Chapter 9: Tracking Quarry

Brendach VI was a sparsely settled mining planet on the edge of the expansion region. Its two continents were mostly red in color with sparse patches of blue and green on the outer reaches of the landmasses and separated narrowly by a strip of ocean that was daily crossed by the miners who ferried back and forth.

From the viewport, Obi-wan and Jango could see the increasingly clear view of Braeila. The capital city and only spaceport on Brendach VI. Its beauty was the jewel of the expansion region. For what they lacked in industry, the planet made up for in the artistry of its city.

She was very eager to walk around. It had been so long since she could enjoy some simple beauty in the world around her. So, as soon as they were docked with a whole week of parking rented out, she practically ran down the ramp into the red sand below.

Jango had felt a week would be sufficient enough for the task at hand. He also insisted that the two of them go out armed. This was despite Brendach only having a three on the galactic wide danger scale, as opposed to the five of Courascant and the nine of Rattatak. She rolled her eyes at his worry and strapped her blaster and her kal (knife) in place under her sun cloak.

Braeila was a beautiful city. Care and dedication were starkly apparent in the city's meticulous construction. Their famous, masterful carvings were everywhere, even the most simple handrails carved into intricate geometric patterns. Its wide avenues of tan and red sandstone contrasted with the brightly dyed fabrics of blue and purple that provided shade from the pounding sun overhead.

Yet, even with the intermittent shade, Obi-wan was quickly feeling the heat. Neither of them had desert clothing, as most spacer clothing was quite warm. The vacuum of space and the poor insulation of ships meant that it was needed. However, the warm clothing was a detriment now, which meant yet another market trip.

She worried that they were investing too much money into just getting the job done, even if there were no severe complications. But, improper clothing would just make everything that much more challenging. Almost as if it were summoned by her thoughts she just felt something run down her back. She was unsure if it was a bug or a bead of sweat, either way, she was ready to buy some new, weather-appropriate clothes.

She turned from looking at the architecture to Jango, who was already looking her way. "Let's head to the market."

"Good idea we can gather information and eat while we're there."

"And get some better clothes. These are already starting to stick to my skin. We haven't even been out of the ship for an hour yet."

"That's fair," he chuckled. "What do you want to eat after we get desert gear?"

"I don't know. Maybe we should just walk around and see what they have. I know I'm looking forward to fresh fruit again. They didn't have much of it on Navarro."

This was the perfect opportunity. He could get Ben something she liked and further their investigation. If they were going to make their money back on this venture, they needed to move quickly, but that didn't mean his two goals couldn't further each other at the same time.

He took Ben's hand as they neared the entrance to the market. She raised a brow, smirking at the gesture. He simply smiled, daring her to pull away. She huffed a little pulling him towards the market.

Each stall was made of the same red stone the town's buildings were. As they passed several, he noted how each was carved into different geometric patterns to reflect what was sold at each.

It was fascinating to see the practical mixed with the grandiose artistry that he was swiftly learning was par for the course for this planet. He didn't really care for it, but Ben seemed to be in awe every time they turned a new corner. He smiled at her obvious enjoyment.

At the clothing stalls, he quickly settled on a simple loose tan top, light brown trousers, and a cream-colored hooded poncho to protect from the sun and cover the blasters on his hip. Handing over the credits to the stall's owner, he asked if he had seen anyone fitting the Princess's description. At his answer of no, he frowned and turned to find where Ben had wandered off to.

He found her at another of the clothing stalls. Pausing he watched to see what she liked. He watched her finger a richly embroidered tunic dyed a deep purple before moving on to the next garment. She questioned the quality of each with the lady working the stall. The woman gestured to a royal blue flowing set with gold accents. When Ben asked the price, she frowned and turns away.

This is when he moves closer and asks, "Ready to go eat?"

"I haven't found anything to wear yet."

"Don't worry. I'm sure after we've eaten and you've had a chance to think on it, you'll know what to come back for." She gave the blue tunic set a longing glance. Then sighed and started walking with him towards the food stalls at the other end of the market.

"Do you like spicy food," he enquired. Mentally crossing his fingers. He let out a breath with her reply.

"Of course! I like most food, but bland food can get tiring after a while. If I'm being honest." She turned towards him, a slight pinch between her brows. "I learned early to eat everything put in front of you because there are times when food isn't as plentiful as one would like."

