Disclaimer: I do not have enough money to get a soda from the vending machine right now (I have 1 quarter and 1 dime grrr…) so go ahead, sue me!

Author's Note: very tired author grumbles Hi all! Yeah it's been awhile but starting college will do that to you! I'm VERY sorry for making you all wait so long, so I will try to make it up to you…

I've got a break from homework and tests now so that will help. And November is over so NaNoWriMo is over. That's the thing where you write 50,000 words worth of a story in 1 month. It was fun, and I'm rather proud of the fact that I finished too, I'm sure all of you who have suffered through my inability to update on a regular basis will never believe that though. And finally I've forced myself to stop writing on the 5 or 6 random fan fics I've got going (which will probably never make it onto anyway) and work on this one! So off we go!

Ocean's Fire: Chapter 8

Fett sat in the pilot's seat of the Slave 1. The wound on his shoulder throbbed despite the bacta pack he had placed over it. At least the lightsaber had instantly cauterized the wound.

Around him the streaks of hyperspace flew by carrying the Slave 1 away from the watery world and from the young woman who had come to mean so much to the young bounty hunter.

Even more painful than the injury in his shoulder was the knowledge that Syntas was gone. Fett did not understand the motivations of most sentients and Syntas was constantly surprising him, but for this to happen…

He had always known where she was since he had pulled her from that med-unit in the midst of blaster fire. But now she had just disappeared through the door of that decrepit motel and he had no idea where she had gone. Of course it would not be difficult to find her but…

Fett cursed, how could he have been such an idiot? But there had been no choice. He could not stop hunting the Jedi. He had given his word. A memory came unbidden to the anguished mind of the armored bounty hunter.

Harsh winds blew over the surface of the dry reddish world, scouring even the dust from its surface and filling the air with gritty metallic sand. Far from the lights of the continuing battles between the world's insect like inhabitants and the Jedi a small boy knelt before a small hummock of freshly turned soil.

Carefully he scrapped the initials into the sandy rock he had dragged to the head of the hummock. Despite his best efforts the J and F were slightly crooked and it was easy to see it had been a child's hand that had marked them there.

Angrily he brushed away the tears that welled in his eyes. It was still difficult to believe what had happened. He kept expecting to turn around and find his father there behind him, asking him what he was doing. But the small pile of Mandalorian armor that rested on the ground beside him told him that that was never going to happen again.

The small boy sniffed, scrambling to his feet to survey his work. All alone high in the foothills of the harsh mountainous rock formations this grave would probably remain undisturbed for years, possibly forever. From here he could see the last of the separatist ships rising into the atmosphere trying to flee the wrath of the Jedi.

He turned to the grave, picking up the empty helm and staring into the T-shaped visor, "I will make them pay for what they've done, father. I swear it."

Fett pushed the memory from his mind. That little boy was long gone, burned away by years of hardship, but the oath he had taken that day he could not break. But it did not dispel the feeling that he had betrayed another trust that day.

Fett sat in the pilot's chair wondering why he had not been able to make himself go after her, and wishing he had.

As the Slave 1 drifted through hyperspace, strangely silent without the former-Jedi it's pilot buried his head in his hands. There were times it seemed as if nothing he did worked as it should.

Syntas wiped the tears from her eyes. A small voice in her head kept asking her what she thought she was doing alone here on a planet she knew almost nothing about. And even deeper that voice asked if she was really ready to throw away that which meant so much to her.

But the anger still burned within her. One thing she had had even before she had met up with the ill-tempered bounty hunter was a temper of her own. And of course as she had been told so many times before she was as stubborn as a Gundark. There was no way she was going to be the one to turn around.

He had made his choice. She thought angrily, but somehow this only brought more tears. A few of the pedestrians walking the streets gave her strange looks. Syntas though was too caught up in her own thoughts to notice.

Damn Fett, of course as soon as the thought came she blinked. It was not very Jedi-like to be using such language. But then she had been spending all her time with a bounty hunter, so damn him anyway.

But distracted from her mental tirade her anger began to cool. It never did last long when she got angry. She was not sure whether that was the result of her training or just something inherent to her. Either way she found as her anger faded that whatever Fett may do she could not change the way she felt towards him.

But even so she was not completely read to give in as yet. She remembered the black rage in his eyes when he had turned on her. And the frozen eyes of the fallen Jedi who seemed to judge her as well. There had seemed to choice to her except to flee.

