The dancers were covered in sweat and their mouths were half-open from breathing hard. Their movements were still swift and passionate though, exhaustion not making it as far as their minds, which were absorbed in the drums and horns and bil-tar string instruments native to this planet, forested mysterious H-gal.
Boba Fett shook his head slightly in disgust. This is all that they do here he thought. Dance, sing, and fatten themselves up on this food.
He was hidden in the shadow of an ornate organic pillar covered in a deep green foliage, his blaster in hand. Capturing their King would be too easy. The obese monarch was seated on a throne of tangled mahogany roots, smiling, laughing and clapping to the music. Quite obviously enjoying himself. Most of his body was hidden beneath a simple violet robe, but his head was uncovered, exposing white-and-blue mottled skin, and from his temples, 6 long horns, 3 on each side, curved upward over his head, which sported a thin covering of green hair. An easy mark anywhere else but H-gal, as Fett was beginning to understand, from the wide range of brightly colored aliens present at the party. As far as Fett could tell, the King had no protectors of any sort, and he wasn't the kind to not notice those things.
He would have gotten the King by now, he mused, if there hadn't been specific instructions to do so after the Great Celebration that was occuring. An added bit was that there were no unnecessary killings of H-gallian citizens. An annoying event. It was said it could last anywhere from a day to over a year. Fett hoped it wouldn't be so long. He'd already been there for a day, and had enough of the frivolous natives.
But the job would pay well. Very well. He would stay here for a little while longer before going back to Slave 1.
"At-ra nach, Ka-dan maar HO!" The yellow-haired alien
twins that were singing abruptly stopped as the large drum beside them
beat a last lingering sound. None of the attending creatures could keep
from cheering loudly.
Except for one. Gal467 smiled lovingly at the crowd
from her perch in one of the trees at the edge of the clearing. Though
only half H-galian, she resembled the species more than her human half.
For that she was chosen to become a priestess. And to tell the truth, she
had at first been reluctant to accept the honor, afraid that being a priestess
would require total silence, loss of sight, or other such custom. No, not
at all! It was more fun than she could have imagined. She did have to give
up her name, but that was one thing she could do without. As a priestess,
she was required to study the ways of MUSIC! Sound waves, song, instruments
from all around the galaxy, mostly H-gal's beautiful strings, drums, reeds,
horns, and other whatnot. More importantly though was the effect it had
on people.
Gal467 had learned much within this past year in
which she'd lived on her mother's planet, and now this was her first Enui-Landa
(in the long-forgotten tongue of Gal). It was the only song ever sung at
the Great Celebration that was only one voice, and the only constant in
celebrations past present and future. It was an honor to present it.
With a sigh Gal467 knew they were all ready, and
she dropped to the ground from the tree and walked slowly up to the King.
All around her the H-gallians hushed, happy and sad at the same time. She
half-closed her green-brown eyes and smiled. She could feel the lovely
emotions all around. Yes, it was definately time!
Boba Fett glanced up at the sudden silence. (A very
welcome silence). He followed the natives' gaze to the throne, where a
hooded figure was approaching the King. It was sunset, and some golden
light glanced off the figure's robes, making it glow surreally. Boba was
relieved - this was the custom supposed to mark the end of the Great Celebration.
The robed figure stopped and lifted the hood, as the King slid off his
throne and knelt at the newcomer's feet.
Boba realised it was a she when she lifted her hood
and gazed down at the king, then turned round slowly to face her captive
audience. Then he felt a slight start - he knew her.
Rystáll.
He could recognise her beautiful face anywhere,
even with the changes in her once-showy appearance. Boba allowed himself
a small smile. He'd once had a... well, a crush on the young woman, when
she'd been a dancer at Jabba the Hutt's palace. That of course was over
and done with, but he still felt a little joy at seeing a familiar face.
In his line of work, there weren't too many people you'd like to see more
than once.
He leaned back slightly against the tree-pillar,
curious as to what Rystáll would do.
She smiled to the audience, warmth and goodness
radiating from her, making Boba feel half-sick with all it's sappiness.
But he continued watching.
"Dear friends" she began. Her voice is still the
same, but sounds too sentimental for the likes of her. Boba thought. "I
suppose this is..."
Boba straightened and brought his blaster up another
inch as she abruptly stopped and began searching the crowd with her eyes.
Something was wrong. Rystáll's eyes were afraid, darting back and
forth. Then they settled on one point and she drew in a sharp breath. Boba
realized that she was looking directly at him. DAMN! He shrank back furthur
into the shadows, berating himself for letting himself be seen. But he
was concealed from everyone else... how could she have seen? No matter,
she had.
Rystáll spoke again, this time with a strained
tone. "What shall we say to extending this holiday for once? Things are
more than they seem." With that she turned and strode quickly to the forest
and disappeared. The crowd was stunned for a moment, then a few musicians
cheered and began playing a lively tune, to which everybody shrugged and
started singing or dancing to.
Boba Fett scowled. He had to get Rystáll
to complete that speech, or song, or whatever it was that ended the celebration.
He kept his eyes on where she'd disappeared into the trees and silently
entered the pitch-black forest after her.