Luke Skywalker stood in his personal cabin in the galaxy's most infamous bounty hunter ship, Slave One. He tightened his sweaty hands on his blaster, narrowing his eyes at the training dummy that stood before him. As he straightened his grip, he recalled his father's words.
"The target is all there is, Luke. When you are on a mission, that is all that matters."
Luke wanted to see nothing but the dummy. He wanted to think of nothing but the dummy. He shut out all his thoughts of food, his curiosity about where their next mission would be; even, hardest of all, his thoughts of love for his adopted father, Boba Fett. Then he fired.
There was a flash of light as the blaster fired an orange bolt of energy. Luke opened his eyes. There was a hole right through the dummy's chest. If it had been a real target, it would be dead. Luke smiled.
Luke flomped down on his bed, a simple matress. Boba Fett had no time for luxury when he was on the bounty. He gazed out of his tiny window and stared at the glowing blue lights of hyperspace. He wondered what Bossk was doing right now. The reptilian bounty hunter was a good friend of his, and he was worried about him. He had taken on a bounty hunting contract for the Empire, and Luke knew what happened to the guys that failed those kinds of missions. He definitely hoped Bossk would catch his target. Luke knew all the bounty hunters; Bossk, Dengar, IG-88, and the whole lot of them. That was because his adopted father was none other then the galaxy's best: Boba Fett.
Luke didn't remember much of his childhood. He barely remembered his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, who had been killed by the infamous space gangster, Vallion Grantz. It was just his luck that Grantz had had a very high bounty put on his head. And Boba Fett had been the one to take on the challenge. After Boba killed Grantz, he had found Luke in the ruins of his home and decided to raise him for his own. Life with Boba wasn't easy, but it was always exciting. The armored warrior loved him as if he was his own child, and Luke loved him just as if he was his own father.
Boba came into Luke's room. He didn't have his mask on. "Luke." said Boba. "I have gotten a call for our next bounty. Come up, son."
Luke was filled with excitement; there was nothing better then going to a planet and risking your life to bring in a feared space criminal. Luke went into the main cabin of the Slave 1, which was where they planned their missions. There was a circular table in it, which they sat around. Boba looked serious.
"Luke." he said. "I have gotten a call from the mob boss who refers to himself as "Omega". His voice was grim, and for good reason. Omega was one of the most powerful criminals in the whole galaxy, but his identity was a complete mystery. Rumour was not even the Empire's intelligence division knew who he was. His criminal organization stretched from one end of the galaxy to the other, and it was large enough to go toe-to-toe with a fleet of Star Destroyers and come out on top.
"That's quite the big-shot." Luke nodded. "What does he want us to do?"
"Omega has asked us to take out his main rival." Boba said. His eyes grew dark and serious. "The man we are tasked to kill is a man named "Maul".
Now Luke was starting to get very worried. He had heard of Maul before; he was supposed to be one of the galaxy's top crime bosses. He had held this position for many years; in the Clone Wars he had even created an alliance of all of the top gangs called the "Shadow Collective". Those days were long over now but Maul had lived on, creating new gangs and replacing them when they were not useful. The new group Maul was in control of was called "Eclipse" and it was supposed to be so powerful, even the Empire feared it. There were also rumours about Maul, rumours that suggest he had strange powers. Some people even said, although Luke was sure they were lying, that he had once been a Sith Lord.
"Don't do this, Dad." Luke said. His heart sank with worry for his father. "You're not as young as you once were. Tell Omega you are busy and can not accept the offer."
Boba Fett laughed, leaning back on his chairs. "Luke my boy, you still have a lot to learn." he chuckled. "Cowards don't hunt. They get hunted. And I've done far too much hunting in my day to let myself turn coward. Suit up, kid. We'll reach the planet Skorpia, Maul's stronghold, in an hour."
Boba's hardcore determination invigorated Luke's bravery. His face broke into a boyish smile. "Yeah, sure thing, Dad!" he grinned.
A few minutes later, Luke was in the co-pilot's seat of the Slave One. He was dressed in his bounty hunter armor and he had with him his trusty blaster. The blaster had been a present from Boba when Luke had turned twelve (he was currently nineteen). That was the year in which Luke had first began to be trained to be a bounty hunter.
"All right, we're coming out of hyperspace." Boba announced. He turned to Luke. Boba was wearing his helmet now. "You ready, son?"
"Never been more ready in my life." Luke grinned. With a flash of light, Slave One broke out of hyperspace. Skorpia loomed before him. It was a city-covered planet, the lights of the city streaking over it as if they were lava.
"It's hunting time." said Boba Fett.
