[closed] you must do unto the others

[myownprice]

WHO: Boba Fett, Ezra Bridger, and Poe Dameron
WHERE: De Chima and Nonah
WHEN: Early March
WHAT: Boba and Ezra talk Jedi-murder. Boba and Poe talk starfighters.
WARNINGS: Discussion of murder and Kylo Ren.



(for ezra)
[When Boba finds himself in Ezra’s place-of-work, it’s not by intention. He doesn’t even know Ezra works there—all he knows is that this is where his client had requested a package dropped off and if Boba doesn’t understand the venue, he isn’t paid to. He just shows up, gives the place an unimpressed once-over and hands off the package to the right person, before making to vanish out of the door.

When he first catches sight of Ezra talking to someone off to the side, his first instinct is to hasten his exit. He doesn’t want the would-be Jedi asking him questions about what he’s doing there—even if he might be more friendly about it than most real Jedi. But then Boba sees who the other teen is talking to and stops in his tracks. The self-proclaimed Jedi is talking to Kylo Ren. Kylo Ren, who had introduced himself to Boba as the “Jedi Killer.”

Is that what’s going on? Is Kylo trying to trick Ezra somehow? If Boba wanted to kill someone discreetly, he might play nice at first, too. Maybe get them to follow him somewhere away from prying eyes?

It shouldn’t matter. Hadn’t Boba been happy to hear of how Kylo had slaughtered almost all the Jedi in his time? And people don't stay dead here anyway. He makes himself keep walking, even as the unease grows in his stomach. It’s not like Ezra is a real Jedi. Killing him—or letting him be killed—it wouldn’t count. Would it?

Boba shakes his head as he walks out of the building. He’s not in the business of protecting Jedi. He’s not going to interfere... He’s just going to watch and see what happens.

He summons his jetpack to get a good vantage point on a nearby roof and waits.

When Ezra does emerge, Boba is surprised to see that he’s alone. He waits as Ezra passes, expecting perhaps for Kylo Ren to pursue him. But when Kylo does exit the building, he heads in a different direction entirely. Boba looks in the direction Kylo is going and then down the road Ezra had taken—and follows Ezra.

A few blocks later, Ezra will here the rumble of jetpack ignition and then the thud of boots hitting the ground a few meters behind him. If he turns around, he’ll see Boba staring at him with a frown, jetpack already dematerializing on his back.]

Why were you talking to him?

(for poe)
]It’s a while before Boba takes Poe up on his offer to make a model of Slave I. There had been the slight inconvenience of the coma Poe had found himself in not too long after the New Year’s party and even after he’d heard that Poe had recovered, Boba hadn’t been sure how long he should wait before contacting him again. It’s not like it’s urgent, anyway. At 13, Boba should be too old for making model ships.

But it would be nice to see Slave I again. Even in model form.

Early March, Poe will receive a message in his inbox from one Boba Fett.]

You’re still making ship models, right?

Comments

[myownprice]

[Boba follows and listens, quietly pleased with how much more involved this sounds than the snapping and gluing that had gone into the makeshift starship model he’d made with Martin. Maybe they’ll actually be able to make something decent. He’s about to offer what measurements he can of Slave I, when they step into the elevator and Boba feels a slight, familiar pressure pushing against his mind.

His gaze immediately snaps towards Poe, expression a glare.]

I know I do, [he says coldly.] If you have a question, you can ask it. Mind tricks don’t work on me.

[flightforfreedom]

What?

[ Poe looks genuinely confused by the statement. Boba might be able to feel the TMI field in effect, but Poe can't even feel it, let alone control it. So he has no idea what Boba is talking about. It isn't a phrase he'd even consider using for his curse of a power. ]

I'm not trying to trick you - I didn't even mean to say it out loud. Sorry. It's a rude thing to mention, you just - you just really look like them.

[ The elevator dings as they reach the floor and he steps out. ]

[myownprice]

[Boba's glowering grows a bit more uncertain at the obvious confusion on Poe's face. It's very possible that the man is just putting on a show. Boba can feel without a doubt that something is attempting to push him into providing information—and he knows for a fact that Poe has a power that fits the bill. But if he'd been able to use it while unconscious when he was in a coma, it could be that he's using it without even knowing.]

