Sleeper - Part 2
The seas surged and they waited, looking out at the slatted viewport to see Slave I on the landing pad. Jango appeared a few moments later, dashing out in this torrential downpour to the ship, readying it for takeoff swiftly. Zaiya watched as Boba darted across the length of the transparisteel pane, a hand reached up to touch the surface, as the ship took off and was soon out of sight. She could see the small boy's sad face in the reflection. Those big brown eyes could melt icicles on Hoth.
"He'll be back soon, Boba, not to worry," she told him gently with a hand to his shoulder, "it's also getting pretty late, perhaps we should head off to bed hm? The sooner you sleep, the sooner he will be back, as we can find something to do in the morning, alright?" Boba pouted and let out a sigh.
"I wish he would take me with him," Boba mumbled and Zaiya knelt down beside him and looked into his sad little face and big soulful eyes.
"I know," she replied, "he is trying to keep you safe, and is wise to do so, it's dangerous out there."
"Dad said you used to do the same job," Boba replied, turning to face her now.
"I did, and I started when I was a little older than you," she explained, the boy seemed interested and she figured now was a good time, "how about we get you settled into bed and I will tell you all about it?" she suggested, a mischievous grin crossed his face and she let out a soft laugh.
She helped the boy wash up and get ready for bed, though he was already mostly self sufficient and insisted he didn't need help… until it was to reach one of the high cabinets. Eventually though she managed to get him comfortable enough to lay down, and tucked him into his father's bed. She hoped the lingering scent of his buir on the pillows would help him sleep.
"Miss Siren…?" Boba began and Zaiya chuckled,
"You don't have to call me that, Boba, we're family, remember?"
"Then… What should I call you? Bavodu'ad?" he asked with a tilt of his head.
"Tell you what, why don't you use one of my words? Call me Tahn'ti."
"What does it mean?" he asked.
"It's like ba'vodu, but in my tongue we refer to Nightsisters older than oneself but not direct blood, no if not a mother, a ma'tri, then an aunt, or tahn'ti," she explained. Boba nodded in understanding.
"Tahn'ti," he seemed to try it out then just nodded in approval. She grinned, she liked the sound of it as much as he did. Then he looked up to her face, "you said you would tell me about bounty hunting?" he asked hopefully, sitting up, his hands clenching the blankets in front of him.
"That I did, young Master Fett, that I did… Now, what do you know already?" She asked, moving to sit on the edge of the bed beside him, her hands folded in her lap. He began to tell her some things that Jango had obviously told him, though a lot of the information seemed a little disjointed and made no sense, there was definitely a zeal to learn what his father did. She was glad to share her stories with him, much as she had with Savage and Feral… it felt like talking to her little brothers all over again, it was nostalgic and heartwarming.
She told him how she had met Hondo, Adaji and Bane, how she regarded them with respect. Boba knew some of the names, Jango having mentioned them before. He perked up the most when she began to tell him one of the jobs she had worked with Jango.
"I know this one!" Boba exclaimed suddenly, "Dad told me about it…!" he started to recite details, and though a little different to how she remembered, but at his mention of a 'little witch' she laughed.
"Is that what he called me?" she asked.
"That was you?" the boy basped, realising that this witch in front of him and the one from the story were one and the same. Clearly Jango had forgotten to tell Boba this.
"That was me," she confirmed and Boba's attitudes seemed to shift as he realised the amount of trust his father already placed in her.
"You saved my dad's life…" he said in a whisper.
"I think he saved mine, but we called it even in the end," she chuckled with a grin.
"Did you really sing a nexu to sleep?" he asked, and she tilted her head, he was deliberately trying not to sleep.
"How about, lay back and close your eyes, and I show you?" she asked, Boba looked concerned for a moment, like it might hurt, but Zaiya just reached out and laid her hand across his head and over his curls, "you're safe, Boba," she replied gently. After a beat he gave a tiny nod and laid back, his head on the pillow and squirmed until he was comfortable. She sat up and he grasped her sleeve.
"Will you… stay?" he asked and she was a little surprised he had warmed to her so quickly. But she nodded to the boy.
