BFVP

Chapter 2

Boba Fett vs. Predator

Fett roared across the murky terrain of Nar Shadda on his way to the fortress of Boorga. He surveyed the bubbling landscape as he sped above the mud. The ghastly green ground of the planet reminded Fett of the creatures who called it home. The Hutts seemed to be made out of the stuff.

Suddenly he spied a break in the twisted brush. He decelerated and turned off the track he had been following. He glided into a scorched clearing. He recognized the signs of a thermal detonator immediately. There were several mangled and burned bodies scattered in the muck.

Fett unholstered his blaster and jumped out of the "borrowed" speeder. He detected no other life forms near by and proceeded to inspect the scene.

The creatures that were decomposing around him were unlike anything he had ever seen before. They were an unrecognizable species. The ichor that had pooled beneath the severed limbs was a painfully bright green. He continued his search of the area.

He found bits and pieces of equally unrecognizable technology mixed in with the bodies. He came upon a clawed arm with what looked like a crushed Twi'lek skull in its grasp. He searched the explosion site for more signs of the dead Twi'lek but found none. He guessed that the Twi'lek was from Boorga's fort considering how close they were to it and the Twi'leks' affiliation with Hutts. Could the mystery creatures be his bounty? It'd be a pity if they were.

Fett looked down at the arm again. He noticed something next to it. The mud in the area had kept the shape of the last creatures to walk through it. He saw slight impressions of a four-toed, clawed animal. The claw-prints led towards a tree and then disappeared. He took a step towards the tree and then activated the magnifiers in his helmet. Just as he suspected, he found the claw marks continued up the tree.

Fett took a step back and looked off in the direction the path traveled. So whatever had been here had also left. Fett searched the area for more tracks but could find none. This meant that there was probably only one. It would be the smartest and toughest of the group to have survived the thermal detonator attack. Well, there was nothing else he could do here. He strode back to his speeder.

As he climbed into the speeder and accelerated in the direction of Boorga's fortress the carrion birds and lizards returned to the feast that had been wrought by the previous day's carnage.

- - -

The Predator watched the ooman stop and slow at the site of the explosion. As the human explored the scene the Predator could tell that this ooman was a hunter like himself. His infrared signature was smaller then that of a regular ooman's because of the armor worn almost like a second skin. The Predator climbed up higher into the tree where he was overlooking the ooman's progress. He had tracked the ooman from his ship to the large spaceport and watched as he apparently stole a vehicle from a smaller creature. The Predator had hidden his own ship in a large swamp and covered it in mud to disguise it from any passerby. The Predator zoomed in with his mask and stared into the mysterious, scarred helmet of his adversary. A most worthy prey; another hunter. The closest the Predator had ever come to this was hunting the dastardly Hard Meat.

The hunter turned and walked back to his vehicle. He had apparently not discovered the Predator and was unaware of his presence. Pity. Before the ooman started moving, the Predator jumped from tree to tree along the path the vehicle would travel. He was soon alongside the speeding vehicle. He jumped to a branch that hung out over the dirt road.

- - -

Boba Fett looked up to see a shimmering light land on a branch above the road ahead. He pulled out his blaster from his seat next to him. The branch bobbed up and down as time seemed to slow down. His fingers found the grip of his blaster and squeezed together. A blue shimmering light appeared above the branch.

- - -

The Predator locked onto the helmeted head of the hunter and charged up his plasma caster. He released the firing button on his wrist computer and sent a sizzling blue arrow towards the ooman and his vehicle. He said a small oath to his God asking that this hunter find his way to the heavens in the after life.

- - -

He pushed himself up from the seat and brought the blaster to bear. It seemed to take hours for his finger to squeeze the trigger and send a crimson bolt stabbing at the unseen assailant. About midway to the branch it passed a blue bolt going in the opposite direction. As this dart snaked towards him he saw a figure wreathed in blue sparks and lightning standing on the branch. This was all Fett had time to see as he jumped backwards over the land speeders engines.

- - -

The Predator jumped from the branch when the ooman jumped backwards and fired. He easily avoided the hastily fired shot, although he was impressed that the ooman had managed to fire at all. As the prey passed behind the vehicles engines, the plasma bolt locked onto the only available heat source: the engines themselves.

- - -

Fett raised his arm to shield himself from the shower of shrapnel that rained upon him. Pieces bounced off his helmet and a large fireball roiled over him. He could feel the heat melting his visor. As the explosion dissipated he stood up and brought his blaster to bear. Standing in the swirling smoke, it was difficult to make out anything farther then the roadside. Suddenly his rifle seemed to be sliced in half by a specter that fell from the sky.

- - -

The Predator sailed down into the smoke, wrist-claws extended. He slashed the ooman's weapon in half and punched him in his helmeted face. The ooman rolled along the ground and came up in a crouch. He pressed something on his wrist, similar to the way a Predator would operate one of his weapons. The Predator perceived the imminent threat and leapt up into the air just as a searing jet of flame burst from the ooman's arm. Very interesting indeed. The Predator landed behind the ooman and was surprised to find him already facing his direction. The Predator swung his claws at the ooman's head and was surprised when they clanged off.

- - -

Fett stumbled backwards as he took the blow to the head. Sensing this close quarters fighting was not in his advantage, he decided to put a little distance into this fight. He activated his jetpack and was surprised to be yanked around viciously in the air. Looking down he saw he was dragging his opponent with him.

- - -

The Predator lurched forward and grabbed the ooman as he fled skyward. The flames from the ooman's flight machine were too much for his cloaking device. It sputtered and fizzled until the Predator slapped it off in frustration. He snarled at the ooman to give up but the strange creature just pointed at one of the trees they were rapidly ascending to.

- - -

Fett aimed his wrist-rockets at a nearby tree and triggered a small explosive. The rocket left a curl of thin smoke as Fett's jet pack screamed from overstress.

- - -

The Predator watched the missile and saw it explode against a large tree very close to them. He also saw a large chunk of wood fly straight for him. It was the last thing he saw before being knocked out.

- - -

With the weight of the large alien gone, Fett was easily able to soar out of the area and closer to Boorga's fortress. Confident that he had met the unknown assassin that had bee killing Boorga's men, Fett felt a mixture of elation and anxiety. He had survived its ambush, but it had displayed technologies that Fett could only have dreamt of.

- - -

The Predator pushed a large log off of its body and coughed up a small puddle of green ichor. He would have to return to his ship in order to repair his cloak and heal his minor injuries. Yes, he had underestimated this ooman, but that is one mistake that your enemy should never let you make and live to tell about.