But she was far too fast. As he watched, her ship vaulted over Slave I. Before he could fire back, Ventress's laser cannons released a barrage of energy blasts.

BAM!.

A direct hit!

Boba was nearly jolted from his console. He sent a rain of return fire, but it was too late. Slave I vibrated furiously as a second plasma blast hit home.

Gotta get away, Boba thought grimly. Can't lose Wat Tambor.

Slave I shot after the Separatist's vessel.

And Asajj Ventress shot after Slave I. Boba piloted his ship up, angling until Asajj was directly below him. He checked that Slave I's mines were primed, then sent an ion mine whirling toward her. BLAM!

"Yes!"

But immediately Boba's yelp of triumph turned to disappointment, as the mine ricocheted harmlessly from Ventress's defense field, to spin off into s.p.a.ce. At the same moment, a burst of retaliatory ion fire blazed from Asajj's cannons.

BRAAK!.

Boba groaned as Slave I rocked sharply to starboard. He fired back, but once more Asajj was too quick. He let the ship veer to one side, hoping to buy a few precious seconds as he checked the damage.

A glance at Slave l's repair files gave him the bad news. Some of the outer panels had been loosened. Serious damage, but not fatal.

The starboard wing was another story. Two of the fins shielding the repulsor grilles had been destroyed. Without them, Slave I was crippled - he could fly, but his nav skills were seriously impaired. Worse, landing the ship would be a real problem Not that he could even think about landing now!

BAM!.

Another hit for Asajj. Boba fired off two missiles, had the satisfaction of seeing one rip into the side of her starfighter. A starburst of plasma glowed gold and white, then faded.

"No." Boba scowled. Asajj's defense shields had absorbed the blow.

And Wat Tambor's transport remained unscathed.

"Time for a new tactic," Boba muttered.

He punched a series of commands into his console. A grid popped onto a monitor, displaying the coordinates of an asteroid belt not far off. If he could lure Asajj there, he might have a better chance of losing her. Then he could make a swift pa.s.s back toward Wat Tambor....

He set Slave I's thrusters to maximum. The ship veered toward the asteroid field.

And right into Asajj Ventress's line of fire!

Boba retaliated, trying to dodge Ventress's attack. But the damage done to Slave I's starboard wing slowed him too much. As he made one last- ditch attempt to fire, a flaming burst from Ventress's ion cannon blazed toward him. Desperately, Boba tried to avoid the blast.

BLLAAAAMM!.

With a cry Boba yanked at the thruster. But it was no good.

Slave 1 was finished.

CHAPTER SIX.

With a screaming roar, Boba's ship fell into a nosedive. He hit the backup thrusters, momentarily righting Slave then looked up.

He expected to see Asajj's ship looming before him - or, worse, another blinding blast from her ion cannons..

What he didn't expect to see was a Jedi star-fighter.

"Whoa!" Boba let out a gasp of disbelief. "That's Anakin Skywalker!"

He had seen the legendary Jedi apprentice twice now, both times from a distance. Most recently, Boba had watched as Skywalker successfully destroyed a Separatist ramship on Xagobah. Skywalker's combat skill was as keen as his defiance - and both were attributes Boba admired.

"He's driving off Ventress!" Boba said in disbelief.

Skywalker's starfighter took after Asajj's ship like a winged tumnor attacking its prey. As Boba watched, the young Jedi fired a volley of precision blasts, each one finding its target - Asajj Ventress!

The battle was over almost as quickly as it had begun. Asajj's starship raced away from Skywalker. Boba shook his head in admiration and faint disappointment.

She hardly put up a fight at all!

He craned his neck, following her - and saw why she'd fled so quickly.

Wat Tambor's transport vessel was glowing, radiant white as though consumed by a sun's heat. Boba only had time to groan, as the transport seemed to billow and burst...

And made the jump into hypers.p.a.ce.