He found himself frowning again. Just when he thought he had heard the end of her nightmare of a childhood, something else would come out. That settled it. He was getting that blue tunic for her. It would hopefully make her smile.

They found a stall that sold kabobs of differing varieties. Each individual could pick from the standard varieties listed on the menu, or they could pick out their own. He had several varieties of local plants and some bantha chunks on his, while Ben had opted for their fish and vegetable kabob. When she had nearly finished, he made the excuse of needing the fresher and scrambled to get back to the stall with the blue tunic.

In his haste to get to the stall, he nearly knocked over a girl with long black hair braided down her back. Her dark eyes widened over the star embroidered balaclava she wore over the lower half of her face.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to knock into you," he apologized.

"It's alright," the girl muttered, voice barely over a whisper. She nodded to him over her shoulder as she moved further into the market.

Glancing back towards the lady at the stall. He pointed to the blue and gold tunic set. "That one, please, and could you wrap it?"

Obi-wan was looking over some real paper books at an antique stall when Jango returned.

She had only seen them in the climate-controlled rooms in the Jedi Archives. It was rare for places to create them as the information stored on this form could so easily be lost. The holonet and other digital formats made the maintaining and transfer of information much more straightforward, and secure.

The light tap on her shoulder startled her out of her train of thought. She, startled and quickly turned towards him. His face was pink in a way that had nothing to do with the heat. As he held out a package wrapped in brown paper.

She reached out to take it, incredulous as to why he had bought her something.

"Um… this is for you. I saw you looking at it earlier, and I thought you would like it."

She smiled as she tore through the paper, and her breath caught.

It was the bright blue tunic set she had eyed earlier. She had passed it up because of how expensive it was due to the hand-embroidered gold patterns around the hem and collar. She felt her throat go tight at the touching gesture.

"You didn't have to."

"I wanted to."

She looked at her feet before looking back up at him. Her cheeks had gone hot. That was so sweet of him.

"There are some changing rooms over by the clothing stalls. Let's change, and then we can talk to the local sheriffs."

"Sounds like a plan."

An hour later, they were in the sheriff's office requesting access to the security network for a facial recognition run for Princess Breha. There was, after all, no guarantee that she had remained on Brendach VI as soon as she had landed.

The man working the welcome desk in their office had been reluctant to allow them access to the holonet ports. That was until they had shown the bounty hunting guild's official tracking fob. Then they were hurried into a room with several holonet ports and directed to the security ports.

The two spent the rest of the day running different facial recognition sequences through their system. Watching several partial matches walk around the town until they got a clear shot of the individual's face so they could move on to the next person.

They had gone through five different girls when they finally found her. She exited the transport and walked into the market.

One of the attendants came in to tell them that they were closing in 5 minutes and they needed to shut down the holo port.

They hurriedly speed up the footage. Watching as the Princess buys in cash all the supplies to camp in the desert, some stable rations for outdoor eating, desert clothing, and finally a star-patterned Balaklava.

"Kriff," Jango exclaimed.

The two return to the station early the following day, as soon as they open.

They watch as Princess Breha on the security cameras bumps into Jango and starts to run as soon as she is out of his line of sight. They take note of the direction the speeder traveled in as she fled the town into the deserts beyond.

"Well, I guess we're camping, my dear."

Large columns of red rock jut out of the russet sands like fingers reaching for the sky. Small scrub grasses and stunted trees dot the sands with rare flecks of precious green. There wasn't a drop of water in sight.

They had driven out following the trail of blown dust left from the Princess's flight from town till it went cold about an hour's ride outside of Brealia. His best guess was that she had headed into one of the canyons just visible to the naked eye.

They had taken a pause for lunch as the sun grew to its zenith in the sky above them. They had set a tarp up over the speeder, staking the other ends into the red sand to provide some shade. After eating, they worked on planning their next move.

He had spread their map between them on the ground. Gesturing to it he reasoned, "She's going to be camping near one of the small streams featured here." He pointed to the thin lines of blue approximately two hours' ride off the trail.

"Yes, but where along it is the question. Did any of the information that accompanied the fob indicate a level of survival training?"

Turning, he pulled the fob back out and scrolled through the information available. "It just says that she went through the standard education for a Royal of Alderaanian birth."

