Ba'slan'at ti ba'slat

by LadyIunara

She had evaded the Empire for a decade, having been smuggled away for her own safety when the Empire first formed. Now she had a life, purpose even. One day it all catches up to her and she finds herself running with Boba Fett from both the Empire and the Rebels. All she wanted was a quiet life. What she got was anything but.

13. Chapter 13

AN: Sorry for the delay. Life has been stressful. I know it is long, but I couldn't find anything to cut out either.

Betas: SapphiraBlue and ShaeTiann (both can be found on AO3)

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Boba had not let her out of his sight ever since. It was starting to get annoying to feel him hovering behind or next to her, always positioned to have her in his direct view. The constant buzz of his presence pressing against her mind… she wanted to slap it all away. It was stifling, not reassuring in any sense. His bounty nearly died and now he was being super possessive of his walking credit bag.

Huffing, she shot Boba a dark glare. He only raised an eyebrow in response as he leaned against the wall of their shared room.

"I am trying to concentrate," she finally gritted out and his other eyebrow rose in response. Anger boiled up in her chest when he looked mockingly at her. Bastard! Releasing another huff she turned her back to him.

"You have been trying to sense that guy for hours now," Boba retorted. She could hear him stepping towards her now. His hand was hovering over her shoulder, its presence charging the air around her. How it hadn't discharged static yet was a small miracle in itself. And there went her focus…. He was doing this deliberately! She frowned. Why would he do that?

The hand dropped away, the air moving behind her as it came to rest at his side. She didn't need to turn around to know his face had a defeated look. Her senses were sensitized now and somehow she wished she could just shut it all away until it had stabilized itself again.

"I know," she bit back, straightening out her spine, the straps of the dress sliding down a fraction.

"And even if you did sense him, what then?" he asked, walking to stand in front of her. She looked up from where she was sitting on her bed. A pensive look had settled on his face and she had to sigh. A valid point. Even if she managed to get a grasp on that bastard, what then? Would she be able to tell where he was? What his next motives were? All she'd been able to sense were nearby spots of life.

"Altharya," he knelt down, his hands settling on her knees and he forcibly looked into her eyes. She swallowed and stared right back. If he was trying to intimidate her he had gotten the wrong person, even if he managed to pull off a convincing look of concern, "you nearly died back then. Rest."

He sounded so earnest that she almost forgot what she had been trying to do. Almost.

"Have you forgotten what they said back in that security room?" She snapped back and his face closed up again, expression passive again.

"I remember. I also remember that they couldn't trace anything to their own people and are working on it," he said calmly, even if there was an annoyed undertone.

She bared her teeth at him in response.

His reaction?

An eye roll.

Her hands were shaking as she gripped the sheets of the bed tightly. How dare he mock her? What was he doing? Oh yeah, a glorified babysitter. The Arions had agreed that Lorena and Altharya would be kept in separate locations while the security forces ran their own checks. Last they heard they had found a half drugged gardener in his shed, his comlink stolen. However, no one had been reported leaving the mansion, either.

Investigations were going on to see if any of the guards or servants were involved. Boba had shepherded her out of the room and snarled at one of the guards when they had said they had orders to protect her. Oh yeah… 'Only after you all are cleared'. Now what? They were alone in their room while the hours ticked away, useless and awaiting news.

The assassin was around and she knew him in the Force now, had felt him scurrying away when he saw his shot miss and a horde of security guards stampeding in that direction.

"I felt him Boba!" she argued back and tried to do expand her mind again only to have it ricochet back into her skull. Groaning, she hung her head as her temples throbbed in pain. The palms of his hands were on her cheeks now and he lifted her face up to make her look at him again.

"Hey, even I know you're trying too hard," he deadpanned while his index finger drew circles on the side of her skull. It definitely soothed the pain and she felt herself melting into the touch with a sigh. In a way it was funny; she had done the same thing to soothe him on the ship when he had been in the throes of a fever. Now he was helping her relax. She felt her eyes closing at the sensation and just let him do what he was doing. Her stomach was fluttering nervously at the touch- she really needed to sort herself out. Maybe getting to a place where it was just them would let her put the boundaries back in place instead of this mess.

"Get some rest, please," and why could she not sense anything but sincerity whenever he opened his mouth? It was… maddening. His mental shields had been let down a while ago, as if knowing she needed some calming.

It hadn't worked. It had only freaked her out to the point where she nearly had twisted out of his arms as he had been half carrying her. But he still had not put them up again. How did he know so much about mental shields? Was it something that was taught to bounty hunters? Or was it learnt?

To be honest, she had only freaked out at how strongly his thoughts had slammed into her head. Like a tidal wave. How could she feel him so much more acutely than anyone else? It shouldn't be possible. At least she felt like it should not be. It was how things were now, and she had no idea how to deal with it. Wherever she turned her head, his presence lingered at the edges, even when she tried to shut the Force out completely. What was the Force trying to tell her? Because it was being so cryptic that it could mean anything and nothing at once.

"What then?" She asked quietly and his fingers on her temple stopped briefly.

Hesitation prickled at the edge of her senses and… she had to breathe through her mouth to dispel how dizzy it was making her feel.

"What do you mean?" He asked bluntly, withdrawing his fingers, leaving only cool air in their place. No. She wanted them back. But she kept her mouth shut; it would be strange to ask for him to rub her temples. Far too strange. After all, she could just do it herself. If she could only loosen her grip on the bed sheets, that was. Looked like the dull pounding against her forehead was there to stay for a while.

"What after? Are you planning on staying with me while the assassin will no doubt try again?"

"Yes," he groaned.

"And you will just let us sit in a trap like this?"

"You think this is a trap?" he sounded stunned.

"What else would it be?" She retorted and he sighed in response.

"He tried to kill you back then. The only thing he would be concerned with is hiding and forming a new plan."

"What if he already had a back-up plan?" she countered immediately.

"Back-up plans take time," Boba explained patiently, "especially on that scale."

"What scale are we talking about?" She wanted to know.

Who was the target here? Her or Lorena? Surely… oh, she nearly forgot. They both were under Arion's protection now. Did that tip the scales too much?

"We are talking about someone who shot Senya Arion, who also went to our room to eliminate you," he listed, holding two fingers up for the two points he made, "managed to infiltrate the manor in less than a day," another finger went up, "had help from the inside," a fourth finger hovered in front of her eyes, "and managed to separate you and Lorena from an entire house filled with guards," he finished and she had to swallow.

He was right. As usual. Though, what did she expect? A bounty hunter to be wrong in such matters? As if someone in that profession lived long without such knowledge. How could she forget…

"Right… but what when he has had the time? What then?" she gritted through her teeth and slowly and steadily the pounding lessened.

Her fingers on the bed sheet relaxed and she placed them in her lap, the joints aching from the tight grip. Boba looked pensive and she looked him in the eyes, as if it would give her any answers. Something prickled near her mouth and she felt her hands twisting together. The prickling spread to the back of her ears, but she could not look away. Yet.

His eyes were hooded, but still sharp as he regarded her for a moment that seemed like eternity.

"I will track him down," he said confidently and put his hands on her knees again. Had they been shaking? Yes. How hadn't she noticed? She stared blankly at his hands. Should she do or say something about it?

Maybe not. So she looked back up again, looking back into his eyes. Why was he so intense all the time? The prickling was back.

"How?" she needed to know if he was going to leave her here.

That assassin had managed to evade capture so many times now. What was to say against him succeeding in avoiding capture again? Nothing.

Boba frowned now. She had confused him, or was she seeing it wrong?

"Or are you planning to stay here with me until he comes barging in and hope he won't land a shot on either of us?" She pressed further. Her hands relaxed a little and she did not know what to do with them. Tentatively she laid her right one on his hand that was on her knee as she kept looking at him. If he was counting on her backing down, he had another thing coming! Oh no, she was no longer the scared Youngling anymore.

The muscles underneath her palm twitched as his fingers dug into the sides of her knees now. He was not expecting her to talk back like that. She cocked her head, waiting for him to answer. What was he going to do? He could yell at her or… answer her.

What was he going to do? Come on, answer! Maybe she could make sense of all of his interactions with her with that response.

"What do you want me to say?" he finally said, sounding more tired than she had expected and her stomach twisted. A lump had formed in her throat at how exhausted he looked suddenly.

"What you will do," she answered softly watching him for any reaction.

None came. Only their breathing filled the space between them that grew with each passing second. She had caught him off guard. Had he not thought that far yet? Or did he not just want to tell her? Would he leave her here in this room, alone, wondering whether the next person to enter would be her death or just Boba?

"I was planning on staying with you and when he comes, I will be there," he said finally as she breathed out, dropping her shoulders. He planned on staying here. To make sure that she did not die as soon as he turned around.

She had to cringe. The last two times she had been separated from him, she did nearly die. Just dumb pure luck saved her in each instance.

But was it a good idea to sit like prey in a trap until the hunter comes to snap their necks? The hair on her neck rose at the thought. No, they were not prey. Not with Boba. Right?

"Are you sure we should just let him come to us?" She questioned him, raising an eyebrow to challenge him. His eyes flashed in … she could not really say what it was. Amusement? Anger? She could not sense anything, his mental walls were up again and the suddenly missing white noise of his presence prickling at the edges of hers left her winded. Her eyes searched his for answers. What was he feeling? Why keep it from her? She could see nothing, only… wonder? Was that wonder? As if he was seeing her for the first time.

His hands relaxed their hold on her knees and she drew a deep breath.

"Do you have any better ideas?" He challenged and he stood up, towering over her now. She craned her neck to keep looking at him. Who needed to be taller than someone to stare them down? Not her. No. If he felt like towering over her would make her back down, then she had already won.

"Have you tried to find the spot he must have been to catch us?" She asked and he looked taken aback.

"Risk going out there and leaving you here?" He sounded reluctant.

"What if I can get a better sense of him if I was there?" She explained her idea and his face closed off again immediately.

"No."

"No?"

"No. You are staying here, end of discussion," he gritted through his teeth and she sighed.

"I am not discussing anything, I am…"

"Yes you are," he interrupted roughly, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"If you would listen, then you'd know I was about to suggest something," she snapped back and he rolled his eyes in response. Right, he was going to play this game. Fine. She could be petty as well. Now, who of them will be the pettiest?

"Right, tell me then!" he challenged with his eyebrows raised to taunt her. Could she punch him? Better not. Her hands had curled themselves into fist and with the flashing of his eyes down she knew he had seen it too. Fine. Let him see! What else did she have to lose at this point?

"We shouldn't let him have any time to put a second plan in motion."

"And your solution is to find his sniper nest, leaving us both exposed?" He sounded skeptic. She did not need the Force to know that.

"Better than this," she retorted and now Boba just looked amused.

"To tell me how to do my job?" He fired back, his stance had relaxed a bit.

Oh. Did he really think this was a game?

"Well, I am pretty sure you would try and find where he had hidden, if you could," why she was so sure about it she did not know, but the very brief hesitation that flashed through her sense of him told her enough.

A small victory? She could take it. After all the kicking she had received lately, this was overdue.

"If I could," he emphasised and she had to bite her tongue to not interrupt, "but you are not safe yet."

