The Mandalorian Armor by K.W. Jeter
The Mandalorian Armor , 1st edition paperback, 1998. K. W. Jeter, ISBN 0-553-57885-5
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.
The Mandalorian Armor is a Star Wars expanded universe novel.
The book mainly set during the events of Return of the Jedi, shortly after Jabba the Hutt's barge is destroyed and flashes back to when the Bounty Hunters Guild still existed.
Jabba Desilijic Tiure, commonly known as Jabba the Hutt, is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He is a large, slug-like alien known as a Hutt who, like many others of his species, operates as a powerful crime lord within the galaxy.
It begins with Dengar searching through the wreckage of Jabba's sail barge for anything, or anyone, of value. As Dengar is about to give up, assuming that the Jawas had beat him to the wreckage, he notices two things: first is that the Sarlacc appears to be dead; and second, that there is a survivor. The survivor is Boba Fett, having blown his way out of the Sarlacc pit. Boba's distinctive armor has suffered damage from his time in the pit and he is nearly dead. While Dengar moves Fett to a cave for shelter, the book flashes back to between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes; back to a period where Boba Fett is a freelance bounty hunter at odds with the Bounty Hunters Guild.
Kuat of Kuat, the hereditary CEO of the Empire's chief subcontractor for military items is interested in the events that occurred at Jabba's palace and on his sail barge. Kuat of Kuat reviews holoprojections uploaded from the palace and regardless of the evidence, is not convinced Boba Fett is dead without additional confirmation.
In the first of many flashbacks to the period between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, Bossk and Zuckuss have been assigned by the Bounty Hunters Guild a contract for an accountant wanted by the Hutts. Although both are experienced bounty hunters, Bossk acts like the leader. Zuckuss warned Bossk that just because his father leads the Bounty Hunters Guild did not make him leader of the mission.
They blast their way into the accountant's hiding place only to find the room empty, having been beaten to the bounty by Boba Fett. Bossk and Zuckuss, in pursuit of Boba Fett, warn him that he has no authority to work this bounty; that they had been assigned to it by the Bounty Hunters Guild. Fett quips that he only answers to one higher authority, himself, and blasts off into hyperspace.
Fett enters his hold and talks to his "cargo" sitting in one of the cells. The accountant offers to pay Fett more than the bounty if Fett will let him go. Fett explains that it does not work that way and that he is the highest paid bounty hunter in the galaxy because he always delivers. The accountant states that he's heard of other bounty hunters accepting offers, and Fett counters that it is the mismanagement and incompetence of the guild causes that, and he will have no part of it.
Deep in space, Boba Fett's ship Slave I approaches the lair of the Assembler, Kud'ar Mub'at. The arachnid acts as a go between who serves as the criminal world's escrow service. It is to the Assembler that Fett is to deliver his captive and from whom he collects his bounty.
The Assembler's web-like home is a set of extruded neural fibers along which semi-independent multi-legged nodes run performing various tasks for the Assembler. The Assembler is careful not to give too much autonomy to its neural nodes; as it was once one such node that reached enough independence to rise up and eat its predecessor. Fett describes his distaste for this sort of cannibalism within certain species.
The Assembler reveals that it has received a new contract, a private one, for Fett to work exclusively. Private contracts are required by clients who wish their ends to be kept secret and mean more money for Fett. He accepts the contract which requires that he join the Bounty Hunters Guild and break it up from within.
Back in the present, Dengar captures a woman who had followed him and Fett into their hiding place. The woman, Neelah, insists that she must see Fett but she doesn't know why. She explains that she was a dancer in Jabba's palace but has no memories before arriving in the palace. She says that when Boba Fett looked at her in the palace, she knew that she had some connection to him and needed to meet him. Dengar notices signs of an aristocratic upbringing in Neelah and symptoms of a memory wipe. He agrees to her request, attributing his soft spot for Neelah to the fact that he'd recently met a woman he cares for. He warns Neelah that she has to be careful around Fett, and that he will not leave her alone with him. He warns that Fett is ruthless and cannot be trusted and that he hardly trusts him to keep up his end of their new partnership.
Flashing back to the past, Boba Fett is at a feast welcoming him to the Bounty Hunters Guild, the guild elders having finally welcomed Fett into their organization. Bossk does not trust Fett and calls his father a fool for doing so. The father and son exchange death threats which is common among Trandoshans; as is feasting on the remains of your enemies, and killing and eating your siblings shortly after birth. Bossk asked why Fett would join now. Fett explained that times are changing and that pressures in the galaxy—including Black Sun—have forced him to change his stance on the guild. Bossk is grudgingly calmed down by the rest of the guild and he agrees to treat Fett like a brother.
The Emperor meets with Darth Vader and Prince Xizor to discuss the new plan Xizor has put in place. It was Xizor who contacted the Assembler with the private contract for Fett to join the guild. Xizor reveals that his plan will eliminate the dead weight in the guild and leave only the best bounty hunters; then the Empire will be able to contract with those remaining bounty hunters to execute plans that need independence and cunning. He explains that the Empire, by design, has suppressed independence in their troopers and officers but that they need independence to fight the rebellion where free thinking is their strongest asset. Vader is not convinced and thinks Xizor has ulterior motives.
