Disclaimer: I own nothing from the Star Wars Universe.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Nikita cast one last sweeping glance around the new room, wanting to make sure she hadn't missed any details that could tell her where Hunsan was hiding. Not sensing anything different, her gaze flitted over to where Boba and the Trandoshan were standing. They had already made it across the room by the time she had entered and were now conversing in front of a set of large elevator doors. As she watched she saw Boba gesture toward the doors. The Trandoshan hissed something in response and pointed at her. Boba looked over at her for a split second before looking back at the Trandoshan and shaking his head.
She did her best to ignore them, instead turning her focus to the dreaded process of picking her way down from the mound of rubble she was standing on. The adrenaline rush that had allowed her to get this far had worn off and every step sent jolts of pain up her injured side. She had almost made it down to solid ground again when her leg gave out and she crumpled, falling the last few feet. She pushed herself up, biting her lip as she fought the urge to cry out. It took several agonizing minutes for the pain to dull down to a point that she was willing to risk moving again.
The knight pulled herself over to what remained of the nearest wall, dragging her injured leg behind her to avoid moving it too much. The coolness of the permacrete was a welcome relief against her feverish skin and she slumped against it. The reprieve was short lived when the pain in her leg flared up soon after and she shot a glare up at the rotting ceiling tiles. She didn't want to see how mangled her leg was but she knew she couldn't put off examining it any longer. There was no telling when the inquisitor would come back so she took a steadying breath and let her gaze fall to her wound.
It was as bad as she had feared.
Hunsan's lunge had been a calculated move. He wanted her alive and intact which was the only reason she still had both legs attached. The Sith's lightsaber had carved a gash along the outside of her thigh three fingers wide and deep enough that she could stick her index finger in up to the second knuckle. The area in and around the edges of the wound was charred and crackled but the damage extended several inches beyond that where the sabers heat had caused her pants to melt and fuse to her skin.
As if her gaze had been a trigger the pain intensified and she sucked in a sharp breath only to inhale the sickening smell of her own burned flesh. A wave of nausea rolled over her and she let out a groan, pulling her good leg up to her chest and burying her face into her arms, her eyes squeezed shut as she fought the urge to vomit.
There would be no way she would be able to fight when Hunsan came back. Her injury ensured that, and if the Sith lost then all he had done was place her right into Boba's hands. Neither outcome was appealing considering one ended in being turned into a mutated rodent and the other in execution.
If only the force had warned her. With advanced warning she might have had a chance to escape off world, or at least try to hide in the quarantine zone until they gave up searching for her. It was clear now, however, why the force had remained tense and silent the past several days. It had ceased its anxious buzzing the minute Boba's presence settled in the back of her mind once more, almost as if it had been nervous to see how she would react to his appearance. Now it hummed around her in a mix of reassurance and satisfaction. She was right where it wanted her to be, where she needed to be, but she didn't find that very reassuring considering the circumstances.
The Force has brought you this far. Don't give up on it, no matter what happens.
Obi-Wan's final words of advice surfaced amidst her racing thoughts and she found herself repeating them as she struggled to calm the uncertainty threatening to overwhelm her. The Trandoshan let out another snarl, louder and angrier, but Nikita didn't bother to look up. He and Boba were likely arguing over what percentage to split her bounty if they defeated the inquisitor, though she doubted Boba wanted to split any of it.
She thought back to when he had first shown up at the command post. Hunsan was going to pay Boba her bounty in full but the hunter had gotten angry, stating that that wasn't what they agreed. He had wanted her. That had been nagging at her since it happened but she hadn't been able to puzzle over it till now. Why would Boba want her? His goal this entire time had been to turn her in for her bounty. The credits had basically been handed to him on a golden platter, all he had to do was accept his pay and leave her to her fate, so why hadn't he? Was he so stubborn that he wanted the satisfaction of turning her over to Vader himself, despite the consequences that would spell for him? He would certainly get it if they managed to survive. There would be no running from him this time, something she thought he would be happy about, but all she felt exuding from the hunter was frustration.
Nikita hesitated for a few seconds before reaching out across the bond. She was trying to be subtle, hoping Boba wouldn't notice, but she wasn't used to how open the link was right now. They usually had enough space between them that they could maintain mental barriers but now their proximity prevented that. With no familiar resistance to go off of she slipped too far and once again felt her consciousness collide with his.
The Mandalorian's attention was focused on her in an instant, his frustration now flowing freely across the bond, pooling in the back of her mind. She drew back, but froze when his presence suddenly swelled. The knight tensed as the hunter's mind pressed against hers, gritting her teeth as she strained to hold on to the boundaries of her consciousness and not let him through. Did he even realize what he was doing? Was this his way of retaliating for her prying? She was in no shape to hold out in a mental standoff with him and at this rate it wouldn't be long before he overwhelmed her.
