Son of Mandalore (Bounty: Book One)

Detectives and Robbers

"Great, now what?" Jariok said as he pulled his hand away from Uumbar Loreek's apartment door. He had knocked numerous times without an answer. Fett moved around him. He put his gloved fingertips to the electronic lock before pulling a tool from his belt. He wedged the tool under the side and popped the pad out of the wall. He snipped a thin blue wire, turning the light green.

"Now we go inside." Fett said as the door slid open. Jariok shook his head dismissively.

"So now we can add breaking and entering to our list of crimes? Let's see, tampering with evidence, assault, murder..." he listed. Fett held up a hand. "Shut up." Although Jariok hated Fett telling him what to do, memories of the alleyway instantly shot through his mind. So he stopped talking and listened, taking a defensive stance as he did. Fett stepped deeper into the room, his pistol sliding soundlessly out from its holster.

There was no sound to be heard, just the muffled voice of a beggar outside the door. Silj's ears were primed as he took in the room. The only light came from the window on the wall in front of them. The blinds split it into white lines on the floor. The furniture was nothing but dark blobs against an even darker background. Then the detective caught a soft, sliding sound, almost like the room was giving a small exhale.

Fett turned as quick as a whip. He reached into the shadowy corner and yanked a blaster from the darkness. A hand snatched a staff from the wall and swung it at the bounty hunter. Fett bent backwards as it swung over top of him. A figure emerged.

"Get out of my house, you scum. Go rob someone else." Uumbar Loreek growled, taking a fighting stance. He was large for a Sullustan. In the strips of light, Jariok caught a wide face that held determined dark eyes. Rounded ears sat above tense shoulders. His mouth was taut with anticipation of the coming fight. Jariok, eager not to repeat the alley, spoke up.

"Listen, we are just hear to-" he cut off as Loreek swung the staff at his face, barely visible in the darkened apartment. It blinked in and out of existence as it passed through the pale stripes. Silj reached out and caught it, the metal stinging his hands. Jariok kicked the Sullustan in the knee and wrenched the weapon away from him.

Uumbar leaned against the table as he stumbled away. Jariok opened his mouth to speak, but Loreek's hand found a tray of ash. He tossed a handful of it into Silj's face. The detective staggered back, spitting the powder out of his mouth and clawing it out of his eyes. Uumbar kicked him in the stomach, forcing him into a wall. Jariok whacked his forehead against it, but stayed upright.

From behind his lids, the sounds of hand to hand combat ensued. Punches, feet to sides, a crunch of metal, they all touched his drums. Jariok was finally able to blink the remaining soot from his eyes. He looked up with irritated eyes as Loreek struggled with Fett. The bounty hunter was wrestling with the former assassin.

Seeing an opening, Jariok shoulder-charged the Sullustan. Uumbar fell onto the floor. He motioned to stand up, but stopped at the sight of a blaster barrel. Jariok stretched out his shoulder. It was sore, but he didn't think any serious damage was done. He wiped blood away from his eye, where it had dropped from his forehead.

"You put up a good fight Uumbar Loreek." Fett said, his voice holding little to no emotion. His bottom half was covered in light from the window. Jariok couldn't see the Sullustan's face, but he could imagine Loreek wasn't too happy.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Uumbar snapped aggressively. Fett squatted down, his helmet and torso illuminated by thick lines of white light. "My name is Boba Fett and I have a question for you." he replied. Loreek's demeanor immediately changed. His silhouette immediately dropped all hostility. The Sullustan gave a shocked inhale as he slowly stood up.

"I'm Silj Jariok." the detective said as Loreek flipped on a light. "We're here over the assassination of Iruni Joor of Erunan." The Sullustan didn't even react. He was staring at Fett with a horrified expression. It took him a moment to pull his eyes away from Boba.

"What does that have to do with me?" he responded meekly. "Because, Joor was assassinated by a Sullustan Tammer Rifle." Fett said, crossing his arms. Uumbar flinched like he had been hit. Once the words registered, his eyes widened with shock.

"Impossible. The Sullustan government keeps those under lock and key. There's no way one got out. There are only two dozen in existence and believe me, they would know if one was taken. You must be mistaken." he said, his voice gaining some strength back. Fett cocked his head to the side, like a predator watching his prey.

"No, I'm not. Joor was killed by a Tammer Rifle and I think you know where that rifle got to." Loreek's expression changed very slightly in a way that was unreadable to Jariok. "And how would you know that?" he replied, his voice giving nothing away. "I don't think you want to know that answer." the bounty hunter purred. Loreek stared him down for a moment more before his shoulders slumped in defeat.

"I'll tell you what I know." he said. Jariok couldn't lie, he was impressed. Fett got him to talk just on words alone. "Apparently a Sullustan Assassin defected a few weeks ago. Don't ask me how, but he got a hold of a Tammer Rifle. It has a kill switch that can be manually detonated. The blast could take down a whole ship, so that means he managed to deactivate it some way. Then his ship was hijacked by some pirates near Brulin." "Which band of pirates?" Silj asked.

"Some washed up old pirate named Hondo Ohnaka." Jariok noticed Fett react to that name, similar to how he reacted to Mace Windu's. He found this interesting. "He was some big shot during the Clone Wars, but not too much anymore." "So Ohnaka took it?" Fett said, his shock of emotion dissipated.

"Yes. No one knows where Ohnaka and his gang got too. Rumor has it they were headed to the Tashtor Sector, but it's just gossip." Loreek said, shaking his head. Fett dropped his arms to his side. "Let's go." he said, walking out. Jariok stood there for an awkward moment. "Thanks for your help." he said quickly. He followed Fett out the front door.