Disclaimer: Would I like to own Star Wars? Perhaps… Would I like to own Boba Fett? Yes! Do I? Well, since this is a fan fic… what do you think?
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Fett's hands worked carefully over the damaged blaster, delicately removing fried circuits and replacing them from the box at his side. It was easy to see that his mind though was not on his task.
Syntas watched the bounty hunter, the one she loved, it was not very often that he lost himself in thought. Sometimes he almost frightened her with the way he watched everything that happened around him. She didn't think she could blame him for this outlook on life. The months she had now spent in his company had taught her more than she could ever have imagined.
She shook her head, wondering if the loss of that idealism had been worth it, but then again what good would it do to worry over such as that? What was done was done. All that remained was to see to what the Force would guide her to now.
Again she felt the stab of pain for her lost ability. The destruction of the Record had burned it away. She closed her eyes, running through the meditation techniques she had learned as a child.
The light and warmth of the Force was there, but muted as though through a heavy curtain. The former Padawan took a deep breath, forcing herself further into the trance. The Force must be here; if she could not find it she didn't know what choice would be left to her.
The bounty hunter heard her breathing deepen. It disturbed him that she continued to try this again, and again, only with the same results each time. But then he certainly wasn't a Jedi; it might be something he could not understand.
His eyes flashed up, watching tears run down the face of the woman he loved. The familiar rage rose within him, that she would mourn something that had taken so much from him. He stood, setting the blaster down harder than necessary, stalking out of the hold to guide the ship on its decent to Tatooine.
Syntas' eyes snapped open as the blaster slammed down. She sighed, wiping the involuntary tears from her eyes and climbing to her feet. She stretched. She hated long space voyages. They always left her feeling claustrophobic, but then that might just be the result of her traveling companion.
She began putting the tools they had been working with away. She could feel the ship shudder as it entered the planet's atmosphere. Every time they did this she was reminded of the Slave1's age. Only Boba's technical skills kept it flying at all.
Fett concentrated on negotiating the winds in the lower levels of the atmosphere. Another sandstorm was rising in the Dune Sea. In a few hours no ships would be entering or leaving this region of Tatooine.
As he guided his ship thorough them with the skills he had learned as a child, his rage faded. It never truly left him, but that of course was part of his skill as a hunter, and the memories that had burned into his mind as a child.
The Slave 1 tore through the sand filled cloud and the city came into view, shadowed from the clouds of sand, lit only be a few lights and now by the Slave 1's burning thrusters.
His com crackled to life, "This is the port Captain. Identify yourself and your business."
Syntas came to stand behind him, her hands gripping the back of the pilot's seat to keep from being knocked down by the buffeting winds.
"This is Boba Fett, Capitan of the Slave 1. I'm here for a business meeting."
The com was silent for a long minute as the com officer realized whom he was speaking with. Young as he was Boba Fett already had the reputation of a skilled, and merciless hunter, "Uh… thank you sir. If you could land in docking bay 54."
Fett turned off the com, and proceeded to guide the Slave 1 down. As they came down into the docking bay, the retractable roof above them slid closed, sealing them off from the storm outside.
They met one of the assistants of the Port Capitan at the door. He nervously handed Fett his access code and the bill. He licked his lips, glancing behind Fett at Syntas and then at the ground.
Beneath his helmet, Fett smiled grimly. It was always pleasant to be respected. He entered his payment and memorized the code, before returning the pad. The boy flinched away as if trying to blend into the pale rock walls.
Outside it was dark from both the time and the sand. They would have to hurry. He turned away, to go about his business in the city itself. Syntas though couldn't resist a smile at the terrified boy.
She pulled up her hooded cloak to keep the sand from her face and snapped the filter over her mouth and nose. If she were lucky some of the shops would still be open. Her blaster needed a new fuel cell and the Slave 1 was in need of parts again, and they were getting harder to find. She hoped Fett's contact had good news.
