A/N: Yay! Five days, that's more like it! Thanks for the reviews! Any mistakes are mine! I just wanted to publish!

So much love to my most amazing of Star Wars friends, my Kenobi fangirl! And the always amazing Ana! Go raibh maith agat!

And the same to you all!

Happy St Padraig's Day!

Chapter 14

The Devil's Dance Floor

The back of her hand over her mouth, Kiya yawned loudly. She made her way down the stairs; the circlet she wore last night dangled from her fingertips. The silver was warm to the touch. She removed it, when she let her haor down last night, tucking it between the pillows she slept on and the dais Jiliac occupied. All of the other Hutt's but Jiliac had returned to the throne room late yesterday evening. Once Fett had made several circuits of the room, he vanished as well. He was still absent when she woke this morning. Of course, Kiya didn't know if he returned and left again before she woke up, she was so exhausted she instantly passed out. However, she was not going to lament his absence. She reached up, brushing her hair behind her ear; the soft strands tangled around her fingers.

Her feet tapped softly on the steps as she reached the throne room. The frog-dog was up and sitting at attention on the landing where Jabba kept him chained. Kiya stepped inside, pausing just inside the door. Faint shafts of light, alive with dust motes made their way from the window openings somewhere above on the stairs. Sentients, humanoid and others alike, lay sleeping here and there around the room like every morning. It was almost like they purposely fell into little mounds when they passed out. Jabba slept on his platform like usual; his Kowakian Monkey Lizard curled up in his tail. Bib Fortuna slumbered on a cot directly in front of him. The two other Hutts dozed upright in their chairs.

Typically, the palace was far more awake than this at this hour. Maybe not the patrons, but at the very least, the servants were much more active. Truthfully Kiya was a little early, though. She looked about, brow creased, chewing on her lip as she searched for any signs of Sarita or Spiker but found none. She had searched the upper levels also. Jiliac hadn't left the upper chamber or sent Kiya on any errands last night, so Kiya had no idea what might have happened. She had woken by a gnawing ache in her stomach and the possibilities on her mind.

Kiya also didn't know if Spiker had access to a private room. The idea made a chill sweep down her spine. The best thing that could have happened for Sarita was if Spiker passed out, or so Kiya told herself. When you had no right to choose, there really were no best things or lesser evils. As terrifying a prospect as Spiker might be, there was always something worse.

Kiya quietly hurried back across the throne room to the stairs. She was hungry, but the immediate need to find Sarita outweighed that of her stomach. The kitchen and the dancer's pit were on the next level down, along with the pantry and kitchen storage. The Rancor pit entrance was as well, but you had to go down another level and then back up a designated set of stairs to reach it. There were several private rooms as well, but they left most of them empty. Yarna D'al' Gargan said Jabba liked to have everyone sleep in the same room because he didn't trust them. They only assigned certain sentients private rooms. Tessck, Jabba's Quarren bookkeeper, had his own room with a tank of water so he could soak, but all aquatics were allowed to use the tank. She also learned Boba Fett had his own chamber on that level. Kiya could suppose he had his own room for issues pertaining to his helmet. She, however, had no idea which room was his.

Kiya reached the end of the stairs turning right, making her way the short distance to he pit. The one named Neelah slept sprawled out on the lounge just to the right of the door. If you followed this narrow room clear to its end and went through the door, there was a small dormitory for the girl to sleep in. The blue Twi'lek singer named Lyn Me snored away softly on the cot nearest the just inside the dorm. The green-skinned Rodian she sang with laid with her head at the opposite end of the same cot fast asleep. Sy Snootles lay at an awkward angle across the next bed. Her round body lay in the center, her neck and legs hanging off both sides.

Kiya let out a sigh of relief, Sarita laid on her stomach on a cot at the back of the room. Her long dark hair hung in a loose tangle about her shoulders.

Kiya knelt down by the cot when she reached it. "Hey," she softly said, touching Sarita's arm. Big yellow eyes slowly blinked open and met hers. Kiya smiled softly. "How are you?"

Sarita groaned. Rolling to her back, she sat up. "Okay," she said shakily. She pushed her long dark hair back from her face with both hands, pulled her knees up in front of her, and wrapped her arms around them. She met Kiya's gaze again. "He passed out like you said."

