Chapter Text
Anakin jumped out of the speeder, twisting through the smoky air as Obi-Wan’s muffled cry got further and further away. Maybe it hadn’t been his best idea to free fall through traffic, but the target’s last location was close enough with some force assisted finagling. His Master would’ve insisted on looping around and parking in a civilized manner, but Anakin had no time or patience for that.
The Council wanted them to apprehend the Twi’lek crime boss, so they would. If Windu had wanted it to be done a certain way, he would have specified. “Listen to Obi-Wan,” was such an open ended command. Obi-Wan would tell him not to get hurt and then complain about the medics’ fussing when he detonated another bomb too close. It wasn’t like his Master was the epitome of self preservation and it certainly hadn’t discouraged most of Anakin’s reckless behaviors. If anything, he learned how to get away with more. It seemed their personal philosophy of asking for forgiveness instead of permission was grating on the Council’s nerves, but it didn’t matter.
No, what mattered was that Anakin was about to miss his stop. He closed his eyes and tugged on the force around him. His senses tingled and his eyes flew open just as his ticket to the rather shady looking hideout had arrived. The personal ship blared at him, the honking noise causing his ears to hurt. Anakin focused his attention away from the terrible noise and onto using the ship as a catapult.
He tensed as he hit the metal siding, launching himself off with a powerful force push and careening to the crowded walkway below. The ship lurched to the side and Anakin sent out a silent apology, hoping they wouldn’t be able to recognize him if the authorities came knocking. It was only the fake ID and extensive backstory Obi-Wan had drilled into him that had saved the day.
Anakin rolled onto the ground, feet hopping out of the way as he toppled dramatically, breathing hard. He pulled himself up, hand instinctively coming to where his lightsaber hung at his side. His Master would be pleased he hadn’t lost it during his skydiving attempt. He tugged on his force bond with Obi-Wan, reopening the shields he’d thrown up so any chastising wouldn’t interrupt his free fall mindset. His Master’s presence brushed against his mind, pride mingling with exasperation. It was a common combination after Anakin pulled any of his so called ‘hair brained stunts’.
Obi-Wan’s speeder pulled to the curb and his Master jumped from the vehicle with unnerving grace. He pulled his robe up and around his face, prompting Anakin to do the same. The people around them let Obi-Wan pass through easily, the crowd parting subconsciously. Anakin tucked his padawan braid further into the hood of his robe, glaring at a passer-by who had paused for a double take. Getting recognized was not something they needed to do.
“Was that necessary?” Obi-Wan asked, sounding more curious than condescending.
“Yes.”
“And that’s where you are wrong, Padawan.” He said thoughtfully, gesturing with his head to where the market entrance lay ahead.
Anakin trailed close behind his Master, weaving expertly through the hagglers and vendors as the smoggy air around them was filled with shouts in all different languages. Signs flashed prices in bright lights and laughter boomed from a food stall. None of this seemed to interest Obi-Wan who had explained to him beforehand that the more illegal activities were harder to find, further away from the touristy areas. It made sense to Anakin even though he had to reconcile that thought with his memories of Tatooine and the lack of any truthful dealings on that sandy hellscape.
He frowned when an adamant Mon Calamari stepped in front of them, his smile wide and hands full.
“Hello hello! Might I interest you in some b-”
Obi-Wan interrupted him smoothly, “Not today, no thanks.”
The seller looked puzzled by the response. “Are you sure? It’s only for the low price of three credits!”
“I’m actually in the market for something else,” Obi-Wan insisted, “if you will excuse us.”
“I’m sure I can help you!”
Anakin stepped closer to his Master, a looming figure that cast a shadow directly over the seller. The Mon Calamari shrunk back, and Anakin held back a smirk. At least his new height had one advantage even if it was an intimidation tactic against cowardly salesmen.
“We’re fine, thanks.” Obi-Wan continued in his conversational tone, a light smile playing around the corners of his eyes.
The Mon Calarmi merely ducked away with a nod. Anakin resumed his close following of Obi-Wan, eyes scanning anything and everyone around them for anything remotely suspicious.
“Anakin, you remember that you are a student and not a bodyguard, right?”
The teasing question was asked just loud enough for only him to hear. “Of course Master.”
“Tell me, have you seen anything.”
This was a test, Anakin was sure. Whether his Master intended it to be a test or not didn’t matter, Anakin would be right. He thought over what he had seen so far, the market full of food and clothing stalls. The Twi’lek they were looking for would likely have cronies at his front, probably selling contraband.
