AN/ okay, so this story is very random, a little wierd, and probably requires a little bit of explanation. Mostly that I'm feeling pretty random right now, and I've wanted to write this story for … well, at least since I finished reading Hard Merchandise if not before. Anyway, hope you enjoy the randomness and stupidity again … if you haven't read the Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy (and have an inclination to read them) I highly suggest you find another story to read - this contains some SERIOUS spoilers!

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. Those that do can do infinitely better than this effort. I don't own the trilogy of Star Wars books called the Bounty Hunter Wars. K.W. Jeter writes so much better than this.

Kateel of Khulvult looked out over Kuat Drive Yards, enjoying the quiet, trying not to think. It seemed only yesterday that she had been a dancer at Jabba's palace, with no memory beyond that. So much had happened since then - and here she was.

She really owed it all to Boba Fett - she was sure that he had watched out for her at Jabba's, although she couldn't prove it … Maybe that was the reason that she never feared Jabba. It seemed ridiculous - although she was never sure if she would be thrown into the rancor pit or, perhaps even worse, she had often seen Boba watching her. Most people would be scared, given those circumstances, but she somehow always felt that he was protecting her.

She hadn't known exactly what he was protecting her from, to her she was Neelah, someone who had no future other than being rancor food when Jabba was displeased with her. Remembering everything that had happened since then … And she had to admit, she was glad for his protection. He was no longer her protector, but there was a pert of her (even though she would never say so) that wished he would stay around … but he was leaving, to try to sell the fabricated evidence against Prince Xixor to the Black Sun, and there was really nothing she could do about that.

After she had saved him from the Sarlacc, he had looked out for her, and had given her back her past - and her future, whatever that may be - she really had no intention of becoming the new owner and chief engineer of Kuat Drive Yards. He had not only saved her, but saved Kuat Drive Yards. "You could be a hero" she had told him. Now she realized that it didn't make a difference if he was a hero to the galaxy or not - he was her hero. She remembered in the beginning, there had been times when she had regretted saving him, but she didn't now. She smiled to think what Dengar or Manaroo would say if they ever found out that she had … dared she even admit it to herself? Fallen in love with Boba Fett.

A/N yeah, yeah, I know… really short … but please review anyway!