Editor's Note:

The Boba Fett Fan Club warns that this story contains adult content. It may not be suitable for minors.

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Part I: Bounty hunter's love song

I know how to hurt, I know how to heal
I know what to show and what to conceal
I know when to talk and I know when to touch
No one ever cares if I want too much.

People like us, know how to survive
There's no point in living if you can't feel alive
We know when to kiss and we know when to kill
If we can't have it all than nobody will.
-Garbage

And my heart has always been a lonely hunter, but still
-Madonna

The woman stood in the open gate of Jabba the Hutt's palace, feeling little earthquakes. The twin suns of Tatooine glared down at her like accusing eyes. Everything was hot and still and she was feeling earthquakes. There was no outward sign of it, but she was feeling them rising from her body. It was as though the heat of the fierce suns had thawed her frozen thick blood, sent it breaking into tiny pieces that had no choice, once melted, but to swirl and eddy. It was not The Burning Bright in the sky that melted her blood but the blaze of her own anger. This heat not only made her roiling blood shake her body on the inside, but it gave her fuel and fire. She began to walk down the hall. Jabba's conniving assistant Bib Fortuna saw the woman and attempted to stall her unstoppable advance.

"Miss, Jabba is busy right now. If you'd like I could arrange for you to meet with him at a different-"

The woman didn't even slow down as she replied in British accented Basic.
"Jabba can take time out of his busy schedule of doing nothing all day to talk to me Fortuna. Now either move out of my way or be moved out of my way."

The Twi'lek nodded and backed away, lekku trembling Better possibly to suffer later from Jabba's wrath than definitely suffer now from hers. He thought.

"Smart move nerf herder." She said and walked into the main audience chamber. The band went silent and the motley crowd of intergalactic scum and villenry looked toward the woman. She ignored the stares of the majority of the males, who were looking at her the way a starving man would stare at a bantha steak he was too weak to reach. The reason for their lust was clear though, the woman was unquestionably gorgeous. Even compared to Jabba's harem of dancing girls, all of whom had been purchased specifically for their beauty, she stood out the way a swan would amongst a flock of crows. She was tall for a human female, about one point seven meters barefoot and most of that height was made up of long, well-shaped legs. She had the measurements, 36-24-29, that made men want to take up mathematics. Her alabaster skin was flawless, the color of ivory with a soft peach glow so subtle it was easy to mistake it for reflected light. Her cheekbones and nose were delicate and refined. Her enticing lips too perfect for any artist to consciously create, were made to be kissed and her body, although strong and athletic had lost none of it's femininity. It was still lithe, slender and begging to be embraced. Her hair was very thick, mid-back length, and as black and glossy as obsidian with two deep scarlet streaks on either side of her beautiful face. She wore dark body armor that clung to her like a sheet of colored water. As enchanting as she was, there was something about her presence that made her more so, some innuendo of danger that both threatened and fascinated.

"Jabba," she said "what's this I hear about you putting out a bounty on Han Solo?"

The obese, slug-like crime lord looked at the woman passively then spoke in Huttese "He dumped his last shipment of spice the second he saw an Imperial cruiser, but he is promising to pay me back so the bounty is postponed for the time being."

"And you believe him?" she asked, her voice sharp with disbelief. "That smuggling scum would say anything to save his hide, Jabba. There is no way in Hoth he could ever find a job profitable enough to compensate you for the credits you lost, you know that as well as I do. Why not let Greedo and me take-"

"Greedo is dead, Cyan" Jabba said stiffly "Solo shot him."

Cyan's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, then her rosebud lips turned up slightly in a grin that looked very similar to the scowl she had worn a second ago. "If he is dead then that means I am going after Solo alone, as we agreed!"

"Not quite," the Hutt cut short her joy. "I have hired a new bounty hunter to take your place."

"What!?" her semi-smile vanished replaced by a look of furious shock. "What did you do that for?!" Her voice was like her face. Even sharpened by anger it was still pleasing, very seductive in tone and feminine in timbre but with a curious sonorous strength.

"Solo is tricky, I need the best to capture him."

"What makes you think I'm not good enough? Haven't I always served you well, killed or captured who ever you told me without fail? I can handle any job you give me just as well, if not better than, any other bounty hunter out there."

"I'm not convinced Cyan. That is why I have enlisted the best bounty hunter in the galaxy." The Hutt turned to the armor, helmeted man beside him. " Cyan Starling meet Boba Fett."

Cyan stared at the mysterious, bounty hunter. She, like most sentient species in the galaxy, had heard of Boba Fett. The man was beyond notorious. His name alone was enough to make hardened pirates and killers tremble. The tales and rumors surrounding him had made him larger than life, god-like, a devil that walked among men. Now Cyan was face to helmet with the infamous legend himself. "He's shorter than I thought he'd be." she said

"Regardless of what you think Cyan, he is my new bounty hunter and your replacement, you may as well accept it."

She clamped her jaw and her pale cheeks flushed lightly with anger. The little earthquakes tripled in force and she had to struggle to keep them in check.

Boba Fett had neither heard of nor seen this woman who claimed to be a bounty hunter before. But that was not unusual. There were new hunters jumping in the game every day and judging from her intact armor and unscarred face she was a newer hunter. One didn't stay good looking in the bounty hunting business for long or at least one's armor didn't. Amateur Fett thought If she's lucky someone will just scar that sweet little face of hers. If she is unlucky- well she'll still wind up a lot less pretty. He looked at the woman closer, noticing the striking contrast of her dark hair against her exquisitely fair skin. She is rather attractive though he admitted to himself

"Jabba," she said and her flashing eyes betrayed the rage her voice tried to conceal "remember the bargain we have made."

