Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Star Wars

Author's Note: This is the beginning of my sequel trilogy. Since it's doubtful that a sequel trilogy will ever be made, this is just a fanfic attempt to depict what a sequel trilogy might have been. This is just my vision of a possible sequel trilogy. For the most part, I'm not following the EU, but I will incorporate parts of it to craft the story together.

So sit back, relax, turn on some Star Wars music and return to that galaxy far, far away…

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

STAR WARS

EPISODE VII: SHADOW OF VENGEANCE

It is a period of peace in the galaxy. The Death Star has been destroyed and the Galactic Empire has fallen and the Jedi Knights have returned and resumed their place as guardians of peace and justice. As the light of the NEW REPUBLIC dawns across the galaxy, the task of rebuilding is placed on the shoulders of its citizens.

But the dark side never dies. The MANDALORIAN WARRIORS, long thought scattered and dispersed, have united their clans under a single leader and have begun to stockpile their resources on the moon of Dxun. The threat of war looms over the galaxy, as Mandalorian shock troops invade the Outer Rim territories and set their sights on the fledgling Republic.

As the dark side begins to regain strength, Luke Skywalker and his two apprentices head to Tatooine to investigate allegations that the Hutt crime lords are supplying the Mandalorians with credits and weapons in their campaign to wage war against the galaxy…

Tatooine.

From a distance, it appeared to be simply another star in the galaxy; but upon closer inspection, one would find that it was a barren, desert wasteland. The heat from its twin suns scorched the sand, and very few species could inhabit the terrain. Only the Jawas and Tusken Raiders knew how to survive the harsh environment.

But though it appeared to be an insignificant dustball, it was one of the most important planets in the galaxy. It had produced some of the greatest heroes the galaxy had ever seen. From Jedi Knights to smugglers, Tatooine gave the galaxy the best it had to offer.

It also had the worst.

All kinds of pirates, bounty hunters and other villains lurked in the shadows of its spaceports, looking for easy prey to pick apart.

The worst parasites were of all were the Hutts. And the worst out of all of them was the Desilijic clan. And it was this particularly dangerous crime family that representatives from the New Republic were en route to visit…

***

A modified Y-wing fighter cut through space as it journeyed toward its destination, the golden planet in the view screen growing larger by the second. Its pilot eased on the stick, as a wearying look came across his face.

One of the two apprentices in the backseat noticed the change in his master. "Uncle Luke …? Are you alright?"

Luke Skywalker closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm fine Jacen. It's just … it's been along time since I've …"

The teenager motioned with his hand for his uncle to continue. "Since you've …?"

"Since I've returned home."

Home.

Sixteen year old Jacen Solo wrinkled his nose. He and his twin sister Jaina actually had a pretty comfortable home life, though due to their parents' importance to the New Republic, they had been shifted around from planet to planet.

Han Solo and Princess Leia were married a few years after the Battle of Endor, and now their twin children had grown to the age of sixteen. Leia had nurtured their aesthetic side, bringing them to museums and other cultural activities. Han had tried to toughen them up. He taught them how to fly and repair ships, use a blaster and had even taught them how to brawl in cantinas.

During their adolescence, their Force talents were nurtured by their Uncle Luke, who had taken them on as his own Padawans. In addition to studying the Force, they learned philosophy, diplomacy, and how to use a lightsaber. During their training in the newly rebuilt Jedi Temple on Coruscant, they lived in relative comfort.

So, again, Jacen and Jaina couldn't conceive of how someone could stand living in such a rough environment.

"I can't believe you used to live here," Jaina said, staring ahead. She folded her arms and leaned back. "I don't know how anyone could stand living there. The sand's bad enough – but the heat!"

Luke chuckled softly. "I know this planet seems harsh, but it has many lessons to teach. Self-reliance, independence, how to stand up for yourself…"

"But we learn all that during our Jedi training," Jaina commented.

"Yes, but learning in an academy is a far different experience than actually living it. That's why I'm taking you two out for some field work; you two could do with some real life experience."

