Boba strode into the hangar with leisurely pace of a man on an afternoon
stroll, but he far from composed. Despite his calm exterior, his every
sense was alert, seeking out his ship. When at last he wandered past a
site of particular activity, where an unusual ship was being examined by a
group of royal guards, he paused to ask a closeby hyperdrive mechanic about
the search.
"Oh that," the mechanic said in a dimissive voice, "Just some guy's flying pile of scrap metal. They seem to think he's got something important stashed there, but I don't think anyone'd risk putting something important in something so close to death."
"Yeah," Boba replied, "haven't they got anything better to do?"
"You'd think they would," the mechanic agreed. He looked over his shoulder quickly, then said in a lower voice. "I'm not really supposed to tell anyone this yet, but Henber's got a fifth royal house again. I mean, surely there's something they can do for the new princess, yes?"
"Of course," said Boba quietly, letting the certainty of the mechanic's declaration sink in. Until that moment, he had not realised that he hadn't really wanted the DNA test to come back positive. So Annbri's a princess, he mused, you knew this would happen all along, Fett. She's not yours anymore.
Suddenly, a shout rang up from the ship, bringing Boba out of his thoughts in an instant. "It's not here either, Sir!"
Boba sauntered over to the side of the ship, where two men were examining the markings on the hull. "What does it seem to mean?" he asked.
"Well," began one man, "I think these scratches here are just that-- scratches--, but Jules here thinks that they're trophy markings. I don't know...what do you think?"
"Well," Boba leaned in as if to peer at the parallel markings, pretended to stumble, and bumped his right gauntlet against the speaker's shoulder. The dart that was ready to be fired pierced the man's skin, and he convulsed once, then crumpled in a lifeless heap. Dismayed, Boba nudged the man with the edge of his toe. Huttspawn! he cursed to himself, that was supposed to be tranquilizer. "Oh well," he said aloud, pulling a small knife out of its hidden sheath and sratching another line on the ship. As he turned to leave, he patted Jules', shoulder. "Congratulations, Friend, you were right."
Boba's next stop was by the entrance ramp. Three guards were positioned in a tight circle, conversing in urgent tones. Fett rolled up his sleeves, exposing the civilian gauntlets. They were slimmed down versions of his armored gauntlets, with a few larger components missing, but would serve his purpose quite nicely. Three darts expertly fired, and the guards lay unconcious on the ground.
Boba proceeded up the ramp and into his ship. He found two more guards searching the cells, three in the cockpit, and three more in the cargo hold, but all fell to various sleep-inducing weapons. Boba dragged their unconcious forms down the entrance ramp and laid them out on the floor, then he searched his ship for more of the invaders. Satisfied that no guards had breached his hidden panel, Boba stepped outside to await the authorities that were sure to be summoned.
He did not have long to wait. Before long, a man dressed like the other guards, only with a green cloak and red sash and a worried-looking older man in flowing black robes approached him, both in a great hurry.
The younger man spoke first. "Boba Fett, I am Captain Miles Neuvar, Royal Captain of the Guard of Henber, and these," he gestured to the unconcious forms strewn about the floor, "are my men. Can you give us any good explanation why you suddenly found it nescessary to render them thus?"
"I'm surprised," Boba commented calmly from his seat on the boarding ramp, "that you allow them to sleep on the job like this."
Before the captain of the guard could retort, his black-robed companion jumped in. "I'm Chancellor Fenaten. Now Mr. Fett, it seems that you don't like our system of government very much."
"The system of government? Oh, I couldn't care either way about that, but when your guards get on my ship without my permission, I think I should at least be present."
"And you are," the captain pointed out.
"No thanks to your men, Captain," Boba countered.
"We feared that you'd put up a fight," the chancellor sighed, fishing around in his pocket for something, "that's why we had them guard you. You see, we wanted to see if you had anything relating to the Princess Danja on board, but it seems--"
"I haven't. All her personal belongings I brought here an hour ago from the hotel." Boba interrupted.
"Well, yes, that's all very well...I suppose you're eager to get on your way, then?" The older man glanced around nervously at the bodies on the floor. "Shall we transfer those credits, then?"
"Please do."
