Boba Fett had just finished his inspection of Slave I and had gone within
to prep his navicomputer when he heard a voice outside in the hangar. He
paused, his fingers resting lightly on the keypad, before deciding to open
the door. The ship gave him eight seconds to reach the door, and when he
did, the bounty hunter found his boarding ramp stretched out before him,
and Annbri standing at the bottom of it.
The girl's hands were clasped together in front of her, and Boba saw uncertainty in her blue eyes. "I wanted to say goodbye," she began, looking vulnerable and afraid as he viewed her from his slightly elevated position. "I didn't feel like we really had yet."
Boba knew she was referring to the kiss in the garden. She was right; that hadn't been a kiss goodbye. Boba had half-hoped that she would come; it would have been unthinkable for him to seek her out. I suppose, he thought, it's unthinkable for her to be here now. But she is.
Boba Fett had never been truly good at voicing his emotions. No, that's not true, he'd once been very eager to voice his excitement during hunts with his father. That had been before the Jedi, though, before Geonosis. Now, as he looked down at the small brown-haired girl in front of him, he felt as though he should say something, but he knew nothing he said could change reality. They both knew well that they could not be together.
At the bottom of the ramp, Annbri tried hard to imagine Boba's expression behind the helmet he wore. The famous helmet that so many recognized seemed foreign to Annbri, who knew the man within it so well. She took a step forward and glanced behind Boba into the ship. "Mind if I come in?"
Boba hadn't expected that request, but he couldn't find any excuse. Part of him wanted to show off the ship, now fully cleaned and serviced, that Annbri had only been on before as a prisoner. Why she would want to return, Boba didn't know, but she was a woman, and that was enough to explain away a lot of strange tendencies.
Annbri followed Fett into the ship, recognizing the smooth durasteel bulkheads that she had found so impersonal before. They seemed like old friends in comparison to the strange palace she now found herself resident of.
They approached the cells, and Annbri broke file with Boba to step into the one that had been hers. Her hand lingered on the door, wishing she could close and lock it and stay with Boba forever. It was a silly thought, she knew. She let it stay ajar. After turning in a slow circle, Annbri sat down on the bunk, her back to Boba, and began to speak. "I guess you knew all along, didn't you?"
Boba found it irritating that she could not see him nod, forcing him to speak. He was glad his helmet was in place, digitally altering his voice. He wasn't sure he'd trust his own voice if this went on too long. "Yes."
"And you kept on lying to me."
"Yes."
"Why? Didn't you trust me? We were partners."
"I never trust anyone."
Boba saw Annbri's shoulders rise and fall as she took a deep breath. "You kept your word, anyhow. You found my family."
"I always keep my word."
"I wish you hadn't."
Boba paused, unsure of how to answer. He had gotten his credits for the job, and there was really no reason why he shouldn't have handed Annbri over to her family. "They paid me well enough," Boba reasoned, then after a moment, "are they treating you badly?"
Annbri turned around and regarded him through the bars. She was stifling a laugh. "They're impossible. All rich, snotty, arrogant, and brainless. A few of them can fire decent blasters, and the servants aren't all bad, but that's about it."
How much she had changed, Boba marveled, in just two weeks she had been forced into a world of chaos so different from her ordered life as a slave. And how much she had had to grow up, away from the shelter of Stellar's ship. As Annbri turned her back to him again, he spoke. "Face me when you talk."
"Why?" she asked the wall opposite her, "when you won't face me?"
Boba sighed, said something in Huttese that made Annbri glance sharply in his direction, and pulled off the helmet. He set it down before entering the cell, once again appearing as the Boba Fett she knew.
Annbri grinned as he entered, his eyebrows raised. "Much better," she nodded.
He sat down on the end of the bunk and asked, "So what do they have planned for you here?"
"I'm afraid to ask," Annbri smiled. She met his eyes, then looked quickly away. Not like you care anyway, she thought. "What are you going to do when you leave?"
Boba evaded the question. "I've got a job or two lined up. I always do."
"Of course." Annbri looked away again. Why was it so hard to talk to him? "You'll still be looking for the Nondiran Files, I suppose."
"Yes," Fett said slowly.
"You don't need to anymore, do you? I mean, DNA proved easily enough who I was."
The files had been another lie. Boba had known that they would not be needed to prove her identity. He had also known they were widely sought, and had wondered if she had known anything about them. She had not. "I was preparing for the worst case scenario. Better to have too much information than too little."
"You should have told me."
You have no idea what I'm not telling you, Boba thought, but he said, "That would not have been profitable."
