Chapter 74 - Carbonite!
"Quiet!" Boba shouted and he slammed his fist down to make his point. The prisoner stilled, breathing heavy in anticipation. Boba held up a finger. "You're worth a hundred thousand credits as you are. Those force-cuffs are worth five thousand, and that room you just tossed trying to escape was worth another ten. You get too expensive to keep, I may just decide to forget about the bounty and kill a few Jedi.
The boy spits. "Go ahead and try. You wouldn't stand a chance against my master."
"Oh. I've been killing Jedi since before you were born, kid. There's nothing that makes me happier than to slice off their limbs, shoot their insides full of holes, or burn them into a pile of ash. But for the moment I'll be happy with your bounty." The prisoner's eyes went wide, and he seemed to realize his position.
'Good,' Boba regretfully thought. Sure, he'd prefer to do everything he just said, but it would be bad for business. He had so many contracts with the Empire, to anger them now would not be good. And he'd already told them he could deliver the little scum rat. 'If only there were a way to stuff prisoners into the hold. Then I could go out and have a little hunt.'
"Lemal. What is going on?" Boba shouted at his man outside.
"Sir, something's wrong."
Boba sighed, and he got up to stick his head out and yell at the man's incompetence. Lemal was really not that incompetent. Well, maybe at being a warrior, he would be. But the man was hired to fight with his skills instead. In their business, it would be so simple if every bounty was dropped off in a field, ready to be chased after and captured by the strongest hunter. But often they require tracking down first. Having a man skilled in hacking computers certainly makes the tracking easier, and Lemal was a very competent hacker.
He was so competent, infact, that when Boba came across a job for someone to hack Cloud City, a city almost entirely run on computers, Boba thought of Lemal first. Sure, it was strange for a bounty hunter to consider this type of contract, but then he could think of the city as a person on the run, and the bounty he would receive for this city was substantial indeed.
So he ordered the hacker to come with him to Bespin. Lemal was too valuable an asset to send out without a guard, and most of his men were too brash and illiterate to even come close to understanding what Lemal was doing. Not Boba though. He still remembered his instructors on Kamino. Sure, it was with his own Buir's other clones, but in a place like Kamino, the only other choice would have been a class of Kaminii. In those classes, he remembered being more interested in the mechanics of starships than in computers, but some of the fundamentals did stick.
And so, while Lemal had laid the groundwork in hacking the system, Boba could do some of the work too. That way they'd get this job done faster. Boba had been reading bounty bulletins, looking for their next job when they finished this one, while monitoring the feedback from the cyborg, Lobot, when this all began. Lobot was easily programmed to do certain tasks for them, getting them practically into places in the center of the city, where otherwise they'd have to risk leaving their hideout to do so. When Boba looked up to check the readings, Lando Calrissian was sending his Cyborg a message. 'Han Solo. Where did I read that name before?' It took Boba only a little backtracking to find the builitin for the man, and suddenly this job was looking twice as profitable.
Of course Boba would never have thought to send the cyborg to collect their bounty, but Lemal was a genius. The empire had asked them to alter certain drilling schedules to suit their needs. Lemal figured out how to alter the very data Calrissian was approving. Thus they could get him to approve only the deals that suited their benefactors.
And so, Lobot had been charged with bringing in the Pirate, Han Solo. Boba had only just barely contacted the guild to promise delivery, when the Empire called him back. They wanted to know everyone the pirate was traveling with. Boba gave them a list of names, and they replied back with prices. 'Obi-Wan Kenobi: 1 million, dead or alive. Anakin Skywalker: 5 million, dead or alive. Any other Jedi, 500,000, with proof of lightsaber. Luke Skywalker: 100 million Alive.'
Boba couldn't imagine what the Imp's wanted with a single Jedi, or why the order was so specific for him to be alive. He didn't care about any of that. The bounty for him was huge, especially to a man living one bounty to the next. He used the interior city sensors to detect Luke's location and fortunately, the lad was headed directly for them. Oh, sure that price was more than he quoted to the prisoner, but then in Boba's experience, it rarely was beneficial letting a captive know how valuable he or she really is.
