Boba Fett
Vs.
Darth Maul
Planet Naboo, remnants of Theed Palace...
The Hound's Tooth, personal ship and freighter of the bounty hunter
known as Bossk, hovered ominously over the skies of the watery world
of Naboo, as a shuttle dropped downwards through the skies, containing
a small group of allied bounty hunters. Amongst them was Bossk
himself, and two of his allies, Zuckuss and 4-Lom, as well as another,
lesser-known hunter who called himself Nu.
"This is it." Zuckuss told the others. "This is where we will find our weapon."
"Zuckuss, I thought you said there was something here that could kill Fett!" Bossk hissed.
"There is." Zuckuss replied. "Though only fragmented documents remain,
the Trade Federation once tried to invade this planet. They were
allied by a Sith lord known as Darth Sidious, who sent his apprentice,
Darth Maul, to kill the queen of this very palace. The apprentice was
defeated by a pair of Jedi Knights. One was Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Jedi
Knight that was killed by our late galactic ruler, Darth Vader. The
other was called Qui-Gon Jin, and he was killed during the battle with
Darth Maul."
"I still do not see how this is relevant to us." Nu snarled.
"It is possible I can find some of Maul's DNA here in this palace."
Zuckuss explained. "We will use the DNA to clone him, and have him
battle Fett for us."
"Good plan." Bossk nodded. "4-Lom! Use your scanners to locate any DNA traces."
4-Lom, the only android among them, nodded. He walked over, through
the ruins of what was once Naboo's capitol city. Within the wreckage
of the palace, the four bounty hunters headed ever downward, all the
way to the bowels. Some power generators were still active, but most
had deactivated over the years. And, after walking through a set of
laser walls, they came upon a melting pit, and 4-Lom pointed down into
it.
"In there." 4-Lom told the other hunters.
"Nu, enter the pit and see what you can find." Zuckuss instructed.
Nu nodded, and opened skin flaps under his arms before leaping down.
This allowed him to glide down safely, without harming himself or
risking any kind of dropped. After a few minutes, Nu activated a wrist
communicator and contacted Zuckuss from below.
"There's not much down here...just a few old light sabers..." Nu explained.
"Neither are working, but one seems to have been connected to
something."
Zuckuss nodded. "It was rumored that Maul wielded a double bladed light
saber. These claims haven't been proven, but we have evidence
right there before you."
"Anyway," Nu continued, "No sign of any...wait a second..."
"What did you find?" Zuckuss asked urgently.
"A skull." Nu replied. "With seven horns protruding from it...and a flap of red and black skin."
Zuckuss smiled. "Excellent. Bring it up."
"You have it?" Bossk demanded, clearly growing impatient.
"Oh, yes, Bossk." Zuckuss said. "We finally have the way to be rid of
Fett once and for all!"
Planet Hoth, former Rebel Echo Base...
Boba Fett, the bounty hunter renowned as 'the best' from every system
he had visited, walked through the frozen waste, protected from the
bone chilling cold by his outfit, the armor of a Mandalorian. He was
on the trail of his latest bounty, a Toydarian named Shiyu, who had
come to Hoth so he could export some of the planet's few animal species,
particularly Tauntauns. This caused a problem with local smugglers
hiding out on Hoth, so they hired Fett to get rid of Shiyu, an offer
of 20,000 credits up for grabs. Normally, Boba would ask for more, but
business had been slow, and he needed a job. Though he didn't find
his Toydarian bounty on the ice world, he did come across one of his old
acquaintances.
"Well, look what the cat dragged in." Fett turned to see a human, dressed
in a white and beige outfit, blending in with the snow almost
perfectly. Boba recognized the man almost immediately as Dengar, one
of his few friends in the bounty hunter occupation.
"What the hell are you doin' here?" Fett asked with his usual calm, yet dangerous tone.
" 'Same as you." Dengar replied. "The locals here apparently haven't
heard of your reputation. They're offering quite some cash for anyone who
can bring Shiyu in."
Boba Fett shrugged. "Doesn't surprise me. Chances are the guy made tracks. No one would want to stay on this snow ball for very long."
"But unfortunately, that's what happens in this line of work."
Somewhere in the Hoth system, the Hound's Tooth emerged from hyperspace.