"Of course I'll stay," then the Siren began to sing. It was a slow lullaby about a Prince in his castle, needing to rest after returning from war. She let the music flow through her, the sounds around her dictate the tune as her voice filled the room in a soothing tune, the force around her rippled, and within minutes, the young Boba Fett was sleeping soundly. She shifted as the song finished and realised he was still holding her sleeve, with a soft chuckle, she moved to lay beside him, at least for a while, she could move to a chair or something later. Though as soon as she laid her head down, the boy snuggled up to her and seemed to settle.
"G'night… Tahn'ti…" he mumbled, before drifting back to sleep. Zaiya looked at him with a curious glance, it seemed she was comfortable to more than just Lord Maul. Well… if it helped him sleep at least, then it was a good thing.
Zaiya had planned to get up in the night to let Boba sleep, though as it happened, she awoke just before him, becoming still as her consciousness rose and listening. The soft breathing beside her had at first startled the woman though after a few seconds she remembered where she was. Kamino, she was on her mission, and it was Boba beside her. Cracking one eye open, the soft blue light of the pre-dawn gave everything a cold hue. She glanced down to see Boba had actually snuggled up to her, and, from the way the corner of his blanket was thrown over her waist, he had tried to make her comfortable. She had no idea he was so sweet. Was he really Jango's son? The way he hugged her arm was indicative of his need for support as well as missing his father. She could not blame him of course, poor kid.
She waited for him to stir, just listening to his breathing until eventually, the sun rose and about an hour after she had woken, Boba began to wake. Usually she got up early, meditated and got started on the training schedule, the boys all woke early too so they were usually doing light morning exercises before breakfast. She would often be there first, but she decided to let the kid take his time. Though she knew she would have work to do later today, she decided to spend as much time with the kid as possible. It must be difficult for him without his father. It wasn't easy having only one parent. Boba usually just had to wait until Jango returned to continue his training with blasters and other weapons, the Kaminoans didn't allow him to move around the facility on his own. Zaiya frowned, he was a kid! He liked to shoot things and climb stuff and be just like his father so no wonder he was feeling lost. Well, she had a few days to keep him occupied at least and she had access to holo-books that might interest the kid.
"Tahn'ti…?" he shifted and looked up at her with those big eyes.
"Good morning cikala kola," she said with a small smile, looking down at him, "good sleep?" Boba nodded and rubbed his eyes.
The two of them began to rise and Zaiya certainly felt like she had slept very well, better than she had since first arriving at least. She had washed her face and felt a little more awake and ready to face the day.
"Hungry?" she asked and he nodded again. She walked with him to the mess and he moved to go toward the private room where he and Jango usually ate. She occasionally joined him when they ate at the same time, but this time she nudged his arm.
"Come out here for once," she suggested, gesturing to the main hall, "see what it's like."
"Why?" Boba asked with a frown.
"Well I have to check in with the boys, plus, they can be pretty entertaining," she replied. The boy seemed hesitant but eventually seemed to decide to join her, only a step behind as they entered the mess hall. It was already getting crowded, and her usual table, where she could see almost all the points of entry and didn't have her back to many. She stood with the boy to collect the food on the tray, then headed over to her usual spot. She was explaining what she usually did for a day when she arrived at the table. The Alpha Company were already nearly done with their meals
"Morning boys," she greeted as she took her seat.
"Wow and here I thought the world was ending with you being late," she heard Jax chuckle, "wait, what's with the cadet?"
"I'm not a cadet," Boba snapped and the men looked at each other.
"Alpha Company, this is Boba Fett. Boba, meet the boys." Zaiya introduced them, one by one, though one decided to interrupt.
"I'm Switch, not Jax!" he protested and Zaiya rolled her eyes as she took her seat.
"Nice try Jax, but you only swapped your pauldrons, not your full armour," she replied.
"How can you tell?" Jax gaped, "You've barely even looked at me." She shot him a look and wiggled her fingers at him, then looked to Boba.
"Don't mind Jax, he's a di'kut but he means well," she told him and Boba hid a laugh behind his hand.
"So you do speak Mando'a," Alpha spoke and she looked up to see him paused in his meal, looking at her with narrowed eyes.
"Among other things," she replied with a tilt of her head.
"What other languages can you speak?" Boba asked, though his breakfast. Zaiya raised a brow and tapped the top of his head with the handle of her spoon.
"Don't talk with your mouth full," she snapped then gestured to the soldiers at the table.