"Well, that's going to be a problem then." Ben sighed.

"Why aren't Alderaanians pacifistic?" He was confused at how she could be a problem if she wouldn't fight them.

"Alderaanians live by the sentiment 'do harm unto no one, yet let no harm come unto you or the innocent.'. This is very different from pure pacifism like the New Mandalorians wish to live by."

"So, she's going to put up a fight."

"Looks like it." She stated, tone all blasé. He sighed at hearing that.

He didn't like this. This hunt was shaping up to be much harder than the one he and his Buir had gone on. Perhaps that was because he was doing this from scratch and without his beskar'gam (armor).

He exited their makeshift tent to return the fob and the map to the speeder's saddlebag when he saw it. Smoke in the distance.

"Ben," he called.

"Yes?"

"Could you come take a look at this, gedet'ya (please)?" She crawled out of the tent. While he waited for her eyes to adjust. Then he pointed in the direction of the smoke. "What do you think? Trap?"

"Oh, undoubtedly. But we're still going to investigate, correct?"

He pursed his lips. "Unfortunately, but let's wait out the sun. She's probably counting on us being tired when we get there."

Ben pulled out their compass to take note of the direction they should travel in. " ten or eleven miles?"

"I'd say ten, but we'll find the fire eventually. No worries."

When the heat of the day had wanned some, the two of them had packed up their gear and set out towards where they had seen the smoke. It didn't take long to find the remains of the campfire in a narrow canyon where a small creek flowed.

Jango leaned down, placing a hand to check if the coals were still warm. Ben had been scouting the surrounding area for signs of where the Princess had gone when she had vacated the area.

She glanced over at him and then at the high walls of the canyon. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"I'm sure it's fine," he offered, but even he had been growing uneasy as they had entered the tight confines of the canyon. He felt like prey wandering into a trap. The anxiety continued to build as he stood up, and heard the sound of a revving engine.

They looked up and a woman's voice screamed, "Leave. Me. Alone."

It was the Princess. She was backlit by the waning light at the top of the canyon, like some sort of vengeful angel. She raised her arm, and Jango realized in that split second that she was holding a detonator. He felt a bolt of terror jolt up his spine, and he could only think of one thing, Ben.

Turning, in a moment that seemed to last an eternity he tackled her, eyes screwed shut. Time seemed to resume as they both hit the ground just in the nick of time. The explosion rocked the small canyon. There was a roar of rock falling, and sliding into new positions. Debris rained down all around them, pelting his back and head.

His heart was ready to jump out of his chest when he opened his eyes after a long moment.

Everything had settled, though the air was still thick with dust. He let go of some of the tension he'd been holding on to.

Ben called to him softly, "Jango, she's getting away." He glanced down at Ben, realizing just what position they were in.

He covered her more petite frame entirely. Her face was flushed under the coating of dust, and her lips. Her lips were mere inches from his. He swallowed hard, eyes flicking from her eyes back down to look at them. She looks so mesh'la (beautiful), even as covered in dust as she is. Kriff.

"Jango, she's getting away."

She felt a sudden thrill run up her spine as his dark eyes flick down to look at her lips. This close, she can see they're not all chocolate-colored as she first thought, but filled with flecks of amber and gold. She feels her heart speed up at the realization that she wants nothing more than for Jango to close those last few inches between them, Code be damned. Then as quickly as the moment built, it's over.

Jango pulled away and stood up as if he had been burned, eyes wide. "Kriff. I'm sorry, Ben."

She stayed on the ground for a minute, bereft of the warmth she had felt just a moment before. It had been replaced by a fragile ache. She wonders if she had simply misinterpreted everything that had been building between them for the past month. She swallows hard, eyes screwed shut for a moment.

"Ben, are you hurt?" Jango had knelt beside her when she hadn't gotten up as he had. Concern was written on his face, and he extended a hand to help her up.

"No, I'm fine." She stood, ignoring his extended hand. She felt a little shame when his face fell, but she quickly pushed it away. Dusting off her clothes as best as she could, she moved towards their speeder.

Thankfully it hadn't been damaged. However, their route towards where Breha had fled was blocked by rubble. She grabs a rag from the speeder's side bags to wipe at her face quickly to hide her frustrated tears.

