Boba hated waiting. He glanced around the small room he had been
ushered to after the audience. Unlike the previous waiting room, it was
completely devoid of furniture and decoration. The bare, white walls
seemed ominously skeletal, while the two white-clad guards that stood by
the door were as statues. Strangely, the room, even without furniture,
seemed cramped with three people inside. Boba lounged comfortably against
the wall farthest from the door and regarded the guards with an amused air.
"Do you think you have to make sure I don't run away?" he taunted calmly.
Though the guards didn't reply, one of them shot an annoyed look Boba's
direction. Fett took a step forward. "All I want is to get paid; then
I'll leave. I'm in no hurry. You can relax or something...at ease?"
One of the guards took his hand off his blaster and turned to Boba
Fett. "We're supposed to be guarding you while your ship is searched.
Wouldn't want you to interfere, eh?"
Searching his ship! Boba was seething, but he kept his voice the
same low taunting lilt, "Interfere? Never! They can search to their
hearts' content."
The other guard relaxed a bit. "So you don't mind people pawing
through your stuff?"
Boba smiled disarmingly, "'Pawing through' my stuff, you say? I'm
sure Henberan guards can do better searches than that, am I right?" He
thought he saw their chests swell a little. Boba took a gamble and turned
his back to them, pretending to check his chrono. He slipped a hand up his
sleeve and activated his civilian gauntlets, which he could easily hide
under most clothes. He slipped a tiny remote control device into his left
hand, then wandered around a little as if he were bored.
The guards had relaxed completely now, one even having laid down his
heavy blaster rifle. They were talking quietly among themselves when Boba
aimed coolly at the taller, more alert one, from behind, and sent a
saberdart tipped with tranquilizer into the guard's neck. The guard
slumped almost instantly, leaving his pudgy companion gaping at the
advancing bounty hunter. "Don't make this difficult..." Fett warned, but
the guard had already reached for his blaster rifle. Being closer to the
wall against which the rifle was leaning, he stepped into the man's path
and caught the guard in the side of the head with his right gauntlet. The
fabric did not soften the blow, and this guard too fell to the ground.
Boba dusted off his hands, wrenched open the door, and began stalking down
the hallway toward what he assumed would be the hangar. A servant ducked
out a door into the hallway, and Fett accosted him. "Which way to the
hangar?"
The servant did not seem at all disturbed by this question. "You're
almost there; just another few doors...let's see...number 87'll get you to
the turbolift, and then type in code 24B and that'll be the hangar. But
I'd be careful if I were you. They're searching some ship in there; and
it'll probably get messy. Always does, you see."
Boba tried to look only mildly interested. "They search ships in the
main hangar then?"
"Well, you see, only the twelve families have their own hangars;
everything else goes in the big one. There's really no where else, you
see?"
"Yes, thank you." Boba let the servant get on with his work. So
they're searching Slave I in the main hangar, eh? Fett thought, more people
to perform for.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The guards herded Annbri out a different door than she had entered, and she found herself in a laboratory. Several men and women in white robes were bent over various assortments of tubes and petri dishes. A row of medical droids lined the far wall, and as they entered, one rolled forward. The guards escorted Annbri to a hovering table on which she was instructed to sit. When she had done so, the medical droid assigned to her approached and began his examination. Annbri was baffled by the many different tubes and srynges that he produced, and was rather glad when a sharp prick in her hand was shortly proceeded by unconsciousness.
When she awoke, she found herself in a different room, sprawled on a hovering couch, it seemed. As she took stock of her surroundings, she found that she could make out voices nearby. A woman's voice was giving out orders, it seemed, to dozens of listeners. As she struggled to sit up, her head pounded, and she quickly returned to lying on her back. Suddenly, someone who had been standing behind her scurried around the couch and into the hallway. A maid, Annbri decided, upon hearing a respectful murmur, quickly followed by the first woman's commanding alto.
The maid, for indeed that is what she was, returned almost immediatly, following a tall woman, made even taller by the headress she wore. "Aha!" the woman said in a loud but friendly tone, "the princess awakes!" She turned breifly to the maid, "Thank you, Kimri, now you may go see to her rooms with the others." The maid nodded once, then removed herself from their company..
