The Ring of Greed

Set one year after the events of the ‘Twin Engines of Destruction’ comic.

Boba Fett kicked the inside of his ship with frustration then heavily sat down in the pilot’s seat and started punching out coordinating numbers on the Slave 1’s keypad. It had been a very disappointing hunt and he was in a hurry to get away from everything that had happened and find the person who had captured his prey first. He stopped and slowly leaned back in his seat and sighed to himself. He needed to cool down first before he took off. What was wrong with him? He’d never acted this way about a hunt before. Sure he had lost hunts in the past, but it never bothered him to the point of making him act this way. He always let it slip by without notice and try again on the next one that happened to come his way.

Suddenly images of the ring flashed through his mind. That beautiful ring he had seen on the finger of his running bounty. It must have cost a couple million credits at the most. Boba shook his helmeted head to get the images out of his mind and leaned over the Slave 1’s keypad again. Again Boba stopped and leaned back in his chair and thought. The other bounty hunter that had captured his victim first didn’t want to show himself too much. Although Fett caught a glimpse of him just as he darted away into the darkness of the planet’s forest, along with the bounty and…the ring. Boba continued to think. The suit the hunter seemed to be wearing looked a little like Mandalorian. Could it be that his old nemesis Jodo Kast could have come back from the dead?

“I thought I got rid of my clumsy twin when I left him paralyzed back last year. I heard his jetpack explode, but…I wonder…” Boba wondered aloud to himself as he looked up at the starry night sky above him. “Could he have been smarter than I took him to be? And found the right antidote before his pack exploded?” Boba shook his head again as he gripped the Slave 1’s main controls and prepared for liftoff.

“This hunt may prove more interesting than I thought!” Boba said to himself as he finally hit the outer area of the planet’s surface and prepared his ship to go to warp.

There it was the ship of his supposedly new enemy. It was still, hovering silently in the middle of starry space. Everything was quiet…too quiet. Boba slowly pulled Slave 1 to a halt and hovered a few meters away from the opposite ship.

“Strange,” Boba said to himself as he studied the events around him. “That doesn’t look like The Wolf. In fact it’s not. That’s not an Imperial shuttle at all. It’s something else.” Boba studied the design of the ship and ran it through his data directory.
“Nothing! The ship’s directory can’t find a match for it. Must be homemade.” Boba continued to talk aloud to himself. “Well we’ll soon see who or what you are!” Fett got up from his chair and grabbed onto his jetpack hanging to the side of the cockpit and continued to descend to the door.
“Evidently whoever is over there hasn’t spotted me yet. Which is good.” Boba struggled a minute with his jetpack before getting it fastened to his armored back. Boba turned back around and set himself in the cockpit seat and fastened his safety belt.
“Computer,” he began, “Set target on opposite ship and wait for my word.” The Slave 1 did as Boba commanded, setting its two blaster cannons toward the hovering ship in front.
“Target the back area. We don’t want to do much damage, just enough to knock out the main systems so it can’t escape.” Boba grabbed onto the blasters’ controls and fired. The hit was a success, sparks and bits of metal was seen flying in all directions from the ship’s backend as the blaster fire hit. Boba swung back around and grabbed the ship’s controls and hurried Slave 1 toward the wounded ship and locked onto it for docking.

Boba swung his blaster around as he came aboard the enemy ship. Expecting an ambush or something, he was surprised to find nothing at all except for a few small fires here and there from the hit he had just inflicted upon the ship, and the place full of smoke. As he walked down the small corridor leading to the cockpit, several circuits sizzled and blew sparks into the walking area. Boba ignored them and went on. He stopped a minute and put his gloved hand onto the cockpit door’s opening pad. Readying his blaster for whatever was on the other side, he calmly pushed the opening button. The door hissed open revealing a hunched individual in the chair in front of him. The man trembled and sniveled aloud with fear as Boba walked up behind him and firmly grabbed onto the back of the man’s neck and jerked him back. Boba gasped as he looked into his own face. The T-shaped Mandalorian helmet that he wore himself was visible as the stranger’s face as well. Only the coloring was off. Instead of the visor’s frame being red, the stranger’s was a very light purple. The armor itself, where it was green on Boba’s, was shiny silver.
“Don’t hurt me! Please don’t hurt me. You can have the bounty, I don’t care. Just don’t hurt me!” The man sniveled and whimpered like a five-year-old child as he tensed and firmly grasped the armrests of the chair he was seated in.
“That nerve toxin I darted you with last year must have had a terrible effect on your mind, Jodo.” Boba said as he let go of the man’s neck and spun the chair around so the guy would be facing him.
“Wh-who’s Jodo?” The man asked.
“You’re Jodo.” Boba sternly answered, “Unless you’ve lost your memory as well.”
“My name’s not Jodo.”
Boba looked up in curiosity at the man.
“My name’s Janbo…Janbo Fett.”
Boba stood there silently eyeing the man who had just said that his name was Janbo Fett. Janbo Fett? That was going too far. It was one thing to dress like Boba, but when someone says that their name’s Fett….
“Where do you come from?” Boba finally asked.
“Kamino.” The stranger answered. Boba silently looked the man over. Kamino was a name Boba hadn’t heard of in a long, long time.
“Tell me more.” Was all Boba coldly said as he lifted his blaster up and pointed it toward the stranger. Janbo stiffened as his helmeted gaze turned toward the blaster muzzle aimed at him.
“I-I was one of the clones that came from Kamino. I was very confused at the events that were going on at the time so I-I ran away and hid until everything was over. I-I was scared mostly, of being in war.” Janbo gulped as he continued to eye Boba’s blaster while he told his story. “I didn’t want to be one of the troops that went out in the heat of battle. When everything was quiet, I came out of my hiding place and started walking around the Kamino cloning building and found the apartment that you and your father once lived in. I went in and came across one of your father’s diaries that was left there. I began to read about you and Jango and it made me want a real name and family of my own. I took your father’s diary with me and headed off toward a future of my own, and here I am.”
Boba was silent as he slowly lowered his blaster. His mind was filled with questions. Why was this being even here? He knew that he was the only clone that had been unaltered. Memories of his past and of his father started coming back to him. Thoughts and memories he had almost forgotten over these many years flooded his mind. He shook them away and struggled to get a grip back on reality.
“I don’t believe you! Show me the diary!” Boba demanded as he lifted the blaster again. Janbo seemed to almost panic at the sight of the weapon and struggled beside him for a few minutes, feeling around in a cubbyhole under his ship’s control panels, where he kept his valuables.
“He-here it is. Just don’t hurt me!” Janbo handed Boba a black flat computer pad. Boba snatched it out of the man’s hand and punched it on. Boba began to scroll through the many entries. Sure enough, it was one of his dad’s old computer diaries. He had watched him place things in it when he was way little. It was usually after a hunt or after something major or special happened.
“I suppose you got your name from a mix of my name and my father’s name?” Boba asked, not even bothering to look up from the computer’s screen.
“Yes.” Janbo silently said.
“Where did you get the armor?”
“I-I found it in the apartment too. It wasn’t this color though. I painted it up myself, and modified it.”
“Take it off.” Boba looked up as he punched the pad off and stuffed it in one of the pouches hanging on his leg.
“What?” Janbo curiously looked up at Boba.
“Just what I said, take the armor off!” Boba sternly repeated.
“But…”
“Take it off now!” Boba thrust the muzzle of his blaster into Janbo’s visor face. Janbo jumped in fear and started struggling with his armor.

Before long, Janbo was standing in the middle of the cockpit with nothing on except for his white flight suit, helmet, and a pair of black boots. The armor he had just shed lay in a battered pile at his and Boba’s feet.
“Take off the helmet.” Boba coldly said, “We’ll see if you were telling the truth about you being a clone from Kamino.”
Janbo nervously and slowly placed his hands behind his helmet and punched a few buttons. The helmet made a slight hissing sound as it loosened itself from the guy’s head. Janbo slowly and carefully lifted it up and off. Boba gasped in shock as he stared at the man’s face. It was like looking into a mirror or worse…looking into the eyes of his long dead father, Jango Fett. Course the man didn’t look exactly like Boba and Boba knew that. No one knew what Boba really looked like, and he aimed to keep it that way. As far as he was concerned the helmet he always wore was his real face whether he was a clone or not. The worst part was that seeing the man, Janbo, brought back horrible memories of that day when he watched his father coldly murdered by a Jedi’s blade That one moment and day that had changed his life…forever!
“Why do you stand before me now? Ever since my childhood, all of you have haunted me. When Vader hired me to track down Han Solo; I wanted so much to start shooting the ones of you I could find, but I knew Vader wouldn’t like it. I thought the last of you were killed when the Alliance destroyed the Death Star II. I was supposed to be the only one who was unaltered.” Boba’s voice started to become shaky and a bit watery.
“I’m not unaltered. You’re still the only one. Over the years I learned to think and reason for myself, overcoming the altering process that was done on me. I still have my faults, such as being loyal to anyone who gives me orders. I can’t help but obey. It’s something beyond my control. Sometimes I feel like a robot and other times I feel human…or half human.” Janbo’s face turned into a look of bewilderment as he sighed heavily and looked down at the pile of armor in front of him.
“Go ahead and shoot me. Put me out of my misery and suffering. I am nothing but a pitiful creature who was hoping to have a normal life like everyone else. I’m sorry I stole your name and armor.”
The ruthless side of Boba wanted more than anything to fulfill Janbo’s request, but something deep within him couldn’t. It would be like murdering his father, and he couldn’t bring himself around to do such a thing. Boba sighed and let his blaster fall to his side.
“Put that armor in a flight bag.” Boba silently said. Janbo picked up a flight bag setting in one corner of the cockpit and scooped up the entire armor he had taken off and stuffed it into the bag.
“Let me have it.” Boba stretched out his hand toward Janbo. At that moment a banging was heard from another part of the ship, a banging sound that caused both hunters to look around in wonder.
“What is that?” Boba asked.
“Must be the prize.” Janbo answered.
“C’mon!” Janbo started to hurry past Boba, but Boba stopped him.
“Do me a favor and put that helmet back on first.” Boba motioned down to the helmet. Janbo did what he was told without bothering to ask any questions. That was the last thing Boba wanted was to constantly see a face that succeeded in bringing back nothing but horrible memories of his past.

