Never Talk to Strangers...

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Star Wars universe and I make no money off these stories.

Chapter 6

Fett ran a quick diagnostic to check the hull integrity. The damage was greater in some places than it should be for a safe jump into hyperspace, but he didn’t have any other option. This shithole planet was too far out of the way.

He tapped in the coordinates for Tatooine. It was the closest planet where he was guaranteed to find the contacts he needed. That, and the girl didn’t have any form of identification. It would take him some time to acquire some for her and going anywhere closer to imperial occupied space would put her in even greater danger.

On Tatooine, with the help of the rumor mill, he could depend on his reputation to keep her safe - for a very short while. He glanced back to where she was still curled up on the floor. He finished locking in their heading coordinates, then walked over and knelt beside her.

“Aislynn, you need to come strap in. We’ve got a hyperspace jump to make and the rides going to get a bit rough,” he touched her shoulder.

She recoiled from his touch, and said nothing. Her hair was hanging over her face. He brushed it behind her ears. She stared vacantly at the wall behind him. When he took her by the shoulders, she tried to pull away, but he was stronger. He turned her around and forced her to face him.

“You will have time to mourn later. Now we have to leave here, quickly,” but she didn’t respond. When he picked her up and put her in the second chair, she didn’t resist him. He adjusted the straps for her smaller frame, and returned to the main control console.

“I’m going to be honest with you, I don’t know if she’ll make the jump. But we don’t have much of a choice. If we don’t we’ll just end up having to land on some other unknown planet between here and the known systems.”

She didn’t seem to be listening.

“This first jump into hyperspace will feel strange, but assuming the hull holds, the feeling will pass quickly. If the hull doesn’t hold, it won’t matter anyway.”

He saw her flinch. At this point, even a negative response was better than nothing. He checked the coordinates one final time, and made the jump.

~ ~ ~

Once he knew the ship would stay in one piece, and they were going in the right direction, he reached down and unhooked the straps. When he reached for Aislynn’s, she knocked his hand away. He slid his helmet off, while she struggled with the straps on her own, finally figuring out how the locking mechanism worked.


She looked up into his face forlornly and asked,, “Now what?”

“Now, we wait. It will take about sixteen hours to reach Tatooine. You should try to get some rest before we arrive.”

She glanced around the hold of the ship, taking in her surroundings for the first time. “You live in this?”

“For months at a time. Bed’s in the next room along with the rest of my weapons. Holding cells and cold chamber downstairs. Mostly the ship's all engine. She’s fast, she’s manuverable, and she’s mine.”

“Bill’s dead.”

“Everyone dies.”

“But Bill is dead, and Jimmy and the rest of them, and it’s my fault. It’s my fault. I should have listened to you. I should have listened to Bill, I should have...” She turned suddenly and punched the wall.

He inwardly winced, knowing her hand would break long before the wall.

“What was I supposed to do?” she demanded, turning on him. “Leave you to die? Tell you to drag your ass off my property, and go die in the fucking woods somewhere? I can’t do that. My father wouldn’t have... my father would have...”

The full weight of what had happened seemed to settle on her shoulders as she cast off the shock. He had to catch her as her knees buckled. She sank to her knees, and he knelt with her, as the pain welled up and sobs racked her body. She pressed her face against him and wept until she had spent the last ounce of energy.

When she had exhausted herself, he carried her to the bed in the next room, and laid her down as gently as he could. She immediately rolled herself up into a cocoon of blanket. He waited until her breathing had settled into a steady rhythm and he knew she was asleep, then went back into the cockpit.

He didn’t need this. He didn’t need the burden of this girl. She was going to be completely helpless and he didn’t have the time or the resources to devote to her. He should leave her on Tatooine. Someone would pick her up, probably a slaver, but at least she would be clothed and fed.

He cursed aloud.

Boba Fett was a bounty hunter. Rapidly, he was becoming the most infamous and highly paid bounty hunter in the galaxy. He was known for being highly skilled, ruthless, and relentless in pursuit of his prey. But that didn’t mean he didn’t know the meaning of honor.

He owed this girl his life.