Annbri couldn't help but stare at this strange woman. Adorned in a long green dress with many layers and shades, she seemed to the younger woman to be a stiff sort of plant which had sprouted a vibrant orange flower. The flower, of course, was her headdress, or perhaps it should be called her hairdress, for the orange color was indeed from the woman's hair, expertly intwined in a small golden basket affixed atop her head. Not only was this woman's dress unusual, but the way she carried herself, as if one could use her for a ruler or straightedge, was positively foreign to the once-slave who now beheld her.
The woman left no time for gawking, however, and proceeded to volley sentences at Annbri in such a way that the new princess was seriously contemplating playing her part and fainting. "Now, Princess Danja...yes Danja it is now, that is your true name, you know. That is what your mother called you, and that is who you are said to be in our records, and now here you are. How charming! Anyhow, I know it seems rather sudden, and don't worry, Mr. Fett has explained your situation to us in its entirety, and I realy must express my deepest regrets that you had to deal with a fellow like him, but you are our princess, Danja Van Dessel of the fifth house, delightful, yes? Now we have a lot of work to do, making you into a royal princess in looks and action as well as name. I understand you have some prificiency in the use of firearms and martial arts? Well, though we value independence and military training very highly, there is much much more to being royal than that. We will have to work on it, and it will take work, I assure you.
"I am Baroness Anahalt, and I am the caretaker of the Van Dessel wing of the house. To be sure, we haven't had this much excitement to attend to in quite some time, not since that dreadful massacre, and I'm just delighted to be assigned to making you comfortable. Now, to assist you on your way to true royalty, I have selected a handmaiden for you. She's quite an enchanting young thing, and I think you two will get along quite well." Finally, the baroness stopped speaking long enough to acknowledge the silent figure that had appeared in the doorway. "Aia, your handmaiden," she said as the figure came forward.
"Pleased to meet you, Your Highness," Aia greeted Annbri with a deep curtsey. Annbri found herself already liking the girl, who seemed about her age. Aia's clothing consisted of a dark green velvet robe with a white silk sash around the waist and a white silk collar embroidered with what Annbri would later understand to be the Van Dessel family crest. The handmaiden's fair hair was gently pulled back from her face so as not to interfere with her duties, but it still framed her face enough to show off her light-skinned face's natural beauty. Annbri met her eyes as the handmaiden curtseyed, and she saw them sparkle with mirth. Yes, they would get along just fine, Annbri predicted.
"Well, Aia," the baroness checked her chrono and announced, "I really have much to do, and if you would show the princess around the gardens perhaps, I would be much obliged." Without waiting for an answer, she swept out of the room, already calling orders to an unfortunate passing servant.
During the baronesses speech, Annbri had moved into a sitting postion, and now, feeling much better than before, she rose. "I suppose you know who I am," she said awkwardly, feeling as if she should introduce herself.
Aia grinned and rattled off, "Princess Danja Van Dessel, Queen-elect, Matriarch-elect, Councilor-elect of the fifth house of Henber."
"Right...um, could you just call me Annbri?"
"As you wish, Annbri." Aia dipped her head in respect.
The former slave shook her head quickly. "And none of that stuff either...that bowing...."
The handmaiden laughed aloud. "Certainly, I never liked doing it anyway. Always seemed a little superficial. But don't tell Baroness," added Aia in a conspiratorial voice, "she thrives on the superficial."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The guards herded Annbri out a different door than she had entered, and she found herself in a laboratory. Several men and women in white robes were bent over various assortments of tubes and petri dishes. A row of medical droids lined the far wall, and as they entered, one rolled forward. The guards escorted Annbri to a hovering table on which she was instructed to sit. When she had done so, the medical droid assigned to her approached and began his examination. Annbri was baffled by the many different tubes and srynges that he produced, and was rather glad when a sharp prick in her hand was shortly proceeded by unconsciousness.
