Bad Blood

Chapter 5 - Drinking Can Get You Killed

Christophsis was a beautiful planet, even after the effects of the Clone Wars. Towering crystalline structures stretched up above the Slave I as it landed, reflecting stunning shades of blue and green down onto the ship that seemed tiny in comparison to the landscape.

Boba had tracked his bounty to this section of the planet and was currently glued to the screen of his datapad, watching intently as the red blip travelled across the glowing lines of his map, presumably heading towards a cantina.

"Hey."

He tried to ignore the voice, as he had been doing for the past few minutes. He wasn't ready to talk to his impromptu passenger just yet.

"Yeah, you. Person who's pretending I don't exist, just like he's done for the past eight kriffing years."

"Could you stop that?" Boba snapped, whirling to face Astéri. "I'm trying to concentrate. Don't you have something better to do?"

"Given that I'm handcuffed to a chair in a cargo hold, then no, not really."

"For god's sake, shut up, or I'll do everyone a favour and shoot you myself!" He wouldn't, but it felt good to make the threat, as if he was still in control of the situation.

There was no way in hell he was in control of the situation.

Boba had been battling with himself all day. He hadn't been able to bring himself to go down to the hold, because of his damn prisoner. He couldn't bear to feel her hateful gaze on the back of his head as he tried to work; couldn't bear to hear her accusations. The pain he felt when he saw what his old friend had become was excruciating; almost as bad, if not worse, than when his father had died.

A moment of quiet ensued and Boba managed to pinpoint the target's location in a cantina across town before the questions started up again.

"What are you doing?"

"Do you ever stop talking?"

A few seconds more.

"... so?"

He sighed. "I'm tracking my next bounty. Now shut up."

Maybe this was a good thing. If he got annoyed enough with Astéri, maybe he could manage to forget that his emotions were currently doing air raid drills inside his head.

He peered at Astéri through the side of his visor without turning his head. Though she was trying not to show it, Boba could tell she was scared. God, he hated this. He was hating every second of it. Sooner or later he would either have to kill her or let her go, consequences be damned, because keeping his old friend captive was killing him anyway.

He needed another drink.

The target was in a cantina. Maybe once he had taken him out of the picture, Boba could go undercover as a civilian again and blow off some steam. Decision made, Boba holstered his blaster and strode towards the exit ramp. He was nearly out of the ship when Astéri cleared her throat.

Great.

"Where are you going?"

"Hunting."

"So you're just gonna leave me here?"

"Well, yes. You're a prisoner. That's kind of what that means." He let a smile quirk over his lips, though he knew Astéri couldn't see it. She always had been impatient; at least that hadn't changed. "Try not to die of boredom while I'm gone."

Astéri watched Fett leave Slave I with a kind of curiosity, bordering on fear. Her relentless questioning had been nothing but a show, a facade. Though these questions had been running through her head, she probably wouldn't have said them out loud if she didn't think it would annoy Fett into either leaving her alone on Slave I or just doing something incredibly stupid. She had succeeded in making him leave the ship that much quicker, but what now? Sighing, Astéri rested her head on the wall behind her. She was bored, she told herself. This feeling in gut wasn't fear, it was just boredom. She wasn't scared.