She had lost her friend, her home, and could still lose her life because of him. No matter how he argued with himself, he knew he could not let that happen. It would be a stain on his honor which even his own death could never remove.

He couldn’t take her with him; he couldn’t leave her stranded somewhere alone. So he would take her to Tatooine. He would repair his ship, and hopefully, by that time, an answer would present itself.

He checked the clock, then set the alarm for two hours, leaned back in his pilot’s chair, and slept.

He slept lightly, awaking every hour or so to check the settings and the condition of the ship. The repairs he and the traitor Johnson had done seemed to be holding up well. He checked on the sleeping Aislynn and then went to the lower lever to dig through his storage closet. He didn’t have much, but the girl couldn’t walk around the desert planet in flannel and torn trousers.

He had a few things stashed about the ship, most taken from bounties which had been listed at the same price “dead or alive.” A body was easier and cheaper to transport than a living person. He found a few things which might fit and dropped them on the end of the bed as he returned to the cockpit to prepare for the final approach to Tatooine.

~ ~ ~

Somewhere in the darkness, awareness stirred. Aislynn became aware of rough blankets against the skin of her arms, and a strange sensation of being nowhere. The metallic tang of the air reminded her vaguely of blood.

She opened her eyes.

Metal walls stared back at her. She could hear the steady whir of the engine all around. For a moment, she thought she was trapped in a dream, then memories flooded back to her. She felt her breath catch in her throat, and swallowed hard, fighting back the tears.

The room she was in was smaller than the main cockpit. Set into the wall was a picture of a man who must be Boba’s father. Their faces were uncannily similar, she noted, only the images face was older, had more lines and more scars. The picture was the only adornment in the room.

She nearly jumped off the bed when he spoke, close to her shoulder, “His name was Jango.”

She turned around, feeling guilty for some reason, like she was prying into things which were not hers to know.

Boba came over and sat on the edge of the bed - his bed. His face was completely devoid of expression. She didn’t understand how he did that. No emotion, not even in his eyes. He may as well have been wearing his helmet.

“Where are we?”

“About to drop out of hyperspace and take up orbit around Tatooine.”

“What’s Tatooine?”

“A desert planet. Most of the people on this planet are either moisture farmers, or criminals. You don’t get much in between. It’s not quite under imperial control yet, and I have contacts here.”

“I don’t understand,” she said, trying to sort out his words.

“You will figure it out. Don’t worry about the details. Get cleaned up, and change your clothes. I’ll be up front,”he said, pointing out both the “facilities” and a pile of clothes at the foot of the bed, then left the room.

She picked up the clothes he had laid out for her, a somewhat baggy jumpsuit made of some strange black material, a flight jacket, and some boots which came to slightly higher than her ankle. Rather than lacing, the boots had metal clasps on them.

She dressed quickly, then carried them into the front of the ship and approached him cautiously. “How do these work?” she asked quietly.

He motioned for her to sit down in the chair beside him, reached down and demonstrated the clasps. “Strap in,” he told her. She did so, clutching the sides of the chair, nervously.

Boba did something to the control panel, tapped a few buttons and pressed a foot control she couldn’t quite see, and the ship lurched sickeningly. She felt pressure shift inside the cabin. The walls creaked, she thought she could see them buckle for a moment. Then abruptly, the creaking and buckling stopped.

She breathed a sigh of relief and glanced over at Boba.

“Hard part’s over. Look,” he said, pointing to the screen in front of her.

A large brown globe appeared on the screen, circling slowly on a background of stars.

“That’s Tatooine.”

“Why is it moving?”

“It’s not. We are. Planets do spin, but we’d have to be much farther from it to detect that. Right now, we’re circling in the gravitational field. When we’re closer to the town I want to stop in, I’ll radio down and find out who’s got a hangar available,” he tapped at another dial. “Assuming I can get the comm to work properly.”

Her head spun with his explanation. “I don’t understand.”

“You will.”

They landed the ship a short time later, in a small town literally surrounded a vast expanse of desert. As they prepared to leave the ship, Boba handed her a pair of sun shades. “Put these on. Tattoine has two suns and it’s murder on the eyes, even if you’re used to it. “

“Two suns,” she whispered, in awe.