Fenaten produced a datapad from his pocket and pressed a series of keys. After a few moments, he looked back up at Boba. "There; it is done. As soon as you have checked your ship out of our system, you may go."
"Thank you." Boba nodded to the fuming captain of the guard and his nervous companion, then stood and rolled his sleeves down again. Servants came out to collect the sleeping guards as he re-entered his ship and headed for his quarters, behind the hidden panel. He would put on his Mandalorian Armor and go back to being the Boba Fett he had been two weeks ago, before all this had happened.
((((((((((())))))))))
"So what was it like, being the captive of Boba Fett?" Aia asked Annbri, her pale blue eyes shining with interest.
"Oh, it was no big deal," Annbri grinned, "It didn't really come up much, my being his slave, I mean. I think he actually referred to us as partners once or twice."
"Partners! Ooh! What were you looking for?"
Annbri hesitated, unsure of what she should reveal. "My family."
"Well, it certainly was successful, wasn't it?"
"Yeah...it was."
"What's he like, this Boba Fett?"
"Um...," Annbri struggled to find the words. "He's kind of quiet, but not at all soft-spoken. He's used to being on his own, and his father left him with some major grudges against everything, so he's not exactly a people person. He's got a really nice side to him, though, that people don't get to see, really. He can be...almost sweet at times. He taught me how to shoot a blaster rifle, you see, and took me to lunch and stuff...." Annbri was frustrated to find that her sentences were getting more and more fragmented as she tried to keep from blushing.
Aia was no fool. "You like him."
"I...." Annbri was spared from answering when the maid scurried through the room where the princess and handmaiden were speaking.
"Trouble!" the maid exclaimed, "Mr. Fett has the entire hangar in an uproar! He was shooting things at the guards as they searched his ship! Right nasty temper he has, if you ask me!"
Excusing herself briefly, Aia followed the maid back out of the room, returning a short time later with the full story. As the handmaiden explained, Annbri shook her head, an amused smile playing across her features. "They searched Slave I? Poor them!"
Aia laughed softly and checked the chrono on the wall. "He hasn't left yet, you know. You can still say goodbye."
Annbri suddenly stopped smiling. Her gaze focused on her hands, and she remembered the feeling of his arms around her, guiding her aim, only two days ago. And then there was today in the garden, she remembered. She stood. "Aia, which way is it to the hangar?"
"Oh that," the mechanic said in a dimissive voice, "Just some guy's flying pile of scrap metal. They seem to think he's got something important stashed there, but I don't think anyone'd risk putting something important in something so close to death."
"Yeah," Boba replied, "haven't they got anything better to do?"
"You'd think they would," the mechanic agreed. He looked over his shoulder quickly, then said in a lower voice. "I'm not really supposed to tell anyone this yet, but Henber's got a fifth royal house again. I mean, surely there's something they can do for the new princess, yes?"
"Of course," said Boba quietly, letting the certainty of the mechanic's declaration sink in. Until that moment, he had not realised that he hadn't really wanted the DNA test to come back positive. So Annbri's a princess, he mused, you knew this would happen all along, Fett. She's not yours anymore.
Suddenly, a shout rang up from the ship, bringing Boba out of his thoughts in an instant. "It's not here either, Sir!"
Boba sauntered over to the side of the ship, where two men were examining the markings on the hull. "What does it seem to mean?" he asked.
"Well," began one man, "I think these scratches here are just that-- scratches--, but Jules here thinks that they're trophy markings. I don't know...what do you think?"
"Well," Boba leaned in as if to peer at the parallel markings, pretended to stumble, and bumped his right gauntlet against the speaker's shoulder. The dart that was ready to be fired pierced the man's skin, and he convulsed once, then crumpled in a lifeless heap. Dismayed, Boba nudged the man with the edge of his toe. Huttspawn! he cursed to himself, that was supposed to be tranquilizer. "Oh well," he said aloud, pulling a small knife out of its hidden sheath and sratching another line on the ship. As he turned to leave, he patted Jules', shoulder. "Congratulations, Friend, you were right."
Boba's next stop was by the entrance ramp. Three guards were positioned in a tight circle, conversing in urgent tones. Fett rolled up his sleeves, exposing the civilian gauntlets. They were slimmed down versions of his armored gauntlets, with a few larger components missing, but would serve his purpose quite nicely. Three darts expertly fired, and the guards lay unconcious on the ground.