“Master, wasn’t there a heist of those new synth-leather handbags just a few week-cycles ago?”
Obi-Wan’s head bobbed once in a nod. “There was.”
“I think it was him.” Anakin answered with as much confidence as possible, waiting with baited breath for Obi-Wan to confirm to deny his suspicions.
“Excellent, Anakin.” The praise startled him, the guess had been a shot in the dark. He smiled instead, Obi-Wan’s teachings were rubbing off. Most crime syndicates had a niche, and his vague memory of the Twi-lek decked out in synth-leather apparel had been spot on.
Obi-Wan began to take more turns, leading them both further into the market than Anakin had ever thought possible. His Master’s knowledge of Coruscant’s lower levels was encyclopedic. Anakin struggled to remember all the bobbing and weaving they did, all the advertisements blurring together and the dark alleyways getting bigger. Anakin had just picked up his speed to keep up with his Master again when the Jedi Knight stopped suddenly.
Anakin crashed into him, but it seemed to have no effect on Obi-Wan who turned to the other direction and broke out into a jog. Anakin followed after, poking Obi-Wan through their bond with concern. What did his Master know?
‘I heard something.’ Obi-Wan spoke into his mind and in the following silence Anakin took it to mean he didn’t feel inclined to elaborate.
The jogging pace had turned to full out running but only for a short time, soon enough Obi-Wan was coming to a screeching halt and Anakin had to struggle to keep himself from body slamming his Master.
Obi-Wan stood in front of a young boy, no older than nine standard years, his hair dark and curly, and his eyes wide. He looked at Obi-Wan in disbelief, a quiet “ Gaa’tayl ?” falling from his lips.
“ Elek. ” Obi-Wan answered with the same accent of the boy hanging off his words.
“ Tion’ad gar ? Gar jorhaa’ir mando’a ?”
“ Ni narir. Ner gai Obi-Wan Kenobi.” Anakin blinked in confusion. Hadn’t Obi-Wan told him not to use their real names? Why was this child the exception?
“ Ner gai Boba.” The kid said hesitantly, looking at Anakin like he was sizing him up for a fight.
“Can you speak Basic?” Obi-Wan asked kindly, gesturing at Anakin. “My Padawan does not know Mando’a.”
Boba huffed before a realization dawned on him. “You’re jettise .”
“We are.” His Master agreed. “Will that be a problem?”
“My buir said not to trust jettise .” He sounded wary.
“I understand, but it is my guess you aren’t supposed to be here?”
Boba flushed with embarrassment, Anakin could feel his shame leaking into the force around them. “ Gaa’tayl gedet’ye. ”
Anakin leaned forward to get a better look at the kid. “Lemme guess, you called out expecting only people you know to answer.” From what Anakin could gather from the situation thus far was that the kid called out in Mando’a and had definitely not expected to summon Obi-Wan.
“So you can speak.”
Obi-Wan tutted, his attention fixed on Boba and not the offended expression plastered on his Padawan’s face. “Boba, how can we find your buir ?”
Boba frowned and his eyebrows scrunched together in contemplation. “We parked the ship over by CoCo Town.”
“Shall we take you there?”
Anakin spluttered, “Master! The mission!”
“ Ade are important, I have a duty to fulfill first.”
Boba cracked a blinding smile and held his arms out to Obi-Wan. “Can you carry me?”
Anakin glared at the petulant child, resisting the urge to stick out his tongue. He could see right through the kid’s scheming plans, his eyes had an evil glint that Obi-Wan seemed to either be ignoring completely in favor of solving the bigger issues at hand. Anakin had no idea how his Master did it, he was ready to abandon the twerp and his bratty complaints.
Obi-Wan must’ve felt the anger rolling across their bond in waves, turning his face minutely to send Anakin a warning look and he knelt to scoop up Boba.
“Okay Anakin, can you lead the way?” So this was where Obi-Wan was testing Anakin, his spatial orientation skills. Anakin nodded, eyes glaring at the smug looking Boba nestled in his Master’s arms before turning away. The kid was already bundling himself into the robe as if it were a blanket. Anakin yanked his attention away, trying his best to focus on the task at hand.
It was easier than he expected to get through the crowds, enthusiastic sales pitches died off at the sight of Boba. Apparently it was bad taste to hassle in a child’s presence. Anakin’s mind was still reeling over the fact Obi-Wan knew the language of the Mandalorians.
‘Kark.’ He hissed, not realizing the swear had projected across the bond.
