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

Ba'vodu Gan: Uncle Gan

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 21

We found wreckage belonging to a ship that matched the ownership signatures from the bounty hunter, Qotan Hazar. It was found approximately one hundred and twelve miles west of the Tochin Grand Palace. By the scattering of the pieces and the burned damage it sustained, we can only assume that the ship had broken up upon entering the atmosphere. Sadly, we regret to inform you that there was no sign of survivors. However, the investigation crew did find broken seals from what could have been an escape pod. Unfortunately, the wreckage was too far destroyed to discern exactly how long ago those seals were broken and if an escape pod had been launched recently.

CC-2341, known as "Tarj," reporting to King Vollan Psach and the Republic Liaison, Jedi Knight Paxa Tener

Tochin Moon III, 785 Days ABG

Arlesse awoke to the sound of the wildlife softly chittering amongst themselves. She heard songs from the birds that she never had before. Their musical pitches ran through scales and notes as though they were part of some vast symphony that the forest performed regularly. She decided to lie in her blankets for a few minutes longer, allowing herself to get lost in the harmony and the accompaniment. Suddenly, she was struck with the realization that she would never be permitted the freedom to hear this kind of concert ever again.

Eyes blinking against the early morning sunlight, Arlesse tried not to dwell on the sights and sounds that would no longer exist to her after the men of Crimson Squad return her home. She had lived her entire life within the confines of her father's palace, and she had never wanted to venture into the unknown before. But, as her time with these soldiers prolonged further, she wanted nothing more than to enjoy every moment of this newfound freedom for all it was worth. She knew that she would never have survived these forests by herself, and if not for the Republic soldiers who were entrusted with her care, she would have perished days ago.

Lifting her head and sitting up, Arlesse scanned her eyes over the sleeping Republic soldiers wondering yet again if there would ever be any way to properly provide them the gratitude they deserved for everything they had done for her and the galaxy. Rubbing her eyes gently, Arlesse felt the thickness of humidity building into the air, and she was reminded that they would have another long day ahead of them. She didn't know how many miles they had traveled so far, and she wasn't certain she wanted to know how many more were left. She had decided that it was easier to just put one foot in front of the other rather than try to mentally track what could be an overwhelming distance.

Suddenly locking irises with Gath and noting that he was the only one of the four who was awake, Arlesse came to the conclusion that he had apparently acquired the necessary rest he needed and then took over for Dusty's shift. When he dropped his gaze from her, she took a few minutes to observe their camp. She saw that the fire from the night before was nothing but some smoldering embers, the firewood long burned to ash. 

The rest of Crimson all slept with their helmets on their heads and their hands on their weapons, and she found that she couldn't decipher which of the three soldiers was which. With the lack of the blue glow in the visor plate, they all looked like warrior droids from another world, another planet, and they were just awaiting some kind of directive to reactivate and begin wreaking warfare.

Gathering the blanket around her shoulders, Arlesse realized that she could never think of these good and honest men as droids. They showed her more compassion and kindness than most of the inhabitants of her father's palace. These men laughed with her and shared in her presence with genuine interest. She knew that she could easily believe it was because they just had no other choice, but last night she could feel the camaraderie amongst them. It was the kind of energy that gave her a sense of comfort and belonging.

She only wished that Jas hadn't been so distant, so closed off...and she suddenly shifted her thoughts from him. He had decided that distancing himself was what he needed to do, and Arlesse had to accept that. She shouldn't have been quite so aggressive in her interest about him. Jas was only being respectful to her, and she took it too far, forcing him away. After all, he wasn't the first man who had no interest in her, and she just had to cope the way she always had. 

She would create a mental barrier out of her loneliness and hide behind it where her emotions could not touch her and her fantasies were not permitted to enter. It was how she handled herself every time that Caspan avoided her at all the royal functions. It was how she dealt with being forced to share a dance with a member of her father's court who looked about the other guests instead of at her.

