#bounty hunter cad bane
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The Hot Pressurised Tin Can
Chapter 11 of The Hat Collection
Cad Bane X she*her afab woman
CN fingering, smut, masturbation, self-doubt, cursing, mentions of food
3k Words
Summary: co-habitation with an (ex?)-lover on a small space ship can be a challenge especially when you used to bang on every available spot in the ship. also, bane and loth cat make plans about how to kidnap their target.
Beta read by @queenquazar 💕 thank you so much, friend
The dark embraced you with long clawed hands. Hot fingers caressed your body, making you hum as they glided down lower and lower and lower. A moan escaped you as those dark blue fingers touched your wet folds and brushed through them before settling on little circles on your clitoris.
You bit your lip.
It felt so good - too good.
You turned around, fighting the tangled bed sheets to reach Cad. He was so close, you knew it. The weight of his body pressing down on yours. The heat of him burning, nearly scorching through the never-ending sheets as you pushed and rummaged to get to him.
With longing hands, you tried to touch his skin, kiss him, give him pleasure and whisper all the painful little secrets and words you kept to yourself.
Just a little bit more.
Just-
You stretched out to grasp him meet with the harsh, cold, and flat surface of the wall.
You opened your eyes.
What a disappointing ending for a dream.
The sound of your bare feet on the floor sounded like stones hitting the water of a still pond.
Elegant, like a duck.
You toddled out of your quarters to get some water and clear your head from any more of those ridiculous horny thoughts.
The Justifier’s machines hummed as you walked the abandoned corridors to the kitchen and got yourself a cup of water. With the ship back in space floating around Nar Shaddaa, the trustors only worked occasionally to keep the ship floating in place despite the gravity of the close moon it orbited. It was as calm as it could be on a running ship.
You leaned against the counter while sipping from the cup.
The cold water helped - but not much.
The fading dream was nothing in comparison to the memories you had doing it with Bane right on the counter you leaned against now.
It was ridiculous. All of it.
And you had stayed. You had the chance to leave a ship in which you used every imaginable surface for sex and escape from one of the most dangerous men in the galaxy you had said sex with. And you had stayed.
Because I am apparently a foolish horny woman lying to myself, even in my dreams.
You could not help but nod at your own admission.
It was a dangerously stupid choice.
But it was your own. It felt good to have at least that. And you couldn’t go back anyway. Even if you made the wrong decision.
You finished your cup of water, silently lamenting it wasn’t something else to burn down your throat, before retreating back. It was strange how familiar those walls and corridors had become to you. You had chosen not to see them as your prison anymore. They were home… for now.
At the closed entrance to the cockpit, you stopped. Those long hot fingers visiting your dreams where right behind those doors. You longed to visit them in your conscious moments too, opening the door and stepping through in various stages of nudity as you had before.
You shook your head.
Foolish thoughts of a foolish woman.
Why would he want that?
He had tried to resist, had really tried not to think of her too much. But she had come to him in his dreams, and he had woken up with his mind occupied with her scent and his cock hard from memories of her.
Bane suppressed a moan to keep as silent as possible as he masturbated to the mental image and memories of her. He already felt unusually vulnerable indulging in those memories. He’d rather face the whole Hutt cartel’s might than drawing loth cats’ attention now and having to explain whose name he moaned when being in his makeshift bed.
Bane licked over his thin lips.
He edged closer and closer to his peak, thinking of her gleaming eyes, her small hands in comparison to his slender long ones, her legs – so much leg – and how they wound around his body, how hot and wet and painfully excited she felt as she clawed and bit and teared and moaned.
He came into his hand.
Bane leaned back into the hammock he put up as a bed in the cockpit, too defeated to clean up the mess. He knew he should feel worried about his attachment to essentially a lover of a few one nightstands. In his profession, caring was a luxury. But his mind could not conjure any other fantasy other than her, and his body craved no one else’s but hers. Still, he would keep his distance from a likely traumatised and dependent woman – as much as that was possible on a spaceship. Getting her out of the mess he had created, and letting her settle on a safer planet to live a safer and happier life without him, was the best he could do for loth cat lady.
He owed her that.
Bane sighed, torn about his resolution to not be selfish, yet lamenting it at the same time.
But what else was he supposed to do?
No one in their right mind would choose to stay with someone like him if they had a choice.
XXX
Three cups were standing on the little kitchen table in the Justifier’s small kitchen. Two of those were filled with hot caf, the other empty. You felt weird about leaving the droid TODO out and opted for at least giving him a pretend cup full of recycle spaceship air.
Bane grabbed the caf without any second thought before turning his attention back to researching his target Sy Snootles. You suppressed a laugh at the sight of the middle-aged bounty hunter’s concentrated expression, staring at holos of the popstar Snootles singing about the wonders of youthful looooove and wiiiiild life.
Silently you took a seat at the table with Bane and TODO before sipping from your own cup. Like Bane, TODO was busy, doing some repairs, ignoring your efforts of including the droid in carbon based habits.
You did not mind.
Instead, you sipped from your cup while enjoying this newfound calm and normalcy.
Bane grumbled and leaned back, stopping his research on the popstar, and facing you instead.
“I don’ get this,” he exhaled, “The music is not to ma’ taste. Fine. But those gossips and scandals? Why is there so much of it? So unreliable.”
You slowly sipped from the cup with gusto.
“Ever considered that some just enjoy it for its chaotic-ness? Not everyone is a bounty hunter and reads tabloids to research their target or watch music holos to learn about how the target and talks? You know, like a killer.”
Bane grabbed his own cup again. “Ever consider, that ya’ too clever to state the obvious?”
You smirked. “No.”
A hint of a smile danced over his lips before he continued. “Lemme just ramble my frustrations away, loth cat. Every time I think I have a usable piece of information a contradictory gossip arises. Snootles has a family we might use as leverage? Apparently all dead, maybe, or not. Her favorite food is from one specific cantina on Alderaan we could poison her with? They specialize on molluscs and her kind can’t digest those. She has a boyfriend? Never seen in public and allegedly he is dead. I know so much about this Snootles now yet nothing at all. It’s like herding a buncha’ tookas.”
You nodded with understanding.
“Celebrity news is a horrible basis for your research on Snootles. I get it. But maybe that won’t be necessary? I picked up gossip like that all the time in the cantina. It’s part of the job. Maybe I can tell you all you need to know?”
“I am sure Master Bane is more than capable of solving this issue on his own,” TODO interjected.
“Any help is appreciated if it means I don’ have’ta read dis,” Cad stated tiredly and hushed TODO.
You swallowed audibly.
You wanted to help Cad but it wasn’t like you had a set plan in mind.
Carefully, you considered what you knew, separating the useless to from the usable while the bounty hunter sat in front of you, waiting patiently until you were ready to speak.
“Well…,” you started, “Sy Snootles is a Pa’lowick popstar and performer. She got famous with a cooperation with Max Rebo and has toured solo since then. Snootles has a very unique drawly voice and is a teen favorite, especially for her dances.”
You paused, trying to think like a bounty hunter: “We need her alive, right?”
Cad grumbled something that passed as agreement.
A familiar kind of dredd crept up in you.
You cleared your throat, pushing it down. “Currently she performs in Gardulla the Hutts Palace while working on her new release album.”
You considered what that would mean. ”So, security will be tight.”
Another grumbled agreement.
“There were rumors of Snootles being involved with Ziro the Hutt. Maybe that’s the boyfriend she is never seen with-”
“Was,” Bane rasped.
“Was?” you asked.
“Was - if Ziro is the boyfriend then he ain’t no more. I had a contract to kill him, but someone got him before me. Ziro the Hutt is dead,” Cad Bane clarified.
You shivered at the nonchalance of Banes words, how he sounded more hurt at someone besting him than the violent death of a sentient being.
Was that what bounty hunting was like?
Kidnapping and killing for money?
No consideration for those that were bounties?
Your stomach churred at the bitter memory of being in the hands of bounty hunters.
Or maybe it was the caf.
You gripped your cup harder to ground yourself in the moment instead of getting lost in memories you wished you never made.
Instead, you pushed yourself to speak.
“How about instead of approaching this like a bounty hunter would – which the palace would be prepared for,” you carefully interjected, “or like a devoted fan – another expected occurrence for someone so famous like Sy Snootles – approach it like something else?”
A questioning grunt.
Snootles was like you. Maybe a bit more famous or well off. But essentially she was another woman in the galaxy getting caught up in things she wasn’t part of. And being the collateral damage of an inherently unfair powerplay between some powerful men was something you wished on one.
Perhaps you could prevent Snootles from going through what you went through. But only if you found your way to her before Bane.
“I am not a fan and I am not a bounty hunter…”, you continued, ”…but I know enough about Sy Snootles to find her in a crowd. And I am familiar with clubs and bars and know how to get backstage in those establishments. How about I go into the palace? No one would pay attention to another random guest doing business there.”
“Absolutely no. Too dangerous, loth cat,” Bane declared.
“Absolutely delightful. You should go. Good luck, miss. I believe-“TODO cried out at the same time before being silenced by a hiss and one of Bane’s glares.
“Why not?”, you called out while hanging onto your anger to fight the rising dredd again that threatened to break your voice and make you cry. “I am a nobody. I don’t matter to anyone, and no one looks for me.”