True. But how else could they get some head start on that assassin? It just didn't sit right with her that they sat here like prey caught in a hunter's trap. They shouldn't. Heck, Boba shouldn't. He was the best! At least, she had thought that was what it had meant to be the best. Unless…

"I could come with you," she blurted out the suggestion before her mind could catch up with the thought as it left her mouth. He looked truly startled now and his shields flickered. Shock and apprehension flooded her mind and she winced. Right. Maybe she hadn't gotten used to the Force again yet.

"Are you mad?" He finally asked in disbelief.

This time she couldn't keep it in and laughter bubbled forth and she had to double over clutching her stomach. She probably looked like she had lost her mind. Not that she could tell anymore where her mind was these days, but it surely would come back soon. It took her a few moments to stop laughing, while Boba just knelt there uncertainty radiating off of him in waves.

"Why was that so funny?"

"Of all the things we have done yet, this is the maddest?" She gasped out and he frowned at her.

"This is really not the time to see humour in things," he bit out and she bit her lower lip to prevent another burst of laughter that was hanging somewhere in the back of her throat. Right, fine. She would be serious. Staring at Boba, she tried to see what he was thinking. All she could really sense was confusion and… was that apprehension? Silence fell and weighed heavily on her shoulders. Shuddering, she rubbed her forearms.

"If I go to investigate, you would be alone here," Boba broke the silence and she had to sigh. Did he really not want her to come along if he was so concerned about that?

"Then I come with you," she pressed on again. Annoyance flickered briefly from him and then it was gone.

"I said no," he pressed back. They were getting nowhere at this rate. But then again, why was he so against her coming with him? She'd be with him of all people! Strangely enough, she felt safer around him. No, she knew she would be safe.

"And sit here like a nice fat nerf until the wolf-cat gets it?" She knew she was being unfair to him, but they couldn't run either.

"You…" he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance, "You are not going outside. For all we know he could still be out there."

"You would be with me though," she deadpanned and his mouth pinched into a tiny, firm line.

"Are you trying to tempt him into killing you?"

"Would it be so bad at this point?" she shot back before she could her brain could catch up with it. The temperature around them dropped significantly when his body flinched at the words. Biting her tongue harshly, she watched as his face became emotionless. It scared her how blank it was now. Why couldn't she just keep her mouth shut?

"You do not mean that," he gritted out after a moment of stunned silence and she hung her head to avoid looking at his face. It was bad enough she could feel twinges of fear spiking from beneath his mental shields. She didn't need to look at his face to know he was shocked at what she had said. Then again, she was doomed to die one way or another. Did it matter how and when?

Twisting her hands into each other again, she stared at her knuckles as they grew whiter with the seconds ticking away in the silence that hung between them now. Boba was rooted in the place in front of her, so close yet so far away.

"Maybe…" she started before he was back in her space, his presence overwhelming hers and she could not finish the sentence as he levelled her with a furious stare.

"I think it would be best if you slept," he growled harshly and she had to swallow.

Sleep was impossible with all that had been happening around them! How could she even attempt to sleep?! An assassin was after them all and they had managed to nearly kill her and Lorena! If she hadn't had the Force, they'd both be dead. And he wanted her to sleep?!

"Do you really think I can sleep?" she hissed through her gritted teeth.

"It would help if you did," he snapped back and she had to squeeze her hands harder to prevent them into forming fists. Punching him seemed such a good idea. If only she wouldn't break her knuckles on his breastplate if she decided to punch him.

"And how do you suggest I go about it?" Fine, he wanted to play that game then he might as well lay out the rules. Because clearly she was not aware how to do it. She knew she was being petty. But she relished the annoyed look that crossed Boba's face. Good. Did he finally see that sleeping was a bit out of realm of capabilities for her right now?

"You lay down," he growled.

His hands suddenly on her shoulders, pushing them back and she was not strong enough to push back or to resist. Her hands flew to his wrists, trying to pry them off, but he would not be deterred. Then she was on her back and he stood next to the bed, now looking down at her.

"Then you close your eyes and then calm down," he finished explaining shooting her a smug grin. She crossed her arms across her chest, pouting up at him.

"Calming down? You make it sound so easy!"

Though, lying down now, she felt blood draining from her face suddenly. What? That was not right, her eyelids fluttered involuntarily. How was she suddenly tired, just by lying down?

"See, it's not so hard," she could hear the suppressed chuckle from above and she tried to glare at him.

Tried and failed, miserably. Her mouth was glued shut to even retort. Not that she had anything witty to come back at him with. Not at all. Probably best if she didn't slur anything intelligible either.

The mattress next to her dipped and she could feel him lying down next to her. Why was he doing that?

"What are you doing?" She turned her head towards him, staring at his temples as he kept his eyes to the ceiling.

"We will be in here for a while. I am not going to be standing for it all," he answered, glancing over to her.

"You have your own bed."

"And let you out of my sight for a moment? No."

She groaned loudly at that. Was it necessary for him to lie next to her? It was not her fault that an assassin was after her and was capable of redirecting guards in a highly secured compound.

"Do you think that assassin is going to bust in this room any moment?" She had to tease him. It took him a moment to see it for the tease that it was. He grinned broadly at her.

"He'd be pretty stupid to barge into the same room I'm in," he moved his arms behind his head opening up space next to him and she could feel herself gravitating towards him. Not that she wanted to; his weight dipped the mattress and made her slide towards him.

Totally not her own doing.

"A lot of people are stupid," she argued quietly while settling in close to him. Sleep seemed like a good idea, now. Her eyelids were too heavy to keep up, so she let them fall shut.

"You're right," he sighed, and she felt him adjust himself slightly.

It felt like he had shifted closer, the metal of his armour just out of her reach. If she only stretched out her fingertips, she'd bump into his waist armour.

"But this one is not. So sleep it off."

"What about you?" she whispered. When would he sleep, catch some rest?

"Hm?"

"You should sleep too."

"Don't worry about me," he scoffed and her fingers curled into the bed sheets, "I have gone a few days without sleep."

She frowned. That wasn't healthy, but somehow she felt like asking him how many times he had skipped on resting wasn't what she should do either. It was something sore, it felt painful and she could feel it boiling underneath his skin. It scared her. Whatever it was, she should stay away from it, as far away as possible.

Towards afternoon she had woken up again, for once feeling calmer than the last couple of days. Boba was still next to her, this time staring at a datapad in his hands. Who would have thought that sleep did help? No, she would not credit Boba for that. She should have thought about it first given that she was the medic amongst the two of them.

"Boba?"

He looked to her as soon as she spoke, putting the datapad down on his stomach.

"Yes?"

"How long have I slept?"

"Two hours, give or take a few minutes."

That was longer than she expected to have been asleep. Rubbing her eyes she looked towards the window. It was still light outside, but two hours seemed like a lot.

"Has anything happened while I was asleep?"

"Not really, only that they managed to vet the core guards while you were out."

"The core guards?"

"The ones directly responsible for Lorena, Morion, Senya and Eric Arion."

So they were safe. Good. Though, that meant that the assassin had been smart enough to not hide in that circle.

"So basically, they are not any further?"

"In essence," he sighed and propped himself up on an elbow shifting to his side so he was looking down at her.

"What now?" She asked.

Though, come to think of it. Changing her clothes would be good. The dress was constricting! Were her legs tangled? Yes. Could she feel the straps on her throat? Yes. Note to self: never fall asleep in a fancy dress again.

"I will catch that bastard and then we are out of here," he sighed and grabbed the datapad again.

"And how are you going to do that if you are in here?" She prodded further, now sitting up trying to push the straps back down to their proper place. Now to find her old clothes and she would be more comfortable.

He didn't say anything while she opened the wardrobe to grab her clothes out of it. Nothing when she turned around to him, he only stared at her with the data-pad in hand. Either he had no plan or he had and didn't tell her about it. She shouldn't be bothered either way. Really shouldn't, but somehow it bothered her that she wasn't told anything.

In the bathroom she released a big breath she had been holding, changing as quickly as she could.

Once she stepped back into their room, Boba spoke.

"You are not letting up anytime soon are you?" He sounded tired, strained. Her shoulders sagged at the question. Was she really sure that it would be a good idea? Then again, what other options did they have? She was not going to stay put until the assassin came to her. No, she would come to them. Not the other way around.

"No."

"Then suit yourself," he rolled his eyes now going back to reading his data pad, ignoring her. She clenched her fists. Talking to him won't get her anywhere. Fine. If that were the case, she would do it by herself.

Only if she could even manage to get away from him without him noticing. Practically impossible. He would just drag her back and maybe tie her down. If she ran across the assassin without Boba who knew how it would end up then. She couldn't keep relying on the Force to scrape her by.

So much for doing it by herself. Sighing she dropped onto the bed, only to be ignored still. Not that she wanted a reaction. Really not. He could stuff his thoughts elsewhere, even if any impressions of them were muted right now. Nothing was buzzing at her mind.

Blissful silence. Finally. She shifted into a lying position again, facing Boba as he continued to read whatever was on the data-pad.

"What are you reading?"

"Monts and Kiani are sending me stuff," he muttered noncommittally.

"Stuff?"

"Monts is on the lookout for anything unusual in the underworld. Kiani is updating who is cleared and who is not," he listed off while tilting the data-pad so she could see the multitude of messages being displayed.

"Has Monts found anything?"

"No. He says it is unusually quiet."

"That means?"

"Either they are surprised or one of them planned it and they are trying not to draw too much attention."

"Nothing useful."

"It has been two days."

"And another assassination attempt," she fired back immediately and Boba pinched his mouth into a thin line for a moment in response.

"Yes, and another attempt. Would you please let me do my job?" He hissed and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"And what exactly are you doing?" She demanded, now pushing herself up with her hands, arching her back. Boba set down his datapad, shifting onto his side to face her.

"I am trying to figure out who we are looking for," he said calmly.

"By being in this room?"

"Aye. Look, I know what you are trying to do, it will not happen. You are safer here right now than outside."

"Didn't you yourself say that the assassin will plan and hide right now?"

"I said that, but wandering around relying on that fact is just idiotic," he scoffed, frowning now.

"Are we still too exposed?"

"Yes. A lot of the guards are still not accounted for," at least he hadn't shot the idea down immediately again.

"So we have to wait a bit longer to investigate?"

"Yes," he rolled his eyes while answering and fell back to grab the datapad. "Look, if you need something to do we can both try and figure clues out together, "he suggested suddenly and for once she did not know what to say.

"You want to do it with me?"

"Did I stutter?"

"No… it was just unexpected."

"Don't get used to it," he added and she had to hide a smile. Maybe there was hope for her after all.

"So what do we know?" She asked and he looked at her briefly not saying anything.

"Remember the blood sample they got from our room back with Monts?" he asked, prompting her to nod. Had they finally analysed it?

"Well, it got corrupted before any results could be finalised."

How? With widened eyes she regarded Boba who looked grim now. What had went wrong?

"How?" she asked and the look Boba gave her told her that it was the question they were all slaving on about.

"We do not know. The cameras in and outside of the lab are scrambled to the point they couldn't recover anything. There is another body," he continued and she had to lower her head. Another death? How many more until this was done?

"Who died?" she shifted now to sit on the pillow, her back at the headboard.

"We investigated the lab the sample was held in, we found the lab technician in the furnace. But the guy had been seen leaving the lab an hour later," he answered. She bit her lower lip in thought.