And that's how Boba got here, waiting on his ship for Lemal to finish up. Luke was imprisoned in his cockpit, and now Lemal was cringing over another issue outside.
"What is wrong? I already commed the Empire letting them know to expect another delivery. We need to get out of here now," Boba urged.
"Do you remember the original personality for the Lobot cyborg, the one I trapped in backup memory files." Lemal winced. "He's escaped. And now the codes I put in for your ship to be able to come and go from the hangar above are gone."
The Mandalorian Bounty hunter shut his eyes. He imagined his Buir beside him now. "K'uur jii ner ad. Cuyir kovid, par gar buir cuyir olar." His father had often spoken in the old Mando'a to him. Boba still remembers those words first. "Hush now my son. Be strong, for your father is here."
Boba sighed. 'If only. Buir, If only that were true.' "Alright. What are our options?"
"We could take one of the transport freighters," Lemal suggested.
Boba nearly wrinkled his nose at the suggestion. "Fine." It was a poor trade, one of these shipping canisters for his beloved ship, but then he supposed that with the kid's bounty he could afford to replace her.
After confirming that Han was not permanently injured by the stun weapon, Anakin and Obi-Wan sat him to rest in a large chair in Lando's office. They then gathered around Lando, and a few of his men to discuss the upcoming mission.
Lobot approached them with a holo projected from a handheld computer.
"Bounty hunters are notorious for their cynical tendencies. It is unlikely that they will be willing to just hand young Skywalker over. Even to the Empire. They will, instead, contact another member of the guild to act as a witness to their exchange, which they will do on neutral ground."
"Neutral ground. That could be anywhere without a strong enough Imperial presence," Obi-Wan pointed out.
"Um-hmm." Lobot seemed to be enjoying this. "Almost anywhere, unless one were to put a tracer into the ship they were activating as they were taking off."
He smiled and Anakin smiled with him. "You didn't! So where are they going?"
Lobot referenced the Holo he was holding. "It is a derelict shipyard floating on the edge of its galaxy. Pirates have claimed one of the larger vessels as a hideout. One of the guild members also has a background in piracy, you see."
"This looks simple. We can break through several points and attack them all at once," Anakin suggested, looking at the holo.
"Not so simple, infact." Lobot winced. "They have a powerful force field. One that came off a battlecruiser. And a powerful lifesigns detector. I will likely only be able to bring one of you in with me, when I go to bring Han there."
"Are you sure they don't know you've turned around?" Anakin asked.
"I am sure. I was able to fake the data." Lobot answered. "They will still want to receive the bounty on both men, and should lower their shields for my arrival. If I have one of you, instead of Han with me, they should be unaware until we land. Which one of you will come with me?"
Han and Anakin looked at eachother, each preparing for that silent argument.
"Why does it only have to be one of you?" Lando asked. Lobot took a breath to begin explaining it again, when Lando continued. "No, I know about the Lifesigns detector. But can't Jedi make their lifesigns disappear? By meditating or something.
Obi-Wan turned to Lando, confusion in his brow.
Han laugned from his chair behind the desk. "That is a myth, my friend."
Anakin, however, eyed Lando's desk when Obi-Wan turned. He looked back up to them all and before he even said anything, Obi-Wan groaned. There was a glint in his eye and a smile on his face. "What if there was a way to make all our lifesigns disappear, and get us in there without anyone noticing?"
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Lando asked. "Those chambers are designed to freeze inert materials for transport, not living beings."
"A few modifications should make the process a lot less risky." Anakin answered, sticking his tongue out as he concentrated on the modification he was making to the Carbonite encasement apparatus.
"Less risky isn't the same as no risk," Lando said.
"Thank you sir, I had been making the same point for the last decade," C3-PO injected from where he stood to assist.
"You ever been a parent?" Anakin asked.
Lando shook his head. "Gosh, I hope not."