Kiya climbed to her feet and took a seat on the edge of Sarita's bed, facing her. She sunk into the surprisingly soft mattress."Did he hurt you?" She asked apprehensively and held her breath. She studied Sarita's smooth features.

Sarita shook her head. "No," a puzzled look slid across her face. "He...was….," she began, her gaze fixed blankly on her blanket. "Even before I suggested he play sabacc for me. He touched me, kissed my forehead and cheek, but…," her words trailed off again. "He didn't really paw at me like the others."

Kiya nodded. She wasn't one for giving false hope, but she found herself doing it anyway. "That is good, right?" Kiya asked, knowing fully well that question wasn't as easy as that.

"I suppose." Sarita was silent for a moment then went on. "I'm sorry about what I said yesterday," the younger female began, meeting Kiya's eyes again. "I don't think you slept with Bib Fortuna."

Kiya snorted, she had forgotten about that. "Did Rystáll really say that?"

"Yes, but she doesn't like the possibility of anyone being even remotely above her."

One eyebrow arched. "You mean she doesn't like lowly servant girls being promoted so far above their own station."

"You should be careful with her, Kiya. She thinks everyone should know their place, and as far as she is concerned, Boba Fett is hers."

"And she's welcome to him." Though Kiya had no idea what that had to do with her.

"She was furious when she discovered you and Boba went on an errand for Jiliac alone. Yarna and Lyn Me say she tries her hardest to get him to show real interest in her, and it doesn't happen."

Kiya looked about around, ignoring Sarita. This wasn't the first time she'd been warned, and Kiya still had no idea how to respond. Fett had no interest in her either, nor did Kiya want him to.

"What do I do?" Sarita asked, her blue cheeks taking on a greenish tone. She squeezed her legs closer to her chest.

Kiya put her hand on Sarita's knees. She had no idea what to say. "Just keep doing what you did last night." Beyond that, Kiya didn't know. She would talk to Yarna and see if she had any ideas. But she didn't say as much. Hot anger started building in her chest.

"Bib Fortuna is going to be furious when he finds out nothing happened last night."

Kiya kept silent counsel about Fortuna and what she would like to do to him. "Maybe we could get Rystáll interested in Spiker," Kiya said mischievously with a shrug.

Sarita cracked a small smile.

"She likes the dangerous sort. Mind you, I'm not sure Boba Fett isn't a serial killer," Kiya began with a shrug. Her eyes twinkling as she went on, "or a Zilkin in a suit." She winked at Sarita.

"Why a Zilkin?" Sarita asked with a bemused smile on her face.

Kiya shrugged. "He's obviously hiding something inside that armor."

Sarita shook her head. A sick look slid over Sarita's face again, her attention focusing on a point over Kiya's shoulder.

"Come," Kiya said, standing. "Let's go eat breakfast."

XxX

Kiya left the dancers' pit, walking down the hall toward the stairs. The sleemo of a Twi' had found her and Sarita just as they were finishing breakfast. He had cast narrowed eyes on Sarita first as if trying to gauge if she had done as asked. Apparently, the younger female's disheveled appearance had been good enough for the moment. The second he left them, Kiya told Sarita to keep doing what she did with Spiker and let Bib think what he may. Again Kiya knew it was only a temporary solution if it worked at all. Kiya knew ultimately that was the only thing any of this was: a delay of the inevitable. Anger boiled up inside her again, Kiya only allowed it a moment's purchase, and she shoved it away. The hatred it left behind, she embraced.

He had also announced, "Her Most Devine Ladyship," had awoken early and decided to return to "her most magnificent of homes today."

In short, it was Kiya's responsibility to make sure her Ladyship was ready when she decided to depart. Kiya was also told to express "extreme gratitude for being bestowed the distinct honor of serving her Ladyship."

Kiya would like to ask him if he could be more revoltingly obsequious. Instead, she said, "yes, Your Greatness," with a placid serenity that surprised even her. She had seen the pause of suspicion in his own eyes.