“Ya’re not a nobody.”
You stared at Cad, his red eyes fixed on you with a calculating intensity that burned away any insecurity or confusion. This was it. Years of listening to people at the bar whining about their life’s had taught you what to say to them, what they wanted or needed to hear. What Bane needed was an argument he couldn’t ignore.
“Listen Cad,” you paused, knowing exactly what to say now, “Unlike you, I am not a bounty hunter with a reputation. You would walk in there and die. I can walk in there and get Snootles.”
“No.”
“Yes!”
He shook his head, the hat accentuating the movement dramatically.
“How would ‘ya do that? Ask Snootles nicely to tag along?” he rasped.
“I can wield a blaster!”
“Everyone can do that in da Outa Rim. Especially in Gardullas Palace,” the Duros deadpanned.
“Alright,” You challenged, “What is your suggestion? Because last time I checked, you might be better at wielding a blaster but that won’t help you get into a palace full of bounty hunters with a bounty on your head.”
He growled.
“Don’t worry about dat, loth cat. I’ll find a way.”
You rolled your eyes.
What a suborn man.
“Yeah, a way to kill yourself,” you snorted.
Bane fell silent.
For a moment no one spoke. You bit your lip. Had you crossed a line? Anxiety rose in you, reminding you that maybe you had decided to stay. But you weren’t sure how essential Bane considered your presence on this ship.
“Fine,” Bane growled and tore you from your dark spiralling thoughts, “Might hava’ point there, loth cat.”
He sighed as if facing a very unpleasant task.
“How good are ya’ with a blaster?”
X
Loth cat raised the blaster, aimed, and shot.
One time.
Two.
Three.
The last one was a miss.
Bane hissed, his fangs out.
She was fine with the blaster. Better than Cad Bane had expected from someone who wielded a blaster primarily to throw out unwelcome guests out of the cantina. Loth cat did land hits, making her even better than some self-declared bounty hunters he had met. Still, Bane feared for her. She was bent on getting that damn Snootles popstar herself, arguing and pushing him until he had landed the ship for some shooting practice on some backwater planet. And unfortunately, she had a point. Last time Bane checked, the Hutts had increased the bounty on his head. Jabba really had made his point that the Hutt owned Bane and if he wanted out and loth cat safe, he had to deliver whatever the Hutt wanted. Even something as ridicules as a fucking popstar.
He snarled again at the unpleasant reminder of having to work for free and turned on his heels, leaving loth cat to practice on her own to shoot on this desolate rock.
His mind told him sending her in was a sound strategy. Loth cat was not a fighter. But she was pragmatic and played dirty to get what she wanted. Knowing her, she would likely find a clever way to claw, charm or do a combination of both to make her way into the palace and then kidnap Snootles. But likely wasn’t good enough for Bane’s heart.
He needed certainty of success and he needed her safe.
Agitated, he stalked up the ship.
Anger was boiling in him. Anger and frustration – making the venomous saliva drip from his fangs.
He swallowed it all and took a few breaths.
This wasn’t useful.
Frustrated, he let himself fall onto one of the cargo boxes in the ships hold.
What he needed wasn’t self-pity and curses against the Hoth forsaken, bedeviled by the witches of Dathomir, and eaten by the Sarlaac- Hutts as satisfying it was for now.
He needed a solution.
A knock on the ships frame made him look up.
“Is everything okay?”
Loth cat peaked into the ship at him. Her eyes burned into his skin, filling him with a far more pleasant heat than anger. She crocked her head, revealing her neck. He couldn’t help but stare as she - unsure of the situation and his silence - shuffled slightly, showing him more of her beautiful body under the storage room's harsh light.
“Loth cat got your tongue?”
Her teasing washed down his throat like cool water after a day of wandering a desert planet.
Bane wanted her. He wanted to get up, pull her into his arms and bite into her lovely skin. He wanted to carry her up to the bunk room to never again let anyone ever close enough to her to cause her harm. He hated seeing her practice shooting knowing she would need it. And he hated the thought of having to let her go, pushing him to feel a protectiveness that bordered on possessiveness.
“As if ya’ could steal from me, loth cat,” he rasped instead of saying any of that and got up.
She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, waiting for more words from him.
He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say. He could beg her to forget about Snootles or confess what her presence did to him - how small the ship felt since she was there while he tried so hard not to infringe on her, how welcome the pressurized tin can floating in the abyss of space was with her slowly returning laughter, how hot his longing dreams of her were.
He really couldn’t say anything about that, right?
“It’s going to be alright. I can do this and help lifting the bounty off your head,” her words sounded encouraging as if it was he, who needed reassurance or protection.
She looked so sure of herself with her eyes gleaming in newfound hopefulness and his blaster in her little human hands.
“I know ya’ can,”he said, hating himself for meaning it. If there was only something he could do.
XXX
They landed on Nal Hutta not too far away from Gardullas palace. She fumbled nervously with the blaster he had given her. It was his best one. Loth cat had gotten dressed to pass as much for a bounty hunter as possible. With one of his armored wests, she looked passable enough to trick the guards.
With one final sigh you got up from her seat.
“I’m leaving! See you later!” she declared.
He only nodded.
Her steps echoed through the ship and down the ramp before she walked off.
Away from him.
He should do something. Find a way to hide his face and follow her, no matter the personal cost.
This was it.
“TODO!”he rasped, “Keep the comms clear and wait for my orders. I’m heading out.”
“Yes, but master Bane, it is dangerous for you-“
He hissed, “I’m aware.”
The droid stopped talking he got up. Like in trance he moved down to the storage and pulled boxes aside. Finally, he pulled a crate aside. It was dusty and scratched, but intact.
He traced the cracks on the lid before going to the look.
For a moment he stopped, considering how he never had wanted to open that damn box again. Then he lifted his hat and opened the box.
XXX
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@kasianthus @madam-o @rain-on-kamino @longrimmedbountyhunter @nbkluci @readsalot73
#cad bane#cad bane x you#tbb cad bane#cad bane x oc#cad bane x reader#cad bane smut#cad bane bounty hunter#grimmwriting#cad banes hat#the hat collection#sy snootles#todo 360#bounty hunter#bounty hunter cad bane#cad bane fanfiction#cad bane fanfic
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I had a weird half asleep thought. I don’t need/want Bane to comfort me necessarily, I want to comfort *him.* He had a rough life, no real friends, always has to watch his back, poor childhood most likely growing up in the Descent Ghetto, etc. I want to dote on him, treat him nice, show him love, not necessarily the other way around ;D
I do enjoy all the comforting art that is going around, but maybe that’s why I can’t relate to it as much, or enjoy a "softer Bane." I’m the one who is soft for Bane, lol.
And if that means he treats reader/OCs like an asshole until they can break down his wall, then so be it. I feel like proving yourself to be faithful, persistent, and caring would pay off in the long run. I am sure loyalty goes a long way in his book, and not just in "romantic" relationships, of course. I also think he could grow a soft spot for someone under the right circumstances, as I have said before.
This isn't a dig at anyone, just a random realization that occurred to me as far as I see him and write for him. Anyway, carry on.
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My ex jedi bounty hunter OC, Atlas Celeste. As you can prob tell she started working with cad bane after breaking him out of prison on coruscant. After being accused by other padawans of attempting to murder her own master because of her advanced abilities as a jedi, she took on the role of cads apprentice. Her story is something I’ll be explaining more on this account, I thought I’d finally make a tumblr bc all I’ve been drawing is her and cad 💀
#clonewars#oc#Star wars oc#Star Wars#cad bane art#cad bane#the clone wars#i’m absolutely losing it#clone wars#bounty hunter#bounty hunter oc#bounty hunter art#bounty hunter cad bane#atlas#atlas Celeste#atlas celeste oc#original character#concept art#art
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HONK!!
Original Pic:
#star wars#fanart#cad bane#boba fett#hondo ohnaka#star wars meme#memes#doodles#shitpost#bounty hunters#space pirates#tcw#the clone wars#shitpost art#duros#weequay#clone trooper
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If THIS gets fewer likes than line art, I'll be sad... This is usually the case.
#art#star wars#artists on tumblr#cad bane#star wars the clone wars#star wars the book of boba fett#bounty hunter#duros#boba fett#star wars fanart
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February the 6th is my official Baneversary. The day I glanced the man in TBOBF in 2022 and immediately fell for him. Unprecedented in every way, the instantaneous effect and how long he occupies my mind with constant intensity. 2 years by now... it's surreal.
Heartfelt thanks to all of you fellow fans, who showed support in any way, who create and share their thoughts and ideas and let me immerse myself more in this world. Please never stop what you do. It's been a great ride so far and I hope to continue it in the same manner.
Most of all thank you @thebluevipersden who happened to fall in the exact same spot and moment as me, I'm most happy to experience this delicious chaos with you!
#Cad Bane#anniversary#2024#thank you all#star wars#fan art#yeah I know I'm late with it but I always am lol#DBS art#deepbluespace art#bounty hunter#from the desert comes a stranger#and stays for good
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bounty hunters are the pro wrestlers of Star Wars
they fly personalized ships, carry signature weapons, wear specific, custom-made outfits to be as recognizable and marketable as possible. they all know each other and have long lasting rivalries for no fucking reason. everyone seems to know their name and they're pretty much celebrities in the underworld, it's honestly so funny they're like a brand
like boba bossk cad fennec darlings why do you have to wear the same outfits and use the same weapons for over twenty years you're meant to be subtle it's the whole point of bounty hunting
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"Ohhh, no, no. This isn' business."
