Hey all! Thanks so much for the reviews! As usual, they make my day! A huge thanks to all y'all who are letting me use you as sounding boards! You're the best! This chapter is a little thinner than the last and would have been up by now, but I had stuff and things going on!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OCS.

Chapter Five

Death House

Its pendulum swung to and fro with a dull, heavy, monotonous clang; and when the minute-hand made the circuit face, and the hour was to be stricken ~ Poe

Boba Fett brought Slave 1 down on the lighted docking platform and began powering down protocols. He pushed a series of buttons and watched the data screen feed out. Outside beyond Slave 1's transparisteel view screen, Nar Shaddaa's night was a sea of blinking neon lights and activity. Boba Fett stood. He had reattached his jetpack when he woke about twenty minutes ago. Boba Fett had used the trip to catch up on some much-needed sleep. He didn't sleep soundly in Jabba's Palace, even when his knee wasn't bothering him. It wasn't wise, too, even behind his own security panels. Grabbing his blaster rifle from the seat next to his, he headed for the back of his ship.

Narsha was the sort of place where even Boba Fett could blend into a crowd. Maybe not unnoticed by those that knew his armor. They gave him a wider berth, but to those who didn't know, he was just one in an ocean of many.

Some of the most wretched of the Galaxy called Nar Shaddaa home. Spice runners, slavers, smugglers, bounty hunters. And the "religion," peddlers who used their ability to influence others to pray on the weak minds of the lesser species of the galaxy then enslave them in mines. All other manner of the Galaxy's waste flocked to Nal Hutta's largest moon also. They came to the city moon to capitalize off the money you could make from Hutt's criminal enterprises. Boba Fett was no exception. He'd spent his fair share of time on the multi-level world.

Boba stepped off of Slave 1's loading ramp and pushed buttons on his bracer. The ramp closed, and the modified Firespray started its lockdown security procedures. Boba Fett Immediately started across the catwalk, his attention on the red glow and buildings of the sector rising before him. If anyone tried to gain access to his ship while Boba Fett was gone, they'd be met with a nasty surprise.

Jabba had sent Boba Fett to Nar Shaddaa to bring back Finnion Malin. Malin was a small-time Kiffer smuggler who owed Jabba a few thousand credits. This was the sort of bounty Boba Fett would typically ignore. The reward wasn't much, but he knew that he would be asked to do things he wouldn't usually do when he agreed to stay around. Boba Fett also had his own reasons for visiting Nar Shaddaa that had nothing to do with Jabba.

He knew Malin was holed up in the Red Light Sector. Boba Fett's private business had taken him to the Corellian Sector first. Even for those who lived here, the wise stayed out of the Red Light Sector. Boba Fett knew Malin kept company with the Echani madam at the Charnel House. Seldonia Ruskata's house was known for catering to all sentients of all types and aptly named for those who found themselves employed there. She was a shrewd and cunning businesswoman. Her beauty had also made her legendary. She'd managed to cut a living out of the decay of Nar Shaddaa's worst for herself. He'd ask how she allowed herself to get involved with a low-end smuggler like Malin if she wasn't the one who contacted Jabba with Malin's whereabouts. She at least knew when to cut her losses. She could have done so simply to avoid association and complications. Boba Fett suspected there was far more involved, however. It was never wise to associate with anyone Jabba was after. It meant you could become collateral damage quickly. Instinct told Boba Fett that this was somehow connected to Bib Fortuna and his subtle play for power. Fortuna had promoted the capture of Malin. Seldonia Ruskata might be easily convinced her interest lay with the Twi. Fortuna influenced a great many of Jabba's decisions and business holdings already. If Jabba ever figured that out quite how much he'd been led, Fortuna would pay.

Boba Fett had been told precisely where to find Malin and given a time frame. He was playing a game of Sabaacc in a backroom at the Charnel House. Boba Fett would encounter no resistance from any of the guards if he chose to enter the building. He planned to grab Malin after the game ended, however.

He headed in that direction.