When she awoke, she found herself in a different room, sprawled on a hovering couch, it seemed. As she took stock of her surroundings, she found that she could make out voices nearby. A woman's voice was giving out orders, it seemed, to dozens of listeners. As she struggled to sit up, her head pounded, and she quickly returned to lying on her back. Suddenly, someone who had been standing behind her scurried around the couch and into the hallway. A maid, Annbri decided, upon hearing a respectful murmur, quickly followed by the first woman's commanding alto.
The maid, for indeed that is what she was, returned almost immediatly, following a tall woman, made even taller by the headress she wore. "Aha!" the woman said in a loud but friendly tone, "the princess awakes!" She turned breifly to the maid, "Thank you, Kimri, now you may go see to her rooms with the others." The maid nodded once, then removed herself from their company..
Annbri couldn't help but stare at this strange woman. Adorned in a long green dress with many layers and shades, she seemed to the younger woman to be a stiff sort of plant which had sprouted a vibrant orange flower. The flower, of course, was her headdress, or perhaps it should be called her hairdress, for the orange color was indeed from the woman's hair, expertly intwined in a small golden basket affixed atop her head. Not only was this woman's dress unusual, but the way she carried herself, as if one could use her for a ruler or straightedge, was positively foreign to the once-slave who now beheld her.
The woman left no time for gawking, however, and proceeded to volley sentences at Annbri in such a way that the new princess was seriously contemplating playing her part and fainting. "Now, Princess Danja...yes Danja it is now, that is your true name, you know. That is what your mother called you, and that is who you are said to be in our records, and now here you are. How charming! Anyhow, I know it seems rather sudden, and don't worry, Mr. Fett has explained your situation to us in its entirety, and I realy must express my deepest regrets that you had to deal with a fellow like him, but you are our princess, Danja Van Dessel of the fifth house, delightful, yes? Now we have a lot of work to do, making you into a royal princess in looks and action as well as name. I understand you have some prificiency in the use of firearms and martial arts? Well, though we value independence and military training very highly, there is much much more to being royal than that. We will have to work on it, and it will take work, I assure you.
"I am Baroness Anahalt, and I am the caretaker of the Van Dessel wing of the house. To be sure, we haven't had this much excitement to attend to in quite some time, not since that dreadful massacre, and I'm just delighted to be assigned to making you comfortable. Now, to assist you on your way to true royalty, I have selected a handmaiden for you. She's quite an enchanting young thing, and I think you two will get along quite well." Finally, the baroness stopped speaking long enough to acknowledge the silent figure that had appeared in the doorway. "Aia, your handmaiden," she said as the figure came forward.
"Pleased to meet you, Your Highness," Aia greeted Annbri with a deep curtsey. Annbri found herself already liking the girl, who seemed about her age. Aia's clothing consisted of a dark green velvet robe with a white silk sash around the waist and a white silk collar embroidered with what Annbri would later understand to be the Van Dessel family crest. The handmaiden's fair hair was gently pulled back from her face so as not to interfere with her duties, but it still framed her face enough to show off her light-skinned face's natural beauty. Annbri met her eyes as the handmaiden curtseyed, and she saw them sparkle with mirth. Yes, they would get along just fine, Annbri predicted.
"Well, Aia," the baroness checked her chrono and announced, "I really have much to do, and if you would show the princess around the gardens perhaps, I would be much obliged." Without waiting for an answer, she swept out of the room, already calling orders to an unfortunate passing servant.
During the baronesses speech, Annbri had moved into a sitting postion, and now, feeling much better than before, she rose. "I suppose you know who I am," she said awkwardly, feeling as if she should introduce herself.
Aia grinned and rattled off, "Princess Danja Van Dessel, Queen-elect, Matriarch-elect, Councilor-elect of the fifth house of Henber."
"Right...um, could you just call me Annbri?"
"As you wish, Annbri." Aia dipped her head in respect.
The former slave shook her head quickly. "And none of that stuff either...that bowing...."
The handmaiden laughed aloud. "Certainly, I never liked doing it anyway. Always seemed a little superficial. But don't tell Baroness," added Aia in a conspiratorial voice, "she thrives on the superficial."