Chapter XVII - Showdown One: Boba Fett vs. Jodo Kast
Fett crept through the halls of the Executor, which were eerily vacant. In his half-hour aboard the vessel he hadn't caught so much as a glimpse of soldier, crew member, or droid. Strange, for normally this ship was bustling with activity.
By tracing particle trails left by the engines of the kidnappers' ship, he'd discovered the Mandalorians had taken a sublight route to the planet of Tatooine. The craft had probably suffered damage to its hyperdrive, he theorized. He'd been surprised to discover the Executor in this system, but he thought Kast might be brazen enough to hide aboard the Stardestroyer. Besides, Anakin owned this ship, and he figured he wouldn't mind if he did a little snooping.
/I'll bet this is where the Force comes in real handy/ he mused as he hacked into a promising-looking supply closet. /Just lock onto your quarry and take the shortest route there like a bloodhound.../
He paused when his hand brushed over a substance he knew all too well. What would something like this be doing here? He felt around, making out a long rectangular shape, and he managed to drag the item into the hallway.
"Stang it all to chaos," he swore.
It was a man frozen in carbonite.
Quickly Fett flipped a switch and touched some buttons on the side of the slab to unthaw him. How cruel the Mandalorians could be! If he found out they'd done this to Liz and Naomi...
Admiral Piett lay in the carbonite block, gasping and trembling, sweat drenching his uniform. Fett helped him sit up.
"Calm down, sir," he ordered as Piett clung frantically to him for support. "You have hibernation sickness, but you'll recover."
"I can't see," he gulped in a shaky voice.
"The blindness is temporary," Fett assured him.
There was a clattering blast from a nearby door, and he pointed his blaster that way as three stormtroopers emerged from the smoking doorway.
"See? Like I told you!" one of them explained. "This door didn't stand a chance against twelve blasters all set on high power."
"If you would've waited thirty seconds, we would've had the damn thing opened anyway, no thanks to you!" snapped the second.
"Hey look!" the third exclaimed. "The Admiral's back!"
"What's going on?" demanded Fett.
"Piett turned up missing, so this creepy Jedi alien took command. He had us all locked in the barracks for some reason."
"Is Piett going to be all right?" asked the second.
"In a day or two," Fett replied. "You three take him to sick bay. The rest of you search the ship and capture or destroy any Mandalorians you see. If you find a woman and child, alert me on my comm. Am I clear?"
"Yes, sir."
As the troops poured out of the barracks, eager to follow orders, Fett continued his search. Far away he heard fire being exchanged as stormtroopers encountered Mandalorians. Idly he wondered if Jodo Kast was being shot at and hoped he took a bolt in the throat.
The muzzle of a blaster dug into the back of his neck, and he froze.
"Wise decision, Fett," Kast's mocking voice purred, and a gloved hand clamped on his shoulder. "Having a hole seared in one's neck isn't exactly pleasant."
He took a deep breath. "Let my wife and child go, Kast. It's me you want."
Kast chuckled. "She's an excellent woman. Feisty, beautiful, and fights like an acklay. And you've the cutest little daughter, too." The hand squeezed, fingers digging painfully into his collarbone. "No, I think I'd rather keep the two of them around. We could use some female additions to the ranks."
"You wouldn't dare," snarled Fett.
"I'll be the judge of that," Kast shot back. "Forward!"
Fett marched ahead with the aid of a shove between the shoulder blades. He wondered if he would have time to fire at Kast before his captor pulled the trigger. Impossible, he realized... unless he had a distraction.
Quietly he moved a hand to one of the braided Wookie scalps on his shoulder and began working the metal clip on its end loose. Kast ignored the movement, thinking it to be nervous fidgeting. Once he had the clip out, he lowered his hand and, taking quick aim, tossed the metal into a nearby ventilation grate.
The vent shaft amplified the tinkle of the clip so it became an ominous rattle. Kast's gaze jerked toward the sound for a mere moment.
It was enough.
