Author's Note: Nothing can stop me from including all of these cameos. :) Also, thank you as always for the patience with these chapters.
xxx
With the destination plans slightly put on hold before they made headway to the planet of Kijimi, there was still the matter of deciding how exactly transportation was going to work out. Obviously the only choice was to take Scarlett's own ship since it was actually within working order, but that would mean leaving behind The Justifier for the time being. Bane wasn't thrilled with the idea at first, but he was slightly reassured to be reminded that the current planet he was stuck upon was entirely abandoned.
Todo, much to his own growing ire upon hearing the news, would remain behind to watch over things and remain in communication at least. Although the techno-service droid was a helpful asset when he was brought along to missions, Bane could do well enough on his own without his droid.
Gear and Grind would stay back as well for extra support in the case anything actually went wrong. Though there wasn't much confidence they would actually be able to do anything if the three droids weren't already trying to dismantle each other because of their rocky acquaintanceship leading up until now. The twins weren't too entirely enthused about having been shoved into a storage closet by Todo, and their compact forms managed to still hold quite a bit of resentment within their programming.
The trip to Tatooine went by without much of any kind of major problems. Scarlett piloted her ship this time around while Bane sat in the passenger seat. He felt uncomfortable for the duration of the trip, and while he kept the unfamiliar feeling pushed far down, he felt like a fish out of water being stuck within a starship that was considered to be more of a luxury design. The lack of offensive capabilities left him with a bit of unease, and he was once again beginning to regret the choice of finding some local junk trader to get the starship part he needed instead.
After arriving on the desert-like planet and landing in an open section of Jabba's Palace, the duo made their way through the large gates and further down into the den of debauchery and crime. The place served as a popular hub for most bounty hunters, as the owner of the fortress was a notorious crime lord who often paid exorbitant amounts of credits for those willing to do his dirty work.
They headed down a short winding staircase after a short confrontation with the guards, the lingering veil of smoke and hookah permanently residing near the top of the room and assaulting their senses the second they stepped through the veil at the bottom of the steps. The audience chamber was abundant with bodies and noise, the likes of which was amplified by a live band playing near the back of the room. In front of the band, a small green Pa'lowick was dazzling her listeners with her confident singing talent. The mood here appeared quite jovial, as the abundance of drinks and other questionable consumables were certainly helping the atmosphere.
Cad Bane knew well enough from past observations that the mood could be instantly changed though the second someone decided to try and disrespect the infamous Hutt crime lord. He had seen a handful of ill-advised people drop through the floor grating to untimely meet Jabba's famished pet.
Jabba was perched atop his usual dais, the slug-like being smoking on a long pipe from the hookah container situated right next to him. In front of him was a long line of people seeking to consult an audience with him, either donating favors or valuable information to help propagate his shady dealings. The offerings were neatly stacked in a pile next to him, the objects varying from containers of credits to other questionable goods from the underground market.
Bane and Scarlett got behind in the long line of people, both looking none too pleased with the longevity of it based on the similar expression each wore. Even though the bounty hunter probably had a better relationship with the Hutt compared to anyone one else here right now, even the Duros wouldn't dare step over a boundary he knew would be foolish to cross over. He would wait, just as everyone else.
If the two had been taking turns on feeling out of place, it was now the red-haired woman who was currently pulling on the end of her braid and fixing loose strands of hair. Although this place wasn't entirely new given she had already been here one time before, she certainly felt like she was standing out like a sore thumb. Hanging around with a dangerous mercenary for a longer duration of time had conditioned her somewhat to the rather treacherous locations that it brought them to, but it was quite evident that her roots of working in a pristine and orderly office-place once before had permanently tarnished her.
She looked around, catching a few lecherous glances from a small group of people across the way that seemed quite uncaring about hiding their stare. The corner of her mouth twisted into an unimpressive curve, and she pretended to look away as though she hadn't just caught them red-handed with their wolf-like smiles. The eyes she could still feel boring into the back of her neck instantly made an uncomfortable shiver run through her body. She was grateful she couldn't hear what they were probably saying under their breath right now, as she was quite sure it would have caused her to make a scene.
Bane meanwhile was stuck within his own mindscape about what their next plan forward was going to be. He'd always make sure to have arrangements carefully laid out and find out the best course of action before diving into a mission. Years of doing that had made him prone to thinking of backup plans to make sure he was always a step ahead. Though his silent interlude was interrupted when the person next to him had suddenly moved to stand much closer to him while they were in line. Her entire side brushed up against his own, greatly intruding into his own personal bubble of space.
He looked over, his crimson eyes slightly narrowing to see the woman next to him standing there with her arms now crossed and her nose upturned as she looked somewhere and nowhere all at once. It was quite evident by her body language alone that something had suddenly bothered her. Although she often wore her emotions on her sleeve, years of being around each other had made him experienced to know when something was wrong.