She could hear Jango come up behind her. "Let me," he says, reaching to take the rag. He gently wiped the rest of the dust from her cheek. "There," he murmured fondly, pausing to swipe his thumb across her chin.

She stepped back, cheeks aflame, and cleared her throat. "Uh, we should get going if we're going to catch up to her." He frowned, disappointed, but nodded his assent.

They retraced their route in the fading light, ultimately choosing to camp in the canyon alongside the creek. The canyon would protect them from the harsh desert winds at night, and they would have a steady supply of water in the morning. This would be needed to refill their canteens.

As the two bedded down in their tent, each wrapped in their respective bedrolls, Obi-wan thought back on the day. Maybe she should have closed that gap between them. Perhaps he would have kissed her back, but she'll never know. The ache behind her ribs grew.

Jango lay in his bedroll looking at the tent's ceiling for a long time, kicking himself. Where had he gone wrong? He had been trying to take things slow. He bought Ben a courting gift that she seemed to like. Everything had been fine when they had investigated the Princess and later when they had first seen the smoke trap.

Ka'ra (stars), he had been frightened out of his mind at the thought that he might lose her. He worried that he had hurt her when he tackled her, attempting to shield her from the blast. Maybe that's why she had pulled away from him the rest of the afternoon? He ached to know, so he could fix things. He sighed. These things would not be fixed today. So he rolled over and slowly fell asleep.

The morning saw them up with the sun and on the trail as soon as they could safely maneuver the speeder. He felt Ben climb on behind him, hugging his waist as they took off. Over the wind, he cried, "She can't have gotten far."

It only took them an hour to catch her trail, as she had left several false ones. But soon they were zooming along the top edge of the canyon following the right one.

The sun had fully breached the horizon when they came upon a bend in the trail. From beyond it, they can distantly hear the roar of a waterfall. They cautiously get off the speeder and cautiously make their way towards the bend.

The area they found was beautiful, he had to admit. A large waterfall spilled down red rock into a pool at the base. This took up half the space in the large clearing. It was the largest they had come across in the canyon. It's only when he glances down that he notices the marks in the sand. It appeared that this was the Princess's campsite last night. There's a clear indention from where someone had slept, a set of footprints leading towards the large pool. Where's the speeder?

Oh, the waterfall. He turns towards Ben, but she's already facing it with an incredulous expression on her face. He moves to see what she's looking at. It's the Princess, and she has a service blaster aimed at them from where she'd stepped out from behind the waterfall.

"Now, let's not be hasty." He keeps his voice level as he slowly puts his hands out to the side in the universal, easy gesture. "We're not here to hurt you."

"Really?!" she countered. "So, you haven't been following me with the intent to drag me home against my will?"

Ben spoke up at this point, attempting to defuse the situation. "Princess, please just tell us why you can't go home. Your family is worried about you. They wouldn't have contacted the Guild unless they were convinced it was the only way."

The arm holding out the blaster shook as she listened to Ben's words.

"I'm not ready for the responsibility of leading a planet. I couldn't face them if I failed. I can't do that." Breha had tears in her dark eyes as she lowered the blaster slightly.

"No one who is the right person ever believes that they are ready. The fact that you have doubts only proves you want what's best for your people." Ben's voice was full of fire and conviction as she spoke these words so adamantly. He wished he could feel the same confidence Ben did, but Breha had the same fears he did.

"You aren't the only one, Princess."

He took a breath and continued before his courage failed him. "My name is Jango Fett of Clan Fett, House Mereel, Ad'be'Mand'alor Jaster Mereel. As far as I know, I am the rightful leader of a shattered people embroiled in an ongoing Civil War. I know what it is to want the best for your people and to believe that you aren't the one for the job." The two girl's eyes widened at his declaration.

"Jango… " Ben started to speak, but he raised a hand, stopping her.

"No, Ben, it's alright. I've put it off, but we've been free for almost three months now, and I haven't even commed those I know are probably alive." He feels such shame at admitting it aloud when he had barely admitted it to himself.

"You're the missing Prince of Mandalore?" Breha's voice had gone high and disbelieving.

"Well, Prince is a miss translation," He muttered indignantly.

"Back up. Can you help me pass the Trial of Leadership on Alderaan?"

AN:

I'm not dead! Sorry for the long hiatus. Hope you enjoy the new chapter