The Mandalorian leader grunted and buckled from the fist in his gut. Fett ran a few paces and whirled, firing three quick blasts. Kast fell to the ground and rolled to avoid the shots, then moved to a kneeling position and fired a flechete-blade thrower. Fett jerked to the side just enough for the blade to hit his chest plate with a clang and bounce harmlessly away.
Unsatisfied with that shot's effect, Kast pulled out his blaster, but Fett had dived for his legs. The two of them rolled a moment on the floor, wrestling and trying to gain an upper hand. Kast finally clubbed Fett under the chin with an elbow, drew a vibroblade, and brought it down to slash his throat.
Fett grabbed Kast's wrist, then flicked out his jagged fore-arm blades and raked them across his opponent's chest, over the unprotected collarbones. Kast yelped and dropped the knife, and Fett kicked him off of him and got to his feet.
Kast was nowhere to be seen.
Disturbed, Fett crept a little further down the hall. He reached a doorway at the far end and opened it, the stale metallic wind of the reactor shaft greeting him. He pulled his blaster and checked behind him to make sure Kast wasn't trying to corner him, then poked his head through the doorway.
The sense of movement just over his head alerted him, and he leaped forward into the shaft as a gout of flame swept through the area where he had just been. He activated his jet pack and shot upward, past a startled Kast clinging to the bare wall over the doorway, and pumped several rounds at him. In return Kast soared upward to join him, firing.
The two of them spiraled higher and higher in a deadly aerial ballet, blaster bolts, bursts of flame, darts, flechete blades, and small rockets filling the air around them. Their armor was soon blotched with red and black as each took grazing wounds or narrowly escaped explosions. Occasionally one or the other would seem to gain an upper hand, only to lose ground a moment later.
Finally, exasperated, Kast ripped a thermal detonator from his belt, activated it, and flung it at him.
/The fool!/ thought Fett. /You never pull out the heavy artillery for a single foe!/ He shot the explosive in midair and gunned his propulsion pack as fire bloomed beneath him.
When the flames died away, Fett could see Kast fall, badly burned, toward the bottom of the shaft. Growling, he cut power to his jets and plummeted after him. Once his fall took him near Kast, he grabbed the Mandalorian and turned the power back on, flying to the nearest doorway.
"Don't you dare die on me yet," he snarled. "You haven't told me where you stashed Liz and Naomi."
"Boba Fett..." Kast coughed. "Don't... kill me... please... Fett... join us... you could be... the best of us all..."
"Where is my wife?!" Fett demanded, shaking him.
Kast shouted in pain as the jerking motions aggravated his burns. "Stop! Detention block 4, cell 229..."
Fett dropped Kast, kicked him for good measure, and bolted for the nearest lift. It seemed to take ages to get to the detention block, and there were tears of relief in his eyes when he finally blasted open the cell door to find his wife seated on a bench, cradling their child.
"Honey, I'm home and I'm starved!" he announced. "What's for dinner?"
She hugged him. "Took you long enough."
"Ah, you know me," he replied. "I like to make an entrance. How's Naomi?"
"I just hope this hasn't traumatized her anymore," Liz replied, handing her over.
"Hi, Naomi," Fett cooed.
She squealed and tapped his helmet with a tiny hand.
"Seems fine to me." He turned around to carry her out -- and froze.
Jodo Kast stood unsteadily in the entrance of the detention block, leaning against the doorway for balance, rifle pointed at the Fetts. His breath rattled in his chest, and the sickening stench of charred flesh and hot metal wafted their way.
"Say hi to your father for me, Fett," he rasped.
"Say it yourself," Liz suggested, grabbing her husband's arm and firing his grappling- hook launcher.
The cord wrapped around the gun, and with a savage yank Fett pulled the gun out of his hands. Kast then fired a flechete blade at the bundle in his arms. Fett twisted his upper body, and the shot meant for Naomi hit his upper arm and sliced it to the bone. Liz, meanwhile, grabbed his blaster and fired, killing Kast.
"Losing your edge, dear," she quipped.
"Excuse me, my arms were full," he shot back.
She took Naomi back while he clamped a hand over his wound. "Let's get you to the medical bay."