Jabba froze in the act of shoving a small, wiggling paddy frog in his mouth and stared at Cyan. Her face was an unreadable mask. "What of it?" he finally said, and he sounded quite interested

"I propose we alter it."

The Hutt swallowed the frog whole and frowned. "How, alter it?"

"Send me after Han Solo, if I bring him to you than you actually pay me the bounty and let me go free. If I fail, than I give you what you've been wanting for the last two years. Cyan indicated the chains at the foot of the dais, chains that were normally occupied by Jabba's luckless slave girls. "I'll become one of your freaks-on-a-leash."

Jabba blinked twice before answering "No."

Cyan's lovely face fell "What?"

"I don't want you going after Solo, give him some time to pay me back. However I will send you on another hunt instead. One more suited to your particular talents."

She raised one delicate eyebrow "Interested." she stated.

"I need you to capture a former associate of mine who has been a little too vocal to my rivals. He has fled to the most hostile planet in the galaxy. None who go there return. Bring back Keyser Soze and I will let you go free, fail and I may deal with you as I wish." Jabba leered at her and licked his lips "Of course if you wish to save yourself the trouble of traveling to the planet, I have an nice red outfit all ready picked out for you."

Cyan forced her expression to remain neutral "I think I'll risk death if you don't mind."

Jabba shrugged his massive shoulders "As you wish , but you're only delaying your fate," he wriggled his revolting tounge at her lecherously "and my pleasure."

"We will see." she said smoothly in her elegantly accented basic.

"Indeed," the Hutt said "and just to make sure you keep your end of the bargain I am sending Fett along with you. If you fail than he will return you to me, by force if necessary."

Now Fett spoke up "What if she succeeds? I will have wasted my time on her for nothing."

Those were the first words Cyan Starling had heard the hunter speak. Although she didn't believe for a second he had spoken up in her favor because he had any faith in her or her ability she was still pleased that he had spoken. His voice was harsh and unemotional and for some inexplicable reason excited her greatly."If he doesn't want to go fine, forget him. I said I'd return and I will"

"I don't believe you Cyan." Jabba rumbled. "As for you Fett, you will be paid whether she fails or not, so either way it's no credits out of your pocket." Fett nodded slowly, once and The Bloated One turned to Cyan "Do you still wish to take the unnecessary risk of going on this hunt?"

The woman looked at Boba Fett. Right into the black impenetrable visor of his helmet. Her gaze was a searchlight, acute and piercing. If he hadn't of known better he'd have sworn she was looking him right in the eye. Fett stared back at her, and it struck him for the first time that this woman's best feature was her eyes. If the rest of her was beautiful they were awe-inspiring, large, almond shaped, and framed with thick smoky lashes, they shone an intense blue color that shamed the bluest sapphire, with something of the purest silver mixed in. Cyan turned away from him to speak to Jabba."When do we leave?"

She's walking down the street
Blind to every eye she meets
Do you think you'll be the guy
To make the queen of the angels sigh

Hello, I love you

Won't you tell me your name?
Hello, I love you.
Let me jump in your game.

She holds her head so high
Like a statue in the sky.
Her arms are wicked and her legs are long
When she moves my brain screams out this song

Sidewalk crouchers at her feet

Like a dog that begs for something sweet
Do you hope to make her see you, fool?
Do you hope to pluck this dusky jewel?
-The Doors

A few hours later Boba Fett approached the motor pool at Jabba's palace where his ship, the Slave I was docked. He and the woman were going to be taking Slave I to the planet. The woman hadn't been to thrilled about that, but he really didn't blame her. Being on another being's ship met giving up a lot of control and giving up control of a situation made one vulnerable, helpless. Of course that was what Jabba had wanted. "If you fail, you will have no way to escape our pact, Fett will see to that." he had told her "I want you to keep your promise."

Her lips had turned down in a scowl that could wilt a flower "You had just better be prepared to keep yours." she had said in that musical, courtly accented voice of hers. The same voice Fett heard coming from behind the sail barge. "For the last time Kwerve, I want nothing to do with you, leave me alone."

Fett focused his helmet's speakers on the approaching conversation. That Cyan woman was arguing with Bidlo Kwerve, an ugly, pocked faced Corellian, who was Bib Fortuna's main rival for the coveted position of the Hutt's majordomo. Like Cyan he had bright, piercing eyes and jet black hair with contrasting color streaking through it, but his eyes were pale green and his hair was streaked white. "I'm only trying to help you, Cyan. What's wrong with a friend trying to help a friend." He pleaded, his high pitched, raspy voice sounded even more whiny than usual.

"First of all, we aren't friends, Kwerve and second, even if we were, you aren't making a friendly offer." Fett could see them now. Cyan was striding forward in an effortlessly graceful, yet determined way and Kwerve was trailing at her heels like an annoying yip-yip dog. Before she could walk past the sail barge Kwerve sprang into her path. She stopped.

"I don't know," he said, casually leaning an arm against the sail barge to cut off her escape route, "I think it's a very friendly offer."

Cyan glared at him "Offering to talk Jabba out of a deal I made in the first place isn't a bit friendly, in fact it's rather insulting." Fett knew that Kwerve had tried the same trick on several of the Hutt's dancing girls, offering them freedom in exchange for sex. On occasion he actually kept his end of the bargain, but most of the time the arrangement worked out better for Kwerve than the hapless females he courted. Cyan seemed to know this too. "I am not one of Jabba's harlots. Don't try your pathetic tricks on me."

Kwerve moved in closer and backed her into the sail barge. He placed his hands above her shoulders, and smiled hideously. "You aren't one of Jabba's "harlots" yet, and when you are I will make sure that Jabba lets me have you when he's done with you." He leaned in closer and whispered so low that Fett's speakers barely picked up the sound, "By then you will cherish my affection."