Anakin hummed. "When you are one, there's no risk too big. Nothing you wouldn't put on the line for them."
Lando nodded, and slapped Anakin's shoulder. "Your boy is lucky to have a father like you. I don't know if I would have the strength to do the same."
"I had a good Master, and I follow his example, more than I'd like to admit sometimes." Anakin raised his voice, and said so the larger room could hear, "I think we're done." He placed the cap over the part he was working on, then stood up and stepped back.
"Alright then, we'll be on our way." Han Solo walked into the room, to the surprise of everyone.
Chewy was the first to vocalize, "Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaah"
Leia then burst into the room, "Han!"
"I'm feeling better now. Besides, it's for Luke. They are expecting me to be riding with Lobot, aren't they?
"Well," Obi-Wan drawled.
Leia turned to glare at her father and uncle.
"It will give us more time to come out of the carbonite and recover from any hibernation sickness we encounter, if we don't have to fight immediately upon waking up," Anakin said.
"But Han, this isn't just a few goons you'll be handed over to. The place will be filled with Bounty Hunters, Pirates, and Stormtroopers," Lando thought he'd help Leia out. She gave him a short two second's of eye contact, and a silent thanks.
"And when have you known those three groups to play well together," Han walked around the room. "Besides, I say again, this is for Luke."
Leia stood nervous on the platform around the machine that would freeze them in Carbonite. Her father, of course, would be testing the system first. Her Uncle Ben pointed out that they did this before to get past enemy lines during the war, but that was a Republic system, not one her father fused together from flimsy mining equipment.
Anakin walked up to hug her before he would step into the chamber. "Honey, I love you."
"Dad, I don't understand why I can't be going with you."
He stopped her with a hand. "Because, if this doesn't work out, I'll need you to report it to the alliance. Here." He handed her a data chip. "I've left messages on here for everyone, including one for your mother."
Leia started to cry. "Dad, they've taken Luke. I can't lose you too."
Anakin hugged her. "Don't worry baby. I won't let them hurt your brother." He kissed her forehead, and turned to step into the chamber.
Lobot operated the mechanics, and steam filled the chamber immediately. Then a large machine reached down with metal hooks and lifted out of the steam a large metal block. It unceremoniously dropped the block on the ground in front of them.
Leia nearly squealed when she saw her father's face in the carbonite. Han grabbed her and held her back, while Lando and Obi-Wan knelt near the block.
"He's alive," Lando confirmed. Obi-Wan nodded in agreement. Lando got up to usher his men to move the block to the ship's cargo hold.
"I guess you're next, chap." Lando said to Obi-Wan.
After Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Chewbacca, because nothing could keep the old wookiee out of trouble, were loaded onto the ship. All encased in carbonite. Lobot said farewell to Lando, and he walked onto the ship. Leia stood there next to Han solo. She eyed the carbon freezer again.
"Don't you think about it." Lando said. "I am under strict orders to keep you here."
Leia rolled her eyes, like she didn't seriously think about jumping in, and force-pulling the lever to activate the freezer. "Wait," she grabbed Han before he could board the ship with Lobot. "I-I" she stuttered. Then she reached up and planted a kiss on his lips. "I love you."
"I know," he said. Then he turned around and walked up the gangway.
Leia was left standing there, feeling a bunch of rushed emotions. A thrill of expressing herself, and frustration that he didn't reply. 'Well, not really, anyway. I know! What kind of reply is that?'
Hello Everyone,
I am sorry about the wait. I was going to do it with just an OC Hacker, but then Thief39 from AO3 suggested Boba, and I got to thinking. It is an unusual case for the Bounty Hunter to be on, but then I found a way to explain it, and I hope it makes sense.
This is the first time I am writing a Mandalorian character. I used a Translator online for the language. It still amazes me how many odd translator's there are online. If I got anything wrong that you can spot, please do correct me.
In the next chapter they will be going to rescue Luke, and Boba may learn something new. I have no idea how far I'll be able to go in the next chapter until I write it, but that's it basically. See you all then.