“There are systems with three or four, but most of those don’t support any kind of life. Now, Aislynn,” he took her by the shoulders and turned her slowly around, “I need you to listen to me. When we leave this ship, don’t speak to anyone unless you have to do so - including me. Keep your eyes and your ears open - all the time. Don’t trust anyone. Most of these men would rather kill you than look at you. Take this,” he handed her a blaster, and a shoulder holster.

“Nice place,” she said dubiously, taking the gun from him and strapping it into place.

“Trust me, it’s better than an imperial occupied planet,” he returned. A buzzer went off. “Now keep quiet,” Boba told her as he hefted a large, wicked looking gun to his chest and pressed a button on the panel next to the door.

“Gentlemen,” his addressed the speaker.

A slightly nasal voice answered, “Master Fett, welcome back. We had heard...”

He opened the door, and strode down the ramp. She followed, one step behind him. At the base of the ramp, two strange creatures waited. The taller one had tentacles sticking out of its head The shorter one was covered in fur, had a strange pug nose, and held a small metal object of some kind. As they got closer, Asislynn saw it had buttons and dials on it.

“Don’t believe everything you hear,” Fett told the taller creature.

Aislynn focused her eyes on the back of his head, and forced herself not to stare. She willed her hands to stop shaking.

“How long will you be staying, Master Fett?” The taller creature asked, eying her with feigned disinterest. The smaller one stared at her in open curiosity.

“Until I am finished with my business here,” Fett replied, passing something to the ...thing.

“Ah, yes. Standard charges will apply. There seems to be some damage to your ship, perhaps my mechanic...”

“I’ll find my own mechanic,” and he walked past them, out of the hangar, into the murderous sun of Tatooine. Aislynn followed quickly, taking two steps to each of his one.

There were several other ships docked here, and many strange looking creatures walking back and forth between them. She didn’t have much time to observe, as she struggled to keep up with him. They crossed and open expanse of sand between the docking bays and the rest of the town. On the outskirts of the town stood many small buildings, in various states of disrepair. Aislynn saw men and women wearing ragged clothes hard at work outside among the buildings.

They passed into a denser section of the town, where the buildings were still shabby, but larger and in better condition. She followed Boba to the door of one of the buildings. He paused, and said quietly, “Remember what I told you.”

They walked inside.

Even in the middle of the afternoon, the bar was dimly lit and full of smoke. As they entered, two men arguing in front of the door stopped mid sentence and moved quickly aside. A short man who appeared human except for a slight greenish tint to his skin and slightly elongated ears stepped from behind the bar.

“Wait,” Boba told her, then approached the man, and said something to him which Aislynn couldn’t quite hear.

From the doorway, she could see the room was about half the size of her barn. At the back of the room was the bar itself, lined with stools. To her left were six round tables and a raised platform - a small stage, with various equipment set up. Strange music poured out of small boxes set all around the room. The man - or whatever he was - singing was weaving slightly, and most of the patrons seemed too focused on the newcomers to notice anyway.

Boba ws still talking to the large man, as she made her way slowly across the room to the bar. She took a seat next to a large framed creature dressed in a metal vest. She noticed that everyone in the room was visibly armed, and quickly glanced back at Boba. He didn’t even look in her direction. She took a deep breath and steeled herself, as the man next to her started speaking, “That’s Fett you came in with, eh, dear,” he asked, in a gravelly voice.

“Yeah,” she replied.

“You a friend of his?”

“I’m not sure,” she said, tracing the false wood grain of the bar with her finger. She had never seen wood grain printed on metal before. Strange.

“Strange answer. You got a name?”

She paused a moment before answering. “Aislynn.”

“”Well, humans have trouble pronouncing my name,” he said, making a strange sound in his throat which she took to be his name, “so most folks here just call me Mac. Pleased to meet you, Aislynn,” He held out his hand. She shook it tentatively. “You want a drink?”

She hesitated, and glanced back at Boba. He didn’t seem to be paying any attention, still engaged in his conversation with the large man. “I could sure use one right about now,” she said.

“Well, then, this round is on me. Welcome to Kip’s, the best little shithole on Tatooine. That’s Kip over there, talking to your friend,” he nodded towards the large man, then punched something into a keypad on the bar in front of him. A moment later, a strange metal thing that looked like a giant bullet came out from a back room, carrying two glasses.

