Jedi Insurgency 221 (Interlude 29)

The throne room of Jabba’s Palace no longer smelled of rot and stagnant air. Moisture hung in the atmosphere, and the once dry location had gained a new lease on life. 

Within the throne room, sat the young teen, Boba Fett. The T-shaped visor of his visor beheld the members of his counsel. 

Bib Fortuna, Tessek, Aurra Sing, and Bossk. 

Below him, Bib Fortuna stood with his hands folded, head bowed low in a display of exaggerated deference. The pale Twi’lek’s voice was syrupy, and filled with undisguised flattery. Boba disdained the honorless mylak, but wasn't fool enough to dismiss him outright. Fortuna had his uses. 

“Mighty Boba Fett, I bring excellent news. The shipments provided by Lord Revan have exceeded all expectations.” Fortuna purred in pleasure, and held his hands together like a merchant that had closed a big deal. 

Boba silently stared at the man, awaiting the vapid steward to finish his peace. 

“The spice has been diluted for maximum distribution, even so, it has proven to be in high demand. Our products have reached over one hundred thousand worlds. From the Core to the Outer Rim, every market, every black market exchange, every shadow port…our reach is unparalleled.” Fortuna painted a beautiful reality, and eyed his ‘peers’ contemptuously. 

Boba closed his eyes, already aware of this information. This counsel was more a formality to him, to allow his subordinates the chance to interact face to face. In his minds’ eye, he played out the pair of fights he had with Revan, and found himself disappointed in his own lack of skill. 

Bib’s lekku twitched nervously, but he pressed on, despite Boba's seeming transformation into stone. 

“At such a scale, dilution becomes irrelevant. Volume is everything, and we, under your wise leadership, have mastered the perfect technique. Only 10mL's of product per 40mL's of water are enough for a singular dose.”

During Fortuna's monologue, a wet cough interrupted him. 

“Y-yes, yes!” Tessek, the lead accountant shuffled forward, clutching a datapad tightly to his chest. The Quarren’s large black eyes-the size of chicken eggs-darted between the others, never lingering too long on any one face. “Our sales figures are rapidly climbing!" 

The octopus-looking alien tapped the datapad, projecting streams of figures into the air.

“Since Lord Revan-by his Jedi magic-transformed piles of junk into spice, we have practically made an amount of money that is inconceivable. Our profits are above 1 trillion credits!” Tessek excitedly waved his dataslate around like a child happy to have received his cookie. 

“W-we’ve never seen anything like it. In all my years working for Jabba, our annual profits never exceeded 700 billion. But in a short, singular quarter, our margins are astounding!” Tessek gushed over the figures, and was practically squirting ink all over the place due to the numbers going up. 

Aurra Sing-the nearly bald former Jedi-let out a soft, amused chuckle. Leaning against a pillar in the room, she was lazily crossing her arms, and staring down at this little get together in disdain. Her pale skin seemed almost luminous in the filtered sunlight of the palace. Although she had let out a small laugh, her facial expression was anything but amused. 

“A trillion credits. That’s a lot of power in the right hands.” She lazily drawled, glancing towards Boba. “And power.” She continued, pushing off the pillar and taking a slow step forward. “Is only interesting if you use it.”

The pale alien girl who had taken Boba in after his father's death tilted her head, and studied him like a hunter. Assessing the young Mandalorian, and whether or not he could live up to her expectations or his potential. 

“So tell me, kid…what are you going to spend it on?” She asked in a disinterested tone, yet her ‘nonchalant’ manner of speech was practically screaming ‘please, tell me!!!’ 

Boba remained silent with his eyes closed. Her words washed over him like the gentle waves of Tatooine's sandy beaches. The money had already been spent. A trillion credits, gone in less than a week's worth of spending. He wondered what her expression would be once he revealed what he had purchased. Before Boba could enlighten Aurra's curiosity, a low, rumbling hiss answered her.

Bossk stepped forward, his heavy clawed feet scraping against the floor. The Trandoshan’s beady eyes gleamed with anticipation, and a toothy grin spread wide. 

“On the Hunt, of coursssse.” Bossk gleefully nodded at Boba, answering for him. 