Arlesse was aware that she didn't have the comforts of her garden or her flimsiplast novels to help her hide this time, but she had the distraction of the world around her. She would not pass by the wildlife and remain oblivious to the creatures and plants she had never seen so free and uncultivated before. She would listen to every sound and bathe in every color. In just a matter of days, she would be home again, and Jas would be reassigned to a new mission anyway. It would be no different than Caspan spending the evening with some baroness on his arm on one of the many other women that seemed attached to his side.

Clearing her mind from the men that she had been exposed to in her life, Arlesse decided to handle the morning routine while it was still quiet. She stood and let her eyes catch Gath's, watching him nod silently to her as he knew not to question her disappearances, especially the ones consistent with particular times of the day. She knew that by the time she would return to the camp, Gath would have the others awake and before long, they would be ready to begin their journey once again.

By mid-morning, the group had managed to travel another five miles, and this time there was no incident with snakes or woodland creatures. That alone had allowed them to cross some of the extra distance that they had lost from the day before. Gath had figured that the princess could maybe push seven miles a day if they really needed. She was able to get three miles without too much exhaustion, but by the time they got to four, she needed more frequent breaks and more water. He attributed some of her extra vigor today to the breakfast she had brought them.

Earlier in the day when Arlesse had returned to the camp after her routine departure, she had with her an armful of dark purple fruit, each the size of a fist. The men of Crimson had been disappointed that it wasn't RubyFruit she carried this time, but she had cheerfully explained that the Plumrinds were more filling and would serve a better purpose for their breakfast than the RubyFruit.

Skeptically, the soldiers eyed the dark purple orbs. She took her Plumrind and peeled off the thick rind, sectioning off the dark green fruit beneath.

Dusty and Mouse had made comments that it looked like one of the most unappetizing foods they had ever seen and that a ration cube almost seemed more appealing. Mouse offered to hunt down another Fang-bird, and even cook the meat of a Pallid Viper if one came into their path again.

Arlesse had not taken offense at their complaints, laughing instead at how their reactions mirrored her own on many occasions. She agreed that she had her preferred dishes, and whenever the cook tried to change something or try something new, she was always skeptical. She even admitted that most of the time, she didn't like the changes and the cook grew increasingly frustrated with her. 

So when Dusty had bitten into the fruit and didn't change his opinion about his initial observations, Arlesse was sympathetic. She understood that it was difficult to appreciate that the Plumrinds had a minty taste and required more chewing than was imagined it would need despite all the juice within them. Beneath the minted flavor was a hint of wood, making the taste nothing like the sweet fruit all of them would have preferred.

Arlesse explained to them that Plumrind was usually mashed into a spread and eaten with sweetened bread; however, its nutrients were rich and would give them the minerals and energy they needed to get their day started. She even told them that it was one of the dishes most requested by the members of the Law and Trial Committee whenever they had a big assessment. 

Again, Udi's lessons had educated her because she was able to tell the soldiers that RubyFruit was better suited for a between-meal nutrient and a supplemental substance for later in the day. Plumrinds, on the other hand, would boost their energy quickly to get them initially going and then the nutrients would level off after a couple of hours.

Jas, as usual, had kept to himself and did not offer much to the group. He ate his Plumrind in silence, not even hinting as to whether he liked or disliked its flavor. He maintained his civility, remembering to politely thank the princess for thinking about all of them when she ventured out earlier in the day to get the Plumrinds.

His mind was still elsewhere, though, lost in the conversation he shared with Dusty the night before. Jas couldn't shake the feeling of betrayal whenever he thought about Dusty's confessions. Jas wasn't ready to accept the fact that Dusty had purposefully turned off his communications device during a mission. 

He thought he knew his brother, but it seemed that Dusty had developed a way of holding secrets and going beyond the mere practice of bending rules. He had deliberately put his life in danger, and after really thinking about it, he had put the lives of all his clone brethren in jeopardy. Had something happened to him that night with Cerina and the vital information about Nusset's lair was lost, the entire Clone Army could have ceased to exist.