Boba proceeded up the ramp and into his ship. He found two more guards searching the cells, three in the cockpit, and three more in the cargo hold, but all fell to various sleep-inducing weapons. Boba dragged their unconcious forms down the entrance ramp and laid them out on the floor, then he searched his ship for more of the invaders. Satisfied that no guards had breached his hidden panel, Boba stepped outside to await the authorities that were sure to be summoned.
He did not have long to wait. Before long, a man dressed like the other guards, only with a green cloak and red sash and a worried-looking older man in flowing black robes approached him, both in a great hurry.
The younger man spoke first. "Boba Fett, I am Captain Miles Neuvar, Royal Captain of the Guard of Henber, and these," he gestured to the unconcious forms strewn about the floor, "are my men. Can you give us any good explanation why you suddenly found it nescessary to render them thus?"
"I'm surprised," Boba commented calmly from his seat on the boarding ramp, "that you allow them to sleep on the job like this."
Before the captain of the guard could retort, his black-robed companion jumped in. "I'm Chancellor Fenaten. Now Mr. Fett, it seems that you don't like our system of government very much."
"The system of government? Oh, I couldn't care either way about that, but when your guards get on my ship without my permission, I think I should at least be present."
"And you are," the captain pointed out.
"No thanks to your men, Captain," Boba countered.
"We feared that you'd put up a fight," the chancellor sighed, fishing around in his pocket for something, "that's why we had them guard you. You see, we wanted to see if you had anything relating to the Princess Danja on board, but it seems--"
"I haven't. All her personal belongings I brought here an hour ago from the hotel." Boba interrupted.
"Well, yes, that's all very well...I suppose you're eager to get on your way, then?" The older man glanced around nervously at the bodies on the floor. "Shall we transfer those credits, then?"
"Please do."
Fenaten produced a datapad from his pocket and pressed a series of keys. After a few moments, he looked back up at Boba. "There; it is done. As soon as you have checked your ship out of our system, you may go."
"Thank you." Boba nodded to the fuming captain of the guard and his nervous companion, then stood and rolled his sleeves down again. Servants came out to collect the sleeping guards as he re-entered his ship and headed for his quarters, behind the hidden panel. He would put on his Mandalorian Armor and go back to being the Boba Fett he had been two weeks ago, before all this had happened.
((((((((((())))))))))
"So what was it like, being the captive of Boba Fett?" Aia asked Annbri, her pale blue eyes shining with interest.
"Oh, it was no big deal," Annbri grinned, "It didn't really come up much, my being his slave, I mean. I think he actually referred to us as partners once or twice."
"Partners! Ooh! What were you looking for?"
Annbri hesitated, unsure of what she should reveal. "My family."
"Well, it certainly was successful, wasn't it?"
"Yeah...it was."
"What's he like, this Boba Fett?"
"Um...," Annbri struggled to find the words. "He's kind of quiet, but not at all soft-spoken. He's used to being on his own, and his father left him with some major grudges against everything, so he's not exactly a people person. He's got a really nice side to him, though, that people don't get to see, really. He can be...almost sweet at times. He taught me how to shoot a blaster rifle, you see, and took me to lunch and stuff...." Annbri was frustrated to find that her sentences were getting more and more fragmented as she tried to keep from blushing.
Aia was no fool. "You like him."
"I...." Annbri was spared from answering when the maid scurried through the room where the princess and handmaiden were speaking.
"Trouble!" the maid exclaimed, "Mr. Fett has the entire hangar in an uproar! He was shooting things at the guards as they searched his ship! Right nasty temper he has, if you ask me!"
Excusing herself briefly, Aia followed the maid back out of the room, returning a short time later with the full story. As the handmaiden explained, Annbri shook her head, an amused smile playing across her features. "They searched Slave I? Poor them!"
Aia laughed softly and checked the chrono on the wall. "He hasn't left yet, you know. You can still say goodbye."
Annbri suddenly stopped smiling. Her gaze focused on her hands, and she remembered the feeling of his arms around her, guiding her aim, only two days ago. And then there was today in the garden, she remembered. She stood. "Aia, which way is it to the hangar?"