"It's purely personal."
Cad Bane is not the trusting sort, especially after a lifetime of being backstabbed and stabbing right back. Then my dreams, which usually make no sense, decided to create a scene where the bounty hunter takes his vengeance on someone who dared to trick him into trusting anyone… again.
#artists on tumblr#digital art#illustration#digital painting#cad bane#cadbane#star wars#mercenary#bounty hunter#science fiction#noir#film noir#fanart#scifi#jenareuter art
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Babygirls and one (1) girlboss
#star wars#bounty hunters#jango fett#boba fett#the mandalorian#din djarin#cad bane#aurra sing#embo#bossk#star wars comic#star wars rebels#star wars clone wars#the book of boba fett#babygirl and girlboss
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Full Plot of the Cancelled Boba Fett/Cad Bane arc from Star Wars The Clone Wars: Season 6
Episode 1
Boba now lives with the Bounty Hunters who sort of act as his parents. The Bounty Hunters are stationed on Tatooine in a complex that resembles Obi-Wan's hut from Episode IV – but much bigger and with various dorm rooms and chambers that are each closed off and separated by doors. It also has prison cells below.
From there, they take jobs. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they all live there permanently, but they are stationed on Tatooine because they take most of their jobs there. Boba has dreams of the death of his father. Even Ventress's chambers are shown but they are empty.
Cad Bane receives a job where he has to rescue a kid from Tusken Raiders. He decides to bring Boba along. Boba wonders why he picked him since there are so many Bounty Hunters that are way more experienced than him, but Bane insists that he has picked Boba because it’s about time Boba started learning how to take care of himself, since he was sticking around with the Bounty Hunters crew, and it’s dangerous without skills.
They ask for information on where the kid was last seen, and then take a ship and go to the remote parts of Tatooine where the sand people live. Cad Bane takes Embo, Highsinger and Bossk along with him, but Embo and Bossk will stay with the ship while Highsinger acts as a scout from faraway, whereas Cad Bane and Boba proceed on Dewbacks. Cad Bane tells HighSinger to leave them, and the other Bounty Hunters abandon Cad Bane because Boba and Bane haven’t returned, and they start to think that either Bane has double-crossed them, or they have been captured, so they see no profit in staying exposed.
Cad Bane and Boba proceed on foot because Bane wants to appear defenseless in order to lure the Tusken Raiders to them. Bane knows those lands, so he knows which tribe of Tuskens took the kid, since they’re the only tribe that lives in those lands. He only takes Todo-360 along with him and Boba follows. They follow the tracks of the Tusken and it gets dark. They set up a camp illuminated by a battery and Bane drinks booze. (Cue 1st unfinished scene clip) Bane senses that they’re about to be ambushed and asks Boba to let himself be captured so that Bane can then put a tracking device on him and find out where the Tusken Raider’s camp is located. A struggle ensues.
He plants a tracking device on Boba and manages to find their camp. The Tuskens won’t reveal where the target is so Bane starts slaughtering the village until they tell him where the kid is. He doesn’t destroy their huts, but shoots all of those who get out of their tents armed and intending to attack him, so there are quite a bit of causalities until the Tuskens realize what he’s there for. He then holds the Tusken kids at gunpoint bargaining with the Tusken leaders, who grant him an audience. Boba is immediately alarmed and steps in front of Bane trying to prevent him from shooting the kids. Bane says that he never intended to kill them, but that in order to be persuasive you need to be able to bargain with everything. Somehow this doesn’t convince Boba who starts questioning Bane’s morality. The target is then revealed to be in another camp not too far from that one, so Bane and Boba proceed on foot. Bane has lost his hat during this struggle. The target is then revealed playing with the Tusken kids, displaying how the Tusken Raiders were only holding the child hostage for ransom, but weren’t mistreating her.
The child is very lively and talkative, and tells Bane and Boba where she lives in order to take her back. Turns out she lives on the far side of Mos Eisley, so on their way back the Tuskens, who had only given up the target out of fear – come back to try to take back their prize. Bane burns them with his flamethrower, and throws explosives at them, scaring them off. The Tuskens had kidnapped the farmer’s kid because the farmer had established his farm on their land and wouldn’t pay the Tusken Raiders the ransom they asked for. The kid is returned safely to the father, who was also Bane’s employer. The farmer pays up and Bane says he doesn’t work for free, urging the wealthy farmer to pay up. Boba is satisfied and relieved at the thought of having done an act of good, but Bane only treats it like another job – and tells Boba that in order to be an effective Bounty Hunter, he has to be able to see profit in everything and not allow himself to be personally invested in the jobs that he takes. Boba disagrees since he thinks that while also making profit, you can help people as well.
The first episode ends with Bane telling Boba that he knew his father and that he respected Jango as his equal; and that there was always a competition between them for who was the best Bounty Hunter, but that he could never find out because the Jedi killed him. He then says that in order to be like his father Boba needs to put his emotions aside and be ready for everything.
Episode 2:
A small time skip is implied between episode 1 and episode 2 but nothing too major. Boba who still had his Season 4 design in the first episode (apart from the fact that in Season 4 he was bald whereas in the first episode of the Bounty Hunters arc Boba would instead have had a flat top like most clones when they cut their hair short) – he would now be sporting longer hair instead. Bane gives Boba some credits and tells him that they will travel to Kessel because Bane has some ex-employers there for whom he did a favor some time ago, and he’s going to Kessel to demand the last bit of the payment that they owed him. Cad Bane then meets with a Toong who gives him his new ship, the Justifier. The Toong comes along with them because the repairs weren’t ready yet, and Bane was impatient.
Boba and Bane thus travel to Kessel. The ones who owed Bane money are miners who worked on Kessel, and Cad Bane had helped them get rid of their previous manager who was abusing them, but they couldn’t pay Bane the entire sum immediately; so Bane would make periodic trips to Kessel so that the miners could keep giving him a piece of the payment that they owed him every time he visited them. Bane had grown impatient and asked for the rest of the payment this very moment. Cad Bane would have been shown to be cold-blooded, while the miners were shown as ignorant, unintentionally funny (they had big mustaches and hairs covering their faces) but at the same time – they were also overworked and fatigued, but Bane didn’t seem to care. A miner tries to pull a gun on Bane but Bane shoots him through the chest without even looking at him, then with a smile he says that they needed some motivation, and orders Todo 360 and Boba to capture the leader of the miners.
The Toong, named Lancek Trevoras, falls behind hiding behind some canisters, and stays with the ship. Bane takes the leader of the miners into his ship and holds him hostage until they reached an agreement that the miners would dig diamonds for him – and give him a percentage of what they were digging for the company. Todo handles the torturing. Bane thinks that the leader will either take some of the miners away as insurance, so that the company is forced to pay him in order to get the miners back, or the miners will stop lying to him and give Bane the money they owe him.
Boba feels bad and asks if this is really necessary, and Bane tells him “step aside boy, you’re too soft and won’t make it far into the world if you give up at the first sight of tears”. The trip ends with Bane taking all the money that the miners had and him releasing their leader back into the mining facility – with them subsequently cursing him as he flies away with his ship. Boba is the one who uncuffs him and seems sad. Boba gets angry during the voyage back and Bane and Boba have their first argument. Boba says that the miners didn’t have the money and that the violence against them was unnecessary, and Bane tells him that if he prefers, he can go back to that stinky hut they had on Tatooine and live the rest of his life in misery if he wanted to.
Boba then locks himself up in the other part of the ship, and Bane tells Todo to leave him alone to blow off some smoke. Bane then threatens the Toong as well telling him that if the repairs weren’t ready soon, he would have a few things to “explain” to him too. During the voyage home, Boba exits his chambers and go back to the ship’s cockpit, telling Bane that he’d made up his mind and that he wants to be like his father; so he will start taking Cad Bane’s advice from that point on.
Boba tells him that he needs to get his father’s ship back and his father’s armor, otherwise he’ll never be able to be like his father. Boba has a momentary change of heart where in order to show Bane that he’s tough – he thinks that by obtaining his father’s armor and ship he will be extra motivated into becoming a bounty hunter and act like Cad Bane does. Bane tells him that Florrum isn’t exactly on the way, but that if they do a pit stop on Tatooine first to refuel, they might be able to make it to Florrum. End of Episode 2.
Episode 3:
Cad Bane tells Boba that they first needed to get some extra security because Bane wasn’t exactly fond of the pirates, and doesn't trust Hondo. Bane asks for a repurposed droid which he was to buy from a very specific droid’s shop at Tatooin. That specific droid shop was only a charade, and was actually a base from which most of the crime on Tatooine operated (basically criminals went there to load up), and the owner of the shop already knew of the job beforehand and had the droid ready.
The droid was named Ruckle, and Bane verbally mistreated the shop’s owner who charged Bane for more than what he expected. Cad Bane leaves the shop with Ruckle without paying the extra required by the store’s owner, and Boba apologizes, and goes back to the owner, giving him some extra credits for the trouble. Bane takes Latts Razzi, Dengar, Sugi and Embo along with him. Sugi and Dengar had already had business with the pirates in the past; while Embo and Latts were just insurance.