"When did we know that the sample was corrupted?"

"Hours later," he sighed, running a hand over his face.

Oh. They did that test, putting a solvent into the blood and wait a few hours for it to react and then analyse it.

"Who realised it was corrupted?" She probed.

"The lead scientist."

"Then why was the lab technician allowed alone with the sample?"

"I am wondering the same. All I got from the head scientist was that the lab technician was loyal to the Arions and wouldn't do something like that."

Well, that meant either the lab technician was either a traitor or… maybe she should ask Boba what he thought.

"What do you think?"

"I think the head scientist is right. We found the actual lab technician in that furnace. Now we are working on who killed him and why the guard didn't notice…" he stopped for a brief moment. He seemed to realise something that still evaded her, the flash of a dawning realisation prickling sharply.

"The guard who was with him, he smuggled the assassin in somehow. Killed the technician and…" he paused, his thoughts racing and she already sensed what he was going to say so she completed the sentence for him.

"Dressed up as the assassin and walked back out with the guard."

"Yes…" Boba said slowly, giving her a long look before he started typing on his data-pad.

"What are you doing?"

"I am going to ask Kiani if that guard is there. Make him a priority to be questioned. If he even is that stupid to hang around after the fact," Boba muttered darkly hitting the send button.

"So it would not help us at all," she sighed in frustration and he sent her a pointed look.

"Not really, they know what to look for now."

"You told them what you just thought of?"

"In simplified terms, yes."

Silence hung over them after his last statement. He stared at the opposite wall, the rush of his thoughts brushing past her mind. She couldn't begin to grasp them.

"What are you thinking?" he asked, making her refocus on him again.

"Nothing. Only that I will be stuck in this room."

"Not nothing then."

Smartass. She glared at him and the bastard had the nerve to smirk back!

"You know what I meant."

"Then word it correctly."

She opened her mouth and closed it immediately after. No retort came to her mind. Why couldn't she be witty in these situations? After a while, Boba set down the datapad and looked outside the window pane.

"It has been long enough," he said and she cocked her head to the side. What did he mean?

"We can have that little excursion now, but you," he pointed with a finger at her, "will stay within my sight at all times."

She nodded and kept her mouth shut. Not to risk him changing his mind. Moving off the bed, she started pulling on her boots until she heard him opening a window. Curious, she turned around and saw Boba testing the window frame, which seemed large enough to… Oh. He was planning on exiting through the windows? Her mouth pinched into a straight line. Of course, what had she expected? He had the jetpack to do these stunts.

"The window, seriously?" slipped out of her before she could reign herself in. He looked back to shoot her a confident smirk.

"Why take the long path if you can take the short one?" he replied before putting on his helmet. The change was still jarring, one moment he was a person the next he was something else. Her gut curled in, what was that feeling? Apprehension? Why? She knew that he would not hurt her. Remember: Walking credit bag.

He held out his hand and she hesitated a moment. How would they get out without destroying the glass?

"Problem?"

"Won't we destroy the glass?"

He stayed silent, still holding out his hand. Something resigned flashed through the air. It was confusing. What did it mean? That he had thought about it? Whether he was tired of arguing with her when he didn't need to?

Her fingers were shaking slightly the longer she hesitated. Maybe it was best if she just closed her eyes and let him do whatever he was about to do. Releasing a breath she took his hand and he pulled her towards him and then grabbed her underneath her armpits. Her feet left the ground before meeting a solid edge. What?

"Good thing," he commented, "that the windows open rather low."

Oh. She looked down and saw the edge of the window frame below her feet where she was lifted up to. How hadn't she seen that? His arms now slung around her front now, pressing her uncomfortably close, her shoulder plate digging into his chest plate.

Then they were in the air, the low whistle then the muted roar of an activating jetpack was her only warning before she felt herself jolted up as they flew straight forward. Her eyes watered from the wind pricking her eyes and she had to squint them.

When she finally could open them a bit more to see where they were actually flying, he was already gradually descending. The glitter of glass not too far away caught her eyes, before they flew behind a crown of a tree that blocked out the setting sun and the glasshouse.

In the middle of a flat, rather empty circle of pink grass. Empty compared to the other arrangements around them. Pale stone benches lined the edges with yellowish bushes behind them. It was pretty, especially with the muted orange light filtering through the leaves of the tree they had landed behind of.

A hand suddenly waved in front of her eyes and she flinched away from it.

"We have something to do," Boba's modulated snort disrupted the tentatively peaceful moment she had had. If glares could kill, she would gladly have murdered him already. He motioned for a tiny path leading away from the spot and she sighed. Right, probably would be best if they wasted no finding on finding the spot. Before it became dark.

He was right behind her, she could practically feel him, even when he was not even touching her. The only blessing right now was that her senses had finally recovered enough to filter out the blinking spots all around her. Good. That had been nauseating.

The greenhouse was deserted, the broken part of it making a stark contrast with the pristinely kept surroundings.

"So…how do we find that spot?" she asked aloud, looking behind her to Boba who leaned his head closer to her.

"How do you think?" he said and she swore he was mustering her from behind his helmet. And she couldn't even be sure if he was doing it or not! It was irritating.

"Why are you asking me? You're the bounty hunter here."

He didn't answer and she sighed. Would it be so terrible not to keep her out of the loop all the time? It didn't really help the short flashes of apprehension coming from him. Something was going on and she could already feel her heart sinking. He stared at her for a few more heartbeats, then relented.

"If you want to survive Vader, then you better pay attention," he said and the back of her neck prickled. Vader... How could she forget? But why would Boba care if she survived? Her shoulders slumped. She would take it as a sign of good will. Whatever it meant would just have to wait.

"Alright, then show me," she was finally able to pry her teeth open to speak.

"Can I assume you have an idea where the shot was coming from?"

"Direction wise?"

"What else?"

She didn't respond immediately, just looked at the jagged edges of the broken glass. The plant they had stood in front of would be just a straight line from the trees to their right. Turning towards the direction, she pointed wordlessly to that rough area.

"Good," was all Boba commented before waving her to follow him. Hastily she stumbled after him until they reached the group of trees she had pointed to.

"You are just going to trust my judgement?" She asked stunned when he stepped underneath the first few branches.

"Do you really think I haven't made my own judgement before asking you?" came his immediate deadpan.

She felt stupid now and her cheeks grew hot out of embarrassment. Rustling from above made her head snap upward. Between the leaves she could see Boba climbing up by the branches.

"Have you seen something?"

"Yes… and it is not a bird's nest," he yelled down before a major branch further up shook violently when he heaved himself up.

"Be careful!" she shouted and… was he laughing?! He was. Now she wished he'd fall down so she could laugh at him.

"A bit late to say that now!" He jested and the rustling stopped. Had he found something? Craning her neck, she shielded her eyes against the setting sun rays. His armour blended in with the light green leaves, so she couldn't really see him.

"Did you find anything?" She called then, waiting for his answer.

"Well… we did find his sniper nest, but…" his voice faded when more branch rustling could be heard, leaves falling down and into her hair. Gingerly she picked out the stray leaves from her braid when he jumped down in front of her again.

"I honestly did not catch anything you said after the fact of finding the sniper nest."

"I said that I found some clothes," he repeated himself, while picking a few leaves from his cape. Clothes?

"Clothes?" she asked again. What kind of clothes?

"Clothes. Guard gloves to be specific," he elaborated.

"Did you take them?"

"Yeah, they are in one of my pouches."

"What do we do with them?" she asked curiously as he made no move to do anything.

"Look for the actual owner of them," he said curtly making a wide motion with his arm to indicate the rough area of densely packed trees.

"Actual owner? Not the assassin?"

"No. That would be too easy. Not with someone who was smart enough to corrupt our DNA sample and bypass all of this security still."

"And what makes you think he would not make such a mistake?"

He stared at her for moment before there was a modulated sigh.

"I told you there must have been a guard working with him," he explained again, voice steady, but a slight spike of annoyance flashed past her.

Had it even been there or had that just been her imagination? Never mind, his mind was a blank slate again.

Right. She remembered what he had said. One could hope though…

"Could he have used the gloves to frame the guard solely?"

"I don't think he wants to pretend that the guard acted alone anymore," Boba argued back. Good point. She blew a stray hair out of her face. What else could it be?

"But why use the gloves if there is no pretense left?"

"What do you think someone would get out of it?" He challenged, putting a fist onto his hip and she knew that behind the visor he had cocked an eyebrow at her. At least he was taking imparting some knowledge on her seriously. It was morbid. She still did not know what would make him want her to live for a while.

"Confuse us?" She shrugged at him. No annoyance this time. So did that mean she had thought something correct?

"It could be a possibility. Or," he paused to look to the nearest bush, "they are hiding something."

"Hiding what? That they kill people for a living?" she blurted out. What kind of reasoning was this? Amusement sparked up from him and she swore she could hear a chuckle too.

"I mean, if they are trying to hide that, then they are a bit late," he sounded like he was suppressing laughter hard.

"Why else?"

"Who would not want to be tied to the Arion's murder?"

"Anyone?"

"Anyone specifically who would have an interest in potentially planting evidence that would show on any inter system jury that it couldn't have been them," he reasoned, now shuffling with his feet. Shuffling too much. What was he doing?

Fine. Who would profit from eliminating that particular detail? Nothing came up. This was the corporate sector! There were business competitors, there were internal rivalries, there could be crime syndicates, terror groups or just family…

Oh.

OH!

"The Brents?" She exclaimed. How had she not thought of it the very second it was implied!

"Aye," Boba nodded with a grim undertone, "It would make more sense if a Brent was doing this."

"Why would a Brent do that though? Why risk it?"

Boba parted a bush to look at its bottom. If he could just tell her what he was looking for she could maybe help? No?

"For centuries ever since the split, the Brents and Arions have been trying to eliminate the other to gain control over the entire system. Never really succeeded on either side when they had actively tried, but a cold war cannot lost long," he finally answered, pushing more branches out of his way.

"Ah," she frowned, "What are you doing?"

"No assassin will leave a loose end alive, especially if it can blab. We are looking for a body," he finally informed her.

Another body. Oh great.

Force... she'd be glad once they were done here. She looked around, where could she even start to search? Boba had said that the accomplice guard had been alive at least this morning. Had he missed any check ins?

"The guard that had been with the lab technician, was he there when they vetted them all?" She asked. How had they missed that?

"He is missing actually, as far as I am aware the people who were vetted were put on looking for him. But you know, they also need to stuff any leaks in security."

"Hence, here we are," she deducted slowly, moving a pile of leaves off a mound on the ground. The earth seemed firm, nothing had disturbed it. Where would one hide a body?

"Aye."

"If the guard is dead then…how will the assassin blend in again?" She wondered out loud now.

"Good question. I don't know."

"So blending in would be out of question?"

"Yes. This either means they have a plan or… they are planning on aborting the mission," Boba concluded his head snapping up to her.

"How would we know if they abandoned trying to kill me and another Arion?"

"If there are no incidents for a few weeks," Boba commented drily.

"Surely another will come."

"Correct."

"I am taking we both will be far gone then?" She teased, now crouching next to the base of a tree. The leaves were dry between her fingers, crumbling when she lifted them up. Dry. Too dry for the current weather. Hm.

