[There’s a lot that could have gone wrong. They could have denied her entry. Boba could have already been moved. He could have shied away or raised an alarm when an unfamiliar visitor to the orphanage leaned down and murmured “Trust me,” in a familiar voice. Or the administrators of the orphanage could have realized that one of their charges was missing before she could reach her ship.
However, for the first time in a long time, things actually go Zam’s way. They’re flying away from the orphanage now, the hyperspace coordinates already punched into the console, and though Zam’s sure they’ll be raising the alarm back at the orphanage in a matter of minutes, she’s already rid of the face they’ll be searching for. Now when she turns back towards Boba, it’s not the face of a stranger -- more like the face of a ghost. She doesn’t know what Jango told him about her disappearance those months ago. Knowing Jango, probably the truth. Or at least, what he believed to be the truth.]
We’re nearly in the clear. How’re you holding up, kid? [It’s almost funny how mundane the question sounds. As if this isn’t coming at the tail-end of a rescue attempt months in the making. But fierfek, is it good to see him again. After she’d heard how Jango had died, well… Out of all the planets she’d peg as survivable for a 10-year old boy on his own, Geonosis is a hyperspace jump and an hour-long taxi ride from the top.]
[ A year ago, he would've been excited to sit at the helm with Zam. He would have asked Zam if he could punch in the coordinates because his dad had taught him how, he knows! He'd eager show Zam everything that his father taught him about piloting, the star charts he kept in his head, the type of ships that can go through a certain quadrant with no problem.
But he is quiet. Quieter than he ever was. His brow is furrowed in concentration. He was focused on the star chart, plotting out a revenge now that he's out. His father deserves that much.
Zam breaks him out of it and he looks at his hands instead. There's a heavy guilt and wariness that settles in his stomach when he looks at Zam. His dad never lies to him. He did kill her. Yet, here she is. ]
Fine. Thank you. [ Cutting to the chase ] Where are we going?
[His taciturn response is disconcerting, but not entirely unexpected -- after what he’s been through in the past few months, she wasn’t expecting him to be the same bright-eyed child she left on Tipoca City. She feels a strange pang of guilt at the memory, but she quickly brushes off. It wasn't like she could've changed things, refused the mission or talked Jango out of it. She hadn't known what would happen next. None of them had. She turns back towards the helm.]
Denon. Not as obvious as Coruscant, but just as easy to lay low for a while. [Not to mention she already has an apartment under a false name there.] They’ll probably put up a token search for you once they realize you’re missing, but I doubt it will get very far. It never does with-- [“With orphans.”] ...With these kinds of cases.
[ Denon; Inner Rim, similar to Coruscant but less Republic influence. There's work there, if you talk to the right people. He hears his father's voice in his head, chiming in with useful information, his only heirloom besides the booklet of rules. ]
You mean with orphans or clones?
[ There's an edge of bitterness and hostility in his voice. But he looks at Zam and it dissipates. He stares out at the hyperspace lights again. ]
[Her eyes remain fixed on the helm, though she winces slightly at Boba’s retort. Orphan. That word cuts even more deeply spoken aloud.
She glances towards him at his apology, a small, rueful smile on her face.] Hey. I can take it. [He’s angry. She can understand that. She turns back towards the window.] I would’ve come for you sooner, but… after what happened on Geonosis, there wasn’t word of any children among the captured. [Her gaze remains fixed at the empty space outside the helm, smile already gone.] I thought… Well, you can probably guess what I thought.
Should’ve known you’d make it. You’re Jango’s son, after all.
It's okay. I didn't think anyone was going to come at all.
[ There's a lot of the child still in him, despite the cold anger that curbs all of it. He resist the urge to pout and wills the tears to stay back. He has to be strong now. His father would want him to be, and he doesn't want Zam to think that he's still just a kid. ]
I thought-- My father said you died.
