Author's Note: Who let this guy be so stubborn.

xxx

After dealing with the calamity that was nearly Scarlett's demise on the floor of the shipping factory they were within, the group went right back to work with finding the misplaced shipping container of the illicit material they were set out to find. If what the guard said about calling in reinforcements was true, then they were now working on borrowed time.

Boba ran over to the felled guard that had just been engraved with a blaster fire and knelt down to the spot where they fell. He grabbed hold of their wristcom decorated arm before activating the device they wore and flicked through a few buttons and screens. He was pleasantly surprised at the lack of immediate encryption halting any of his progress, but he figured that this place was hardly a shining example of what good security looked like. Dark eyes glazed over recently sent messages before he found exactly what he was looking for.

He briefly looked back behind him to where the two adults were still seated on the floor in front of one another. "It looks like more security is expected to arrive in about thirty minutes or so", the young clone explained. He debated calling back and stating that everything here was normal and under control after a slight weapons malfunction, but ultimately figured that it would likely cause more harm than good. There was no possible way that would actually work anyway.

Bane was a bit more reluctant to move from his current spot on the floor next Scarlett after checking to see she hadn't received a fatal injury. While he would never admit to it out loud, he let the warm palm of her palm linger atop his own for a few moments longer than he probably should have. Much to his own internal dismay though, he finally stood and returned back to the nearby display screen next to the depot. He was still needing to get the correct combination of letters and numbers to show where their missing package was located within the large room.

There was still a job that needed to be done if he wanted to get his ship in working order again.

After he scanned through the logs and found the right container, he glanced over to where Boba was standing expectantly nearby. "Go get your ship and bring it to the front of those large doors", he said, pointing a single finger towards the large intimidating set of the factory which allowed shipments to easily be processed through. "We can get it loaded onto a hovercart and be long gone before those reinforcements even arrive."

The last person of their party still remained seated on the floor, numbly watching as Boba tore off across the room with a new sense of ambition and pride kicking up behind him as he ran. Ignoring her own clouding reality of nearly succumbing to blaster fire just mere moments ago, she couldn't help but notice how much more the teenager's mood had improved since they first left Tatooine. The boy was nearly ecstatic to be working as a pupil to the experienced bounty hunter, that much was obviously apparent.

"Ya' gonna' sit there and just look pretty, or are ya' gonna' help?" Bane announced with a sense of urgency, heading towards the direction of the missing spice container. "Go activate that nearby cart and bring it over here."

She nodded, finally seeming to snap out of her daze. The sooner they got all of this done, then the sooner they could put all of this behind them.

Xxx

The rest of the mission went by without any more unexpected hitches. Which was greatly appreciated by the now somber group. Boba arrived with his ship just as Bane and Scarlett had finished loading the missing shipment container onto a hovercart. They were in the midst of activating the hangar doors just as the telltale signs of a ship engine was heard from the outside. The three quickly worked together to get everything loaded onto the pursuit craft and soon enough, the two main thrusters were roaring to life with their glowing circles of yellow. They made their exit cleanly and smoothly into the stratosphere.

The young bounty hunter raised an arm overhead from the piloting console to activate some of the ship's autopilot abilities after setting their coordinates back to Tatooine. Because the front of his ship only allowed for two seats up near the front, it meant Scarlett was currently resting within the pilot's quarters for the time being. But given everything that had happened, neither of them blamed her for wanting some alone time to herself.

He fell back into his chair with a giddy smile and did a quick fist bump into the air. This was the confident breath of fresh air he needed after his last mission failure. After feeling some of the ship's cycled warm air begin to encompass the space, he quickly worked to remove the heavier piece of winter clothing they needed for their mission. He threw it behind him on the floor somewhere without care, much like his teenage self usually did with the majority of his clothing items. There was a less-than shocking similarity to what the inside of his room and ship looked like.

Looking back over to the older bounty hunter, he was half-expecting to see the scar-ridden Duros to be doing the same. "You know, you don't have to wear that anymore now that we're away from that icy planet, right?..." he decided to tease, leaning back in his seat with a lopsided grin and putting his hands behind his head. There were few people in the galaxies that could tease Cad Bane and get away with it. "I don't need it back right at this very moment in time, but I think it's pretty funny to see that you're still wearing it."

Bane snapped his fingers a couple of times out of idle boredom, though he did find the question to be quite curious. "It ain't cold in here to you?"

Boba frowned at his answer and shook his head, looking over to the front screen to see that it was already displaying a fairly comfortable temperature. He looked back again when he heard the sound of clothing being rustled and he acutely observed as his mentor begrudgingly removed the heavier layer of reinforced leather. The Duros rubbed his arms up and down a few times before moving a hand towards his inner coat pocket.

The kid's eyes narrowed to see the familiar object and he was now regretting saying anything about the clothing. "Oh come on old man, I thought you said you weren't going to smoke in here", he said with an annoyed groan upon seeing the stick being lit up with its telltale orange hue. He knew that his ship's cockpit would be reeking of that cigarette smell for weeks now.

