Star Wars Republic Commando: Knight of Honor ✓

Chapter 14

Author's Note: If you have any tips writing tips, please feel free to comment.

As always, I continue to hope that I am doing justice to the spirit of Star Wars as well the respective authors and characters from which I borrow. Again, I gratefully accept constructive criticism as a means to help me develop my skills further as a writer.

Mandalorian (Mando'a) words

Ner vod (nair-vohd): "my brother/sister"; colloquially also "my friend"

Buy'ce (BOO-chay, BOO-shay): helmet; Colloquially: pint, bucket

Ika (EE-kah): diminutive suffix written as 'ika - also added to a name as a very familiar or childhood form, e.g, Ord'ika - Little Ordo

--- --- --- --- ---

Chapter 14

I can see how women grow smitten around these clones. They are honor-bound men, whose sole purpose is to the duty of the Republic. There's something poetic in that, and for whatever reason, many women are attracted to poetic fantasies. Of course, there is also some likely truth to the saying about a man looking dapper in an armored uniform.

Gan Pohin, training sergeant to Crimson Squad, discussing the rumors of the clones in other squads developing relations with women

Tochin Moon III, 784 Days ABG

Mouse stood to Arlesse's left while Jas took her right. The quiet commando kept his attention looking out around them, prepared to drop the princess into Jas' grasp in case he needed to grab his Deece.

Jas had put his arm around the princess' waist to try and take some of the weight off her, but he found it a little bit uncomfortable with the odd angle he had to use to hold her. He still had some trouble adjusting to her tiny frame.

Suddenly, Mouse raised his arm in the halt position, and his Deece was steadied in his hands. He trained his visor on something, and his body movements went extremely still.

Arlesse looked around them concerned that there was another nest of snakes or something worse, but the dizziness quickly made her close her eyes again. 

Jas scanned his eyes into the forestry, concerned that if he took his arm from her, she would fall onto the ground. 

Arlesse swallowed hard, trying to fight against the hypnic buzz that filled her head, and she feared distracting Mouse, as she was certain he was tracking something.

"Carnivorous flightless avian. Fang-bird approximately forty feet away at my eleven o'clock," Mouse explained softly, reading out loud the facts on his HUD. "If it caught the scent of her blood..." Mouse trailed off for a moment, deciding not to explain that part while he continued accessing the database in his HUD. "The fang-bird doesn't fly, but it runs, and the damn thing feeds a family of six."

"What's the plan?" Jas asked.

"I'm hungry and want a real supper," Mouse grumbled as though it was obvious.

Jas knew better than to ask if Mouse could make a clean kill on it, but his brother's shooting skills weren't his concern. Instead, he replied, "Both of us can't leave her."

"Good, you stay," Mouse answered, he began slowly and silently moving into the underbrush of the forest. "I want meat."

Jas sighed quietly knowing that Gath was not going to be happy about Mouse splitting off from them. 

Besides that, Jas calculated that the rocks were still a good half-dozen yards away, and he couldn't bear the thought of twisting his height down to the princess any longer, especially not while trying to carry his kit and weaponry, and especially not while she was on the verge of falling over.