Perhaps what had surprised her most was that Fett had not come after her. He had just stood there as she had stormed from the ruined motel. She glanced down at her hand, still stained with Fett's blood.

She tried to wipe it off her hand and sleeve, but by now the blood had dried and soaked into the fabric making her task impossible. Syntas gritted her teeth, worry displacing her anger.

Above her a tiny speck lifted off above the strange white buildings that made up the floating city. Its thrusters flared and the small Firespray disappeared into the thick clouds that choked the atmosphere of this watery planet.

Something caught at her attention, a sense she could not quite name. She turned but the ship had already disappeared. She sighed, turning to continue going she knew not where. But when she looked up she was millimeters away from one of the fishlike inhabitants of the city she was walking through.

She hastily apologized, trying not to breath in too much of the fishy smelling air around him. As she backed away the last of her anger faded leaving her cold and more than a little afraid alone among strangers in an unfamiliar city.

But that was only for a moment before her stubborn personality took over. She had the money she had received from her mentor when they had gone into hiding. She had never had time to do anything about it. It would still be there waiting.

And of course in addition to her Jedi training she had a whole new set of skills learned from one of the best in the business. Absently she touched the blaster she wore at her side, a less conspicuous weapon than a lightsaber. Perhaps it was time for her to try something on her own. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. She wished she could see Fett's face when he heard about what she was about to do.

Agen Kolar had shaken her and the dark rage that had burned in Fett's eyes when he had looked at her had shaken her even more. She looked at the blood stains on her hand once again. It seemed that her choice had already been made though, but strange it was Fett's blood that had ended up on her hands. The poets must not have been quite as right as they had thought they were. She smiled momentarily; if Mace Windu could see her now she believed even he would be at a loss for words. But she was not the driven Jedi Master and her choices were her own even if the Jedi Code would never have condoned them. In a way Syntas was almost sad to abandon faith in the code that had guided her for so long, but it seemed even the Jedi were far from perfect.

She turned resolutely heading for one of the holo-net cafés she had passed earlier. But a voice she tried to ignore asked whether that was the real reason she was doing this or if it was just because it was the best way to find the armored bounty hunter once again and once and for all prove to him and to herself who she truly was.

The Slave 1 shuddered as it exited hyperspace. Fett gripped the control panel as it reverted to normal space. At least with the bounty on that Jedi he would be able to afford repairs. And if things kept going as they were he might be able to afford the complete overhaul of the Slave 1 he had been planning. There at least was something to look forward to.

During that long, dark voyager through hyperspace Fett had reached a decision. He could not hurt Syntas. So he would fulfill his promise to his father and then he would seek her out again. He took a careful breath. It would not be easy, but that seemed the only way to resolve the turmoil within his mind.

Satisfied Fett pushed further thoughts about the young Jedi from his mind, turning his attention instead to the polluted world looming the viewport of the Slave 1. Ord Mantel had never been a beautiful world, but each time he visited it seemed to grow dirtier. He carefully avoided the derelict hulks of ancient ships that orbited the smuggler's world, heading down into its polluted atmosphere.

A voice challenged him over the com, "Unknown ship, this is port control. Identify yourself if you wish to proceed."

"This is the Slave 1," Fett's voice was even harsher than usual. He had no desire to deal with underlings too idiotic to read their own computer readouts. The Slave 1 had been broadcasting its identification frequency since he had exited hyperspace.

Fett could hear a hushed argument on the other end of the frequency; apparently someone was explaining proper procedure to the new employee.

His suspicions were confirmed when the voice returned, but this time fair easily heard as the operator stammered his apologize, "Mister F-Fett? I am…I am…very sorry about that, please…"

"Just give me landing clearance." Fett let his impatience carry over into his voice.

"Y-Yes sir! Clearance granted, enjoy your-" Fett cut the connection before the operator could finish. He had better things to do than listen to that.

As the Slave 1 settled onto the landing platform Fett thought once more of a dark haired young woman with blazing dark eyes that when angry could display a fury to rival his own. But he closed the memory away. That was something he could not think now. Whatever else the galaxy may think of him Boba Fett did not break his word. And this was the promise that had driven him nearly his entire life. It was something he must finish. The Jedi too would receive justice.

Author's Note:

Sorry for any formatting problems, I tried to fix them after uploading it, but the QuickEdit thing kept deleting stuff, so I know about it, I just can't fixit. Sorry!