She was on her way back to the kitchen to pick up a tray of food for Jiliac. The small hover sled they used for the kitchen blocked the hallway, loaded down with food. Kiya could squeeze past it or try but decided not to, she turned and headed down the dimly lit hallway at the foot of the stairs that cut this level in half. When she reached the corridor's end, she could turn left and circle back around to the kitchen. The passage was little used and lined with stacks of crates and cages of all kinds, some of them guided and just tall enough and wide enough for many human races to fit in. A shudder slid down her spine.

Kiya reached up, adjusting the strap of her dress. Today they gave her a linen dress that ended just above her knees, with slits up the sides, spaghetti straps, and an open strappy back, similar to her top yesterday. She couldn't say she would miss the clothing. That included these strappy sandals that didn't want to stay fastened. Her thick hair hung in a heavy braid down her back.

Kiya stopped, her gaze shooting upward as the strap on her sandal came undone. She growled in exasperation, mumbling obscenities under her breath. If this was a metaphor for how her day was going to progress, she did not want to know. Kiya lifted her foot up behind her, pulled the sandal off, and moved toward the wall. She bent over between two stacks of crates. Her braid flopping over her shoulder

The sound of voices reached her just as she slid the sandal back on.

"It has to be done today." A familiar voice said in hushed tones.

"And it will," the other voice said.

"It has to look like this was Fett's plan."

Kiya hunkered down, pushing herself farther into the wall. She finally recognized the voice, ice driving through her vains. Her heart began to batter against her ribs, trying to process what this influx of information meant. Cold doused her skin. She reminded herself if they found her, she would draw her last breath. She took a steadying breath; her first instinct was flight. She willed her nerves to calm, pressing harder into the conversation.

"Make sure you get to Fett first. You only get one shot at this. He won't leave the she Hutts side," Bib Fortuna warned.

The other one was silent for a moment. "I know what I'm doing," he spat, a nasty edge to his voice.

"Don't underestimate him," Fortuna warned.

Neither said anything. There was a rustle and then a metallic clink. A moment later, the sound of heavy footfalls reached her ears, retreating in the other direction.

The remaining speaker moved. Kiya held her breath, trying to make herself as small as possible. She watched Bib Fortuna pass. He paused at the bottom of the stairs looking around himself before he continued up them. After what felt like several minutes, Kiya slid out of her hiding place and hurried toward the main hall, slipping between the loaded hover sled and the wall to get to the kitchen.

When Kiya reached the foot of the stairs leading up from the landing at the throne room, a few minutes later, she had no more idea what to do with what she heard than she had in the immediate moments after.

She hurried up the stairs, she had to tell somebody. It was the only thing she could do. Kiya looked up to see Fett coming down the stairs. She slowed, looking directly at him, she hoped to catch his attention. She knelt down on one knee, pretending to fix the strap on her sandal like she had really needed to earlier. "I need to talk to you," she said softly when he reached her. She turned her head slightly, looking up at him. "It's important."

She didn't look to see if he followed, just moved into the hallway that led to the gaming rooms.

Looking in both directions, Boba Fett wrapped his gloved hand around her arm. He steered her further down the corridor and into a storage room. The interior light came on and he let go of her once they were inside. The door wooshed closed behind them.

The room was narrow and made even more so by the shelves in front of and behind them. The space felt even tinier with his presence. Kiya ignored the scalding heat blossoming on her skin and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

"I believe Bib Fortuna is planning to have you and Jiliac killed on the trip to Nal Hutta," she said without preamble.

Boba Fett's eyebrow lifted behind his helmet. He wasn't surprised. He had known something was coming.

"I heard him talking to someone downstairs this morning," she explained before he asked.

"Who?" he asked, studying her. There was a light dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose he'd never noticed before.

She shook her head. "I don't know. I didn't see him. I only saw Fortuna." She wouldn't have needed to see him to know him; his slimy voice is impossible to mistake.

"What was said?" Boba asked, then swallowed. His throat was starting to hurt; he rarely talked as much as he had the last two days.

"Fortuna told whoever he was talking to to make it look like you did it. He told him he only had one shot at this, and he better get you first."

He studied her scar for a moment."Why are you telling me this?"

She was silent, her dark brows growing close as her gaze dropped away. She looked back into his visor. "Honestly? I hate him." Open contempt burnt through her large pale eyes. "He is a monster."