[ He stares at Zam then, searching for a response. Either positive or negative ]
[Yeah, she can imagine. This isn’t exactly how she would’ve liked to come back into Boba’s life, reappearing from the dead one year after he’d been abandoned on Geonosis, but the galaxy rarely yields to anyone’s wishes.
She’s quiet for a moment, wondering how to approach this. Of course she’s thought about how she would explain her disappearance to Boba once she'd found him, but actually explaining it face-to-face… Well, it’s easier said than done.]
[ He frowns, thinking of the best way to go about this. He's used to honesty with Zam, but can he be so honest to someone who would -- should have a grudge against his father? Taking Boba now, it would easily be a way of revenge. But hope is a dangerous thing and Boba has that in Zam, the moment she jumped through the window unceremoniously. ]
He said you were gone. That's about it.
[ He sniffs then spits out, dislodging the sad and bitter tones in there. ] I know that's part of the job.
[Zam nods. Seems Jango had been as tight-lipped as ever when telling Boba what had happened. Should she be thankful for that? Zam’s not sure. It does place a very difficult decision squarely on her shoulders: does she tell Boba the truth?
The thought is appealing for the same reason that it’s repellent: it’s a chance to pull away the heroic facade that was -- is Boba’s image of his father. To have some small measure of revenge by having her own story replace his in his son’s memory: that the brave and steadfast Jango Fett had tried (and failed) to execute his wounded friend and fled the scene rather than face his true enemies. That he had left Coruscant a coward and a traitor.
But who would she be hurting then? Jango? Or his son? She sighs.] Things were… complicated. Jedi got involved. Jango… [’Go on. Say it.’ That he had seen her pinned by those two Jedi and judged that she was the one who had to die. That it would be quicker and easier, and that had meant more than the decade they had known each other. That it hadn’t been a murder of necessity or honor, but of convenience.] ...He thought I was dead. And I wasn’t really in a position to disprove that.
[’Coward,’ part of her hisses, but she ignores it. Maybe one day she’ll tell Boba the whole story. But not today. He’s been through enough already.]
I couldn’t go back to Kamino. And I couldn’t let Jango -- or you -- know that I was still alive. [And now that she’s made up her mind, she can’t actually tell him why. She stares at the stars, wondering if she’s made the right choice.]
[ A part of him feels betrayed, but the bounty hunter that Jango trained him to be knew that there's no reason to be angry and feel betrayed about this. Zam did the right thing. She did it and it saved her own skin, and now his. This is about survival and Zam certainly had a grip on that. Jango might not have done the same thing, but he knew his dad would have done worst for the sake of honor.
He nodded stiffly, his eyes downcast for a long moment. The irrational part of him, that part he's trying to bite down is a little boy who thought of what ifs - what if Zam came back, would his dad survive Geonosis? If Zam was there, could she have saved him from the Jedi?
He coughs and sniffles, wiping his nose with a sleeve. He doesn't cry. He never did, not even when he held Jango's head in his hands. He's not going to start now. ]
You don't have to be. My father was no match for the Jedi. If you came back for us [ For me? ], you would have died on Geonosis too. It was a good move.
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CALL OUT FOR TINY BOUNTY HUNTER
However, for the first time in a long time, things actually go Zam’s way. They’re flying away from the orphanage now, the hyperspace coordinates already punched into the console, and though Zam’s sure they’ll be raising the alarm back at the orphanage in a matter of minutes, she’s already rid of the face they’ll be searching for. Now when she turns back towards Boba, it’s not the face of a stranger -- more like the face of a ghost. She doesn’t know what Jango told him about her disappearance those months ago. Knowing Jango, probably the truth. Or at least, what he believed to be the truth.]
We’re nearly in the clear. How’re you holding up, kid? [It’s almost funny how mundane the question sounds. As if this isn’t coming at the tail-end of a rescue attempt months in the making. But fierfek, is it good to see him again. After she’d heard how Jango had died, well… Out of all the planets she’d peg as survivable for a 10-year old boy on his own, Geonosis is a hyperspace jump and an hour-long taxi ride from the top.]
no subject
But he is quiet. Quieter than he ever was. His brow is furrowed in concentration. He was focused on the star chart, plotting out a revenge now that he's out. His father deserves that much.
