Disclaimer: While I wrote this story, nearly all (but two)
are not mine, therefore I will not take credit for them. Feel free to
distribute this story. In fact, please do!


Self preservation was a concern of Boba Fett. He was, after
all, a bounty hunter, and bounty hunters needed to be around to
use their money. He stalked his prey carefully, always waiting for
the perfect moment to strike, and he never failed. This time,
however, he was on no mission for money. No, this was a trip to
the unknown, a trip to a newly charted system, QB-X89 was what
the Astrogator-Class exploration shuttle pilots and crews had
dubbed it until it could be secured and named. Fett was going to
be the first one there to claim the riches of any habitated planet.
With luck, his technology would be superior to any of the natives.
He would be a king, there to reign. He would still, of course, hunt
for the unjust, but he would mold that world into a perfect system
of true justice.

* * * *
On the jungle moon of Yavin 4, it was early morning, still
dark outside. Everyone was asleep in the Jedi Academy.
Everyone, that is, but Jacen Solo.
"Blaster Bolts! Here, boy, don't be afraid, I'm a friend...No,
don't go in there .. Okayyy .. Gotcha!" Jacen scooped up the stray
rodent that had escaped his menagerie of pets. Somehow the stray
Woolamander had broken out of his cage and snuck through the
Academy stealing small trinkets here and there. "Whoo! You're a
hard one to catch, but the scolding'll have to wait. I've got to
return this stuff to it's owners. You better stay-"
"Jacen Solo, what are you doing up? It's three in the
morning!" Tionne, the silver haired Jedi Knight said to Jacen. She
seemingly materialized out of nowhere in the dark corridors.
"Well, to tell you the truth, one of my pets, uh,
escaped..and I was just catching him."Jacen finished lamely.
"Alright, just put him back where he belongs and scoot off
to bed, now."
Jacen hurried down the newly rebuilt passage to his room.
He and his sister, Jaina, had adjoining rooms before the Great
Temple was destroyed in a commando raid by the Second
Imperium. Now the Temple was rebuilt, and his uncle, Luke
Skywalker, had kindly allowed he and Jaina to build similar
rooms here. Jacen entered his room and put the Woolamander
back in it's cage. Then he took a look in on his sister's shelves to
see if anything was missing, possibly taken by the rodent.
"Ahh, no it's all here."
"Hey, Jacen what are you looking for?" Jaina poked her
head out from under a dismantled speeder engine and wiped
grease from her face with her hand.
"I didn't know you were awake!"
"Why, what time is it?" Jaina looked perplexed.
"Jeez, it's three AM!"
"Oh, is it? I kinda lose track of time in here. Guess what? I
just refitted this speeder engine with an extra fuel pod and
increased it's output to triple the norm, and added a switch so a
pilot can choose which tank to use. Theoretically, the increased
fuel output could double the performance and speed, or..."
"Or what?" Jacen said, not that interested in the mechanical
field.
"Or..It could blow up. Do you want to try it out? I also put
in a warning light and ejector chair to automatically throw you out
of the way if it goes."
"I'll......pass, but thanks anyway, Jaina."
"Darn. Well, I also made a-"
"Get some sleep sis, or you won't be able to make anything
soon."
"Well, I can TRY, but I really want to finish this." Jaina
scowled at the thought of leaving her job undone.
"I'm going. G'night."
"See you tomorrow."
* * * * * * *
Bright sunlight flooded the grounds outside the Academy
the next morning. Ten to twelve alien Jedi Force students milled
around, conversing in their native languages or Basic. Tenel Ka,
the red-haired warror girl from Hapes, had just returned from her
morning exercises in the steamy jungles of the moon. She entered
the rebuilt Temple, and took a lift to the hanger bay. The lift door
opened with a hiss and Tenel Ka stepped into the bay, inhaling the
smells of oil and channeled energy.
Jaina looked up from the Shadow Chaser, an impressive
ship sporting quantum armor that was stolen by Luke Skywalker
and Tenel Ka from the Nightsister Vonnda Ra."Hey, Tenel Ka, I
heard Uncle Luke was looking for you...somthing about the Rock
Dragon." The Rock Dragon was Tenel Ka's ship, given to her by
her mother and father.
"Thank you. I was on my way to see him now on another
matter." Tenel Ka walked across the bay and down the hall to
where Luke Skywalker's office was located. As she approached
the door, it opened and Jacen exited, grinning like an idiot. "What
is the excitement about, Jacen?"
