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It would take them over a day to get to the unnamed world. It would give Fett time to heal and both of them time to create a means to quickly destroy the Record. Not to mention prepare for the arrival of Cradossk. The Jedi had hidden it well, at the far edge of the Rim.
Fett's behavior confused Syntas. He had grown colder and more distant as the hours passed and they waited for their arrival. Sometimes she caught him looking at her, but always when he thought she couldn't see him. Syntas herself couldn't understand what she thought of the strange bounty hunter Narissa had thrown into her life. She remembered the moment on Nar Shaddaa when she had touched him. It had seemed right… But the galaxy is not a fairy tale, she reminded herself, and they had a task to complete.
The time passed almost unnoticed for the two onboard the Slave 1. They became almost numb to the feeling; Syntas dreading what she would be destroying and Boba Fett remembering the haunted look in his father's eyes as he told his son Zam would never be coming back.
When they finally left hyperspace a blue and green world waited for them. Its sun was huge, and very old. The world itself was small speck of life on the far edge of the galaxy. Thick forests covered most of its surface. Fett quickly scanned the planet and the space around it. There were no signs of intelligent life or Cradossk, not that the Trandoshan could really be considered, "intelligent life."
He landed the Slave 1 in a small clearing on the northern hemisphere, following Syntas' directions. The lush jungle hid the ship from view and Fett powered everything down except for the essential defenses, hoping to hide it from most scans as well. Syntas grabbed a scanner as they left the ship and pointed to the west.
Cradossk's ship left hyperspace easily. The three smaller ships behind him did so as well, maintaining formation. He grinned, picking up the Slave 1's ion trail, leading directly to the planet. To him it looked like an egg, ready to hatch. He sped towards it, already able to taste Fett's blood, the apprentices following in his wake.
It didn't take Fett and Syntas long to reach a tiny clearing in the jungle. In its center was a tiny stone shelter, a shrine almost. Fett scanned the jungle around them, shifting his blaster to a better grip. The sensors on his helmet were picking up creatures lurking at the edges of the clearing, reluctant to come to close. Syntas lowered the scanner and headed towards the shelter's entrance.
"Wait. Won't there be defenses?" Fett asked, reluctant to let her enter it alone.
Syntas shook her head, smiling sadly, "Only for those who are not Jedi. That means you." She reminded him.
Fett bit back an angry retort replacing it with words, spoken grudgingly, "Be careful."
She grinned back at him, "When am I not?"
Syntas stepped into the tiny structure. Inside the air was much cooler than the hot jungle air of the forest. Two circles were carved into the simple stone in the center of the shrine. She pressed her hands to them, reaching out through the Force. The stone's top faded from view. Syntas reached inside, removing a silver rectangular object. She traced its corners reverently, feeling the scrollwork that adorned it.
Outside Fett waited, scanning the forests. He whipped around as he heard a stick snap, followed by a low laugh. He saw Cradossk's yellow-scaled form step from the shadows of the forest. He dove to one side to avoid the Trandoshan's opening shots.
"Give up, Fett. Hand over the Jedi and the treasure and we'll leave you here." Cradossk called over the tall grass of the clearing. "In pieces." He added under his breath.
Boba Fett crouched behind a fallen stone near the shrine, hoping Syntas would hurry. His sensors identified six other bounty hunters creeping through the forests to surround him. He swung up his blaster rifle, taking down the first, a tall Rodian. The return fire forced him under cover again. He reviewed their positions, dropping his blaster rifle and pulling two lighter blasters from their holsters, one in each hand.
When he lunged to his feet, blasters blazing, most of the young bounty hunters stared at him in shock. Before they had even thought of aiming their own weapons, three more were down. One of the last two shot wildly toward Fett, once nearly catching Fett in the head, making him dodge. The other caught his fellow apprentice across the clearing before Fett's dart launcher dropped him to the forest floor.
Cradossk himself had been forced to dive to his knees as well to avoid the apprentices' wild fire. He got to his feet grumbling, seeing Fett just two meters away. He raised his blaster, surging forward. Fett brought his blaster around, firing at the form streaking toward him. One of Cradossk's own shots caught the edge of Fett's armor, spinning him around.
A moment later the Trandoshan was on him, his claws raking down the side of Fett's helmet. Fett struggled, gripping the larger hunter's wrists in an attempt to force them away from his throat.
"I've…got you…Fett." Cradossk breathed into his face, smelling like long dead meat.
Fett didn't waste his breath responding.
Author's Note:
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Well folks, as you can see we're in the final stretch. Also, the results of the poll are unanimous in favor of the current style of romance. I for one greatly appreciate it because I have a rough time writing it any other way, but I had to ask. Also, I've got a brief advertisement, I'd appreciate any attention to "A Hero's Death," a new fic I wrote, it's about Fett as well. It has one review, so my thanks to you, wltdnfaded. I really appreciated the review. Also, hopefully I won't have homework so I can post the follow up to the cliffhanger!
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butthead2000: Oh man, that was funny, I could do it that way, but I think I'll keep a bit more subtle than that, but yeah I know what you mean about people being freaks…
Ryko Sill: Well, not much romance in this chapter, but that's because it's awfully hard to be romantic with Cradossk around… But don't worry; I'll keep the insinuations up.
Grand Admiral Gin : Yay! I'm glad you think so! Here's a nice cliffhanger to keep you guessing.
Breann : Very good point! And don't worry; the rating won't go up, everyone agrees with you. And I know what you mean about ruining the fic, which is why I'm glad everyone agrees. Enjoy the rest of the fic!