‘What’s the matter?’ His Master asked, coming to walk beside Anakin, Boba’s head sticking out to shoot Anakin a dirty look.
‘They’re a Mandalorian, his parent.’
Obi-Wan merely raised an eyebrow. ‘Yes.’
‘But- they don’t like Jedi! What if-’
His Master sent a wave of soothing calm and Anakin reigned in the nerves that had been rapidly building. He needed a clear head for this. Panicking rarely did him any long term good.
“Talk out loud.” Came Boba’s irritated reply.
“We’re gonna get killed for doing a favor.” Anakin said in a low voice, his argument was still going to be made, even if the kid could hear it.
“That’s an issue we’ll have to face later.” Obi-Wan agreed.
“ Buir wouldn’t. Not immediately.”
The kid’s reassurance didn’t do their job very well and Anakin had to bite down on his tongue not to make a retort that’d get Obi-Wan’s disappointment.
His Master hummed, nodding for Anakin to a turn at the latest fork in the path. “We can only hope.”
The rest of the short trek was spent listening to the hustle and bustle around them, Coruscant was certainly lively this night-cycle. When they finally exited the Market, Obi-Wan gently placed Boba to the ground.
“What are you doing?”
“Driving.” Came the calm reply, Obi-Wan already half-way to their speeder.
“But I’m cold.” The kid looked affronted by the fact.
Anakin waited for Obi-Wan’s reply, the one he always heard when he rejected the extra layers his Master had tried to hand him. “You should’ve dressed warmer.” There it was.
Anakin hopped into the passenger’s seat, ignoring Boba who stood next to the speeder with a small wrinkle between his brow. Obi-Wan opened the door for him and watched with eagle eyes to make sure Boba buckled himself in. Anakin almost hoped he wouldn’t have checked, it would’ve been funny to see the kid flying out.
Boba’s force signature spiked suddenly with a feeling of hesitation and without a glance, Obi-Wan peeled off his robe and dumped it onto the boy as he sat in the driver’s seat. Boba seemed to appreciate the gesture of being a human coat rack, wrapping the brown fabric around himself.
“ Vor’e. ”
“You’re welcome. It was CoCo Town you said?”
“ Elek. ” Came Boba’s reply, drowned out by the sound of traffic as Obi-Wan merged them into one of the airway lanes.
Anakin stopped paying attention to Obi-Wan’s driving, it was boringly safe and there was someone more interesting to poke at in the back seat.
“Who’s your parent?” He asked.
Boba narrowed his eyes. “Why do you want to know, jetti ?”
“Wanna get back to them or not you krif-”
Obi-Wan interrupted him with a meaningful cough.
Anakin tried again, this time with false cheer threaded through his tone. “Who are we looking for?”
“My buir. ”
He held back a shout of exasperation, the kid was too obtuse and his patience was waning.
“Boba.” Obi-Wan warned.
“My buir is Jango Fett.”
Anakin sighed in relief, they finally had a name. Obi-Wan looked like he was having the exact opposite reaction though, face turning abnormally pale.
“Do you know him?” Anakin asked carefully.
His Master shook himself out of his shock. “No, he’s just got a reputation as a very proficient bounty hunter, that’s all.”
“That’s definitely not all.” Anakin accused, Boba leaned forward curiously. It seemed this was the only time they’d had any agreement at all.
“He has the moniker of ‘Jedi-Killer’. He killed six jedi with his bare hands is what they say.”
Anakin felt any of the calm remaining in him drain away and was replaced with shock. That wasn't a good sign, not at all. And if he knew anything about Mandos, they were fiercely protective of their children. Oh force, they were in trouble.
“Where’d you hear that?” Boba asked as if his mere presence was a threat to their existence.
“I have my sources.” If the cryptic comment was anything to go by, Obi-Wan had already recovered from the bombshell Anakin was still shaken over.
Boba huffed, staring gloomily out the speeder at the building whizzing by. Anakin rolled his eyes and stared straight ahead, wondering about how one man had been able to kill six jedi. The task seemed almost impossible if not entirely improbable. Hopefully Obi-Wan would be able to satiates the Mandalorian's blood-lust with some well spoken words and a tactical retreat. They still had a crime boss to catch after all.
The ride to CoCo town was shorter than he’d expected, the familiar sight of Dex’s Diner coming into view. Anakin wondered if his Master would let them stop in for a late night snack.
“Which hangar did you park in?” Obi-Wan asked Boba, stirring the child from his sleepy state.
Boba came to attention immediately, his small body tensed for a fight before he registered Obi-Wan’s question and relaxed. “It’s two more down I think, the one with the shoe company’s billboard on it.”
“Here?”
“That’s it.”
Obi-Wan turned into the open hangar, the vast building housing shipping docks that extended further than should’ve been possible. Anakin briefly wondered about the fees and upkeep of the place when his Master spoke again. “Boba, why were you in the market?”
“Reasons.”
Anakin scoffed. “They better be good.”
That caught the kid off guard. “I-”
Anakin pointed to an open speeder parking spot to get Obi-Wan's attention, he was still bickering with Boba though, a smirk resting on his face. “Lothcat got your tongue?”
“Anakin.” Obi-Wan reprimanded lightly.
“Well forgive for wanting to know why the kriff we got into this mess!” He exclaimed with an explosive hand gesture.
“I was taking notes.” Boba whispered.
“Can you say that again, dear?”
He made eye contact with Obi-Wan. “I was taking notes. I want to be a beroya like buir .”
“First lesson,” Anakin scoffed, “don’t get in a speeder with strangers because they speak a language you know.”
“Well it worked out, didn’t it?” Boba shot back, roughly yanking off his seat belt as Obi-Wan opened his door.
“Boys.” His Master sighed. “I haven’t got all night.”
Anakin smiled apologetically, ignoring the smug expression Boba sported as he led the two of them further into the hanger. Finally, they came across the ship he was looking for.
“Here we are, Slave 1.” Boba pointed at the hemispherical ship with a few too many blaster bolt marks in the paint to be considered normal.
Anakin scrunched his nose at the name, fighting a seething retort loaded on his tongue. Obi-Wan gave his arm a sympathetic squeeze and straightened his shoulders, walking to the ship and knocking lightly on it’s hull.
“Master-” He called. “How will he know we are here?”
“Cameras.” Boba answered. “Lots of them.”
“And now we wait?” Anakin shuffled from foot to foot as Obi-Wan made his way back over to them, standing awkwardly at the most respectful distance possible. He got an affirmative nod.
It didn’t take too long, no more than thirty seconds had passed when the loading ramp hissed open and an armored figure stepped out, a blaster drawn and aimed directly at them. The Mandalorian had a blood spatter on the arm carrying his gun and Anakin worried they’d be the next stains to decorate his sleeve.
“What do you want, jettise ?” Came the modulated voice but Anakin could still hear the anger in his tone.
“Boba got lost.” Obi-Wan replied calmly, nudging the kid forward. Boba took the nudge as permission and ran to tackle his father in a hug.
“ Bob’ika ?” He sounded startled and extremely relieved. “ Vaii gar slanar ?”
“ Ni shekemi gar. ”
“ Ad! Jaro bah ori burk’yc. ”
Boba nodded gravelly at the worried outburst before turning back to the two Jedi hovering a bit away. “ Vor’e !”
Obi-Wan gave him a soft smile. “ Ba’gedet’ye. ”
Anakin rocked onto his toes, a hand coming out to tug on Obi-Wan’s robe. They needed to go. Fett decided the conversation wasn’t over yet. He froze, t-visor focusing on Obi-Wan with a burning intensity.
“ Gar jorhaa’ir mando’a, jetti ?” The question was delivered as a growl but Obi-Wan didn’t seem fazed.
“ Ni susulu orjorer par gaa’tayl. ”
Anakin poked at the bond with his Master, unsure of the conversation happening around him. ‘Master, what is happening?’
‘Maybe we should have dropped Boba off without introducing ourselves.’ He sounded too interguried by the situation to be truly taking it seriously.
“Thank you, jetti .” Fett said cautiously, an emotion tainting his words that Anakin couldn’t identify. Was that curiosity? Interest? His Master did usually evoke these types of reactions.
“It was no problem.” Obi-Wan assured pleasantly. “Goodbye, we must get going now.”
“ Ret’urcye mhi, Obi-Wan.” Boba called, his Master echoing the phrase back at the boy with no hesitation.
“ Ret’urcye mhi, cuyir ulyc. ”
Anakin pulled his Master away, casting a glance over his shoulder to see Fett still watching their retreating forms intensely. He had the unnerving suspicion they’d see him again, soon or later. The galaxy was only so big when you had people to avoid.
(Later, Anakin and Obi-Wan discovered that the target they’d been hunting had already been taken out. According to the Bounty Hunters’ Guild, a Jango Fett had dropped off the decapitated head of a Twi’lek for a hefty sum of credits courtesy of a rival crime syndicate. Windu would not be pleased to hear this news.)