"I have to pack! Tenel Ka, this is so neat! Let Uncle Luke
tell you! Think of all the new species! I have to get more cages!"
Tenel Ka watched Jacen hurry down the hallway, talking to
himself. She stepped through the doorway and shut the door. Luke
looked up from a datapad. "Oh, Tenel Ka. I was wondering if you
would'nt mind allowing the use of the Rock Dragon as a type of
transport for a few people."
"I..suppose that depends on the people traveling."
"Actually it would just be you, Jacen, Jaina, Lowbacca and
two other students, Thix from Dantooine and Yash'ii from Nar
Shadda. There was recently a new solar system discovered , and it
is unknown if there are any sentient species there. However, the
third planet from the sun has breathable atmosphere. I would
consider it a great learning expeirience if you would take the
desired passengers there and explore a little, catalogue your
surroundings for a day or two and then come back here."
"That sounds pleasant. I will enjoy it. Master Skywalker, I
have a question for you, if I may?"
"Of course."
"I would very much enjoy visiting your home planet of
Tatooine. It's desert climate is very different from this jungle's and
I need a physical challenge. I believe the Jundland Wastes will try
my skills."
"Uh, maybe you better take a few friends with you there,
too, Tenel Ka. The Jundland Wastes are not to be traveled
lightly." He smiled faintly, as if recalling an old memory. "other
than that, yes, there is nothing holding you back."
"Thank you. When do you wish us to depart on our trip?"
"Today, actually. Can you pull it off?"
"Yes."
"I'm sure you will prove to be a match for any untamed
planet."
"I do hope so."
* * * *
The Rock Dragon was loaded in record time as the six
travelers placed gear in the storage area of the ship. Jacen was
through talking to himself about all the new species he could find
and amused himself by thinking up new jokes. Jaina was doing a
system readout on the computer, pressing buttons and staring at
the flickering screens, her datapad's screen lit up with the numbers
and diagnostic information for the Rock Dragon.
"Hey Lowie, check the fuel converter's status while you're
out there. These figures are a little low. And hand me the
hydrospanners, could you? I want to do a preflight on the engine."
Lowie responded with a roar, and Em Teedee, Lowie's
miniturized translator droid offered a translation. "Master
Lowbacca says that he will comply with your request immediatly
and without delay." Lowie growled a comment directed at the
droid. "Well, I can if I wish to. I am simply using my
programming to it's full extent. What Master Lowbacca actually
said was something to the effect of "sure"."
Jaina smiled at the droid's optical sensors. "That's okay, Em
Teedee." She took the hydrospanner box from Lowie's
outstretched arm and applied herself to the engines.
The lift tube to the hanger opened and the astromech droid
R2-D2 rolled out, carrying a tool box that was being held up by a
claw on the top of his domed head. He rolled over to the Rock
Dragon and let the tool box fall onto the boarding ramp. Jacen
poked his head out from the inside. Seeing that it was just Artoo,
he went back to thinking up jokes. "How many tusken raiders does
it take....No....Why does a krayt dragon howl? No....Blaster bolts,
I'm going to have to look some up."
Artoo blatted a comment a Em Teedee as he trundled by.
"Of course I don't have any loose bolts that need fixing!
Honestly, I don't know why Master Skywalker insists on having
this old model R2 unit around." Lowie chuffed a question. "Well,
so what if he is efficient and helpful. I'm sure that a newer model
can do jobs faster and in less time than this old rel-" Lowie flicked
the 'off' switch on Em Teedee.
Luke watched all this from the hanger bay's doors. He was
pleased with how much the students got along together. He was
hoping they would do well on this trip; he had witheld some
information from the kids. Scanners on the Astrogator probe had
picked up frequent discharges of what seemed to be a type of
archaic arms. Firepower that, however unadvanced, could still kill
a target. There was also a reading of a massed radioactive
element, contained in a metal not native to that planet only. The
contain,ent element was called lead, a highly anti-radiotactivity
metal. Luke guessed that this radioactive metal was used as a
weapon by wargoers on the planet. He also hoped that his young
Jedi Knights recieved any interference on their mission. His
coordinates would lead them to a uninhabited area in the middle
of a desert, where no one would disturb their scannings.
"Hows the loading going?" He asked in a calm voice.
"Hmm? Oh, pretty well, Uncle Luke" said Jaina, poking her
head up from the engines. "This preflight shouldn't take much
more than five or ten minutes."
Tenel Ka came over to her ship with three bags over her
shoulder. Jacen commented: "That's an awful lot of luggage,
Tenel Ka."