Cyan attacked. Faster then the speed of light she slammed her fore fingers into the sides of Kwerve's neck, striking some of his more indispensable nerves and veins. He dropped to his knees choking and gasping. Cyan moved so quickly the motion sensors in Fett's helmet didn't even have time to register the action. She grabbed Kwerve by the front of the grimy spacers suit he wore and pulled his limp body up to her. "Now listen up you miserable, scummy bastard. I just cut off the flow of blood to your inadequate little brain. You have one minute to live and if I have to repeat myself you may not be alive by the time I finish. Nobody-especially a worthless excuse for a sentient being like you- gets that close to me without my permission, and you will never have that. No matter what the Hutt does to me I'd rather spend eternity in the Sarlacc pit than an hour with you. In fact if you ever approach me again I will make you suffer greater pain than the Sarlacc could ever hope to inflict, understand?"

"Yuh-yuh-yes." Kwerve nodded convulsively. He was bleeding from his nose.

"Good," Cyan jabbed at his throat again. Kwerve collapsed forward and sucked in great droughts of dessert air. Slowly he pulled himself to his feet, still clutching his throat. "Leave" she said flatly and Bidlo Kwerve ran as fast as his shaking legs would let him. Cyan watched him run, her back turned to Fett. She reached up, brushed her hair from her face with one quick motion, and turned to Boba Fett. The other hunter stared at her in astonishment. She was stunning. Those eyes of hers were positively glowing with intensity and fervor. The incandescent energy in them was as dazzling as a star gone supernova. Her whole being fairly gleamed with an unbridled, incredible power that took Fett's breath away. He stared at her, she stared back at him with eyes that flashed incandescent blue-silver. Slowly the glow began to fade, until all that remained was a sparkle, like starlight, in her eyes. She looked at Fett inquiringly. "Are we going?"

Fett nodded "This way." He said and they began to walk towards the Slave I.

I got a black magic woman
Got a black magic woman
I've got a black magic woman
Got me so blind I can't see
That she's a black magic woman
She's trying to make a devil out of me
-Santana

It was nightfall by the time they arrived on the planet Jabba had sent them to. It was a pretty enough place, a forest planet with no cities or technology, or as far as anyone knew, sentient species, but like most uncivilized planets, it had plenty of nocturnal predators. Venturing into the shapeless, heavy woods at night would have been suicidal, so Boba Fett and Cyan Starling had built a small camp for the night. The fire they had made sparked brightly between them, the Slave I sat locked and dead off to their right and Boba Fett didn't take his eyes off Cyan. He had watched her via his helmet's pick ups the entire trip. Watched her as he piloted Slave I to the planet. Watched her as she built the fire in front of them. Watched her now as she sat, staring at the fire with eyes like the night sky, still, infinite, full of stars. She leaned close to the fire, so close that the other hunter could smell the heat from her body and her armor gleamed. The glow from the flames flushed her skin red and made it look as if she had bathed in blood. She didn't look at Fett as she spoke. "I suppose you think I'm a fool for making this bargain with the Hutt."

Fett shrugged "It is of no consequence to me."

She still didn't look at him. "I'll bet you'd rather I fail in my hunt though, that way you'd get a chance to hunt down a bounty instead of just watch a potential one."

Fett didn't turn his helmet towards her, but he watched her in the 360 display. Her fingers were long and well formed with pale, short fingernails that looked like glass. She wasn't wearing her gloves and the light made her hands look bloodstained. "I do not care whether you fail in your hunt or not. I will be paid either way."

Cyan stood and Fett raised the barrel of the Blastech EE-3 rifle he had propped across her knees so it was aimed at the woman's heart. She reached into one of the playing card sized pouches on her belt. Her armor was skintight and a dark blue with gun-metal gray blast plates and knee pads. Her boots were thigh high with heels that gave her at least ten centimeters in height and she wore a black hooded trench coat that covered most of her armor. Fett didn't see any weapons on her, but just because he couldn't see them didn't mean that they weren't there. He was walking proof of that fact. "Do you have any family?" she asked "I know most hunters don't, but you aren't like most hunters."

Fett shook his head "I have no family."

Cyan's lips moved in that same smile/scowl she had given Jabba in the throne room, a completely mirthless little grin that served only as a distraction to draw attention from her expressive eyes. It didn't work, Fett saw the shimmer or pain and sorrow that went through her eyes as she spoke. "Neither do I," she pulled a small pendent from the pouch and held it up. It was a heart-shaped gold leaf hanging from a 30 centimeter long chain. The firelight reflected off the leaf like sliding water as Cyan twirled the chain between her fingers. "That's why if I don't accomplish the task Jabba has given me and I have to become his slave I want you to have this."

Fett turned his head towards the shining object to get a better look at it. "That way at least a part of me would be free." She sat down and continued to spin the necklace so the leaf revolved slowly and the light flashed off it rhythmaticly . Fett continued to watch it. "You know you're an excellent pilot"Cyan said her voice was very pleasant, very calm, very soft. "Flying your ship all the way here by yourself, that must be quite exhausting." Fett didn't speak, his dark visored gaze seemed fixed on her necklace. "You must be tired." Cyan's speech got softer and more soothing until it was almost a purr. "Very, very tired, so tired you can barely stay awake. Don't try." she watched Fett intently. His helmeted head was beginning to nod sleepily and his breathing was so faint that if she hadn't been listening for it, she wouldn't have noticed it subtly becoming deeper and more relaxed, the breathing of someone in a very deep trance. "Sleep Boba Fett, sleep deeply hearing only the sound of my voice. You hear only my voice and you will obey."

"I will..obey." Fett's voice through the Mandalorian helmet's speakers was as harsh and emotionless as ever, but seemed to be murmured, as if he were talking in his sleep, a sure sign that he was completely under her spell.

Cyan didn't take any pride in her victory though, if anything she became more grim. "You will tell me what I want to know Fett." she said firmly "What is Jabba paying you to do? What has he told you that he hasn't told me?" The other hunter didn't respond and her tone became more urgent, almost desperate "Tell me Fett, what you are doing here."

"I've got a better idea." Fett's voice was strong, alert, and completely in control, without a trace of drowsy obedience, the last thing a would-be hypnotist wanted to hear. "You will tell me what you think You're doing."

Cyan's eyes widened for the briefest of moments, than she regained her composure. "It appears that I have underestimated you Fett." she said smoothly "Very few sentients have the will to resist Lorelei mesmerism. I'm impressed."

"I'm flattered," Fett said dryly and aimed his rifle directly at her head. "Answer my question. Why did you do that?"

There wasn't the slightest hint of fear in Cyan's sea-cold eyes as she replied "I had to know if Jabba has ordered you to sabotage my hunt or kill me if I succeed. That's why I tried to hypnotize you." She toyed with the leaf casually "I figured it would be better for both of us if I tricked the answers out of you, rather than try to beat them out of you. You would be more cooperative that way and if you had been ordered to kill me or ruin my hunt I could make you forget those orders instead of having to kill you. I never play a king if a queen will do."

Fett contemplated the woman carefully "You could have asked me."

"How could I trust you? This is an important hunt and I don't want your help, but I don't need your interference."

"I'm honest. I would not break the Hunter's Creed and interfere with your hunt," he lowered the rifle "and Jabba has specifically told me to keep you alive."

Cyan watched him for a moment before replying quietly. "I've heard you are honest. Of course if I believed half the things I heard about you I'd be on my knees before you, worshiping you as the war-god incarnate."

Fett shrugged "I have told you the truth. Believe what you will." Cyan put the necklace back in her pocket, never taking her pretty eyes off Fett. They sat in silence for an hour before Fett spoke "I am going to sleep now. Do not try to trick me or force your will on me again and you will be safe." His rifle stayed balanced across his knees as he leaned back against a tree. Cyan seemed wary, but she wrapped her coat around her for warmth and slid against a tree stump. She watched Fett steadily with those brilliant eyes of hers. Gradually her lids shut for the night. Boba Fett watched her. The long, delicate lashes that framed her eyes like black reeds lining deep, still pools, were casting fragile shadows on her cheekbones. A few fine strands of wine colored hair lay across her face. Looked at this way her face was not as stunning as before. So it must have been her enchanting eyes that kept him both guarded and stirred up. Without them her face was manageable, a face he could handle. Maybe if she kept them closed like that... but no, there was her mouth. Sweet, with full lips like red rose petals. Nice. Boba Fett found himself wondering what it would be like to kiss that mouth. I could do it quickly he thought take off my helmet and move over there. Than do it quickly and softly. She would never know. He put his hand on the base of his helmet. He had never kissed a woman before, nor had the desire to until now. But this woman, with her eyes like crystal decanters filled to the brim with the best of dark and light, did some thing to him. Something that made him want to feel those petal-soft lips on his. Quickly, He thought do it quickly and she won't wake- WHAT AM I THINKING!?! Fett relized with genuine shock. I am thinking about taking of my helmet to kiss this woman I hardly know, and even worse I'm thinking of doing it while she sleeps, and is helpless to resist. That's insane as well as immoral. Fett let his hand drop and sat back, taking a few deep breaths as he did so. I've got to get control of myself, I cannot allow immoral thought to cloud my judgement. I am far to disciplined for that. He looked over Cyan's sleeping form, his gaze all taciturn and dispassionate. If I ever give into lust I will be weak. He repeated this to himself over and over again, like a mantra, until he fell asleep with both eyes open, inside the helmet.

Though both her eyes were closed, Cyan knew Fett's gaze was on her face and a paper picture of how bad she must look raised up in her mind's eye. Still, there was little enough in the way of malice in his gaze. Soft. It was soft in a nonchalant kind of way. He was not judging her, or rather he was judging but not comparing her. She found with mild surprise that she liked the way his looking felt on her face. Not loving or lustful but interested, as if she were a piece of fruit being examined for quality. She liked that feeling. She knew that he was telling the truth, he would not touch her, he would not harm her. She could sleep tonight and be safe. "I believe you." she whispered in a voice so gentle Boba Fett wasn't sure whether she had really spoken or if the tiny sweet phrase was the start of a pleasant dream.

You sing and your voice peels the husk
Of the day's grain, your song with the sun and sky
The pine trees speak with their green tongue
All the birds of winter whistle...

But I hear only your voice, your voice
Soars with the zing and precision of an arrow,
It drops with the gravity of rain

Your voice scatters the highest swords
And returns with its cargo of violets:
It accompanies me through the sky
-Pablo Neruda

The blood flood is the flood of love
-Sylvia Plath

The moon was not for lovers that night, but it served a purpose. She play-acted like the sun and lit up the world. She did a poor job of it though, for everything she touched went as silver and cold as prison bars. It was an eerie, but well-lit landscape she painted and Boba Fett was the perfect audience to view it. The inherent spookiness of the forest had no effect on him, for he had no fear for it to exploit and he appreciated the fact that the moon was so bright that the macrobinoculars in his helmet barely needed to magnify the light for him to see clearly. He woke up fully alert and the first thing he noticed was that Cyan was gone.