As quickly as it had begun Boba's presence ebbed and sank into the back of her mind again, but something felt off. His presence felt heavier and it took Nikita a moment to realize his consciousness had sunk deeper than usual when it settled.
Across the room she felt his entire body shift in her direction and she pulled back from the bond as fast as she could. She sat rigid, staring wide eyed at her lap, not daring to look up.
Boba had no idea what he had just done.
She recognized now that she had just experienced a mental sigh from the hunter, but with their close proximity Boba had unknowingly sunk deeper into her mind and anchored himself there, just like she had done when she had been trying to keep him alive. She could feel it now, the anchor he had created taking root like a tree, growing so deep and intertwined she couldn't tell where his consciousness ended and hers began at some points. While not malicious in any way it was irreversible and only made her feel worse.
The knight held back a heavy sigh, trying to ignore the feeling of the anchor twining deeper into her mind. It wasn't Boba's fault. He probably wasn't even aware that he had oriented himself toward her earlier. This was all a result of the bond. It was becoming subconscious. She closed her eyes again, this time allowing her sigh to escape in a frustrated huff as she wondered for at least the hundredth time why the Force had chosen this fate for her.
Life bonds, as Obi-Wan had taught her, were meant to be between two people who loved each other, who wanted to share their lives with each other and who willingly opened their minds to their partners. Yet she had ended up creating one on accident with a man who hated and hunted her, whose actions went against everything she was taught to stand for, and who only agreed to let her into his mind because he was delirious. It was depressing, made more so by the fact that somehow, despite all he had done, she had fallen in love with him. She wasn't naïve. She knew there was no chance of her feelings being reciprocated. She would always be a target, worth nothing more than the amount of credits on her head.
The force pulsed around her again, still humming reassurance that she was right where she needed to be. She let out another sigh as she listened to its steady hum. She was pretty sure she would be better off anywhere but here at the moment, but if she somehow lived through this she was going to see about putting some space between Boba and herself again. Like an entire galaxy's worth this time.
"Are you alright?"
Nikita jumped in surprise at the familiar but unexpected voice and looked up to see Boba standing in front of her, his boots only inches from her outstretched foot. How long had he been standing there? She had been so preoccupied with her racing thoughts she hadn't heard him approach. The bond flickered and surged between them, overloading her senses with dizzying speed before dimming down to a more bearable current that hummed with a melodic pitch. She took a slow, controlled breath through her nose, trying to recover from the sudden change. She was surprised the bond had calmed at all now that they were right next to each other, but perhaps it was adjusting. This was the longest amount of time they had spent in the same room with each other since the bond had been formed after all. The last time she had encountered him at Obi-Wan's home hadn't lasted anywhere near this long. Maybe the bond had just needed enough time to attune to their minds when there were no barriers or blocks in the way.
Though it was more manageable at this state Nikita could still feel the intensity in the open current that ran between them. Boba's presence was still feeding into the bond and the anchor he had unknowingly created twined their minds closer together, amplifying the connection.
She glared up into his T-shaped visor, doing her best to ignore the upbeat tempo her pulse had begun playing against her will. He was so close, too close, and she didn't feel like dealing with him at the moment.
Boba stood silent, studying her, and she knew he was purposely ignoring the warning in her glare. She saw his helmet dip and then he was moving, stepping over her foot and walking up to kneel beside her. His helmet dipped again as he looked at her leg and the frustration that was pooling in the back of her mind suddenly surged into a storm of full blown anger. Nikita's glare faltered and she blinked in surprise. Why would he be angry that she was hurt? It was to his advantage. Last time she had checked her bounty hadn't stated that she needed to be delivered in mint condition. The term 'alive' covered a broad range of spectrums, usually all attributed to whether the target was still breathing.
He began pulling his left glove off and Nikita stiffened. She still recalled how his touch had affected her when he'd been wearing his gloves so she was more than a little concerned about the reaction his bare hands might elicit from her. Physical contact with him wasn't in her best interests right now, especially when every strong sensation she experienced was going to shoot across the open bond before she could stop it. She didn't need to give him any more weaknesses to exploit.
Her fears were confirmed as he reached out to touch her leg and panic welled up in her chest. She jerked away from him only to fall back against the wall with a cry as the sudden movement sent a wave of molten fire shooting through her. Spots began dancing in front of her eyes and she shut them tight in an effort to block out the vertigo that followed, making her stomach churn.
It felt like an eternity before the pain and dizziness subsided enough that she thought she could risk opening her eyes without her head spinning. Boba was still beside her, his hand hovering midair as he observed her. She shot him another glare, weaker this time, hoping he would leave her alone. For a few seconds she thought she was victorious as he withdrew his hand, but her hopes came crashing down when he reached up and pulled off his helmet. He set it to the side, along with his rifle, and yanked off his remaining glove before rummaging through several of the pouches on his belt. A few minutes later he had a roll of gauze and several large size field emergency bacta patches in his hands.