XxX

Malin stumbled out of the backdoor and into the alley, with six other near humans. One of the red lights the district was named for illuminated the younger man's face. A cocksure grin turned up the edges of his lips as he nodded to one of them.

One of the tribal tattoos his people were known for marked his right eye in three diagonal slashes. He wore a large blaster pistol strapped to his hip, a tight leather jacket, and long hair pulled back in a ponytail.

"Better luck next time," he said to the Zabrak male in basic.

The Zabrak narrowed his eyes and stopped moving. "If I catch you cheating next time, Kiff, you're dead."

Cocky look still on his face, Malin lifted his brows.

There wasn't going to be a next time.

Malin watched the Zabrak for a moment, then turned and headed in the opposite direction. Just as Boba had expected. Malin's apartment was this way.

Boba Fett silently stepped out of his hiding place and directly behind Malin.

Boba grabbed the younger man and shoved him into the wall, divesting him of his blaster before Malin realized what was happening.

"Dank verik, let me go." Malin began to struggle as Boba yanked one of Malin's arms behind his back and pulled the cuffs out. He quickly had both wrists bound behind his back.

"Walk," Boba said, pressing his own blaster pistol into Malin's back.

"What do you want?" the other man asked, panic in his voice. "I can pay you."

Boba remained silent. Pressing the blaster deeper into the man's spine. "Walk."

This time the Kiff did as told.

"What is this about?" he asked, trying to twist his upper body so he could see who was behind him.

Boba Fett ignored the younger man's question, pushing him forward.

Malin did as directed; that didn't stop his mouth, however. "Who do you work for?" He asked a few seconds later, trying to twist around and see Boba Fett again.

"Take the alley," Boba said.

Boba felt Malin stiffen just as they reached the alley. Boba anticipated Malin's move from the beginning. He drove the younger man face-first into the wall. Malin groaned, spitting blood and teeth from his mouth.

Malin tried to throw himself back into Boba Fett's chest. Boba sidestepped, letting the other man fall to the ground. The Kiffer looked up at him, fear freezing on his bloody face for just a moment. He didn't move.

"You're," he started, not finishing.

"Get up," Boba said, deathly calm. He loomed over Malin.

Malin climbed to his feet. He spun around and took off down the alley. Boba Fett followed after him. Malin wouldn't get far, and at least he was moving, and Boba didn't have to listen to his incessant talking.

XxX

Kiya met Toroga's dark gaze as she ladled goulash into the bowl he held. Her brow puckered as the substance slid from the spoon. The thick grey mess made a squelching sound as it settled into the bowl. She waited as Toroga handed it to one of the guards. The Gamorrean gave it to one of the many waiting hands sticking out of the cell's grated door. Very little light filtered down the stairwells into the cavernous bowels of the palace. Slightly more lighted entered through the occasional tiny windows hewn into the sandstone walls, high above. It was far cooler here than upper levels, even without the help of a cooling system. Kiya would imagine it stayed that way until someone opened the blast door or used the motor pool.

Toroga lifted another bowl. Porcellus called the food goulash, but it wasn't so much really goulash as a goop. The previous day's kitchen scraps were all mixed together and cooked down. It had a starchy or sometimes noxious smell and, in fact, resembled a lumpy grey paste of some sort. Kiya lifted the ladle and dumped its contents into another bowl.

In the last eight days, Kiya's time had been split between the kitchens, serving upstairs and feeding the prisoners and the dancers. Her few stolen moments with Sarita didn't give Kiya much hope. Kiya refused to let the worry suck her in; Sarita appeared to grow more listless every day. At least the girl didn't seem to be using Spice, she told herself. Yarna had confirmed that for Kiya. Kiya also knew no matter her words; the Askijian dancer was equally as apprehensive as her.

Everyone kept in the cells ate one of Porcellus' similar concoctions once a day except for one prisoner. She had never seen whoever it was. They were in a cell by themselves. She did know they received whatever was being served in the throne room twice a day. Toroga served them by himself. Kiya wasn't allowed near the cell. And when she asked Toroga who the prisoner was, he said he'd never seen them either. They never spoke to him. Toroga was instructed to leave the food inside the slot in the bottom of the door.