Scarlett was almost surprised when she felt an arm move to wrap around her shoulders, as such public displays of affection were almost otherworldly from the bad-tempered Duros. There was almost a comfort in the familiar smell of cigarette smoke and dust. Though that quickly dissipated with his next spoken taunt. "Something botherin' the poor Princess?"
Almost immediately, the group huddled in the corner of the audience chamber at the other side of the room had dropped their stares. They knew that if the infamous and well-known bounty hunter caught them, then they likely wouldn't be seeing Tatooine's two suns the next morning.
Just as she was about to make a comeback with her own comment that would have made him a bit hot under the collar, there was a slight commotion near the descending steps leading into the main throne room. The few denizens huddled around near its base suddenly jeered about something or someone that had just made their entrance into the room.
Peeking over Bane's arm still lazily draped around her shoulder, she glanced over at the commotion and spotted a dark head of hair from a teenager bustling past the crowd. The young man was keeping a hand to cover a large part of his face, while those who spotted his arrival continued to laugh at his apparent misery. He appeared as though he simply wanted to get away from the scene as quickly as possible, given how he was shouldering his way through the throws of people without much care.
Bane hadn't been paying any mind to the noise until he felt his boot being tapped by the person standing next to him.
"Isn't that the kid you regularly check in on?" she asked with slight concern in her voice, recognizing the familiar yet slightly veiled face from the few times she had met him before.
The bounty hunter finally spared a glance over to the noise, his sharp eyes quickly spotting the familiar head of the young Boba Fett making headway towards an adjacent hallway. He could see there was a slight falter in his steps, making it obvious the kid was also trying to hide a limp from one of his legs. It was apparent that he was physically hurt in some manner, and he was likely returning back to his personal room within the palace to attend to his wounds.
Although he would never dare to call himself a fatherly figure towards the aspiring bounty hunter, Bane did take it upon himself to somewhat mentor the unaltered clone whenever the opportunity presented itself. He was well-enough experienced within the bounty hunting field of work to know that there was great promise building up in the growing novice trying to climb his way up through the ranks. He didn't make it a daily occurrence to check on the status of the kid, but he did check in at least once in a while to see how things were going.
He scratched his chin, looking back to the long line in front of them. "Go check on him, will ya'?", he ordered, ignoring the bafflement of the woman next to him after he removed his arm.
"What? Why me?" Scarlett asked, putting her hands up on her hips. "Are you forgetting what he called me during our first meetup together? I wouldn't say we're on the best terms."
"Would ya' rather me go check on him and you can stay here and negotiate with our friendly Hutt?"
The woman then frowned, looking up towards where the massive, slug-like caricature was placed atop his supposed throne. He was talking to a person at the front of their line, his greedy amber eyes glued on something of importance in their hand. She grimaced at the sight of his drool coated tongue slipping out between his tongue while he was bringing the hookah pipe to his lips.
A visible grimace formed on her face. She wasn't going to argue that one. "Fine, I'll go check on the kid then."
xxx
After heading down a few torch-lined corridors which housed personal rooms for important people of the Palace, she caught sight of Boba's limping figure slipping through the farthest one at the end. She caught up and paused in the still-open doorway, looking around to the current state of the room. There was little doubt it belonged to a moody and rebellious teenager given the lack of cleanliness that appeared within the space. There were armor parts and weapons littered all around the floor, and the room was pungent with a strong odor that likely pertained to the remnants of dirtied clothing left behind for some unknown period of time. Along the walls, were a number of different bounty posters collected from all different planets, each portraying a different person of interest. Some had been crossed out with angry-looking 'x's, while others still remained untouched.
Just as she was about to ask if the kid was currently doing okay, a blaster shot embedded itself into the wall right next to her head, missing it just by a few careful inches. Her eyes widened considerably, her ear ringing from the sound that barely missed its mark.
Boba was seated at a small desk across the room, his armored body slightly turned around in preparation for when he heard the approaching footfall trailing behind him. His dark eyes narrowed, taking a few hesitant seconds to make sense of the familiar face standing in the doorway. His face contorted to that of annoyance, as this was hardly the person he wanted to see right now. Slowly, he lowered the blaster in his hand before returning it back to the holster on his hip. "Where's the old man?"
Scarlett nearly snorted at the backhanded question about Bane, trying to hide the shakiness in her voice after nearly gaining a blaster hole in her head. "He's talking with Jabba about a missing shipment we need to go retrieve."
"Doesn't sound like very impressive work for the likes of someone like him", he replied, turning back around at his desk before continuing to fiddle with his communication device. He needed to make contact with his client about the status of his current mission.