She sniffed the glass, and smiled sadly, thinking how upset Bill would be to see her drinking beer.

“Thanks, Mac.”

He raised his glass and tapped it against hers, “To new friends.”

~ ~ ~

“I didn’t expect to see you back here, Fett,” the large man said as Boba approached him. “They’re saying you ran afoul of Messina somewhere in the styx.”

“They say a lot of things,” he replied.

“That they do. Rumors fly faster than lightspeed. I’m glad to see you back in one piece,” he smiled genially. “You need a drink?”

“No,” Fett replied, noticing Aislynn had moved away from the door and over to the bar. He tensed a bit, then turned his attention back to the bar owner. “Anything I need to know about?”

“Just the usual. Hutts at each other’s throats. Imperials pressing the smugglers, more than usual apparently. Vader still out for Jedi blood. I did hear that he and the Black Sun have had some...words... can’t substantiate it though,” Kip was watching her as well, from the corner of his eye.

“Where’s your barback?” Behind the helmet, Fett watched Aislynn and the man at the bar.

“Split two weeks ago with some little off world punk. Claimed to be a senator’s son from Alderaan. Don’t know why women fall for lines like that. Pissed me off too, I tell you. I paid good money for the girl.”

“Retrieval request?”

“Fuck no. Business ain’t that good. I can handle it myself most nights, do me good to get off my fat ass and work. Besides, you know I hate dealing with slavers. What’s with your friend?”

“Never mind her, what can you get me on Messina?”

“Nothing you don’t already know. Not right now, but I can check around,” he answered.

Fett watched the man lean over and whisper something to Aislynn. Her eyes widened, she choked on the beer and laughed out loud, spraying the other man in the face. Fett’s grip on the Blastech tightened, then he realized the other man was laughing as well.

He heard her voice over the entire room, “He said WHAT?” Even in the dim light, he could see her face flushed bright red with embarrassment.

“Relax, son. You don’t have to worry about Mac. He’s one of my regulars. She’ll be fine,” Kip’s voice interrupted him. “Where did you find her?”

“A long way from here,” Fett replied.

~ ~ ~

Aislynn buried her face in her hands.

“It wasn’t that funny, girl,” Mac answered, laughing.

“I’m sorry, I just.. That..shit,” she collapsed into giggles, then closed her eyes, listening to Mac telling her about himself, to the background of the strange alien music.

More people were coming into the door now, most were wearing some form of body armor, though none as complex as Boba’s. Others wore long robes, with hoods that partially covered their faces. Some wore clothing made of hides from strange animals.

Aislynn noticed the singer weaving again, and she tapped Mac on the shoulder. “What’s wrong with him,” she asked.

“Just drunk, girl. He’ll be falling off the stage or puking in the corner before too much longer. Does it every night. Don’t understand why Kip keeps him around. You want another drink?”

She nodded, watching the singer stagger, and finally sit down on the edge of the stage. The bar owner left Boba standing in the corner and approached him, speaking harshly in a gutteral language she couldn’t understand. The singer tried to get up, then staggered. Kip motioned to two men at a corner table, who promptly heaved the man out the door.

“Well, there goes this evenings entertainment,” Mac said somewhat sarcastically. “I like it better when Kip lets the idiot stay. There’s usually a fight. Hey Kip,” he said, catching the bar owner as he crossed back towards Fett, “You ever get the jukebox fixed.”

“Nope,” the fat man growled and stalked back to the corner.

She realized Boba was looking at her. Or he seemed to be, hard to tell through the mask. He spoke quickly to the owner, who glanced over at her. They spoke back and forth for long enough to make her nervous, then the fat man waddled over to her.

“Fett says you can sing a bit. I would be much obliged if you would help me out tonight. It being a weekend and all. If you would,” he looked at the empty stage.

“I...” she began to tell him no. There was no way,,, not here. “I don’t know if they would like anything I know. I mean...”

Mac leaned over and quipped, “Anything would be better than that idiot who just walked out of here.”

“One. There’s one I know that I might like to sing.”