Annbri stiffened, remembering the first time he had said that to her. After all this time, she still had been nothing but hard merchandise. He had used her. "Well, I guess I should go, then," Annbri said briskly, standing.
"Annbri, wait." It took a few time units for Boba to realize he had said that out loud. Annbri turned, fixing her eyes on him, waiting. Now he had to say something. Just say it, Fett, he chided himself; and since one can't triumph over one's self, he said, "You never said goodbye," and stood to catch her arm before she could escape. He pulled her to him, finding little resistance, and held her to his chest.
Annbri pressed her cheek to the cool, smooth Mandalorian armor, feeling the edges of the plates dig gently into her skin. Her hands crept up to his shoulders, where they rested, feeling the muscles in his arms tensing as he held her. Boba rested his chin on the top over her head, knowing that this had not been a mistake, or had it? Suddenly, he pushed her away, holding her at arm's length and studying her face. "Goodbye, Annbri."
The girl stood like a rag doll, her head hanging low and her hair hiding her face. One of Annbri's hands dangled at her side, while her left hand was resting on his gauntlet. Her shoulders shook beneath Boba's hands, but she made no sound. When she did raise her face to speak, there was no sign of tears, no anger, no hope, only a profound sorrow. She traced the Mandalorian symbol on his chest armor with her finger and said, "Goodbye, Boba Fett." She slipped out of his grasp and was gone.
~~~~~
Having retrieved his helmet and secured the door of the cell, Fett headed back the navicomputer, which by now sufficiently warmed up. He automatically shuffled through several charts on his vidscreen, but his mind wasn't on the work at hand. It was still on Annbri.
Danja, he reminded himself. Princess Danja. Queen Danja, soon. Annbri had died the moment he had sent his report to the Royal Council. He had killed her himself.
Before long, Boba had received the necessary takeoff information, and, after one more quick inspection, Slave I was hurtling away from Henber with all speed. Even as it did so, Boba was preparing a message for Commander Kyjark. These first few days wouldn't be easy, he knew, but he had enough work lined up for himself, there would be plenty to keep his mind busy. He hoped.
~~~~~~~~~
Aia found Princess Danja out in the gardens. The distressed handmaiden had been searching for her mistress for several hours. It had been mid-morning when Danja had gone in search of the bounty hunter, and it was now late afternoon. Though, when Princess Danja was not found in the hangar and the bounty hunter's ship was reported gone, Aia's initial reaction was of kidnapping, the control tower operator had assured her that there had been only one life form on the ship. A thorough search of the palace, and then the gardens, had finally resulted in the location of the princess. Danja was found sitting on a bench in a far corner of the gardens, her eyes shining with tears.
Danja's arms, in the Henberan custom, were bare, but night was quickly descending, and Aia rushed forth to wrap her mistress in a shawl. She helped Danja to her feet and gave her shoulders a quick squeeze, but didn't say anything. What could she say? Everything was obviously not all right, for what had seemed to exist between the princess and the bounty hunter could never be. It was tragic, Aia admitted, but it had happened before on a regular basis, and Danja seemed to have realized that she had to deal with the truth. Only after Danja had gone to bed did Aia hear the bitter sobs that she had expected. The handmaiden bowed her head. Was formality worth the sacrifice?
~~~~~~~~~~~
Kyjark was asleep when Beeten scooted into the room, reveille sirens sounding. The commander's glare was wasted on the droid, who began chattering. "Sir, a holo has arrived from Mr. Boba Fett, the bounty hunter you have been trying to contact. You told me and event like this was of utmost urgency, and I am happy to oblige. If you will come this way, I will take to the message."
"Beeten," Kyjark growled, "is it this urgent?"
"You told me yourself it was. Now please, Commander, sir, do hurry."
Kyjark rolled his eyes and dragged himself out of his bunk. Grabbing a cloak to protect him from the cold air of the space station, he followed the droid into the holo room, where the torso and helmet of the famous bounty hunter was rotating in all its ghostly glory on the holoprojector. Kyjark remembered speaking to Boba Fett before, and disliked how uncomfortable hearing a voice but seeing no lips move made him. "Like a droid," he observed, glancing annoyedly at Beeten, "but hopefully more competent."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three Jedi sat, regarding each other over a table. In the middle of this table, a datapad bearing the news of Princess Danja's existence had been laid. Master Yoda spoke first, nodding sagely at the youngest of the group, the Twi'Lek Jedi knight Sarn Tajay. "Sarn, a bad time to bring this it was."
"Very true, Master Yoda," Senaver's master Jey-Lu Ressendo admitted. "But how could we conceal this from the boy?"