He paused the scrolling of his messages when he heard the intrusive woman step further into the room and make a few mumbled comments about picking things up off the floor and getting a proper mop. His head fell backwards against the chair and he let out an exaggerated, but bothered, sounding groan. "If you came in here just to be a nuisance, why don't you make better use of your time and go jump into a Sarlacc pit instead-"
"Look, Bane told me to come in here and check on you. And that injury above your eyes looks like it hurts quite a bit?" Scarlett said about the growing bump on his face. She stopped next to the teenager to observe the obvious swelling and puffiness starting to form above the young man's right eye, a sliver of caked blood where the skin had been opened just near his temple. There were already the tell-tale signs of a black eye beginning to form.
Boba was nearly taken aback by the caring gesture coming from this almost-stranger. The only person he'd had growing up as a parental figure was his father, but the man had seen an untimely end no thanks to the Jedi. Besides that, he'd mostly been on his own and trying to find his place among the many galaxies. For a short while he'd been working with Aurra Sing, and the Palliduvan would often take it upon herself to give him rash and cruel-sounding advice like some kind of deranged mother-figure. But had she been in Scarlett's place instead right now, she simply would have told him to suck it up and start acting his age.
Snapping out of it, he quickly turned his attention back to the matter in front of him. He was on his own, he still didn't need anyone. And he never would. "I don't need your help", he bit out with near suffocating amounts of resentment.
Scarlett frowned at his withdrawal towards the extended line, but she knew well enough he didn't have to accept her help if he didn't want to. She wasn't about to argue with a brooding teenager either. Just as she turned to leave, the hat-wearing Duros appeared at the door, signaling he had already finished what he needed to speak with Jabba about.
"Failed a bounty, did ya'?" Bane announced with fleeting confidence.
Boba's ears felt like they were burning from how quickly the other bounty hunter was able to discern what had happened. He turned his head away in sheer embarrassment, pretending to suddenly look busy with the device in front of him. "How was I supposed to know that my bounty was going to hire help from goons? They just… caught me off-guard. It wasn't a fair fight."
"Sounds like ya' went in unprepared then", the Duros replied nonchalantly, moving to lean against the doorway and cross his arms across his chest while he regarded the injured kid. "Part of the game is being able to think on your feet, and always be prepared for whatever gets thrown your way. You ain't gonna' cut it in this job otherwise."
Scarlett looked back and forth between the two, sensing that they were going to need a moment. "I think I'll go see if I can get some ice from the bar for his eye…"
Bane slightly shifted to let her pass through. He knew that it wasn't the physical injury that was bothering the kid so much, but rather it was the metaphorical cut blown to his ego after failing a mission. Every bounty hunter experienced it throughout their career, but it was always a frustrating calamity to deal with when you returned empty handed.
He couldn't help but think back to his recent scuffle with Fennec Shand, as the fight was still a conclusive blow to his own ego as well. His teeth ground together at the irritating memory of it rearing its head yet again, but he bit it back down before it took control. It simply proved he had more in common with the young bounty hunter, and it helped further bridge some kind of gap to their association between one another.
Both of them were hurting in their own kind of way right now.
Boba waited until he had calmed himself down some before turning back around in his chair to address the other more familiar guest. "Why do you do it?"
"What? Bounty hunting?"
"Yeah."
"Got me off that slimehole of my home planet", Bane replied, thinking back to the dwindling state of Duro. He had no reason to ever return to the place, and he even made sure to avoid some bounties because of that reason alone. Although he garnered a reputation for taking any kind of job, he would adamantly refuse if it resided anywhere even near New Tayana.
It was probably the only place he intended on never stepping foot onto ever again.
The wavy, dark haired clone pondered a bit about his mentor's upbringing through the few tidbits that he learned over time. When he didn't question it further, Bane continued.
"Credits also buy me things, like quality grade blasters and expensive starships", the Duros then explained further, looking down at a fragment of dirt between his nailless fingers and rolling it between them.
"But that can't be your only motivation for the job", Boba pressed, his brows furrowed together with confusion. Though the expression looked a bit lopsided given the sizable bruise currently growing just above his brow. "Even though my dad was a bounty hunter too, he still had other ambitions to keep him going."
Although the unaltered clone didn't want to admit to it anyone out loud, he knew well-enough from personal experience that his father's unfaltering love for a family was largely a part that gave him the drive to do what he did. Jango had loved his son unconditionally, and Boba was forever traumatized upon seeing what unfortunate twist of fate had been in store for his dad at the hands of the Jedi. It was all terribly unfair, and Boba still struggled to come to terms with what happened all those years ago.
Bane looked up when he could sense the sudden wall of emotions about to crumble in front of him. The air felt taut with a smog of sentiments all of sudden. Though the moment of weakness was fleeting, as that very same wall was almost instantaneously built back up again and the façade of an unbothered son of a bounty hunter returned to the forefront once more. Just as he was about to say something else about current motivations, he was interrupted when Scarlett made a sudden return to the room.