"Yep," was the short reply before he let branches snap back into their previous position, the rustling of leaves jarring in the otherwise silent surroundings.

"Found anything?" She asked, while shuffling more dead leaves off the ground.

"Nothing so far. Anything on your end?" He asked and she could hear him stepping in her direction and he must be standing a bit behind her, the hair on her neck prickling already.

"Only really dry leaves." She held up her right hand with pieces of the leaves floating to the ground.

"That dry?" He sounded surprised as he knelt down next to her, also sweeping leaves away.

"I was wondering because usually the leaves underneath trees are not that dry," she muttered as they laid the earth underneath bare.

It looked like it had been recently disturbed. Very recently.

She could see the occasional worm on the surface curling up now that they were exposed. Boba's fingers dug into the earth, pushing the earth to the side, building up a small mount. Her fingers sank into the ground. It was so loose she didn't even need to work hard to shift the dirt to the side. The body must be underneath this. What else could it be?

"I think…" Boba started before pausing as he tugged on something hard and lifted a hand up. It was blue and the fingers were frozen in place. Rigor mortis had set in, then. It must be several hours since death.

No gloves. She looked over to Boba who pulled harder on the arm causing more dirt to fall away and a face came forth. The dirt had collected on the nose, mouth and eyelids. But half of the back of the skull was gone, charred flesh lining the edges. Blaster fire. Close range, too. Not a nice death. She pinched her lips and held her sleeve to her nose. The smell was unbearable.

"The gloves I found were his," he finished and set down the arm again.

"The size would fit," she commented as she withdrew her other hand. Nothing could be done here now.

"You going to contact the rest about this?"

"I will, but first," he stood up and motioned for her to do so too.

Her knees protested when she stood up as well. They had been in that bent position for too long. Then the hair on her neck and arms stood on end when Boba stepped towards her and held out his hand to her before continuing, "we are going back to our room."

She had to snort. Seemed like they would go back the way they had come. This time she did not hesitate to take his hand and was pulled to him, his arms hooking around her waist again. Why did her stomach swoop though when his arm had settled just underneath her chest? Weird. If she could only ask someone what these feelings were.

Back in their room, he immediately picked up the data-pad again typing his message in quickly. She didn't say anything. What they will do about this didn't really matter to her now. Only how could they go about catching them? Hadn't they proven to be slippery enough that Boba and an entire army of security could not immediately catch them?

She stepped into the bathroom to wash her hands, the pristine sink now littered with the dirt from outside. Somehow she felt nothing about the guard, if he had been complicit in all of it. No, they were sure he had been complicit. He had allowed an attempt to happen on her and Lorena. If she had not sensed it, they'd be dead. How could she feel sorry for someone like that? He wouldn't have felt anything if they had died. Unclenching the fist her hand had become, she ran a hand through her hair, loosening her braid. She felt like she should feel something about him being dead.

Groaning, she splashed water on her face to clear her thoughts. Thinking about it would get her nowhere. They couldn't ask him anymore what he had thought, or why. It all went with him to his grave. Struhn had said to shelve all of it away back when in their first weeks of living together.

Nothing could be done about it anymore, he had said. All that she could do was move forward. It had worked, worked too well. The front of her head tensed and she had to pinch the area. A headache was coming. Great. Just great. Exactly what she needed right now. Blowing out a stressed breath, she braided her hair again. Something to focus on for now. Maybe it would clear some stuff up once she was done, as wishful thinking as that was.

One could hope though.

"Altharya?" Boba's question made her jump in surprise, making her yank on a strand of hair and she hissed at the sharp pain. Ow. She hadn't sensed his approach. His helmet was off and his hair was dishevelled still, sticking from his skull in all directions. It was distracting. If she only could smooth them out… Her fingers were itching to do it.

"Yes?" she snapped at him. Now she had to untangle her hand from her hair and start all over again. Boba held up his hands while leaning against the door frame, a sign of pacification. What did he want?

"Once you are done, we are going to meet Kiani," he said, his face impassive. There was nothing in the Force coming from him. Weird, there had been the undercurrents of his thoughts; now their absence was louder than when they were there. Unnerving.

"What does she want?" she asked, finally her hand was free from her hair.

"She wants us both to observe some of the vetting," he shot her a sharp look, "Lorena told her about your…," he left the obvious rancor in the room and she had to sigh in defeat, "so she wants mine and your expertise on this matter."

"Lorena thought I was your slave, so she ordered that collar off," she explained. Why was he even explaining herself? As if he would care? He did not react at her explanation.

"I don't think you went around telling everyone about it. But they know somehow," he pressed on. Now searching her face for an answer.

"Lorena saw me use the Force," she shrugged. Boba flinched as soon as Force left her mouth. Oh. He didn't like that word. Did he hate the Jedi so much he also hated the Force?

"And now we are in this mess," he groaned, turning around to look behind him for a second, "Just get ready."

Then he was gone and the door shut in her face and she exhaled. Confusing man. Then again, it was not her problem.

Now if she could only stop lying to herself. Shaking her head, she went back to redoing her braid. As long as she didn't think about it, there was no problem on that front. Once she was done, she stepped back into their room where Boba was waiting for her.

"I am ready," she said simply and he motioned for her to walk in front of him.

"Also, Lorena sent a message that the dress is a gift," he sounded curious when he told her. She craned her neck to frown at him. The dress? What did she need a dress for? Where would she even put it?

"What do I need it for?" She asked him, stunned. His mouth twitched in amusement.

"I would give you some ideas if I had ever worn a dress," he opened the door holding it for her, while his left hand pushed her gently forward.

"Do you think I have an idea?" She shot back, hands flying in the air in exasperation. This time his amusement was palpable in the air around them. Her own mouth lifted into a smile from the mirth that was radiating from him in waves.

"Well… maybe on a mission?" he teased and her smile fell and the amusement turned sour making her shiver. Right. How could she forget? An apprentice to Darth Vader would probably have to be diverse in her duties. She rubbed her forearms with how cold she felt suddenly.

"Right, a mission," she mumbled and lowered her head to keep moving forward. Until a hand clamped down on her shoulder. It was Boba's, she knew that.

"Altharya, you will survive," he turned her around forcibly and his hands both clamped down on her forearms, "I will train you in what I know. You will not be left defenceless."

She shrank away from the intense stare he was giving her. Right now she'd prefer his helmet on. How could he stare down right to her bones? Especially with a promise that she knew he was going to make sure he'd keep. Could she even be sure? She felt herself nodding and his grip on her lessened.

"I promise," he said softly and then let go off her. She swallowed hard in response. Maybe she had a chance for once.

Just… what had brought the change in stance? Frowning, she turned around again, feeling his hand on her shoulder blades again.

"Keep moving," he said and sounded distant for once, "Kiani will be impatient."

As if he cared what Kiani thought.

They walked in silence to the rooms that were used as interrogation rooms for the remaining guards. Kiani waited for them already, arms crossed and feet tapping impatiently. As soon as they rounded the corner it was like a stone hit her in the head. She fell against Boba, his hand shifted immediately to the top of her shoulder steadying her.

"What's wrong?" he whispered into her ear, as he yanked them back behind the corner before anyone could have seen them.

"Sorry, I sense too much," she snapped back, pinching the bridge of her nose, "I am fine. Not used to this, I guess."

"Do you need a moment?" he asked, shuffling them further away from the corner. Her mouth was glued shut, she looked up at him as he stared into her eyes. He sighed and leaned against the wall next to her.

"Because of that collar?" he asked, he looked away in the opposite direction to her.

"Probably," she admitted and suddenly the wall of stones near the room seemed to be gone and she could breathe more easily now.

"I am good now," she touched his arm and he snapped his head towards her, looking at her questioningly.

"We can go," she said again.

"You sure?" he asked, pushing himself off the wall.

She nodded and he laid his hand on her shoulder now, more guiding than pushing. At least it seemed and felt that way. It was possible that her mind was too muddled right now. Slowly they rounded the corner and this time Kiani noticed them.

"Good, you are here," she waved them closer, her eyes fixed on Boba, "we have lined up the most likely candidates."

Kiani opened the door to her back and led them into a dark room that was lit from another window to its left side. Dimly lit from another room on the other side where several guards were sitting, all hunched over, stress lines deep on their faces. Somehow she felt sorry for them.

"Can they see us?" She asked when they walked in.

Kiani shook her head. "No, this is a one way mirror. We can see them, but they cannot see us."

"Ah," Altharya looked at the five people who looked like they were having the worst day of their life.

"Why have you lined them up if the guard who helped him is dead?" Boba questioned Kiani once the door was closed behind them.

"We believe that the assassin is trying to blend in with the guards," she explained quickly and pointed at the mirror, "These guards are the ones we believe have the most cause out of everyone here to help the Brents. Meaning little in this context."

"So your vetting just sorted out the less loyal ones out of staunchly loyal ones?" Boba asked and Altharya swore she could near some amusement in his tone.

Kiani cringed at the statement.

"You could say that," she admitted, "However, we have to start somewhere."

"That is fair enough," Boba shot back and they both looked at Altharya now.

"So…?" Kiani sounded awkward and her uncertainty flickered all around her. It was nauseating to sense. Right. She had sensed the assassin. Maybe… she stepped closer to the window and looked at each of the five guards sitting on their respective chairs.

Now how did one consciously sense their intentions? She hadn't been taught advanced Force techniques! Releasing a breath, she tried to remember. What was the important thing Master Renstan had drilled into her before leaving? The breath, one had to control their breathing to centre themselves.

It felt forced when she evened out her breaths, now acutely aware of the stares on her neck. Not helping! Her eyes closed and the cool glass of the window met her forehead. Was she doing this? At least her body had some muscle memory left. The other room was stifling with anxiety and… worry? Yeah, worry. Bright, fluctuating spots appeared in her mind and she probed the one closest to her. It felt warm, kind… no, this was not the one. She opened her eyes; a small woman was sitting on that chair, chewing on her nails. How could she even be considered?

Whatever. Closing her eyes again, she touched the other spots. Nothing dissimilar to the woman. Hmm, all of them nervous, one practically brimming close to a breakdown. Poor guy. She couldn't really blame him for feeling this. But none of them were the assassin or were in any way connected to them. They were back to square one.

"None of them are who we are looking for," she said out loud. It felt like her lungs collapsed from the sheer anger that now radiated from Kiani. She turned around to face the two who were now looking at her. Boba seemed unsurprised, while Kiani… there were no words to describe what she was picking up from that woman.

"You are telling me that the assassin is still running around?" Kiani growled and Altharya wanted to be as far away as possible from her now.

"Yes she is, are you sure the other guards are perfectly vetted?" Boba interceded, redirecting Kiani's eyes onto him.

Thank you.

"We are absolutely sure," she insisted and held her head, "Right… we need to call for a search of the grounds if he is hiding somewhere."

"Do you need us for this?" Boba asked and Altharya looked at him. He wanted them to get out of here now. Something she was not sure she had any feelings on. Lorena was someone who had treated her with some modicum of respect and consideration. Even if it was customary of her to do so, the gesture still counted. Kiani didn't respond.

The anger was gone, leaving the air between them charged causing the hair on her forearm to form goosebumps. Kiani was planning something on top of searching the grounds.

