[Boba Fett] - 4(15)

“Yes, m’lord,” replied the Etti.

He turned and looked at Boba. It was obvious that he was not impressed by what he saw. “The sail barge will be here in a few minutes. You can park your speeder in the holding area. Food will be served on the main deck after departure.”

Boba said, “I have no speeder.”

“A bounty hunter without a vehicle?” asked Estral with contempt.

“My ship’s being overhauled,” Boba added quickly. “It’s in Mentis Qinx’s docking bay.”

Estral fixed him with a cold smile. “Qinx extends much credit to those in need. In exchange he demands huge fees. Many find they are unable to pay, and he keeps their vessels. Jabba the Hutt will own you before you get your ship back.”

“We’ll see about that,” snapped Boba.

But behind the helmet, his face fell. Being a bounty hunter meant having the freedom to live and travel where he wanted to, when he wanted to.

He did not want to have to answer to Jabba the Hutt forever.

He did not want to answer to anyone but himself.

Still, Estral was right. Boba needed credits to pay for the repairs and refueling of Slave I. Jabba had said he needed bounty hunters. He said he had a job that needed to be executed. If Boba did that job, he could demand enough credits - and more - to reclaim his ship. He could set out on his own then, and go anywhere in the galaxy.

He would be free.

Even better.

At long last, he would be a bounty hunter.





CHAPTER FIFTEEN


Months before, Boba had been on the Republic Troopship Candaserri, a ship so big it was almost like a small planet.

Jabba the Hutt’s sail barge was not that big, but it was big enough. Looking at it made Boba feel as though he was gazing at a small city within a city. A world within a world.

It was dark now, but there were enough bright lights around the arena to throw shadows everywhere. After Jabba was escorted from the dome, Boba and the rest went outside. The barge hovered above the ground. Bib Fortuna, Jabba’s majordomo, commanded gangplanks and ladders to be deployed. Slaves and servants ran up and down, readying the barge for departure.

“Hurry!” hissed Fortuna.

Once Jabba was aboard, he would be impatient to leave. It was not a good idea to make him wait!

Boba wandered a few meters away from the barge. He’d sneaked a sip of water to drink inside the dome, and a few dried ninchifs, tiny cavefish no bigger than his fingernail. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a full meal.

He pushed that thought aside and crouched on the ground. There he watched Jabba’s servants deflate the portable dome, like a great balloon.

It took only minutes. More servants scurried down from the sail barge, gathering the dome’s contents. Gambling equipment and furniture was carted off. It would be stored in the vessel’s cargo bays during the journey to Jabba’s palace.

Jabba’s palace. Boba had heard rumors about that place.

What he heard wasn’t good. Not at all.

And now that he’d seen Jabba in the flesh, Boba was pretty sure the palace would be even worse than the rumors. He had better be ready for anything.

He leaned back and adjusted his helmet. He switched on the infrared vision feature. Immediately everything around him was shrouded in black and red.

“Ugh!” said Boba, grimacing.

Now he could see all of Tatooine’s nighttime vermin. Sandrats scurried everywhere, feeding on trash left by arena goers. Sand scorpions scuttled from rock to rock, their pincers held high.

Boba saw several small figures creep from the shadows, unheeded. They snatched a metal crate and were gone in an instant.

Libkath’s army at work, he thought with grudging respect.

“You look pretty happy,” a low voice said behind him.

Boba whirled. “Ygabba!”

Behind him stood a slender figure clad in rags. “Got it in one,” she said, and smiled. With one dirty hand she touched the edge of his helmet. “Huh. I think I liked you better without that. Aren’t you hot in there?”

“Yeah. And thirsty.”

Ygabba moved to crouch beside him. “Well, I can help you with that, at least. Here - “

She held out a small container of water. Boba looked at her, then took it gratefully. He glanced around to make sure no one else was watching. Then he pushed up his helmet and gulped the water.

It smelled strongly of dust and purification chemicals. There were bits of grit and sand in it. It was way too warm.

It was the best water he had ever tasted.

“Thank you,” he said when the last drop was gone. He handed the container back to her, and lowered his helmet’s visor. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

She nodded. “We did. All those droids guarding that tank back there? That was just a decoy. The real shipment was hidden with a shipment of water from a moisture farm near Bestine. That’s where this came from,” she added, holding up the empty container. “To tell you the truth, I’d rather have taken the water.”