The lizardman jabbed a clawed finger into the air for emphasis, then curled his three fingered hand into a fist. 

“The Great Hunt! We fund it, expand it, and create an entirely new organization to reward the worthy! Together, we will begin the biggest hunt the galaxy has ever seen. Targetsss from every ssector. Bountiess stacked higher than a ssky sscraper o Nar Shaddaa. We bring in warriors, killers, monsters, and let them compete! May the Sscorekeeper blesss usss!” Bossk hissed in fervor-filled excitement. 

“Keep up that level of energy, and I might just think you're warm blooded.” Aurra Sing raised an eyebrow, and scoffed. 

“Do not be jealouss of my victory, Aurra.” Bossk gloated, imagining the glory he would bring to himself & his people. 

“But the money!...surely it is best to reinvest into ourselves. Now that the whimsical tyrant is dead, this organization can finally be put to good use.” Tessek whined. 

Aurra & Bossk glanced at one another, as if to silently say ‘get a load of this guy.’ 

The Quarren leaked ink from his armpits, and he took a step back from the intimidating duo. 

“My Lord Fett, a hunt is a grand marvelous idea.” Fortuna-ever the ass kisser-agreed. “Whatever your decision may be, my contacts are prepared to enact your vision.” 

Aurra Sing rolled her eyes at the opportunistic Twi'lek, but even so, she truly was curious. What would the boy do? 

All eyes turned to the throne, and for a moment, silence reigned. 

The boy beneath his father's armor listened to every word, every tone, every hidden intention: Bib’s greed. Tessek’s fear. Aurra’s ambition. Bossk’s hunger.

He cataloged it all, measured it, and weighed it. Leaning back into his throne, Boba placed a gloved hand on his chin, and looked down upon his councilors. 

“The old man didn’t give us this operation so we could act like Hutt thugs.” Boba slowly drawled. 

“There iss honor in the hunt.” Bossk argued back. 

“S-so we're investing back into ourselves?” Tessek dared to hope, and said with scrunched shoulders. 

“So you're sticking to your oath? You know you rule this world, kid. That old legend is too busy fighting a war to do anything to you. Are you really going to give up a trillion creds, just like that?” Aurra Sing tapped her fingernail harshly on one of her bracelets, and questioned him. 

Boba stared her down, and let out a low chuckle. Pressing several buttons on his gauntlet, a holoprojection spawned in the middle of the room. Showcasing a 3D image of Tatooine, dozens of warships were seen hovering in orbit. 

“The old man wanted to fund his war machine. Then I'll fund his warmachine.” Boba calmly stated. 

Seconds later, dozens more ships entered the space above Tatooine, until well over 1,000 craft of various classifications-destroyers, carriers, frigates, etc-crowded the area. 

“How is this possible?” Tessek quailed in fear. 

“Yesss, yesss! The hunt shall be gloriousss. I did not make a mistake when following you, Fett!” Bossk was practically glowing with excitement. 

“So that's why you had me retrieve the contacts from so many neutral systems.” Fortuna said in an ‘just as I suspected’ tone of voice, then bowed low. “Your genius knows no bounds, Lord Fett. Truly, our master chose wisely placing you in power.” 

“I've got to say, I'm impressed, kid. But who is going to crew this fleet? We both know how stupidly unreliable those clankers are, and don't tell me you can find some Mandalorians?” Aurra Sing praised him at first, but was quick to act as a naysayer, and question his judgement. 

Boba pressed a few more buttons, and the holoprojector swapped scenes, revealing an alien with an upside down face. 

“Greetings, Ongree.” Boba slowly grated out. 

“Praise The Revan! We Revanites are truly blessed to serve the Revanchist.” The robe wearing Ongree's joyous smile was in full effect, appearing like the letter n. 

“Are these cultists?” Aurra Sing whispered towards Boba, frowning. 

On his end, Boba was frowning too. The old man had commanded that he was to settle well over 10 million people. That they were loyal followers in need of a home. This wasn't the first time he had spoken with the Ongree, but he found their blind faith to be almost unsettling. It was almost unsettling, because as much as he hated the old man, Boba couldn't help but respect him. A small corner of his heart was-infuriatingly-thankful that he had become a follower of Revan. As a young man bereft of purpose, he now felt like Mandalore the Ultimate fighting for something great.