The crew then flies to Florrum. Bane trades the droid for the Slave I, because the droid had a double purpose (apart from just being an assassin spider droid) -- which was being able to reveal the locations of the most precious cargo routes of the crime syndicates in the galaxy. The pirates were ecstatic about putting their hands on it, since they were barbarians who attacked cargo ships and stole all the time. Bane tells Hondo to give up the goods because he was really losing a lot by giving up some viable information for a ship. Hondo also delivers payment in credits. When Hondo asks Bane why he would be willing to trade such viable information, Bane replies jokingly: “anything for the kid,” referring to Boba.
When Hondo takes them to Slave I, it's revealed that Hondo repaired the wreckage from when Aurra Sing crashed it in Season 2, and Slave I was in flying condition again. It's also been revealed that Boba’s armor was not Jango’s armor from Episode II (which had been lost in the battle), but that Jango had an original armor from a long time ago, and Boba would find that one in the ship itself.
Aurra Sing was on Florrum as well. When Aurra and Boba Fett are reunited, Boba hugs her and Aurra tells him that she never intended to abandon him, and only did so because she knew the Jedi wouldn’t kill him, and that she would have eventually come to rescue him (even if this wasn’t true because Boba had to escape on his own). But this is Aurra’s way of rehabilitating her image in the eyes of Boba since at the end of the day – she cared for the boy.
Hondo then tells Boba and the crew that a very precious cargo transported by the Hutts was on a planet called “Serolonis”. Bane says to Boba that if he wants to make a name for himself – this was the job to do it since it was a big deal. The shipment was diamonds from the most precious mining planets like Oba Diah, Kessel, and Serolonis (which was known for its moister vaporators in order to keep the air clean). The planet "Serolonis" was a reference to "Sergio Leone", which was a homage to western movies and cinema as a whole.
The other secondary cargo of the Hutt’s carrier was also spice for the drug cartels. The ship was very big and the Bounty Hunters infiltrate it from different points, while Aurra Sing and Highsinger chase the ship aboard the Slave I. Cad Bane had traded ships on Florrum because his Justifier wasn’t equipped adequately for the job, whereas Slave I was basically a flying piece of artillery, although Bane’s ship had missiles and they didn’t want to blow up the cargo. The little Bounty hunter from Season 2, named Seripas, would also have been taken along for the job.
Boba is killing enemies left and right with Jango’s pistols, and also doing some cool acrobatics. At this point, he doesn't have a jet-pack yet. Cad Bane disregards the civilians around him – whereas the other Bounty Hunters like Latts Razzi and Sugi were more concerned with their surroundings. Sugi prevents Bane from executing some bystanders in order to cause a crash and stop the ship. Bane is angry and kicks her back, but the plan of Bane fails.
After the cargo is captured, thanks to Slave I, and the Hutt killed – the bounty hunters get into an argument on how to split the bounty. Cad Bane, of course, wants the largest cut because he orchestrated the hit job, and the other bounty hunters pull guns on each other in much of a Western manner, to then end it off with a laugh off between them – similar to the scene in Pirates of the Caribbean where Barbossa, Jack, Will and Elisabeth all point guns at each other.
Sugi leaves angered, telling Bane that their approach had almost gotten them and all the civilians killed, and Bane threatens her telling her that she will not have a long life if she crosses him again. Sugi takes the payment and leaves. Latts Razzi follows, and Dengar and Embo just dissipate. The ones who remain with Bane are Highsinger, Bossk, Aurra Sing and Boba. Bane also threatens Seripas, telling him that he was slow and useless because of his size.
Boba would then start contemplating an insurrection against Bane because he sees that a lot of the Bounty Hunters think like him and not everyone agrees with Bane. Some Bounty Hunters like Seripas and Latts Razzi are afraid of Bane. Aurra Sing asks Boba if he’s coming to join them at a cantina and Boba tells her no, to which Aurra scoffs him and tells him “fine, whatever you want”. Boba goes back to talk to Sugi, who reveals that she’d only gotten into the bounty hunting business out of necessity, and that she’d lost a family member due to an accident, so she knows what it means to lose innocent lives. Latts Razzi also revealed to have some sort of morality, because despite being more disregarding of rules, she’s against killing innocents during her bounties. Boba would tell the both of them that it’s time someone started standing up to Bane. Episode ends.
Episode 4:
Boba starts doing jobs for Cad Bane. Bane tells him to go around asking for money from civilians whom Bane had been doing favors for – and Boba had basically turned into his tax collector. A minor time skip is implied again; but nothing too major. Cad Bane has established himself on Serolonis as a pasha living in richness, and keeping the local population subjected by asking them for tributes in exchange for protection. As Bane had basically set up his own syndicate on Serolonis, other Bounty Hunters would have been shown to have joined and would have made an appearance; such as Twazzi from the Season 4 episode "The Box" and Robonino as background characters. Boba would go around using his cut of the money to cover debts in case some civilians couldn’t pay Bane, but the ones that Bane discovered get imprisoned, and ask for ransom to release them, if not – they would remain his hostages.
Bane has Boba followed by Todo and a returning Bounty Hunter who was Cato Parasitti (in the third episode Cato Parasitti was also briefly shown to have been the one who procured the clearance codes for the Hutt’s carrier ship). Bane had ordered them to spy on Boba because there was "something off about that boy". He starts suspecting that Boba’s doing stuff behind his back so he asks Cato to investigate. In the meantime Boba gets in contact with Sugi, Latts Razzi and Seripas and would promise them a cut of Bane’s bounty if they managed to capture Bane alive and hold him hostage. They would have him exiled to Jabba’s palace and Nal Hutta, where he would be trialed for having sabotaged a Hutt’s carrier ship and killed a relative of the Hutts himself, so he would have been found guilty for crimes against the entire Hutt family. This was Boba’s plan to get rid of Bane in a peaceful manner without having to kill him.
Latts Razzi joins in and Sugi does too, whereas Seripas is a little bit of a coward so it takes more time for him to be convinced. Aurra Sing then spots Boba hiding in a street corner and becomes suspicious of him. She then sees the other two bounty hunters (Sugi and Latts) exiting the same alley and goes to inform Bane. Bane tells her that the boy needed to be taught a lesson but that for now they’d just be observing his moves to see where this goes. Boba then takes a ship with the excuse of going on an assignment from Bane, and Boba travels to Kessel trying to rally the miners to his cause. The miners are scared and don’t trust him at first, and they don’t want anything to do with it. Boba then manages to at least get a promise out of them that in case it would ever come to a direct confrontation, he could have their support – but for now he would just leave them be. The leader of the miners then takes Boba alone and tells him that he can count on him even if the others are too scared by their experience with Bane and don’t want anything to do with it. Boba would then sneakily travel to Florrum on one of his voyages and Todo would hide in the ship’s cockpit spying on Boba.
Boba would ask Hondo for support, and Hondo would tell him that this is their business and he wants nothing to do with it. He would then walk with Boba and have a conversation about how he knew Boba’s father and that he had great respect for him – and that Cad Bane’s methods are not honorable and are not the way Jango would have wanted things to go down (or at least that Jango understood that later in his life). He then gives Boba a jetpack and gives his allies heavy weapons and lets him leave, so this is in a way – Hondo’s way of supporting Boba without getting involved. When Boba leaves the pirates ask Hondo what they should do with the boy and Hondo tells them that if the boy dies then there’s nothing to them; but should he succeed – they will be ready to do a "cleanup" and scramble up all the richness that Bane had with him.
At this point, Boba completes the paint job on his armor making it green because he wants to be similar to his father but different – and show a different way to do bounty hunting. Boba is still a little shaken by the fact that Jango could have possibly worked with Cad Bane in the past, so he understands that his father wasn’t perfect and that regardless of what Hondo tells him – he’ll never learn the full truth because everyone around him seems to be telling him a distorted version of the past to try to manipulate him to one side or the other. So he decides to make up his own path.
Dengar, Bossk, and Embo ambush Boba upon his return to Serolonis, and hold him at gun point asking him what he’s been up to. When Boba asks them if they are doing Cad Bane’s bidding, they answer that they do their own bidding and that they were fairly neutral in the whole thing and were basically in favor of whomever wins. Since Cad Bane was now the one with the money and the resources – they follow him. Bossk and Dengar then decide to let Boba pass when Boba tells them what this is all about, and momentarily pretend to have joined him because Bossk says: "it’s always good to have more money" if the insurrection against Bane is successful. All of a sudden, Boba’s crew is ambushed, and Aurra Sing has taken sniping positions whereas Robonino started rigging up charges all the way to Bane’s central quarters, while Boba was busy with Bossk, Embo and Dengar. It would have been revealed that Bane had the natives build him some bipedal droids that were also small tanks packed with fire-arms; basically sentient sentries. They could be ridden but could also be programmed to act as sentient turrets by themselves. Twazzi is shown riding one of those.