"You're as bad as they are," there was a collective sound of protest, to which she looked at the men surrounding her. Most of them were mid-chew when they tried to speak, only to swallow their mouthful when she met them with a pointed stare.
"If we all ate as slowly as you do, we'd never get anything done," Alpha retorted, finished with his meal now. He was admittedly not a messy eater, but she understood the implications. They didn't have the luxury of eating slowly, their schedules were packed as it was.
"Point taken, Captain," she replied firmly, but she was not going to do the same. After Zygerria, there were certain things she would not take for granted. Seeing them pushed in the same fashion she had been… it was infuriating to witness. She would have to keep making her notes for when the opportunity arose.
"You didn't answer my question," Boba interrupted, now having swallowed his food, and was looking at her expectantly.
"A few," she replied, "certainly enough to get by. It certainly helps if the crew you are running with start speaking in their native tongue that they plan to shoot you in the back, the heads up can be the difference between dead and wounded." She was not used to being so open when people asked her questions and let out a soft sigh at Boba's dissatisfied expression. "About a dozen or so," she clarified, shifting to lean on one hand propped on the table as she looked at the boy. She took another mouthful of her mediocre meal.
"Like what?" he asked and she laughed, shaking her head.
"Perhaps another time, I can teach you all the bad words in Huttese," Boba laughed and dug into his food.
"You're a bad influence," Jax muttered across the table.
"I never claimed to be a good one," she retorted, an eyebrow cocked at him, "I was raised by witches and bounty hunters, I'm hardly going to be some kind of saint." Her eyes rolled.
"I dunno," Havoc started with a mocking laugh, "'the Angel of Kamino' has a ring to it, doesn't it?" Suddenly everything went cold and the food in Zaiya's mouth became as ash. Her eyes snapped to the clone who froze. They all did the moment they saw the look on her face.
"Do not. Ever. Call me that again," she said in a low and severe tone, she looked like she was about to cross the table and jam that fork into his neck. A few tense moments of silence passed and Zaiya released the utensil, seeing Boba had almost finished. She stood, trying to push down the bile rising in her throat. She hated that word. Such a casual comment had become venom and she could not bear to listen to it. In the back of her mind, she told herself that Havoc didn't mean it that way, just as Savage hadn't. They didn't know. But she couldn't speak to tell them, her throat so tight that she didn't trust herself to make a sound. Just like back then, she was silent and surrounded by white.
Boba looked up at her and she jerked her head to the door, the boy got up and followed. She couldn't even bring herself to grab her tray to put back, she just had to get out of there. Now. Everything screamed at her to run, to escape, to just get out. One of her hands unconsciously rose to her neck, tracing the small burn marks on her neck, scars from the shock component of the collar. The little tapping of Boba's feet following her was the only thing stopping her from just running, even then, she was walking too fast. She tried to say something, but all she could do was make a strangled sound. She swallowed hard and stopped. Boba caught up and grasped at her arm.
"Are you alright?" he asked. Oh sweet child… of course she wasn't. But no, she was the adult here. She had to keep control, she swallowed again and she looked at the floor.
"Where…" she started in a rasp, she cleared her throat to continue, "where's the best spot to head outside?" she asked, "I need some fresh air for a minute." Boba was quick to assist, grasping her hand and hurrying forward to find an exterior door. After a few minutes, he led her to one that exited out onto a small balcony. The fresh, salty air was immediate and while the wind buffeted her hair around, she pressed her hands against the frigid metal rails and breathed deeply. She closed her eyes and tried to just focus on the sounds of crashing waves far below. Slowly, the rising panic holding her chest in a deathgrip began to finally relinquish as she took deep breaths, the sea-air doing wonders to calm her nerves.
"Why don't you like that word?" Boba asked softly, he was so quiet, she'd forgotten he was there for a moment. She turned to look at him after a moment, slowly turning her head.
"There was… someone… that called me that. They were…" she took another breath though this one was uneven and ragged. "They turned me into a monster… and called me that to humiliate me." She closed her eyes, "I don't really want to talk about it, Boba, I'm sorry, it's painful." Boba reached up and touched her arm with his small hand.
"It's okay, I'll protect you," he said. She looked at him in surprise. What in Sithhells was this? She was the adult, not him, what was she doing? The splash of the sea had dampened her hair, clothing and face and she took a moment to wipe her face with her sleeve.