"I think we can shorten the search," Kiani suddenly said and Altharya felt Boba tensing up as if she was touching him.

"Do you need us for it?" he asked, sounding strained.

"Yes," Kiani drew that out, now focusing back on Altharya. Oh no. Anything involving her was going to end badly!

"We can put the assassin in a false sense of safety and use you as a bait to draw him out," Kiani pointed at her with her index finger.

Bait? Her? Was she trying to get her killed?

"No," Boba stated harshly standing in front of Kiani, towering over her. Though, Kiani only lifted her chin in defiance. That woman had guts.

"It is a sound idea," she defended herself and Boba glowered at her. Any lesser person would have cowered away by now.

"And what is stopping us from walking out of this house right now?" Boba challenged and the anger between those two spiked and Altharya had to pinch her lips. That blow exchange was going to be interesting. To say the least.

"As far as I know the reward is substantial," Kiani taunted and Boba groaned.

"I actually do not care about that money," he hissed back and this time Altharya's eyebrow shot up in surprise. Since when? This was new. When had that happened?

"What about an assassin on your heels once you leave without our support?" Kiani threw out now and Altharya had to slap a hand on her mouth. Well this was an argument.

"You forget who I am," Boba deadpanned and Kiani sighed. She just didn't know how to argue with Boba.

"We cannot allow the Arions to die," she sounded so exhausted now and Altharya felt sorry for her. When was the last time she had slept? Actually had a restful sleep? Probably not at all. Before either of them could argue, Kiani continued to talk, "if they do, there will be war."

Kiani looked at them pleadingly now and… she understood now why. War. Would she be able to live with herself if they walked away and millions of people died because of that? She looked to Boba now who seemed not moved. At least he didn't say anything.

"And any other ideas that do not involve putting her at risk of actually dying?" he pressed forward and Altharya knew that Kiani had won the argument. Though, maybe she should speak up.

"I will do it," she said loudly. Louder than she had intended. She cringed slightly when both Kiani and Boba swivelled around to glare at her.

"No!" Boba thundered, looking between her and Kiani who had set her jaw in a determined line.

"Alright," Kiani started before Boba shoved her to the side as he stormed over to Altharya.

"Boba," Altharya held her hands up to pacify him.

It at least stopped his stampede towards her, leaving his momentum between them as he swung around, unbalanced. Kiani had steadied herself again and now glared at the two of them.

"I swear to the four-eared nexu, you are going to jeopardise everything," Kiani raged at him, fists swinging around her.

"And endanger her?" Boba fired back, now pointing at her, "I know how you are. The Arions are more worth than anyone else. She is expendable in your eyes!"

"That is not what I said!" Kiani snapped back, sounding horrified. Altharya opened her mouth to interrupt the two of them. She had decided, for Force's sake!

"But it is what you meant!" Boba argued now, his right hand wandering close to his blaster that was holstered at his side.

"No! I just want…"

"I know what you want. But I won't let you put her at risk for something you can use the Arions for!" Boba deadpanned and Kiani shook her head, preparing to shout back.

"And I said yes!" Altharya finally yelled, silence falling over the three of them. Stunned silence. Boba… he was like a blank slate in the Force. It was concerning. Kiani felt relieved, not that she could blame her. If what she said was true… war would come. If the suspicion of Brent involvement proved to be true.

"Are you mad? No, scratch that, you are!" Boba shouted and she felt like something was weighing her down at how desperate he sounded.

"Haven't we already established that?" she threw back at him and he glared at her. He was seething underneath, she could sense it simmering. He groaned and rubbed his temples.

"No. We are not risking it," he doubled down and a streak of stubbornness emanated from him. They were not going to argue their way past him now. He would only dig himself further into his position and just storm out with her.

"Wouldn't you and the guards be looking out for me?" She threw the question on the table, earning a grateful look from Kiani. She sent her a brief smile, if it helped she could not really tell. Boba remained silent, just stared straight up at the ceiling. He was grinding through thoughts, that much she knew, only listening with half an ear.

"We'd be posted around the perimeter and with you she will be safe," Kiani joined in on pleading with him. Not really pleading, but imploring.

"And I should trust you?" he growled suddenly, now bristling which made him seem bigger than he was. A shiver ran down Altharya's spine. How had Kiani not relented yet?

"Do you have another option?" Kiani commented flatly, crossing her arms in defiance.

"I…" he started and stopped, looking back at the ceiling, thinking.

"Maybe you should think about it for a while," Kiani suddenly suggested smoothly and nodded to Altharya.

"I hope you can convince him, otherwise we are out of ideas," she mentioned and then she was out of the door closing it behind her.

"Fine," Boba snapped his hands in his hair now. He was stressed, not angry. It was easy to confuse the two, she would just have to keep it in mind for the next time. Was it best to let him calm down first? Having him rage more would not help anyone. Neither her, nor him nor Lorena. Well… she only really cared about Lorena at this stage. So she stood and waited. He'd be receptive at some stage.

She did have to wait for approximately half an hour before he could be talked at reasonably.

"Do you really want to throw yourself at their mercy," he had asked, finally wanting an answer. Sighing, she replied.

"You heard her, if we do not catch that assassin there will be war."

"There will be war one way or another," he deflated, looking pleadingly at her. Unfortunately for him, she was not going to take that without an explanation. She had made her decision, he better have a good argument to make her change that stance.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Altharya, someone killed Senya. That someone will have to pay," he countered.

"And how can we be sure that the Brents are behind all of this?"

"Even if they aren't directly, the political climate doesn't allow them to let it slide either. Whoever did, will bear the consequences. There is going to be war. Against whom is the only question that is open," he answered and stepped in front of her. She had to crane her neck slightly to look at his face.

"Shouldn't we bring this person to justice though?" she asked and his face scrunched up.

"Justice?" he sounded incredulous. Disbelief flooded her, making her pinch her lips. What was so ludicrous about that idea?

"Yes. Justice," she stubbornly repeated.

"Justice is dead," he said tonelessly, now a blank slate again, leaving her winded. How did one argue against that? If only… Justice wasn't dead. No. She refused to believe that.

"Maybe we can change that," she argued and his face softened. But she knew he was still uncertain. Just out of his depth.

"I cannot let you die either," he laid out his other major objection. Her protection.

"Surely the guards aren't that bad?" she joked and earned herself an annoyed glare.

"Don't joke about that," he hissed and she shrugged at him.

"You will be there as well."

He seemed uncertain now, unbalanced, as he frowned down at her. No reply came so she spoke again.

"I have faith in you."

He froze, eyes widened as he just stared at her. Shock crackled around him and she felt the charges on her nose and cheeks. Which were flaming by now. Had she really just said that? What had come over her?

She really needed to sew her mouth shut occasionally. This was embarrassing.

He definitely thought she was insane now! Not that it was an improvement, but she didn't need to prove it at every corner! She looked down to not have to look at him for a moment. So they stood there, not really looking at each other and not really wanting to talk to the other either. Seconds, minutes ticked by and her mouth stayed glued shut.

But.

She had said the truth.

She had faith in Boba to make sure she would not die. What was the point in lying? Even if his competencies were going to be the death of her, at least she could make sure that a war will not break out immediately with all the Arions dying.

Silence still reigned over them and it started weighing down on her shoulders. Words were eluding her though. What could be said that was resembling some intelligent speech?

"Boba," she tried talking softly, "we both want this to end. Please, at least try it with me."

Now she looked up to him again and for once he was open with her. At least his face seemed open and in the Force his emotions were more tangible. He had decided and she braced herself by crossed her arms across her chest.

"Only one try," he relented finally and he released a breath which washed over her in the Force. He had resigned himself to doing this. Frowning she looked at him. Exhausted was the other thing that was present on his face and just plain stress. So that been the sour undertone in his presence. Plain old stress.

"Should I tell Kiani?" She asked, turning away to go to the door.

"Alright," he sighed and his presence dimmed noticeably.

So he was doing it consciously. Interesting. She opened the door to see Kiani conversing quietly with another guard a few steps away from the door. Good. There was no way she could have heard anything they had said.

"Kiani?" She called out for the woman who had her back to her. Kiani turned around quickly, waved the other guard off and walked over to her.

"And?"

"One try," Altharya shrugged and Kiani sighed.

"We will only need one," Kiani sounded determined and her jaw tightened. Then they walked back into the room with a waiting Boba who just stared at the two of them. Kiani didn't even acknowledge him anymore, only pulled out a data-pad from a pouch on her uniform.

"While you two were still deciding, I have asked our best strategists to start working on a plan to lure the assassin out," she started pulling up a holographic display of the mansion's layout. Altharya squinted at the harsh blue glow in the relative darkness they were in.

"What have they come up with?" Boba asked shifting on his feet, so that he was leaning towards them. He was paying attention. Altharya shot him a small smile, but he didn't react to it. Her smile fell. Had he even seen it?

Get a grip, if he did or did not see it, it wouldn't matter. Shouldn't matter.

"We will announce tomorrow that we have concrete evidence that the assassin has departed the compound," she explained curtly, the holo-map zooming onto a certain location.

A courtyard in the western part appeared.

"However we will also announce that the Arions have granted you some reward. There has been a briefing already done by Eric Arion," she looked to Boba now who inclined his head towards her, "He is prepared to increase your payment should this go successfully."

"Good," he commented and turned his attention back to the map, "What else has he said?"

"He wishes for this to be done as quickly as possible. So the plan of baiting the assassin will be in motion the next day after the announcement," Kiani sighed and displeasure spiked around her.

"So he wants to risk the assassin catching on it?"

"Given how neither an Arion or Miss Struhn are dead, they would be desperate, was his reason in having no delay."

"You are banking a lot on them desperately trying to finish their contract," Boba countered, frowning at Kiani who shrugged.

"We need to get rid of this situation immediately," she sounded robotic citing another reason and annoyance glimmered before it was gone.

"And risking not getting any results?" Boba questioned, pointing towards a tiny red dot blinking in the middle of the court yard.

"Mr. Arion believes that dangling Miss Struhn in front of their nose will make them throw caution in the wind," Kiani said and Altharya felt herself bristle.

Hang on. She was still here!

"You guaranteed my safety," she reminded them both sharply. Kiani rolled her eyes which made Boba glower at her.

"You know my conditions," he held up a hand making Kiani groan.

"I know your conditions, but the assassin doesn't know any of our safety precautions!" She argued exasperated throwing both of her hands up in the air.

"Let's say you are right, but if I find anything at fault with your preparations, you better have compensation," Boba voiced his warning lowly and the hair on her neck rose at how much space he was suddenly occupying, crowding Kiani who this time leaned away. His upper lip twitched for a split of a second, but he looked positively smug.

"What kind of compensation?" Kiani probed cautiously. Altharya crossed her arms, watching Boba for his reply. Good question. What was the compensation he was thinking of?

"I have an interest in her being unharmed and if she is, I want her body to be turned over to me," he listed off.

Why did he want her body? To bury it?

"Bereavement compensation," he flashed his teeth at Kiani who swallowed. Bereavement money. Only awarded to relatives of deceased people. How was he planning on claiming… never mind. He was demanding to be eligible.

One way to go about it. Hopefully she survived and then she could watch him being disappointed in not getting money out of it. It would be satisfying. Even if it would be short lived.

