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Well, I'm quite proud, despite school, an evil math teacher, debate practice, and a huge load of homework the story's still coming! I hope you don't mind it took a week or so. But it's still coming!
~Chapter 7~
They both ignored what had just occurred; they gathered Fett's weapons efficiently as he pulled his chest plate back on and his jet pack along with most of his other armaments. He left out a light blaster that he handed to Syntas. She gave him a questioning look but accepted it, thrusting it into the belt that she had pulled tight over her light blue tunic. Syntas pulled the dark helmet and armor over her head as they left the room.
She certainly wasn't glad to see the confined interior disappear; several hours spent there had been more than enough. Even the cramped quarters of the Slave 1 were better than that; at least the ship was clean. She had to hurry to keep up with Fett as he strode quickly through the crumbling buildings.
"Is all of Nar Shaddaa like this?" She waved a hand to encompass the ruin that surrounded them.
Fett shook his head, busy scanning the surrounding streets for possible attackers or for any sign of Cradossk's minions. It was obvious he was not interested in answering questions right now. Maybe he was even still angry about being overruled by her. Syntas grinned under her disguise. It mustn't happen to him often.
It didn't take them long to reach the hanger where they had left the Slave 1 despite having to work their way through the shifting crowds of ragged aliens and humans. The sun was sinking bellow the moon's horizon by this time. There were no other people in the docking bay as Fett hurried to the Slave 1.
Outside the hanger a cloaked Bothan grinned, reaching to tap the droid beside him on the shoulder as he watched Fett disappear into the hanger. The droid nodded, following his partner into the shadows as they went to report to Cradossk. The Trandoshan would want to catch the Slave 1 as Fett attempted to leave Nar Shaddaa. Both would be happy to see the upstart taken down, he had caused them to face Cradossk's wrath, something they would enjoy making him pay for in full. They ran through refuse choked alleys and scrambled over collapsed fences as they hurried back to their 'teacher.'
Cradossk drained the glass of Alderranian Ale he had been drinking as he saw his two apprentices burst through the door, the Bothan panting and both smelling like the wrong end of a bantha. The Twi'lek girl at the table next to them wrinkled her nose and edged away. Cradossk rolled his eyes, grabbing the two and dragged them outside, ignoring their protests.
"What's going on?" He growled at them as the Bothan leaned against the wall of the cantina catching his breath.
"We found Fett with the information provided by the Quarren repair man." The droid's tones were as prissy as ever despite the rotting undergarment dangling off his head.
"And where is he?" Cradossk asked, restraining his impatience.
"He and the merchandise are preparing the Slave 1 for take off in Hanger 54. We think they-" The Bothan was cut off as Cradossk grabbed him by the neck throwing him aside.
"Why didn't you say so? That Sith-spawned excuse for a bounty hunter will be half way across the galaxy if we don't hurry!" He started for his ship at a run, dragging his two hapless apprentices behind him.
Fett fired the thrusters as Syntas strapped herself in, the engines making the ship shiver as they lifted off. He ran a systems check as the Slave 1 rose through the atmosphere. It was always best to be sure the Slave 1 hadn't been tampered with though he doubted anything like that could ever occur with the layer upon layer of defenses that had been installed by both the ships owners.
As they lifted clear of the city a shape appeared behind them. Its angular shape quickly identified it as Cradossk's ship. Fett yanked the Slave 1 up into a steep climb as the Trandoshan's voice came over the comlink.
"Stand down Fett, you can't make the jump to hyperspace before I blast you from the sky. Land your ship and hand over the Jedi and I'll let you off easy, you're only a beginner at this." It was easy to tell that the Trandoshan was already gloating about his imminent victory over one of the biggest annoyances in his life. Fett did not waste time with a reply as his hands flew over the controls making the calculations for a jump to Dantooine, a largely uninhabited world where they could jump to their true destination.
"Fett! This is your last chance! If you don't stop I'll fire! You'll be nothing more than-" Fett cut the communications in the middle of Cradossk's rant.
The larger ship behind them opened fire rocking the Slave 1 back and forth. Alarms screamed as they tore through the atmosphere. They burst forth with a sound of wrenching metal. Ships taken through the atmosphere at such a steep climb were in danger of being ripped apart. Red lights flashed on the control board warning of the damage the Slave 1 had already taken.
"Fett! This isn't a good idea!" Syntas called, her face obscured by the flashing alarms. The bounty hunter didn't answer, as usual.
He flipped the Slave 1 around, firing on the less mobile Blood Fang as it rose through the atmosphere. A line of explosions erupted along the back of the straining ship, making it wobble back and forth. Fett turned the Slave 1 back toward open space as Cradossk fought for control. They streaked to the edge of the gravity well, making the jump just as they cleared it, and just before Cradossk made it out of the atmosphere behind them.