Zam breaks him out of it and he looks at his hands instead. There's a heavy guilt and wariness that settles in his stomach when he looks at Zam. His dad never lies to him. He did kill her. Yet, here she is. ]
Fine. Thank you. [ Cutting to the chase ] Where are we going?
no subject
Denon. Not as obvious as Coruscant, but just as easy to lay low for a while. [Not to mention she already has an apartment under a false name there.] They’ll probably put up a token search for you once they realize you’re missing, but I doubt it will get very far. It never does with-- [“With orphans.”] ...With these kinds of cases.
no subject
You mean with orphans or clones?
[ There's an edge of bitterness and hostility in his voice. But he looks at Zam and it dissipates. He stares out at the hyperspace lights again. ]
Sorry.
no subject
She glances towards him at his apology, a small, rueful smile on her face.] Hey. I can take it. [He’s angry. She can understand that. She turns back towards the window.] I would’ve come for you sooner, but… after what happened on Geonosis, there wasn’t word of any children among the captured. [Her gaze remains fixed at the empty space outside the helm, smile already gone.] I thought… Well, you can probably guess what I thought.
Should’ve known you’d make it. You’re Jango’s son, after all.
no subject
[ There's a lot of the child still in him, despite the cold anger that curbs all of it. He resist the urge to pout and wills the tears to stay back. He has to be strong now. His father would want him to be, and he doesn't want Zam to think that he's still just a kid. ]
I thought-- My father said you died.
[ He stares at Zam then, searching for a response. Either positive or negative ]
no subject
She’s quiet for a moment, wondering how to approach this. Of course she’s thought about how she would explain her disappearance to Boba once she'd found him, but actually explaining it face-to-face… Well, it’s easier said than done.]
Did he tell you what happened?
no subject
He said you were gone. That's about it.
[ He sniffs then spits out, dislodging the sad and bitter tones in there. ] I know that's part of the job.
this got long ;_;
The thought is appealing for the same reason that it’s repellent: it’s a chance to pull away the heroic facade that was -- is Boba’s image of his father. To have some small measure of revenge by having her own story replace his in his son’s memory: that the brave and steadfast Jango Fett had tried (and failed) to execute his wounded friend and fled the scene rather than face his true enemies. That he had left Coruscant a coward and a traitor.
But who would she be hurting then? Jango? Or his son? She sighs.] Things were… complicated. Jedi got involved. Jango… [’Go on. Say it.’ That he had seen her pinned by those two Jedi and judged that she was the one who had to die. That it would be quicker and easier, and that had meant more than the decade they had known each other. That it hadn’t been a murder of necessity or honor, but of convenience.] ...He thought I was dead. And I wasn’t really in a position to disprove that.
[’Coward,’ part of her hisses, but she ignores it. Maybe one day she’ll tell Boba the whole story. But not today. He’s been through enough already.]
I couldn’t go back to Kamino. And I couldn’t let Jango -- or you -- know that I was still alive. [And now that she’s made up her mind, she can’t actually tell him why. She stares at the stars, wondering if she’s made the right choice.]
I’m sorry.
REVIVIES THIS im sry
He nodded stiffly, his eyes downcast for a long moment. The irrational part of him, that part he's trying to bite down is a little boy who thought of what ifs - what if Zam came back, would his dad survive Geonosis? If Zam was there, could she have saved him from the Jedi?
He coughs and sniffles, wiping his nose with a sleeve. He doesn't cry. He never did, not even when he held Jango's head in his hands. He's not going to start now. ]
You don't have to be. My father was no match for the Jedi. If you came back for us [ For me? ], you would have died on Geonosis too. It was a good move.