"I will inform him of your conditions," Kiani muttered before pinching the bridge of her nose, "Can we please get back to the plan?"

"What do we need to know?" Altharya interceded before Boba could poke anymore holes.

"You will be sitting on a bench," Kiani explained, pushing a button causing the map to zoom onto a stone bench circle around a … it looked like a statue. She wasn't too sure.

"And there is one good spot that can be easily reached for the assassin," Boba quirked an eyebrow, but thankfully did not interrupt.

"We will bank on the assassin setting up in that spot while we have a sensor alerting us if they set up there," another red spot started blinking a bit further away from the bench she was supposed to be the bait on.

It sounded strange when she thought about it.

"How can you be sure that the assassin will set up there?" Boba asked, staring at the set up on the table now.

"They would be pretty dumb not to take a prime spot," Kiani argued.

"And where would security set up if we are at that stage?" Boba countered.

"We will have more details later. Mr. Arion mentioned that you might want to choose your position and we will work around that," Kiani suggested, shutting off the projection, leaving them in relative darkness.

Her eyes adjusted to the lighting soon after, seeing Boba relaxing his stance a tiny bit.

"I assume you will forward me the details later?" He asked, already turning away from Kiani.

"Of course."

"Good," then he was in front of her, a hand on her shoulder turning her around.

"Send it to my data-pad," he sounded bored.

Then they were back in the corridor, hurrying to their room. She kept her mouth shut. For now. Until they got to their room. Boba did not even pay her any attention, as soon as the door closed behind them, his hand vanished as if he had burned himself. Her gut dropped when he walked past her, back turned until he reached the table at the side of the wardrobe. To say he was not happy was understating the obvious far too much. Heck, even in the Force she could feel him boiling and his mind was racing. Everything was too slippery for her to grasp.

If she could feel this going on, he had slipped on his usually controlled mental shields. Maybe she should prepare herself for them ditching this place in the middle of the night. Awkwardly, she stood in the middle of their room. What could she do? There was nothing for her to do! Nothing to read up on, nothing to watch. No access to the holo-net. Nor could she talk to Lorena.

Staring at the ceiling didn't really sound appealing either. Was there anything she could use to numb her mind to? Another data-pad somewhere?

Narrowing her eyes, she looked around. Surely they had one lying around? Would she get one if she requested? She shot a look to Boba who was doing something on the table, deep in thought. His thoughts more muted now, withdrawing from her mind until they were a faint blip around her.

He was cooking something up.

Oh well, she was going to be dragged around anyway. Not that she could influence it. She had said her piece.

Hm.

Maybe there was a data-pad in the nightstands. She opened the drawers and thank the Force, there was a data-pad in it. One of the newer versions too. Grabbing it, she sat down on her bed, turning it on.

"What are you doing?" Boba's sudden question made her head snap up in surprise. He had turned his around to her looking at her curiously.

"I'll wait until I am needed again," she said holding the datapad up.

"Where did you get that?" Boba sounded suspicious stepping away from the table. No desk. The flickering off of a holo-projection behind him distracted her briefly. So he had gone straight to planning.

"It was in one of the nightstands," she told him lowering her hand with the data-pad. He was in front of her now, holding his right hand out asking if he could take it. Reluctantly she gave it to him. Was there cause for concern? She watched silently as he pushed a few buttons, the data-pad humming to life, while he seemed to look for something before he handed it back.

"I guess it was given to us and we haven't noticed," he shrugged, not looking at her anymore. Did he hate this set up that much? Releasing a breath, she looked down on the data-pad whose display showed the usual applications.

Poking him would have to wait until he accepted that. If he saw it fit to rip her from her life on Teth, he could deal with a day or two of being annoyed with her. She would take those small acts of revenge.

Only if it didn't make her feel so hollow in the process. Was it even her trying to get back at him?

Yes. She wanted to… What exactly did she want?

No answer came to mind. She wanted to inconvenience Boba, but also what would change if she did? There was no way he wouldn't just brush it off and still hand her over in the end. Why expend the energy?

Her mouth felt dry and she had to swallow to loosen her tongue from the roof of her mouth. Sitting cross-legged on the pillow, she opened the holo-net.

It felt so good to finally be able to look up news again. Would she be able to send Struhn a message? Her heart stuttered and her chest grew cold. How could she forget? How could Boba forget? This was her opportunity to tell Struhn and he could….

Her stomach dropped and pressure built behind her nose and her eyes. What could he even do? Stuck on Teth and stuck in that clinic. How could he just up and go up against Boba Fett? Something she would not advise anyone, medically speaking.

At least she could… tell him? Like write a goodbye letter to thank him for raising her when Master Renstan left.

That was morbid. Even if he hadn't seen her as an adoptive daughter in the end, which would have… Oh she should not even think about it. She will never know and she should forget about it. Never to wonder about whether he was just her mentor or something akin to a daughter to him.

It hurt. Force, it hurt.

Her fingers were shaking when she opened up a message box, only to hover over the keys and not type in anything of meaning. His address had been memorised and typed out without her noticing. Though, should she? Beside it being cruel, hadn't he hidden away from the Empire for other reasons other than her being in his care? Her contacting him would only compromise this.

She closed the message box again. Maybe it was best to forget him and Teth. That was where Soren's body still was. No traditional funeral according to his people's ways. All her fault.

"Altharya?" Boba suddenly asked from across the room and she jerked her head up.

"What?" she snapped and her voice broke at the end. He frowned at it and she could feel muted confusion swinging between them.

"You are not okay," he commented, not even bothering to ask. There was no answer to it, so she could only look at him. He sighed and walked over to her, the holo-projection still flickering on the desk, to sit down on the edge of her bed next to her.

"Are you shaken about the corpse?" he asked bluntly and she immediately shook her head. No. Though, she should lie on this.

"No," she finally pried her teeth apart, "I am just realising I can never go home."

It was the core truth of the matter. She could never go back to who she was.

Boba didn't respond. At least he had the decency to look away briefly. Good. He was the reason why she was here! What could he even say to that? Nothing really.

"Home is what you make it," he said not bothering to look at her. It was not the reply she expected, but somehow it was not an answer aimed directly at her either. The Force around him was silent, whatever undercurrents coming from him were too muted to pick up.

"What are you saying?" She chose to probe him. It was not on her to puzzle out what he meant or hinting at. He looked back to her, eyes hooded with … oh. He was remembering. His father?

"I am saying that not everything is lost," he finally said and she frowned. Everything was lost. Him saying otherwise didn't make it true.

"How?" she questioned, now setting the datapad aside to lean forward, her face close to his. He didn't retreat, but his eyes dropped from her eyes to the blanket. Then he looked back into her eyes. His throat bobbed with a heavy swallow.

"When I lost my father," he started and she opened her mouth to tell him that he didn't need to tell her all of this, but closed it when he gained a resolute glint in his eyes, "I was tossed around between people until I could fend for my own. Only then was I able to find my own home, or more it found me."

He was… being honest. There was no deceit that she could feel, but why would he tell her all of that? Her! A walking credit bag that he just needed to ensure didn't die.

Or maybe he didn't view her that way. Not anymore at least.

Now that was a thought.

A very interesting thought.

Did she want to dive into that? To even think about what it meant? To her?! She already had trouble discerning him from the man who had shown concern, care towards her and the ruthless bounty hunter who had murdered people so he could collect the bounty on her.

It was confusing.

He was still looking at her and she could not find it within herself to look away either. There was this … sadness splashing between them and she wanted to reach out to comfort him. Would he welcome that comfort though? Her hand twitched from where it had clenched the blanket. His eyes locked on the small movement, not moving from it. Slowly he lifted his hands from the edge of the bed and his right hovered slightly over her left cheek, while his upper body twisted so he was facing her more directly. His fingertips just a hair width away from her skin and she could practically feel the touch, even when it was not there. She inclined her head towards it and he didn't take his hand away either.

There they were, his hand cradling her cheek and his fingers curled around her ear. His thumb brushed over her cheekbone to settle underneath her eye. It was comforting to her, warmth spreading from where he was touching her. Even her stomach felt weird, all fluttery. What was that? Even what was coming from him was confusing. There was this tentative feel of comfort, warmth and care coming from him. She could get lost at how open he was letting himself be to her.

Her left hand settled on his knee. Where else was she to put it? It would have been awkward if she hadn't done anything with them.

It all ended far too quickly and she had to suppress a whine when he withdrew his hand and dropped it back into his lap. All closed off to her now as well.

But the glimpse was enough to leave her wondering for hours probably days. Just in how much trouble were they really?

"What happens now?" she asked out loud to which Boba sighed in response.

"I'm still trying to figure out where I'll stake out while we bait the assassin," he then replied looking back to the still switched on holo-projection.

Had he still not figured that out?

"Is there a problem?" she probed carefully, eyeing his face for any tension.

"I do not like how sure they are about that the spot they pointed out will be the location where the assassin will be," he complained, rubbing his face with his hands in frustration.

"Surely the assassin doesn't know everything about this place?" She wondered to which he shook his head.

"You have to assume that they know everything, so you cannot be blindsided. Especially if those spots are on a map," he looked back to her briefly before dropping his eyes.

"Fair point," she conceded. What else? Not that she could really help him in this.

"You said you felt the assassin?" Boba asked flatly, face blank. He didn't like asking this, even someone Force-blind could see that.

"Yes," she frowned. What was he getting at?

"If you feel anything, you will tell me," Boba ordered, looking now as if he had bitten on something sour.

"How can you rely on me feeling him in time?" She asked. The Force was fickle in its favours.

"I am not relying on it, but at this stage I am taking everything I can get," he bit back.

"How bad is it?" she deflated. Kiani hadn't seemed too concerned?

"Do you trust them to look out for you if their only priority are the Arions?" he asked bluntly with a quirked eyebrow.

Alright. He had a point. Their main priority were the Arions, never her. The only value they both had were the key to finding the assassin. Her gut dropped at the realisation even if she had suspected it all along. To have it spelled out was another thing all together.

"So what do we do?" she asked him.

"We establish our own back-up plan," he replied.

"Alright, I follow you so far. But what do you have in mind already?"

"I am looking for a spot where I can have those prime hiding locations in view and we need a way to communicate," he explained while getting up from the bed.

"A way to communicate?" She asked. There were ways to communicate, sure. Earpiece with integrated microphone or hand signals.

"Well you cannot just shout if you sense him," he snarked and she rolled her eyes at him. She knew that! But how?

"You know what I meant!" She shot back and he threw her a smug grin.

"Have you ever heard of SVR?" he asked and she had to shake her head. It wasn't even an acronym she knew on top of her head either.

"It is a device that takes your vocal muscles and tongue movements into account and translates into sound in an earpiece which," he tapped his ear, "you and I will be wearing."

"Do you have them on you?" She had to ask. It sounded complicated and why would he have that on him anyways?

"Of course. You always go everywhere prepared," he showed his teeth now with his grin. He was thoroughly enjoying this.

"Prepared for what? Surprise team up?" She joked causing Boba to snort. Amusement spiked up around him.

"Especially because it is unexpected," he joined in and she could feel herself grinning back with him.

"How often does that happen?" She teased.

"Ohhh… wouldn't you want to know," he winked to her before getting up, "But I still need to figure out where my position will be," he grumbled walking back to the holoprojection.