His first instinct was to go after her but he noticed her coat was lying spread out on the grass, like a large black rose petal. She probably went to the ‘fresher. He thought I'll give her five more minutes. He didn't want to intrude on her. Slowly he leaned back against the tree he'd been braced against, musing. Once again the woman had managed to do something very few sentients had. She had impressed him. Being able to walk away from Fett while he was sleeping without him waking up was quite a feat. Something no other creature had ever accomplished. She's skillful he admitted to himself and quite clever. Despite the fact that she had been trying to manipulate and control him Fett felt a certain amount of admiration for what she'd done. That hypnosis trick of hers has shown Fett just how intelligent she really was. To hypnotize someone using the subtle method she had been using was more difficult than one would think. It required incredible patience to get the flashes of light paced just right so they would be enthralling and soporific at the same time, plus an extremely soothing tone of voice was required, which is why Fett himself had never been able to do it. Cyan had done it almost effortlessly even though she couldn't see his face and therefor couldn't tell if his eyes were closing or if his facial muscles were relaxing. She would have had to of been watching for a faint quieting in his already semi-inaudible breathing. For her to have noticed that minor change was remarkable. She's smart, he thought smarter than many more experienced bounty hunters I have worked with. Unlike them she knows there are advantages in taking a path that may prove more difficult at first, but will yield better results in the long run than the quicker, easier but often fatal path. Yes, she is quite a woma- sentient creature. He glanced at the chronometer glowing in the lower right-hand corner of his visor. He had given the woman almost ten minutes, not counting the unknown amount of time she has been gone that he had slept through. That couldn't have been more than a few minutes though. She has probably tried to run and hide on this planet in hopes of escaping the bargain she has made. Fett almost, for the briefest of moments, felt disappointed by the woman, the way a teacher would feel let down by a particularly promising pupil caught cheating. Perhaps she is not as bright as I previously thought her to be. Trying to cheat Jabba, as well as trying to escape me is not very intelligent at all. He rose fluidly, in one unbroken movement and began to hunt for the woman. It wasn't difficult, she had left a very obvious trail. Fett followed the broken scattering of tree branches and flung about leaves until he began to hear the sound of slowly running water, a few dozen meters later he came to a large open clearing. In the center of the clearing was a small pond about five meters in diameter. A few hopeful trees, nolias and weeping wonals, reached for the water, their silhouettes starved and mourning. Dagger-thorned bloodrose bushes clumped at the water's edge, their fragrance bled from their sweet throats into the night air, their velvety scarlet petals floated in the water. Fett saw the moonlight glint off of gun-metal gray, polished knee pads. That's her armor he thought. Slowly, he turned toward his target raising his gauntlet as he did so, taking aim with a narcotic dart that would knock her unconscious long enough to get her back to camp but cause no ill effects. He had given the woman his word that he wouldn't interfere with her hunt and he met to keep it. As he turned he flipped on the macrobinoculars inside his helmet. The light increased ten fold and he immediately saw his mistake. He was aiming a dart at Cyan's armor, it hung limp and empty from a nolia tree branch like an exotic animal pelt. Fett turned again, toward the lake and saw her.

The moon that night was a tyrant, abasing all her subjects, but Cyan was unaffected by the silver-ice light that made every thing else seem so severe. She sat poised on a wet rock that jutted from the water, half turned towards Fett, one leg bent towards her, the other stretched out with the toes in the water, shoulders back, swanny neck curving back so her face was tilted upward She looked like a statue of a goddess, carved out of milky crystal, lit from within by an inner illumination not like the harsh gleam of electricity, but rather the soft insistent but undemanding glow of a candle. She was motionless for an eternal moment, a lily shining against the deep, starless night, then, sleek as a mermaid, she glided off the stone into the petal strewn water. Boba Fett watched her as she bathed. Normally he approved of modesty and the sight of an unclad woman had no appeal for him, but this one was different. Watching her was like watching nature unclad in all its infinite beauty shaped into a woman. Every movement she made was amazing. Watching her hands travel gracefully over her alabaster skin, pouring handfuls of rose scented water over her thighs, her arms, her white shoulders, and her even whiter breasts, Fett understood how artists came to paint nymphs and dryads and why poets strove to capture such beauty in words, and why both would go mad trying to hold the eternal loveliness of nature in the mortal world.

Standing there, pale, slender and almost phosphorescent in the darkness, she was flawless and infinitely magnificent, her hair was loose about her shoulders and reflected the bone white light of the moon. Like the lake Fett thought before noticing something odd. The water around her knees was the same inky black as the sky, it reflected the same chalky O-mouthed moon, but the water around Cyan was absolutely strewn with twinkling stars and there wasn't a star in the sky.

Cyan began to sing, softly at first, so soft Fett's helmet speakers barely picked it up. She sang wordlessly but in perfect tune, and as her song grew louder it took on a haunting quality. It was like the orient, seductive and exotic, but in a vaguely sinister way, the whisper of silk and scent of foreign incense not quite hiding the blood of encouraged suicide. Where every great wall and lotus blossom cost a thousand lives. Each note washed over Fett intoxicatingly, holding him more firmly than any hypnotic spell could have. He was a cobra following a reed flute.

The song she sang was swallowing him like a dark pool. It became stronger, more uninhibited, and much, sadder, sad to the point were each note was like musical wailing. A tragic ballad telling a story more vividly than words could express. Fett was so inebriated by the song that he forgot who and where he was. He melted into the music, became a part of it, he could experience exactly what was happening to the person in the song, as if he was that person. He could see the child the song spoke of, a skinny little boy of about four years. The boy began to walk toward him and without a conscious thought Fett's mouth opened and he called to the boy. "Solan, come here Solan." the boy looked at him and Fett, much to his astonishment began to walk towards him. What am I doing? he thought What's happening to me? His foot independent of his brain clamped down on a dry twig.

