MOGINASPACE

Jub Wars: Episode I The Phantom Defacers

A long time ago in a Galaxy far, far away...

On the moon of small moon of Med there were two competing supply stores, Jub and Tops. A large rivalry developed between the two stores and often led to skirmishes between the two. During these 'Jub Wars' as they would later be called events unfolded that ultimately decided the fate of the galaxy. Our story begins...

[Slaves Ecaps Nigom, Lopra Vabra, Pagti Evmed, and Lurch, are in the stock room]

Ecaps took the engine supplies off the palette in the back and loaded them into his stock cart. It was early morning, still cool, the planet Ina hadn't even risen in the sky yet. Stock days were the worst days to be a slave at the Jub. Every third day new stock supplies would come in and the slaves would be responsible for putting them on the shelves. These were the days that the manager Puff relished. Not that Puff needed an excuse to beat the slaves, but I imagine that his small mind felt better about beating the slaves when they actually did something not to his liking.

"This sucks," commented Pagti while he pulled stock off of one of the palettes, "I'm sick of this life." Pagti had only just become a Jub slave to Horst the co-owner of the grocery, two weeks before. He was captured when him and a few of his cohorts at Tops were sent on a mission to Deface Jub's isles. His companions were all slain in a battle that ensued, but his valiant fighting won the liking of Horst, so he became a Jub slave.

"Get used to it Tops scum," Lopra quickly rasped back. Lopra proceeded to push Pagti out of the way and took some of the stock that he was loading onto his cart, probably because stocking the dry goods, which Pagti was loading onto his cart, was much easier than stocking the metallic machine parts.

"Lopra, he's one of us now, you don't have to be so mean to him," Ecaps calmly offered.

"Bah, he killed Bucpa in his little raid, I'll never forgive him," Lopra quickly lashed back as finished stocking his cart and dragged his cart out of the stock room to the store front.

"You'll get used to him, he's really not that mean," Ecaps told Pagti.

Just then Puff came into the stock room, furious as usual. Puff was a horrid looking creature. He had hooves and short green legs which were covered in some sort of hair a gnarled up in knots. North of his waistline his stomach and all it's fat rolls loomed large. His head was completely filthy and he had horrid breath to match his horrid form. His arms where long and thick and his hands always had grunge and filth on them. He was followed by his right hand man, Gom Gom,who always held a clipboard and pen and was constantly checking things on the clipboard off. It was mystery, probably to Puff himself, exactly what Gom Gom hand on his clipboard, but for reasons unknown Gom Gom was allowed to operate freely, although he was technically a slave.

"Ecaps you little douche-bag, get over here," Puff's demanded in a voice three levels higher than it needed to be. Ecaps quickly went over to Puff, whereupon arriving Puff's breath nearly knocked him to the floor.

"Yess..sir, what would you like me to do?" Ecaps asked timidly.

"Go help Dar Far Fis, he just got a load of stock in his cool food section, and he's seemed to take a liking to you, and you seem to be a cool food stock natural."

"Yes sir." Ecaps left the stock room and went over to Dar Far Fis and his cold food department. Recently Dar Far Fis had been teaching Ecaps the ancient art of the Dariy Force. Dar Far Fis was an elderly man, much past his prime. He was the only one to believe in the Dairy Force anymore. It was a lost art, the stuff legends were made of. As Ecaps came to the cold food storage area he saw the second wave of slave workers arrive, among them Toor, Spazo, Newguy, and Crobi-wan. Ecaps gave them an acknowledging nod as he passed them and entered the cold food storage area where he found Dar Far Fis talking to himself in a quick low voice.

"Hello there Fis," Ecaps cheerfully announced his arrival.

[Back in the stock room Puff, Gom Gom, Toor, Spazo, Newguy, Crobi-wan, and Lurch]

"Spazo," Puff bellowed, "Master Horst wants to see you immediately, go to the office now." Spazo desperately looked around at Lurch, sighed, then quickly left the stock room to go and see the Master of the Jub, Horst.