"Hey, would you do me a favour?" He asked before she could even think of any reply to everything he had just said. She cocked her head to the side. A favour? Her? This was going to be good.

"See what they are saying about this whole situation on the system news, especially on Brent and Arion side," he said and she could feel his shoulders tensing from that distance.

"Why?"

"I do not like being left out from not knowing how fast this bantha shit will hit the fan," he complained as he leaned back over the projection.

"Alright…" she muttered opening up the holo-net.

They were up until late into the night for Boba to figure out something that was close to his liking while she scoured the range of new organisations spouting their various renditions of what happened. Most common theme: sympathy. Even the Brents had released an official statement about how their thoughts were with the Arions even among the ongoing tensions. Lorena's and Senya's mother had declined to make a statement from where she currently was. The sites that spouted some conspiracy theories were at least somewhat amusing.

At least there was no news of the compromised mansion. Boba only muttered about something going right for once.

Altharya shifted on the bench she was sitting on. It was not uncomfortable, with pillows draped over the white stone, but she could feel more than a dozen pair of eyes on her back and it was driving her nuts.

"Would you please sit still?" Boba's annoyed voice crackled in her right ear.

It felt weird to have those electrodes sticking to the outside of her throat, hidden underneath the collar of her shirt. Even weirder was that she didn't need to move her tongue or mouth for Boba to receive her messages.

I think I underestimated how many eyes will be on me.

Suppressed chuckling could be heard and she sighed. She was complaining to the one who didn't want to do this in the first place. But he was the only one who could even hear her. At this stage she had a feeling he was enjoying how much she hated the pricking at the back of her neck. The data-pad in her hand she was pretending to read something on felt heavy in her hands. She had already forgotten what was displayed on it.

Maybe she should pretend to open other applications or click something. Make it seem more… natural, as Kiani had put it before they had moved into positions. Kiani was around somewhere. But she was more occupied with trying to sense the assassin moving into her perimeter.

So far no luck. That familiar presence had not even graced her senses yet. Not that it meant anything. Boba and the Arions security around Kiani were on the lookout with their entire tech that was not explained to her.

Frankly she had more confidence in their methods than with her rather fickle grasp on the Force.

Anything? She sent to Boba. It took a while before he responded, "All clear for now."

She blew a stray strand of her hair out of her face. No braid today, so they could disguise the earpiece in her ear more easily. Wasn't too much of a problem, but she couldn't seem like she was not too used of having her hair on her neck or ears. Why did she have her hair at this length again?

Vanity.

And something she was not going to change anyways. Why was she even complaining? This was her idea! Or more, she persuaded Boba to let them pull this stunt. Which was turning out to yield no results.

Please for once could something go according to plan?

"I heard that," Boba commented suddenly.

Then stop listening.

"Hard not to," he snarked back and she bit the inside of her cheek to prevent herself retorting.

He was definitely enjoying this since she could not react visibly to him. At least she found an interesting article to read finally. Shifting the datapad she opened the piece in a medical journal, there was a slight shift in the breeze. She froze. Had it just gotten colder?

I am feeling something.

"Anything specific?" Boba sounded tense as he asked her. Anticipation now drumming all around her. The others knew too. Good.

No…

Lowering her head so that wherever that assassin was they would not see her close her eyes so she could focus more clearly on the shift. It felt like the air was charging around her and… a blip was moving. A blip that when she concentrated on it, felt rather familiar. The assassin.

They are moving into position. Can't sense where.

Boba did not answer this time. Could he hear her still? Her shoulder blades numbed down and the feeling of her skin crawling travelled up her spine to the back of her neck. Come on, don't fail her now.

Boba? She probed him again and still no reply came.

Her gut seized painfully as she snapped her head up to look over the landscape in front of her. The assassin had been too slippery for her to grasp their presence completely, but she knew that they were somewhere in front of her. Nothing suspicious could be seen and she deflated as much as her now constricting gut allowed. Was she sure she just had not eaten something weird this morning?

The others knew and their anticipation practically a thick cloud in the air around her and still rising. What was Boba doing?

"I see them," he finally acknowledged and he started moving, "Stay where you are."

Alright.

Hopefully they could intercept the guy in a moment. Boba's presence brushed past hers fleetingly before he was a muted spot among the many in the garden. Guess he had a grasp where they were. Sighing, she looked back down to the datapad. Back to looking normal, not that the hair on her neck agreed with her on that.

"Damn, we lost him. You better move!" Boba's frantic command shocked her into a flinch. Move. Right. Her insides strangely calmed at the order.

But where to? Her body moved on its own, throwing her to the side, abandoning the datapad to fall onto the ground, just as something red zipped from a group of pillars surrounded by bushes. She landed with her right shoulder on the gravel that filled the paths, the tiny stones digging through the cloth into her skin. There was the distinct pop and cracking of stone, making her throw her arms over her head to ward off the stone particles flying all around her.

This was getting old.

"Next time you move when I tell you to," Boba hissed into her ear while she scrambled to her feet. It had come from in front of her. The statue behind the bench should be enough of a cover for now. Crawling she dragged herself behind the chunky block, just as another blaster bolt zipped past where she had just been.

Then guards were swarming all around her, crouching to the sides of the statue with their blasters ready and aiming. Several blaster shots could be heard in the distance, probably Boba and the assassin.

Someone yelled and it sounded as if two bodies crashed into the path on the other side of the statue. So Boba had caught the assassin. Good. Her knees were still shaking as she re positioned herself. Get away or stay here? The guards beside her then started shooting, the sound of their discharging blasters covering all the noise of the fight ensuing out of her sight.

Hopefully they did not hit Boba. She was not equipped to handle anymore blaster wounds!

Kiani suddenly appeared in front of her, grasping her forearms forcefully. She felt herself being yanked to her feet, her knees now locked up. Could she really leave Boba to… Shaking her head she wanted to slap herself. Boba was capable of handling himself. As she was being pulled forward by the older woman, she looked back briefly.

Boba stood to her with his back, his cape flying with his erratic movement to avoid the blaster fire coming his way. Her heart stopped when she finally saw who they had been waiting to confront for days now. Dressed in a guard's uniform, a face mask covering their face, but it looked like a man. A blaster and an energy shield in each hand. He didn't seem to notice them stumbling away from the fight, not with the way his face seemed transfixed on Boba.

She looked back to the path they were running along. Where were they even going? Blaster fire was still ringing behind them as they neared a tree that wound around a pillar.

"DOWN!" Someone suddenly shouted.

Not Boba, one of the guards. Had they meant them?

A small ball flew over her head, the sun reflecting brightly from the metallic surface. A grenade. Before she could formulate another thought, Kiani came to a crunching halt causing the two of them to fall down on their knees when a loud boom rang in their ears, deafening her, her vision swimming. Kiani was on the floor groaning weakly and Altharya had to put her hands on the ground to stabilise herself. Stone and wood were raining down on them, as the tree and the pillar crashed around them with a resounding thud.

This time Kiani screamed. Pain flared up and stabbed her behind the eyes, sprang up in her right leg and it was excruciating. Altharya had to blink several times to clear her vision and refocus her mind on what was happening. She was not injured… no, this was coming from Kiani.

Oh Force. This was bad, Kiani's eyes were rolled back with pain, but her leg. It was crushed beneath the pillar, blood seeping from underneath. It would be a miracle if the leg could be saved. Shifting on her knees she looked behind to see what was going on. Two of the guards were running towards them, just as Boba looked back to lock eyes with her for a split second before snapping his attention back on the assassin. Pain still befuddled her mind, but she felt the satisfaction permeating underneath it all, souring it. He had thrown it to prevent them fleeing and now that he had achieved that… they were a sitting nerf. Her hand closed around Kiani's who squeezed it instinctually as her screaming fell into whimpering.

Then finally the guards were beside her, settling next to her behind the pillar using it as a cover from the incoming blaster fire. One was on his earpiece, shouting.

"We need medevac down in the courtyard, crushed leg," he rattled off robotically as the two of them tried to move the pillar.

Her hands were shaking, even with Kiani's desperate grip. Should she try and see if she could even lift the pillar with the Force? The two guard's faces were contorted with strain as they laboured to even move it an inch. The Force did not respond when she lifted her hand, trying to grasp the object.

Why did it not help her? She looked down to Kiani whose sobs were heartwrenching, tears running down her face. The Force was supposed to be good! Right?

Right now she could not do much, other than offer comfort. How she hated that position. Stroking Kiani's forehead, she looked back to the fight that was still ongoing. Boba was weaving in between the shots that the assassin was firing as if he was weightless, his shots always narrowly missing the assassin who had to block and evade fast to avoid Boba and the guard's fire.

It continued until a shot landed. She had to double over when her chest constricted so painfully that she forgot to draw a breath. One of the two guards who had remained behind, fell over on his back, a smoking hole in his chest. Then something ripped in the Force and a spot fizzled out.

Dead. Numbness overtook her, as she stared at the still shocked expression on the guard's face. She had never caught the name, but she would have never thought of learning their names either. Now they were dead and- she ducked her head to avoid a stray blaster bolt whipping over her head.

That assassin was good; they had known that. But to see it was another matter altogether. He was a match to Boba, at least in her opinion. If he was not, then it was a miniscule difference.

Force… she felt helpless. Unable to help Kiani or Boba. She wanted to cry. Once more she heard the grunts of the two guards trying to lift the pillar.

She had to try again. Who was she to give up after one failed attempt? Hadn't Struhn taught her better? One more try. Surely it was her failing the first time around. Maybe she couldn't lift the pillar on her own yet, like the guards couldn't. Would it work if they combined their strengths?

Drawing a deep breath, she lifted her free hand again. The numbness spread from her chest to her fingers and finally... finally she grasped the pillar and moved it with the efforts from the guards. A gasp escaped her when the pillar finally rolled off Kiani's leg and in front of them, forming a more effective barrier. Scrambling to Kiani's side she looked at the damage. Bone was protruding from skin, blood pooling underneath the thigh. It was broken in several places at least. Chewing on her lip, she decided against prodding for more. They had called for help, with painless diagnosis methods. She looked back to Kiani who now was breathing rapidly. Shock had not abated yet. Hopefully it numbed the pain until the medics arrived. The two guards flocked to her, grasping at Kiani, pushing her away. Did they know what to do?

She grasped the pillar to steady herself and looked over to Boba who was still fighting the assassin. Frustration whizzed past her as yet another shot failed to land on Boba.

But this time, Boba connected, knocking the blaster from the assassin's hand. With a loud yell, the assassin grabbed behind him wanting to draw something forward. Only he did not get that far, Boba tackling him. Both crashed to the ground in a flurry of fists and a blade skittered on the gravel which came to a spinning stop not too far away from her. Her eyes locked on the weapon that now was lying idly without anyone really paying attention to it other than her. Boba and the assassin were still wrestling on the ground. What was Boba trying to do? He could have killed the guy by now.

Unless.

Unless they wanted him alive.

For what, she did not know. Did she really care? No, she didn't.

He deserved to die. No being that had effectively killed a child deserved any consideration of being left to live.

Screw being a Jedi. She hadn't been one since she was eleven. Her nails scratched over the pillar as she climbed over it to stumble towards the weapon. The grunts from the two wrestling near her grew audible now, Boba finally managing to get to his feet with the other swinging at him which got blocked with Boba's elbow. Their boots dug into the little stones, as they pushed against the other, trying to unbalance the other.