The fat man nodded and handed her a tiny metal object. She looked at it curiously. Kip sighed, “You must be from the styx girl, if you’ve never seen a translator before,” and walked away.

“You put it in your ear,” Mac offered helpfully.

“Thanks,” she told him, then muttered, “I’m going to strangle him for this,” under her breath, glaring at Fett.

He nodded to her. She walked over and sat on the edge of the stage. Kip moved around behind the far end of the bar, watching her intently. She cleared her throat. “OK, well, then, I... uh... this was my best friend’s favorite song and he’s dead now so if you don’t like it... screw you.”

This brought scattered laughter from the small crowd. She gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and tried to imagine the fire, and the dancing. The sound of Bill’s voice, and Jimmy’s harmonica. The sound of rough hands on a rain barrel...

~ ~ ~


“I want you to give her a job, Kip,” Boba leaned in so their conversation couldn’t be heard.

“How much you want for her?”

“She’s a free agent,” he said.

“No can do. I know less about her than I do about you. If we were talking set price, I might be able to do something. I don’t make enough to pay a wage worker,” the man argued.

“You will, if she’s working here,” Boba said quietly.

“What guarantee do I have? And don’t try to pull that big, badass shit with me, son. I see bounty hunters aplenty walking through this joint. I like you. But I will not put myself out like that, and you can’t bully me into it,” the fat man puffed out his substantial chest.

“Fire the drunk,” Boba said flatly, as the singer staggered and seated himself on the edge of the stage.

“And what? My box is broken every other week, and at least when he leaves I can run disks on his equipment.

Fett nodded in the girl’s direction.

The bar owner narrowed his eyes, then slammed his fist down on the bar as the singer almost fell on his face from a seated position. Cursing vehemently in Huttese, Kip walked over to eject the drunken performer, then spoke to Aislynn.

Boba watched as they exchanged words. He smiled at the hateful glance she cast in his direction as she walked up to the stage. She paused there, her eyes closed, her head tilted slightly upwards, towards the ceiling. Her body swayed gently to the music in her head. Kip cut off the speakers, and she began to sing.

It was the ballad she had sung the night of the fire. A strange choice, for these men, but he could see them stop to listen, as her voice unaltered by electronics filled the small room. Halfway through the song, Boba saw tears glistening on her cheeks. Her voice only faltered once, and as she finished, tears staining her face, everyone in the bar was on their feet.

They didn’t clap, but the silence was somehow more telling. No one laughed, no one coughed. No one said a word for almost a minute. Then Mac spoke from where he stood beside the bar. “Got any more?”

Kip’s mouth dropped open, as he watched the reaction. He turned to Fett. “I’ll take her. What sort of terms are we talking about.”

“Room, board, and she keeps all her tips. I’ll transfer enough to your account to cover whatever she needs for the first couple of months. She can barback for you as well; she’s very friendly.”

“You can tell she hasn’t had any formal training. I should get a percentage of the tips to help with the rooming fee,” Kip returned.

“And you will provide her with a bouncer, whom she will pay out of her tips,” the bounty hunter continued, ignoring Kip’s attempt to bargain.

“How is she with the gentlemen?”

“That is not within the terms,” Fett snapped fiercely, through gritted teeth.

Kip quickly apologized, surprised by the intensity of the reaction. “All right, though I’ve yet to meet a woman who won’t whore for the right price. So, I’ll set her up an account. She got ID?”

“No. I’m working on it.”

“She a runaway?”

“No.”

“Who is she?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Fett answered, as Aislynn launched into a drinking song. She already had Mac at the bar clapping a rhythm. Someone had opened the front door, and the cool evening air rushed into the room, stirring her hair. He could see in her face the shadow of her amazing smile.

He desperately hoped she would find it again.

“I’ll deposit the credits into your account in the morning,” Fett told the bar owner.

“You’re leaving?”

The bounty hunter nodded.

“You coming back?”

Fett didn’t answer.

Fett heard Kip say, “Be careful out there, son,” as he walked out into the evening air. He ignored the urge to look behind him, and started back towards his ship. The girl was safe, for the time being. She wouldn’t starve, and he was free to focus on his own problems.