Chapter Sixteen—Part 1
I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.
And I watered it in fears,
Night and morning with my tears;
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.
And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it shine.
And he knew that it was mine,
And into my garden stole
When the night had veiled the pole;
In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.
A Poison Tree by William Blake
The suns are high in the sky as Obi-Wan works on the vaporator, crouching so he can easily reach the control panel, the hot sand burning through his trousers. It is nothing too bad; just some wiring that needs to be striped and soldered. It should not take him more than an hour or so to repair. He shakes his head in amusement as he hears the electronic sounds of Luke's toy blaster firing as the boy darts between the vaporators, shooting at imaginary foes.
"Don't wander off. Stay where I can see you," he tells him.
The boy makes a face, but nods. Humming softly to himself he begins to fix the vaporator. He does not stop or even change position when, a quarter of an hour later, he senses someone approaching from the outskirts of the farm. Nor does he move when he can hear the being's footsteps behind him. Luke stops his play and runs to his side, radiating apprehension. Obi-Wan sends a wave of reassurance through their bond and whispers to the boy's mind Brave heart, youngling.
He stops and stands only when he hears a voice behind him.
"Ben Lars."
The man is wearing battered green Mandalorian armor. His voice, muffed through his helmet, is nevertheless familiar. Obi-Wan has heard it a million times, during the Clone Wars. Jango Fett's voice.
"Boba Fett. The bounty hunter," he says slowly with Luke peering at the man from behind his legs.
"You've heard of me? Always nice to be recognized." The bounty hunter draws a blaster and points it unwaveringly at Obi-Wan's heart.
"I've got a contract on you and your boy. If my client went missing he told me you'd be the one responsible. What did you do with Malorum, by the way?"
"He's dead," Obi-Wan says flatly. "Let the boy go, I'm unarmed."
"Good, that'll make things easier."
"You would kill a child?"
"I will honor the contract. But in deference to your boy I won't do everything I was paid for. Malorum wanted both of you to die painfully."
"Oh, how kind of you."
"Sarcasm is the lowest form of humor, you know?" Boba Fett says casually then, his voice turns serious. "Say your last words, I want to get out of this blasted heat."
"Indeed. I am giving you a chance. Leave now and do not come back. We can both forget all about this," he says in his most reasonable tone.
"Or you'll what? You said yourself that you were unarmed," the bounty hunter laughs. "Come on, let's get this over with. Say goodbye to your boy."
"Last chance," Obi-Wan says placing his hand on Luke's shoulder.
"If this is how you want to spend your final moments…"
The bounty hunter shrugs and the air is filled with the light of blaster fire.