"We've tracked Slave I's signal." Bossk told 4-Lom. "He's on the sixth planet of this system. Go tell Zuckuss to finish playing mad scientist."
4-Lom nodded, and headed towards the back of the ship. Past the quarters,
4-Lom found Zuckuss and Nu in another room, working around a
test tube. Inside, a strange being was beginning to form.
"Zuckuss." 4-Lom stated. "Bossk has found Fett. He wants to know how your creation is doing."
Zuckuss grinned. "We're almost finished. Using one of these cloning devices we found on Tatooine has helped a lot."
"But, unfortunately, not enough." Nu continued. "Though we've almost finished, Maul's DNA code isn't complete."
"No matter." Zuckuss replied, waving his arm in a dismissive manner. "We will finish welding him together with cybernetic enhancements."
Nu nodded. "Do that, then. I'll finish constructing his weapon."
"Weapon?" 4-Lom inquired.
Nu showed him a long, gray tube. He then pressed two buttons, and a blade of red light appeared from either end.
"A double-bladed lightsaber." Nu replied. "A rather ingenious weapon- far ahead of its time."
"Yes, yes, quite fascinating." Zuckuss continued without much enthusiasm.
"However, the light saber will be only one of his weapons. With the
cybernetic enhancements he will bet fit with, our old nemesis will
have little chance of survival."
"Too bad, though." Nu added. "It would've been nice to see the 'best'
go down."
Back on Hoth...
Fett and Dengar wandered the echo base for a few minutes, until, finally,
they came out empty-handed.
"Nothing's here." Dengar muttered. "We might as well leave."
Fett nodded, as he was not known for words. The two stood silently for a few moments, until a laser blast slammed into the snow beside them. Immediately alert, Dengar and Boba Fett drew their weapons, spotting the source of the blast, three figures riding over on a skiff hover platform.
"Fett!" hissed a familiar voice.
"Zuckuss." Fett replied with a snarl.
"So good to see you again." Zuckuss greeted. "And, as you and your friend can tell by the little attack, we're not here for fun and games."
The other two figures were not recognizable. One was a Nejarian bounty hunter, who Fett did not know to be called Nu, and the other was dressed in black cloaks, unrecognizable beneath them.
"Yes." Dengar said. "Who are these two?"
"New players in the business." Zuckuss explained. "Since Fett seems to have made a new friend, Bossk and I decided to have two of our friends deal with you."
"We're game." Fett stated coolly.
"And soon you will be dead." said the cloaked figure, as he leapt off the skiff, facing Boba Fett. "I am your opponent. This snowy world is an excellent backdrop for your demise."
Nu leapt from the ship, before Dengar. "And I will deal with you."
Dengar shrugged. "Fine with me."
The cloaked man lifted his hood, revealing a red and black face, with seven horns protruding from his head. A few circuits were also clear on his head and neck, as though he was part machine.
Boba Fett didn't recognize his opponent, but had seen a few Sith lords in his day. He knew what the warrior was.
As if to confirm his claim, the Sith extending his hand, holding a long gray tube. From each end extended a ray of red light.
"Who the hell are you?" Fett asked calmly.
"Maul." he replied, tossing away the rest of his cloak. "But I doubt my name will matter when you are dead."
Fett pointed his blaster at Maul's face. "Let's find out." He fired, and Maul lifted his lightsaber quickly to deflect the shot, grinning madly.
"My bounty-hunting friends said you were good." Maul muttered with a laugh. "For your sake, I hope they were telling the truth."
Not far off, Dengar fired his blaster rifle, but Nu caught a breeze using skin flaps under his arms, gliding away. He pulled out his own blaster and fired, but Dengar ducked and shot off another blast. This continued for a few seconds.
"Not bad." Nu told Dengar. "If you were smart, you would've joined with us."
"Old Sarlacc food and I go way back." Dengar replied. "Loyalty is an important part of this business...which you and your pals seem to have forgotten."
Nu shrugged. "It's just a job. We kill. Our bounties die."
"Or..." Dengar continued the conversation. "You die."
Nu laughed. "Unlikely."
Dengar grinned. "More than you think." He then fired a blast from his rifle into Nu's arm, forcing him to drop the blaster in his hand. Dengar then pointed the blaster in Nu's face.
"Wait..." Nu protested. "I'm a bounty hunter like you. Remember the code?"