Maul was sitting in his throne room, which was filled with the profits of his criminal activities. He had come far from the apprentice of Darth Sidious. Now he was going to rule the galaxy, but he was going to do it himself, not as the servant of anybody. Maul elegantly sipped his fine red wine as his beautiful slave girls polished his horns. While he had been a very harsh person when he had fought the Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, being one of the elites in the underworld had forced Maul to assume a certain sophistication. It was quite addicting, he thought as he took another sip of his wine, listening to the smooth jazz the galaxy's hottest band, who he had hired, were playing. He had won out; while his old master was busy dealing with politics, he was living the high life. Soon the galaxy would be his, and he'd be able to sit on the Emperor's throne.
Suddenly, Maul felt a disterbance in the force. It had been many years since Maul had felt something like that, so it made him worried. He could sense that two bounty hunters were coming to kill him. Many bounty hunters had tried to kill Maul before, but he could sense that these two were special. They had a sort of special conviction not many bounty hunters had. He could also tell they were incredibaly strong. Maul crushed his wine glass in his hand. The red wine ran out over it like blood. Maul stood up and adressed his strongest men. "There are two bounty hunters coming to kill me." he hissed. "Kill them first."
The Slave One entered the atmosphere, flying over the shining city. Almost immediatly lasers began to shoot out from several lasers turrets. Lots of them hit the Slave One and shook it around. "This is bad." said Boba Fett. "Son, do you have your jetpack?"
Luke checked his back. "Yes I do, Dad."
"Then we're jumping out." Boba said, standing up. "Prepare for a bumpy ride."
Then he opened the emergancy door coming out of the cockpit and leaped. Luke followed him and turned on his jetpack. Then both he and Boba Fett began blasting down to the city. The turrets were still shooting at them, even faster now. Luke called on his bounty hunter training. He began to weave around in the air with his jetpack, dodging every laser. There was the roar of engines as some fighter ships began to fly towards them.
"Stand back son I'll handle this!" Boba shouted. He took out his blaster and shot it right through the cockpit, killing the pilot. Then Boba spun around, doing the same to another. They fell down, spinning out of control. The spaceships hit some of the laser turrets before blowing up in a gigantic explosion.
"Wha-hoo!" Luke shouted, getting caught up in the thrill of it. He zipped down to the city, which had a lot of long bridges connecting the skyscrapers. He landed on one and Boba dropped down beside him.
"That's Maul's base." he said, pointing to a tall skyscraper with glowing red lights. "That's where we're going."
The father-son duo began to run down the bridge. Luke knew, however, that the mission had only just began. Suddenly, he heard footsteps. Luke turned around to see an army of silver-armored soldiers rushing for them.
"Eclipse Troopers!" called Boba Fett. "Can we take them, Luke?"
"You joking?" Luke asked, grinning.
"Just the answer I was hoping for!" Boba Fett exclaimed. Then the two rushed forwards, shooting their blasters. There were hundreds of Troopers, but Luke trusted in the intense training his dad had given him. They zig-zagged down the bridge, dodging every laser blast, before leaping into the army, kicking and punching them off. Two Troopers rushed for Luke, but Luke swept his leg to take down both before spinning around and shooting another in the head. Meanwhile Boba Fett with taking down Eclipse Troops like mad, bringing his bombs, flamethrower, and expert martial arts into play. Out of the corner of his eye, Luke saw a giant laser flying towards Boba Fett.
"Dad, watch out!" he cried. Boba leapt away as the laser exploded into the ground. Luke looked up to see a huge hover-tank. That was a problem, but it was no problem he couldn't handle. Luke jumped into the air, his jetpack roaring to life. He shot the man driving it and it flew out of control, crashing into a crowd of Troopers and pushing them off the bridge before exploding and making a huge flaming chunk of the bridge fall off, crushing the other hover-tanks which were just about to hover up. There was a huge explosion that set most of the nearby skyscrapers on fire. "Now this is bounty hunting." Luke thought, feeling the thrills seep through him. No wonder his dad loved it so much.
Suddenly, Luke felt something sparking. "Oh no." he thought. "One of the Troopers must've hit my jetpack!" Boba had always warned him about out-of-control jetpacks. They could explode and cost a bounty hunter his life. Luke had to get it off. Luke fumbled with the straps until he got it off and was now hanging into the air from his jetpack. Boba Fett was still fighting the Troopers, landing clean hits with every shot of his blaster. Luke noticed a sniper on the roof, aiming his gun at Boba. That guy had to go. With all his might, Luke flung the out of control jetpack at the sniper. It hit him and blew up in a firey explosion. Luke fell from the air. He reached for the bridge...and missed.
