Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with Star Wars other than a video game and a book. I do own my character Kysha. Please don't sue me as the only things of worth I own are my Bible and my copy of Lord of the Rings.
A/N:
I am so so so sorry! I know anyone who is still reading this has every right to be furious with chapter was hard though. I've had the basic idea down from very early on but I had trouble actually writing it. I was trying to write emotion for an emotionless bounty hunter and I had a family member I was close to die recently so, writing any emotion other than grief is being hard. And I just realized that I don't have a disclaimer on this story so I am going to add one to all of the previous chapters. With out any more excuses I give you this continuation of the story.
~sw~sw~sw~
Praxus Dex was an unexciting, dull brown, mud ball. Its sole redeeming feature was the large deposited of an ore containing a rare chemical used in manufacturing high grade sanitizers. That, and the scientists who currently worked in a lab below the surface; which is what had drawn this particular visitor.
Boba Fett set the Slave 1 down carefully; the surface of the planet would allow for no other type of landing, pockmarked as it was from the mining that had taken place both on and below the surface.
Boba landed the ship and then primed his blaster rifle before going to unlock the door to Kysha's room. He didn't even speak this time, simply gesturing for her to leave the room with the gun. She looked up at him and then, perhaps because she had seen something significant in the harsh, cold t-shaped visor, she dropped her gaze to the floor and did as instructed.
Boba was surprised at how much his captive's silence bothered him. Usually she was annoyingly cheerful and pert. It had been driving him nuts only the day before. But, today... today there were no witty remarks. There was not a trace of impudent attitude to be seen. She was very quite and downcast, almost as if she didn't care what happened to her, and she absolutely refused to look at him. In silence the pair made their way across the pitted surface of the mine-scared planet. Boba had decided he liked her better when she was being annoying, bouncy and hyper. Her silence, the way she refused to look up, was beginning to awaken tinges of what Boba only faintly recognized as guilt. This only served to make him more angry than he already was.
He was only doing what he had to; it was what he had done all his life to survive, this was no different. It was for the money and the little girl didn't have any other options so it really didn't matter all that much.
At least this was what the great Mandalorian bounty hunter told himself as the strange pair made their way through an unimpressive set of doors and into the underground complex. The farther he walked, the madder he got.
By the time he reached the desk he was teetering on the edge of losing control. The slight, elderly secretary behind it almost asked him to wait but before she spoke she looked up at the armored figure before her and seemed to sense that that was not a good idea at the moment. He practically growled his name at her and she picked up a communicator from the desk in front of her with a slightly shaky hand to speak into it, "A Mister Fett here to see Dr. K'siara."
A few seconds later the answer came through, "Let him come in." Apparently they had been waiting for him. This did nothing improve the bounty hunter's mood. He grabbed Kysha's wrist and pulled her through the door that opened. Again she went with him without complaint or comment. That was the final straw for Boba. He entered the corridor hauling Kysha behind him, slammed the door shut, and shot the video camera out of the wall. Then he spun to glare at his captive, "WHAT are you doing?"
Kysha blinked once, twice then looked up at him and cocked her head to the side. "Um, following a creepy Mandalorian to my death?" She winced a little at his reaction and muttered under her breath, "Kidding! Sheesh."
Boba had not been this angry since he last laid eyes on the jedi who killed his father. "That is NOT what I meant and you know it!" His voice suddenly became very calm. Boba had reached the point where he was so furious he did not know what to do about it. And the worst part was, he wasn't entirely sure who he was angry at. "You know I am going to turn you over for the bounty. Why aren't you fighting me? Or at least making snippy comments?"
The little girl crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, "And exactly what effect are snippy comments going to have?" She sighed and dropped the cheery attitude that had showed itself for a moment. "Mister Fett, I... I'm sorry that I have been causing you problems. And I'm sorry about my attitude. I..." She stopped again. The child seemed very nervous about what ever she was about to say. Then she lifted her head and looked him straight in the eyes. "I was being that way because I... well I like you and you seem like a nice man. I was trying to... Oh I don't know what I was trying to do! I'm sorry, I just." She trailed off and dropped her gaze again. "Can you just take me where ever we are going? Please?!"
The little girl turned and began walking down the hall. Even from the back she looked the picture of despondence. Boba stood frozen in the hall way. 'She, she must have latched on to me as authority figure.' Boba had read about this in one of the parenting books he had purchased on Tatooine. Sometimes children who had lost parents would pick the nearest adult that they trusted and sort of hold them as an authority figure. 'Why would she pick me? I've been keeping her prisoner.' But his agile mind had already figured it out. He had 'saved' her from the trandosian, and kept her fed and warm. 'If it takes that little to make her decide that I am worth trusting...' Trust was something Boba had trouble with. He suspected it was because he had watched his father die at a very young age. The bounty hunter turned away from the girl, his certainty that he was doing the right thing vanished. 'She trusts me. Or... she did trust me, for a little while. And I am planning on turning her over to a lot of crack pot scientists? What kind of a person am I?' Boba stood there staring at the wall for a few moments. He almost whipped out his blaster when Kysha tugged on his belt but not quite. She looked very upset, almost as if she could tell she had done something to make him mad. "Mister Fett? I'm sorry. I'm... I really don't want to be a problem." At this point the tiny child was beginning to tear up. "I'm not quite sure why I said that. I know better than to trust an adult..." She paused, looking even more upset, her bottom lip trembling. "I'm sorry. Can we please get this over with?" She looked at him and her tiny face was suddenly very serious.
Boba stood there, outwardly calm staring at her for a few minutes; it was but a facade because what was raging through his mind was anything but calm. 'She knows a little bit about fighting, that's true but she is likely no where near the Mandalorian level of training... She is so young, she could learn. She is an aruetii,' That just brought back the dream he'd had. 'We sometimes have children too.' His father had been adopted, he had chosen to have a son. It was very much the mando way to adopt children, it wasn't quite as common but a mando adopting an aruetii was by no means unheard of. 'Why this child? If my father want's me to adopt someone, why now? Why this kid? What is so special about her? She is annoying, she is argumentative and she doesn't ob...' Then he had to stop, and cold clear acceptance washed over him. 'The only time so far she disobeyed me was in Jabba's throne room; and... she was trying to help me. She showed then that she is willing to obey but she will also use her judgment. If she was a soldier that would be a problem, but she will be a bounty hunter, I could teach her to...' Boba stopped that train of thought right there. Then he sighed, sooner or later he would have to think about this and he preferred to do it now, when he could still do something about it. 'I already know I want to pass on what I have learned some day. To do otherwise would be dishonor my father's memory. And this girl is in a position were she needs someone... Do I truly have a reason not to take her? She has showed so far is that she is a remarkable individual, she can fight, she does not scare easily but she is not one of those fools who feel no fear.' There had been occasions before in Boba's life that he could have adopted someone, or taken on an apprentice. There had been some very likely prospects, but this tiny child had something none of the others had; his father's approval.
Boba took a deep breath, that settled it. He would adopt the girl. Now he just had to decide what to do with the mess he had created by bringing her to this place. He had a feeling that if these scientists wanted her that bad they wouldn't just let her go.
~sw~sw~sw~
FYI: aruetii means outsider or traitor.
So, hope you enjoyed it sorry it's so short. Unfortunately it may be a while until the next chapter is up because we are moving. But it may be a shorter wait because I am going to enjoy the next chapter. I may edit this chapter later because it didn't come out quite right.
Thank you so much for reading and please review! Constructive criticism, pointing out errors and flamers all welcome. I am desperate here people! Please!