622 told me about your power—the one that makes people talk. You're using it now.

[It's grumbled as they exit the elevator. Having someone try to get inside his head, even accidentally, would be enough to send Boba for the exit normally. Poe is lucky he can offer something that holds Boba's interest.]

They're clones of my dad—like me.

[It's not a secret, not in Boba's mind. Being ashamed of being a clone would be like being ashamed of his father. And that's not a sentiment he'd ever stoop to.]

[flightforfreedom]

Oh.

Oh. Damn, no, trust me, I'm not using it. Or if I am, it is not intentional. I have literally zero control over it, it's the bane of my existence. If you've got immunity to it, that's awesome. Means a lot less potential awkwardness, trust me.

... It still effects me, though, so if I just blurt out stuff for apparently no reason, just try to take it in stride, okay?

[ He pauses at that revelation, looking down at Boba.

So he is a clone. Though he's never heard of Rex or 622 calling their originator their 'Dad', so maybe he's? One of the first clones? But that doesn't make sense, given their aging process. The kid looks - maybe twelve, by normal human growth standards - but if he's a clone, that'd put him at about 6 years old.

This is breaking his brain.

But it also causes the slightest trace of a fond smile to flicker over his lips as they step up to the room and he opens the door. ]

Huh. I had no idea. That's got to be nice, though, like having two brothers here with you?

[myownprice]

You're affected by your own power?

[That actually gets an amused glance from Boba. And he'd thought his first powerset had been bad. Actually, Poe's power might be a boon. If Poe is compelled to share more than he usually would while Boba is immune, well, that gives Boba the advantage, doesn't it? Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

He walks into the room before Poe, shoving his hands into his pockets at the question.]

It's... um... They're alright. [Said in a tone somewhere between grudging and embarrassed. In all honesty, the clones have been a lot more tolerant of him than he expected. Part of him knows he should be grateful, but it's hard knowing who they work for. And seeing who they look like.]

I didn't really know them back home. Not sure you'd call us brothers.

[flightforfreedom]

Yeah. It's honestly terrible.

[ He is cursed.

He follows in behind Boba, letting the door close and then setting his bags down on the table as he starts taking out the gear. Indeed, there is balsa wood and aluminum sheets (in the bag he was carrying at his side). In his backpack, he pulls out paper, tracing paper, rulers, pencils, a laser level, tweezers, scalpels, and a handfull of other useful things, and starts laying them out on the table. ]

Well - I mean, they didn't know each other back home either, right? There's a good at least twenty years between their last memories. But they still consider themselves brothers, so that means you're one too, right?

Mind you, what would I know, I was an only child.

[myownprice]

[Boba is momentarily distracted from the subject at hand by Poe unpacking their materials, watching with interest as more and more supplies are spread across the table. He's never worked with most of this stuff before and he doesn't know how they're going to make any of it look like a ship, but Poe seems to know what he's doing—at least a far as ship models go.

Without being asked, Boba picks up a pencil and sheet of paper and starts sketching out the rough shape of Slave I. He's relieved to find that after nearly a year here, he still hasn't forgotten what his ship looks like. He's not even sure he could if he tried.]

I was an only child, too, [he says, attention still focused on the sketch in front of him.] I grew up with my dad. Not them.

[flightforfreedom]

Oh.

[ Huh.

He takes a seat and watches Boba sketching. He has a basic idea for the ship - he’s seen others of its class - but a refresher is good. ]

So you’re a clone, but, not like one of them. You actually lived with - your dad. [ Only the slightest hesitation. ]

Honestly I don’t really know anything about him, even if I have ki— [ He immediately clamped a hard hand over his mouth, and even though his power meant he kept talking, at least it was unintelligible. Because fuck, Poe, do not talk about making out with a kid’s dad’s clone? He cleared his throat. ] Anyway, I know Rex and 622 pretty well but the clone program was ended well before my time. I didn’t know he had a son. That’s actually kind of... nice. To know, I mean.

[myownprice]

[Boba nods along to Poe’s summary as he draws. It’s a pretty crude sketch—mostly basic shapes, marked here and there with measurements and labels. Absorbed as he is in his work, Boba does look up when Poe suddenly cuts himself off. Blissfully unaware of what the pilot was about to say, Boba just watches, amused, as Poe talks unintelligibly into his hand. As much as he intends to stay on guard around Poe as much as he would anybody from his galaxy, he has to admit: it’s pretty hard to take him seriously as a threat.]

