Bad Blood

Chapter 2 - Kill Your Past

Another day, another bounty, another chance to get paid. Astéri trudged back to her quarters, satisfied with a good day's hunting. Working for a minor criminal organisation wasn't Astéri's idea of an ideal life, but Kanjiklub was a relatively new gang in the galaxy and so was willing to hire anyone. Not that she was just anyone, but Kanjiklub hadn't found that out until she was on their payroll and demanding money.

Stepping into a hot shower, Astéri let the water run though her matted hair and soak into her dusty skin. As the grime was washed away, Astéri's hair returned to its usual vibrant pink. It had been a while since she had dyed it, so there was a decent amount of brown hair growing out and down to her shoulders before turning to the hot pink that fell to her mid-back, but she didn't mind. Astéri actually quite liked the choppy look it gave her.

Stepping out of the shower and quickly towelling herself off, Astéri quickly slipped back into her bodysuit and boots, then strode back out into the hallway. A drink, she thought, in celebration of another successful bounty. She could pay for it with her winnings.

The cantina at Kanjiklub's base was modest, but not terrible. Still, Astéri barely had time to order her drink before the voice of her boss assaulted her ears. "Spending money as fast as you earn it, then?"

Noron Lane, Astéri's employer, smirked at her from a nearby seat. "Much as I would like to let you enjoy your payday, I have another job for you."

"Seriously, Lane? I just got back!"

"Ah, but this bounty I think you'll like. It's on a rival bounty hunter that sometimes works for the Hutts."

So far, this made sense. Kanjiklub was founded by escaped Hutt slaves, everyone knew that.

"About a month ago, he collected a bounty on one of our men, and somehow managed to steal a large sum of our money for himself in the process. Now obviously we're not going to let that just glide right past our noses, so we want you to go and hunt this guy down."

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why? You get paid, isn't that a good enough reason?"

"I mean, why me? You could send someone else. I'm the best bounty hunter you have. What's so special about this guy that you need me to hunt him down?"

Lane only chucked at this. "What's so special? I'll tell you. The special thing about this bastard is that it's Boba Fett."

Boba Fett? How the hell did Lane know she would want a shot at him? Did he know about...?

No, Astéri decided. He had know way of knowing that there was a personal connection between her and Fett. He just knew that Boba Fett was the very best there was in the bounty hunting business, and that she would definitely want a go at taking down numero uno himself.

While that was a good motivator, it was just an added bonus. Her real desire to bring him down lay in something much more raw and painful.

The eighteen-year-old banged her fist on the table. "I'll take it. The bounty."

Astéri would do everything she could to eradicate that pain. Especially if it meant finally righting an old wrong.

She looked at Lane. "When do I start?"

Boba wasn't a huge fan of Lothal. It was too dry and grassy, too plain. He preferred something of interest to be just over the horizon, instead of the same dull rocks.

However, he also liked money, and he had just acquired a new bounty from a Lothalite Citizen. He forgot the name of the target, but it should be an easy job. For now, Boba headed back to the meagre hotel where he had rented a room so that he could catch a few minutes sleep. Boba often rented rooms instead of sleeping in his bunk on Slave I; as well as being more comfortable, it allowed him to flaunt his victory to all the other less successful bounty hunters that were stuck sleeping in the dirt. Meanwhile, Boba could make the most of occupying the top spot on the bounty hunting ladder.