"You wouldn't believe how difficult it was to ask for just a cup of ice…", she explained while stepping through the mess again, oblivious to the conversation she interrupted. She slightly shook the contents of the glass in her hand, the already melting ice cubes rattling around some. "This should at least take some of the swelling down."
Boba fought back the urge to smack the extended offer away this time, but he knew that likely wouldn't go as well with his mentor now standing in the room closely observing the entire interaction. He grumbled something under his breath, taking the chilled glass and holding it up his swollen eyebrow. He let out a wince when it made contact, the pain being evidence enough that the ice was very much needed to treat his wound.
This was a far cry compared to the treatment he received from Aurra, and he was internally struggling to come to terms with it.
"If yer' lookin' for a new assignment, we could use another hand", Bane then offered, finally moving further into the room after closing the door in case of any would-be listeners from out in the hallway. He knew the kid could use a bit of an ego-boost after failing a mission, and this was the perfect opportunity to do so.
Not only that, but he wasn't too enthused about taking Scarlett's ship on a potentially dangerous planet while his own was still stuck behind on Bora Vio with Todo and the twin droids. Her own spacecraft wasn't exactly bad by any means, but it was rather lacking in both of the defensive and offensive categories. If they ended up getting into any kind of trouble, then they wouldn't have much in the way of fighting back. It wasn't making him feel all too prepared with where they needed to go.
Boba raised a brow at the extended offer, thinking over what the mission could possibly entail after what he had already been told. "What's in it for me then? What sort of cut would I be getting?" he asked, slightly lowering the glass from his face. He wasn't expecting a whole lot from the credit-hungry Duros, but perhaps a twenty or fifteen percent at the very least.
"Oh, not a single thing. You'll be gettin' experience and tagging along with the best of the best", Bane replied with an impassive sounding tone to the extended offer. "Otherwise you can stay here and lick yer' wounds."
The teenager turned back around at his seat, looking at the unsent message still sitting on his communication device about his recent failure. He wasn't too thrilled about going on a mission without any promise of credits being thrown his way. But he also didn't want to stick around and anxiously ruminate on his recent failure. He didn't have any other missions on the backlog currently, so he couldn't distract himself with a new venture even if he wanted to.
He let out a resigned-sounding sigh. "Fine, I'll come along to help you finish your chores. But I want some more details about the mission first."
"We can discuss em' along the way", Bane countered back quickly, his impatience beginning to grow. He reached up to readjust his hat. "Get your stuff together and let's go."
Boba sent his message and got up from his desk before he began pulling some necessary things together from his stockade. Most of what he needed would be on his ship, but there were a few additional items he wanted to have on-hand. Although he was just told that details would be explained later, there was at least one thing he wanted to know. "At least tell me where we are headed then?"
"Kijimi", Scarlett answered, watching from the doorway as their new party member immediately paused midway from picking up a stray cloak from the messy floor.
The criminal haven of a planet was a familiar one to the young clone, as he had visited it a couple times before for some random stray bounties. But it's cold and inhospitable weather remained a frigid memory. He stood up, looking the two adults up and down with an acutely scrutinizing observation. "Dressed like that?"
"We can deal with that along the way as well", the hat-wearing bounty hunter sneered, his upper lip curling back to show sharp teeth before he moved away from the room to go stand out in the hallway instead. He was already well-aware they were going to need warmer clothes for where they were going, but he didn't need to be told what he already knew.
Boba just shrugged his shoulders, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his lips upon seeing how easily he had bothered his mentor. He was beginning to realize this mission was going to hold more entertainment than he originally thought fi that's all it took to get under Bane's skin. After getting his necessary things together and making sure the door to his room was properly locked, the three headed back towards Jabba's audience chamber. He led the way towards where his ship was docked, the two adults trailing behind him just far enough away.
Scarlett waited until they made some headway down the hallway before slightly leaning towards the still-peeved bounty hunter next to her so that her voice was at a whispering level. "You know, there's probably other ways to keep warm as well when we get there."
Bane's mood immediately shifted, though he remained looking mostly unbothered by the suggestive comment. Although he was keen on always putting his mission above anything else, he wasn't too opposed to the idea being proposed towards him. He clicked his tongue, keeping his tone at its usual since he knew it wouldn't sound like anything out of context. "Oh, I suppose we could arrange for that."
The two were interrupted by the sound of Boba fake-gagging down the hallway. He leered back at them with a glare that could have rivaled the blazing lakes of Mustafar. "You know I can hear you, right?" he said, his face crinkled with disgust upon hearing the two's flirtations.
One remained looking entirely unconcerned while the other did a poor attempt to hide an embarrassed face into a cough.