Toroga did say he had seen Bib Fortuna leaving the cell before.

Kiya spooned more food into another bowl. Her attention drifted over the cell door then down the line of others. Behind each, at least one occupant made noise. A sense of hopelessness tried to settle over her. One Kiya quickly shoved away.

"Will they all really end up given to Jabba's pet?" Kiya asked. Phelgmin said they would. Kiya had already witnessed Jabba's taste for bloodsport first hand. Thankfully, she had only heard tales of the beast in the pit being fed people, however.

"Most," Toroga replied. "Others will die in these cells, and if one or two are really lucky, Jabba is just trying to scare them at the moment. And he will let them go." Toroga was quiet for another moment as Kiya filled another bowl. "If they're smart, they do everything necessary not to find their way back."

"Unlike the man hanging in the throne room," she observed. He wasn't lucky.

Toroga nodded his head and snorted in agreement. "That is Han Solo. The only reason he is frozen in Carbonite is that Fett brought him back that way."

Kiya tucked the name away, unsurprised to learn Boba Fett was the one to bring him in. The longer she was here, the more she learned about the man in the Mandolorian armor. The others talked about him in hushed tones behind their hands as though he might hear them. He was both feared and admired. Yarna was right; nearly every female present seemed to have an eye for him. Kiya's thoughts turned back to Han Solo.

"What else would he be?" Kiya asked about the one called Han Solo.

"Dead, maybe," he shrugged. "Who knows. I've heard it said that Jabba actually liked the Correllian smuggler before he ripped him off for ten thousand credits. He might have been the first male ever to find his way to the end of Jabba's chain."

So he was a Corellian smuggler. Han Solo. She searched her memory for any mention of his name. She wasn't surprised it was unfamiliar; many a Corellian turned into a smuggler. They were a restless race who generally made good pilots and were born with wanderlust. Her grandfather always claimed that's where Kiya's "free spirit and fearless nature came from." A smile slid across Kiya's features with the thought. Kiya never saw herself as particularly fearless. Her grandfather was just playful and liked to tease. He would go on to say her fearlessness had to come from the Corellian blood; the Hapan's were afraid of the dark. Her mother would scowl at him. The Hapan were uncomfortable in the dark for sure, but that had more to do with poor night vision.

The smile slid from her face and Kiya remembered where she was.

As far as she was concerned, a smart sentient would start looking for a way out of here upon arrival. Her mind shifted to observing the guards again. The Gamorrean species weren't the brightest stars in the night sky, on the whole. They did, however, follow instructions well from what Kiya knew. They made up the majority of the Hutt crime lords guard. Gamorreans weren't known for being overly observant either. The immediate problem was their number and their propensity for lurking. There was also the small army of droids Jabba employed.

They moved onto the next cell.

XxX

Boba Fett shot his grappling hook, done with playing games. The cord wrapped around the Kiffers legs, and he fell forward. The younger man coughed, flopping as far onto his back as his bound hands allowed. He coughed again.

Boba Fett approached Malin again. He had managed to struggle into a sitting position; blood covered his face, pieces of his long dark hair stuck to it.

He spit.

It landed on Boba Fett's boot. Boba looked down at the red glob dispassionately. His attention slowly lifted to the punk sitting before him.

The younger man gave him a cocky grin, revealing the set of bloody empty sockets of his recently departed teeth.

"Get up," ordered Boba Fett.

"How do you expect me to do that?" The kid asked, sarcasm dripping from his tone. His attention darted to the cord binding his legs.

He spit again, watching Boba Fett wearily as he continued toward him. Boba Fett moved behind the other man. He opened one of the pouches on his belt and pulled out a syringe containing the paralytic. He squatted. By this time, Malin was growing more nervous.

"Hey, what are you doing?" he asked, trying to see Boba Fett over his shoulder. Boba could smell Malin's fear now just as he could in the alley.

Boba Fett placed his hand on the other man's shoulder and pressed the syringe into his neck. He then tucked the syringe back into his belt.

