She rolled every mouthful of wine across her tongue, through her teeth, experiencing it. In her spare time, she was an amateur wine connoisseur, but she didn't have a lot of spare time these days. She was here on business, three saboteurs and murderers. One was definitely here, on Tatooine. A very reliable source had given her the information, her and every other Bounty Hunter who would listen.
Monday's fingers played across the blaster strapped to his thigh. He was a strategic genius at times, but not when under duress like this. He couldn't think well while sweating. Green energy pulsated in the spaces in between her armour plates, possibly a personal force-field. She had her helmet off, and a little piece of a blue suit she was wearing underneath her armour climbed from under the copper plates to her chin. Her head was completely uncovered, the blonde hair tied back in a single ponytail. He stood slowly, the music of Figrin D'an covering any noise he made as he pulled his blaster from its holster and pointed it square at the back of the Hunter's head.
Samus was trained to notice everything. And when a small portion of the bar went quiet, her interest was piqued. It was right behind her, and as she had not heard any shouts, it couldn't be a fight. She heard the low, building whine of a blaster before firing, and she acted fast. She tapped the button on her emerald weapon-gauntlet, and the flowing energy beneath her armour turned sky blue. She spun and fired at the same time, and an ice pellet hit Monday's weapon. He felt a slight tickle in the split second that the ice spread across his hand, then a biting pain. He let out a yell, and his knees buckled. He was already running out the door by the time Samus had grabbed her helmet.
When Monday broke into the Tatooine summer, he instantly felt the ice melting. There was an empty clearing between the Cantina and the nearest alley, and Monday had just barely reached the halfway point when Samus caught up with him, and as soon as he felt her iron grip on his vest, Monday twisted in midair, his frozen hand flailing wildly. He got lucky and hit Samus across the face by surprise, the ice shattering on impact. Samus lost her footing and stumbled, but Monday ran even faster, firing blindly behind him. Samus was now at full alert, and when she saw the blasts heading towards her, her blood ran cold and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Her Varia armour reacted to her body, and threw up a force-field around itself. By the time the last shot faded into the field, Samus was running.
Monday disappeared into the shadows of the alley, and Samus saw her chance. She gained momentum in her strides, and leapt into the air. The jetpack she was wearing flared up and carried her the rest of the way to the top of the nearest building. She sprinted across the rooftops, and dove off the end, flipping over and over in the air until she landed in the sand, and spun to see no one in the alley.
Her weapon hovered in midair for a second before she lowered it. Monday hadn't left the alley, and he hadn't doubled back. She let her helmet analyse the contents of the alley meticulously.
Sand, Rock, Blaster. Blaster. Stormtrooper Class, taken during the assault on the Hangman. Confirmed.
His blaster had fallen next to a blast door for a service closet. She tapped at the control panel and the door opened, inside was Danse Monday, a look of fear on his face and a hand clasped over his mouth. Before Samus could see who owned the hand, a jet of fire hit her full in the face. While doing no damage, it blinded her for a brief second, and when her vision cleared, all she saw was the other hunter's silhouette, flying out of the alley and into the sun. She leapt at the nearest wall, then at the opposite, and back again, building momentum while her jetpack charged. When the walls ran out and became rooftops, green fire burst out of her back and she was catapulted forward, but only high enough that her fingers slid across the other hunter's foot. In her mind, she called for her ship, and her Varia suit provided. From one direction came her wide, low golden chariot, and from the other came a vertical, hideous unsightly ship, that rotated until it was horizontal, and then opened up a cargo hold from its lower parts. The other hunter disappeared into his ship as Samus clambered into hers.
Inside the icy cargo hold of the Slave I, Boba Fett threw his prey onto the floor, and tied him up in frosted chains. When Monday struggled, Boba punched him square in the nose, and he fell back down, his red blood contrasting with the icy blue of his surroundings. Monday's eyes fluttered, and Boba grabbed him by the chin, just enough that it didn't snap his jaw. Boba's voice was gruff, and without emotion.
"Where are the rest of you?" He growled.
"Tree-Treeda is on Coruscant" Monday spluttered, the mist of his breath laced with blood.
Boba dropped his face and walked across his ship, through his living quarters and into his bridge. It was his haven, two seats, a confined space, and enough weapons to level the Naboo capital. He levelled his ship and set the coordinates for Coruscant. At that moment, two shots rang out on his right flank, thankfully blocked by his shields. He spun in the air and readied his weapons. The twin cannons folded out and he fired at the small craft currently circling him. His blasts missed and Samus went behind him, trying to find a fault in his shields. Finding that his thrusters were well defended, she decided to concentrate her fire on this point. Until two rockets, bearing streams of blue energy flew towards her, forcing her into defensive manoeuvres.
She spun around the enemy craft, and Boba began firing his cannons again. She was forced to dodge again and again, as Boba rotated in place, until the console in front of him beeped. He looked down, his plan had worked. He was now facing Coruscant; it was just a few light-years away. He punched light-speed and broke the sound barrier before Samus had even realised what had happened. He was gaining speed regularly, the stars blurring past him. He was certain that little craft he had encountered couldn't do nearly this speed, and as he pulled back the heavy lever by his left, and Coruscant faded into view, he felt a familiar confidence building in him. He was truly the best at what he did.