"If anyone could, I'm sure you can," she managed to smile, it was small, but she needed to get it together, she had a kid to look after, she couldn't let herself lose it because of some memory. It was then she heard a clap of thunder overhead. The clouds had darkened the sky in the last few minutes and rain seemed to be imminent. Just as she had this thought, she felt a heavy drop hit her hand, reaching out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind his ear.
"Come on, let's head inside again, find something better to do, hm?" she suggested, her mind turning to figure out a way to keep him entertained so he didn't have to sit in that room all the time. Suddenly, an idea came to her. "Tell you what," she began, "how about we get in some target practice?" she offered, now inside the hallways again.
"Where?" Boba asked with a slight frown.
"Well, since the rains are back-" she glanced out the window to the storming seas outside, the rain beginning to pelt into the transparisteel. "I suggest one of the firing ranges, there's gotta be at least one free." She gestured for him to follow, "C'mon, maybe I'll let you use one of my mila hanska." He seemed to perk up at that.
It wasn't a long journey, and they happened to be near her own quarters, so she could grab her things easily enough. She took her blades as well as the pistols similar to the ones she had used when she was running with the bounty hunters, she was lucky at one of the fuel stops she'd managed to grab the pair. Her mila hanska on her hips and each of her pistols strapped to her thighs. She did so like dual wielding. It was not hard to find the shooting gallery, Boba knew his way around better than she, though she was learning rather quickly. The room was long, several shooting bays lined up next to each other and three tracks for each bay so that three targets could be set and moved at any point up and down the track. The controls she routed to her wrist comm and chose one of the bays off to the left side. She began by setting up stationary targets. She pulled out her pistol and handed it to Boba, he seemed excited to begin. He looked it over.
"This… its a DF-47," he stated, inspecting it, "but it's been modified, this is a barrel from a DL-18."
"You know your weapons," she praised with a grin. Boba looked up with a small smile.
"Dad had me learn what they are through holograms and I am learning to put them together and take them apart again," he puffed out his chest a little, "I am good with Dad's spare westar!"
"That's excellent, maybe I shall have to find some spares for you to keep practising, though I think the boys mostly use-"
"The DC-17 pistol, it's middle range but dad said it's not super precise," Boba added, his smile growling.
"Look at you, you'll out-shoot all these soldiers I bet, your father's one of the best."
"He is the best," Boba corrected. Zaiya tilted her head, making a face.
"Yeah but he never fought me…" she grinned, flashing her fang-like canines at the kid and he frowned at her.
"My dad would still win!" he insisted. She looked at him for a moment then shrugged.
"Yeah, you're probably right." As if she was going to insist she would beat a child's father in a fight. If there was a fight it would likely be them fighting on the same side. At least… she hoped so.
The two of them took their shots back and forth, each taking their own bay and counting points. She had also noticed their audience was slowly growing as a few of the clones had made their way in. Boba was a fantastic shot and she was very impressed, dishing out the praise as he struck the target.
"You're a natural!" she grinned.
"Of course I am!" Boba boasted, grinning proudly. Then he pointed to her knives and asked what they were. Zaiya was more than happy to explain, leaning down and showing him one of the blades, it had some ornate symbols in the blade and she told him she had gotten them as a symbol of her title, of her power.
"They are called mila hanska, which just means 'long knives', but these ones are important, see these markings?" she began to point out the different symbols, "this one is for our clan, this one is the clan position and name, this one is the symbol of Ma'tra which is Clan Mother and this here is the symbol of my rank which makes me the heir to the clan essentially." It was so rare that she spoke so freely but Boba seemed very interested and curious to learn.
"So… what sort of things can you do?" he asked. Zaiya tilted her head.
"You mean with these?" she held up one of the blades.
"Yeah, and the guns, are you a good shot?" A smirk crossed her face as she rested her hand on the pistol against her leg.
"Why don't we find out?"
Notes:
N'aww... It's so cute. Boba I am sure was very sweet when he was small and so I had to include that.
Next chapter is titled 'War' and yes, it is the beginning. Look at that! 72 chapters in and we finally are making it to the second sequel film! Does this mean Clone Wars episodes are coming? Yes indeed!
I haven't much to say today, so I will leave off with my usual encouragement for comments and feedback. I always love them. Thank you all very much! Stay safe and be well 3
