[Boba Fett] - 2(13)

“Rexus Prime,” said Boba.

“Ugh. Is it as bad as they say?”

“Worse,” Boba confided. He decided to change the subject. “Where were you, uh, picked up?”

“Excarga,” said Garr. “My parents are ore traders.

When

the Separatists arrived to take control of our ore-processing facilities, they took everyone prisoner, so my parents hid me. Later, when the Republic counterattacked, they picked me up, but I couldn’t find my parents. What about your parents?”

“My parents?”

Garr pointed around the Orphan Hall. “All of us are here because we were separated from our parents. Sometimes I think that’s why they call them Separatists. What about your parents? Were they captured or, you know…”

Garr was reluctant to say the word. Boba wasn’t. “Killed,” he said. “My father was killed. Cut down. I saw it. I watched it.”

Boba looked down and saw that his fists were clenched. He wondered if he should tell his new friend that it wasn’t the Separatists who had killed his father - but the Jedi.

“I’m sorry,” said Garr. “What happened to your mother? If you don’t mind my asking.”

“I don’t mind your asking,” said Boba, “if you don’t mind my not answering.”

“Fair enough.” Garr got up and pulled at Boba’s hand. “Let’s go get something to eat. The commissary closes in a few minutes, and most of the space brats are finished, so we’ll have a little peace and quiet.”

For the next few days, and for the first time in his life, Boba had a friend. He could hardly believe it. He decided not to question it, but simply accept it as one of the surprises life was throwing at him. By nature - and by teaching - he was suspicious of anyone who came too close. But now he was… enjoying it.

Garr was good at having fun. When they weren’t exploring the ship, the two played sabacc or simply lay on their bunks and talked, trying to ignore the chaos and craziness of the other orphans.

There were a few other kids their age, but Garr avoided them, and Boba did, too. They might ask too many questions. Because most of the orphans were much younger, Ulu was too busy with the “space brats” (as Garr called them) to worry about what his older orphans were up to.

All orphans were prohibited from roaming the ship unattended, but that’s exactly what Garr and Boba did, telling Ulu that they were going to one of the ship’s libraries for a book (not likely, since all they had were boring military manuals) when in fact they were exploring the ship’s seemingly endless corridors.

Boba shared his discovery with Garr - that no one notices a ten-year- old. And it was true. The troopers or crew members they ran into in the corridors simply assumed that the two friends were someone

else’s responsibility, if they noticed them at all.

Politics didn’t interest Garr, but starships did. “This is the most advanced assault ship in the Republic’s fleet,” Boba’s new

friend explained. “There are over fifteen thousand troopers, all with the most advanced weaponry. They are all alike - I think they’re clones.”

“Imagine that,” said Boba. He wondered what Garr would think if he knew the clones’ true origin.

Garr’s favorite place was the rear docking bay, where the starfighters were lined up to be armed and serviced by busy tech droids.

“I could fly one of those,” Boba said once. He regretted saying it immediately; it gave too much away.

“Really?” Garr asked. “Who taught you? Your father?”

Boba nodded.

“My mother would have had a fit,” said Garr. “What did your mother think about you flying a starfighter so young?”

“I don’t honestly know,” said Boba. “I never asked her.”

Boba knew his words sounded hollow. They felt hollow, too.

Boba’s favorite spot on the ship was its rear observation blister, or ROB. A small, cold room under a clear plexi dome, it was usually empty, since the crew was too busy to look at the stars and the troopers didn’t care about anything except war and discipline.

The ship was traveling through normal space, which meant that the stars didn’t streak by (or appear to streak by) as they did in hyperspace. Even though the ship was traveling at thousands of kilometers per second, it seemed as though it were standing still, space was so huge.

Standing or sitting on a bench under the dome, Boba saw a sea of stars in every direction. There were no planets visible, only gas giants, dwarfs, quasars, and the occasional smudge that marked the location of a black hole. Distant galaxies were pinwheels of fire.

“Okay, we’ve seen space, and it’s boring!” Garr was always more interested in adventure than astronomy. “Let’s find something to do.”