anymore!"
Boba fired. The flechette's missile tore through the air. A nanosecond
later it burst open. Hundreds of deadly projectiles spun out.
Faster than thought, Mace Windu leaped aside. The missiles exploded
against the wall.
"Who are you?" Mace Windu shouted.
Boba fired again. Another starburst of flechettes exploded through the
room.
Again, the Jedi was too fast.
"On Geonosis, you murdered a warrior named Jango Fett," Boba said.
FFFFAAMM! He fired again!
"Jango Fett was my father."
"Your father?" Mace raced from the barrage of flechettes. "He had no
son! Only clones - "
"He had me!" Boba lunged at Mace. The Jedi fell back, overwhelmed by
the young man's rage and power. "And now I'll have you!"
KRACK!
A flechette smashed against Mace's shoulder. The Jedi reeled backward.
His hand reached for his lightsaber. But before he could touch it Boba
struck again, this time the other shoulder. And again!
KRACK! KRACK!
With each alternate blow the Jedi fell back. In a moment, Boba would
have him pinioned against the wall. And then - he'd go for the kill!
"I had no choice!" Mace's voice was deep, unafraid. Without warning he
leaped, springing past Boba as he drew his lightsaber. "Just as you're
giving me no choice now!"
The lightsaber glowed deep violet. Its hum filled the room, and Mace
Windu swung - and struck! PAM!
Boba staggered back. The lightsaber had skimmed his armor. He
recovered immediately, darting off. Mace followed, his robes billowing
behind him.
PAM!
The lightsaber struck again!
But this time Boba was ready. Or so he thought. Mace's violet blur
sliced the flechette pistol cleanly out of his hand. Blinding indigo light
flared as Mace Windu drew back, arm raised for another blow.
Before he could strike, Boba drew his dagger with his free hand and
charged.
The dagger ripped through Mace's robes. The Jedi twisted, avoiding the
blade.
But Boba's fist followed, smashing into the Jedi's ribs.
"Ah - !"
Mace staggered to one side. Before he could dodge, Boba was on him!
BAM!
Boba lunged the dagger at Mace's head - but the Jedi was too fast! He
dropped and rolled, jumping to his feet. The lightsaber rose and fell -
And struck.
"Agh!" Boba cried out as the glowing blade smashed against his
shoulder. Pain arced through him. Blood seeped from Grievous's wound.
"Surrender!" commanded Mace Windu. "Surrender, and I promise you'll
receive fair treatment!"
"Surrender?" Boba hesitated, feigning doubt. Unseen he shoved the
dagger into his belt, then reached for a cryo-ban grenade.
"You have my word," Mace continued.
"And you have my hatred!" Boba screamed. He fired the grenade!
Mace leaped, seeming to fly above Boba's head.
BRRAAANG!
Boba flung himself away from the freezing blast. Waves of numbing cold
rushed past him as the cryo-blast absorbed heat. The cold could not
penetrate Boba's body armor.
But Mace Windu had no body armor. The Jedi stumbled, nearly falling as
the frigid waves sapped him of energy. Boba picked up his flechette pistol.
He towered above the fallen Jedi.
He fired.
FAM!
"No!" Boba cried.
In agony, Boba fell. He rolled, trying to get to his feet.
FAM!
The lightsaber crashed against his head. Not even his helmet could
absorb the blow. Boba shouted with pain and fury, striking blindly at the
figure above him.
"I don't want to kill you," said Mace Windu grimly. "Surrender, or
die."
"Never."
He swung his dagger. The Jedi's weapon knocked the dagger blade aside.
"You leave me no choice!" Mace cried.
Boba stumbled to his feet. Blood streamed from his wounds. The dagger
lay useless and out of reach. And his blasters were on Slave I.
But he still had the saberdart. He slid his hand toward his utility
belt. His fingers slipped into the familiar configuration of his palm
shooter. The poisonous dart was loaded into it.
He had only one shot.
I won't miss this time.
He raised his hand. Mace Windu was just meters away. Boba stared at
the Jedi, summoning all his strength. All his hatred.
His thumb pressed the trigger.