"Yeah." Dengar nodded. "You broke it."
"No!"
He fired, and the Nejarian bounter fell into the snow bank, a hole through his skull.
"Damnable fool." Dengar muttered before returning to help Boba Fett.
Back in the interior of Echo Base, in a particularly large corridor, another battle raged. Though Fett got a few good shots off with his blaster, Darth Maul was a Sith Lord, and very experienced in the ways of the Force. Only Fett's agility and own battle experience made him a match for Maul. He fought, but was losing. Fett was tiring from the continuous exertion. Maul, if he tired at all, did not show his fatigue.
"A great warrior you are." Maul admitted. "But unskilled and misguided. You know nothing of my powers."
"I know you're a cyborg." Fett shot back.
Maul hesitated, if only for a moment. He continued slashing away with his double-bladed lightsaber, now more in rage.
"I will still destroy you, bounty hunter!" Maul promised. He sliced one of his blades through Fett's blaster, rendering it useless.
Fett seemed unarmed, but his armor provided more than enough substitutes. He pressed a button on his wrist, and sent out a torrent of flame into Darth Maul's face. The Sith lord screamed and leapt away, his face now more black than before.
"It'll be the other way around." Fett replied, switching on another device. He then launched a trap wire from his wrist, which surrounded Maul's body.
"Is that the best you can do?" Maul asked. He lifted his blade to slice the cable away. "How did you ever earn the reputation of being 'the best'."
"Because I beat the best." Fett replied.
Maul laughed. "Too bad you never had to battle me before."
"Don't forget me." Maul turned, and saw Dengar with his blaster rifle leveled at the Sith lord's face. "Now drop your fancy weapon and let my friend go."
Maul grinned. "Certainly." He began to charge.
Dengar fired a few shots off, but Maul was too fast. He dodged each blast, and then, drove one end of his lightsaber into Dengar's shoulder.
"Agh!"
"No!" Fett cried, leaping at Maul.
Darth Maul caught him with his free hand, and looked at him with his sinisterly evil eyes. "Wait for your turn." He then tossed Fett back into a hallway of the deserted Echo Base, and turned to Dengar. "Now, it is time for you to die."
Fett flipped a switch on his wrist, and activated his mini blaster. He fired of two bolts, slamming into Maul's back. The Sith lord howled in pain, and turned back to face Fett.
"You'll pay for that, bounty hunter." Maul promised, approaching, his double-bladed lightsaber over his head. "No more games. This ends now."
"Dengar." Fett said. "Get outta' here."
Though the fellow bounty hunter wanted to protest, he nodded, and headed away, clutching his wounded shoulder as he ran.
"Meet your death." Maul snarled, lifting the lightsaber up, ready to bring it down.
"No." Boba Fett replied. "Meet yours." He then fired rapid bursts towards the ceiling, spinning his body towards the exit as he did. Maul slammed his lightsaber into the snow, narrowly missing the bounty hunter. The bolts hit home, as tons of snow began to fall into the hallway.
"What?!" Maul cried in surprise.
Fett turned on his jetpack in just enough time. He shot away, again
narrowly avoiding Maul's attack. Sliding on the ice at super high speed,
Fett rocketed out the entrance, cancelled the fuel on his jet pack, and
landed hard into a snow bank.
Inside, Maul howled in frustration, slashing away at the falling snow and debri. Fight as he might, Maul was soon buried under it all.
Back on the Hound's Tooth, Zuckuss and Bossk howled in frustration.
"Curse Fett!" Bossk snarled. "He thinks he's real smart."
"As I've said before, he is real smart, Bossk." Zuckuss explained. "That's why he's the best."
Bossk clenched one clawed hand. "That will change soon enough."
Back on Hoth, Fett awoke to see Dengar, his shoulder now wrapped.
"Congrats, Fett. You beat him." Dengar said. "Who was that guy, anyway?"
Fett lifted himself and shrugged. "Just some has-been."
In the ruins of Echo Base, under the debri, a double-bladed lightsaber rolled out from under a bank of ice and machinery. It was followed by a red and black hand, visible in the ripped portion of a glove, blood staining the coating. An arm followed the hand, and soon a shoulder and neck and head.
The Sith had been granted life once more. He had no intention of wasting it.
He would kill again.
And Boba Fett, the greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy, was at the
top of his hit list.