Yeah. Slave I used to be his. She’s older than me. [He actually sounds rather proud of that fact, as if there’s some prestige to be found in flying a ship that once belonged to Jango Fett, even if he was his dad.

After a few more seconds, he pushes the sketch towards Poe.] These are the hull dimensions, [he points,] engines, and exterior weapons. I guess now we just have to scale everything down.

[It shouldn’t be too difficult with their current starting point. As vague as the sketch looks at first glance, there’s nothing approximate about the measurements labelling each component of the ship. The figures are precise, sometimes down to the decimal point.

Boba may have never set foot in a school. But this is one subject he’d made sure to educate himself about as thoroughly as possible.]

[flightforfreedom]

Well she’s a pretty famous ship, so she definitely made her mark.

[ He wants to ask more about his relationship with the clones, but he refrains, pulling over the measurements instead, before letting out a low whistle. ]

Damn. Did he have you on a repair rotation? These seem pretty dead on.

How do you feel about a 1:48 scale? Let’s us get in a lot of the detail without going too nuts.

[myownprice]

[Boba ducks his head to hide a grin.] Slave I is the last of her kind. Someone has to know how to fix her.

[And upgrade her. He feels a sudden rush of homesickness, remembering the long hours he’s spent working on Slave I or even just sitting in the cockpit, listening to the dull hum of the engines. He can live with not seeing his galaxy for another few months; he just wants his ship.]

That’ll work, [he says, his gaze on the sketch growing wistful.] It’ll be good to see her again. Even if it is just a copy.

[He frowns and gives a slight shake of his head. There’s no point getting sentimental, especially not in front of a near-stranger.] So. How do we start?

[flightforfreedom]

[ He caught the wistful look. How could he not?

But he didn't say anything.

He missed his ship too. He missed home.

Better to just get both their minds off it. ]

Alright, well, we start with the biggest pieces first - try to build up the hull up using cross section beams and get the general shape. We'll probably have to make a few mock-ups to start, but that's what the balsa wood is for.

[myownprice]

[Boba nods as Poe speaks, walking to the side of the table with what Poe calls “balsa wood.” He grabs a piece and lifts it experimentally, finding it lighter than he expected. He puts it back down and traces a finger over it in the rough shape of Slave I’s silhouette. He doesn’t actually have any experience working with materials like this, but he’s doing his best not to let it show.]

Okay, [he says, walking back to his sketch and picking up the pencil.] We should start with the back. [He starts drawing again, this time sketching each piece separately: an oval, an oblong front section, and the two flat wings. When he’s done, he points at the oval with his pencil.] It’ll be the widest part of the ship and the sturdiest to build off of—if we can get it to curve right.

[Hearing the seriousness of his tone, one would almost think he’s discussing the construction of a real ship rather than a model.]

You remember what Slave I looks like, right?

[flightforfreedom]

We probably won't be able to get the exact curve with the wood, not with the tools we have anyway, but we can fake it by making curved cross sections and then laying strips down across the beams. Like building a boat.

When we get into the metal, that'll be easier to do the hull as just a couple pieces.

[ He leans over to get a better look at the oval. ]

I never saw her in person, but I remember the holos, yeah. Alright. Let's start with that back piece, then.

[myownprice]

[Boba’s never made a boat before, but he can understand some of what Poe's plan regardless. He’s a little disappointed they have to start with wood first instead of getting straight into the final model, but Poe’s the one with experience here.]

Okay. You said they had tools in the library we could use?

[And then:] They made holos of Slave I?

making shit up, lemme know if i should not lol but i figure...

[flightforfreedom]

Yeah. Not wood working, so much. But we can use some of those 3d printers to make the more finicky metal pieces. If we do the wood first, we can scan that in and get it done twice as fast.

[ He pushes over some of the balsa wood, and a pencil. ]

Yeah. Well I mean, they made holos of you, technically. There was a whole series about your exploits, when I was a kid.

Though I'm pretty sure the one they wrote where you fought a krayt dragon on an iceberg was made up...