The Bounty Hunter Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The Forgotten Warrior landed without incident in the swamps of Naboo. Flik found a relatively stable and dry spot to put her down and they disembarked from the Shistavanen Scout ship.

"So, are you going to tell me everything or am I going to have to shoot you?" Shiba asked, levelling the blaster pistol at the wolfman while his back was turned to her.

An amused growl emitted from his throat as he turned round to face her. He wasn't scared one bit - he knew that if she were going to kill him, she would have shot him in the back while he was turned away from her. When he regarded her expression, however, he discovered how serious she was.

"What do you want to know?" he asked.

"Why you didn't want me to shoot at anything for a start. I mean, are you some kind of Imperial spy, or something? What is the plan to get this guy who killed the Bothan, anyway? Oh, and how much is this bounty?"

"Is that all? Let me get some things straight, doctor. First, I don't have to tell you anything I don't think you need to know. Second, this is my mission. Third, I could have killed you before now and you should think yourself lucky that I haven't; most bounty hunters would have, including the better ones; that's what makes them the best," he snatched the pistol off her as he spoke and gripped her chin in his other hand, his claws digging into her flesh, his lupine eyes and canines uncomfortably close to her face. "My past is none of your business. I have reason to despise the Empire just as much as you do."

He pushed her backwards and Shiba tripped and fell into the shallow water and mud of the swamp behind her. The wolfman snapped off a sharp bark before he stalked back up the boarding ramp.

***

Several minutes later, Flik emerged from a larger hatch than the boarding ramp on the back of a swoop. He used the lowest speed to bring it out of the ship and brought it to a halt several metres from the Forgotten Warrior.

He slid off the swoop and landed with a splash in the shallow, muddy water of the swamp. He trudged through the water and up on to the dry land on which the Forgotten Warrior rested on. Shiba had gotten out of the water and was trying to brush off the mud that had soiled her clothes.

"You expect me to ride on that thing?" she asked.

Flik wrinkled his muzzle. "Beats walking, which you could do if you wanted to - accept I have the map to the place we need to go. Once we get there, I'll tell you what you need to know, all of it."

"Ok, you win, this time. But I'd still like to know why you didn't want me to shoot at anything on the way down."

Flik decided that he owed her that much. "The Forgotten Warrior has a cloaking device that can be used while the ship is in motion. All Shistavanen Scout ships possess them, which is why the Empire outlawed their use. However, they only work once you've come out of hyperspace and you have to make sure that no one's detected you before you initiate the cloak - otherwise it's useless. Of course, there's also the danger of someone crashing into you, which is why you have to avoid busy space lanes."

"Makes sense, I guess. Can I have my pistol back?"

Flik tossed it to her, their earlier argument forgotten. He then took out his comlink to communicate with Lobo.

"Lobo, close up the hatches and activate the cloaking device. Lock everything down and don't let anyone know your presence unless they discover you by accident. I'll let you know when we're coming back."

Lobo complied and the ship disappeared before Shiba's eyes. As he walked back to the waiting swoop, Flik had to wonder if his earlier thoughts about the Alderaanian woman were effecting his judgement.

***

Shiba's clothes and hair soon dried in the wind generated by the high-speed movement of the swoop through the swampland. Water was displaced as they passed over it and they did startle a herd of famba and kadu in their passage through the swamp.

To avoid falling off, Shiba had to cling on to the wolfman as he navigated through the mist. The mist and the close growth of the mangrove trees made visibility poor, and Shiba wondered just how Flik managed to avoid crashing into any of the thick bowels of the trees. She knew that Shistavanens possessed a tapetum lucidium, a reflective layer of cells on the retina of their eyes, that allowed them to see better in the dark than humans, but there was something else at work here too. It just seemed eerie.

They arrived at Theed just in time to see the sun set over the water. In spite of the Empire, it appeared that Theed had changed little since the time of the Old Republic. The Theed Palace was still there, looking as glorious as ever in the distance. The red brick walled arches, the town houses and the splendid flowers and foliage that marked the Naboo's appreciation of nature was still in evident - very much still an organic world, unlike many of the planets that Palpatine's corrupted hand had touched. In many ways, Theed reminded Shiba of the many cities and towns of Alderaan, very much urbanised but with a respect and love of nature and beautiful architecture.

Flik brought the swoop to a halt in the streets at the edge of the city. He turned and said to Shiba, "We walk from here."

Shiba nodded and slid to the ground. Flik pulled out the electronic key that activated the swoop and stood next to her.

"I thought you said that the townships were away from human populations?" Shiba asked.

"Most are, but the one that was built near Theed as since been absorbed into the city, because of it's expansion, but kept apart from the rest of it because it's on an island in the canal waterways, to keep people in. It is, for obvious reasons, as far away from the Theed Palace as it's possible to get."

"So, that's where we're heading now?"

Flik nodded his furry head.

“First, hand me your weapons.”

Shiba looked at him, distrust in her eyes.

“It’s important,” Flik said, producing a large case from a compartment inside the swoop’s side panel. It was just long enough to conceal Chenlambec’s Ryyk blade. “If we are to get past the Stormtroopers, we will need to conceal our weapons,” he explained.

Reluctantly, Shiba handed them over to him and to her surprise, all of their arsenal fitted neatly inside. “It has an electric field that will hide our weapons from detection.”

“Won’t they take it from us anyway?” Shiba asked.

“That’s a risk we have to take, but this will be better for us, believe me.”

Strangely, Shiba found that she did.

It was a thirty-minute walk to the canal docks. In their journey, Shiba noticed that what had seemed like a normal city, was, in fact the wrong impression. Everywhere they went, Flik drew suspicious looks from the inhabitants, because of his species. Shiba herself, was scowled at, but she couldn't tell if that was because she was with the wolfman or because of the clothes she was wearing. There was a distinct aura of fear and mistrust in the city and not just because of the wolfman. This was generated by the numerous squads of Stormtroopers that patrolled the streets of the city. Rarer, was the occasional duo of guards clad in scarlet armour, and their presence sent a shudder down the wolfman's spine, as he remembered an incident long ago involving them. The first squad of Stormtroopers they found forced them to join a group of dejected looking Gungans and other exotics towards the canal.

It was then that Shiba wondered how, when they got the mission completed, just how the hell were they ever going to get back to the ship and off the planet without getting blown to pieces in the process. She stole a glance at her companion and noticed that he was thinking the same thing. What had seemed like a simple job had turned out to be far more dangerous than either of them had ever imagined.