"It is not all mine. I offered to carry Thix's and Yash'ii's
bags for them." She tossed the bags up into the ship and Thix and
Yash'ii, following unseen behind Tenel Ka, walked up the ramp
into the ship.
Thix was a colonist, like his parents who were also
colonists on the previously uninhabited Dantooine system. He had
an adventurous air around him, eager to jump at danger and to
take risks. He, unlike his parents, spoke flawless Common.
Yash'ii was human, her parents both being smugglers. Her
mother was stranded on Nar Shadda when her ship was destroyed
by a crashing old model Y-wing. Her father offered to get her
mother off the planet in return for smuggling tips and
modifications to his ship, a battered YT-1300 Corellian Freighter,
a ship of the same model of, but not much like, the Millenium
Falcon.
Jaina finished her preflight and kicked in the engines. A
steady purr floated upwards. "Well, I think I got that." Jaina said
with a satisfied smile. "Lets go!"
Lowbacca roared an affirmative, all systems green, all
passengers accounted for, and all luggage aboard. At least that's
what it sounded like.
Luke waved goodbye as the little ship manuvered it's way
out into the open air.
* * * * * * * *
Jacen sat with Lowbacca around the portable Hologame
that Thix had brought. He and Lowie were teamed up against Thix
and Yash'ii in a game of war strategy. He and Lowie chose to
command 10 Nebulon-B frigates and 20 squadrons of fighters,
while the opposing pair had molded their army as 5 Mon Calamari
Cruisers, 2 Frigates, 19 squadrons and an escort Carrier.
Thix conversed with Yash'ii for a moment, then punched a
few buttons. The Frigate dubbed Avenger Hyperjumped into
position behind a squadron of fighters. The match was over
quickly, the squadron being blown out of space, with the frigate
only losing it's forward shields.
Lowie roared in annoyance.
"Well, screaming about it won't help. He made a fair
move." Em Teedee commented.
"Hey, who's side are you on, here?" Jacen asked.
"Well......"
Lowie leaned over to Jacen to explain the next move. The 2
Frigates closest to Avenger would jump in and destroy her, hitting
her damaged front. The ships moved in and won. Lowie roared in
triumph.
Jaina walked into the room. "Sorry to bother you, but I
stopped us outside the system. It looks awesome." Everyone
walked the the nearest viewing area and looked out. There were
many planets, at least ten, arrayed inwards toward the sun, or so
the scopes said. It sounded nice on a screen, but the view from
outside a solar system looking in was great. You saw the sun,
light-years away, with seemingly nothing around it. Then there
were the comets; out on the fringe they were everywhere, but
getting rarer and rarer as you progressed inwards.
"Wow." Jacen looked out the plasteel window.
"Hm. It's neat. Now, if I recall, You just blew up one of my
frigates?" Thix commented slyly as the group stared outward.
"Oh, yeah, I also now know that us, with our remaining 8
frigates and 17 squadrons will kick you like a Womp rat with our
forces. You only have 4 Mon Cals, 1 frigate, 15 squadrons and a
Carrier left." Jacen added with a grin.
The players retured to their hologame, and Jaina to the
cockpit. She plotted the course that Luke had gived her, towards
the third planet. Her lightsaber clanked on the control board; she
hoped she would never have to use it on this trip. The ship's
thrusters fired and Jaina decided to go and watch the Hologame as
the ship progressed by itself. She went and sat in the lounge. The
4 player were still concentrating hard, and Tenel Ka was chipping
away at a hunk of granite with a laser cutter, making a spearhead.
Jaina wondered why her uncle had chosen to land them in the
middle of the desert; there was plenty of vegetation elsewhere.
Maybe the jungles looked dangerous on the Astrogator's scanners.
Or maybe it was something else. She suspected that there would
be a few surprises on this planet. A few. Not too many, of couse,
she thought to herself. Just a few.
Thix and Yash'ii's Carrier was destroyed by 3 frigates, and
Jaina's thoughts were interrupted by the players' laughter.
Apparently Thix had outdone himself, when, on one of his earlier
moves, moved protective fighters away from the Carrier. A small
red light began bleeping in an alcove near the set-up holoboard.
"Looks like we're coming up on that planet. I'll be in the
cockpit." Jaina said, and turned to leave.
"Hey, let's pause this," Jacen added, "I want to see this new
planet!" The five companions walked up to the bridge area to get
a good view.
