Author's Note:
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Here's the next chapter for all three of you who are still reading, but hey, at least someone's enjoying it!
Infamous One: I'm going to write in the destruction of Crissc just for you, I think it will be fun *evil laughter*.
And so, on with the fic!
The Slave 1 sped through hyperspace, quickly leaving behind the floating pile of wreckage as it made its way toward Corellia. It was closer to the galactic center than Fett preferred to go, but there wasn't really a way to avoid it. It would be like a Jedi to remain near the center even with a bounty on her head.
Corrilia's blue and green surface soon filled his viewscreen, though its sprawling cities marred its beauty with black and brown scars. It would be in the upper levels of one of these that he would find the medical facility. Of course it would be difficult for someone such as himself to gain entry, but at least in this instance his lack of reputation would be of assistance.
He had made a few stops on the way here, even doing some research while in hyperspace, to prepare. While Narissa's disk had been very useful there were still other things he needed to know. Syntas was even listed among the bounties on the Imperial Holonet. Fett was surprised at how much she was worth, for only a Padawan. Somehow he felt that Narissa had neglected to tell him something very important.
Fett stood up from the computer as the Slave 1 waited, just outside the atmosphere of Corellia. He pulled the data disk Narrisa had given him from the computer and slipped it into one of his numerous pockets, followed by two holdout blasters before removing his many other weapons. This produced an impressive pile on the floor of the Slave 1. He disliked being so disarmed, but it was the best way of getting through security, carrying too many weapons would make them wary. The parts of the holdout blasters would be undetectable by the scanners.
Before he left, the last item he slipped into his pocket was a thermal detonator. It would be very risky, especially smuggling it through security, but it would be necessary to get through the final set of doors to the room where they were holding Syntas.
As he brought the Slave 1 down to approach the building, security hailed him, "State your name and business, please!" The slightly mechanical voice asked him cheerfully.
"Boba Fett, I'm here for medical assistance." A broken wrist would actually be an advantage for this part of the deception.
"Is it an emergency or will you be heading to Doctor's Reception?" The tone didn't even change. Fett could almost imagine sunshine and bright primary color walls inside the facility. It was unbelievable that people enjoyed this.
"It is not an emergency." His voice was as clipped and emotionless as ever, but it didn't seem to bother the receptionist who was probably a droid anyway.
"That's wonderful! Our computer will guide you in!"
Fett gritted his teeth at the overly cheerful voice and took his hands from the Slave 1's controls, though his eyes did not leave the monitor. Sunlight bathed the building that filled the viewscreen. It was as brightly colored as he had guessed, rising above the surrounding city like a giant child's toy.
The Slave 1 came in smoothly to a space in the docking bay. Fett raised the defenses before opening the hatch. They wouldn't be visible, but anyone attempting to tamper with the Slave 1 would certainly regret it. The docking bay at least was a standard hospital white. There were a few other ships here, mostly those of Corellia's rich who had gathered their wealth through less savory pursuits. As such his armor didn't draw much comment from the mechanics working nearby.
One ship's strange shape and awkward lines tugged at his memory. He paused to study it for a moment. Then it hit him. The dark yellow gray ship was Trandoshan design and the only Trandoshan who flew one with those markings was Cradossk. One of the best bounty hunters in the galaxy since Jango's death, Cradossk had been working for years to establish a "Bounty hunter's Guild." Fett had never thought the idea had any merit, it would only preserve those who couldn't manage on their own, making for a great deal of substandard bounty hunters.
Even so, he didn't want to meet Cradossk. He doubted that the Trandoshan was here on vacation. Fett followed the brightly colored signs further into the facility. If Cradossk was here, chances were he was only scouting. If Fett was quick he could manage the entire thing before the lizard knew what was going on.
As he stepped from his ship two security droids and a Wookie approached. Fett stopped, keeping his hands away from his sides in an effort to appear non-threatening, which was a challenge considering how intimidating Madelorian armor was. One of the droids kept a blaster trained on him while the other whisked a scanner over his body. When nothing registered they retreated to stand beside the Wookie who waved Fett through.
Fett had known that the guards would go off duty soon and would be less inclined to search him carefully. As the Wookie and the two droids silently following him re-entered the guard booth at the side of the docking bay, Fett walked quickly to the edge of the hanger and into the main hall, complete with cheery bright colored signs directing him to Doctor's Reception. He was momentarily tempted to leave and wait for Cradossk to do the same before attempting this, but he was aware that the longer he waited, the more likely even the less intelligent bounty hunters in the galaxy would figure out where Syntas was, making getting her out of here even more difficult.
Fett turned off the main hall into a smaller nondescript passageway. According to his schematics it should bring him to the secure ward. Four guards and one thermal detonator later he should see the merchandise he was looking for. The hall twisted around the confines of the facility several times. Fett came around each curve slowly, waiting to see if any of the guards were stationed there. Luckily though, the doctor was too paranoid of his own movements being tracked to install security monitors, which would have alerted the guards.
He quickly reached the first set of doors. Two guards were on either side. As they saw Fett the first set started for him.
"Hey you! Are you lost, buddy?" One of the guards peered at Fett, just as he pulled out his holdout blasters. They each held one shot. The first caught the guard in front of him, scorching through his off white uniform as the second shot spun the other guard around dropping him to the floor.
By this time the other pair were coming through the door. Fett scooped up one of the fallen guards' blasters and shot, taking down the first guard. He was forced to dodge the other guard's wild shots, his shot only catching the man in the leg. The guard screamed and reached for his communicator while trying to keep a hold of his blaster. Fett's second shot cut him off as he slumped to the ground.
Luckily the first guard had fallen through the door, jamming it open. Fett stepped through the transparisteel door, scanning his surroundings. Aside from the remains of a dessert and a few wrappers cluttering the surface of the guards' table and scattered chairs, the room was empty. He checked quickly for alarms, but finding none continued on.
The second set of doors gleamed dully in the glare from the overhead lights. Fett stuck the detonator to the surface of the door on the seam where the two halves came together. He set the timer for five seconds before ducking back into the office and under one of the empty desks.
For a tense moment there was only the silence of the still, over-clean air before the shockwave of the explosion tore through the building. Fett felt a wave of heat wash over him despite the reinforced walls of the guard office. Alarms began to sound as smoke poured out of the demolished doorframe.
Fett shoved aside a toppled shelf and ran through the smoke into the room. It was easy to recognize the lab from the rows of chemicals lining the walls. The thick walls had prevented much of the damage here. Flashing lights in each corner of the room showed that the alarms were still functioning as well.
At the far end of the room a long oblong chamber took up most of the space. It was easy to see it was a life support system, much like those employed in escape pods. The girl inside looked older than the holo Fett had seen of her. New scars cut across one side of her face.
Fett hesitated a moment before activating the reanimation sequence. According to the information it would take a moment before she regained consciousness and she would remain disoriented for a short time after that.
Lights flashed along the side of the chamber and the viewplate began to mist over. Fett turned away to watch the entryway. If he had been right about Cradossk being here it wouldn't take the other hunter long to arrive. Syntas was the only thing worthwhile in this facility and Cradossk would recognize the feel of a thermal detonator going off and guess the rest.
The top of the chamber slid off just as blaster fire erupted from the smoke concealing the door Fett had destroyed. Several thugs bearing weapons obviously taken from the buildings security shoved their way into the room. Fett could hear Cradossk behind them roaring out instructions.
Fett dropped to one knee behind the lab table. His first shot merely bounced off one of the thug's armor, ricocheting up near the ceiling. The second however knocked the other who appeared to be a Rodian down. Fett's third shot before he was forced to duck down stilled him permanently.
Fett came up a second time, managing to catch the armored sentient at the neck and sending him down as well as making a shot at the droid who stood behind him before they forced him under cover again. Fett glanced at the chamber again. The girl's eyes were open now though they remained unfocused. Unfortunately he did not have time to wait. He shoved aside the cover and pulled her out, barely avoiding the spurt of blaster fire. She crouched among the broken debris shivering.