Nikita watched him balance the medical supplies on top of his helmet and reach down to a lower pocket on his pants where he pulled out a sharp, wicked looking knife. She felt the color drain from her face, wondering just what he was planning before deciding she would rather not know. She began trying to inch away from him despite how much pain it caused her, but the hunter noticed. His hand landed heavy on her upper thigh, inches away from her wound and he squeezed his fingers, indicating for her to keep still. The contact sent a tingling jolt through her, causing her breath to catch. The Jedi froze in horror, color flooding her cheeks as she prayed Boba hadn't noticed. Her hopes were dashed as she saw his eyes flick up and meet hers for a split second, his expression unreadable, before his gaze returned to her leg.
Damn her traitorous body!
Mortified and not knowing what else to do, she watched in silence as he ran the tip of the knife around the outermost edge of her wound, just past where her pants had fused to her skin. She could feel the blade threatening to breach the fabric and slice into her skin but Boba was being meticulous, going over every inch of the area he was cutting until the fabric had a light score mark in it. When he was done he flipped the knife over and dug the point into the nearest score line, carefully sawing the blade up until it sliced through the fabric. It was clear that this process was going to take a while.
Nikita bit back a groan and let her head fall back against the wall. She stared up at one of the flickering lights overhead, trying to think of something, anything, that would distract from the current mess she was in. Nothing helped. All she could focus on was the weight of that hand on her thigh, the warmth and feel of the hunter's fingers causing a different kind of fire to begin spreading through her. She suppressed a sudden chill. Had it always been so cold in here? Even with her jacket on it felt as if the temperature had plummeted. Boba radiated warmth beside her and she resisted the urge to move closer to him, to press in to his touch.
A sharp prick on her leg brought her back to her senses, causing her to jump, and she felt Boba's fingers squeeze down on her leg again in an effort to hold her still.
"Stop squirming. I need you on your feet."
She was still too rattled from the sensations he was eliciting in her, too stressed about the situation. She snapped out a retort before she realized what she was doing. "Why? Won't the Empire take damaged goods? Or are you just trying to earn a bonus?"
Boba jerked away from her as if he'd been burned, but he had been right in the middle of slicing through another section of fabric. His wrist flicked upwards in conjunction with his sudden movement, his knife ripping through her pants and tearing a strip of burned skin away with it.
Nikita yelped and flung a fist out to hit him but he caught her by the wrist, holding fast when she tried to pull away. She looked up, meeting his eyes as he leaned back in, and found herself unable to break away from his gaze. His eyes were dark with anger, and she could feel it rolling through the back of her mind like a thunderstorm. There was something else in his gaze though, something hiding just beneath the anger and frustration, and she could sense he was trying very hard to suppress it.
They were so close their noses were almost touching. Every breath she drew made her lightheaded with his scent. Every breath he let out ghosted across her lips in an almost teasing manner. The bond sang between them, begging for her to let go and immerse herself in it. Boba's hand tightened around her wrist, his features drawn, and she knew he was feeling the same pull. The hunter's anger and frustration were still smoldering in his eyes, still storming in her mind, but the unexpected pull from the bond had caught him off guard. His hold on the emotion he'd been trying to suppress slipped. It shot across the bond, blossoming in the back of her mind. Anguish.
She watched a look of shock pass across Boba's face and he leaned back, putting space between them once more. When he spoke his voice sounded strained.
"This isn't about your bounty."
"Really," Nikita scoffed. "Then why are you here? Taris is out of your way. You wouldn't even be here if you weren't after me! Don't bother lying, Fett. I was an idiot to believe you actually had a code. I won't be fooled a second time!"
She felt his grip loosen around her wrist and she jerked her hand away from him, crossing her arms and tearing her gaze from his to glare at a spot on the opposite wall. Boba sat silent and unmoving for several breaths before looking down and resuming his task. His movements were stiffer than before, the only outward sign he was upset, but his emotions were a tempest across the bond. The anguish she had felt seconds ago was growing stronger and she cast a quick glance at him from the corner of her eye. It was clear her comments were the source of the hunter's pain, but she had no clue why. If their last argument before she came to Taris was anything to go by she had thought he didn't give a crap about her opinion. She stifled another sigh and looked back over at the wall. Things were getting more confusing by the minute.
"I didn't lie to you."
The words caught her off guard and were spoken so low she thought she had imagined them. She looked over at Boba but he was still focused on her leg.
"What?"
"I didn't lie to you. I do have a code," the hunter said in the same low, frustrated tone. He still didn't look up.
"What code justifies torture and murder," she ground out. "I thought you didn't agree with it!"