“Yes. We are the Cult of Revan. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, pale one. I am Cenk.” The Ongree priest-Cenk-said without missing a beat. 

“Hsss, Ongree are famous diplomatss. How will you crew these warshipss?” Bossk asked in barely contained, furious disdain. The Trandoshan's eyes were practically popping as he silently stared Boba down, as if the Mandalorian had stolen his kill. 

“You bounty hunters only just returned after days exploring the new ocean waves, and curiously fast growing wroshyr trees. The Ongree have been on Tatooine for several days now. Lord Boba has personally tested them.” Fortuna said, reflecting Bossk's own disdainful tone back as him. 

“Hsss.” Bossk wordlessly threatened, and took a step towards the impudent Twi'lek. 

“Perhaps a demonstration is in order.” Boba snapped his fingers, and a door opened up. 

Stepping into the throne room, a pair of heavily armored, shielded, force pike wielding Ongree made their appearance. 

“The Revan promised us this land 3,000 years ago.” One Ongree proclaimed, slamming the butt of his pike onto the floor. 

“I'll offer your skin to The Revan. You'll make a fine pair of boots.” The other Ongree added on. 

“My oh my, you do move fast, Boba.” Aurra Sing slowly said as she sashayed around the armored aliens, and took in their powerful setups deep in thought. “One wonders, what exactly do you intend to do with so many ships?” She said, ‘innocently’ placing a finger at her lips, and adopting the attitude of a curious idiot. 

Boba rolled his eyes at the performance. The typically cutthroat killer was putting on a show for these newcomers. Testing the waters was something any seasoned bounty hunter would do. Whilst her actions were prudent, they were wholly unnecessary. Before he could press the button for the next door, it was blown open in a scorching blast of white light, and thick smoke. 

Everyone in the room suddenly took action due to the sudden attack. Fortuna & Tessek ran behind the throne, Aurra Sing rolled away, taking cover behind a pillar to draw her rifle. Bossk took a knee, raised his blaster, and flicked his tongue, searching for the enemy. Meanwhile, the two Ongree had activated their shields, and took a combative stance. 

Boba, for his part, remained seated in place. When he had received this guest's communique an hour ago, he had immediately recalled several Mandalorian horror stories. Things that as a youngling had had him curling up in fear around the campfire. Taking a deep steadying breath, he heard them before he saw them. A soft clanking sound-one that could only be heard if they wanted you to hear them-met his ears. 

“Don't shoot. They're our…allies.” Boba gritted out. 

Emerging from the smoke 50 silvery droids made themselves known. Filing into the throne room, they made for an intimidating sight. 

“Correction: We are all Master Revan's tools.” The HK-51 droid succinctly said upon his arrival. 

“Overriding Statement: Facilitations, meatbags. The fleet shall be split by the superior synthetics, and you inferior organics.” 

“Praise the tools of Revan.” Cenk-the Ongree priest who was still in the call-bowed, and was echoed by the pair of Ongree. 

Aurra Sing glanced at Boba, as if to say ‘you can't be serious, this is the height of your ambitions?!’ 

Boba ignored her, and finally stood from his throne. He had heard nightmares about these droids of Revans. Just a handful were responsible for the deaths of millions. Now, with over 1,000 ships at his disposal-and the typical sector fleet numbering 50 on average-he was poised to make a name for himself. 

“Revan gave me command of this operation.” Boba said in a deadly tone. “You have your assignments. Make them pay.” 

“Revan! Revan! Revan!” The Ongree chanted, slamming their force pikes rhythmically.

“Observation: Perhaps some meatbags are worthy of teaching.” 

“Hss, the hunt is on!” 

“So…where are we heading?” Aurra Sing asked. 

“General Grievous exploited an unknown hyperspace lane before. The Prince's spies inform me it's still good.” Boba replied. 

“We are so dead.” She sighed, placing a hand over her face. 

Ignoring his companion's dread, Boba clenched his fist as he recalled the oath he had made, and was determined to reclaim the Fett clan's lost honor!