"God dammit, motherfucker, piece of shi..." Spazo muttered to himself on the way up to the office. On the way to the front of the store where the office was located, from the back of the store where the stock room was located he passed Lopra.

"Out of my way chex-mix motherfucker," Spazo yelled at Lopra. Spazo shoved Lopra out of the way with his hands. As Spazo moved past Lopra, Lopra pushed him in the back.

"Get lost, chicken head," Lopra said in his most condescending voice he could manage.

Spazo turned around and looked directly in Lopra's eyes. "I'll kill you someday, you can bet on that," Spazo vowed as he turned and continued to the office where Master Horst was waiting.

[Back in the stockroom]

Puff was busy barking out orders to the slaves that had just come in. Toor, you take the metallic goods with Pagto, Pagtu, or whatever the hell his name is. Lurch I want you to make me three displays using those boxes over there... Newguy do you know how to put up stock yet?" Newguy wasn't a new guy, in fact he had been a slave at the Jub for three years, but for some strange reason Puff and Horst always though he was a new guy and the name stuck. Newguy had long since abandoned his old name in favor of this new name.

"Yes sir, I know how to put up stock," Newguy reminded him.

"Don't get smart with me Newguy," Puff said as he went over and backhanded Newguy across the face. Newguy looked at him in dismay and then looked down at his feet. "Go round up aisle speeders from the lot outside."

"Crobi-wan, you miserable puke, go up front and see if the cashiers need any help bagging." Puff was finished barking out his orders and stormed out of the stock room, Gom Gom right behind him.

"Living this way is going to kill me," Newguy remarked as he held his throbbing face and walked out of the stock room and to the front of the store to pick up aisle speeders that the customers used when shopping for their supplies.

"Hey guys," Lurch called over to Newguy and Crobi-wan as they were leaving the stock room. I'm calling a meeting tonight, my room in the slave quarters, pass the word quietly."

"Okay," both of them answered back.

"Meeting?" Pagti asked as he finished loading up his cart.

"Come on let's put this stock up I'll tell you all about it," Toor told him. So it began as any other day at the Jub might've began.

Ina was a little higher in the sky, but the temperature was still cool. The store was pretty busy for this time of the morning. By this time all the slave stock boys knew about the meeting in Lurch's quarters that he had announced for that evening. Ecaps finished putting up a cart of cold foods and made his way back to the cold cooler where he found Fis again. Fis was not a slave, he worked at the Jub of his own free will for actual gil.

"So what's on the agenda next?" Ecaps asked.

"Sit down Ecaps," Fis told him, as he slid a crate over to him. "I'm gonna ask you something because I trust you." Ecaps looked quizzically at him and remained silent. "Ecaps, I want you to become my Padawan learner, so you can learn the ways of the Dairy Force. I'm getting old, and I cannot let the knowledge of the Dariy Force die with me. You understand don't you."

"Yes I understand, but I'm a slave, how can I become your Padawan? Puff and Horst would never allow your teaching me. And what good is me learning the way of the Dairy Force if I'm not free."

"You have much to learn." Fis sighed and looked around his cold storage area. "The current state this galaxy is in, is due to the fact that we have lost touch with the Dairy Force." Fis looked back at Ecaps, "I used to be a Jedi Knight," he whispered. He paused a few moments and seemed to be lost in his memories of his past years.

"You still haven't told me what good this Dairy Force is to me, a slave," Ecaps asked.

"Wielding the force will give you much power, and you will be able to end the suffering of the people of the galaxy," Fis told him. "I am too old and I have sat idle long enough, I must take action, I must teach you the way of the Dairy Force, so you can teach others and ultimately restore justice to this galaxy."

"Uh..okay, cool. So what's my first lesson?" Ecaps questioned.

"Well first of all I'll show you how to use the 'Dairy Shield'" Fis told him.

[In the office of the Jub, Spazo is awaiting entrance into the Master Chamber.]

"Come," a deep voice commanded from inside the Chamber. Spazo cautiously climbed the steps and peered into the chamber. He saw Horst with his long black cloak draped over his entire body. "You wanted to see me, Master."

"Yes Spazo, I have something important planned for you. Come closer." Fear gripped Spazo as he came closer as he was ordered.