Only it was not working for the assassin, Boba was immovable, his hands grabbing the front of the other's jerkin. Her hands closed around the hilt now, the grip cool against her fingers and palm. It was lighter than she had expected, in her memories the practice sabers at the temple had been heavier. A small button was just beneath her thumb.

A vibrosword. Slowly she lifted it up, unused to the weight pulling at her wrist. Her eyes locked onto the assassin who was straining against Boba's hold who had yanked him around so that his back was facing her.

Perfect.

One step forward, her insides hardened. All uneasiness fled from her, numbness taking over as she readied the blade to strike.

How both of them of them hadn't noticed her was beyond her.

Another step, and her vision narrowed down onto a specific spot. Senya was dying a slow death. He didn't deserve a fast one either. If she hit him there, he would die a slow and agonising death. Good. The cold spread from her gut to her chest, freeing her lungs, her breathing becoming more even. Her throat freed up and her nose felt like needles were inside her nostrils. It was like ice that dug itself into her skull when the assassin finally was in her reach.

Then Boba noticed her, he jerked trying to yank them both away from her, as if he knew what she was going to do. But not even he could pull fast enough, when her arm lifted and the sword impacted in the assassin's side. Just where his kidney was. With a yell, the assassin fell, Boba having let go of him. Blood seeped into the stones from underneath the man, his face ashen and a scream seemed to be stuck in his throat.

Heat rushed into her head, down her chest and into her hand. The weapon was so infinitely heavier now, until it slipped from her fingers. It clattered to the ground, as her knees buckled as any strength left her.

She had willingly inflicted a torturous death on a being.

Willingly. No matter how much she thought he deserved it.

Maybe she was the monster….

She was kneeling on the ground now, the assassin within her arm's reach. But then Boba was in her view, his hands gripping her face forcing her to look at him. His mouth was moving. Where was the sound? WHAT WAS HE SAYING?

With a guttural groan, sound rushed back to her.

"Hey, hey, don't phase out on me," Boba was talking far too fast.

Her brain couldn't quite catch up with him. It felt like his hands were the only thing keeping her upright at the moment. A moment later enough strength returned for her to lift her hands to grasp his that were still framing her cheeks.

"He is going to die," she heard herself state bluntly.

"He was dead one way or another," Boba sighed, "The Arions just hoped to interrogate him before."

She looked into the black of his visor, his face swimming behind it in her mind. Whatever he was feeling, she couldn't really grasp it. His shields were back firmly in their place.

"Guess that is not going to happen," she mumbled and Boba's left hand travelled down to her shoulder blades leaving a soothing cool trail behind.

"Can you stand?" he asked quietly.

Could she? Maybe. She nodded, her hand grasping his hand tighter pulling herself up with it. As soon as she stood, she leaned into his side. Even if for support, it was better than nothing right now. The assassin was still on the ground, but now she saw more guards surrounding them. Their eyes bored into her skin. Relief flooding her senses and she had to close her eyes to attempt to block everything out.

It was over.

They were safe. They no longer had to stay in this house.

Just why did she feel so empty? It should feel more meaningful for what she had done. Boba's arm was around her waist now, steadying her. Was she shivering? She looked up at him, his helmet now underneath his other arm. When had he taken it off?

Then everything descended into a flurry of activity, they were ushered into the house and were sat down in one of the reception rooms with the promise of being attended to in a moment. The quiet of the room, the softness of the chairs they were sitting in. It was a stark contrast to the chaos they had just been surrounded with.

"It is all over now," she finally vocalised. Boba looked at her for a moment, face closed before answering, "Yep. It is over."

He gave a long assessing look.

"How are you feeling?" He probed and she knew that he was asking about the way she doomed the assassin to a slow death.

"Empty," she answered truthfully. His eyebrows quirked, astonishment resonating between them.

"Empty?" he asked to confirm.

"Somehow I thought it would be…" she was grappling for words. What had she expected to feel? Before she could find one, Boba answered it for her, "Comforting? Glad?"

"Yes," she frowned.

"I understand," he said while his face softened, his eyes searching hers, "But also understand that you cannot take it back."

"I know," she countered. Of course she knew. She clenched a fist on her lap, there was no room for regret.

"Look…" before Boba could continue, the door opened again and they both stood up when Eric, Morion and Lorena Arion walked through the doors. All three looking grim and… she felt determination and dread. What were they dreading?

"Mr. Fett," Eric Arion began, his eyes settling only briefly on her, "your payment has been authorised to be transferred to your account," he ended as if they were in a business… No they were in a business transaction.

She wanted to scream. Only her lungs felt deflated, unable to even form a word. Boba didn't speak, his eyes firmly fixed on the three people in front of them.

"You also have our gratitude," Eric Arion continued, sitting down with the others following his lead.

"It was a job," Boba deadpanned earning him a reproachful look from Morion which was halted by Eric holding up a hand.

"We understand perfectly that you are a man of your profession, Fett," Eric sneered before he dropped back into his neutral mask, "You are free to leave now and…" he waved a servant forward who held the vibrosword in his hands. Her gut twisted when the handle was offered to Eric who took it.

"This blade belongs to the Brents," he stated matter-of-factly. His eyes narrowing at the last word, "I hope you understand what this means."

"Repercussions?" Boba asked, leaning back on his chair.

"Indeed, we are still looking to confirm the identity of the assassin. However I know this one. This is the bastard son of the current Brent leader. His name was Teruk Brent I believe."

"Rather gutsy to send a Brent to assassinate an Arion," Boba said, frowning.

"You are right. A risky move. But it happened," Eric remarked lightly now holding the blade towards them.

"I think this would be a good trophy for you," Eric offered and she swore there was disdain dripping from every word. Boba did not react, only took the blade calmly while maintaining his eye contact with Eric Arion.

It was as if the two men were battling, their presences clashing turbulently.

"It will fit with the rest of my collection," Boba said lightly and it sounded like a threat. At least to her. Looking back to Eric, she knew he had heard it too.

"I have arranged a transport back to your hangar. It is waiting for you once you have gathered your things," with that Eric stood up and walked out, Morion following him with the guards and servants filing out then.

Lorena remained seated, giving them both a sharp look. Her mind was shrouded even if her intent to talk to them was clear.

"Altharya, I am glad to have met you," Lorena smiled at her making her heart lighter, "And I hope I will see you again."

"And I thank you for your hospitality and gifts," Altharya responded automatically, the tips of her ears burning. What else was she to say? This was awkward.

"I have taken the liberty to put together some more clothes for you," Lorena shot a thinly veiled glare in Boba's direction. He tensed, but didn't say anything.

"She was never your slave," Lorena finally let the tooka out of the bag and Altharya felt her mouth drop open. To her side, Boba just felt uncomfortable.

"No, she never was," he said carefully, his brows furrowed in suspicion.

"Why then did she have a Force suppression collar on her?" Lorena questioned, her voice low bordering on barely concealed anger.

It definitely was anger that was projected broadly from her. Altharya looked at Boba who looked back at her. Should they tell her? Better not. Vader was another beast to tackle, even as a de-facto leader of a world.

"Force-sensitives are not safe," he explained and it was vague enough to true. Heck, it was true. She was not safe. No one was safe with her either. Her hands still looked normal.

Did the Force condemn someone to be … whatever she had been back there?

"So your solution was to suppress it and hope she would not go insane from being cut off?" Lorena sounded sceptical and Altharya winced. At least she saw what Boba had wanted her to see.

"It was fine," she interceded earning herself a surprised look from Lorena, "I was safe," she looked to Boba seeing him staring surprised at her, "and even with it off, I do not think anyone is really looking for a Force-sensitive here."

Lorena seemed to mull it over in her head, her anger receding rapidly leaving tentative apprehension behind.

"I see…" she said finally.

"Is there anything you need us for?" Boba asked, "We would like to get to our original destination."

Oh. Their hideout until Vader gave the clear for her to be delivered to the slaughter. Her chest tightened at the thought. Even with Boba's training, would she even stand a sliver of a chance with it? Or would she fit right in?

Which was scarier?

"Oh? Where are you heading?" Lorena asked lightly, curiosity shining through now.

"We are heading to Weqret," Boba informed her, caution slipping into his tone.

Why would he tell her? Wasn't the point in laying low that no one really knew where they were? She frowned at the two. There was something she was missing.

"I hear it's beautiful at this time of the year," Lorena commented before rising causing them both to stand up as well.

"I hope I can call on you?" Lorena inquired suddenly.

So this was what it was. Why couldn't she ask this in front of the others? Nervousness permeated the air, stifling it. Hm. Lorena was hiding something. Something they would be tangled in later.

"If you pay," Boba shrugged, his hand seeking out Altharya's shoulder, settling on it as if to root her.

"I can pay," Lorena assured shooting him a grin before it fell, "I can only warn you. For decades the tensions between our families have only worsened. There will be war sooner rather than later. I can only hope I can rely on you."

Somehow it felt like it was not the whole story. She felt Boba nodding beside her.

"You have my contact," he said curtly.

"Good. Let's hope it will never come to that," Lorena muttered more to herself and then louder, "I shall let you leave now."

With that she turned and walked out, closing the door behind her.

When the doors were finally shut, Altharya turned around to Boba who was shaking his head now.

"What was that?" She demanded to know and he held a hand up.

"I don't know either," he admitted before sighing, "and I hope it will not come to the point where I need to step in."

"She said that war will be coming," she stepped closer to Boba who grunted. Unwillingness flared before it was muted. His hand on her shoulder travelled across her shoulder to a semi-embrace, drawing her closer.

"I know what she said and I also know that she does not want the other two to know that she is planning something."

"I thought as much," she smirked up at him which was only reciprocated for a split second.

"The only thing right now is to wait either way. As much as I hate it," he grumbled and looked down at her, something flickering in his eyes. Something she could not quite decipher.

"Even if, do you think you should take it?" she probed and he groaned.

"If the pay is good," he grimaced.

They stood there for a moment, awkwardly in this half-embrace. It was alright. She felt herself deflating onto his chest plate, while her arms wrapped around him.

"What have we gotten ourselves into?" She wondered out loud. He breathed out at that.

"I have been wondering that ever since we left Teth," he said. Her head snapped up in response.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She challenged. Was this a joke?

He wiggled his eyebrows at her. Seriously? A joke?

"How could I know we would be drawn in this mess!" She cried, shoving herself at him as retaliation. It only resulted in him chuckling at the attempt.

"Well… you are a trouble magnet," he teased and she had to hide her face, for it was burning.

"Come on, that was not meant to be bad," he retracted quickly.

"I think we should leave before I attract more of these incidents," she remarked and he laughed again, chest rumbling.

"Alright, after you."

---

Note: I looked up vibro weapons and they are basically "ultrasound" weapons. Ultrasound can lead to thermal ablation or mechanical cavitations (on extreme levels and weapons are going for that). Hence Altharya knowingly going in to hit him in the side (where some of the vulnerable organs are and destroying them with it) is seen as cruel.

Please tell me what you thought, it would warm my exhausted heart :) (even if I think this isn't one of my better chapters either)

Chapter 14 is still in the planning phase.