Consume You It Will
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Star Wars or any related titles, characters, plots, settings, etc. These rights belong to George Lucas, Lucasfilms, the Walt Disney Company, and various publishers and distributors. I own only the original elements of this story, the writing and publishing of which earn me no money.
Chapter One: Boba Fett
Jigu scowled, staring out over the open market with distaste. It had been a slow day, and now that the blistering suns had risen above the horizon, few would venture out to buy or sell any goods. It looked to be a less-than profitable day for his burlap-shaded stall in the galaxy's least reputable market, especially since business had dropped off so sharply after the fall of the Empire. Silently, Jigu cursed his luck. He had finally left Rattatak, but only a few Standard weeks before the Rebels had won their war. The following year had been far more difficult than he had expected...
A figure stopped in front of Jigu's booth, silhouetted against the glare of the suns. Jigu glanced up, curious about his potential first customer, but only noted that it was humanoid and male before his attention was drawn to the male's actions. Upending the sack he had been carrying, the stranger spilled a set of well-worn Mandalorian armor across Jigu's table.
As a relatively new arrival from Rattatak, Jigu was less than well-versed in the ways of the galaxy, but even he could recognize that infamously-chipped color scheme. "Wha-"
"How much?" the male asked, cutting off Jigu's question before it could fully form.
Jigu blinked all three sets of eyelids nervously. If this was indeed the notorious bounty hunter, he likely would not tolerate the usual questions, but Jigu had to try. "Where did you get it?"
"Why does it matter?" the stranger asked, making Jigu flinch at the lash of his voice.
"How you came by the goods will determine how much I can offer," Jigu explained as firmly as he was able.
The male was silent for a long moment, staring down at Jigu with dispassionate brown eyes. "I got it off a dead bounty hunter. He was thrown into Jabba the Hutt's Sarlaac pit." Jigu arched a brow and the male shrugged. "The Sarlaac didn't want the armor."
"I can give you a fair price for it," Jigu trailed consideringly, "but only if the armor is still functional."
The stranger snorted. "I doubt anything could make this armor non-functional." He reached down, tapping the clavicle guard with a knuckle. "It's Mandalorian, makers of the finest armor in the galaxy."
"Are you him?" Jigu blurted before he could hold his question back. "Are you Bo-"
A blaster directed at his nose from scant millimeters away cut off the rest of Jigu's question. "Boba Fett is dead," the male growled. "Never speak that name again."
"Yes- Yes, sir. Never again," Jigu agreed, bobbing his head rapidly as his wide eyes fixed on the barrel of the blaster. After a long moment, it was re-holstered at the male's side. This, more than anything else, told Jigu the male's true identity. The blaster was an EE-3 carbine rifle, the very one Boba Fett was known to carry. Odds were good that this male was the infamous bounty hunter himself, and would kill Jigu for the slightest provocation.
Jigu blurted out a price for the armor, one that was far above fair and into bankruptcy territory for his stall. The male stared him down for a long moment, eyes hard, but gave a short nod. As Jigu counted out the currency - realizing with a sinking feeling that this was likely the end of his business - the male seemed to become abruptly conversational.
"You are from Rattatak?"
Jigu paused in counting at the question, then nodded as he returned to the task. "Yes, I am."
"Lots of fights there. Who is your best fighter?"
With effort, Jigu kept surprise from his face, but took a moment in answering. "His name was Tsiger. He was one of the best gladiators, survived the longest. He was known for being particularly brutal in the pits."
"He's dead?"
"Yes, he died many years ago. He's little more than a legend now. If a fighter is particularly bloodthirsty, he is said to have been possessed by the spirit of Tsiger." Unbidden, memories of Jigu's childhood - one near-obsessed with the legend of Tsiger - rose and he was forced to hold back a smile. It became far less of an effort when he handed over the stack of currency to the male. "Here, payment for your... goods."
The male accepted the credits, tucking the sum into a hidden pocket in his clothing. Without another word of acknowledgement, he turned and strode away. Jigu wiped the orange sweat from his skin, gathered the armor, and tucked it carefully away. He would wait for a busier day before he attempted to sell it. Perhaps he would even earn enough credits to allow for a return to Rattatak.
Unfortunately for Jigu, the range of a EE-3 carbine rifle was impressive, and the strange male was nowhere in sight when the Rattataki dropped with a single hole through his forehead. The keepers of the neighboring stalls glanced over curiously at the sound of his body toppling onto the dry, sun-baked ground, but they waited only moments before raiding his stock for anything that could be sold. Jigu of Rattatak's body remained where it was, to decompose and be reclaimed by the planet without interference.
The male once known as Boba Fett moved to his (stolen) ship as quickly as he could without attracting attention. He would prefer to get off-planet before the body of the Rattataki male was discovered. Of course, in such a lawless place, it was doubtful anyone would take notice of yet another death, but he had taken such care to cover his tracks. It would be a pity to be forced to remove such a large threat to his secretive existence.
With the money earned from selling Boba Fett's armor, the male could begin a new life. He would be a bounty hunter - there was little else he knew how to do - but it would prove more of a challenge. Boba Fett had begun his career with an inherited set of armor and a ship, not to mention a hefty donation from Aurra Sing. He had nothing similar to begin his new career. He was starting once more with nothing.
The male smiled, the expression nothing more than the cold curve of one side of his mouth. He did have one thing: a name.
With that, Tsiger took off in search of a new list of bounties and targets. He would make this new name famous, perhaps even more so than the gladiator who had been its original owner. It wasn't in his nature to be anything less than the best, and he would rise to the top once more.
Count on it.
Author's Note - Title taken, of course, from the well-known Yoda quote, "Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny; consume you, it will." For those who don't know, Boba Fett does survive the Sarlaac pit (in the non-Disney canon, at least). I've always thought that he would have used his new lack of infamy to his advantage and this is my idea on how. I realize there are some inconsistencies both in Rattataki biology and the formation of Boba Fett's bounty hunting career, but just consider this a really lame AU.
Secondary disclaimer: there will be two more chapters in this collection of stories, but I do believe that this is the best one. In any case, thank you for reading! Please drop a review if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. Have a wonderful day and I'll see you in a week or so!