She wore nothing but a thin light blue tunic and leggings. Blood already ran from her hand where she had fallen on a shard of broken glass. She pushed back her hair and concentrated on focusing her eyes on his helmet. Fett glanced over the table, but Cradossk and his remaining two thugs were still waiting.
He turned back to the girl speaking quickly, "I was hired to release you from this facility by your mentor. I need you to follow my instructions." The lack of explanation sounded almost melodramatic, but in the middle of the blaster fire covering the room, Fett had neither the time nor the inclination to explain himself further.
Her eyes were wild as she looked at him, "Narrisa? Where is she? She said she would-" Fett's hand clamped onto her shoulder making her focus again.
"We don't have time for this; can you follow my instructions?" He waited until she closed her mouth and nodded, the slightly dazed look fading from her eyes as the fire he had seen in the holo replaced it.
He opened the power pack of the blaster and removed a component. Before addressing her in a hurried tone, "This is going to overload in about a minute. When I throw it, run." She opened her mouth to argue just as complete chaos broke out.
One of the thug's wild shots had caught a beaker of bright blue liquid. Gas billowed out of it as it spread across the floor of the room.
""You idiots! I'm going to tear you apart! I told you not to hit the-" Cradossk's roar was cut off by coughing as the gas filled his lungs and bright laser bolts filled the air again as security arrived. Fett grimaced before he lofted the hot blaster up and over towards the location of the new light-fight. A second explosion knocked them to their knees as he grabbed Syntas to run.
He pulled himself up, ignoring the pain that had returned to his broken wrist as he turned to pull her along. He was amazed to find her already ahead of him, wearing a gas mask that had been hanging from the lab wall. She motioned him on. Fett glanced at rubble that had been the doorway before following her out a smaller door and into the hall outside.
The gas twined around his arms and legs and burned his throat, making him gasp for air and draw more of it in. He made it to the door and was just about to push his way through when a blaster bolt caught him in the back. He fell to the ground into the smoke. Next time he told himself as he struggled to breath despite the coppery taste of blood that filled his mouth, next time he was going to plan this a little differently.
Syntas looked back to see if her rescuer was following just in time to see him stumble and disappear into the roiling blue gas. She cursed under her breath in a way that would horrify Jedi Narrisa if she heard before running back to where he had fallen.
She caught him as he wavered after pulling himself to his feet, pulling his arm over her shoulders. The back of his armor had been blackened by the shot that had knocked him down and was still too hot to touch. She could feel him tense against the pain of the burning armor. The smell of burned cloth assaulted her nostrils as she pulled him along.
"I… hope you… have a … ship." She muttered between gasping for breath. "Because… you're too… heavy to… carry far."
He nodded, not speaking as he staggered next to her. A laser struck the wall just above their heads as they raced around yet another of the building's endless curves. They burst out into the docking bay amid stunned mechanics that watched as a disheveled girl with no shoes supporting the man covered from head to toe in strange armor hurried past them. They had only a moment to stand there in shocked amazement before blaster bolts from another set of bounty hunters and their own security guards sent them running as well.
"Which one?" Syntas yelled above the explosions from the blasters. Her voice was raw from the gas, even with the mask she had found.
The bounty hunter, she had guessed his career from his armor and weaponry took more of his own weight and pulled her to the left. They passed two more ships before stopping in front of a small firespray class ship. He limped up to the hatch and entered a long and complicated string of numbers.
Syntas nearly knocked him over as she leapt inside when the hatch sprang open for a moment before sealing itself behind them. The bounty hunter leaned against the wall as he made his way to the cockpit. He sank into the pilot's seat, already beginning take off procedures.
They exited the docking bay at full speed despite the cheerful voice of the building's receptionist asking them to slow down and please obey proper exiting procedures. The hunter deactivated the communications system with what Syntas thought was a great deal of pleasure.