The dart sang from the palm shooter like an enraged hornet. It spun,
glittering, through the air, straight for Mace Windu's throat.
I got him! Boba's mind sang in triumph.
Mace Windu flinched. His hand shot into the air. Between his fingers
the saberdart shivered like a trapped insect.
"No!" groaned Boba.
Mace Windu flung the deadly dart into the shadows. He stepped toward
Boba, his lightsaber poised to strike.
Boba Fett was cornered.
"This is my final offer of surrender," said the Jedi Master.
"No," said Boba in a low voice.
He would never surrender.
The Jedi took another step toward him. Boba thought of his friends
back on Tatooine.
Good-bye, Ygabba. Good-bye, Gab'borah. I'll miss you.
He thought of his father, fighting until the very last. Boba lifted
his head and stared fearlessly at Mace Windu.
"There are worse things than death," the bounty hunter said, raising
his flechette pistol.
"There are," the Jedi replied in his powerful voice. "You are brave
indeed, stranger. I would have spared your life. But now you leave me no
choice - "
His raised his arms. The glowing light blade tore through the air.
"STOP!"
A deafening shout of command filled the room. Heavy footsteps echoed
as uniformed guards raced in. The Chancellor's Red Guards surrounded Mace
Windu and Boba.
More footsteps sounded. Another figure entered the room, clad in the
luxurious robes denoting his high rank.
"Who dares disrupt this place?" he demanded. It was Supreme Chancellor
Palpatine.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
"Your Eminence," said Mace Windu. He deactivated his lightsaber and
took a respectful step back. "I arrived a few minutes early for our
meeting, and found this intruder in your antechamber."
He gestured at Boba. Palpatine turned. He stared at the bounty hunter.
The Supreme Chancellor nodded at Boba, almost imperceptibly.
"This man is not a stranger to me," said Palpatine. "I was expecting
him."
"Expecting him!" Windu exclaimed. "But - "
Palpatine turned to calmly face the Jedi. No longer was Palpatine the
soft-spoken, thoughtful figure who had first come to prominence in the
Senate. Now the Chancellor radiated power - and arrogance.
"Do you dare question me?" he asked. "This bounty hunter has important
information - information vital to the Republic! And will your bickering
interfere with him bringing it to us?"
For a moment the Jedi said nothing. Then he nodded.
"I was unaware of your meeting.
My sole concern was for your safety
and the safety of the Republic."
Palpatine waved a hand toward the Red Guards. "As you can see, I am
not unprotected. I am, as always, grateful for your support. But now,
Master Windu, you may leave."
Palpatine inclined his head toward the door. Boba blinked. He swiftly
replaced his weapons, and waited.
Mace Windu bowed slightly. But his eyes were on Boba. "Yes, your
Eminence. The Jedi Council will question this bounty hunter after his
meeting with you - "
"Perhaps."
Mace Windu walked to the door. At the last moment he paused and looked
back at Boba. A long, hard look. Then the door closed behind him. Boba was
alone with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.
"I seem to be having a problem with people arriving early for their
meetings," the Chancellor said smoothly.
He looked at Boba and smiled, but there was no warmth in his eyes.
Boba nodded. "I regret the inconvenience," he said.
He took a step forward, wincing at the pain. The Chancellor gestured
at Boba's helmet.
"You may remove that," he said in his calmly ominous voice. "I know
who you are - Boba Fett."
Boba sucked his breath in sharply. Then he did as the Chancellor had
commanded, and held the helmet at his side.
"I know you are the Hutt clan's foremost bounty hunter," Palpatine
went on. "I also know that you yourself are being hunted - by Count Dooku.
And by Durge."
"I don't deny it," Boba replied.
"You say you have news for me. Information." Palpatine's eyes
glittered. His hands smoothed the folds of his rich, long robes. "I am
waiting."
Boba glanced at the Red Guards, and Palpatine motioned for Boba to
follow him into his office. Once they were alone, Boba spoke.
"You are at war against the Separatists," said Boba. "Count Dooku
leads the Separatist cause. He is your most dangerous enemy and has vast
droid armies. You have gathered a powerful force of clones. These clones
were created by someone named Tyranus. Tyranus is your ally - or so you
think.