"No!" Luke exclaimed as he fell through space. "I can't die here! I will become a bounty hunter like my dad!" he looked below him; it was over a hundred meters before he would hit ground. Only three meters below him, there was a trooper on a speeder bike. Luke angled his fall and kicked him off, sitting on the Speeder himself. Then he flew back up to the bridge and zoomed towards the troopers attacking Fett, kicking up sparks as he went. With his blaster firing, he ran them over, shooting them in the chest until not one was left. But where was Boba?
Luke saw Boba Fett at the end of the bridge, near the entrance of the Maul Tower. There were six powerful-looking figures in front of them, all with dangerous-looking weapons. Boba was facing them, blaster in hand. One of them stepped forward; he was a bearded man with a cyborg guy.
"We are Eclipse's top bounty hunters." he smirked. "The name is Carloz Fuohnt. According to the Galactic Bounty Hunter's index, I am the top 234th bounty hunter. You heard that right, masked man. I'm no wannabee lounging around on a bar in Tatooine. I've taken jobs on for the Empire, buddy!"
"Don't go tooting your own horn, Fuohnt." said a white-skinned woman with a curved sword. "We're all ranked among the top, not just you!"
"Don't be so confidant." said Boba Fett, cocking his blaster. "The name's Boba Fett. On the Galactic Bounty Hunter's index, I'm ranked NUMBER ONE!"
Then he leaped into the battle. The fight was over in less then a minute. Boba moved like a dancer, gracefully avoiding the enemy's attacks and firing laser blasts which always hit in critical spots. When it was over, the six bounty hunters were all lying dead.
"That's what they get for messing with me." Boba said, looking down at them.
"Whoa, Dad!" Luke exclaimed, running up. "That'll teach em', right?"
"Yes." Boba nodded. "But don't celebrate yet. We still have our main target...Maul."
Suddenly, the door to the Maul Tower hissed open. A menacing figure stepped out, dressed all in black. He looked up, and Luke saw he had a red face with horns. It could only be one man.
"Congratulations on defeating my bounty hunters." Maul smirked. "However, they were just the warm-up party." he drew out a long metal rod. "If you want to beat me, you'll have to kill me!" two red blades ignited from both ends of the rod.
"So the rumours are true." Boba commented casually, pointing his gun at Maul. "You ready, son?"
"You bet, Dad!" Luke exclaimed.
"Then let's bring in the bounty." together the father-son duo rushed at Maul.
Maul swung his lightsaber at Boba Fett, but Boba ducked under the crimson blade, firing a shot at Maul. With lightning reflexes Maul swung his lightsaber so the other blade deflected it, leaving the sith unharmed. Luke leaped into the action, pulling back his fist to attempt a punch, but Maul got the fist in his hand.
"You're good, boy, but not that good." he smirked.
"Then how about you taste THIS!" Luke shot back, kicking Maul hard in the stomach. Maul went flying, slamming into the wall of the tower.
"Good job, kid!" Boba complimented, firing a shot at Maul. However Maul was up quicker then Boba had anticipated and batted it away with his lightsaber.
"As expected of the Number One Bounty Hunter and his son!" Maul said, while spinning his lightsaber menacingly. "I'm really going to have to go all-out on this one!"
Maul stretched out his hand and Luke felt himself hit by an invisable force. "W...what is this?" he thought. "Does he have some kind of new weapon?" with a flick of his wrist, Maul flung Boba and Luke into the air. They were flung high above the city, into the clouds.
"Stay calm, son, stay calm!" Boba shouted encourgingly. Maul was leaping up at them with an impossibly high jump. Luke fired some lasers at him, but Maul simply blocked them again.
"Even the best bounty hunters are hopeless before the power of the Dark Side!" Maul grinned darkly. Then he slashed with his lightsaber, hoping to take out father and son with one slice. Both Luke and Boba ducked underneath it, however. Boba fired his blaster, hitting Maul's thigh.
"Don't underestimate us!" he exclaimed.
"You'll pay for that!" Maul shouted. He slashed at Boba but Boba blocked Maul's arm before the lightsaber could hit him. Then both began to fall from the sky, a tangle of punching fists and slashing lightsabers. Luke was falling too, but he called on his secret training. Even though he was falling from thousands of feet into the air, he could land without breaking a single bone. As Luke sky-dived, he could see the lights of Maul and Boba's battle. They were leaping from skyscraper to skyscraper and it didn't look like either of them had gained the advantage. Luke fell onto a skyscraper, landing right on his feet. On one of the bridges Maul and Boba were fighting with the fastest and most compicated usage of martial arts Luke had ever seen, Maul's lightsaber an impossible blur of red and Boba's body contorting in ways Luke didn't even know were possible to avoid it's deadly blade. Luke knew he had to help his dad. He aimed his gun, remembering his training with the dummy.