"Good Spazo," Horst said as he raised his hand toward Spazo's face. An eerily dark light glowed from his hand as he touched Spazo's forehead. "Your new name is Darth Chicken Head, and you are loyal only to me, Darth Dietrick. You are my dog, my droid, my slave. I will teach you the old way of the galaxy, the way of the Force. What say you Darth Chicken Head?"

"Yes master. I will do your bidding," Spazo said in a monotone voice, as if he were a droid. Darth Dietrick looked pleased.

[At the front of the store Crobi-wan is bagging for Mankind.] Another seemingly endless day of paper or plastic for Crobi-wan. He was the youngest slave of at the Jub at just 16 years. He wasn't as bitter as Lopra yet. He knew that he didn't belong there, he knew as well as all the other slaves, save maybe Spazo and Gom Gom, that this whole slave thing was not right. Yet he was nearly powerless to do anything about it.

"Paper or plast-," Crobi-wan stopped mid-word when she came in. Through the Jub doors came Danny his co-master, behind him he dragged a shackled girl by a chain hooked up to handcuffs. She looked around bewildered and stunned by her surroundings. She looked across the store at Crobi-wan and their eyes met. Crobi-wan hadn't believe in love at first sight, until that moment...

Danny took the shackled girl to the office and Crobi-wan could only imagine her fate. He fancied for a moment of attacking Danny and running away with this new girl, but he perished the thought after Mankind told him that plastic was okay with this customer.

Ina was fully in the sky of Med now. The wind began to pick up even more. Stock was nearly finished. Then it happened. Aisle one's supplies suddenly and mysteriously became defaced. It would take hours for them to be faced again. Puff making the rounds was the first one to notice that his precious Aisle one had been the target of a defacer. His tiny brain instantly thought it was an inside job, and he hurried towards the stock room. In the stock room, Lurch and Toor were cleaning up as Lopra was making a bail of garbage with help from Newguy. Spazo was loading the rest of the stock onto his cart.

"Who the fuck did that to aisle one, which one of you did that!?" Puff screamed.

He kind of waddled over to Lopra and backhanded him, the other stock boys winced at the smack that Puff's hand hitting Lopra's head had made, "WHO!?"

"I don't know," quivered Lopra. Puff continued his tirade and moved over to Pagti. "WAS IT YOU?" He demanded as he kicked him in the leg with his metal clad hoof. Pagti fell to the ground and managed a meager "no". Puff was about to move on to Toor when Gom Gom came rushing into the stock room. "Aisle eight, and aisle ten have both been defaced!" This angered Puff even more. Puff grabbed Toor by the neck and dragged him out into the store. "Face this aisle now," Puff demanded. Puff then decided to go to see what Gom Gom had been talking about. As he looked down Aisle two, what he saw could have only baffled him. The supplies were all moving by themselves, the aisle was being defaced by some unseen force or forces. A can began to levitate in the middle of the aisle, Puff almost pissed his pants. Gom Gom backed away from Aisle two and peered down Aisle three to see if the same thing was taking place there. Sure enough, it was.

When Gom Gom looked back he saw Puff get hit in the head with the can that had been levitating. Puff shrieked like a little girl, he clutched the side of his slimy head with his slimy hand. He ran to his office which was just adjacent from the stock room. Once there he yanked a special cord down from his ceiling. The cord was attached to an alarm system. A piercing shrill was let out. All the stock boys looked up from what they were doing in the stock room.

"Where under attack!" Lurch shouted.

Puff came huffing into the stock room and with a special keycard. He went straight over to a special metal cabinet in the corner of the stock room. Inside were the stock boy's weapons, palette shards. Puff slid the keycard into a slot on the side of the cabinet and tore the cabinet open. He grabbed the weapons them and started tossing them out to the stock boys. His hands moved quickly as he thought this was clearly a life-threatening ordeal. Lurch, Lopra, Newguy, and Spazo were the first to be armed. Toor just coming in from Aisle one where Puff had tossed him by his neck, caught a palette shard. Puff looked at Pagti, and questioned whether or not he was deserving of a palette shard, just being a slave for two short weeks.