The planet was smaller, a Class 6 planet, about the size of
Endor. It looked like a 4-season planet too. There was snow at the
Northern and Southern poles, large oceans inbetween continents,
what had to be lush jungles and deserts. The scanning equiptment
on the Rock Dragon then began automatically taking readings of
the planet's surface. Average temperature: 70 degrees. Average
altitude: .4 miles above sea level. All in all, it seemed
rather...ordinary. 4 Seasons was uncommon in a planet's
repertoire, but the rest seemed normal.
"Blaster bolts, I thought we were going somewhere cool.
This place has the same reads as Dantooine." Jacen scowled.
"Almost......The temp's 2 degrees average higher." Thix
said, grinning. "I, uh, memorized Dantooine's stats."
"Acceptable. I took it upon myself to remember all of
Dathomir's planetary statistics as well. I find a certain comfort in
knowing what the clans may be expeiriencing in the way of
weather on a given day." Tenel Ka's gray eyes darted over the
screens. "I believe our landing area is on the nightside of the
target planet. I will get our supplies ready."
Tenel Ka walked back to the cargo area on the Rock
Dragon to get the camp equiptment, leaving the other 5 students
in the cockpit.
"Hey Jaina, if a luxury landcruiser crashes on the border
between Goayt and Flahg, you know; those two feudal nations?
Who gets the burial rights for the survivers?" Jacen asked, a sly
grin on his face.
"Well....actually I never thought about that....I suppose it
depends on which nation you're from." Jaina said, perplexed.
"What, when did we all start burying suvivors?" Jacen said,
now grinning from ear to ear.
Everyone was quiet for about a half a minute, thinking the
conversation over. Suddenly Yash'ii began to smile, then she
broke out laughing. "That was good, Jacen, it's a good logic joke!"
Lowbacca made a gruff sound resembling a chuckle.
"Well, is it just me, or was that one of the first times
anyone has ever laughed at one of my jokes?" Jacen added.
Jaina groaned.
* * * *
The Rock Dragon swooped down over the darkened side of
the planet, and landed on it's chosen site. The landing ramp
unlocked with a hiss, and Tenel Ka strode down. She uncapped
the top of a glowrod and held it above her head, looking in a full
circle.
"This area of the planet seems to be not unlike Tatooine,"
She remarked. "If it is at all the same, we must watch where we
step."
Jacen jogged down the ramp and stood beside Tenel Ka. "I
suppose we should set up our camp? I'm dying to get a look at
some new species." He held up a cage. "This one can hold a
smaller creature, like a Womp rat, but it also has antivenom
screening. Pretty neat, huh?"
Thix and Yash'ii came down the ramp as well, surveying
the barren, dry landscape of the desert.
"What a desolate place this is...." Yash'ii remarked.
"I'm gonna go look for some animals. I'll unpack later."
Jacen strode off into the night, flicking out a glowrod to light his
way. The other trainees began unloading the luggage. Jaina was
the last one to step onto the new planet.
"Well, I finished the post flight check...." Her voice trailed
off as she bent to examine some carbon scoring on the boarding
ramp.
Jacen reentered the camp. "Well, I couldn't find anything
yet, but I did find some tracks of something real small. Oh, well,
where's my stuff?"
"In the cargo hold." Tenel Ka said.
"What?!"
"Whaddya mean, what? Did you expect us to get you your
luggage for you, laser brain?" Jaina said, smiling.
Grumbling, Jacen trodded up into the Rock Dragon.
* * * *

Boba Fett had already landed on QB-X89. He had
discovered a primitive civilization of humans, like himself.
Unfortunatly, he realized, they were...bad. In his day there,
observing a large capital, he witnessed three murders. He also
saw, with the scopes on his ship, six robberies, 2 assaults, and a
bomb going off. Nice place. He decided to go and look for places
on the planet more likely to have good people to mingle with. He
piloted the Slave 4 close to the ground, though he calculated that
no natives would see him if he followed a direct trajectory shown
on his computer screen. He plotted a course for a place with low
population, and therefore little crime and exposure. He flew
toward the desert. Hopefully, there, he would find some resonable
people. He was getting too old for Bounty Hunting. He needed a
safe haven to go to. His aquisitions funds may go towards a
fortress here. But first, look for the good natives. He had to look
for those who would accept him. He knew the way many new
civilizations acted when a first explorer landed. They got scared.
Real scared. He had to get them to think he was friendly before he
revealed his heritage. That would be...tricky.