Fett crept through the halls of the Executor, which were eerily vacant. In his half-hour aboard the vessel he hadn't caught so much as a glimpse of soldier, crew member, or droid. Strange, for normally this ship was bustling with activity.
By tracing particle trails left by the engines of the kidnappers' ship, he'd discovered the Mandalorians had taken a sublight route to the planet of Tatooine. The craft had probably suffered damage to its hyperdrive, he theorized. He'd been surprised to discover the Executor in this system, but he thought Kast might be brazen enough to hide aboard the Stardestroyer. Besides, Anakin owned this ship, and he figured he wouldn't mind if he did a little snooping.
/I'll bet this is where the Force comes in real handy/ he mused as he hacked into a promising-looking supply closet. /Just lock onto your quarry and take the shortest route there like a bloodhound.../
He paused when his hand brushed over a substance he knew all too well. What would something like this be doing here? He felt around, making out a long rectangular shape, and he managed to drag the item into the hallway.
"Stang it all to chaos," he swore.
It was a man frozen in carbonite.
Quickly Fett flipped a switch and touched some buttons on the side of the slab to unthaw him. How cruel the Mandalorians could be! If he found out they'd done this to Liz and Naomi...
Admiral Piett lay in the carbonite block, gasping and trembling, sweat drenching his uniform. Fett helped him sit up.
"Calm down, sir," he ordered as Piett clung frantically to him for support. "You have hibernation sickness, but you'll recover."
"I can't see," he gulped in a shaky voice.
"The blindness is temporary," Fett assured him.
There was a clattering blast from a nearby door, and he pointed his blaster that way as three stormtroopers emerged from the smoking doorway.
"See? Like I told you!" one of them explained. "This door didn't stand a chance against twelve blasters all set on high power."
"If you would've waited thirty seconds, we would've had the damn thing opened anyway, no thanks to you!" snapped the second.
"Hey look!" the third exclaimed. "The Admiral's back!"
"What's going on?" demanded Fett.
"Piett turned up missing, so this creepy Jedi alien took command. He had us all locked in the barracks for some reason."
"Is Piett going to be all right?" asked the second.
"In a day or two," Fett replied. "You three take him to sick bay. The rest of you search the ship and capture or destroy any Mandalorians you see. If you find a woman and child, alert me on my comm. Am I clear?"
"Yes, sir."
As the troops poured out of the barracks, eager to follow orders, Fett continued his search. Far away he heard fire being exchanged as stormtroopers encountered Mandalorians. Idly he wondered if Jodo Kast was being shot at and hoped he took a bolt in the throat.
The muzzle of a blaster dug into the back of his neck, and he froze.
"Wise decision, Fett," Kast's mocking voice purred, and a gloved hand clamped on his shoulder. "Having a hole seared in one's neck isn't exactly pleasant."
He took a deep breath. "Let my wife and child go, Kast. It's me you want."
Kast chuckled. "She's an excellent woman. Feisty, beautiful, and fights like an acklay. And you've the cutest little daughter, too." The hand squeezed, fingers digging painfully into his collarbone. "No, I think I'd rather keep the two of them around. We could use some female additions to the ranks."
"You wouldn't dare," snarled Fett.
"I'll be the judge of that," Kast shot back. "Forward!"
Fett marched ahead with the aid of a shove between the shoulder blades. He wondered if he would have time to fire at Kast before his captor pulled the trigger. Impossible, he realized... unless he had a distraction.
Quietly he moved a hand to one of the braided Wookie scalps on his shoulder and began working the metal clip on its end loose. Kast ignored the movement, thinking it to be nervous fidgeting. Once he had the clip out, he lowered his hand and, taking quick aim, tossed the metal into a nearby ventilation grate.
The vent shaft amplified the tinkle of the clip so it became an ominous rattle. Kast's gaze jerked toward the sound for a mere moment.
It was enough.