"You don't get one he told Pagti, I don't trust you yet." Crobi-wan ran towards the back of the store, he caught up with Ecaps coming out of the cold food storage area, and they both ran towards the stock room to get armed.

"What's going on Crobi-wan? Tops pirates? Are we under attack again?" Ecaps hurriedly asked.

"I don't think so, I was up front and I didn't see any Tops pirates coming through the front door. But Aisle nine was completely defaced when I ran though it coming back here. Let's just get to the stock room and see what's going on." Under times of attack the stock boys were the front line defenses. The stock room was like the war preparation room. Danny and Horst had rigged their office as a type of bunker and shut themselves in it during times of trouble. Tops pirates, had a reputation of being merciless, take no prisoners type of people. As Crobi-wan and Ecaps got to the stock room they were met by the rest of the stock boys who where rushing out into the store. Puff was just about to lock the cabinet when Crobi-wan and Ecaps entered.

"Where have you two screw-ups been? Nevermind here take these and get out there," Puff ordered.

"Who are we fighting," Ecaps asked.

"I think that it is a Tops defacing party, like the one we saw two weeks ago. Only this time I think that they may have invisible suits. Now get OUT THERE and fight!" Puff screamed. Ecaps hurried after Crobi-wan out of the stock room and into the store. The lights dimmed and went out. For a few moments there was complete darkness in the store. A blood-curdling scream was let out by someone. The emergency generators kicked in and some light returned to the store.

"I got one," shouted Lopra from a few aisles away. "They've got invisible suits, I think it's-ugh" Lopra's voice was cut short. Invisible suits were very expensive and Tops pirates couldn't have afforded them on their own. It must be someone else that was using them. Fortunately the Jub had a special defense against invisible suits that was just installed. Lurch, hearing Lopra saying that they were using invisible suits ran to a special control panel near the entrance to the stock room. On that panel he pushed the "Invisible Suit Defense Dection System" button. This button, when pushed, emitted a special powder from the ceiling. The powder made the suits glow bright orange and thus allowed anyone to see the invisible suits with the naked eye. Soon the stock boys found themselves fighting against bright orange figures. The previously invisible intruders quickly unsheathed their own palette shards. The battle was on.

Screams and grunts filled the aisles of the Jub, in Aisle 14 Newguy found himself fighting with two of the intruders. "Someone give me a hand over here," he called out in vain. His pallet shard techniques were not as good as they should have been; he was soon cut down by the two intruders. Newguy's premonition was correct, living this way finally caught up with him. He was free at last, but not the way he would have liked it. Spazo and Lopra flew around the corner or Aisle 14 to see Newguy face-down in a pool of his own blood his pallet shard at his side. The two orange intruders that had slain him were about ten meters away busily hacking at the aisle trying to destroy the aisle's face job. They immediately looked over at Spazo and Lopra. Spazo let out a shriek, it wasn't a shriek of fear or pain, but rather a battle cry as he charged forward pallet shard swinging in hand. Lopra shook his head as if to say "what a dumbass", and then charged himself.

Crobi-wan and Ecaps flew out of the stockroom and into the store. "I'm going up front," his motives being to check out that new slave girl, of course this was unbeknownst to Ecaps.

"Why are you going up front?" Ecaps questioned.

"Uhh.."

"The cashiers have protect boxes that they go into when the store is attacked, they're just fine," Ecaps told him.

"Yeah you're right," he began, "look out behind you," he yelled to Ecaps. Ecaps did a split and dropped to the floor just as a palette shard sliced where his neck had been. He quickly sweep kicked the intruder onto his back, and popped back to his feet. He kicked the stunned intruder again in the head before he stabbed the intruder with his pallet shard in the abdomen. The intruder, still on his back yelled and then tried to swing his own pallet shard at Ecaps' feet but Ecaps dodged the swipe and once again kicked the intruder in the head, hard, breaking his neck. Ecaps picked up the fallen intruder's pallet shard and then turned around to look for Crobi-wan, but he was gone. Ecaps began to run down to the other end of the store when he saw two more orange suits in Aisle 4, Ecaps' favorite aisle. They were defacing the aisle with their pallet shards. "Deface this!" Ecaps yelled as he rushed towards them with his pallet shard drawn. Lopra and Spazo soon slew the two intruders that had killed Newguy. Lopra had taken a flesh wound to the left arm. It was awkward for Spazo and Lopra to fight side by side. As soon as they were finished with the two intruders they looked at each other and glared.