Jacen leaned closer to his uncle. "Do you really think that the Hutts are involved with the Mandalorians?"

"Well … that's what we're here to find out, aren't we?"

Luke brought the Y-wing into the planet's surface, flying high above the heated surface. In the distance a spaceport began to take shape. "Is that Mos Eisley," Jaina asked.

The Jedi Master nodded. "Yup. That's where our 'contact' is. He'll take us from the spaceport to the Desilijic clan's sail barge. Let me warn you though, be on your guard. After all, as my master once told me, you won't find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy."

***

Luke, Jacen and Jaina waited in the Mos Eisley cantina. The band played nonstop, and Luke had a strange sense of nostalgia being here. This was where he had come with his first master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, to find a spacer to take them to Alderaan. This was also where he had met his brother-in-law, Han Solo and his copilot, Chewbacca.

The trio sat at a table, sipping their drinks. Remembering the cantina's strict, no-droid policy, Luke had ordered his astromech droid, R2-D2 to wait with the ship. The droid had whistled pathetically, and Luke had promised to make it up to the little droid next time.

"Shouldn't he be here by now," Jaina asked, arms folded.

"Patience," Luke assuaged. "Just keep your mind in the here and now."

Jacen sipped his water excitedly. "What if the Hutts are involved in this?" He relished the thought of some action.

Luke shrugged. "We'll have to take them into custody."

Jaina's eyebrow rose a centimeter. "Something tells me that that's gonna be easier said than done."

"In the life of a Jedi, it usually is."

A sudden shadow fell over the table, and Luke looked up to see a grinning Twi-lek standing above them.

"Hello," the Jedi Master said pleasantly.

"You're the Jedi, right?"

Luke was pleased that his "guide" at least spoke Basic. "You're Gaelor Senek, I presume?"

The Twi-lek bowed mockingly. "In the flesh."

"I don' t like this guy," Jaina whispered to her brother. "There's something slimy about him, and I'm not talking about his skin."

Gaelor guzzled down his drink, wiped his mouth with his hand and then motioned for the Jedi trio to follow him. "My speeder's outside. We can leave now if you like, though I do expect to be paid before I take you anywhere."

"Of course." Luke handed him a sack of coins and the alien greedily snatched it up.

"There's half in there," Luke told him. "You'll get the other half when we arrive at the Desilijic's sail barge."

"Generally I expect full payment up front." He noted Jacen and Jaina's sour expressions and the lightsabers clipped to their belts. "But … in the case of a Jedi, I think I can make an exception."

"Glad to hear it." Luke finished his drink and laid some coins down on the table. "Come on you two," he motioned. He then turned to Gaelor. "We have to pick up my R2 unit first."

Gaelor grit his teeth; he wanted to get this job over with quickly; but then again, he was smart enough not to get into a disagreement with a Jedi.

He would rather deal with an Imperial over a Jedi any day.

***

It was an hour drive to the Desilijic sail barge. Gaelor drove his landspeeder; Luke sat beside him while the Solo twins and the astromech droid occupied the back. Luke tried to pass the time with small-talk, but Gaelor didn't seem to be too interested. His responses to Luke's questions were curt and short.

When they arrived at the sailbarge, which hovered lazily above the ground, Gaelor quickly hopped out of his speeder and demanded payment. Luke gave him a second sack of coins and the Twi-lek prepared to hop into his speeder again.

"Alright, I got you guys here," he commented, revving up the engines and preparing to take off. He looked at the ominous barge before him and gulped. "Good luck."

"Wait a minute!" Luke was incredulous. "You can't just take off, we need a lift back to Mos Eisley!"

"Hey, I only got paid to take you here, not drive you back. I'm not a taxi service! Besides, you Jedi have a penchant for angering Hutts, and I don't want to be anywhere near here when that happens!"

And with a rush of his engines he was gone.

"Great," Jaina groaned. "How are we getting back now?"