The Mandalorian leader grunted and buckled from the fist in his gut. Fett ran a few paces and whirled, firing three quick blasts. Kast fell to the ground and rolled to avoid the shots, then moved to a kneeling position and fired a flechete-blade thrower. Fett jerked to the side just enough for the blade to hit his chest plate with a clang and bounce harmlessly away.
Unsatisfied with that shot's effect, Kast pulled out his blaster, but Fett had dived for his legs. The two of them rolled a moment on the floor, wrestling and trying to gain an upper hand. Kast finally clubbed Fett under the chin with an elbow, drew a vibroblade, and brought it down to slash his throat.
Fett grabbed Kast's wrist, then flicked out his jagged fore-arm blades and raked them across his opponent's chest, over the unprotected collarbones. Kast yelped and dropped the knife, and Fett kicked him off of him and got to his feet.
Kast was nowhere to be seen.
Disturbed, Fett crept a little further down the hall. He reached a doorway at the far end and opened it, the stale metallic wind of the reactor shaft greeting him. He pulled his blaster and checked behind him to make sure Kast wasn't trying to corner him, then poked his head through the doorway.
The sense of movement just over his head alerted him, and he leaped forward into the shaft as a gout of flame swept through the area where he had just been. He activated his jet pack and shot upward, past a startled Kast clinging to the bare wall over the doorway, and pumped several rounds at him. In return Kast soared upward to join him, firing.
The two of them spiraled higher and higher in a deadly aerial ballet, blaster bolts, bursts of flame, darts, flechete blades, and small rockets filling the air around them. Their armor was soon blotched with red and black as each took grazing wounds or narrowly escaped explosions. Occasionally one or the other would seem to gain an upper hand, only to lose ground a moment later.
Finally, exasperated, Kast ripped a thermal detonator from his belt, activated it, and flung it at him.
/The fool!/ thought Fett. /You never pull out the heavy artillery for a single foe!/ He shot the explosive in midair and gunned his propulsion pack as fire bloomed beneath him.
When the flames died away, Fett could see Kast fall, badly burned, toward the bottom of the shaft. Growling, he cut power to his jets and plummeted after him. Once his fall took him near Kast, he grabbed the Mandalorian and turned the power back on, flying to the nearest doorway.
"Don't you dare die on me yet," he snarled. "You haven't told me where you stashed Liz and Naomi."
"Boba Fett..." Kast coughed. "Don't... kill me... please... Fett... join us... you could be... the best of us all..."
"Where is my wife?!" Fett demanded, shaking him.
Kast shouted in pain as the jerking motions aggravated his burns. "Stop! Detention block 4, cell 229..."
Fett dropped Kast, kicked him for good measure, and bolted for the nearest lift. It seemed to take ages to get to the detention block, and there were tears of relief in his eyes when he finally blasted open the cell door to find his wife seated on a bench, cradling their child.
"Honey, I'm home and I'm starved!" he announced. "What's for dinner?"
She hugged him. "Took you long enough."
"Ah, you know me," he replied. "I like to make an entrance. How's Naomi?"
"I just hope this hasn't traumatized her anymore," Liz replied, handing her over.
"Hi, Naomi," Fett cooed.
She squealed and tapped his helmet with a tiny hand.
"Seems fine to me." He turned around to carry her out -- and froze.
Jodo Kast stood unsteadily in the entrance of the detention block, leaning against the doorway for balance, rifle pointed at the Fetts. His breath rattled in his chest, and the sickening stench of charred flesh and hot metal wafted their way.
"Say hi to your father for me, Fett," he rasped.
"Say it yourself," Liz suggested, grabbing her husband's arm and firing his grappling- hook launcher.
The cord wrapped around the gun, and with a savage yank Fett pulled the gun out of his hands. Kast then fired a flechete blade at the bundle in his arms. Fett twisted his upper body, and the shot meant for Naomi hit his upper arm and sliced it to the bone. Liz, meanwhile, grabbed his blaster and fired, killing Kast.
"Losing your edge, dear," she quipped.
"Excuse me, my arms were full," he shot back.
She took Naomi back while he clamped a hand over his wound. "Let's get you to the medical bay."