That Fortuna was, but so was he. A worse one in many ways and not in others. Something told him she had no delusions about his character. She had recognized what he was when he delivered the Kiff to Jabba. He had seen everything she thought at that moment. She knew what he was capable of. This time she didn't look away. A moment later, a bewildered look appeared on her face. "And… oddly enough, I like her." She shrugged; a hint of the smile he had seen last night played about her lips. It disappeared quickly.

He continued to study her in silence. There was nothing in her mannerisms that made him think she was lying. In fact, instinct told him she wasn't. Rebel spy or otherwise, there was no viable reason he could come up with why she would tell him someone planned to kill him and Jiliac unless they were. She had to know the risk if this was some sort of ploy, and she was far from stupid.

"Say nothing; I'll take care of this," Boba Fett said at length, and she nodded in understanding.

Boba Fett turned toward the door. "You better go first." He pressed his jetpack into the shelf so she could move past him. Her skin colored again as she brushed against him. That same faint floral scent made its way under his helmet again and filled his lungs. She looked back when she reached the door as though she wanted to say something, but in the end, she didn't. She nodded at him, then punched the button, and the door wooshed open so she could exit the room.

Kiya hurried back down the corridor and into the main stairwell. She glanced over her shoulder out of the corner of her eye. He hadn't followed her, but she had assumed he would go in the other direction. Kiya took a deep breath as she reached the landing outside of Jiliac's room. The door wooshed open, and she stepped inside.

"They will send up—" Kiya's words trailed off when she saw Nola had already arrived with the requested food. Color fanned out across the unscarred side of her face. "It's already here, I see."

Kiya crossed the stone floor. The she Hutt was utterly unconcerned with Nola beating Kiya back to the room.

"Is there anything you need, Your Ladyship?" Kiya watched as Jiliac lifted a piece of fruit in one dainty green hand and plopped it into her mouth. She folded her arms behind her back like typical.

Jiliac's large orange eyes lifted to Kiya. They narrowed and slid down her form. "Haku uta-sha race?" she inquired.

"My mother was Hapan, and my father Corellian," Kiya replied, betting that was what she was asking. She continued to study Kiya shrewdly.

"Nind Fett an see beke bah ninished hu-parations," Jiliac said a moment later. "Joppay uba nind shash come oirectlee bata."

Kiya knew Jiliac wanted her to find Fett and check on preparations and come directly back without Nola's translation. It was on the tip of Kiya's tongue to tell her she had only just seen him, but she didn't.

"As you wish, my lady," Kiya said, her head bent. She backed away. There was no way he was done with preparation to depart unless he was lightning fast. She had left him less than five minutes ago. Fett had barely had time to make it to the ship, wherever that might be. She'd check the motor pool or landing pad just outside of palace.

XxX

Boba Fett silently climbed up the ramp of the small modified cargo ship. Jiliac upgraded the warp engines, added more gun turrets, and installed a new thruster and stabilizer system to make the old hulk more agile. Along with forward-facing canons. Even with all of that and more modifications, he always thought The Gambit was a slightly ludicrous name for the vessel. Then again, Hutts were nothing if not pretentious.

As evidenced by the extravagance found inside the hull of this ship. The interior bulkheads had been removed, and the durasteel hull was reinforced to keep structural integrity. Tapestries and decorations were nearly as plentiful here as they were in Jiliac's principal home, The Winter Palace. It was far grander than Jabba's seized monastery and cleaner. It even smelled less like a Hutt.

It would seem this particular Hutt and his futures were tied together. Boba Fett made his way down the main corridor to the cockpit. Since Jiliac had installed the ship-wide sensor array he had suggested, it would detect nearly anything that wasn't meant to be on the outside ship or anything foreign in its inner workings. The interior scanning was also capable but would only catch a certain amount of other things. Slave 1's sensors would tell him if it was half a gram off in weight.

Boba Fett grabbed the security datapad from the engineering console. He turned it on as he made his way to the pilot's seat, leaned his blaster rifle against it, and sat down. He plugged the pad into the console, and the screen lit with a schematic of the ship's vital systems and a header that said ES679-76R Light Carrier, Kuat Drive Yards in bold yellow lettering. There was also a list of all of its manufacturer's specs if he cared to look.

