Star Wars_ Boba Fett 06_ Pursuit - Elizabeth Hand [28]
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.
Table of Contents
Book 6
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY