Gold For Vengeance

The suns are just rising, casting warm light over the Lars moisture farm, as Dia tearfully bids farewell to Elan.

"You be safe out there, Dia," he whispers, crouching to hug Dia tightly. "This is a difficult path you've chosen. But I think you can manage it."

"I'll miss you, Elan," Dia mumbles into Elan's shoulder.

Elan draws back, keeping his hands on Dia's shoulders. He smiles sadly, and ruffles Dia's hair. "And I'll miss you. Promise to come back someday?"

Dia nods fervently. "I promise."

He thanks Owen and Beru again, then returns to Jango's Legacy, which sits in the sand dunes, ready to leave. Boba is sitting in the pilot's seat, making sure everything's ready for their journey. Dia swings himself into the co-pilot's seat. He's never flown before, but Boba's assured him he doesn't have to do much.

"You ready?" Boba asks, glancing over.

Dia exhales and nods. "Yep. Let's go."

Jango's Legacy takes off with a whir of the engines. Dia watches through the windshield as the sand dunes get farther and farther away, until they leave the atmosphere. Soon Tatooine is nothing more than a sandy ball in the vastness of space. Dia's eyes dart from star to distant star in wonder.

He notices Boba watching him, and chuckles awkwardly. "There were never any windows when I travelled from planet to planet," he explains.

"…Oh." Not questioning him, Boba sets their course for Florrum.

Dia watches breathlessly as the ship shoots forward, blue streaks dancing past the windows. He can't stop the mesmerized smile that spreads over his face. "It's beautiful."

________

They pass the time by playing sabacc and telling each other stories about their time on Tatooine. Boba gleefully recounts killing a sand beast and being accepted by the Tuskens, while Dia tells Boba all about the weapons systems on Jango's Legacy.

They stop at a couple backwater planets to refuel, and soon come out of hyperspace above Florrum. It's a rocky, cloudy planet, which disappoints Dia a little: he'd been hoping for some water. At least there are some green swathes.

"Hondo's compound should be somewhere around here," Boba mutters, peering at the navigator.

As they reach the atmosphere, two starfighters appear from the clouds and fly beside them, uncomfortably close.

"Uh oh." Dia opens comms.

"You're trespassing! Leave now," one of the other pilots orders over the comms, "and we won't shoot you down."

"We're here to see Hondo," Boba says. "It's Boba and Dia."

The other pilots are silent for a moment. Dia and Boba exchange an apprehensive glance. Then the comms crackle again.

"Follow us."

They dip below the clouds, and Boba follows. In minutes, they reach the complex. A towering building overlooks a gorge packed with transports. The land around the complex is barren and rocky, and relatively flat.

Boba lands Jango's Legacy in the gorge, and hurries to the storage space. He pries open the crate he'd gotten a hold of earlier, and takes out twin blasters and a hip holster.

"Here," he says, handing them to Dia.

Tying the belt around his waist and holstering the blasters, Dia asks, "How are we going to convince Hondo?"

"I'll handle it." Boba holsters his own blaster and offers Dia a dagger.

"I've got one already." Dia pats his boot with a grin.

Boba smirks and sheathes the dagger in his own boot. "Let's go, then."

He opens the ramp, and they walk outside, where they're greeted by two armed pirates.

"Come with us," one of them orders, turning on their heel and heading for the main building.

Dia and Boba follow. Closer to the building, more pirates sit and drink on assorted crates and swoop bikes, chatting and howling with laughter. Dia counts three fistfights about to break out, and two already well in progress. He ducks out of the way of a hurled alcohol can, luckily empty.

They reach the double doors to the building's lower floor, propped open. Laughter and shouting spills out of the dim room. Before they can go inside, someone appears at the doorway.

"My apprentices!" Hondo laughs, throwing his arms wide. "It's been too long!"

He scoops them into a hug before they can escape, laughing again. Boba rolls his eyes.

Releasing them, Hondo ushers them inside, a hand on each of their shoulders, and guides them to a quieter table.

"Bring us some hotcakes, and something to drink," he orders a pirate, who hurries away. Hondo grins at Dia and Boba. "So! What's happened since we last met?"

"I've been freed," Dia reports happily, "and Boba got his dad's armour back."

"That's wonderful! How did that happen?"