Both hunters raced down the corridors of the ship until they reached the prison cells. Boba looked in through a small window in the door that separated the cell area from the rest of the ship.
“The ship’s on fire! We’ve got to get the prisoner out and get off of this thing before the flames reach the fuel tanks.” Boba said as he struggled with the door. “Must have spread from the sparks I saw come off of the circuits earlier.” Boba grunted as he tried to get the door open. “Blast!”
“Here, will this help?” Janbo handed Boba a weird looking metal tool. Boba snatched it out of Janbo’s hand and hit the glass window, shattering it into a million pieces. Boba, then, reached through and opened the door from the opposite side. Both hunters raced into the smoke filled room and searched for their bounty.
“Over here! He’s barely alive.” Janbo shouted through the roar of the flames on the other side of the small area. The prisoner was the one who had been making the banging noise. Unable to breathe because of the smoke and terrified by the approaching flames, he had used his last bit of strength beating on the wall in hopes that someone would hear. Boba came over to help Janbo pick up the unconscious prisoner and carry him to Slave 1. Suddenly Boba stopped when he caught sight of the ring on the prisoner’s finger. That ring again. A sudden wave rippled through his body at the sight of it. At that same moment, Janbo caught sight of the ring too, supposedly for the first time. Both men stood and stared at the shiny jeweled ring then looked at each other. Boba quickly placed his gloved hand onto the ring.
“It’s mine, bounty hunter.” Boba said through gritted teeth.
“No it’s not, it was mine first.” Janbo dropped the prisoner’s arm and grabbed Boba’s hand and tried to pry it loose of the ring. After a short struggle, Boba managed to slip the ring off of the prisoner’s finger and turned himself loose of Janbo’s strong grasp.
“I do believe you are a clone. It’s clear that you have my father’s strength and grasp!” Boba gasped as Janbo continued to grab for the ring Boba was now holding above his head. Boba came back to reality after getting his eyes off of the ring.
“This ring seems to possess a power to make a man hungry for wealth every time he sees it.” Boba said aloud as he held onto Janbo. “Well it won’t possess it for long!" Boba tossed the ring into the burning flames behind him.
“Nooooo!!!!” Janbo shouted as he ran to where Boba had thrown the ring. “How could you?!”
“Let’s get out of here while we still can.” Boba picked up the prisoner and threw him over his shoulder then grabbed Janbo’s shoulder and pulled him along.

Just as Boba finished detaching the Slave 1 from Janbo’s ship, the flames had reached the fuel tanks. With a massive explosion, bits of metal and burning duraplast were sent flying in all directions. Boba looked down on the Slave 1’s cockpit floor at the pitiful sight of Janbo huddled in a ball, sniveling and whimpering.
“Oh cut it out.” Boba said. “Have you been a bounty hunter all these years?”
“No.” Janbo sniffed, “I’ve done odd jobs here and there. Whatever will get me credits, I’ll do it.”
“Well it’s clear that bounty hunting is not for you. You’re too fearful, too jittery, too clumsy, I’m surprised you’ve survived this long.” Boba turned his gaze toward a view screen for a second then turned back to Janbo. “I’m going to have to do something with you, you know.”
All was silent after that. Boba continued to monitor Slave 1’s view screen and controls while Janbo huddled in the floor. Boba had to do something with the pitiful clone, but what? Boba thought a good long while before turning back around to face the man.
“Janbo, I want you to take the helmet off.”
Janbo did as he was told and handed Boba the helmet.
“I can’t change the looks of your face, but I can change your memory. Coruscant is coming up in just a few minutes,” Boba glanced over at the view screen, “When it does, I’m going to land there and drop you off in one of the main cities. Maybe there you can get yourself a good job that’ll keep you away from trouble.”
“But what about my memory, you said?”
“This will take care of that.” Boba reached into one of the pouches on his hip and pulled out a syringe. “It’s filled with a memory eraser. One dose in your system will knock you unconscious for a few hours, but after you awake you’ll not remember anything. You won’t remember me, what you are, or your past, you won’t even remember your own name.” Boba reached over on one of the control panels and picked up a small pad and handed it to Janbo. “Place that in one of the pockets of your flight suit where you’ll find it after you awake. It contains information you’ll need then, such as your name where you came from…”
“But I thought…” Janbo looked up.
“You aren’t going to be from Kamino, and your name is not going to be Fett.”
Janbo sighed and placed the pad into one of his pockets as he was commanded to do. Boba, then, took the cap off of the syringe he had been holding and reached out and grabbed onto Janbo’s wrist. He took one quick glance at the view screen then thrust the needle into the upper part of Janbo’s arm. Before he knew it, Janbo was knocked out and lying lifeless on the cockpit floor.
“Rest, my friend. I hope you’ll wake to find a better future.” Boba quietly said to the sleeping form. The beeping of the controls alerted Boba that Coruscant was approaching.