Cato Parasitti had thus far shapeshifted into several civilians while Boba was doing his business behind Bane’s back – and she’d reported everything she knew to Bane, and Bane had very well realized what Boba was trying to do. The leader of the miners would have travelled to Serolonis at this point – telling Boba that he’s finally made up his mind and is ready for the battle Boba had promised him, and Boba gets him to do some sabotaging work on Bane’s equipment to try to stop Bane’s syndicate from exploiting the natives. When Bane learns of this, he takes the leader of the miners hostage; then calls for Boba, and has Robonino set up the mines all around his base so that when Boba comes with his new crew, they’ll be blown up (this was the buildup to the scene where Boba and his crew are ambushed).
This ensues in a big struggle as stated – where Sugi is killed off, Twazzi is blown up by a grenade, Latts Razzi engages in a hand to hand duel with Cato Parasitti where Cato is then shot accidentally by one of the turrets because Latts Razzi had used her as shield. Seripas decides to intervene at the last minute saving Boba from a shot on his back – and he would have thus been revealed to also have made up his mind and come back; while Bossk, Dengar and Embo defend themselves when momentarily acting as if they’re on Boba’s side.
As the struggle is done, Boba is furious and rushes to Bane’s quarters, only to find it rigged with explosives and he manages to get away just in the nick of time. He then spots Robonino on top of a rooftop who’s trying to run quickly to Bane to inform him that his attempt at blowing Boba up has failed, but Boba shoots him killing him. (The deaths of Twazzi, Robonino and Cato Parasitti are not emphasized and are only treated like "offscreen" clone deaths not to make the episode too dark. The only deaths that are emphasized are Sugi’s death for just a moment, but then mostly Aurra’s and Cad Bane’s deaths).
Bane then decides to show up seeing as to how Robonino was not responding anymore, and when Bane shows up, Dengar, Bossk, and Embo turn their guns on Boba and tell him that the boss was back and Boba had lost his insurrection; seeing as to how there were many casualties. Bane will reveal that he has taken the leader of the miners, Stim, hostage as well as Boba’s new friend – Seripas while they were distracted; calling him the "coward who’d risked his skin saving you". He then says that if he wanted to see them alive he would come to the square Bane would indicate to him and come quietly. Boba is furious for the death of his Bounty Hunter friends and the ones captured so he acts harshly but is subdued by Bossk and Embo, who hold him by the arms while Bane aims at Boba telling him: "well if you want to get it over with so quickly and don’t really care about your friends; fine by me, you can die like your father".
At that moment Aurra, who had taken a sniping position and was holding both Boba and Latts Razzi at gun point (Latts Razzi being disarmed and with her hands up) has a moment of doubt and immediately starts running down the roofs trying to stop Bane from killing Boba. Aurra steps in front of him telling Bane that harming Boba wasn’t part of their agreement and Bane would have said that the agreement has changed (as a nod to Vader’s Empire Strikes Back line: "I’m altering the deal"). Aurra starts to struggle with Bane, in the meantime, that gives Boba the chance to kick both Bossk and Embo and free himself from their grip, but a shot fired by Cad Bane almost hits Boba and Aurra Sing throws herself towards Boba getting shot in the back instead. Bane then has a thousand yard stare and says: "this is what happens when you try to play hero. More innocent people will die unless you lay down your gun and come quietly". Bane seems a little distraught by the death of Aurra so he leaves the scene taunting Boba telling him: "if you have the guts come find me, Fett!" and tells him he’ll be waiting in a square.
(Cue Standoff Clip) Cad Bane in the meantime is waiting and Boba shows up pissed. Cad Bane tells him not to be so hasty and that there was enough killing for the day – so he’s willing to let the hostages go if he surrenders. Highsinger is revealed to be holding both Seripas (out of the armor) and the miner’s leader, Stim. Bossk and Embo join the scene while Dengar is holding Latts Razzi (away from the scene). Bossk and Embo show some respect for the kid and allow him to take his shot. Boba and Bane have their show off (Boba’s jet pack was damaged during the struggle so he removed it) and Boba was now defenseless, out of grenades, almost out of shots etc. Boba and Cad Bane exchange shots, but Boba got a good shot at Bane’s head and kills him.
Episode ends with Boba bandaged on his head (having been rescued from the scene by Bossk, Embo and Highsinger) while recovering – and telling the bounty hunters that he wants to create his own crew, and bounty hunting syndicate with the money they had taken from Bane (even though a lot of it had been destroyed during the struggle, but there was still a bit left).
Boba Fett thus leads his father's legacy, and becomes the man he always was meant to be.
#boba fett#cad bane#bounty hunter#bounty hunters#star wars#star wars the clone wars#the clone wars#bossk#embo#aurra sing#dengar#hondo
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The Choice
Cad Bane X she/her able-bodied reader
Beta read by the amazing @heumilch this time. 💙
@queenquazar is still amazing, she is just busy keeping her plants alive. 💚
4.2 k words
CN Food, Bane can’t talk about feelings, TODO doesn’t get murdered (sad?)
Masterlist
Cad Bane stalked back onto his ship The Justifier in a foul mood.
He had allowed himself to get carried away, had given in to cheap provocations and brawled in the dust like a hotheaded bluehorn.
He growled and hit the button on the service panel to close the ramp and signal his droid TODO to take off before slumping onto one of the storage crates.
He had failed.
In so many ways he hadn’t achieved what he came for in Jabba’s palace.
He, kriffing Cad Bane, had walked right into a trap.
It was a good one, he had to admit.
But he had become a Hutt enforcer for some internal family issues to buy his and the woman's liberty - without getting paid.
He bared his teeth, seething at the thought of it.
And after getting played by Jabba like a good damn Bes’bev he had lost his calm due to some Jango clone kid.
Even lost his hat somewhere ‘cause of it.
It’s been a long time since that happened due to a fight.
Damn shame.
It was a good hat.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Her voice washed over him, like water cleaning away all the sand and dirt on his clothes and skin. She peeked through the entrance into the storage with a medi kit in her hands and a guarded expression.
He hummed noncommittally.
“Is that your blood?” she asked, stepping closer.
Bane looked down.
“Some.” he rasped while accessing his injuries
“Oh.”
He looked back up.
She stood there, with her hands clasping the medi kit as if holding onto a lifebuoy, unsure where else to put her hands or what to do, swaying slightly with her hips.
He couldn’t get enough of the sight of it.
Maybe this whole debacle of a rotation was worth it after all.
He extended his hand, reaching for the medi kit.
“‘Guess that’s for me, loth cat?”, he asked.
“Yes, TODO said you might need it.” she replied while passing the little pack on, her hands falling down to her sides without something to hold onto.
“Thank you.”
He studied her, unsure what else to say.
She stared back. More of that slight swaying.
“Will you be alright on your own or do you need help with your wounds?”
He blinked in surprise.
“Your wounds.”, she repeated, “Will you be fine?”
Another blink.
Was she really offering to help him? To touch him? Or was it a feeling of obligation to help him after he saved her? Maybe pressure due to the situation she was in? The thought of adding to her miseries made his skin crawl and he had to suppress his shivering.
“ ‘Suppose I’ll be fine.”
A strange expression flared over her face before the same guarded, polite one met his gaze.
“Alright.” she nodded and turned, leaving him alone in the cargo hold.
“Wait!”
The word came out of his mouth before he could say something. Treacherous syllabes snapping at her to make her stay a little longer.
Her body swayed back towards him. Like the branches of a young tree or grass in the wind. Familiar eyes expectantly looked at him, waiting for him to speak.
“Errrr, tell TODO to set course back to Nar Shaddaa.”
X
Following Bane’s instructions, TODO set course for Nar Shaddaa. You wondered why you traveled all the way from there only to turn around and fly right back to the infamous smugglers moon.
Clumsily you stumbled through the ship, not entirely sure what to do with yourself or where to go from here. TODO was not exactly the droid to hang around with. And being close to Cad was complicated.
The sight of him bloodied, angry and - something that maybe if you would allow yourself to feel that kind of sympathy for the bounty hunter - could pass as dejected, had been hard on you.
No, better to keep to yourself and avoid him as much as possible.
He was after all a possible danger to you.
Your resolution to stay away from Cad Bane crumbled about an hour later.
“Hungry?”, he asked with that familiar rasp in his voice, peeking into “your” bunk room.
“Not really but I can keep you company.”
Kriff, why did you never think before speaking?
He growled before turning around and walking to the little kitchen area.
You got up from the bunk and followed him, settling at the little table.
With his usual pragmatic movements he moved around to prepare his meal before settling in front of you, setting down a bowl and two hydropacks on the table.
“Drink.”, he semi-ordered while digging into his own meal.
“I’m not-”
He growled disapprovingly. “Ya’ were outside on Tatooine. Planets harsh on humans and ya’ kind dehydrates quickly.”
“Alright.” You picked up the hydropack to take a few polite sips before setting them down again and watched Bane demolish his meal at lightspeed.
“How are your wounds?”
He looked up.
“I’ll be fine. Bacta doing its work. When we reach Nar Shaddaa I’ll be healed up.”
You considered his words while eying Bane’s wounds.
In his clean set of clothes, new slightly smaller brimmed hat and dressed wounds he looked fine, maybe a bit tired. But not as worryingly beaten as he had when he had returned to the ship. It had made you feel-
No. Not thinking about that.
“What happened on Tatooine?”, you asked instead.
Bane leaned back, putting down the cutlery into the already empty bowl before answering. “Krayt shit. That’s what happened.”
“Poetic and Precise.”