"A boy still he is. A padawan. Unable to take the trials yet, he waits. He waits because he is not with the Force. Peace, he needs. Your padawan, Master Jey-Lu, helped him gain peace but a short while ago, hmmm?" The other Jedi Master confirmed the question. "Then why should this peace be torn?" Yoda finished.
Sarn, who had remained silent, as the messenger of the news, knew he must speak. "The Henberans never did think that the Jedi were a worthwhile cause. They hide their Force-sensitive from us. If the massacre had never happened, it is possible that Kelrin would never have come to us. He was two at the time of his finding; already irrevocably attached to a family."
"This is true," Yoda agreed, "and when his master, Ghany Y'Sevet, died, he lost another."
Master Ressendo took a deep breath. "So the boy was tainted. He's not at peace and never will be. He is not strong enough in the Force to take the trials, and if he is not ready by now, there is little hope. My padawan is only a year older, and he is to take the trials now. Most padawans go to the trials before their twentieth year. Kelrin is twenty-one, and still immature in the Force. He will be a danger; he must be cut loose. We have taught him the ways of the Force, but he cannot apply himself correctly. It was a mistake ever to take him on. Only because Y'Sevet insisted was he kept, against the will of the Council I understand. What can we do with a boy who is not mentally trained to handle what he can physically do? What dangers lurk for the galaxy if he is simply sent home? The Force is not a trifle, as we all know well."
"Are you suggesting we kill Kelrin?" Tajay asked, speaking the boy's name for the first time in that conversation.
"Forgive my blindness, but I see no other alternative." Ressendo lowered his head a little. He did not dislike Kelrin.
"Aren't there other places for the untrained Force-sensitive?" Tajay looked from one master to the other, stunned at the bluntness of a "necessary murder."
"But trained, he is." Yoda said quietly.
Sarn stood quickly, requiring to reach out to the reassuring Force to calm himself. "I want no part of this."
Yoda bowed his head. "None of us do, Tajay. Our parts are chosen by the Force."
"Then Force preserve me, I will not kill a padawan." Sarn spun away from the table and clutched desperately at calm. No one could know what had been spoken of at that table.
After Tajay had left, Ressendo said quietly, "You know we must, Yoda."
The old Jedi Master nodded. "Talk to the council, we will. Perhaps an alternative they will see."
Ressendo glanced at the chronometer. "I'd better go over some exercises with Senaver. Do speak to the Council." He left quickly, trying not to think about what he had suggested.
And Yoda was left alone with the burden and the truth.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The girl's hands were clasped together in front of her, and Boba saw uncertainty in her blue eyes. "I wanted to say goodbye," she began, looking vulnerable and afraid as he viewed her from his slightly elevated position. "I didn't feel like we really had yet."
Boba knew she was referring to the kiss in the garden. She was right; that hadn't been a kiss goodbye. Boba had half-hoped that she would come; it would have been unthinkable for him to seek her out. I suppose, he thought, it's unthinkable for her to be here now. But she is.
Boba Fett had never been truly good at voicing his emotions. No, that's not true, he'd once been very eager to voice his excitement during hunts with his father. That had been before the Jedi, though, before Geonosis. Now, as he looked down at the small brown-haired girl in front of him, he felt as though he should say something, but he knew nothing he said could change reality. They both knew well that they could not be together.
At the bottom of the ramp, Annbri tried hard to imagine Boba's expression behind the helmet he wore. The famous helmet that so many recognized seemed foreign to Annbri, who knew the man within it so well. She took a step forward and glanced behind Boba into the ship. "Mind if I come in?"
Boba hadn't expected that request, but he couldn't find any excuse. Part of him wanted to show off the ship, now fully cleaned and serviced, that Annbri had only been on before as a prisoner. Why she would want to return, Boba didn't know, but she was a woman, and that was enough to explain away a lot of strange tendencies.
Annbri followed Fett into the ship, recognizing the smooth durasteel bulkheads that she had found so impersonal before. They seemed like old friends in comparison to the strange palace she now found herself resident of.
They approached the cells, and Annbri broke file with Boba to step into the one that had been hers. Her hand lingered on the door, wishing she could close and lock it and stay with Boba forever. It was a silly thought, she knew. She let it stay ajar. After turning in a slow circle, Annbri sat down on the bunk, her back to Boba, and began to speak. "I guess you knew all along, didn't you?"
Boba found it irritating that she could not see him nod, forcing him to speak. He was glad his helmet was in place, digitally altering his voice. He wasn't sure he'd trust his own voice if this went on too long. "Yes."
"And you kept on lying to me."
"Yes."
