Chereads / STAR WARS: The Jaeger Saga / Chapter 47 - The Hutt

Chapter 47 - The Hutt

Jaeger watched as the dropships carried over a compliment of droids to operate their prize vessel. Seeing that the Destroyer would now be his, he moved away from the viewpoint and walked towards the exit, heading for the lift. "Prepare a ground force and tell Lucia to meet me o the surface." A droid nodded, moving towards a console as the General walked out, entering the lift.

The lift began to move and the General sighed, slowly hunching over, looking more like the original General that revived Jaeger. Jaeger felt the shift as one of his eyes swirled and changed from green to yellow. In the reflection of the metal plating of the lift, he saw the Grievous' eyes.

"We should not have to deal with these low lives!" Grievous yelled, their left arm moving not according to Jaeger's will. William watched as half of his body moved to as Grievous desired, the six clawed hand clenching, scratching the metal palm. "If we truly wanted to make a new government, we should have just reinstated the CIS! They would have rose behind me easily."

"While that may be true, I've already come to the decision that you would be a hinderance towards the progress of this. We need to appear to be friendly, and you, according to the history, were not. Even the battle droids are scared of you, and they're supposed to be your men. They fear you because they remember that you have the tendency to destroy them for minor inconveniences." Jaeger replied, taking full control once more as the doors opened, revealing the hall that lead to the hangar. He could feel the strange sensation in his left eye as Grievous fought him for control. It felt like his eye would pop, causing him to twitch slightly. The droids that were running around gave the General a wide birth, something that Jaeger caught on to, and he realized he was walking with a large hunch. He cleared his throat and fixed his posture, standing tall and walking with his head held high and his metallic back straight as a saber.

The General entered the hangar and saw the shuttle meant for him: waiting there were ten Super battle droids, all marked with the colors of his new faction: his blood red. The head of the droids, their fore arms and legs were colored this red, and even Grievous admitted they looked good. The General walked up to the shuttle and the battle droids raised their arms in a sort of salute, signifying their weapons were ready. He walked past the droids and onto the shuttle, being followed by the ten droids after he entered fully.

Taking a seat in the shuttle, the General watched as the ramp lifted and the doors closed, and felt the shuttle lift off and enter the vacuum. He studied his guards, the ten Super Battle Droids, noticing that they appeared more passive compared to how Grievous remembered them. In his eye, the B2 battle droid had a posture that inflicted fear, and its movement caused terror as it marched slowly forward, but these B2 battle droids, despite their larger frame, appeared more calm and friendly. It bothered Grievous, but Jaeger suppressed that anger, looking towards the cockpit as the shuttle entered the atmosphere.

"General, Lucia and her team are following us in an Imperial shuttle. Where shall we land?" The pilot asked, looking back as the ship passed the threshold and began flying smoothly. The General stood up and approached the cockpit, looking over the desert that made up most of the planet.

"Head straight for Jabba's palace. We'll speak to the slime directly." Grievous took control quickly before Jaeger reigned the Separatist General in, clearing his throat. "Make sure not to entice his rage and land a distance away from his palace." The droid pilot nods and continues to control the shuttle. William faces forward and watches as the dunes of Tatooine went past them.

After some time, the city of Mos Espa came into view, and past that, the silhouette of Jabba's palace. The two shuttles approached the crime lord's castle, getting a better view of the spires that made up the building. The General's shuttle approached an opening that looked over the palace, and watched as some of the guards patrolling the entrance panicked, running into the castle. The ramp extended and the General walked out, his ten droids following him. He watched the Imperial shuttle lower its own ramp, Lucia walking out with her E-11D blaster in hand, followed by the Red Commandos. "Excellent work, Lucia. Look forward to doing stuff like that more often." The General watched as Lucia simply nodded, followed by the other Commandos copying her nod. Jaeger's eye twitched, returning his focus to making his way down towards the entrance.