Jas did what he could to mask his resentment, but he knew he just couldn't hide it entirely. He continued to wrestle over whether he should bring his growing concerns to Gath about Dusty's questionable behaviors, but it would be entirely unfair to make Gath worry about that when he had other priorities right now. Dredging up the past was not going to help protect the princess, and Gath was determined that they didn't breach any more protocols to get her home.

Thinking about Les'ika, Jas was reminded again about the confusion that had started anew last night every time Jas so much as looked at her. His mental box was banging around his head, demanding to be opened, but Jas knew he could not give in to that temptation. He was distracted enough by his own confusion. He would only get himself – or worse yet – one of the others killed if he couldn't keep on the task of protecting the princess appropriately.

Bringing his concentration back to the present and forcing his stray thoughts into a mental box that was shrinking smaller with every moment, Jas realized that he had heard the sound of running water growing stronger in the distance. He knew that their canteens and bottles could use another topping off with the way Les'ika had to hydrate so often, and he expected that Gath would allow them to take another respite as soon as they reached the water.

Breaking through a clearing in the forest, the gentle roar of the water had become significantly louder, and as they pushed through the last of the trees ahead of them, they saw a small waterfall that ran into a decent-sized lake. The perimeter of the lake was approximately fifty yards wide. The waterfall was only about twenty feet high and about four feet wide. The lake poured into a small creek that ran through the woods, and Jas surmised that it was probably the same creek Gath and Dusty had used the other day to supply their water.

Arlesse looked to the clear, blue water and stepped towards the bank. In the lake, she saw schools of small, reflective fish that changed shades of gray to reflect the sky above. Arlesse had expected the fish to mirror a bright blue sky, but when she looked up, she saw that the sunlight above was growing murky. The swirling clouds were growing thicker, and the blue of the sky was receding further into the distance. 

Turning her attention back to the lake, she saw pink flowers blooming in a patch within the water, seeming to float on the azure liquid. Flitting around those pink, goblet-shaped blossoms were numerous flutter-wings. Each one had a wide wingspan the size of Arlesse's open hands and sparkled in all the hues imaginable, and some even glittered in spectrums not discernable to the human eye. The six-legged, winged creatures resembled a moving rainbow of colors as they hovered about aimlessly from one flower to the next.

Shrubs outlined the lake on the right side with colorful blooms emitting fresh, sweet perfume. She recognized some of the flowers, as they were likenesses of the very same roses and daisies that had been planted in her garden. The difference, however, was that these flowers grew wild, in patterns along the ground and over the trees whereas her flowers were restricted to crawling up fences and being pruned to fit in designated spaces.

"It's beautiful," she breathed, glancing now at the multiple tones of green that made up the surrounding trees. "I don't think anyone even knows it's here."

Dusty and Mouse weren't as concerned with the beauty of the landscape but more with their need for water. They knelt on the ground and removed their helmets, leaning into the lake to wash their heads and faces.

Gath took off his helmet and brought his eyes upwards to the sky. He had decided that the distance they covered in the last few hours would be all they would get for the day. "There's a storm building, and we probably have a couple hours before it hits. It would be best to find some shelter."

"I'll look around," Jas offered as he immediately turned from the group and knew he could use the exploration of the land as an excuse to not be crowded around Les'ika or Dusty right now. He still needed some breathing space, especially when his confusion seemed to be ever-present and refused to stay in the back of his mind. 

For a moment, Jas wished he could communicate with Ba'vodu Gan, just for some sense of comfort, if nothing else. Being ordered to run a drill in full gear or perform some feat of physical exertion on an obstacle course might be all he needed to get his thoughts back on the mission. And, hearing Sergeant Gan's voice might be the trigger he would need to resume being simply RC-1147, commando specialist.

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