3 BBY

Boba Fett and Kaleena fled to the planet closest to Coruscant: Alsakan. It was a wealthy planet with a monarchy that still stood despite the Empire. The two did not find themselves in a city, however. Fett touched down in the Ten Valleys, away from most civilized life.

The moment they landed, Fett stood from the pilot's seat and nodded his head towards the door. "Come on," he ordered. He then walked out of the cockpit. Kaleena jumped from her seat and followed. Fett took her outside. The beautiful scenary was marred by remnants of a battle. Large metal pieces were prominent but held overgrown shrubbery. Nature was taking over what was left by sentients. It was different than how Tatooine took over. It was flora instead of sand. It was beautiful.

Fett stopped walking shortly after exiting the ship, turning to the girl. His stance was stern and confident. It would be strange for a man of his reputation to not display confidence in his actions. "You're probably wondering why we're here," he started.

"Yep," Kal cut in.

The bounty hunter paused, slightly annoyed at her obvious impatience. She reminded him of himself. He was similar when he was a kid. Headstrong, confident, impatient, stubborn. The traits would either serve her well or get her into trouble. They already have, but thankfully for her, Fett actually liked kids. If he didn't, he would have killed the false Jedi and his son on Coruscant. He wasn't a fan of unnecessary death or ripping families apart, no matter what his reputation said.

"If I'm going to take you in, I need to see what you're made of." He folded his arms, looking her over. Her stance was impeccable, like she was made to constantly have her back straight and her chin up. The ferocity in her eyes was also apparent. Fett knew that whoever her parents had been, if she knew them at all, had a hell of a time trying to reign her in. "If you're going to run with me, know that it's going to be hard. Being a bounty hunter isn't ever easy."

"I know. I've already hijacked a ship and fought off a crime lord's guards." Kaleena said it with such ease that Fett had to take a moment to realize what she had said.

His footing shifted. "Seriously?" She nodded enthusiastically. She really missed doing it. It helped that she was with another Force-user, but a known Jedi-killer didn't need to know that about her. The rush of adrenaline was fun. "Alright, let's see what you can do. Come at me."

Kaleena took a moment to watch him. It seemed as though he was visibly relaxed, but the armor didn't help. She decided to just rush him. Kal sprinted forward to rush him. She lasted a good few moments before being knocked back. Almost immediately, she brushed off the stun and attacked again, from a different angle, using her small stature and quick reflexes to land some nice hits in. Fett blocked or dodged most, except one to his lower abdomen, which momentarily stunned him. He didn't let it faze him, eventually tossing Kal to the ground. She slammed down with a hard thud and grunt.

Fett stood above her, nodding slowly. He held out his hand and helped her up. Kal brushed off the dirt as he spoke. "You're pretty good." There was no greater compliment from the great Boba Fett. He was specially trained by his father, one of the best bounty hunters that had graced the galaxy. Jango Fett only died because of a Jedi. Nothing else could take him on. Boba was trained well, so he knew a good fighter when he saw one. "But you seem to want to use something."

"What do you mean?" Kaleena asked. She was almost scared of his answer. She was pleading in her mind for him to not say the Force.

Fett straightened his armor, which Kal had successfully knocked out of place. "A weapon. You were trained well, but with something like a baton or staff, right? Maybe a knife?"

"Oh, yeah." She dug her heal into the soft earth. "My dad taught me."

He knew not to delve further into the matter about missing fathers, but he was glad to know that she had known at least one of her parents. "Well, you're good at it. Although, if you're going to be a bounty hunter then you're going to need the mark of one."

Kal's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "You mean, like a tattoo or brand?" She unintentionally gripped her arm. The idea sounded painful.

Fett shook his head. "No." Kaleena felt a little stupid for guessing. "The mark, the marksmanship, the skill set with a blaster," he stuttered out, pointing at the blasters clipped to her belt. "You may carry two, but are you any good? You are from less than a meter away, but what about with distance?"

"Uh, I'm not the best."

"Then I'll teach you."

Kaleena followed the elder bounty hunter over to the nearest sheet of metal sticking out of the ground. "Grab one of your blasters." She unclipped the sporting blaster from her right side and held it up facing the metal target. It was wide and seemed too big to effectively be a good target, but she didn't want to question Fett. They barely knew each other. She didn't know anything about him. At least not enough to know how sarcastic and witty she could be without ticking him off like in the back alley on Coruscant. "Is the safety on?"

She fought the urge to grumble, but double checked her blaster anyway. "No."

"Good. You'd be surprised at how many people don't know about the safety mechanism." Kal had her blasters for a while. Long enough to have figured out the components, but still lacking the skill to shoot with accuracy and precision due to no practice. "When I'm done with you, you'll be an expert."

Lowering her blaster a little and picking up her head, Kaleena thought about his words. "So I can stay?" she infered.

Fett folded his arms across his chest plate. "I didn't say that."

"But you just said-"

"Fire at the target." Kal quickly pulled the trigger at the harsh, stern order. The blaster bolt barely hit it. The scorch mark was near the top edge, nowhere near the middle. "First lesson, aim."

Kal shook her head and glared at the spot the bolt hit, still holding up her blaster. "You were distracting me." She was better at physical deflection rather than mental deflection.

The bounty hunter scoffed in amusement. "There will always be distractions. And that was nothing. If you want a real distraction, I can shoot at you so you'd have to dodge, aim, and fire." The suggestion was mostly rhetorical. He planned to fully incorporate it into her blaster training when she got better.

The hours of blaster training passed slowly as Kaleena progressed. She realized halfway through that it would go smoother if she allowed the Force to guide her when taking the shot. Her muscles were no longer tense as she held up her blaster and fired at smaller and smaller targets. They only stopped when Fett noticed that she was growing restless, just like every other training she had gone through in the past.

The days following, Kal and Fett practiced shooting outside as much as they could, upping the stakes each time. Moving targets, different blasters, dodging, running. And when it was bad weather, they still practiced. It continued until he believed she was ready to go out with him on a bounty without being a liability.

"Are you up for this?" Fett asked Kaleena as she was zipping her long overcoat.

She laced on her arm guards. "Yes, why?"

Fett set his gloved hand on her shoulder to get her complete attention. "You're awfully quiet. I haven't heard a witty remark since I told you about the bounty."

"I'm-I'm just getting ready," she tried to reassure. The next order of business was to help her work on her sabaac face because Fett didn't buy her nonchalance for a second.

"Kaleena, bounty hunting isn't for everyone. Killing is something that you get used to, but you don't have to."

"I want to." Her words were quick and concise. There was no room for hesitation.

Fett nodded slowly. "Well, if you're sure." He took his hand off her shoulder and opened the storage bin closest to him. "You're going to need this." In his hand was black armor to cover her left shoulder, forearm, and fist. "Every hunter needs decent protection. Leather arm guards aren't going to cut it. And you seem to like hitting with your left arm even though you're right-handed."

He handed it to Kaleena who took it gingerly. It was lighter than she thought it would be but obviously good quality. The ridges and strapped together components would allow her to move freely. She hadn't received a gift in what seemed like forever. "It's made from durasteel, like my armor," Fett continued, not really knowing what to make of her expression. He couldn't decide if she was offended or grateful, only that she was staring at it with extreme intensity. He was about to continue talking about it to fill the silence, but Kal got to it before he could continue babbling.

"Thank you." Fett took a moment to realize that she was grateful. "It's amazing. Thank you, Fett."

The older bounty hunter smiled behind his helmet. "Call me Boba."