[Boba Fett] - 1(23)

The light behind the slot came on.

Boba wished the door would open so that he could go in, out of the rain, but the library was only a branch.

An awning slid out, though, to protect him from the rain. And he heard the familiar whirring and clicking inside.

“Whrr, it’s me.”

“Boba? You’re back! Where have you been? What happened?”

A short question with a long answer. Boba told Whrr the whole story, from the time he and his father had left the planet in a hurry, to the horrible scene in the arena, where he had seen his father killed.

“Oh, Boba, that’s terrible. You are an orphan, at only ten. Do you have enough to eat? Do you have any money?”

“Not exactly,” said Boba. “A few crackers. An extra pair of socks.”

“Hmmmmmm,” whirred Whrr.

“I’ll be okay,” said Boba. “But I have to get something my father left with me. By accident I left it with you.”

“A book?”

“Yes! You remember! It looks like a book, anyway. It’s black, with nothing on the cover. I returned it by mistake, with the last books I brought back right before I left.”

“I will be right back.”

There was a whir and a click, a clank and a clatter. Soon Whrr was back - with good news!

“Here you are,” he said, passing the black book through the slot. “But there is a fine, you know.”

“A what!?”

“There’s money due on this book. Quite a bit.”

“It’s not even really a book. Besides, I didn’t check it out. It’s mine! I left it with you.”

“Exactly,” said Whrr. “Which means the library owes you, let’s see, two hundred and fifty credits.”

“That’s impossible - ” Boba began.

“Sorry,” said Whrr, passing the money through the slot. “A fine is a fine and must be paid. Now go on about your business, Boba, and good luck. Come and see me sometime. If you’re ever around.”

I get it, Boba thought. I’m a little slow, but I get it.

“Thank you, my friend,” he said. “Someday I will come back to Kamino. I’ll come by and see you then, I promise.”

“Goodbye, Boba,” Whrr said through the slot. The light went off and Boba heard a strange snuffling sound.

Must be the rain, he thought, because everybody knows that droids don’t cry.

Boba could hardly believe his luck! Two hundred and fifty credits would buy groceries and supplies, even clothing, with some left over for fuel. This was vital - since he didn’t know how to access his father’s accounts.

And he had the black book! He patted it under his poncho, where he was carrying it out of the rain.

Before heading off-planet, Boba wanted to make one stop.

He wanted one last look at the apartment where he and his father had lived, where he had spent the first ten years of his life (although, of course, he didn’t remember most of it).

Fortunately, it was on the way back to the landing pad.

As Boba rode up in the turbolift, he wondered about the locks. Had they been changed? Would they still recognize his finger and retinal prints?

He never found out. The door was wide open.

The apartment was dark. It was spooky. It no longer felt like home at all.

Boba closed the door and was just about to turn on the lights when he heard a voice behind him.

“Jango.”

It was Taun We.

Boba could barely see her in the dim light from the window. She was sitting on the floor with her long legs folded up out of sight under her long body.

“I saw Slave I come in,” she said.

Boba crossed the room and stood in front of her.

Taun We looked up, startled. “Boba!? Is that you? Where’s your father? “

Boba had always regarded Taun We as a friend. So he sat down and told her.

“You poor child,” she said, but her words were cold and mechanical. Boba realized she wasn’t such a friend after all.

“What were you about to tell my father?” he asked.

“The Jedi,” she said. “They came and took the clone army, after you and your father left. They also wanted to question Jango Fett further. Now that he is dead, they will want you.”

“My father hated the Jedi.”

“I have no feelings for the Jedi,” said Taun We. “Of course, we Kaminoans have few feelings for anything. It is not in our nature. But fairness requires that I tell you that they are after you. Just as I have told them that Slave I has landed in Tipoca City, and that you and your father would probably be coming here.”

“You did what!?”

“I must be fair to all,” said Taun We. “It is in my nature.”

“Thanks a lot!” Boba said, heading for the door. He didn’t bother to shut it after him. He couldn’t believe Taun We had betrayed him to the Jedi. And he had thought she was a friend. Then he remembered his father’s code: No friends, no enemies. Only allies and adversaries.