There is a long-standing belief that Darth Vader and Boba Fett have an unspoken mutual respect for each other (ironically, Boba is eager to see Anakin die in the arena in Attack of the Clones). The bounty hunter is sometimes considered to be the closest thing Vader has to a right-hand man, even though Fett and Vader are at odds (with Fett questioning Vader over the carbonized Han Solo.) In the Enemy of the Empire story line (taking place a few years before A New Hope) Vader and Fett come to blows with a cask containing the decapitated-but still-living-head of an lcarii soothsayer is the prize. On Maryx Minor, Fett and Vader fight one-on-one for the cask, with Vader emerging the victor by only the slimmest of margins. In The Empire Strikes Back, Fett is seen questioning Vader in an informal manner, a deed which would probably get an Imperial officer strangled.