"But I know the truth, Chancellor."
Boba stopped.
The time had come for him to reveal what he knew. The secret had given
him strength and purpose for years. He would reveal it now, to the Supreme
Chancellor.
By aligning himself with Palpatine, Boba would gain more strength. He
would be well paid for his information. Then he could leave and return to
Tatooine in triumph, even though Wat Tambor had eluded him.
"I am waiting," said Palpatine in a low voice.
"I learned of this when I was a prisoner of the Count on Raxus Prime.
I was a boy then. He thought he had no need to fear me. But he was wrong."
Boba took a breath. Then he said, "Count Dooku and Tyranus are the
same person. Your greatest enemy created your armies. It is a trap."
Palpatine lifted his head. His greedy, deepset eyes gleamed with
avarice and the joy of knowledge. The joy of power.
The joy of triumph.
"I know," he said.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Boba hesitated. "You... already know?" Palpatine nodded. His hands
slipped inside the folds of his robes.
"There is nothing I do not know," he said. "Nothing that is worth
knowing, anyway."
"But - but why - "
Palpatine's hand shot out, ordering silence. "That information is not
yours to command, Boba Fett. It is mine alone."
Palpatine looked closely at Boba, then continued. "I have heard much
of your prowess as a tracker and bounty hunter. I know how your father
died. I know who killed him - and why. When you arrived here I knew you
would hunt down that Jedi Master."
Boba stood, stunned.
"I have already arranged for your ship to be brought here from the
Jedi Temple," said Palpatine.
"You will be escorted to it in a few moments. You will leave Coruscant
immediately. And you will say nothing of this meeting to anyone - ever."
Palpatine withdrew his hand from his robe. He held it out to Boba. A
shining credit cube glittered in his palm.
"This should be ample compensation for you, bounty hunter. I believe
we have an agreement and I believe we share a common enemy."
Palpatine's mouth curved in a small, sinister smile. Boba looked at
him, then at the credit cube. He took the cube, then nodded.
"I will never say a word," Boba replied.
"You had better not," said Palpatine calmly. From the hallway echoed
the sound of the Red Guards.
Boba pulled his helmet back over his head. He grimaced, but he could
live with the pain. He could live with returning to Tatooine.
He could live with a lot of things, with the fortune Palpatine had
given him.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Slave I shot into the velvety sky above Coruscant. Far, far below, the
spectral lights of Galactic City shimmered and glowed, then began to grow
fainter and fainter as Boba's ship hurtled off. In.a few moments, Coruscant
was only a glittering speck in all the galaxy.
And soon, even Coruscant had disappeared.
Behind the controls, Boba Fett sat pensively. He'd already arranged
for Palpatine's credits to be stashed in an account on Aargau. That way,
Boba could access them whenever he needed them. And no one else could - not
even Jabba.
The Huttese gangster might question Boba returning without Wat Tambor.
But as the battle between the Republic and the Separatists continued to
rage, Boba suspected that Jabba would find other things to occupy his
greedy little mind.
Besides, Boba was no longer intimidated by the thought of Jabba the
Hutt. Boba had enough credits to last him the rest of his life. He could
pick and choose his bounties, selecting only the ones that challenged him.
And there would be plenty of those! He'd already heard rumors of a
kidnapping on Rodia. But first he might take a little time off and amuse
himself. The All-Human Free-For-All on Jubilar would be held soon. He might
go to that. He could use a break....
The past was behind Boba now. His father was long buried. Boba had not
killed Mace Windu, but he suspected that great troubles awaited him - and
all Jedi. And the love and respect Jango had felt for his son would not
die. And Boba's love for his father would not change, either.
Mace Windu had been a powerful opponent. And a worthy one. But there
would be many more. Boba Fett knew that. He leaned forward, staring out at
the vastness of space.
It was a big place, the galaxy. Endless, dangerous, exciting. A
million adventures waited out there, for anyone bold enough to take them.
Boba's course was set. He had a ship full of weapons, and Slave 1 was
the best ship in the galaxy.
Boba smiled. The future was his.
And he was on his way to seize it.
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