Chapter 1: To Kamino
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away…on Mand'yaim, a certain Fett was preparing for his journey to the mysterious planet of Kamino...
"Jango, you can't be fierfeking serious!" Zam Wesell said with an emotion that was more or less worry, as Jango loaded the last of the training equipment onto his highly modified Fire-Spray class patrol ship Slave I. He was careful to secure everything into their web-holders to minimize the shifting through their trip. That was a headache he would despise. Zam followed him as he worked emotionally and mechanically kept loading the ship.
Jango Fett never particularly was a man of emotion.
"I'm always serious, Zam," He bluntly announced in a Concord Dawn accent, "I don't mess around."
He looked over at Zam and gave her what might have been a sly smile. It definitely looked like just a slight up turning of his lip. To Zam it was as good as a wide smile. What he said was true: he never really messed around or relaxed when it came to life-or-death situations.
It was all a matter of business - and business was sacrosanct to him. He had taken pride in building up his reputation as one of the galaxy's best bounty hunters. He had his own code of honor and woe befell anyone who would cross him. His enemies paid a heavy price for displeasing the Mandalorian bounty hunter and only the most daring of poor and pathetic souls really tested the infamous Jango Fett. If one truly was that oblivious a quick death at the hands of one of the greatest, if not the greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy, was rather merciful from fate.
Finally, Jango had secured everything, and Zam threw her scant possessions sleeping quarters. Jango took his spot in the captain's seat, and Zam took her spot in the navigator's seat.
"Zam, lock in the co-ordinates for Kamino and jump to light speed," Jango blunted commanded while readying the weapons modules and deflector screens. It never paid to be lax about security. He decided never to prey: always the predator.
Zam acknowledged him with a slight nod and programmed the navi-computer for the aquatic world.
"Co-ordinates are set and ready for light-speed," Zam announced. She had just finished setting the last numbers to the on-board computer and she relaxed as the streaking lights of entering hyperspace enveloped the forward screens.
'I hope that this isn't a total waste of my time...' Jango thought, 'time is money.' Just as the couple headed into light speed, the battled-tested Mandalorian remembered he had planned something. He had promised Zam some military-grade contraband for her assistance, but he forgot to bring the fierfeking weapon. He set the auto-pilot and ran for his cabin, muttering something about checking his account for the credits he was promised. He reached his quarters, and did just that.
"Good," he muttered objectively. Loosing credits was frankly bad, not as bad as what happened to whoever lost them, but still bad.
For a minute or two he found himself in an uncharacteristic panic as he thought about how he would replace the contraband. He frantically searched throughout his cabin, tossing personal items and ship's stores every which way. He stopped and mentally berated himself as he remembered yet again that he always kept anything useful or special in the footlocker beside the door. Crouching in front of the specially designed locker, he carefully manipulated the lock to its proper configuration; anyone who did not know exactly how to open the booby-trapped locker, would soon find themselves alone in a vacuum. Apparently it was dangerous to interfere even with Jango Fett's privacy. The explosives embedded in the case would ensure that nothing remained of the room.
Carefully he opened the lid and reached into the locker. Pushing aside some extra gauntlets and a couple of old data pads filled with sensitive information that he was going to sell, he found what he was looking for. He withdrew a small velvetta box and opened it up. Nestled inside was a beautiful laser-cut gold ring. Inscribed on the inside of the ring was Zam's name.
Jango Fett was never one for emotion. Actually he really was never sure why he had that made. Yet everyone, even kriffin' Jedi had moments of emotion.
Gathering up all his courage, which seemed easier when he was being shot at as compared to now, he left his cabin and headed where he knew Zam would be. Sitting in the navigator's seat she was running diagnostics on the boards, too caught up in her calculations to notice anything around her. Watching her make a small correction, he thought, 'This might be easier than I thought'. Jango walked in and placed a hand on her shoulder.
He was totally blasé as she jumped up in stunned fright as she instinctively pawed for a blaster. Jango, true to form, was completely unfazed by this display as Zam realized the hand on her shoulder was owned by Jango. "Aaahhh! Oh, Jango, it's just you!" She held a hand to her chest theatrically.
"No it was the Bando Gora," Jango wryly announced.
Threatening Jango with a hit upside his head, Zam noticed that he had kept a hand behind his back. That was uncharacteristic of Jango. Any confrontations, be them friendly or not, he always was poised for attack and battle. Concealing a hand where there was not a blaster was not tactically adept. Her curiosity peaked, Zam inquired, "What's behind your back, Jango?"
Jango replied coldly, "Remember the Vosa bounty?"