The group of droids followed the General and Lucia towards the palace, unfazed by the group of guards waiting for them with their weapons ready. The group of droids stopped at a certain distance, not raising their weapons in order to not anger the guards. The General slowly approached, stepping in the area between the two groups and cleared his throat.

"Greetings, servants of Jabba the Hutt. I wish to speak to him in order to form an alliance between his syndicate and my forces." The marauders stared at the red cyborg, then to one another, debating whether or not to believe the droid. "You have no need to worry about me attacking you with my droids." The minions of Jabba raised their blasters when Lucia approached, causing the former Storm Trooper to freeze.

"General, I don't think they're worried about the droids." She says, raising her hands and her blaster into the air. The General turned to see her behind him before chuckling and returning his gaze towards the rogues.

"I assure you, we are not with the Empire. In fact, we wish to speak with Jabba about dismantling it, if it would so please him. Get rid of the reason he's held up in his palace instead of expanding his assets." Jaeger's form hunched over and tilted his head in a knowing manner. The minions of Jabba looked to one another again before one ran towards the great doors that went into Jabba's palace and knocked. A eye popped out from the door and the two spoke momentarily before the doors began to open slowly.

From the large entry way came a white Twi'lek in dark blue robes, holding his clothing up away from the floor as to not dirty them. He approached the group of soldiers, squinting his eyes as if he was not used to the sun, and stopped next to Jabba's men, scowling at the droid and his companion. He nodded and turned around, waving his hands as if conveying they could follow. The General and Lucia looked to one another before approaching, his droids standing perfectly still in the desert. The three entered the palace before the great doors closed behind them, concealing them in the dark passageway.

The three walked in the dark hall, getting the occasional side glance from the Gamorrean guards patrolling the area. The General remained quiet; as quiet as a cyborg could be with the metallic groans of his joints. Lucia remained quiet as well; her eyes darting around to note any corners where an ambush could be waiting. They reached a stairwell and slowly walked down, moving through the tight corridor. The sounds of partying grew louder: laughter, chatter, clanking of mugs. Even though the General had barely any use for his olfactory organs, he still smelled the mixture of the ales and cheap beer that they were drinking, and it reeked.

The three entered the main chamber and were introduced to the party proper, and the man, or rather slug, of the hour was sitting there, pulling the chain of a poor blue Twi'lek dancer, leering at her as she struggled. Jaeger felt his insides starting to boil: he really didn't want to ally himself with this creature, but Kha had a point; he did control the majority of the hyperspace lanes in the outer rim. If they were going to unify the galaxy against the Empire, they needed proper and secure lanes for supply lines and the likes. Jabba was either going to be an ally, or a subject, the General would give him an option.

The white Twi'lek walked up to Jabba and whispered into his ear, causing the large slug creature to focus on the large cyborg and the red storm trooper.

Jaeger was surprised that he could understand Huttese, but Grievous took advantage of Jaeger's shock. "Jabba, the Hutt, so good to see you in good health. I have a proposition for you and your grand syndicate." The twi'lek and Jabba both looked at the General, surprised that he didn't need a translator. "An alliance against the Empire."

The General stared at the Hutt and could see the slug chuckle, his large body giggling in the process. The slug raised his hand, getting a light yet hesitant applause from the crowd. The General bowed his head, his cape draped over his arm.

"I'm glad we could come to an accord, your highness. You will be hearing from my people soon." The General stated, moving back with Lucia and walking out of the chamber.

Walking up the stairs, Lucia walked close behind the General. "I don't mean to disrespect Kha, but I don't trust the slug. He's a criminal."

"It's fine, Lucia. We share the same sentiment. But Grievous knows Jabba's capable due to his years in the Clone Wars, so he'll be useful in subverting the Empire. Then once they're gone, we'll deal with him properly."

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Jabba watched as the two walked away, then leaned over towards Bib Fortuna, causing the twi'lek to lean towards him. he laughed, causing Bib to laugh before walking away, leaving Jabba to toy with his dancer once more.