once more within the set time before departing with her to their next destination.
Leaving the problem now of where to send them or more exactly to whom? It was with this in mind that Asajj found herself struggling to come up with a coded message that would explain to the ones she sought to reach of the complicated situation at hand. In reality she knew that only Master Kenobi would understand just how delicate and urgent this situation was. However locating him as she had discovered was like trying to grab a grain of sand in the midst of a storm. But if anyone could ensure the remnant Jedi safely escaped Anakin or Lord Vader as he was known it would be him.
At the memory of Obi-Wan an idea soon formed in Asajj’s thoughts and quickly she prepared the coded message that she would be sending to the mysterious frequency discovered a little over a week ago. While this truly was a shot in the dark, Asajj had little doubt in her mind that the Alliance would refuse to help the remnant Jedi. However she could only hope that someone would be able to decode her message and recognize that the animals spoken in the riddle were avatars of Jedi sword formations. But even if they did there was no guarantee that anyone even knew of Master Kenobi’s whereabouts, nevermind be willing to reach the elusive Jedi Master on her behalf.
So many hopes to count on and even more chances taken the Rattataki woman thought darkly to herself as she completed the message and sent it to the highly encrypted channel. Shortly after the small screen chimed marking the message was indeed sent. As the sound Asajj took a deep breath and sighed deeply. It was in their hands and all she could do now was wait and hope a reply would arrive before their time ran out.
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scene list
