[Boba Fett] - 6(21)

And not even a Jedi could withstand the deadly toxins released by a saberdart.

Boba’s hand was on the door. His heart pounded as he took a deep breath.

He thought of his father, Jango, lying decapitated in the arena. He thought of Mace Windu lying dead. He recalled Jango’s face breaking into a rare smile as he read to his son in their home on Geonosis

“This is for you, Father,” whispered Boba. He raised the flechette pistol.

Then, with all his strength he pushed the door open. Weapon ready to fire, Boba Fett lunged inside the Jedi’s chamber, and found himself face-to-face with

Nothing.





CHAPTER SIXTEEN


It can’t be!

Boba looked around in frustrated rage. The chamber was empty. He swiveled, his pistol ready to fire, and looked around.

There was no one. Even without checking the rest of the room, Boba’s hyper alert senses registered the truth.

The Jedi Master was gone.

Boba quickly sheathed his weapon. He strode to a round, low cushion of the type favored by high-ranking Jedi, stooped, and laid a hand upon it.

It was still warm. Windu must have left just minutes before.

Boba fought a surge of fury. He’d been so close!

But he wasn’t going to let Mace get away so easily. Boba knew where he was bound - to his private meeting with Palpatine in the Senate Building. Boba had no idea where in that vast building he might track down Windu.

But Boba had no doubt that he would succeed in finding him. He turned and started for the door, then stopped.

Too dangerous to go back out there now. Someone might see me and alert Windu….

He drew the door closed. He began a quick search of the chamber, looking for something that might be useful.

A minute later he found it - a small monitor tucked into the wall. Boba activated it, then brought up the most recently viewed screen.

“Got it!” he crowed.

The screen showed an itinerary, generated by the Supreme Chancellor’s office. There was a reminder of the time for Mace Windu’s private meeting, just fifteen minutes from now. There was a memo regarding the meeting’s topic.

EXTREMELY URGENT was all that Boba bothered to read before scrolling down.

And there was a map of the Senate Building, showing the exact location of Palpatine’s antechamber, where the meeting would be held!

“Perfect,” said Boba. He memorized the data and shut the monitor off. Then he hurried across the room. One wall was covered by a long curtain. Boba grabbed the curtain and yanked it back.

Crimson sunset light flooded the chamber. A floor-to-ceiling shuttered window looked down onto the gleaming towers and chasms of Galactic City.

“Nice view,” said Boba. “Hate to ruin it, but - “

His booted foot smashed through the transparent material. Cool air flowed inside, along with the sounds of the night city - airspeeders, distant voices. Boba stepped to the very edge of the sill. He looked down, adjusting his helmet for night vision.

“There it is,” he said.

In the distance, he could see the immense dome of the Senate Building shining in the twilight. Boba tensed. Wind rushed past him through the shattered window. Somewhere in the Jedi Temple, someone would be looking for the mysterious envoy in Mandalorian armor.

No one could find him here.

Boba stared at the vast expanse of Galactic City, its lowest depths more than a kilometer below him.

He took a step forward.

He jumped.

For a second he was in free fall. Then his jet pack roared to life. Boba angled the controls so that he flew swiftly from the Jedi Temple. Seconds later it was safely behind him, hidden by other

towering skyscrapers.

He flew toward the Senate. If anyone had wanted to, they could have looked up and seen him - a tall figure in dark-green body armor, his head hidden by a Mandalorian battle helmet.

But no one knew to look for Boba Fett. He flew swiftly and unseen through the great city’s high rise canyons, past shining buildings and domes, past bright clubs teeming with nightlife. He saw airspeeders and swoop bikes, air limos, taxis, freighters. Once he even thought he glimpsed Elan’s bright-red speeder, darting down to the lowest levels of the city.

But Boba had no time for any of that now. He had only one thought in mind: Find Mace and destroy him. Even meeting with Palpatine paled beside that.

Nothing was going to keep Boba Fett from his destination.

Nothing was going to keep him from his destiny.

The map he’d seen in Windu’s room had shown that the Supreme Cancellor’s official chambers were on the northeast side of the dome. As Boba drew nearer, he could see lights shining from the dome’s upper windows. Inside, figures moved.

The Senators. Palpatine wouldn’t be with them, though. He’d be preparing for his meeting with Mace Windu - and then his meeting with Baba Fett.