"I never said that. You assumed."
"Then why did you get pissed when Toto tortured me?"
"Because he did it for his own enjoyment," Boba responded with a bit more force in his voice.
Nikita snorted, "And you don't?"
She found herself once again staring into those dark angry eyes.
"I do it when I need to get information," he said, his voice hardening with every word.
"That's moronic and you know it. There are better ways to get information, even if they do take too long."
One of Boba's shoulders rose in a small shrug at her blunt opinion of his reasoning as he turned his attention back to her wound. "I don't expect you to understand. You're a Jedi."
The words were so dismissive they felt like a slap in the face, and while true stung a bit more than Nikita wanted to admit. She stared down at his hands, watching him work. The area he had ripped the charred skin off her leg throbbed and stung, bringing tears to her eyes, and she bit her lip and frantically tried to blink them away before Boba noticed. The last thing she needed was to be crying in front of him like a little girl.
Like the night Obi-Wan had died.
She could still remember how it felt to have the hunter's consciousness intertwined with hers in an awkward yet comforting embrace as she sat on the floor of her dingy apartment. The encounter had only been across the bond, but for a few moments it had felt as though he had been sitting right beside her, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. It wasn't until now with his hand resting on her thigh that she realized just how solid the embrace had felt.
The bond, while unintentional, had always been strong. She had just been too busy trying to ignore it to realize that. Even now it continued to sing between them, still urging for her to stop resisting its pull. It was distracting but understandable. For two people who wanted it, it allowed a connection deeper and more intimate than she imagined even sex could. The two individuals would be able to sink into each other's minds, sharing every memory, emotion and desire with each other at their most basic forms. It would be akin to touching someone's soul.
Nikita had never experienced intimacy. The Jedi Order forbade all attachments except those of a padawan to a master, and when younglings reached of age they were taught to negate sexual and romantic urges with meditation. Even so she found herself wondering what it would feel like to loose herself in the bond, if only for a moment.
"Can you tell where the inquisitor is?" Boba's deep accented voice caused her to surface from her thoughts and her gaze flicked briefly to his face before resettling on his hands.
"No. There's too much interference."
The Mandalorian paused, his other hand coming to rest just above her knee, knife still in his grip, and looked up at her with a frown.
"Interference from what?"
"From here… this place," she replied, waving a hand to indicate the space around them. "There was so much death and destruction here it left a deep scar in the force. It's…" the knight paused, trying to think of the best way to describe the horrible emptiness and silence that permeated the force here to him. "It's so quiet it's loud."
He stared at her and she watched his dark brows rise in a clear look of skepticism.
"That makes no sense."
Nikita let out a huff and closed her eyes, resting her head back against the wall once more as she retorted, "Well I wouldn't expect you to understand. You're a bounty hunter."
She heard him suck in a sharp breath as she threw his own words back in his face. She could feel his gaze boring into her, his anguish and frustration burning through the back of her mind like acid. A tense, almost suffocating silence fell between them, broken only by the force as it thrummed in the air, taut as a bowstring. A sudden pang of guilt twisted in her and she slumped against the wall, her throat burning with the threat of tears. She had hit her breaking point and she just wanted this to be over.
Boba's free hand twitched where it was resting on her thigh, sending another tingling charge through her. She knew he had likely felt her sudden weariness but she didn't care. The stifling silence between them was interrupted as the hunter slowly exhaled and she waited for whatever biting remark he was about to say.
"Look. I don't expect you to understand my methods and I don't pretend to understand yours. So for now let's just agree to disagree. Deal?"
She looked at him then, a mix of surprise and shock playing across her features. He was staring at her, his gaze intense and unwavering as he waited for her answer. Had she heard him right? She knew enough of his reputation to know that he never negotiated with his targets. Why was she any different? He had told her he wasn't here for her bounty but she couldn't see any other reason why he would have shown up. She sighed in defeat. The last thing she wanted to do was place her life in his hands but in her current condition he was her best chance of getting out of this mess alive.
Nikita took a breath and started to answer him, but the words died in her throat when she saw something foreign flash in his eyes. The emotion shot through her mind like lightning, gone as quickly as it had come, but it was unmistakable.
He was worried.
She faltered, finding herself once again unable to break away from his gaze as she struggled to regain her voice. At last she managed to get out one word, little more than a squeak, "Deal."
Author's Note: Still alive! I can't believe it's been a year since I posted anything! I apologize for the long wait. Life has been very busy this past year, but I'm still hanging in there! I think I rewrote this chapter six or seven times before I was finally happy with it so it feels amazing to be posting right now! Alas, poor Nikita. She needs some love for the rough time she's going through right now. Once again thank you to everyone who has read, followed, favorited and reviewed. I see them all and I'm happy that you guys enjoy this story as much as I do!