He shook with his head as if he rolled his big red pupiless eyes. His hat accentuating the movement.
“I talked to Jabba. He agreed to arrange to lift the bounty off of me.”
“That’s great news.” You sipped nervously on the hydropack.
“However, Jabba wants ma’ help to find someone.”
“Isn’t that good? That is kind of your expertise, right?”
Bane bared his teeth, hissing the next words with as much displeasure as you had ever seen him display. “He wants me to find someone for free and if I fail, we likely both die.”
“Oh.”
You froze, his words suddenly seeping in.
“Wait. Me too? Jabba the Hutt - THE Jabba the Hutt knows about me? I thought I’m only in danger from other bounty hunters kidnapping me?!”
“Not anymore.” he growled.
“Why?” You sipped nervously from the hydropack, suddenly wishing for something stronger, “I am no one, absolutely unimportant. I’m not saying this to belittle myself but in the grand scheme of things I do not matter! I’m a server from Outer Rim Trask, an ordinary Nabooian wandering the galaxy. I’m not rich or powerful or exceptionally dangerous.”
“Congrats, ya’ are now. Looks like Bossk, Aurra and that kid mentioned ya’ connection to Jabba.”
You took one last big sip from your hydropack to force your body to concentrate on other things than the building feeling of dread, doom and panic before slamming the empty pack down on the table.
“Kriff.”
“Ya’ say it.”
You stared down at the plasti table. Little dents from slammed down plates and stains from the etching cleaning acid. The longer you stared down, the more you saw. A tear there, a scratch here. The most ordinary yet captivating sight you could bear to see.
“Are ya’ okay?”
You looked up. Cad Bane leaned forward, his eyes dark red and familiar.
You swallowed down all you couldn’t handle and nodded at him.
He frowned.
“Listen, ya’ must feel outa’ ya’ dept. But this is a solvable problem.”, he smirked, “I am somewhat of a professional in regards to hunting. I dare say the best. And then we are off the hook.”
You forced a smile.
“Jabba wants to solve a family matter. I just get that damn target to him and off we go. Gonna be over in no time.”
You eyed him skeptically. Was he trying to comfort you?
“Ya’ can start thinking about where you wanna go and what ya’ wanna do after this little-”
He paused, searching for the right word.
“Disaster?”, you offered.
“Fine”, he growled, “Disaster. Gotta agree to that. But a survivable one.”
You licked your lips, summoning all your courage, even more than you had when you torched that cantina on Nar Shaddaa.
“Cad, will I survive this?”
He looked at you, holding your gaze for a moment before speaking: “Yes, ya’ will survive this. I’ll make sure.”
X
Nar Shaddaa was as impressive as always. the pulsing ecumenopolis a terrifyingly beautiful sight as The Justifier made its way through the many ships orbiting the Smuggler's Moon. You sat in the Co-pilot's seat while Bane piloted the ship with a concentrated expression. He looked better now. With the bacta healing him up the past rotations and sporting several complicated pieces of armor & weaponry Bane looked ready to take on half of Nar Shaddaa personally. With a last glance on his instruments he engaged the landing procedure protocols and made the descent down to the moon's surface.
You clenched your teeth in silence, waiting for the unpleasant feeling of the changing atmospheric pressure to subside. Flying really wasn’t your shot of spotchka.
Staying silent and keeping to yourself was something you had practice in now. The last standard rotations in hyperspace had been marked by an unsteady and ever shifting amount of hope, fear, paranoia and shameful episodes of desire.
Despite Cad’s promise you did not count on surviving this, mentally preparing yourself to get killed in the crossfire of Hutt and bounty hunter business even if you chose to believe Cad’s reassurance to keep you alive. And how believable was that statement coming from a man who made a living capturing and killing people?
Yet he was something that could pass as kind to you - asking in his raspy deep voice if you slept well, making sure you ate, showed you how to maintain the blaster you had borrowed from him to fight that anxiety you felt since having been dragged away from Trask. It would have been charming if you weren’t terrified of it all, constantly asking yourself if it was a trick.
A part of you was falling for it. You fought it. Pushing down all you could not deal with now had become as much of a habit as staying vigilant and secluded. But you weren’t a good fighter. Over and over again you caught yourself staring at him, enjoying your shared meals, remembering the feeling of his skin on yours.
You felt yourself going hot at the thought of it, like you had as a teenager back on Naboo when the older neighborhood kids walked past your house in harvest season with their bodies sweaty and tired from working in the fields, shimmering in the moonlight.
You swallowed to equalize the pressure in your ears.
“Nearly down.”, Cad Bane rasped as if he cared.
You kept silent, waiting for The Justifier to touch down.
After what felt like at least a coruscanti standard hour the ship touched ground with a soft jolt before going still.
Cad grumbled something about the traffic before turning towards you.
“I gotta go to an information broker for a first lead on our target.”, the Duros explained, “Will ya’ be fine on ya’ own? Taking ya’ with me would put more of a target on ya so I figured ya bedda stay here if that’s fine with ya’?”
“You are leaving me here alone?”, you tried to sound casual and not excited. You could leave. Run away and hide forever from Jabba and the bounty hunters, taking some gear with you and having enough of a lead that even Bane would have a hard time catching you. This was your moment to escape and vanish forever.
“It’s not like ya can fly off without me. Ya not much of a pilot.”
You grimaced.
“You think I would take The Justifier for a spin around Nar Shaddaa? With that kind of traffic? I’d rather just wait for you to return.”
“Good. Have ya blaster on ya and stay inside. Let TODO handle the rest.”
Kriff. The Droid.
“I’ll leave it to them to tell everyone interested about them actually being a techno service droid and not a - “ You gesticulate in the air.
“Sound strategy.” Bane replied drily and rose from his seat.
He raised his long fingers to his face and gave you a short nod before leaving you alone.
You stayed, trying to collect your thoughts while you waited for Cad to leave.
First you needed to get rid of the droid, then you could back up some useful stuff before finally leaving for good.
You could do this.
X
No one paid attention to Bane as he made his way through Nar Shaddaa. He looked just like so many other bounty hunters and mercenaries pacing through the many back alleys and streets, minding their business.
The strange thing about places like Nar Shaddaa was that they were relatively safe as long as one stayed in their lane. Every bounty hunter, thief or other loose criminal element needed a place to do business in a somewhat safe space. And so events like his littl’ loth cat lady torching up a cantina were a rare occurrence. Another good reason to leave her behind on the ship, hidden and safe.
Bane wondered if it had been the right decision to just keep her on the ship and let him handle the hunt instead of burdening her with any of it. The past rotations she had been withdrawn and reserved, talking to him and giving him short little smiles only to withdraw with eyes jittering around as if expecting danger at any moment. For a brief second he considered her being afraid of him. An uncomfortable thought yet worryingly plausible.
He turned a corner and stepped through one of the many inconspicuous doors into a well kept little stop. A neatly dressed human stood behind a counter, busy with arranging little sweets and tiny cakes before looking up and giving Bane a toothy grin.
“Bane!”, they called out, putting down a little muffin topped with a slice of sugar meiloorun on an etagere, “Haven’t seen you in ages! How have you been?”
“Sera, ya look well. I see ya renovated”, Bane replied while lifting his hat in greeting.
“Yes yes, I sell chocolates now. It’s a better cover for the business off Nar Shaddaa. Care for some pralines?” Sera moved around the counter to type a notifying ‘Sorry we are closed’ on the shop's doors before leading the taller Duros into a well kept little seating area. The word chiqué and picturesque crept up somewhere from Banes memory.
“No, thank ya.”
“What? The infamous Cad Bane is too manly to enjoy some chocolate?”
Bane rolled with his eyes while sitting down on a chair with a fluffy cushion, a nearly invisible feat with his big red pupils would it not be for his hat accentuating his head's movement.
“Only pretentious innercore humans gender food. The rest of the galaxy got bedda things to do. Chocolate tastes like bantha shit for all Duros due to the cocoa. That’s all.”
Seras' eyes twinkled with tease. “Maybe pack something for that human girlfriend you are rumored to have then?”
“Funny.” Kriff.
Sera leaned back like a lazy tooka after having a particularly good piece of Aiwha. “It is a funny rumor, Bane. You and some random human? A little no one in the galaxy you care about? The cold blooded killer and the maiden? Come on! It’s so kitsch that I had a good chuckle the first time I heard Bossk and Aurra tell it. But it’s a good story. It sticks. Romantic even. Bossk and Aurra knew what they were doing when they crafted that little tale to get that mysterious bounty on your head, right? ”
“Right.”, Bane pressed the words through his teeth. Ya littl’ pieces of shit.
“Buuuuut it’s just a rumor, right?”, Sera continued with a very pleased looking expression, “Guess, Bossk and Aurra found a new way of teasing you, old man. Just funny stuff.”
“I’m immensely humored.”, Bane replied flatly.
“I can see that.” Sera grinned. “So, no chocolate?”
“No chocolate.”
Ya enjoying this too much, Sera. Ya lucky I need a good information broker like ya.
Sera stopped grinning.
“What can I do for you then, friend?”
“Ya not ma friend, but ya can tell me a bit about a person called Sy Snootles.”
Sera froze in surprise before throwing their head back in a loud delighted laugh.
Bane crossed his arms in front of his chest. This was not going as expected.