* * * *
Dawn on the alien world was hot and humid, or at least
where the young Jedis' camp was. The night before, Jaina had
noticed, was cool and dry. She looked about the camp in disdain.
Everything seemed to be in disarray. It reminded her of the
campsites her Dad would always take her and Jacen to when they
were younger. Han and Jacen would consistently trash the camp
area, and Jaina would try to put it back together. Try. The same
thing was happening here. Lowie, Jacen and Thix were running
around messing everything up.....
"Well, at least I have help." Jaina said to herself.
"What?" Yash'ii looked up from a small pile of equiptment,
tossing things into piles marked TRASH and KEEP.
"Oh, nothing, just talking to myself."
Jacen was busy attempting to put a minispeeder together
that his sister had modified specifically for this trip.
"Section A fits into coupling F, make sure to adhere all
wires with a flash heater? I don't get this...You read, I'll try to
assemble." Jacen tossed the directions to Thix, who in turn
casually tossed them to Lowie.
"Here, Lowie, you read. I'm drowning in engine parts."
Thix gestured to the floor around where he was sitting. Parts of a
speeder engine lay in a semicircle around him. "You should ask
Jaina to please not take everything apart when she 'folds up' her
speeder, Jacen."
"Uh-huh...Lowie, I think I have this thing wired
correctly...turn it on from over there, will ya?"
Lowie followed the loose wires with his eyes until he found
the switch. He flicked it on. Sparks flew all over the cargo bay of
the Rock Dragon. Alarms began to screech.
"Ahhh! No! Turn it off! Turn it off!" Jacen felt
tremendously relieved when the sparks stopped flying.
Lowie growled quizzically at Jacen. Guessing at what it
meant without the help of Em Teedee, Jacen answered.
"It's not my fault! I trusted the directions! How could I have
known that that was going to happen?"
"Having trouble?" Jaina, standing in the doorway to the
cargo hold, smiled smugly. "Need help?"
"Uh...no, no, we have it under control." Jacen said in a
forced calm voice. "Right guys? RIGHT?"
"Uh, right. Sure. We've got the green light. Runway clear.
Affirmative. Whatever." Thix said, grinning.
Lowie chuffed an uncertain yes.
"I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that you've got
Coupling C and K in the wrong places and that the fuel nozzle's
hooked up to the comlink system then, right?" Jaina smirked.
Jacen threw down his hydrospanner. It banged off the floor.
"Fine, you do it." Jacen walked out the door to the hold and down
the hallway. He turned just as he was about out of sight. "Oh, and
couldja tell me when your'e done? Thanks."
Thix was still grinning. "Honestly," He said, "I don't know
which one of you two is more proud than the other sometimes."
* * * *
The speeder, once completed, was actually magnificent. It
was the size of an escape pod off of the Millenium Falcon, with an
attachable carrier on the side for a passenger. Jacen grudignly
thanked his twin, then turned to Lowie and Thix. "Okay who gets
to go exploring first?"
Lowie growled. Em Teedee offered translations. "Master
Lowbacca suggests that we draw lots."
"Good idea, Lowie." Jacen picked a few reedlike plants,
snapped two in half, and held then up. "Two short ones go flying."
Thix drew, pulled a short. Lowie pulled a short as well. "Hey, not
fair! Promise you'll be back in about thirty standard minutes!"
"Fine....we'll be back." Thix said, hopping into the
passenger compartment.
After the two Jedi had gone, Jacen moped around camp,
not sure of what to do. He kept glancing at his chronometer,
wishing time would go faster. At about nine minutes into the half
hour, the speeder returned.
"Well, back so soon? Is it that boring?"
Thix jumped out of the speeder and ran past Jacen, not
acknowledging his prescence. Lowbacca rushed by to.
"Was it something I said?" Jacen asked to thin air.
Suddenly the ground began to shake. Pebbles bounced off of the
steep rocky incline to Jacen's right. "Uh-oh." He looked up. A
large boulder was falling directly towards him!
Jacen felt something hit him in the somach. With an
Ooomph of pain he was flung sideways. The boulders tumbled
down, leaving a cloud of dust. It was all suddenly swept away, and
the rumbling was replaced by the sound of repulsors. A large ship
momentarily flashed overhead, too fast for Jacen too see. It was
obviously not from this planet. He got up, slowly, his side hurting.
He looked down. Taking a step back, he yelled for help. He
realized now that it was Yash'ii, not Tenel Ka as one would have
expected, who had pushed him aside. Unfortunatly, Yash'ii had
been caught in the avalanche. Her leg was buried in rubble, and
she was unconscious. Using the Force to assist him, Jacen pulled
some of the rocks off. Jaina and Tenel Ka ran up from the Rock
Dragon.