"The Force'll provide a way."

The trio of Jedi moved towards the stationed sail barge. The vehicle usually came out into the Dune Sea for leisure trips, but the new head of the Desilijic clans, Orgo the Hutt, was determined to meet the Jedi on his terms.

A ramp descended from the barge, and several Gamorrean guards appeared at the top. They oinked unintelligibly, and a small, floating droid drifted down the ramp.

"Greetings, Master Jedi. My master is expecting you … please, this way." It turned around and returned up the ramp. Luke and his protégé's followed it up and into the darkness of the barge. A grinding noise was made as the ramp closed behind them.

Luke was again filled with nostalgia as the droid led him down the halls. The scent was certainly familiar. He was reminded of Jabba the Hutt's palace. Jabba had been the head of the Desilijic clan, and he was fairly certain that this Orgo the Hutt gave him some measure of blame for his successor's demise. While Hutt's tended to look down on other species, they were often very close and protective of other Hutts – and they held grudges for a very long time.

The droid led them into a large greeting chamber, and Luke noticed a large amount of guards and bounty hunters loitering around. Of course, the most noticeable part of the chamber was the Hutt himself. Large, sluglike, Orgo was just as ugly as Jabba. He wore a red fez with a tassel on his head and he was sipping some foul concoction through a straw. Several scantily-clad belly dancers were busy scrubbing the sweat and bodily fluids from the Hutt's wrinkled, blubbery flesh.

Luke bowed respectfully to the Hutt, and Jacen and Jaina clumsily followed suit. "Greetings, Exalted One," the Jedi Master said.

Orgo opened his mouth, and his guests could smell his reeking breath from the other side of the room. He spoke in Huttese, but Luke and he were able to understand him.

"So … this is Jedi Master, Luke Skywalker." The pompous tone was evident in the crime lord's voice. "With all due respect, may I ask why I had to take time from my busy schedule to meet with you?"

Jacen and Jaina looked at each other questioningly. Busy schedule? It looked like the Hutt did nothing but lounge around in his own filth all day.

Luke, however, humored the slug.

"I understand the constraints your schedule places on you, Exalted One. Thank you for being so accommodating. I promise, I won't take long … I just have a few questions."

The Hutt rolled his eyes. "Very well. On with it!"

"First of all, I'm certain you've heard of the Mandalorian invasions of the Outer Rim?"

Here the Hutt's eyes narrowed, and Jaina could feel a great deal of suspicion surge from the crime lord. "I may have heard mention of it … in passing, of course. But that's all such a long way from here…"

"It may be closer to home than you think. My apprentices and I are tracking an outflow of cash and illegal weapons that have found their way into the Mandalorian's hands. We've traced it back here … to Tatooine."

The Hutt narrowed his eyes. "But what does this have to do with me, Jedi? If you think I have anything to do with this…"

"No one said you did," Luke replied calmly. "I'm here to find answers, not to fling mindless accusations around."

"So you want to ask questions? The Republic could have sent any simple agent to question me, but instead they send Jedi. No, this isn't a simple questioning. It's an interrogation."

"Your feelings betray you, Orgo. I can sense a great deal of fear in you – of us. I can assure you, you have nothing to fear from Jedi – unless you have something to hide."

Orgo was practically sputtering. "I have nothing to hide from you, Jedi!"

"Then I don't see the harm in a few simple -."

But the Hutt interrupted him.

"You have some nerve, Jedi! I allow you here, a guest, and you try probing me! We Hutts don't take kindly to these kinds of accusations. The Jedi have always been our enemies. The Empire on the other hand … they at least left us alone! They allowed us to conduct business and sometimes even traded with us. But not one of them ever murdered a Hutt!"

Skywalker's eyebrows furrowed. "If you're referring to the death of Jabba the Hutt, then I can assure you -."

"Of course I'm referring to Jabba! It was your sister, after all, that murdered him!"

"You make it sound so cold-blooded. My sister was merely defending herself."