Cyan whirled around at the sound of a snap and saw a shadowy figure watching her. She didn't even bother going for her clothing, instead she flipped over to the figure crossing five meters in less than a second. Before Boba Fett had time to realize she wasn't in the lake anymore Cyan was right in front of him and removing his clothing. She unbuckled his shoulder pad and yanked off his cape. She wrapped it around her self and used the shoulder pad to hold it in place toga style. She unfastened his utility belt and put it on herself. She did the same with his gauntlets, knee pads and all his other weapons. She removed them from his body so quickly he didn't even see or feel them being removed. Cyan moved so fast that Fett's nerves didn't even have the micro seconds necessary to relay the appropriate messages to his brain and get orders on how to react. He was helpless. Cyan stopped moving to get a good look at her stalker, and Fett's brain finally had the time it needed to react, he assessed the situation and saw that she had taken all his weapons . Quickly, he checked his rocket pack. It was intact. He activated it and shot himself straight up in the air and into the forest, then glided back down a few meters away. He landed and began to sprint for his ship. Cyan stood, stunned by the blast, for a moment than back flipped up into a nearby tree. She was at the top in a quarter of a blink and scanning the area. It was too dark for her to see well, but she spotted a figure headed for the camp.

I'd better warn Fett she thought and began to run over the tree tops after him, at her maximum speed. She was moving so fast that her feet weren't touching the branches and she couldn't hear anything because sound was moving to slowly to catch up with her. She reached the camp a head of Fett by about three minutes despite his head start. The moment she heard him she dashed towards him at maximum speed again and delivered a huge flying kick to his groin with the force of a battering ram, sending him flying backwards three meters into a tree. Pure, white torment hammered at Fett's body, producing a supernova in his head. He shook his head to clear it and struck her with a good size kick of his own that not only knocked her flat on her back but left a gash two centimeters deep in her side from the spikes on his boots. She recovered promptly and ran towards him. Fett readied himself for another flying kick, instead Cyan did an amazing move like none he had ever seen. She ran up his body, kicking at the same time. He staggered back, stunned, and Cyan kicked again and he caught her foot an instant before it smacked into his chest. Undaunted, Cyan swung her other foot up and smashed it into the side of Fett's helmet. Fett fell to the ground, his ears ringing so loudly it felt like he was wearing a cap of pealing church bells around his head. Cyan stood above him and planted her foot on his chest, digging in with her platform heels, Fett reached up and punched the back of her knee. Cyan fell backwards and Fett used the opportunity to regain his feet. Cyan did a drop toehold, wrapping her feet around his ankles and tripping him flat onto his visor. Seeing that her opponent was stunned she dove towards him and slammed her forefingers into his side. The pressure point she struck numbed his body from the waist down."It's over." she said "You might as well-" Before she could finish her sentence Fett grabbed her foot, jerked it out from under her and tried to snap her ankle. Cyan hissed like a burned cat and sandwiched his hand between her feet. She began to grind them together and Fett felt a muscle in his hand pull free. She broke my hand! He thought The little Sith broke my hand! He didn't waste any time dwelling on it though, instead he groped for his nearby blaster rifle, found it and slammed it into her solar plexus. Cyan's breath whooshed out of her lungs and she instinctively clenched herself into a fetal position. Fett flipped the rifle around and aimed it at Cyan's prone body. Better not to collect the bounty on her than be killed by her. He thought and squeezed the trigger. Nothing happened. Jammed! Fett swore to himself and flipped the blaster over. I can club her unconscious and still get the bounty on her. He raised the blaster butt over her head and brought it crashing down. An instant before it fractured her skull Cyan rolled out of the way onto her back and fired his own grappling cord at him from the gauntlet she wore. It coiled around his arms, immobilizing him. She stood, turned and sped back through a kilometer of forest dragging him behind her, through the fire they had made, and into tree trunks. Bloodrose thorns tore at his clothing and rocks bashed into his body. She dragged him through the icy water of the lake she had been bathing in, then satisfied that he was unconscious, she approached him, wading through the water. As soon as she was close to the bank Fett yanked on the end of the cord and knocked Cyan off-balance. She yelped and tumbled into the water. Fett began to wiggle lose, right side first. Cyan surfaced from the water, Soaked to the bone and furious. She darted over to him and began to punch his right side. He turned to the left and she followed him. She circled him clockwise, kicking and punching from every angle. After about three minutes he tugged on the rope again and while she was stunned on the ground, stepped free from the rope. He had moved specifically so she would circle him, unwrapping the rope at the same time. Quickly he grabbed the end of the cord and yanked it up into the air. Cyan was dragged towards him. He swung the rope to his right and Cyan smacked into a tree trunk, face first. She groaned and went limp.

Boba Fett caught his breath and examined his wounds. His left hand was only sprained, not broken as he had thought. His armor had absorbed most of the blows and protected him from the flames of that horrible drag, but her flying kick had left a dent in the codpiece of his armor. I'm lucky that's all it did, he mused if I didn't have my armor... he winced at the thought.
He approached Cyan's vulnerable form and checked her pulse. It was still strong, she would recover. Fett found that information oddly comforting. Her fighting skills are among the best I've ever seen. he thought as he reclaimed his armor from her Evan armed I was no match for her unarmed. He looked at her lying there, insensible on the ground, her body spread out as if for sacrifice. The top part of her makeshift dress had slipped, revealing her ample breasts. It would be a moment before she came to. Fett went back to their campsite and returned with her coat. He stood still watching her breathing, before covering her with the coat. I'll enjoy collecting a warrior of her caliber.