Assessing the situation, Tenel Ka immediatly began pulling
rocks off of Yash'ii. Jaina yelled to the two rescuers.
"I'm going to grab a medikit, hang on!" She ran back
towards the Rock Dragon.
Tenel Ka and Jacen succeded in freeing Yash'ii from the
boulder pile. Jacen made a move to pick her up, but Tenel Ka put
out a restraining arm. "No, if she's hurt, don't move her. It may
hurt her more."
"Did I cause this, too? I'm a magnet for bringing disaster on
my friends." He gestured to Tenel Ka's arm. "I suppose if I paid
attention more-"
"Jacen, look and see how far the avalanche fell." Tenel Ka
said.
Jacen got up and looked down the ridgeside. "It runs for
about fourty, maybe fifty feet."
"Then she was in the avalanche's range anyway."
"Oh...."
Jaina came running up with the medikit. "I hope there's
nothing seriously wrong here!" She began unpacking the box.
* * * *
The blackness and silence was deafening. Lowie found that
odd. He reached out, feeling around the pocket of space with his
paw. When the avalanche came, he and Thix were buried,but got
lucky. The boulders had formed a perfect room around them.
"Lowie?" Thix's voice echoed.
Lowie growled back.
"I can't see a thing!"
Lowie pushed at the top of the cave. It didn't move. He
tried to use the Force, and this helped a little. He pushed the great
slab of stone off to the side a little, letting in a shaft of sunlight.
"Well, that's better. I can see now!" Thix assisted Lowie in
shoving the slab off their cave using the Force. Thix hoisted
himself up and looked around. He saw the Rock Dragon about 30
meters away, across a small gulley aout 4 feet wide. "It's not that
far, see you there!" he said to Lowie. He stoppd short when he
came to the 'gulley'. It had to be at least 30 feet deep! "Whoops.
Time to find an alternate route." He and Lowie looked around.
"Well, only one way to go! Up."
He and Lowie began an ascent of the ridge.
* * * *
"Well...she's not bad. Leg's not broken; but the bone's
bruised, and she has a mild concussion. She'll be fine once she
wakes up and takes some of this headache medicine." Jaina said
to Tenel Ka and Jacen.
Jacen let out a sigh of relief. Tenel Ka nodded curtly.
"Good. It is fortunate that she did not recieve any serious
damage in the avalanche." Tenel Ka remarked.
"Yeah. Say, what was that ship that flew overhead right
before the avalanche?" Jacen asked his sister and friend.
"Ship? I didn't see one, I was in the Dragon. I can look at
the scopes' recordings if you want." Jaina said to her twin.
"Do that. This ship didn't look like it was from around here.
I think it looked familiar to me...but I can't place it in memory.
Maybe if I had another look." Jacen started toward the ship.
"Oh, no, you and Tenel Ka have to carry Yash'ii into the
medical area on the Rock Dragon. I'll look at the scopes." Jaina
said. She started at a trot towards the ship.
Jacen turned towards Tenel Ka. As he did so, he thought he
saw Lowie climbing up the side of the rocky ridge...Nah. Lowie's
probably down in the sands. He and Thix saw the avalanche
coming. Jacen thought to himself.
Jaina reached the cockpit and activated the scanning
systems recorders. She panned through all the ships seen and
proceesed in the last 36 hours. She saw ships from all over the
galaxy from before the start of their trip..and then she saw it. The
name of that ship hadn't appeared on this chart for months. She
sucked in her breath. The Slave 4. Boba Fett was on QB-X89.
* * * *
Lowie bent down and reached down to pull Thix up to the
ledge where he was standing.
"Do you....think....it'll take much..longer?" Thix rasped to
Lowie, out of breath.
Lowie growled. Em Teedee translated: "Master Lowbacca
wishes to inform you that the climb may well proceed for another
fifteen minutes."
Thix groaned and looked up the cliff face. "I may as well
be on Hoth at night in my underwear."
A half an hour later (one half hour that seemed like an
eternity) Lowie and Thix reached the top of the ridge. Amazingly,
the ridge at the top was only a foot or two across, making walking
treacherous. They made their way slowly along until they were
above the Rock Dragon. Thix turned to Lowie.
"Now what, are we supposed to slide down or something?"
Thix asked incredulosly.
