He continued waiting. Another hour dragged by.
Boba Fett did not enter the cantina until the light had begun to fade during the first of Tatooine’s twin sunsets.
The band stopped playing, and most of the background noise in the bar dwindled to murmurs. The masked bounty hunter paused in the dimness, swiveling his head back and forth, exuding confidence. Zekk could feel Fett’s gaze burning through the black slit in his Mandalorian helmet.
The bounty hunter saw Zekk and froze, suspicious.
The moment of silence ended, and the band began playing again. Through his peripheral vision Zekk noticed several patrons wince at the resumption of the noise. The two sea-urchin aliens on the dance floor continued tumbling about; they had not stopped even during the brief silence.
The bounty hunter strode up to the bar beside Zekk. Zekk momentarily wondered if the Wookiee bartender would require Fett to buy a drink as well, but Chalmun pointedly remained at the other side of the bar, serving customers who watched the masked hunter with unconcealed anxiety.
Zekk could feel the power, the spring-tight rage and dark energy in this man. Fett had killed an uncounted number of enemies, served no cause, and had at one time worn Wookiee scalps at his belt. Zekk could imagine no glimmer of friendship from this vicious man—but Boba Fett was one of the best bounty hunters in existence. And Zekk needed to learn from him.
Zekk turned, but the bounty hunter spoke first. “What do you want from me? And what do you offer in exchange?”
The young man gathered his courage. “I need advice. If I’m going to be the best bounty hunter, I had better ask questions of the best.”
“Advice?” Fett said dubiously, scornfully. “Nothing is free.”
Zekk sat up straighter. “I have information that may help you find Bornan Thul.” He certainly wouldn’t give away the knowledge of his scheduled rendezvous on Borgo Prime … but he had less-important details to offer. He let the words hang in the air, then added, “I know where another bounty hunter was searching for him. It may give you a clue.”
Boba Fett said, “Many are searching for Thul. Most of them are fools. The value of your information depends on how much I can trust this lead.”
“It’s Dengar,” Zekk said, then squared his shoulders. “I know where Dengar went looking for Bornan Thul.”
Fett paused, as silent as a statue. “Dengar is … not a fool.” The bandage-wrapped hunter had rescued a grievously injured Boba Fett after he blasted his way free from the sarlacc in the Pit of Carkoon. “What do you need?”
“Listen to this problem,” Zekk said. “I’m new to being a bounty hunter, and this is a hypothetical situation that any of us might run into.”
Fett waited. The alien musicians croaked an announcement that they were taking a break but would be back with more music before long. Only a few inebriated patrons clapped.
“Suppose I accept an assignment—say, to find a lost treasure or a missing document—and in the course of my hunt I stumble upon completely unrelated information that reveals the location of a much larger bounty.”
Fett said, “Then secure both. Keep your honor and make a greater profit.”
Zekk arched his eyebrows. “But what if chasing after the second bounty puts my first employer at risk? In fact, if I find the larger bounty, my original employer will certainly come to great harm.” He paused, hoping he wasn’t giving too much away.
The bounty hunter pondered in silence. “You must not betray your employer. That is one of the worst crimes a bounty hunter can commit.”
“So I just have to give up the second bounty?” Zekk said, somewhat disheartened, though a bit relieved.
“No,” Fett said. “Deliver the first bounty, take payment, and terminate your service with that employer. Then pursue the second bounty with a clear conscience, since you no longer work for the employer who might be harmed.”
Zekk mulled over this answer. He had already discharged half of his assignment by sending the coded message to the Bornaryn merchant fleet. Now, if he could just find Tyko Thul, he would be under no further obligation. From that point on, Zekk would be free to do as he pleased.
Zekk had no idea what Thul had done to warrant such a manhunt or why Nolaa Tarkona wanted him so desperately—but it was clear she primarily wanted his cargo, some mysterious navicomputer module.
Zekk smiled. He could do it. He could do both.
“Now,” Boba Fett said, “tell me where you saw Dengar.”
Zekk told him about Ziost, but gave few other details. Then the two of them hurried away from the Mos Eisley cantina, parting without any word of farewell to return to their respective ships.
11
Two crackling stun-rods crashed against each other in a shower of sparks. Jacen descended a few steps on the temple’s rugged stairway and went on the attack. Below him, Raynar backed down two stairs as he deflected the next several blows with his own stun-rod.
With the sleeve of his jumpsuit, Jacen blotted away the sweat running into his eyes, then swept the training weapon in a counterstrike. The sun that beat down outside the Great Temple already seemed unbearably hot for this time of morning.
He pressed downward another step, raising his glowing pewter-colored staff. Raynar spun out of the way and danced along the wide stone ledge, dodging some scaffolding that had been erected by the repair crew, then rapped the stun-rod against Jacen’s wrist.
Jacen howled at the sudden tingling zap. “Ow!” he said, then, “Nice move, Raynar!” He hopped down to the ledge and continued the sparring match, bringing up his own staff. The pewter rods clashed again. “Pretty soon you’ll be ready to fight against a real lightsaber.”
Raynar’s sweat-soaked training robe clung to him but did not hamper his movements. “Thanks,” he said, catching the next blow against his stun-rod. “That’s why I asked for your help during practice. You’re one of the best here at the academy.”
Jacen fell back a step. “Jaina’s as good as I am.” Raynar swung low, and Jacen blocked again.
“She takes it too easy on me,” Raynar panted. “Feels sorry for me, I guess.”
Jacen gave a wicked grin. “How about Tenel Ka, then?” He nodded toward the base of the ancient pyramid to where the warrior girl and Lusa were setting out for a morning run. The two exercised together because no one else could keep up with them.
Raynar shook his head, and droplets of sweat flew from side to side. “Just the opposite—no mercy whatsoever.” He turned to stare at the two runners with great interest. “Can we take a breather for a minute?”
“Sure,” Jacen said, ready for a break himself.
Powering down the stun-rod, Raynar sank to the ledge and dangled his feet over the side. Jacen followed suit, and the two watched Lusa and Tenel Ka race each other across the landing field, cinnamon mane and red-gold braids streaming out behind them.
“Amazing, isn’t she?” Raynar said, still breathless from their workout.
Jacen watched Tenel Ka’s easy long-legged strides with admiration. He felt a brief flash of jealousy at Raynar’s comment, but it was gone as quickly as it came. “I’ve always thought so,” he said. “You mean you just noticed her?”
“I, uh … not exactly.” Raynar blushed a deep red. “I thought so from the moment we met, but I’ve only known her for a few days.”
Jacen suddenly realized that Raynar was talking about the sleek Centaur girl, not Tenel Ka. A slow smile spread across his face. “Yeah,” he said. “I know just what you mean.”
Holding a pair of delicate wires with two fingers, Jaina stuck her other hand out from beneath the Rock Dragon’s sensor array panel. “Could you hand me that circuit fuser please?”
An electronic sigh answered her. “I should very much like to accommodate your request, Mistress Jaina,” Em Teedee said morosely, “but I’m afraid I’m completely useless to you in that respect— useless in almost every respect at the moment, I should say. I can’t move about on my own, I am no longer needed for my translation functions—”