It took a lot of effort on my part to convince them that there was no point in dragging a clone regiment and all their armor onto the planet. And they were willing to do it. Hutt, it's nice when people appreciate you. It means everything I've done hasn't been in vain.
Jabba's steward and butler, Bib Fortuna, met us at the gate. The pale-skinned Twi'lek bowed - Master Jabba is expecting you
"Lead the way"' I muttered
With a wave of his hand, he led the way into the palace. We followed behind him. Along the way, we encountered at least fifty mercenaries, mostly Gamorreans, but there were also others: Mandalorians, Trandoshans, Niktos... and, well, numerous servants. Seeing Rotta in the Togruta's arms, they sighed with relief and began to whisper joyfully
Reaching the vast hall, we walked to the center of the room, standing in front of a massive slab that served as Jabba's makeshift throne. The Hutt himself reclined on it, his rather large eyes watching us intently. I bowed my head for a moment
"Great Jabba Desilijic Tiure. I, Jedi Knight Dagon marek, have come to return your son to you." Ahsoka, obeying my signal, stepped forward and handed Rottu to Jabba. The baby, seeing his father, squealed happily
"Little Rotta! You've been found! was worried about you, little one!" Jabba said joyfully, carefully taking the Hutt child into his arms
"Furthermore, we've managed to find out who's behind your son's kidnapping, " 1 continued not giving Jabba time to recover. He snapped his fingers, and Rotta was carried into the arms of one of the slaves.
- Who dared to commit such a crime?
'It was Count Dooku. However, this man didn't act alone: he was assisted by a Hutt... named Ziro. Your uncle."
Jabba frowned
- Proof.
"Ask him, " I replied, praying to the Force that Shaak Ti wouldn't drag her feet Jabba nodded to his droid, who activated the orb-shaped long-range comlink located to the left of the Hutt's bed "Sir, vour Uncle Ziro is on the line" Jabba's protocol droid reported However, instead of Ziro, a hologram of Master Shaak Ti appeared before us
"Greetings, honorable Jabba. 1 am Master Shaak Ti of the Jedi Order. Your Uncle Ziro was arrested by us several hours ago on suspicion of orchestrating your son's kidnapping. Our search revealed irrefutable evidence of his guilt-a holographic recording of a conversation with Count Dooku, preserved in the memory of an IG-86 security droid."
A recording of the conversation appeared before us... *"You are unable to understand us, even though you speak the Hutt language better than many think," Ziro said after a pause. "This child is Jabba's descendant. Not mine. And 1 will do whatever it takes-in the interests of my offspring.'"
"Just don't do anything rash," the Count said aloud. "Don't do anything until I've paved the way The point is to buy time. To extract maximum benefit."
"Don't bother explaining long-term strategy to the Hutt, Ziro rasped
*kk
As soon as the recording ended, Jabba gave vent to his anger
⁃ My uncle must be brought to me at the palace...
"He.." Shaak Ti began, but I quickly interrupted her
"He will be delivered to you as soon as possible. You should undoubtedly punish him for whaw he has done."
"Yes, he will die for his disrespect towards me. However, it seems he-or Dooku-is completely insane if he thinks I'| succumb to this foolish blackmail and not give them what they deserve as soon as / get the chance. " Jabba's rage was gradually growing, and I couldn't help but admit it was quite terrifying. The others in the room also fell silent under the pressure of the Hutt's intangible will. "I am one of the Supreme Rulers of the Hutts. And I must prove to my people that criminals will be severely punished for such atrocities. If we turn a blind eye to these atrocities, how can we live on?"
I chuckled. Master Arto's lessons had paid off, and I understood every nuance of Jabba's speech. He didn't just use the word "takkana" --breaking the law-but "chomma" --crime "Chomma"is a uniquely Hutt crime. Crimes committed by humans or other species- "takkana"- mean nothing to the Hutts. That's why the Republic has always considered the Hutts criminals They've always had different moral principles. But the Jedi still believe that the laws and rules of the Republic are the only true ones for the entire galaxy and must be strictly observed by all living beings within it
"Well. that can be used."
"Your uncle has already been arrested, and as soon as we complete all the formalities, he will be delivered to Tatooine, "I confirmed what I had said earlier Here TC-70 - that seems to be the "name" of Jabba's droid - attracted the attention of his
master.
- Sir. This is Chancellor of the Republic Sheev Palpatine and the Knights of the Jedi Order
The Hutt nodded graciously, and the protocol droid activated the projector.
The "powers that be" of this world joined our conversation - Yoda, Windu, Obi-Wan, Palpatine and, unexpectedly, Skywalker.
"I thank the Republic for the return of my son, and for the aid they provided to the Desilijic clan. " Jabba rumbled. and when the droid translated his words into Basic. the Chancellor and the Jedi relaxed a little. Of course--if our "undertaking" had failed, if we hadn't saved Rotta, and Dooku had managed to discredit the Jedi... Basically, it would have been easier for the Republic to declare war on the Hutts. The consequences would have been less severe.