Star Wars - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Odd Bounty ❯ Painful ( Chapter 2 )

Din lifted her again and carried her onto the ship. Boba pointed to the floor.

"Just put her there. I'll get my tools and see what I can do."

"I have to contact the client. I have some questions for him."

Boba knelt down next to her, pulling out a small spanner but as soon as he pressed it to her chest, her eyes flew open and she grabbed his hand, nearly breaking it. He pulled his blaster free and pressed it to her head.

"Let go. Or you really will need repairs."

Din rushed forward, "Telana, no. He's a friend."

She stilled, dropping his hand instead switching her focus to Din and she quickly grabbed him before he fell over, lowering him gently into a seat. She jerked in place for a few seconds before she touched the wounds on his side and shoulder.

"Hurt. Need repair."

Her broken speech and childlike attitude was strange.

"How old are you, Telana?"

She tilted her head at the question as if she didn't understand it.

"Age?"

She only shook her head.

Boba cursed, and turned to the communicator, flipping it on. 

Karga's face flickered into being and Telana looked at it with an awed look on her face. "Is this her?"

"Yeah. Old man gave us an outdated photo. She looks to be about early to mid-20s."

Another voice echoed, "Did you find her?"

The old man's face entered the communicator and when he saw her he was equal parts angry and distraught.

"She is damaged. Why is she damaged? And awake?"

"Well, why did you fail to mention she's a droid?"

The man stilled and sighed heavily. "Bring her here and I will explain all. I swear. I need to repair her damaged parts."

Telana kept getting in front of Boba, looking down at the communicator and the old man. She smiled widely and tried to touch him but couldn't and it was frustrating her. She growled low in her throat.

"Telana, enough. Behave. You will sit down and wait for me."

She whined then and tried to touch him again.

"NOW!"

The woman snapped to attention and immediately sat down, next to Din, leaning her head on his shoulder whimpering.

The old man shook his head, "I am sorry for the tone, my dear, but you need to listen."

Boba watched everything silently and shrugged. "So she can follow orders?"

"Yes, although she is still young and impetuous and more prone to violence than anything."

He snorted, "I know. Saw her tear through a group of troopers like they were nothing."

"And she did not shut down immediately afterwards? Her failsafe should have kicked in. You must bring her at once. I must do a thorough examination of her systems to make sure everything is in working order. I will await you here."

"Fine."

Din grunted in pain, the wounds stung but he would live to fight another day. He looked down at the young woman leaning on his shoulder. When he noticed that the bandages across her chest had partially come undone he quickly looked away.

"Fett."

"Yeah?"

"Get her a blanket...to cover up with."

Boba turned to look at the girl and grinned, "Nearly getting an eyeful huh kid? At least she's good looking."

The girl looked up at them and then down at herself and seemed to realize what they had noticed and she yelped, covering herself.

"Sorry."

Din cleared his throat. "No harm done. We don't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"Not uncomfortable. Just remember father saying not to show myself. Its dangerous. I am dangerous."

Fett handed a blanket out to her and she took it with a nod.

"Thank you."

"Just cover up before Din gets a nosebleed."

She giggled.

Mando shook his head, glaring at the other man.

He pointed back at him, "Don't glare at me, kid. You were the one staring."

"Oh and how do you know that?"

"You don't think I wasn't looking either?"

She growled gutturally at him, "I am not to look at."

"Tell that to him too."

She shook her head, "No look without permission."

Boba laughed hard. "Understandable."

Din grumbled, stilling when the woman leaned against him again. One hand came up to touch his ribs and he jolted.

"You are bleeding. Must get repaired."

"The shot just grazed me. Its not serious."

"Thank you."

He glanced at her shocked, "What?"

She pointed at him then at herself. "You protect me from them."

The way she said it made something twinge in his chest and he had to remind himself that this wasn't a real person...she may look like a human but...his eyes trailed to the exposed metal and wires...she wasn't. No heartbeat, only a power source that kept her moving instead.

She was a droid. 

Explosions followed by screams echoed through his mind, himself as a little boy and the last time seeing his parents alive was just as a droid lifted its weapon at them. Him being lifted into the air, watching with tearful eyes as droids decimated his village.

She was a droid.

He jerked away from her touch, immediately standing and moving away from her. Everything in him fueled by the need to be as far away from her and everything she represented as possible.

She was a droid.

A thing of metal and wires.

Nothing but a tool for destruction and death.

"Go to sleep. We'll take you to your 'father'." He bit out.

"You are angry...why?"

"No more questions. Sleep." And he turned away from her, climbing up into the cockpit to settle into the co-pilot's chair.

"So what was that about?"

"Just hand me a bacta patch."

"Kid..."

"Bacta patch."

Boba shook his head, leaning down and grabbing the kit from the other wall to hand it to him. He studied the kid...the way he tore into the bacta patch, pressing it angrily to his wound with a hiss. Something was bothering him...eating him up and he had a feeling that it had to do with the girl.

"Is there something bothering you?"

He didn't talk, just stared out the window with a hand against his side. His other hand was held tight in a fist against his thigh.

"I've never seen a droid like her before...and I grew up during the Clone Wars. Battle droids never looked like that."

He noticed how Din tensed up as he talked. So it had to do with droids.

"You don't like droids do you? I noticed you never had one with you. Well, I did hear about that IG-11 bot from Karga but nothing else."

"Enough. Let me sleep."

"Kid-"

"I said enough!"

Fett nodded, taking the hint and didn't push the issue further, knowing that the kid would have to come to terms with this himself.

"We'll be dropping out of hyperspace in thirty minutes."

"Good." He let his head drop back and stilled as he drifted into unconsciousness. 

And Boba was left with more questions than answers.