Inside the Blood Fang smoke poured from damaged systems. Cradossk attempted to enter the information on the Slave 1's escape route to the computer to determine their destination. When the computer gave him an error message he slammed his fist into the delicate circuitry, causing another eruption of sparks and smoke. Behind him his apprentices cowered, trying not to attract any notice.
"That- that-" Cradossk couldn't think of anything horrible enough to call Fett. "I'll get him." His voice was quiet, and even uglier than usual.
As he ground his teeth the com flashed, the Quarren information trader appeared on the screen, "Didn't get Fett?" He flinched when Cradossk growled at him.
"Uh… Yes, well I can help you find him." The Quarren smiled in his fashion as Cradossk unclenched his claws and looked at him with interest, "For a price of course." The Trandoshan nodded and the Quarren's smile became ugly.
"Transfer four hundred credits to my account and I'll tell you." Cradossk did so reluctantly.
"Your information had better be good."
"Of course. Now Fett was asking me about Jedi artifacts. Why would he be interested in those?" Quatar paused for affect, "Well, Our Lord Vader has been searching for one since the fall of the Republic. No one knows anything about it though. But recently I received some information about a Jedi."
"And what is it?" Cradossk's voice was a low growl.
"This came from a friend of mine, an insect named Crissc. Lord Vader himself couldn't get it from her." A clip from a holo showed a battered Jedi woman mumbling something about not telling. Then her pupils contracted and she stiffened. Cradossk recognized interrogation drugs. He also recognized the Force-inhibitors around the woman's wrists. In a stammering voice she began to repeat a series of coordinates over and over again, before wavering and collapsing on the cell floor.
"But he's still young, Crissc and I have been in the business for decades. And why sell him the information when we can sell him the treasure for far more? I think both Vader's prize and Boba Fett will be at these coordinates. The Dark Lord will pay well for whatever it is." Cradossk rubbed his chin considering.
"If you're wrong…" He threatened.
"If I'm wrong and you fail, Fett will kill me." Quatar shrugged, "But if I'm not, I want ten percent of what Vader pays you for the Jedi treasure. Don't fail."
With that he cut the transmission before Cradossk could argue to terms. The lizard-like bounty hunter smiled, all his teeth showing as he entered the coordinates into his computer. First he would stop to pick up a few more apprentices. He knew Fett was good and it was always better to have a few extras to take blaster shots that could be disposed of afterwards instead of being given their share. Calculations completed, he leaned back as his ship entered hyperspace on Fett's trail at last.
Fett also relaxed as they entered hyperspace, one of the few truly safe places in the galaxy. The relief lasted only a moment before he began to take stock of the damage Cradossk had done to his ship. Half the shields were down and the ship's hull was in bad shape, not to mention one of the thrusters was at half power having taken a blaster shot with weakened shields.
They would need to land on Dantooine to get spare parts and for Fett to make repairs. He stood carefully, turning to leave the cockpit as Syntas finished un-strapping herself.
"I thought you said you could fly." She glared at him.
"I can."
"You and I have different definitions of the word then." She rubbed her shoulders where the crash webbing had dug into them.
"You should sleep. We'll arrive at Dantooine in seven hours. After I repair the ship you're going to give me the coordinates." His tone did not allow for argument. Fett himself planned to spend the next seven hours cleaning the weapons that had been damaged in the fight with the thieves. Most were fine, but he preferred not to trust his life to substandard equipment. It was a mistake many amateurs made and few survived to learn from it.
Syntas waited a moment before she climbed down to the hold where she curled up on the bench to sleep. Surprisingly, she found herself tired. She hadn't been able to sleep on Nar Shaddaa. The chamber still haunted her nightmares when she finally did fall asleep. She shuddered remembering the strange half-sleep, too numb to truly feel the Force and terrified it would be gone when she woke up.
Fett watched her sleep on the ship's internal cameras, her dark hair falling across her face. It wasn't a peaceful sleep. She murmured under her breath something he couldn't make out. As he watched her he began to realize what his feelings for her were.
The closest thing he had ever seen to this was the look that came to his father's eyes when he watched Zam playing with little Boba. But his father had killed Zam he reminded himself, he had to put the code he lived by first, everything second. He tried to crush the feeling, but he continued to watch Syntas sleep as they sped through hyperspace, unable to eliminate it entirely.
Author's Note:
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Stargirl: *grins* Why thank you! People like you are why it's worth writing!
ionlyliveindreams: Romance isn't too easy to write, is the hard part, and you're probably right about the reviews, it's just a bit disheartening when you're comparing 16 to 1,600 some someone got on a Harry Potter fan fic… I won't complain though, thanks for yours!
Grand Admiral Gin: I'm glad you think it's good, I've been getting accused of Mary-sue's lately… I'm doing my best to make it work.
Yaebginn: Hey, whatever works! Thanks for all the reviews. I will do my best to live up to your expectations.
Nate1: Thanks for the favorites listing! If you post a Fett fic I'll be more than happy to review, there seriously needs to be more Fett fics! As for what else will come, just wait until the end. It will be something.