Dark Bounty--A STAR WARS STORY Part 1

A Name

The mechanical claw of the carbonite freeze room released the quadrate cast of the Keeper just to the right of Admiral Dentin's cast. Patch, dragging the sword with one hand, approached the frozen Keeper. She looked up at the hibernating villain, her face having a vague, unreadable expression. His expression in contrast was evident. His eyes were clenched shut, and his mouth open in a contorted fashion with his teeth withdrawn into his gums and the edges of his lips turned down. Tortuous fingers tried to rise up to cover his face but were petrified halfway. He was fixed forever in the bronze-colored anguish of his carbon shell. The image demanded ambivalence in Patch. She wanted to smile at having been the victor, but she thought of being frozen and immoveable, eventually to be nameless and forgotten--nameless like her; to be just a trophy, a clone prime and not--she could not remember her own real name.

"You are just a keeper," she said to him, "Out there is just a Resistance pilot, a general, an antique, and a collectible, and I am just a patch."

She bowed her head, and tried, as she had done hundreds of times before to remember her name.

"Videsse."

The name came. At first she thought it was in her own thoughts. The word hung in her mind and stirred something deep within her. That was it, her own name; who she really was, though her mother had always called her--

"Dess," the voice said again.

The sword dropped from her hand and clanged on the immoveable ground, its sharp echo reverberating through the room. Videsse turned around to see Boba Fett standing inflexibly in the doorway. Without thinking she ran to him; tears began to fall freely. She wrapped her arms around him, her head pressing into his chestplate. She held him fast.

"I didn't know if you were gonna come for me," she cried. "I hoped, but. . ."

Boba held his arms out awkwardly, not returning the embrace. He did not say anything for a moment. Finally, he put his hand on the back of her head and said, "Dess. . . can you shoot a pistol?"

Videsse loosened her grip on him, wiped her face, and stood back to look at the ambiguous helmet staring at her. She thought for a second. "Is that your way of askin' if I'm okay?"

Boba did not answer.

Videsse smiled, learning something about Boba, and stated confidently, "Yeah, I can do that. What d'ya have for me?"

He produced his disruptor pistol and placed it in her hand.

"Nice work, by the way." Boba nodded to the carbonite-frozen Keeper, and without missing a breath said, "Now, let's go."

He turned to exit, and Videsse started to follow, checking the pistol charge and readying it for action. Boba turned to lead her back by a different path than the one he had arrived by.

"Wait," Videsse called out. "This way is faster." She pointed in the opposite direction.

"Eighty-eight's that way," Boba replied. "There's another way out." He kept moving.

Videsse stopped and said defiantly, "No."

Boba turned to look at her. "You are not going against him. We profit nothing by facing him and risk a lot. Let's go."

"The Keeper told me he killed my mother," Videsse retorted.

Her comment gave Boba pause, and his grip tightened on his rifle--the only evidence of Boba's struggle. Finally, he replied, "Okay, but we do this my way. Understand?"

Videsse nodded.

"Then, you need to get to the Falcon," he said.