It was all a diversion! Boba fumed, furious at himself. Asajj wanted to distract me so that Wat Tambor could escape "And she succeeded!" he said angrily. "How could I have been so stupid? Well, it'll never happen again...."

He'd be sure of that! Boba might make mistakes - but he never made the same one twice.

Especially not with Jabba the Hutt wanting results.

Boba's expression grew somber at the thought of the notorious gangster. Wat Tambor could be anywhere in the galaxy by now. Boba had no way of knowing where. And, with Slave I damaged, no way of following "IDENTIFY YOURSELF!".

Boba started as a crackle of static came through Slave I's speakers.

"IDENTIFY YOURSELF OR BE DESTROYED!" Boba stabbed at the console panel. "Identify yourself!" he countered.

"ANAKIN SKYWALKER, OF THE REPUBLIC'S XAGOBAH PEACEKEEPING FORCE. I HAVE ORDERS TO DESTROY ALL SEPARATIST VESSELS WITHIN THIS AIRs.p.a.cE. YOU.

HAVE TEN SECONDS TO IDENTIFY YOURSELF OR RISK DESTRUCTION. TEN. NINE...".

Gotta stall! Boba thought. Identifying himself as a mercenary bounty hunter wouldn't go over too well with Skywalker.

But the young Jedi was part of the Republic force that had driven Wat Tambor from Xagobah. Maybe he would have some idea as to where the Techno Union foreman had fled - information that Boba could use to track Wat Tambor down himself, and still claim Jabba's bounty...

".. FOUR. THREE....".

I better be fast, thought Boba. And I better be good!

"Skywalker - this is a request for a.s.sistance!" he announced into the comm unit. Boba knew this was the Jedi's weak spot - they could never resist being the good guys. "My ship was damaged in a firefight with Asajj Ventress - repeat, request a.s.sistance immediately...."

Silence. In front of him, Anakin's starship hovered like a silver flame. As he spoke, Boba punched in a set of coordinates. A navscreen flickered to life - and there was the information Boba needed.

Just beyond the asteroid belt, a small moon orbited Xagobah. If I can get there, I can repair the starboard wing. And once I lose this Jedi, I can get back on Wat Tambor's trail....

Anakin's voice once more boomed through the comm unit.

"WE HAVE NO RECORD OF A SEPARATIST VESSEL FITTING YOUR.

DESCRIPTION," he announced. He almost sounded disappointed. "NOR DO WE HAVE RECORDS INDICATING YOU ARE PART OF THE REPUBLIC'S PEACEKEEPING FORCE.

"I fought on the side of the Xamsters," Boba broke in quickly. That was true enough. "And now I'm heading for that moon to make repairs. So - ".

Keeping a close watch on the Jedi starfighter, Boba began to slowly bank Slave I toward the moon.

" - if you'll just let me go, I can get my job done - and so can you."

Boba knew he was taking a risk. There was no way he could outfly Skywalker now, not with Slave I's shattered wing - though once that was repaired, he'd give him a run for his credits!

Plus, Skywalker must have better things to do than waste time with an injured mercenary! thought Boba. Then he looked up.

Hmmm. Apparently not - Anakin's streamlined starfighter filled Slave I's viewscreen.

"MY SHIP WILL ESCORT YOU," Anakin said. He made the simple statement sound like an order. "IF YOU CHANGE COURSE, YOUR SHIP WILL BE DESTROYED.".

"I'll try not to forget that," Boba snapped - after he'd switched off the comm unit.

He reset Slave I's coordinates and headed for the moon. It looked barren and uninhabited, its surface pocked with craters. The atmosphere was thin, but it would sustain human life-forms - for a little while, anyway.

Boba intended to be there only a short time. He scoped out a narrow valley between two craters and prepared Slave I for landing. Skywalker's ship trailed him, close enough that Boba couldn't have eluded him if he'd tried.

Somehow, that didn't seem like a good idea at the moment.