"Why? Didn't you trust me? We were partners."
"I never trust anyone."
Boba saw Annbri's shoulders rise and fall as she took a deep breath. "You kept your word, anyhow. You found my family."
"I always keep my word."
"I wish you hadn't."
Boba paused, unsure of how to answer. He had gotten his credits for the job, and there was really no reason why he shouldn't have handed Annbri over to her family. "They paid me well enough," Boba reasoned, then after a moment, "are they treating you badly?"
Annbri turned around and regarded him through the bars. She was stifling a laugh. "They're impossible. All rich, snotty, arrogant, and brainless. A few of them can fire decent blasters, and the servants aren't all bad, but that's about it."
How much she had changed, Boba marveled, in just two weeks she had been forced into a world of chaos so different from her ordered life as a slave. And how much she had had to grow up, away from the shelter of Stellar's ship. As Annbri turned her back to him again, he spoke. "Face me when you talk."
"Why?" she asked the wall opposite her, "when you won't face me?"
Boba sighed, said something in Huttese that made Annbri glance sharply in his direction, and pulled off the helmet. He set it down before entering the cell, once again appearing as the Boba Fett she knew.
Annbri grinned as he entered, his eyebrows raised. "Much better," she nodded.
He sat down on the end of the bunk and asked, "So what do they have planned for you here?"
"I'm afraid to ask," Annbri smiled. She met his eyes, then looked quickly away. Not like you care anyway, she thought. "What are you going to do when you leave?"
Boba evaded the question. "I've got a job or two lined up. I always do."
"Of course." Annbri looked away again. Why was it so hard to talk to him? "You'll still be looking for the Nondiran Files, I suppose."
"Yes," Fett said slowly.
"You don't need to anymore, do you? I mean, DNA proved easily enough who I was."
The files had been another lie. Boba had known that they would not be needed to prove her identity. He had also known they were widely sought, and had wondered if she had known anything about them. She had not. "I was preparing for the worst case scenario. Better to have too much information than too little."
"You should have told me."
You have no idea what I'm not telling you, Boba thought, but he said, "That would not have been profitable."
Annbri stiffened, remembering the first time he had said that to her. After all this time, she still had been nothing but hard merchandise. He had used her. "Well, I guess I should go, then," Annbri said briskly, standing.
"Annbri, wait." It took a few time units for Boba to realize he had said that out loud. Annbri turned, fixing her eyes on him, waiting. Now he had to say something. Just say it, Fett, he chided himself; and since one can't triumph over one's self, he said, "You never said goodbye," and stood to catch her arm before she could escape. He pulled her to him, finding little resistance, and held her to his chest.
Annbri pressed her cheek to the cool, smooth Mandalorian armor, feeling the edges of the plates dig gently into her skin. Her hands crept up to his shoulders, where they rested, feeling the muscles in his arms tensing as he held her. Boba rested his chin on the top over her head, knowing that this had not been a mistake, or had it? Suddenly, he pushed her away, holding her at arm's length and studying her face. "Goodbye, Annbri."
The girl stood like a rag doll, her head hanging low and her hair hiding her face. One of Annbri's hands dangled at her side, while her left hand was resting on his gauntlet. Her shoulders shook beneath Boba's hands, but she made no sound. When she did raise her face to speak, there was no sign of tears, no anger, no hope, only a profound sorrow. She traced the Mandalorian symbol on his chest armor with her finger and said, "Goodbye, Boba Fett." She slipped out of his grasp and was gone.
~~~~~
Having retrieved his helmet and secured the door of the cell, Fett headed back the navicomputer, which by now sufficiently warmed up. He automatically shuffled through several charts on his vidscreen, but his mind wasn't on the work at hand. It was still on Annbri.
Danja, he reminded himself. Princess Danja. Queen Danja, soon. Annbri had died the moment he had sent his report to the Royal Council. He had killed her himself.
Before long, Boba had received the necessary takeoff information, and, after one more quick inspection, Slave I was hurtling away from Henber with all speed. Even as it did so, Boba was preparing a message for Commander Kyjark. These first few days wouldn't be easy, he knew, but he had enough work lined up for himself, there would be plenty to keep his mind busy. He hoped.
~~~~~~~~~
Aia found Princess Danja out in the gardens. The distressed handmaiden had been searching for her mistress for several hours. It had been mid-morning when Danja had gone in search of the bounty hunter, and it was now late afternoon. Though, when Princess Danja was not found in the hangar and the bounty hunter's ship was reported gone, Aia's initial reaction was of kidnapping, the control tower operator had assured her that there had been only one life form on the ship. A thorough search of the palace, and then the gardens, had finally resulted in the location of the princess. Danja was found sitting on a bench in a far corner of the gardens, her eyes shining with tears.