"She strangled him with a chain when he could barely move! She's a filthy, backstabbing, little -."

"DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT MY MOTHER!" Jaina could barely contain herself. "You act like that slug didn't have it coming!"

Luke waved at her with his hand. "Jaina, control your temper – don't let it control you."

Jaina turned red and looked down. "Forgive me, Master."

Orgo, however, made no attempt to control his anger. "I've had just about all I can take from you Jedi!"

The trio found themselves surrounded by Gammoreans.

"My guards will show you the way out! And if I ever see your faces again, I'll feed you to my nexu! They could use the variety in their diet, after all…"

And with that, the Jedi were forcibly removed from the chamber and led outside.

With no Gaelor around, they were stranded in the desert.

"Well, I thought that went well, don't you think," Jacen ribbed.

"We still have no leads," Jaina griped.

"No … but that Hutt was seemed very defensive - too defensive. I'm fairly certain he has something to hide." Luke stroked his chin.

"So what do we do now?"

"Well … in this case, I would say a little sleuthing is in order."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, come nightfall, we sneak aboard that barge and look for any incriminating evidence. I sense that we're on the right trail here…"

***

The man's heart was racing, and his mouth was exceedingly dry. He cowered in terror. "Please … what do you want from me?! Credits? A spaceship? I'm a Senator – name your price and it's yours!"

The figure remained in the darkness, but the Senator could sense it moving back and forth in the shadows … pacing.

"What do you want," he repeated, tears trickling from his eyes.

"Information," was the muffled reply.

"Y-you kidnapped me … for information?"

"You're a Senator. You know about almost everything that goes on in Coruscant. I'm looking for someone … and you're going to tell me where he is."

The man strained to listen to his captor's tone, trying to see if there was any familiarity to it. There was none. And he had seen what this guy had done to his guards – neutralized them without so much as laying a finger on them.

"W-who are you looking for?"

"A certain Jedi … by the name of Skywalker." The captor seemed to hiss the name. "I know the Chancellor sent him on a mission, and I know you know where he went. I've been trying to track him for the past few days, but the sneaky little Jedi knows how to conceal himself in the Force."

"What d-do you want with h-him?"

The captor clenched its fist. "I want to see him broken. I want to see the light leave his eyes."

"You're going to kill him?!" The Senator's voice had become shrill. "In that case – I won't tell you where he is! Do what you want with me – you'll get nothing out of me!"

There was a snap and a hiss as the purple blade of a lightsaber appeared from out of the darkness. The glowing tip came within a centimeter of the Senator's neck, and he visibly gulped. "Alright, point taken," he said.

"Where is he?!" The lightsaber twitched, moving closer to the cowering man's face.

"Tatooine," was his instant reply. "Skywalker went to Tatooine." The lightsaber vanished back into its hilt.

"A-am I free to go now?" The Senator was edging as far away from the lightsaber wielding maniac as he could.

"I'm afraid not."

The captive froze. "B-but I – I told you everything you wanted to know!"

"Yes, and I appreciate the info. But I can't have you blabbing about this incident to the Senate, now can I?"

"I-I won't say anything! I promise!"

"Oh, I'm fairly certain you won't. Because I'm going to silence your politician's mouth once and for all."

"No! Please – ack!" The Senator suddenly felt a vise close in around his throat. He clawed at his neck, but there was nothing there his fingers could touch. He was being choked by some unseen power.

He fell over, his neck broken without ever being touched.

The black-clad murderer stepped over the corpse as a small probe droid hovered around his head, waiting for instructions.

The killer instantly gave the droid orders.

"Set course for Tatooine. We're going Jedi hunting."

***

Author's Note: Here's the end of the first chapter. I have a working outline for this story, and rough ideas for the other two. Overall, I know how the story's going to progress over the course of the trilogy.

The next chapter will pick up the pace and have some action in it. If you have some constructive criticism, any comments, things you like, etc. feel free to leave me a review (that's my 'not-so-subtle way of asking for reviews lol).