“Bane!” the broker gasped between giggles, “You don’t need an information broker like me for that. Is that a joke? Or are you getting funnier and funnier with age?”
Bane made a noncommittal grunt.
Sera huffed a few times to get their laughing back under control before continuing.
“Every kid from the block or cantiana regular can tell you about her. Sy Snootles is a star. She is one of the few Pa'lowick that had galaxy wide success with her music. How can you not know THE popstar of our time? Her face is plastered everywhere.”
Maybe I should have told loth cat about the target. She would have known. Saved myself some credits and traveling here.
Bane cleared his throat.
“I’m too busy to pay attention to da newest subspace transceiver bop. Besides, it all sounds da same. Don’t tell me ya know where this Sy Snootles is, too?” He tried to sound casual as if he didn’t mind being called old and out of the loop.
“Of course I do.” Sera snorted, “Snootles currently performs at Gardulla’s palace on Nal Hutta.”
Bane tapped with his fingers against the table. He knew Gardulla. He had worked for the Hutt elder before. As a Hutt council member Gardulla had the means to employ basically anyone she wanted to, may it galaxy wide known bounty hunters or superstars. Maybe it was his lucky day and he could just stride right into her palace and take this Snootles away. Or maybe Gardullas guards remembered him well enough to shoot him on sight and claim the bounty on his head. That wouldn’t be so much of a lucky day.
Maybe loth cat…
No. He had to find another way.
Bane grumbled a “thanks” and rose from his seat.
“Oh don’t mention it. This one’s on the house as a thank you for the good laughs. Besides, I can’t bill a clueless romantic like you. You know - morals.”
“What a convenient moment for you to have morals.”, Bane growled.
At least it was for free.
“I doubt you mind a bargain, Bane. Until next time when you give me a challenge.”
Bane paused.
“I do have a smaller task for ya. But it's not a challenge.”
Sera raised his left eyebrow, waiting expectantly.
“On Trask is a Twi’lek technician going by the name Luna. I would appreciate ya keeping tabs on them.”
“Oh, what an odd request. Who is that?”
“A technician. Repaired ma droid once and I wanna know how they got dat skill and who else they work for. I like ta be on da save side.”
A little simple lie but good enough.
“And I thought that’s your mysterious lady.”, Sera uttered with playful disappointment while reaching for the holopad on the counter, “I’ll do that and send you updates when I have something. With a bill of course.”
Bane suppressed another eyeroll before turning towards the door of the little cozy chocolate shop.
At least something here that wasn't a waste of time. Loth cat might be pleased to know how her friend on Trask is doing.
“So long, Sera.”
X
You stalked through The Justifier, mentally writing a checklist of everything you were about to grab on your escape.
Meal kits, bacta, that blaster, maybe some credits if you could find some, some spare clothes…
A solid list.
Better than last time.
Last time you ran away from a kid, not from apparently the best bounty hunter in the galaxy.
Not from Bane.
TODO was busy somewhere deep in the ship. Quickly you moved around, packing what you could grab in a large bag you found before making your way to the bunkroom to grab some clothes. Banes clothes. Cads clothes.
You took a short not too ridiculously outdoorsy west in red. This was urban Nar Shaddaa after all and not some barely populated planet.
Quickly you stuffed it into your bag and left the whole thing on your bed.
Now, you only had to get rid of TODO.
That sounds murderous.
You shivered at the thought of using violence.
As much as TODO was a homicidal menace it was just a little droid. A little pile of parts and sensors with a definitely broken personality core.
Something was wrong with this droid but you weren’t the one to deal with that today.
You creeped down into the machine room where TODO was tasked to work on the hyperdrive. The little droid hummed while working, a clearly happy techno service droid doing techno service things. You looked around. A huge set of tongs peaked out of the toolbox on the floor. Heavy and solid and within your reach. With them you could not just temporarily disable TODO. You could tear the droid into shreds. Probably, and with a bit of will and dedication, you could turn every remnant of TODO into dust and obliterate any evidence from the droid's existence. You could rain down revenge-
Wow. No.
Quietly, you locked the door to the engine room from the outside instead.
TODO hummed happily on.
Carefully you creeped back to the bunkroom for your stuff.
Now you just had to leave.
You shouldered the back and — stopped.
Why did you do this?
Because I was assaulted, kidnapped, threatened because of Cad Bane.
He did not do that.
But he attacked me.
His Duros physiognomy drove him to bite you which he explained and apologized for.
He is still a dangerous man.
The inner voice stayed silent.
See! I have to go, right? Right? I HAVE to go.
Right.
X
The little box under his arm was warm and emanated a lovely smell of spicy corellian noodles and fried plant protein bites. Bane's stomach grumbled. Sera had teased and tested him with it. But the Duros liked the idea of bringing back a treat to The Justifier. Spending rotations holed up on a ship only to be left behind and not stepping much outside when being planetside, was harsh even if it was to keep her safe.
Maybe a good meal would cheer her up.
The landing platform was deep under the artificial surface of the Nar Shaddaa urban sprawl. He took a few elevators down, made an extra round to lose any possible pursuer and even surveyed one of the nearest passageways before making his way to the ship.
The lighting was out but it didn’t matter.
With his Duro eyes he could make out her frame cowering on the entrance ramp to recognise her instantly.
His nose picking up her smell - no, blood!
She shifted, lifting her head from her curled up position onto her knees. In the twilight of the far away neon signs he could make out that she had cried. A bag was next to her together with the blaster he had given her and one of his jackets.
She had packed to run away. Just like Jango.
Cad felt as if something in him broke, painful and silent.
She had tried to run away from him. He had tried everything to keep her safe and she had feared him so much that she had attempted to flee.
Had. She was still here.
A lesser man might have given in to the rising feelings of disappointment and shame. A lesser man might have allowed for those things to turn into hatred against himself. Against her.
But he wasn’t one.
He was Cad Bane and if he had to take the hard route he would do so and learn from his mistakes instead of being bitter and broken for years again.
He took a deep breath.
Another.
He thought about all the things he could and should say, considering if he actually was able to voice all the things he thought and felt. It was too much.
He stepped onto the platform, intentionally stomping loudly to not startle her and draw attention to his presence.
She turned her head. Just staring blankly at him, not getting up.
He stopped before the ramp.
“Ya went outside”, he rasped.
“Yes.” Her voice was clear. There was no denying or lying to him. They both knew she had come out to run away.
“I got food. Would ya like to stay outside a bit longer? Be a bit on ya own?”
It was as if those were the only words his mind could conjure. Everything else being terrifyingly impossible. As if asking her if she wanted to leave, could materialize that reality. Just telling her that she always was free to go and that he never would stop her to do so, was impossible to pour into speech. He was sure his attempt itself would draw her away.
She looked to the side as if considering his question before getting up.
He waited, unable to move.
“No, let’s get inside, Cad.”
XXXX
To be continued...
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... In this essay, I will reiterate that "Cad Bane is a depressed, sentimental bastard."
OK, so, @fat-tasty-krogan pointed out that the barrels of Bane's LL-30's are rusty in the Bad Batch via a screenshot and now I cannot stop thinking about things and connecting the dots.
Here's me checking different angles. 100% rusty. This is a man who is the best bounty hunter in the galaxy, a man who is *the* best shot — that’s his livelihood right there. Something is wrong.
I've always thought Cad Bane was depressed, mostly owing to his behavior in the lost arc, but this solidifies it for me. Let's talk about the canon, shall we? (Fair warning: I may throw in headcanons or share some other thoughts along the way, but I will warn you ahead of time if it's an original idea versus what is considered to be canon).
First, let's take the idea that Jango Fett is mentor to Cad Bane. This in and of itself says to me they had a close relationship and that they often worked together in some capacity. I will spare you my thoughts on the rest, but Jango does in fact associate with him and most likely in a meaningful way we never get to see. Jango Fett does not trust easy, yet he trusts him enough to be around his child; his prized possession, let's say.
Proof: When Boba first mentions Bane, (in chorological order) it is in the comics.
Him asking to spend time with Bane, and Jango saying "no, because you already know of him (and others like Zam)," means they had a close-knit relationship in my opinion. One that sadly comes to an end. In this comic, Jango wants to train Boba to deal with "the factor of the unknown," versus the known. Hmmm.
Moving right along.
The next time we see or hear anything about Boba and Cad being in the same room is during the Rako Hardeen/Box Arc, and in the audiobook CW: Stories of Light and Dark in the short story "Bane's story" that is read by Corey Burton as Cad Bane.
In it he states that the "kid's all right," and that he "owed his father a few favors." In the story, he reiterates what happens between him, Eval, and Obi-Wan to Bossk and little Boba Fett. It was Bossk and Boba who helped to create the diversion so that they could break out and escape.
Bane returns, his job foiled, and explains why. At the end of the audiobook Boba has a plan to get them all out of jail, and he wants Bane to be apart of it. This is AFTER Aurra leaves Boba for dead on Florrum ( don't get me started on Hondo, WHEW - they knew each other too, for SURE ), before TBB, and before we see Bane with a plate in his head, this one:
It is still present in the Book of Boba Fett.
Let's not rush ahead, though. Let's back up to a bit to where Cad Bane gets betrayed.