He didn't have to use this device in Slave 1; the ship's computer related all relevant data to him via a commlink. Boba Fett had also built the system himself to improve on the one his father had used.

Boba Fett leaned forward in the seat. The ship's power came on with the press of a button and started the scanning. Boba Fett observed the data readout for a moment. His thoughts traveled back to his other problem as he stood, convinced the system was going to run right. He unplugged the datapad heading for the access panel by the engine room's door. The slave girl overhearing Fortuna almost seemed too good to be true. In his considerable experience, that always meant that it was. He didn't believe in chance, and he didn't believe in fate. He believed in credits and that he mastered his own life. Above all, he believed sentients lied. All of them. Still, this time he thought she was telling him the truth. He had known Bib was planning something. All his intuition and all the intel he had amassed said as much.

When he reached the engine room control panel, he plugged in the pad again. He also wasn't surprised to find out Bib was going to try and take him out as well. He would like to know which of Jiliacs guards it was. It didn't matter, whichever it was, he was dead the moment he made his move. She had only brought two. One would pilot the craft and the other act as a guard. Jiliac couldn't have made it easier to murder her if she tried. The only other possibility was if Fortuna somehow managed to send a palace guard with them.

The sound of light footsteps on the loading ramp caught his attention. Far too soft to be one of Jabba or Jiliacs men, Boba turned on the scanner in his helmet. It brought a small view screen with an infrared image. It was her, the entire body was an image of red edged with yellow, but he knew it was. He had known it was.

Boba Fett continued monitoring the information displayed on the datapad as the steps stopped a few feet behind him. When he had finished the first part of the scan, he spoke. "Yes?"

"Jiliac wanted me to come and see how preparations were coming."

He lifted his eyebrow and turned his head enough to see her in the edge of his visor. Just like a Hutt. Always impatient. "Tell her it takes as long as it takes." Boba Fett went back to what he was doing.

After a moment, she started to turn away. Boba Fett was aware she paused again like there was something more she wanted to say. She took three steps and stopped a second time. "The trip will be over quick, right?"

Boba ceased monitoring the screen. He turned and looked at her. He knew she wasn't just making polite conversation. "You care?" Her question surprised him.

"Yes. Strangely. Though it wasn't expected."

He preferred Jiliac to most other Hutt's, including Jabba, but Boba Fett wouldn't use the term like. He did, however, intend to make sure she kept her large carcass breathing at least until he left Nal Hutta. "Yes."

He continued to hold her gaze through his visor. A red light on the data display blinked, pulling his attention down. He tapped a button on the side of the pad, listening as she walked away. There was foreign matter on the right forward thrust capacitor. He dismissed the alert with a touch to the screen, it was most likely just oil from cool down, but he still needed to check. As long as it took might be a long time.

Later That Day

Kiya finished tucking the box that contained the jewelry she wore last night into the same box that held Jiliacs headdress. Fett stood just to the right, watching. He needed to be there for the final check. Kiya finished, closing the lid, she glanced over at him as she finished.

Kiya stepped back. Her gazed drifting along the line of his battered helmet as he lifted that box into another and locked it. The chipped paint and dents told their own story about the creature within, as did the ones on the rest of his armor. And contrary to what she said earlier, she didn't think there was a Zilkin under it. She wished yet again she could peer past the blackness and see him. He gave no outward indication they had spoken twice earlier today, not that she'd expected any. She hadn't told anyone, but she wanted to know if he'd tell Jiliac. She was also surprised how difficult it was not to tell Jiliac. It also occurred to Kiya today that she had stopped thinking of the female Hutt with derogatory connotations.

Jilaic would be leaving any moment now, and Kiya would go back to the kitchen. The knowledge left her with oddly mixed emotions. Maybe that was because she had come the closest to having freedom she had had in years, in the last few days. She was appalled with herself that she found even loosened bonds of servitude synonymous with any sort of freedom.

Kiya moved back further, turning her attention to Jiliac.

"Jee-jee doo oom-adied, girl, stang bu box an come."

XxX

Sláinte!

Slán go fóill!