"Do I want to?" Zam grumbled before adding, "We got fierfeked, you saved my life. How could I not forget it? You were at least half dead by the time I got there and saved me, after I shot your binds to the cross-like table you were strapped to then I started shooting the damn Jedi...then you saved me from a horrible death - just by doing what your instincts told you to: Blast the damn Jedi! I'll never forget that sentence you said to me."
Jango nodded silently. That bounty was surely one of the more interesting ones he had embarked upon. The memory of the misadventure came flooding back into his mind…
Vosa says while leaning threateningly over a captive Jango,"Now, tell me...who hired you?"
Jango struggled and growled, remembering what the Jedi had done to him and his fellow Mandalorianss on Gilidraan. The persuasion of the mad priestess was not going to break him.
Vosa lets out a rather perturbing chuckle while muttering, "Ah...a strong, silent type...I like that, more of a challenge...this'll be easier than I expected."
Meanwhile, Zam stealthily slithered into room and disguises her presence behind a pillar, pistol drawn and ready for use, and cautiously observes what the crazed Jedi was doing to Jang while a piece of her suit rubbed the permacrete creating a scratchy alarm for the maniac.
Vosa turning her head towards the noise inquires villainously, "Care to join us?"
Zam mentally scolds herself and comes into the view of the dar'jetii, points her pistol towards Vosa and then towards Jango and he takes a deep breath, while Vosa, deciding to toy with the Clawdite, decides not allowing her two Bando Gora thugs execute the female Clawdite: her mistake. Zam took the opportunity to blast the duo in their chests before aiming directly at Vosa.
Vosa growled with hatred and drew her lightsabers; Zam smirked with over-confidence and started blasting at the crazed Jedi. Quickly, the over-confidence faded and evolved into a subtle panic as Vosa had easily parried the shots, and silently decreeing the bounty hunter had to die. As Wesell fires the final blast from her pistol Vosa deflected the blast directly into Zam's shoulder.
Zam gets hit by the ricochet and with energy slowly draining from her body, she lines up a blast at Jango's binds. The Mandalorian takes a short moment to prepare for the coming duel, a preciously short moment, then as if he was on auto-pilot, swiftly recovers his blasters from the table they were on and begins blasting away in a display befitting a true warrior as he drives off Vosa.
"Looks like she's all yours Jango...we're even now," Zam weakly announces.
"Save your strength," Jango ordered while carefully laying Zam onto the hard permacrete floor, "Stay here."
He grabbed his jetpack and thrust it on, slid his blasters into their holsters and equipped the awe inspiring helmet of a son of Mandalore as he said, "Back in a minute." The menacing voice held a determined will-power willing to strike down anything in his path. Mandalorians don't leave their enemies alive.
The rest is, as one might say, history. The infamous Jango Fett defeated the Bando Gora cult and their deranged Dark Jedi. He also acquired a unique employment opportunity as well. Of course, the pay was good, and that's all that ever mattered.
Zam said as Jango returned to reality, "Ah, saving me from dying was oh so sweet of you, but all you needed to do was to use your flamethrower to deep fry her."
The bounty hunter nodded, "True, but that's the easy way," Jango looked particularly pleased with himself. Then he added, "Zam...can I ask you something else?"
She replied, "What is it, Fett? What's going on?"
Jango gathered all his courage and then asked, "Would you marry me if I asked you?"
Zam was stunned...she hadn't expected Jango to ask that sort of question just then, or ever. Jango Fett showing emotion?
This was the quintessential sign of the apocalypse.
Shaking her head, she said, "I might...yes. I would."
Jango pulled his hand out from behind his back, kneeled and then asked, "Zam Wesell, will you marry me?"
Zam says with delight, "of course I will!"
Jango said, "Well here's how mandalorians marry...now repeat after me: Mhi soulus tolm, Mhi soulus dar'tolm, Mhi me'dinui an, Mhi ba'juri verde."
Zam tried to repeat, "Mee soulass tolum, Mee soulass dar'tolum, Mee," she noticed a slight wince as she butchered the pronunciation, "Well it's the concept that matters."
"I suppose," Jango stated and put the nice-cut gold ring onto her ring finger before Zam asked, "that's it?"
Jango replies,"elek, that's it cyar'ika."Just then, the navicomputer started beeping frantically which meant that meant that the planet was near and as the captain of the ship, Jango, pulled the fire-spray class ship to regular flight speed and proceeded down planet-side to Kamino...
Once planet-side Jango met with the prime-minister, Lama Su and discussed the procedure for the cloning program.
"I believe that clarifies our responsibilities to you as the template. Do you agree with our terms Jango Fett?"The prime-minister said and Jango replied, "Yeah, yeah, I agree."
The prime minister said, "We shall begin when you're ready, bounty hunter. I assure you, you will be most pleased with your army."
To be continued...