Cyan groaned lightly and began to stir. She rubbed at the back of her head and swore. Slowly, she sat up and noticed Fett watching her. She ignored him and checked herself for any serious injuries. Finding none she stood and brushed herself off. "I assume you followed the path I made for myself to find me."she said. The coat had slid off her shoulders and lay forgotten on the ground. Fett nodded once and averted his eyes respectfully. "Did you get here in time to see who attacked me? I think it might have been my bounty."

"It wasn't Soze you fought" Fett said "It was me."

Cyan's pink lips parted in surprise. Her eyes widened and began to shimmer, her cheeks flushed lightly. "I was fighting you?" He nodded. "That means you saw me naked." She spoke it as a statement of fact, without typical feminine shame or accusation.

Boba Fett nodded slowly "I still can."

Cyan looked down calmly and retrieved the fallen coat from the ground. She wrapped it around herself with the air of a queen donning her robe. With exaggerated elegance she gathered her armor and walked off into the bushes I've offended the Lady Cyan Fett thought with mock horror. A few moments later she emerged totally redressed and regroomed . She strutted back to Fett with the same haughty step. He wanted to knock her flat on her royal butt again but resisted the urge. She held his shoulder cape between her thumb and forefinger as far from her body as possible. She extended it to him as if it were the body of a decomposing rat. He snatched it from her hand and flung it over his shoulder. The sun was already rising, the planet only had four hour long night cycles.

Cyan gave Fett an arrogant stare and asked "Well? Are we going or not?"in a demanding voice. Fett turned and began to walk away, matching pride with pride. He stopped when he realized that she wasn't following. He could see her in the helmet's heads-up display. The superior expression was gone and in its stead was a look like none he'd ever seen. Most of the glances cast his way were full of fear, hate, or envy. Her gaze held none of those emotions, not even curiosity. Instead she looked at him with attention. He was not stared at, not seen but pulled into view by Cyan's interested, uncritical eye. His body, from the tip of his broad band antennae to the spikes of his boots, was caressed as if it were a moss rose a gardener paused to admire. His armor dissolved under her gaze and Fett had the sudden, irrational thought that she had undressed him with her eyes and he was standing naked before her. Strangely that thought didn't bother him the way it should have. Maybe it was the lack of maliciousness in her gaze, or maybe it was the sparkle in her eyes, but he almost enjoyed her watching him. So he turned around with reluctance, knowing that as soon as Cyan saw the barren, ominous visor of his helmet she would stop looking at him in that quiet, intrigued way. He turned and looked right at her. To his surprise, she didn't shyly drop her gaze or glare at him angrily, instead her eyes brightened and she smiled at him. It wasn't one of her little mask smile/scowls, it was a genuinely happy smile, a contagious smile. Fett almost found himself smiling back. He caught himself though and gestured to their campsite."Let's go."

She smiled even brighter and started walking. "As you wish."

And all my armor falling down
In a pile at my feet
And my winter giving way to warm
As I'm singing him to sleep
-Fiona Apple

Cyan spent the whole day looking for the target Jabba had sent her after. Soze had been one of Jabba's cleverer associates and had set up a few booby traps to discourage bounty hunters. Most were designed for less skilled hunters but still managed to get in the way from time to time. This made their task very difficult and both were quite tired by nightfall. They stopped to rest for the night, and Cyan brought back an antelope-like animal with four bird-like feet and downy white feathers for dinner. Fett has seen Cyan chase it down, catch it, wrestle it to the ground and break its neck. He hadn't said so but he had been impressed. He had watched her race after the animal, her hair streaming behind her as she ran and at that moment he realized that he was seeing her in her natural habitat, an open field with a warm wind whipping through her hair as she chased down her prey with the graceful strength of a lioness.

After she had caught it she had given Fett the second smile and asked him how he liked his meat. She then proceeded to clean and cook it for the both of them, willingly, almost cheerfully.

Strange, Fett thought, I wonder what's gotten into her? She had been acting odd all day, unobtrusive, complaisant, and much more amiable. She probably got smacked into one tree to many he reasoned, but he still was cautious of her. She was staring at him from across the fire.

Cyan had kept her gaze fettered to him all day and curiously enough it hadn't bothered him. Her eyes glowed blue, like radiant stars, brilliant, almost fevering. She didn't look away from his visor as she spoke. "I put that dent in your armor, didn't?"

He knew to which dent she was referring to immediately. "Yes."

"I' m assuming I didn't damage anything besides the armor?"

Fett thought about his aching hand I cannot let her know that I am wounded "No."

"The force of the kick I gave could have broken many species in half. That Mandalorian armor must be very resistant to have shielded you from that blow. That's quite impressive." Fett didn't say anything and she continued. "Your armor must be one of your greatest assets. I'll wager it has saved your life many times."

"Yes it has."

"I've always found Mandalorian armor fascinating. I've just never had a chance to see it up close before." Cyan watched Fett for a moment before she spoke again. Her voice was very confident. "I was wondering it I could touch it."

Fett looked at her, she didn't look nervous or shy, just interested. "As you wish." he said with a shrug and stood.

Cyan came closer to Fett and placed her hand on his breastplate, right over the circle mark on his chest, right over his heart. Her hand was small and pale over the green-gray duraplast like a white dove. This is the closest I've ever let another sentient get to me. Fett mused. Cyan pressed herself to him. He could feel the length of her body against him, the light touch of her hand, the soft, but firm swell of her breasts. Tenderly, she laid her cheek against the armor. Her skin, which had looked so like porcelain was softer than a cygnet's down feather against the armor. All of her seemed a soft doll, made of luscious and magical materials far more yielding than flesh and blood, but utterly on fire with both. Her right hand was around his left wrist and stroking it as she held it.

