Star Wars Republic Commando: Knight of Honor ✓

Chapter 61

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

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

Di'kut (DEE-koot): idiot, useless individual, waste of space (lit. someone who forgets to put their pants on)

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

Kyorar (KIE-ohr-ar): rot, decay (verb)

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

Shabla (SHAH-bla): screwed up - impolite

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Chapter 61

My men and I are soldiers assigned to Moff Harkin. Politics and civilian troubles aren't our concern, just doing what we're ordered. The clones before us got personal and involved with civilians, and everyone around them had allowed it. We were bred not to make that kind of error, and to ensure that we don't, we keep our distance from anyone who is not authorized to give us orders. If any of my men don't follow this simple instruction, I have no reservations about sending him to be reconditioned.

TK-2857, Moff Harkin's Stormtrooper Captain

Tochin Moon III, 87 Days after Order 66

Tarj followed Dusty towards the back of the shop, walking past shelves of flimsies. Having a moment to look at the interior of the building through curious eyes rather than the speculative studying of a bodyguard, Tarj was extremely impressed by the expansive variety of sizes and colors that each of the flimsi-novels represented. 

Skimming briefly at the titles above the sections of shelves throughout the building, he saw everything imaginable from food preparation references to artistically bound stories of romance and futuristic fiction. And, for a brief second, Tarj remembered a few times when Arlesse had offered him some of her novels to read because she was concerned he was bored with being stuck having to guard her.

Tarj realized suddenly that he never did take the princess up on her offers because he wasn't sure what kinds of stories he'd even like to read. He was never given that kind of choice before, and as his eyes moved away from the mystery section, he wondered if he'd be able to solve the authors' fictional crimes before he got to the end of their novels.

Quickly shifting his glance above him, he saw that they were passing through a set of shelves dedicated to artistic references. Not certain why Tarj paused briefly as he saw an opening on one of the shelves that was near the height of his shoulder. Taking the helmet from beneath his arm, Tarj slipped it into the gap and felt no loss for the Imperial equipment. It would never hold any sentimental value for him or be considered a buy'ce by any standards. 

Tarj was aware of the way the empty goggles stared back at him, the plasteel eye orbs dark and empty. Even the breathing apparatus below the cheeks was more cumbersome and bulky than practical, and it never filtered out the air with the same quality as his previous Mandalorian-inspired buy'ce. Sadly, the HUD within the stormtrooper design was also drastically inferior to his Republic buy'ce, and the Imperial equipment lacked the sophistication he had been so accustomed to his entire but shortened life during the days up to and during the Clone Wars.