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.

Before this chapter starts, I'd like to take a moment to say Rest In Peace Carrie Fisher. You will be missed. Carrie Fisher for those of you who have not heard, she passed away today (27/12/16). Carrie Fisher played Princess Leia in the Star Wars movies Episodes 4, 5, 6, The Force Awakens, and Rogue One, and The Original Star Wars movie that was released back in 1977 when it was just called Star Wars. So in saying all that, I am going to dedicate this chapter of Knight of Honor in honor of the memory of Carrie Fisher.

R.I.P Carrie Fisher (1956-2016)

Mandalorian (Mando'a) words

Haran (HAH-rahn): hell - literally, destruction, cosmic annihilation

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

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Chapter 13

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

Crimson Squad and Princess Arlesse had finally managed to get moving earlier in the day, and they had progressed a respectable distance from the site of the escape pod's landing.

 Gath figured they must have covered about four and a half miles in the past couple hours, and even though there was an extremely slow pace for the conditioned soldiers, he found himself impressed by the princess' attempts to trudge through distances and terrain she had never endured before.

 He thought they would have been resting more than walking, but she was making a real effort on her part to not disappoint them.

 It was almost like she was pushing herself past her limits to gain their acceptance and approval, and Gath was surprised that it wasn't the other way around. Still, he felt no reason to complain about it. It was a relief for once to be treated as though they really meant something.

Looking forward, Gath pushed aside the thought of them being beneath anyone and decided to concentrate again in the never-ending trees and shrubbery that covered the land. 

Having spent nearly his entire life on a planet where it always rained and was covered with an ocean, the frosted moon truly was a surprising but satisfactory contrast.

Suddenly, the princess let out a pained scream as though a weapon had struck her, and every optimistic reflection Gath had about Tochin just went to haran. 

The four helmeted commandos instantly fell into defensive postures with Deeces at the ready. They each took a glance at the princess even though their attention was concentrated on what was around them.

Arlesse pulled her skirt up to see why her leg felt like it was being stabbed with four very hot wires, and she nearly fainted when she saw the reptilian tail whipping about wildly.

"Shab," Dusty grumbled when he realized that a gold and white snake had attached itself to the side of her lower leg. Glancing down at his armor, it occurred to him that if any of them had been attacked, they would probably not have even known about it because of how their armor protected them.

 Unfortunately, the princess had no armor, and that made her vulnerable to any lurking predators. It was a dumb and careless mistake on their part, and he could imagine how it would spark even more insults about the GAR's finest Reject Squad.

Slowly moving toward the snake, Gath decided that simply firing a blaster at it could potentially do more harm than good. It really wasn't big enough to warrant that kind of firepower, and he knew that the best solution was to figure out how to detain it from the princess with minimal damage.

Jas quickly moved toward Arlesse, dropping the Deece to his side and letting the strap catch on his shoulder. He put one arm around her shoulders and one around her waist to help keep her vertical. He was expecting her to go unconscious, just by the way her skin had paled. "Les'ika, you need to stay calm. You'll be all right. Take a deep breath."

Arlesse tried to do as instructed, but she wanted to scream instead at the pain. She began to feel lightheaded, and she felt suddenly very heavy. A sob choked her as the snake's fangs continued to dig into her skin and muscle. 

Her fingernails tried to find purchase on the soldier's armor, and she didn't think about which of the men had taken hold of her as her trust came naturally just from the touch of his hands.

"Get it off!" she cried, trying to stay strong but wanting to curl up until the pain subsided.

"Gath is working on it. He has to be careful so it doesn't attack you again," Jas explained as he brought his arms tighter around her, fearing that she was going to become hysterical. He didn't like the idea of Mouse striking her again if it came to it, and he wasn't sure why but he wanted to protect her from that.

"It's not poisonous," Mouse confirmed after his database flashed through the wildlife of Moon III and identified the snake. He learned that it was a Pallid Viper, a member of the reptilian snake family that makes its nest under a particular species of laurel bush. "The venom's a defense to temporarily disable any assailant, giving the snake a chance to flee. Les'ika will be lightheaded for a little while, but the venom isn't toxic beyond that."

Dusty then looked to the ground and saw the small nest with eggs beneath a shrub. Another snake, smaller in size, lunged at his armor but was not able to penetrate the gray plating. 

The small snake tried once again then gave up the fight and slithered away. Its primal instincts telling it to take flight rather than stay and fight.