Lowie shook his head. He then proceeded to pick up a
small stone, and throw it at the Rock Dragon. The stone sailed in
the air for a few seconds, then crashed into the ship's side with a
thunk.
"Hey...I can see Jaina in the cockpit. Throw a rock over
there! But, uh, don't break the transparisteel."
Lowie tried again, this time aiming for the cockpit. The
stone thunked on the window and Jaina jerked up, looking
outside. Unfortunatly, she stared straight out, not up, missing
Lowie and Thix by a mile.
"No, nono! Look up!" Thix threw a rock of his own, but
missed the ship completly. Jaina saw his rock fall and began to
trace the avalanche fall line to see if there would be another.
Lowie roared and threw a rock in front of the cabin. Jaina saw it
and looked a little further up. Thix threw, then Lowie, until Jaina
had looked up enough to see them. They waved their arms in
order for her to see them clearer. She waved back, then held up a
finger to tell them to hold on. She disappeared down into the ship.
"Ha! I knew we could do it all along. Never doubted the
plan for a moment. Wonderful!"
Jaina reappeared in the cockpit, turned on the repulsors on
the Dragon and proceeded to position the Hapan craft under
Lowie and Thix. Thix looked at Lowie, shrugged, then stepped on
top of the ship. Jaina tried to land the craft again, but the repulsors
did not like being guided slowly. The ship lurched around, and
Thix and Lowie kept losing their balance. Finally the ship touched
down on the ground.
Thix and Lowie slid of the Rock Dragon. Jaina ran out of
the ship and waved again to them. "Hey! How did you manage to
get up there?"
"Short story: Avalanche, canyon, climb, walk, get on ship,
fly/fall down on ship, get off ship, tell Jaina brief synopsis." Thix
said.
"Maybe sometime you can tell me that in Common."
* * * *
After getting Yash'ii to a bunk on the Rock Dragon and
buckling themselves in for the pickup of Lowie and Thix, Jacen
and Tenel Ka found little to do. The camp had been packed before
the avalanche and there was nothing to entertain anyone but the
Hologame board..And Tenel Ka played those rarely. Jacen
meandered through the Dragon, making his way towards the
cockpit. As he did so, he heard beeping noises coming from a
console. He read the label on the side of the machine's station:
Proximity Sensor. He pushed the display button.
* * * *
"What is that?" Boba Fett asked himself as he flew his ship
overhead a small campground. "That ship..."
Boba ran a search in his computer's memory. The Rock
Dragon. He knew he'd seen it before. He remembered the Hapan
ship that he had encountered in his search for Bornan Thul. He
had run into it and the four Jedi-in-training in the asteroid field
that was all that was left of Alderaan. They had caused him a lot
of trouble.
Boba Fett turned his ship around. If they were the same
ones as those in the asteroid field, he felt he should pay them a
little visit.
* * * *
"The Slave 4! I knew something was up but this is too
much!" Jacen turned and ran to the door of the cabin. "Hey guys,
uh, I think we're going to have company."
Jaina rushed to the door as well. "I saw the Slave 4 on the
scanners earlier and...uh-oh. It seems our old friend has looked at
his scanners a little as well."
Outside the ship, the friends saw the large ship of Boba Fett
touch down.
"Quick, how does this thing fire proton torpedoes?" Jacen
reached for the fire control.
"No, don't touch that! If you fire a torp at this range, you'd
blow us up too! Don't fire lasers, either. You never know how the
atmosphere would react. I might ignite something." Thix brushed
Jacen's hand away from the controls. "Besides, won't he only hurt
us if he is out to capture us?"
"Sure, but who wouldn't pay money to be the proud captor
of the Chief of State's kids?" Jaina said.
"Well, put that way..."
Outside the landing ramp opened and Boba exited, wearing
his garb of Mandalorian combat armor, braided Wookiee scalps,
rocket pack and sawed-off blaster rifle.
"Maybe I was wrong about him not hurting us..." Thix said
to nobody in particular.
Jacen suddenly turned, grabbed his lightsaber off of a
passenger chair, and stode out ofthe cockpit. "Well, I don't know
about you guys, but I for one am not going to sit around and see
his objectives in action."
Jaina heard the boarding ramp slide down with a hiss of air,
and Jacen exited. "I hope he knows what he's doing..."
Jacen strolled along outside the Rock Dragon, trying to
appear casual. If Boba could sense emotions, he'd know that Jacen
was shaking in his boots.
"Well.." Boba rolled the word around, his voice dry and
monotonous, like a machine. "The last time we met, Jedi, you
caused me a great deal of trouble in the Alderaan asteroid field.