"What are you looking at?" Lopra demanded. Spazo's eyes glowed a yellowish color. "N-o-th-i-ng," he said like a robot.

"What the hell's the matter with you-" Lopra's voice was cut short temporarily, possibly due to the shock. Spazo had sliced his entire left arm off!

"Ahhhhhh," Lopra dropped to the ground and clutched where his left arm was with his right arm! He looked up at Spazo. He was about to slice into Lopra again, when out of nowhere Pagti took up the pallet shard once belonging to Newguy and parried Spazo's blade before it hit Lopra again.

"What are you doing?" Pagti yelled. Spazo's eyes returned to normal and he fell to the floor, unconscious. Lopra was hurt bad, but with Pagti's help he made it to the stockroom. Lopra mostly screamed in pain the entire way to the stockroom. It's amazing that none of the intruders attacked them. Ecaps battled in Aisle 4 with two of the intruders, he killed one very quickly but the other one was more skilled in pallet shard fighting. The battle continued and spilled out to the large Aisle in back of the store. Ecaps backed up and up. This intruder was good, he was clearly superior to Ecaps in terms of swordplay. Just when Ecaps had stumbled backwards and was about to swing Lurch tackled the intruder from behind and brought him to the floor. They struggled and Ecaps quickly jumped into the foray to help. In the process the intruder's mask came off. Lurch looked at the intruder and immediately stopped.

"Holtzda?" Ecaps gasped, "but.. why?" Holtzda was a former slave at the Jub who had escaped just months before. He had planned his own escape and had asked if others wanted in. Many were interested in the plan but in the end it was thought to be too risky so everyone except Holtzda had backed out. Holtzda's cunning paid off and he escaped but only narrowly.

"Let me go!" he yelled and pushed Lurch off of him. Ecaps tried to restrain him but Holtzda got away and ran towards the exit of the store.

"Stoooop!" Lurch called out. But it was of no use, Holtzda had once again escaped.

"What purpose does it serve him to come back here?" Ecaps questioned Lurch.

"I don't know, revenge maybe," Lurch offered.

Meanwhile, Crobi-wan dashed to the front of the store in record time. He glanced around at the empty registers, their cashiers safely below them in protective foxhole boxes. Nothing moved. He looked up towards the office and saw that the usually locked door to the office swung open. The entire office area looked deserted.

Crobi-wan scrambled up to the master's office and peered in cautiously. Horror and shock met him face on when he saw at least five unmoving bodies twisted in various positions on the floor. His eyes scanned the room for any signs of movement. Horst was no slack at shardplay, but his bleeding body and palette shard lying on the floor said even he couldn't beat these four assasins. Crobi-wan's heart sank when he saw that girl in handcuffs. She was still handcuffed but she was now soaked in blood, rocking back and forth in the corner, cowering, with her eyes tightly closed, mumbling in some strange tongue. But she was most definately alive.

Suddenly in a brilliant flash of light and with a tremendous bone-shaking noise a giant asteroid hit and annihilated everything and everyone. Except Ecaps, somehow he survived to write this story...haha...

Just in case you were all wondering who everyone was...
Ecaps Nigom: Scott	Puff: Ron I.	Spazo: Steve H.
Lopra Vabra: Ray Lo.	Crobi-wan: Ben C.	Newguy: Mark B.
Pagti Evmed: Tim P.	Lurch: Jarrod P.	Holtzda: Dave H.
Dar Far Fis: Jim F.	Toor: Kevin R.	Gom Gom: Corey P.
Horst: Mr. D	Mankind: Janice O.	Danny: Danny G.
Shackled Girl: Sandy M.	Bucpa: Clunk