Gath thought about taking his gauntlet blade to the snake and decapitating it, but he opted against it. The princess had told them earlier that most of the forests weren't touched by humans, and that meant they were the ones invading the snake's nest. 

By laws of nature, even a Pallid Viper deserved its right to defend its young innocents.

Wrapping his hand carefully around what he could calculate was the snake's neck, Gath squeezed it gently with one hand while he pinched the jaw hinge with the fingers on his other hand. "Come on, now," he softly urged to the creature. "This young lady didn't mean to disturb your hatchlings."

After a couple of seconds, Arlesse felt a new pain as the fangs pulled out of her skin and muscle. This time her reaction was more of a groan than a scream. Feeling weak and dizzy, she leaned into Jas, allowing him to support her body's weight.

Gath took the writhing snake and moved closer to the nest. "Get her clear in case it attacks again."

Jas half-dragged the princess to safety a safe distance away, and Gath released the snake. It tried to attack his armor, giving up the fight after a few unsuccessful attempts to break through. Gath backed away, watching the snake curl itself back onto its nest.

"Status," Gath requested as he caught up to the others. He saw that the princess seemed dizzy, clinging to Jas.

"I can't see straight," she said quietly. "It feels like there's a buzz in my head."

"The little lady is a drunkard. Who knew?" Dusty laughed.

"Like you've ever been drunk, ner vod," Mouse shot back.

"She needs a break," Jas said. "The venom might not have been deadly, but she's in no condition to continue right now."

Dusty lowered his Deece and looked to the human female who resembled more of a disheveled mess than a princess. "You know, if you wanted a break, you just had to ask. Stepping into a snake's nest is a bit extreme."

Arlesse opened her eyes and looked at the gray armor of the commando who had a gift for being witty. She wished she had that gift. Maybe she wouldn't seem to be weak all the time if she could hide it quickly with words. "I didn't mean..."

Dusty patted her gently on the head. "Les'ika, a good reply would have been to say that you like a little drama in your life."

Arlesse merely nodded and closed her eyes again, hoping the snakebite would wear off soon.

Gath took a deep breath and turned to look at his squad. There was no sign of civilization anywhere remotely nearby. He knew that they were fortunate enough to have crash-landed in the thicker regions of Tochin's forest, but it seemed that the forest went on for miles.

 Ferns, trees, undergrowth, and various small mammals greeted them regularly, but the mammals were skittish and quickly returned to their hidden seats in the undergrowth. 

Still, Gath decided to not complain. They were able to keep out of sight while in the forest from any potential roving Separatist ships that might invade and they were shielded from the warm spring sun.

Trying not to depend solely on rations, they made sure to catalog the edible fruits and vegetation of the forest. 

However, with the princess not trained in water consumption, they found she needed to hydrate more often than they did. Gath knew that their bottles and the canteen bladders in their kits would be out of water soon if they didn't come across a water source before much longer.

Moving his eyes to the young princess, Gath admired the fact that she was trying to hold her own, but exhaustion had been evident on her face, even before the snake's attack. 

Now, she slumped with the weight of her new condition and the residual pain that had been inflicted on her leg. If it weren't for Jas's grasp, she probably would have face planted onto the forest floor by now.

Catching sight of some downed logs and a number of boulders jutting from the ground a relative number of yards away, Gath pointed to the area where they could rest.

"We'll set up near those rocks," he instructed, indicating one of the flatter boulders.

Mouse abruptly paused as he turned from the group a though listening to something. "I think I hear water in the distance."

Dusty stopped and joined his brother in listening. "Small stream by the sound of it."

Gath turned to his squad brothers and felt relief at the potential to refill their water stock. "Dusty and I will take all of our canteen bladders and water bottles. We'll find the stream and return with fresh water. Mouse and Jas will stay here with her and check on the damage to her leg."

Mouse quickly removed his kit from his back and then helped Jas remove his while Jas continued to keep the young princess vertical. 

Mouse then removed the canteen bladders and the nearly empty water bottles from the kits, supplying them to Gath. Returning the heavy pack to his back, Mouse then took Jas' and returned it to his back.

Dusty and Gath didn't waste any time as they disappeared into the underbrush of the forest, moving in the opposite direction that Gath had indicated for Jas and Mouse to go. 

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Quick Author's Note: First, I hope everyone had a good and safe Christmas. I hope you got most or everything that you asked for.

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