Bane took a drag from his cigarette, not even bothering to address the kid speaking to him.

Boba just shook his head with a sigh, mumbling under his breath quietly enough before moving forward in his seat again to readjust some of the ship's navigation controls. "Would the honorable thing be to smack that thing out of your hand?"

Xxx

After the short journey back to Tatooine, the warm and dry weather of the desert-like planet was a welcomed sight. After calling ahead to let Jabba know of their mission's success and that they would be arriving soon. The spacecraft was landed into a small, designated landing bay within the large structure of the Hutt's Palace. As with most places within the stronghold, it lack of good lighting was evidenced by the poor beams of light slipping between barred windows on the arched ceiling. Boxes and other wares were randomly strewn about with no real organization, and wires of various sizes hung about the room like some kind of urban jungle. The Palace may have held a high status within the criminal underworld, but the decaying condition of its architecture was certainly something left to be desired.

Boba and Bane had also discussed their next set of plans along the way. At the mention of needing to get back to Hondo Ohnaka to do the physical trade for the ship part in-person, the unaltered clone immediately held a look of discontent on his face upon hearing what was required next. The two mutually decided that Boba didn't need to come along for the next part of their mission, which the teenager was more than happy about. He agreed that he would help with off-loading the missing spice shipment, but then he was set to return back to his own bounty hunting schedule.

Just as the spacecraft descended, a couple of gonk droids as well as some DUM-series pit droids from the Palace's crew began working on refueling the ship the second it displaced its landing gear. A few of them were quickly shooed away to find an available hovercart in order to help move the heavy, precious cargo to wherever the Hutt had requested it to be moved.

Scarlett helped Boba as they carefully moved it down the open ramp of his ship. She watched with a smile as the pit droids approached with eager chirps and whistles. There was a sudden sense of familiarity upon seeing the same models of her own two. Momentarily she was ridden with a sense of heartsickness for her twin companions. Just as the cart was taken out of their hands into the awaiting hands of the workers, she grabbed her communications device and let out a sigh after seeing the dozens of missed calls and messages from the two.

Well, they certainly missed her too.

"Any idea what's wrong with him?" Boba suddenly asked, moving from one foot to another to shift his weight. He knew if anyone could figure out what was wrong, then it was probably going to be her. "I'm pretty used to him not being the most sociable person around, but his mood seemed to be worsening the closer we got here."

The woman's face contorted into a look of confusion for a second about who he was talking about as she stared at her screen. She looked around the open room to see who the kid was probably referring to. She didn't think much of it, but Bane kept himself away during the heavy lifting and had remained leaning against a wall while sucking down yet another cigarette. A slight hum sounded from her throat and she walked over to where he was.

The Duros stared ahead at nothing in particular while he tried to ignore the lingering chill that was wracking his body. He had noticed how much more sluggish he had been feeling since they left their previous destination. Ignoring the muffled-sounding voice behind him, he flexed his other hand that wasn't holding the cigarette and focused on the muscles feeling much more stiff than usual. Although he considered his older age often being a factor, there was a lingering thought in the back of his mind that this wasn't it.

The distant-looking bounty hunter hadn't even realized he had been lost within his own world of misery until he was snapped back into the real world again by the familiar voice sounding much more snippy with him now. He finally turned to immediately see the very concerned face of his partner looking quite a bit worried.

"I just asked if everything was okay? You don't look too good", Scarlett repeated more softly than her tone before. She easily evaded his hand trying to wave her away when she moved to press the back of her palm against his forehead. "Why didn't you say you were sick."

Bane recoiled a bit at the sudden display of care coming from someone else. Even if it was from someone he actually liked. It wasn't something he was entirely used to nor would he be certain that he ever would for that matter. It simply wasn't within his nature to have such sentiments towards another being.

"I'm fine", he hissed back through a curled lip, his eyes narrowing. It was an obvious lie and he knew she was well-aware of it as well. He ignored the other person putting her hands up on her hips and raising an all-telling eyebrow his way. There was no escaping her acute observation of his well-being. She had known far him too long now to sense when something was wrong.

Just as she was about to say something, Boba called out to them with a signaling wave. "Well then, if that's everything, I'm heading back now! Be sure to take care of the old man! I would like my competition to still be around when I finally pass him the bounty hunter ranks."

Bane merely nodded his way in acknowledgement before pushing himself from the wall. "Assuming yer' ship is still here and hasn't been torn apart for scrap by Jawas yet, we better get goin' to meet up with Hondo."

Scarlett only frowned as he moved past her towards the direction of the other hangar. She groaned slightly, knowing that his stubbornness for potentially being ill was going to be a battle and a half. But so long as she was the one piloting to their next destination and things remained fairly low-key on their journey to the new pirate base, she hoped he could improve with a little bit of rest.