Danja's arms, in the Henberan custom, were bare, but night was quickly descending, and Aia rushed forth to wrap her mistress in a shawl. She helped Danja to her feet and gave her shoulders a quick squeeze, but didn't say anything. What could she say? Everything was obviously not all right, for what had seemed to exist between the princess and the bounty hunter could never be. It was tragic, Aia admitted, but it had happened before on a regular basis, and Danja seemed to have realized that she had to deal with the truth. Only after Danja had gone to bed did Aia hear the bitter sobs that she had expected. The handmaiden bowed her head. Was formality worth the sacrifice?
~~~~~~~~~~~
Kyjark was asleep when Beeten scooted into the room, reveille sirens sounding. The commander's glare was wasted on the droid, who began chattering. "Sir, a holo has arrived from Mr. Boba Fett, the bounty hunter you have been trying to contact. You told me and event like this was of utmost urgency, and I am happy to oblige. If you will come this way, I will take to the message."
"Beeten," Kyjark growled, "is it this urgent?"
"You told me yourself it was. Now please, Commander, sir, do hurry."
Kyjark rolled his eyes and dragged himself out of his bunk. Grabbing a cloak to protect him from the cold air of the space station, he followed the droid into the holo room, where the torso and helmet of the famous bounty hunter was rotating in all its ghostly glory on the holoprojector. Kyjark remembered speaking to Boba Fett before, and disliked how uncomfortable hearing a voice but seeing no lips move made him. "Like a droid," he observed, glancing annoyedly at Beeten, "but hopefully more competent."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three Jedi sat, regarding each other over a table. In the middle of this table, a datapad bearing the news of Princess Danja's existence had been laid. Master Yoda spoke first, nodding sagely at the youngest of the group, the Twi'Lek Jedi knight Sarn Tajay. "Sarn, a bad time to bring this it was."
"Very true, Master Yoda," Senaver's master Jey-Lu Ressendo admitted. "But how could we conceal this from the boy?"
"A boy still he is. A padawan. Unable to take the trials yet, he waits. He waits because he is not with the Force. Peace, he needs. Your padawan, Master Jey-Lu, helped him gain peace but a short while ago, hmmm?" The other Jedi Master confirmed the question. "Then why should this peace be torn?" Yoda finished.
Sarn, who had remained silent, as the messenger of the news, knew he must speak. "The Henberans never did think that the Jedi were a worthwhile cause. They hide their Force-sensitive from us. If the massacre had never happened, it is possible that Kelrin would never have come to us. He was two at the time of his finding; already irrevocably attached to a family."
"This is true," Yoda agreed, "and when his master, Ghany Y'Sevet, died, he lost another."
Master Ressendo took a deep breath. "So the boy was tainted. He's not at peace and never will be. He is not strong enough in the Force to take the trials, and if he is not ready by now, there is little hope. My padawan is only a year older, and he is to take the trials now. Most padawans go to the trials before their twentieth year. Kelrin is twenty-one, and still immature in the Force. He will be a danger; he must be cut loose. We have taught him the ways of the Force, but he cannot apply himself correctly. It was a mistake ever to take him on. Only because Y'Sevet insisted was he kept, against the will of the Council I understand. What can we do with a boy who is not mentally trained to handle what he can physically do? What dangers lurk for the galaxy if he is simply sent home? The Force is not a trifle, as we all know well."
"Are you suggesting we kill Kelrin?" Tajay asked, speaking the boy's name for the first time in that conversation.
"Forgive my blindness, but I see no other alternative." Ressendo lowered his head a little. He did not dislike Kelrin.
"Aren't there other places for the untrained Force-sensitive?" Tajay looked from one master to the other, stunned at the bluntness of a "necessary murder."
"But trained, he is." Yoda said quietly.
Sarn stood quickly, requiring to reach out to the reassuring Force to calm himself. "I want no part of this."
Yoda bowed his head. "None of us do, Tajay. Our parts are chosen by the Force."
"Then Force preserve me, I will not kill a padawan." Sarn spun away from the table and clutched desperately at calm. No one could know what had been spoken of at that table.
After Tajay had left, Ressendo said quietly, "You know we must, Yoda."
The old Jedi Master nodded. "Talk to the council, we will. Perhaps an alternative they will see."
Ressendo glanced at the chronometer. "I'd better go over some exercises with Senaver. Do speak to the Council." He left quickly, trying not to think about what he had suggested.
And Yoda was left alone with the burden and the truth.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~