Star Wars Republic Commando: Knight of Honor ✓

Chapter 55

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.

There are no Mandalorian (Mando'a) words in this chapter. 

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

Chapter 55

If one studies history, it is most notable that when governments align, it usually occurs most smoothly through the union of those dedicated to a similar cause. It is with optimism and trust that I believe Tochin and the Empire will unite in a smooth transition. With honor and compassion, I have proposed a union in the form of marriage to Princess Arlesse Psach, and although there are expected reservations in a union as intricate as this, my proposal has ultimately been accepted.

Excerpt from Moff Gillard Harkin's public speech announcing his marriage proposal

Tochin Moon III, 86 Days after Order 66

Arlesse wasn't entirely certain what had prompted her to venture into the tapestry room. She often avoided this particular chamber because it was a place that many people tended to inhabit. She knew that most people frequented the room simply for the artistic works that the tapestries represented, and often it became a meeting place of sorts. However, with the Empire's growing influence over the palace, most of the nobles that roamed the halls had disappeared either due to rank dissolving by Harkin or because they just chose to keep their distance after the loss of Vollan Psach.

Moving towards one of the tapestries in the now empty room, Arlesse thought back to a couple of months ago when she had taken a few moments to look upon the cloth artwork during the late evening hours. It was about five months after Jas had left Tochin, and Janelle had taken the time to sit with Arlesse earlier that morning. Talking privately in the confines of Arlesse's chamber, Janelle had confessed that she had cornered Jas the night before his departure and had interrogated him about his intentions for Arlesse.

At first, Arlesse was mortified that her cousin would be so conniving, especially when Jas was the first man who dared to give her any kind of honest attention. However, as Janelle spoke further regarding her observations and her conversation with Jas, Arlesse understood that as a princess, she needed to be careful about with whom her affections landed. Although she did not take an active role in the hierarchy of their monarchy, she was still royal blood and she would not be permitted to freely and blindly have her choice of companion unless he had passed the trials that would earn his respect.

In the eyes of her father, Janelle's interrogation was a necessary evil in order to truly understand what kind of man had taken an interest in his only daughter. And, as Arlesse thought about it, she was certain that any loving father would play the same devious games with any daughter's suitor, especially if she were an only daughter, and especially if she were a royal one.

Stepping softly towards the tapestry of the equinine beast that defied the storm surrounding it, Arlesse studied the scene now as she had those months ago. Janelle had told her that Jas had taken an interest in this particular piece, and at that time Arlesse tried to understand his fascinations. She thought about writing him more than once to see if he even remembered the tapestry, but she didn't want to fill their conversations with the tensions of her royal upbringing. It was more important for her to concentrate their conversations on the things she knew he would find important, such as how Tarj was faring with palace life and how he was dealing with the palace guards. She had written Jas consistently about the status of the war from the holo-news that covered her part of the planetary system, as she was certain he was only told what was important to his mission and not anywhere else in the galaxy. She even told him about the latest adventure stories she was reading, as she believed it was something to remind him that civilian life still awaited his return.