Tell me, what brings you here?"
Mustering up some guile, Jacen said, "We could ask the
same of you."
Under his helmet, Boba Fett cracked a smile. The Jedi must
be scared to death, yet his act was amusing and somehow
convincing. "I am here to look into...retirement options, shall we
say. I find this to be a possible safe haven. However, the
occupants are ever so uncooperative."
"You've been exploring?"
"Yes. I assume your ship got the readings of a highly
reactive synthetic element?"
Jacen nodded.
"A native described it in a summary on paper. Grenium, it
is designed to kill. From what I gather a piece the size of your
finger could kill your Academy if placed in the proper spot. It is
powerful but useless. It is a wonderful place, this QB-X89, isn't
it?" Boba took a step forward and looked down at Jacen. "Now,
leave this planet. It would be unfortunate if your ship was
destroyed in an accident."
Jacen could think of nothing to say so he walked slowly
back to the Rock Dragon. Suddenly there were shouts from the
top of the ridge. There were three near-humans, their skin was
tinted orange and they had large eyes. They were gesturing wildly
at the two ships. One of them reached behind itself andpulled out
a long, mean-looking object made from a type of wood and metal.
He aimed it at the cockpit of the Dragon.
Boom! There was a whizzing sound and a SMACK as an
object hit the canopy of the Rock Dragon. Jacen ran inside the
ship. Jaina said from the cockpit, "Wonderful, they have rather
advanced archaic weaponry. A rifle, looks like this species doesn't
have long to go until lasers."
"Can't wait until that happens." Jacen said. "Say, could any
of their weapons hurt the Dragon?"
"Oh, sure. If they are advanced as the readings say, then it
is possible that they have missles that would blow this ship, with
it's shields off, out of the sky."
"How come we don't have things like that?"
"We do, they're called low-powered blaster cannons.
Anything more is too much for these people."
Outside the Slave 4 rose up off the ground and skimmed
away. Another bullet slammed into the cockpit window, making
Jaina cringe.
Thix was sitting in the passenger area listening to the dull
thuds of the bullets. "Would someone please make them stop that
racket? It's bothering some of us." Thix pulled a pillow out of a
storage compartment and stuffed it over his head.
Jacen sat opposite him. "Put your belt on, Jaina and Lowie
are lifting us off right now."
The Rock Dragon slowly lifted off the ground and flew
towards the upper atmosphere. The light colored blue sky of
QB-X89 slowly faded to a black, the black of space. Jaina's voice
came in over the intercom. "Well done, I suppose, we got all our
readings, survived an avalanche, met an old family friend, got shot
at by natives, and left my speeder bike on the ground. Oh, well, I
can always build another one back at the Academy."
Jacen chuckled and looked outthe viewport at the receding
view of QB-X89. "I wonder what Boba Fett is doing right now. No
doubt looking for another place to retire himslef to."
* * * *
Boba Fett was, in fact, disappointed. He had at first hoped
he could make the natives understand peace with justice alongside
it. But when they're first move was to shoot what they didn't
understand, he realized they were a hopeless people. He pulled his
ship around, entered in coordinates, and jumped to hyperspace.
* * * *
"Everybody strap yourselves in, I've just gotten the
coordiates from the navicomputer. I'm about to make the Jump to
hyperspeed!"
Everyone in the passenger area pulled their buckles tighter.
"3...2...1...mark!"
The stars stratched to starlines, and the Rock Dragon
disappeared from realspace.
* * * *
"I must say, after hearing all about what happened to you,
I'm very proud that you handled yourselves the way that you did.
You all acted responsibly and all actions were made after careful
consideration." Luke Skywalker was talking to his studends in his
office on Yavin 4.
"Thanks, Uncle Luke." Jaina smiled at him.
"Now Tenel Ka, you were saying that you wanted to go on
a little safari in the Jundland Wastes with your friends?" Luke
grinned. All the students turned to look at Tenel Ka.
"I suppose that the desert on QB-X89 tried my skill
enough, even though I had no chance for any exploration. There is
no need to go to the Jundland Wastes."
Everyone sighed in relief. Thix tapped out a boot half full
of sand.
"Look, guys. Sand. Who wants some? You know, as a
souvenir or something?" Everyone filed out of the room leaving
Thix behind. "What, you seriously can't tell me you're tired of
sand?"
Luke closed the door behind them. "And I thought I was a
crazy kid!" He chuckled, then sat down to continue his work.

--End