"The target is all that's there, Luke." he thought to himself. "Nothing else matters." he fired his blaster. The laser bolt streaked towards Maul and hit him on the shoulder, allow Boba to get a solid punch in a Maul's face. Maul reeled from the pain.
"Huh. So you're boy's still around." he commented. "Guess I better remove the child from this battle of men." he snapped his fingers, and Luke felt the strange pressue once again. Then one of the skyscrapers shot of of the sky like a rocket and blasted right towards Luke!
"Luke! No!" Boba Fett exclaimed in horror.
It was going to crush him. Luke knew that it was going to crush him. No bounty hunter skill could save him now. In desperation Luke stretched out his hand to try to stop the skyscraper. He thought of his life with Boba Fett. It had been a very good life, and if he'd die here, he'd definitely die happy. Luke became very calm as he waited for the skyscraper to crush him. But the crush never came. Instead, the skyscraper floated in the air.
"What?" Luke thought. Somehow, he had used the same strange power Maul had! "Guess I'm back in the game!" he exclaimed, throwing the skyscraper through the air. It hit Maul Tower and sliced it in half. The tower fell to the ground and hit some other skyscrapers blowing everything up in a huge explosion that tinted the sky orange. Luke focused the new power into his feet and he leapt through the air over the massive gap right towards Maul.
"The Force is strong with this one." Maul hissed as Luke punched him. Then Luke spun his leg around, kicking Maul through the air right towards Boba.
"He's all yours, Dad!" Luke shouted.
"You bet, son!" Boba exclaimed. He slammed his leg into the still-flying Maul, kicking him high into the air. "Let's finish this!"
Both drew their blasters and switched them to rapid-fire, sending a storm of lasers at Maul. "I refuse to fall!" exclaimed Maul, stretching out his hands and firing lightning bolts to intercept the lasers. Then he landed right in front of Luke, and, before Luke knew it, began to electrocute him with Force Lightning. Luke was in more pain then he had ever felt before. It was like millions of needles were entering his body as Maul continued to fire the lightning.
"You have strong powers, boy." Maul grinned. "In the days of the Jedi Order, you would have become a great hero. But those days are long over. Now you are just a simple bounty hunter, one of many who failed to kill me!"
"DON'T YOU DARE HURT MY SON!" Boba Fett screamed, activated his jetpack. He slammed into Maul, dragging him on the bridge as rocket speed. The flame on Boba's jetpack burned bright blue as Boba maxed out the fire, slamming Maul through one skyscraper, then another, then another. Boba's armor protected him from the collissions...but Maul wasn't so lucky. Boba flew high into the air, holding Maul's beat-up body. Then, using every ounce of his power, he blasted down towards the bridge, slamming Maul right down before Luke with such force that the bridge cracked. "That's what you get for messing with my boy." Boba said with satisfaction.
"Whoa..." Luke exclaimed. He'd never seen his father go all-out before. So that was what a Master Bounty Hunter could do.
Maul struggled to rise. He looked straight at Luke with his evil, yellow eyes. "Mark my words, boy." he chuckled dryly. "Now that you have tapped into the Force, you will know no rest. My old master will come for you...and when he comes, you will not escape."
"As long as I follow the training from my Dad, I can beat anything!" Luke said, glaring at Maul with fierce determination. Boba pointed his fist at Maul, preparing to fire his torpedo gaultets. He began to say the Bounty Hunter's Oath.
"Never run away from a fight. Always make the best of every hunt. Never do a job for a man who cheats you. And above all...have honour." then he fired his torpedo right at Maul's head. It exploded with a huge flash of light. When the light had faded away, Maul's head had been completely destroyed. His dead body fell to the ground.
"Target destroyed." Boba said triumphantly.
Half an hour later, Luke and Boba left Skorpia in the beat-up old Slave One. "Those were some pretty wild moves out there, kid." said Boba as he worked the controls. "When did you pick that up?"
Luke shrugged. "No idea, Dad. But they sure came in handy." Luke was a bit worried, however. Who was Maul's old master, and why would he come for him? Maul had been the toughest target they had had to deal with yet, so Luke wasn't relishing fighting somebody stronger. But as a true Bounty Hunter, he never ran away from a fight.
"Here, I have something for you." said Boba Fett, taking off his mask so Luke could see his smile. He reached into a hidden compartment near the pilot's seat and took out two sleek silver pistols. "These were the blasters that my father, Jango Fett, used when he was the galaxy's greatest bounty hunter." he said proudly. "You were a true Hunter in that fight, so I am giving them to you."
Luke felt tears well up in his eyes. "I love you, Dad!" he said, embracing him before taking the blasters and marvelling at their design. Then he turned back to the cockpit window and watched as they blasted into hyperspace. Whatever challenges the galaxy could throw at him, they would face it together. They were father and son...they were bounty hunters.