As he entered the Coruscant atmosphere, the security forces attempted to stop him. But a quick flash of Imperial Clearance let him through easily. He couldn't risk causing a scene here, news travels fast in the underbelly, and Treeda might run before he could track him down. Thankfully, this was the Coruscant night time, and the streets would be buzzing with informants. He scanned the darkened rooftops, looking for a suitable place to land, when a cold chain wrapped itself around his throat. He struggled against the grip, but he knew it was futile; this steel was forged in one of the most feared prisons in the galaxy. Boba instead tapped the buttons on his chair arm, and the seat rotated 180 degrees in the blink of an eye. Boba's outstretched spiked boots made contact with the thigh of his attacker, Danse Monday. While Monday was reeling, Boba stood and kneed him in the gut, causing him to fall onto his back.
As Boba bent over to reclaim his prey, Monday unsheathed a slim, silver blaster and fired. Boba rolled to the side and stood up angry. That blaster had belonged to his father. He kept the pair of them crossed on the wall above his bed, as a reminder of why he did what he did. Boba dodged a second shot, and drew his own blaster rifle. He reappeared in the cockpit and fired, missing Monday, who rolled and stood, flinging a weak, shaky punch which Boba dodged with ease. Monday landed on the control panel, and just as Boba was about to throttle him, he jerked the control stick backwards and the ship shot up in the sky. Boba fell out of the cockpit, through his living quarters, and into the cold cargo bay. He expected his journey to end here, but Monday had apparently found the switch to open the backmost door, and Boba fell through, flipping and spinning in the empty Coruscant night. Boba regained his composure and activated his jetpack, banking instantly around Slave I, he found himself having to make a tough decision. Monday was drawing his cannons, preparing to destroy Boba there and then, and Boba had to choose between staying still and letting this madman take the ship, or blowing a hole in the vessel of his father's legacy. As it was, Boba killed power to his jetpack, and dodged the massive blasts. As he descended, the anti-vehicle rocket by his head fired, and blew open the tough screen window of the cockpit. Boba was thankful Monday hadn't found the shield controls.
Having ensured that the pirate couldn't leave the planet, Boba now focused on getting his ship back. He traced his hand across the pouches on his belt, until he found the third from the buckle at the back. He took out the remote it held. Deciding to claim this bounty alive, Boba used the less deadly of the two buttons on the remote.
Inside the ship, Danse Monday was panicking. The screen in front of him had just exploded, and he was now being chased down by the most deadly Bounty Hunter in the galaxy. He tapped on controls, trying to land the temperamental ship, when electricity riddled his body. He struggled to find meaning for the sudden pain, but all he could think of was that he was having a heart attack. The last thing he saw before blacking out was his own image reflected in the black, soulless visor of Boba Fett's helmet.
With his prisoner now locked up a lot more securely, Boba Fett landed his ship on the nearest building and stepped out to observe the damage. There was a massive gaping hole in the window, but his rival Bounty Hunter had caused no such ruin. The fees would still be immense, though, so he'd better get these three pirates, and fast. He thought of who would be the best to repair his ship as he floated down to the busy Coruscant streets.
This place, the dark alleys and shady dealings, this hadn't changed much since the fall of the Republic. Boba entered a bar he frequented here, and it was easy to tell he frequented it, because the music scratched to an end and all conversations stopped as soon as he walked in. He inclined his head as a sign of peace, and then walked to the bar. The bartender here was the son of Dexter Jettster, and he was little like his father. He was lying, cheating, conniving and a keen gambler, who owed Fett a favour and a drink.
It was the favour Fett came for today, though he took a bottle of Endorian to go. It took a little coaxing, but Jettster eventually released the location of one of his newer customers. He drank lots and spoke little, but he was intimidating, even to the huge, four armed creature. Treeda had been in three fights since he got here, one of his sparring partners had lost an arm during a match.
Fett found the apartment of Jin Treeda in the seedier part of Coruscant's capital. There was a tough door, and a simple locking mechanism beside it. Fett knelt to take a device from his shin-pouch, he jammed it roughly into the key slot of the panel, and his lock-pick beeped rhythmically. After a few seconds, the lock stopped struggling to stay shut, and a little puff of smoke signaled its defeat. The door whooshed open, and Treeda's stink hit Boba full in the face. Clothes and food long since forgotten lay of the ragged, damp carpet, and a shirtless Treeda lay on the filthy bed, a dancing-girl with purple, tattooed skin lay beside him. As Boba paced closer, one of the loose floorboards creaked beneath him. Treeda moved quickly and suddenly, pushing the girl roughly from his bed and grabbing his bedside lamp, pulling it down in an arc, like a lever. Before Boba could reach the pirate, twin thrusters exploded out of the back of his bed, and catapulted Fett back into the hall.
Treeda broke through his apartment wall and flew out into the aerial highways of Coruscant. Boba shook his head and ran towards the gaping hole, then leaped out. Gravity lost its effect after the fire began streaming from his jetpack. He wasn't as fast as Treeda, but he knew these skies well. At that second, there was a flash of gold, and Boba looked to his side. A small, metallic craft with green windows was flying alongside him. The green light preventing people from looking in the windows faded, and inside was Samus Aran; she waved and blew him a kiss playfully, then picked up speed and shot past him.
So she wants to play, does she?