The lights in the cantina flickered as the winds howled outside, but inside it was as nosy as ever. The screeching jizz music grated on Fett's ears, even louder than usual to drown out the storm. All around sentiments of nearly ever species in the galaxy argued, made deals, or simply sat and watched their fellow patrons.
Fett took a seat in one of the booths, purchasing a drink from the bar to satisfy the bartender and waited. The cantina's lights flickered in the storm though few of the patrons seemed bothered by it. In the shadows sentients were bought and sold and in one case killed as part of the thriving business community that existed here independent of the budding Empire.
The ebb and flow of customers began to leave an ever-widening space around the booth Fett sat in. Though he was not especially visible through the smoke filled air none of the patrons here were ignorant enough to risk upsetting him.
Finally a dark cloaked form crept by the droid scanners and slid into the booth across from Fett. The Roadian's green face seemed paler than usual. Gaarda had had little success as a bounty hunter but dealing information suited him, except of course when things got hot.
"You have a client for me?" Fett's voice was colder than the wind outside and Gaarda shivered, glancing around him yet again.
"No one's going to here us." Fett's patience was quickly eroding. The Roadian's lack of intelligence was irritating enough this new cowardice would have been enough for Fett had he not been such an excellent contact.
"Ah…of course master Fett! I am just a little nervous…" He checked over his shoulder, forcing Fett to loosen his grip on his blaster, before he shot the incompetent informant.
"Give the information."
The green skinned being pulled a holoprojector from his pocket handing it to Fett. "The contract is for a sizable sum of credits, brought in alive. The client has heard of your expertise in this manner." This last was delicately phrased. This of course was lost of Fett who was already studying the information.
A Jedi. One of the few remaining. The offer was tempting, but there was something disturbing about it….
"Who's the client?"
Gaarda flinched as Fett spoke, "It's a confidential job-" He began to say when Fett cut him off.
"Either you tell me who I'm working for or we don't have a deal."
"But!" Gaarda began but he knew Fett and he stopped, looking around him yet again, "He's a high ranking Imperial officer, very close to the Emperor, and the Emperor finds favor with those who bring him Jedi."
Fett nodded, snapped the projector closed and slipped it into one of the pouches on his belt, "Fine."
Gaarda took a breath as Fett stalked out of the cantina, as did most of those who filled the small establishment. He shook his head, that young man was dangerous, Gaarda just didn't know whether to himself or to his enemies, and Gaarda had no wish to find out.
Author's Note:
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Well, I'm glad 5 of you followed me on to this next one. I hope you enjoy it! Also, for any Fett fans who haven't seen it yet, the Boba Fett Fan Club website is off hiatus, so check it out.
Grand Admiral Gin: I'm glad you like the start. Hopefully the rest will live up to your expectations, I have to work on sci-fi again! I've done too much fantasy lately, so I'll have to be careful or Boba Fett will whip out a sword or something equally odd… :)
Infamous One: Sorry, sorry, sorry! Every paragraph on I wrote on this chapter I'd think, "Am I doing it again? Wouldn't I be able to tell? But I didn't notice last time!" So aside from producing a few odd paragraphs (which have since been revised) I think your advice helped. I'm sorry it was short, but I promised by Christmas, so I was in a hurry to get something out, but I'm glad it was good overall. I hope this one's better.
Björn: Hi! I know exactly what you mean! That's generally how I feel about any Fett fic. More people ought to write them, I mean how can you not like Fett?
TriGemini: Yep, so far so good, but it was a bit rough at the start, believe it or not it is entirely possible to have writer's block in the prologue. I have just proven it to myself, but as you can see Ocean's Depths is back on track. I hope you like it.
wltdnfaded: He he. Yep, I have to be good at character introspection because I certainly can't do fight scenes! :) Thanks, it's nice to know I'm getting somewhere, occasionally I go back and read my first fan fics, and it's really embarrassing! Thanks, again, I'm honored you like my fics.