Boba throttled down, and Slave I began its final descent. Boba watched impa.s.sively as Skywalker's ship followed him like a shining shadow. Within minutes Slave I had touched down. Seconds later the starfighter did the same.

"STAY WHERE YOU ARE," a voice crackled through the base comm unit.

Boba snorted. No way he was going to stay here like a placid Khommite strider, just waiting to be picked off! He checked his weapons belt, making sure his blasters were well-concealed. Then he grabbed his helmet and started for the door.

And stopped.

Boba's Mandalorian battle helmet had belonged to his father, Jango Fett, before he was killed by Mace Windu. For the last few years Boba had worn it, along with his father's body armor. Even after all this time, Boba missed his father terribly; the armor was one of the few legacies Jango had left to his son. Boba wore it with pride and skill. Jango's helmet and armor had become a dreaded sight to all whom Boba hunted down.

But did Boba want to be recognized right now?

For a moment he brooded. He was here now because a high-ranking member of the Republic had paid off Jabba, requesting that the Huttese gangster have one of his bounty hunters track down and kill Wat Tambor.

The Republic wanted Wat Tambor's death to appear to be the work of a lone a.s.sa.s.sin. And Jabba had known that only his best bounty hunter - Boba Fett - would be able to kill the wily Techno Union foreman.

But Boba had failed. So far, anyway.

Anakin Skywalker was leading Republic troops in their continuing strife with the Separatists. What if he knew of Boba's mission? If word got back to Jabba the Hutt, Boba's reputation would be ruined!

More than his reputation - his life.

And I have kind of a sentimental attachment to that, Boba thought.

He looked at the Mandalorian helmet, then glanced out the viewscreen. Anakin Skywalker was clambering down from his starfighter.

Puffs of sand rose as his booted feet made contact with the moon's surface. He paused to give his starfighter a cursory damage inspection, then turned and headed for Slave I.

Boba took a deep breath. Reluctantly he removed his helmet - for now.

"This is only temporary," he said, catching a glimpse of himself in the dark viewscreen. He looked grim and determined, a younger, rangier version of his father. The superficial resemblance he bore to Jango Fett's clones had long since been etched away by strife and battle. A clone didn't survive long enough to wear his experiences upon his face.

But years of hunting and killing had hardened Boba's expression. He smiled seldom these days. When he did, it was usually when he saw his friend Ygabba and her father, Gab'borah, back on Tatooine.

But he wasn't on Tatooine now. And he wasn't going to return there until he could report Wat Tambor's death or capture to Jabba the Hutt.

Inside the ship, a low, warning note signaled the arrival of an intruder. The young bounty hunter disengaged the alarm, then opened the exit bay.

One hand resting lightly upon his weapons belt, the other poised above his blaster, Boba Fett strode out to meet Anakin Skywalker.

CHAPTER SEVEN.

The surface of the moon was chill and stark - nearly as cold and relentless as the gaze of the young man who awaited Boba Fett. As the bounty hunter descended, he sized up the Jedi. Like Boba, much of Anakin Skywalker's youthfulness had been burned away by combat and hardship. He was taller than Boba, clad in a young Jedi's distinctive tunic, modified to suit his tastes, and knee-high boots, with unkempt hair down to his shoulders. He had a Jedi's bearing and discipline, a Jedi's skill, and a Jedi's lightsaber at his side.

But the arrogance that Boba saw in Anakin's eyes was not the mark of a Jedi. Nor was Anakin's impatience. Boba kept his own dark eyes alert and mistrustful, and left one hand on his blaster as he walked down from his craft.

The two were well-matched. Boba was strong and powerfully built, if lacking somewhat in Anakin's agility. Nor did the young bounty hunter have the Jedi's extreme pride. Pride took energy - energy better invested in concentration and cunning. In this matter, at least, Boba had the upper hand.

"That was good flying you did back there," Boba said. His expression remained aloof, but he inclined his head slightly, acknowledging Anakin's skill. "You probably saved me."

Anakin looked slightly taken aback. But he recovered quickly.