Boba Fett straightened up, pulling his companion to his feet as he did so. He moved in front of Malin. Boba used the Vibro blade sheathed inside of his bracer to cut the cord. He met Malin's gaze as he tucked his knife back inside its sheath; the man's eyes were wide with fear.

"Turn around and walk, " Boba Fett said calmly.

Malin did as told.

He placed his blaster pistol in the small of the man's back anyway. "Take this right up ahead."

They made the turn before he spoke again. "Don't fight it. You have no choice. You will do exactly as I say."

It wasn't lost on Boba Fett that one of the last times he had used this particular drug, it hadn't gone well for him personally. For someone who wasn't even attempting to conceal his location from anyone, Malin was determined to get away when Boba Fett came for him. If he made a mistake on a rare occasion, Fett wasn't one who would repeat that mistake. The other doses Boba Fett possessed were locked away on Slave 1. He had only brought this one because of certainty; Malin would run even if at this late time. They always tried to run, even when they didn't have the whole of Narsha to hide in. Sometimes, like this one, Boba Fett simply allowed their futile attempts until he was no longer in the mood.

"Don't worry; I didn't give you a full dose. It will wear off by the time we reach Tatooine. Jabba is looking forward to your reunion."

Malin might have no control over his muscle function at present, but his emotions were still all his own. Now that Malin knew where he was headed, Fett could practically taste his fear.

XxX

Someone stumbled down the steps. Arms bound behind his back, he landed on his stomach on the floor at their base. He rolled to his side in the fetal position, violent coughs racking his body. The band stopped playing, and all noise ceased.

Boba Fett followed him into the room. Two Gamorrean guards were close behind him.

Boba Fett stopped beside the man. He nudged him with his boot. The man looked up at Fett for a long moment, then struggled onto his knees. Kiya thought she could see the black tattoo on his pale, bloody face. If so, he was a Kiffer. His dark hair was falling free from its ponytail. He spit blood on the floor as the guards yanked him the rest of the way to his feet. They dragged him until he stood on the grate directly in front of the Hutts platform, then forced him back to his knees.

Jabba's voice boomed in Huttese.

Bib Fortuna's voice quickly followed, leaving no need to try and translate.

"Our Most Illustrious Jabba would like you to know he is most disappointed in you."

Kiya knew just enough Huttese to know Fortuna paraphrased.

"I am sorry. If you would just give me more time," the man said.

Apprehension stiffened Kiya's shoulders and danced along her spine. In the cage below, something growled menacingly. Sarita was dancing nearby before the commotion started. She appeared at Kiya's side and grabbed her hand.

The young man looked about frantically, as if just now realizing his peril. He tried to stand. The Gamorrean guards each put a hand on his shoulders and pushed him back down.

"Wait! Wait!" He cried, struggling. "I can fix this! I'll get you your credits, Jabba!

Jabba replied again in Huttese. "Uba toooh alay jee gave uba andoba-doba chances."

"Jabba wait," he pleaded, continuing to struggle.

The trap door opened, and the man fell. Someone behind Kiya moved forward, forcing her and Sarita closer to the grate with the crowd. All was silent for a moment.

Then the sound of a blast door below opening was heard. The beast roared. The crowd began to cheer and taunt. Malina Carniss moved directly into the center of the grate, crouching down. She watched with avid enthusiasm.

The man screamed. A chill swept across Kiya's skin.

Still holding Sarita's hand, Kiya held her breath and turned her head. At least the crowd's roar drowned out most of the sound of bone crunching and flesh tearing. Kiya didn't open her eyes or breathe again until he stopped screaming. Yarna appeared at their side, Kiya let go of Sarita's hand. She looked up, her gaze colliding with a set of chipped green Mandolorian armor and whatever or whoever it was contained within. She stared into its dark visor for a moment, then looked away. Kiya quickly wove through the crowd and headed back to the kitchen.

XxX

Thanks for reading!

And another note: So, I'm just going to address Boba's "smelling fear." He can in Legends.