Fett was enveloped in her magnificent perfume. The scent of roses. The fragrance bleeding from her body was thick but delicious, drowning out the prima donna scents of the night flowers.

Boba Fett was feeling little earthquakes now. A hot, powerful shaking that began at his wrists where Cyan's cool fingers held his hand with firm strength and spread through his whole body, accumulating at last in his slowly smoldering loins. He felt the potent heat emanating from her body in a rhythmic throb, melting his cold, impassive personality, thawing out the fire within him. He let his arm tighten around her, pull her closer, let her touch him, let her...

"NO!" Fett pulled his hand from Cyan's grasp and pushed her away.

Cyan stared at him, gray-blue eyes wide and questioning, "What's wrong?"

"Attempting to seduce me will not make me aid you in your hunt, or keep me from turning you over to Jabba if you fail."

Cyan took a step near him "I'm not trying to seduce you into helping me." she whispered and ran her hand over his thigh. "I'm just trying to find the man inside that armor." her caressing hand moved upwards and the earthquakes Fett was feeling tripled in force. "Ah" Cyan said with a enticing smile "There you are."

"I said NO!" Fett snarled and pushed he away harder

She stumbled back a few meters "Why not?" she asked. Once again there was nothing but curiosity in her voice so Fett answered "Sex between those not married is immoral."

"I know." Cyan brushed her hair out of her eyes "I am a moral person and I would not be trying to make love to you now if I were not your wife."

"WHAT?!!" Evan the artificial filtering of Fett's helmet's speakers couldn't hide the shock in his voice "What did you say!?!"

Cyan was alarmed and confused by his reaction, "You defeated me in battle, we are married now." she said

"How does that make us married?" he asked, perplexed.

She looked at him like he was an idiot "In my tribe the women are so incredibly strong that the only way we ever marry men is if they gain our respect by defeating us in combat. So when you defeated me, we were married."

"That's insane" he said "to wed because of the outcome of a battle."

"No, our marriages are more like business partnerships. The couple keeps their individual jobs, friends and lives. Sometimes they even live in separate houses. All my people are very independent and don't need to be provided for, so the only thing that changes is that they have someone to go to when they want companionship. Our marriages are based on respect, which must be earned, and not on false dependency." Cyan gazed at him "By being the only warrior to have ever defeated me in battle you have earned my respect, and thus have earned me as a wife."

Boba Fett stared at the female before him. She was a masterpiece, a storm in the form of a woman. Her skin was as soft and warm as the summer drizzle. Her hair was a black thundercloud around her head and there was the wild, uncontrollable fervor of a tempest within her. I'm attracted to her he thought with dismay I actually desire this woman.

And you can have her. A tiny part of him responded She wants you to take her, and since she is your wife you will not be breaking your moral code.

If I have sex with her, that would imply that I am honoring this pseudo-marriage of hers, and I don't want that. I don't want to be a husband. Relationships are a liability in this business. They make you weak and dependent on each other. They break down your defenses and offer enemies a way to get to you. They are not worth the risk. I will tell her that I will not marry her.

Before he could speak, she was up against him. She took his left hand and placed it on the spot on her back between her shoulder blades. His hand rested lightly on the question mark of her spine that he didn't know how to answer. She fixed him with her eyes. They were an overwhelming, incandescent blue-silver. He could see a vigorous blaze within them, flashing like lightening, promising immeasurable passion. A savage, unrestrained energy from within her was calling to him like a siren song. The part of him that held the instincts of a primitive hunter yearned for her, yearned to bed the feral, beautiful creature he had fought, and taste the pleasures he had earned.

You desire her. It's the first time you have ever desired a female this way and you can have her. You can.

No I can't. I would have to marry her to do so, and that would require too much risk, too much change. I will not alter the way I live for a woman.


Cyan broke his train of thought by reaching for his helmet. He drew back ready to strike her should she try to remove it, but she just stroked the side of it as if it were his cheek she caressed. "You can leave this on if you want." Her whispered words were as gentle as smoke.

Fett stood frozen for a moment, then closed his hands over hers. With more gentleness than even he thought possible of himself he laid them on either side of his helmet and placed his hands over hers. "Take it off." he whispered back . She smiled and did as she was told. They both took off their armor and stood defenseless before the armies of stars and grass. He lay back, so slowly on the ground beneath them and the tiny swords of grass bent in surrender under his back, so among the things her fingers clutched were broken grass stalks and wet earth. How vital the earth was, how sweet the smell of the grass. Her hands were speckled with bits of grass that had been destroyed by the passion of the two hunters and their chlorophyll blood ran down her thighs. The bleeding almost convinced her it hurt, but the earth soaked it up too quickly to confirm this belief. How vital the earth, how heavy the scent of conquered grass bleeding. He gazed up at the woman, the Huntress. In the scarlet glow of the fire her sleek body seemed bathed in blood, her eyes above him, trapped the firelight in silver-blue crystal. They glistened with infinite passion, disgracing the brightest stars. Boba Fett rolled over and pushed her down into the field, a Huntress coated in blood, both red and green, with eyes of sapphire-silver flame. Her hands grasped his back, she could feel his breath washing over her in heavy, rigorous gusts and hear her own breath matching its rhythm. His lips were on her neck. One hand was on her smooth, cool thigh, and caressing it, not gently. Her eyes closed. The ground beneath her cushioned her back like a tapestry pillow of grass and dirt. How fertile the earth, how sweet and free and alive.

End part I