As Dia tells Hondo a brief version of the past couple months, the other pirate returns with a plate of hotcakes and three mugs. Hondo takes a hotcake and munches on it, listening intently to Dia's story. Boba is silent, but listening too, and takes one of the mugs. He drinks, and immediately spits it out, coughing.

"Are you okay?" Dia checks the mug, concerned. He levels Hondo with a glare. "This is ale!"

"Ah, my mistake. Bring us two waters!" Hondo amends.

Boba recovers, clearing his throat. His cheeks are red with embarrassment. "Anyway," he says gruffly, "I'm ready to get my revenge now. Do you have any way to help?"

Hondo takes a drink and sets down his mug. "No."

"Why not?" Boba snaps.

"Please, Hondo," Dia entreats. "You're the only one who can help."

"I have no quarrel with the Jedi. The Republic are distracted by the Separatists, but I won't draw their attention by killing such an important member of the Jedi Order." He shakes his head regretfully. "I can't help."

"So you're scared?" Boba spits.

Dia hits him over the head. "Boba!"

Boba glares at the table, fuming.

"However," Hondo says with a sigh, "I can't let my apprentices leave without helping them somehow. I can call in a… friend, who might be willing to help you. She has experience with the Jedi."

"That would be great," Dia agrees gratefully. "Thank you, Hondo."

"I'll contact her now." Hondo stands. "Enjoy the hotcakes."

As Hondo sweeps away, Dia shoots a smile at Boba. "That's good, then."

"Hmph. We'll see."

Hondo returns with good news: his friend is willing to help, and will arrive in three days.

"Feel free to explore," Hondo tells them. "Just try not to anger any of my crew."

They return to Jango's Legacy in the end, where it's quiet, and sit in the cockpit chairs. When the ship is landed, the chairs are all parallel to the ground, so they have to climb everywhere instead of walk. Dia crawls into the navigator's chair and flicks through the star-map settings. Boba checks all the ship's systems, then, when he's finished with that, leans his head back and sighs heavily.

"Do you want some fresh air?" Dia asks, dragging his eyes up from studying a planet on the edge of Mandalorian space. "We can sit on the hull, if you like."

Boba sighs again. "I'm fine."

He leaves the cockpit, and Dia hears him clattering around the storage area. Curiosity gets the better of Dia, and he abandons his star-maps to follow Boba.

He finds him crouched by the box containing Jango's armour. Dia watches silently as Boba sorts through each piece of armour, trying on the gauntlets, chest plate, and helmet in turn. All are too large for his small frame. He places all the armour back in the box, and closes it with a sigh.

He stands, and says, "I'll be right back," before heading outside.

Of course he knew I was watching. Dia feels a little guilty, but Boba didn't seem offended. As he returns to the cockpit, he remembers Boba sobbing as he told Dia what happened to his dad. Dia wishes he could help Boba manage the pain.

He sits in his chair, and pulls up a HoloNet screen on the display. He knows little about the Jedi, only what he's heard from bounty hunters and pirates. Everyone had a different opinion. If Boba hated them, Dia felt he should hate them too.

He scrolled through news articles criticizing or praising the Jedi for their efforts in the war, and noticed several mentions of Mace Windu. They called him the Master of the Order, one of the leaders of the Jedi Order. Dia zoomed in on a picture of the Jedi curiously. He was a human, wearing a stony expression. He seemed a little intimidating, and clearly was a powerful Force-user.

Knock, knock

Dia jumps, startled by a sudden knock on the windshield. He looks up to see Boba peering down at him from the hull. He beckons for Dia to come up.

Leaving the HoloNet and switching off the display, Dia leaves the ship and climbs onto the hull. Boba is waiting, sitting with his blasters and a small can of paint beside him.

Dia sits cross-legged beside him. "What's that for?"

"I'm painting my blasters." Boba pries open the can and dips a small brush in the gold paint.

Gold again, Dia notices as he watches Boba carefully start to paint the blaster's grip.

"Is gold your favourite colour?" Dia asks.

"No. The Mandalorians have meanings for different colours."

"What does gold mean?"

Boba pauses. "Vengeance."

"… Oh."

As Boba returns to painting, Dia brushes a hand over the gold accents on the hull.

He wonders which colour means loyalty, and looks to the horizon, where the sun is beginning to set.

Just one sun, on this planet. How many were on his home planet?

Dia's stomach twists as he realizes he can't remember.