#1 betrayal on screen is Obi-Wan Kenobi as Rako Hardeen. While I don't necessarily ship them, I can see how Cad was very much hurt by this, as he felt he had started to develop a kinship with another hunter, someone who could watch his back, imo. Maybe he hadn't experienced anything like that since Jango Fett. Maybe Rako was ticking all the right boxes; I see Cad as prizing loyalty. When Obi-Wan turned him over, you could see the pain and anger in expression -- he was truly hurt, and he promised to end his life with a blaster bolt between the eyes. I honestly think he despises him and that's that.
Returning now to Boba, it is also canon that Boba was mentored by Cad Bane. Bane's story is also where he mentioned young Boba often reminded him of himself.
In an unaired Clone Wars Arc, Boba Fett works together with Cad Bane on a job. During the animation created for the episodes that never aired, Bane is seen drinking heavily and seems to give two shits less about Boba or the job itself and is not taking things seriously.
Boba begins to question his tactics, and does not like that he is willing to sacrifice innocent townsfolk just to get a bit of money. He stands up against him, and Embo, Bossk, and other hunters present decide to let him take his shot and do not interfere in their duel, even though most likely Bane is seen to be the one in charge or having authority.
In the end they both fall, but Boba was (unfairly might I add) still wearing his helmet. You can tell that the plates on Bane's hat, however, are also armored. Still, it is not beskar. Bane is severely injured.
#2 betrayal: Bossk and Embo retract their weapons and let Bane go head-to-head with the boy. He even looks surprised in the video footage when they do this! It's the same face he gave Obi-Wan Kenobi!
Boba comes out the winner. We see Bossk with Boba in The Empire Strikes back in the future, and in canon they are known to be seen often together. He especially looked after him in prison on Coruscant.
Thus, we can assume, Bossk went off with Boba after Bane's defeat and joined forces, leaving him for dead. I assume, and in canon it is depicted that Embo is honor-coded. If what he thought Bane was doing was not honorable, he most likely left him for dead as well. What we DO see is Todo 360 being there. I am almost 100% certain it is because of his droid he survives. But, where did he take him for help? Hmmm.... HONDO!! (Kidding, kidding - another HC I have, but ANYWAY).
In fact, Todo states he is Bane's "most trusted confidant" to Omega, and I believe this. He's a grumpy dick, but he never outright punishes Todo for anything, and he messes up quite frequently, but he is also a great help.
I have a headcanon that states his reasonings for keeping Todo, though this has no basis in canon:
"The little shit comes back after he is blown apart by a bomb Cad himself planted to go off in the Jedi Temple. Todo is loyal. He's there for him. He doesn't mind he's a grump. He provides conversation; stimulation in the otherwise solitary hours he spends in space. He becomes a comfort, someone to talk to, someone to fill the void that Jango left behind." Perhaps he also acts in the same capacity as a service animal.
Anyway, it is known what Bane thinks about clones. "Once you figure one out, de rest are easy." I don't think he liked clones, even if he tolerated and respected Boba until a certain point in time. He was different, he had "his father's blood pumping through his veins," and maybe Bane had trouble staring at that face - looking in those eyes -especially if there was more to him and Fett's relationship.
Imagine how he must have felt when he betrayed him? When he shot him? When he failed at repaying Jango's favor and failed at being Boba's mentor?
I personally do not believe Bane would have agreed to the Clone contract idea as far as his opinion. I think he would have told Fett he was crazy to have millions of himself running around out there, that there is only one of him that's the real deal. Let's add this to the fact he has to see their dead and dying faces everywhere to the point he's so numb he shoots them every chance he gets - no big deal. No big deal to have to kill one of your partner's lookalikes everyday for nearly the rest of your life, eh? Even after Jango himself is already dead.
Coming to The Bad Batch, it was pointed out by another user that when Omega is looking for a way off Bane's ship, we see some medallions/coins/ingots that have the symbol of the Mythosaur in a cabinet she is searching. That is Mandalorian. Who was Mandalorian? Jango. Boba by default. They are accompanied here by a journal. I think it could be Boba's journal, too. The boy most likely resided with him on his ship as he had the Justifier during the lost arc and they were traveling together.
That man is 100% a sentimental bastard.
You could say he hated Boba. You could say he was his number one enemy, but deep down maybe he felt remorse. He had been drinking. Why? Maybe it was hard to be in Boba's company. Maybe he felt he could have prevented Jango's death. Maybe mentoring him was hard work, but in the end, Boba betrayed him after everything he had tried to do for him. And Bane liked the kid up until this point - said so himself in Bane's story.
In the lost bounty hunter arc, Cad is wearing the same outfit he is in The Bad Batch. Now he has a metal plate in his head. @allsystemsblue mentioned he talks himself up to Shand. Maybe he's trying to convince himself he's as good as he says he is. He headbutts her and it obviously throws him off. He shakes himself out, trying to regain his concentration. I personally headcanon he gets terrible headaches.
The plate is on the OUTSIDE, meaning it's protecting something underneath. I imagine he had a hole in his head and a bit of his skull was fractured. I say he wears the plate to reinforce a soft spot that makes him vulnerable.
Even so, she kicks his ass. He's off his game. Maybe he's been drinking even more since his defeat and embarrassment at the hands of a kid. One he respected, one maybe he called family.
All the other hunters sided with Boba, left him high and dry, and he hasn't even been caring for or polishing his blasters; his moneymakers. They are RUSTY.
He loses Omega, he loses his credits, and Fennec sabotages his ship. This man is pissed. He's at wit's end. For all we know, he sat down and cried afterward before he could figure a way off that damn planet, and the only one who was there for him was Todo.
Years later, we see him confront Boba. He's a hardass. Nothing left of his personality in that show but a villain. It was like they made him extra mean on purpose.
He's still hung up on the past, he says it. He talks about Jango's blood being inside Boba, his "father." He leers at Boba. It is almost as if he takes a pause (again crediting @allsystemsblue for this observation), a moment to truly look at him. And let's not forget the hiss he gives him right before his "final lesson."
"Look out for yourself, anything else is weakness."
GEE! Where did he learn that from, I wonder?! FROM BOBA HIMSELF MAYBE?! He was "weak" for Boba; he was his mentor; he tried his best to do right by his father and train him and he failed. He shot him, left him for dead, betrayed him along with all the other hunters present, and all that was left for him was to work alone. To grin and bear it. To take the jobs that came his way just to survive.
He had to of hit a downward spiral at some point in his life to come to this conclusion; something terrible must have happened, and I guarantee it's this.
Shat on all his life, all the way from being "hatched" in the Descent Ghetto on New Tayana on Duro, poor, coming up from the slums, working hard just to make ends meat.
Can't tell me he didn't have a wall up, and hell yes he was feeling low. What could make a man that mean besides betrayal and sentimentality for something he wishes perhaps he could have changed or prevented all together.
Now he takes the toughest jobs, the ones nobody wants. His reputation is fear and for good reason. He'll do anything for money, including killing innocents according to Boba. Where has his Code of Honor gone?
I'll tell you where.
No one ever respected Cad the way he tried to respect them. No one offered or afforded him the same luxury. Every time he was near to forming a decent partnership with someone, they turned right around and stabbed him in the back. We at least see it with Rako/Obi and Boba on screen. Bossk and Embo count too, for me. Maybe Jango was the only one he could trust. Him and Todo 360, which he was not around until long after Jango's death and in some form could have been a fractional replacement for companionship.
To throw in a few thoughts on Hondo, he knew them both well. Imagine if Hondo also kept secrets from Bane, whether intentional or not, or perhaps befriended him only to manipulate him for his own gain (which is definitely something that could happen). He speaks favorably of him in "Secrets of the Bounty Hunters," and calls him his friend, but he calls everyone that.
At one point they did work together as per the blurb on the back of a toy called the "Pirate Speeder bike," that features Cad Bane and a Starhawk speeder. If Hondo also betrayed him at some point, I can see it only adding fuel to the fire, IF Bane allowed him close to begin with. Considering his reputation, it's possible that no, he did not, but I also ship Cad Bane and Hondo Ohnaka as well as Jango Fett and Cad Bane. I won't go into it here, but I can see them being an insanely toxic, yet perfect match.
To sum it up, yes, he is totally depressed. I feel like this is why. Can't change my mind.
---
P.S.: This is also a lesson in how to cite your sources and give credit where credit is due when thinking about headcanons and fandom fun. :) Ain't so hard, right?
#Cad Bane#Headcanons#Duros#Star Wars#Jango Fett#Boba Fett#Book of Boba Fett#Clone Wars#The Bad Batch#Todo 360#Bounty Hunters
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pronouns: i can bring you in warm/i can bring you in cold
#from @carriewhiteislove my love#star wars#han shot first#din djarin#cad bane#greedo#asajj ventress#fennec shand#jango fett#zam wesell#g e n d e r#the book of boba fett#the clone wars#attack of the clones#the mandalorian#a new hope#bounty hunters#star wars bounty hunters
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Did some variant covers of my fancomic, I try to study Hugo Pratt line arts (the creator of Corto Maltese). The results looks a bit cool I guess.
#cak bane draws#The Hunter and The Pirate#comic covers#cover#star wars#cad bane#hondo ohnaka#bounty hunter#space pirates#fanart#the bad batch#fan comic#hugo pratt#corto maltese
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