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): a foolish, idiotic, useless individual (severe); context-dependent; can mean jerk, moron, idiot, etc. (sometimes vulgar)

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 22

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

As Jas began exploring the rocky outcrops that surrounded the waterfall, he was able to get his thoughts settled enough to study the land around him. His inspection led him to a naturally created opening in the rock that was large enough to accommodate a human's width with room to spare, but the height was a little tight as Jas and his brothers would have to duck slightly to get inside it. Bringing his Deece before him and turning on his helmet's spotlights, Jas ventured carefully into the cavern he had found, expecting something far worse than a Fangbird to attack him.

Other than a cluster of sparkling, blue moss and some finger-sized insects with more legs than he cared to count, the cavern was absent from any inhabitants. Guided by some instinct he didn't think he had, Jas was concerned about how these creatures might be unpleasant to the princess. Without realizing what he was doing, he simply grabbed at the multi-legged insects and started to gather them in his hands. 

There was luckily only a dozen or so, and he stomped out the nest from where more would emerge. Taking the wiggling creatures out of the cave, he threw them into a nearby bush, mentally warning them that if they dared to return, they would meet the same fate as the nest. To his surprise, the insects skittered into the leaves of the shrubbery, hiding within the safety of the plant, and he wondered why his thoughts and emotions couldn't be so obedient.

Entering into the cave again, Jas once more checked that nothing else had sneaked in while he was outside. Inventorying the approximate six-foot height of the ceiling and the seven-foot width of the walls, Jas caught violet sparkles in the rocky walls. He brought the visor closer to the rock so that he could inspect what was causing the sparkling phenomenon. His hand came forward to touch one of the glittering curves attached to the rock and realized that it was a small shell the size of his fingernail. 

He scratched at the shell, and it fell off the wall into his hand. The creature that had inhabited the shell was long gone, but the translucent violet shell could have been mistaken for an expensive jewel. Jas thought about tossing the shell onto the ground and forgetting about it, but he decided instead to keep it. He pulled a few more off the wall and slipped them into the small pouch on his belt, thinking that if nothing else, they might be suitable barter to use in one of the towns, if they ever got that far any time soon.

"On the east side of the waterfall is a cave," Jas reported as he came around from the newfound shelter. "We can..."

His words dropped away as he saw that one of the blankets that Les'ika had been using to sleep in was draped over a low hanging branch. She stood behind it so that only her head, shoulders, and feet were visible, and Jas saw that her boots had been placed onto the ground near her feet. Her arms looked like they were folded before her as he could not see them, but her eyes were staring at the four men.

"I need a bath," she explained, speaking quickly so that no one could have a chance to interrupt her. "You said we had a couple hours before the storm comes. I won't need even that long. It's been days, and I just need a few minutes to relax my muscles and get refreshed. My hair is full of dirt and leaves..."

Jas saw the fabric of her dress fall past her shoulders, and he understood that she had been unlacing the bodice of the garment. He tried not to stare at her soft, pale skin or the way a handful of her curls had spilled over her shoulders, framing the necklace that plunged toward her collarbone.

"Ma'am, this is hardly the time or place..." Gath interrupted, trying to argue against the idea.

Gath's words had freed Jas from his memories of when he first looked upon the princess' necklace, and he pushed aside the distraction that her womanly features continued to cause him.

Upon hearing Gath's attempt to stop her, Arlesse placed her pantaloons on top of the blanket, and as she spoke, her voice was soft with confusion. "I don't understand how can you say that. This is the only place we've come across that is big enough, and I'm only asking to get clean. I'm not used to living in the same clothes every day, and I need something to make me feel...like me again."

"You could drown," Mouse told her, "Do you think your father wants your bloated carcass returned?"

"You could get bitten by something in the water," Gath now disputed, "And none of us can swim very well in this armor."

Arlesse pulled out of her dress and it, too, was now neatly hanging on the branch. She brought her eyes to the soldiers, unable to hide the pleading that she knew was shining in her irises. "I've never asked for anything from any of you other than to keep me safe. You've all done your jobs exceptionally well, and for that, you have my undying gratitude. But..." she paused, suddenly trying to think how to word her thoughts so she would not be insulting, "I'm not a trained soldier, and I'm sorry I'm nothing but a privileged..."

"Fine. I'll do it," Dusty interrupted matter-of-factly, making sure to keep an eye on Jas' reaction, "I'll volunteer to strip down and guard her in the water."

Jas felt one of his hands suddenly clench tightly, feeling a surge of jealousy that only fueled the disappointment he was already feeling for his brother. Jas felt his eyes shift quickly to Les'ika, aware that with the buy'ce on his head, neither Dusty nor Les'ika could see his obvious reaction. Jas saw the princess lower her eyes, and he could see that she was skeptical about having one of her guardians so close to her while she would be entirely bare. 

Dusty, on the other hand, wasn't making any reaction, but then again, Dusty had known that Jas was struggling with the nagging hunger that he fought against feeling for the princess. Last night, Dusty had made it very clear that he had no desire to pursue Les'ika, and that Jas would be a di'kut if he didn't. It still made Jas angry, though, how months ago Dusty had put the curiosity of sharing an intimate experience with a woman before the mission.

Gath rubbed a hand over his face trying to decide how best to proceed. After a couple moments, he sighed and instructed, "Dusty, stay on the shoreline and just remove your armor, but stay in your bodysuit. If she needs help, do what you need to. We'll put our buckets on and set them to infrared so we can give her some privacy. Once she's safely in the water, Dusty, you can remove your bucket, but put it back on as she exits."

Looking at the princess again, Gath finished, "Ma'am, I still don't agree with this, so be quick."

Arlesse took a moment to breathe, working up the nerve she thought she already had so that she could walk naked past these men. She wasn't so isolated to know that, even with an infrared image providing the heat signatures of her body, they could still discern more of her than she was certain she wanted to expose. In all her life, no man had viewed her in such a manner, and now she fought against the embarrassing panic of being seen that way. She had finally accepted their awareness for when she needed to handle the natural processes of her body, but this was a new challenge entirely.

Arlesse considered how Dusty and Mouse had somehow found room in their backpacks for the blankets that they had scavenged from Hazar's escape pod. She realized that she could always keep her undergarments on her while in the water and then just use one of those blankets to wrap tightly within after she returns to the land. The blankets were thick enough to have the dual purpose of being a towel and a sleeping bag, so as soon as she could get dry, she would just dress properly in her clothes again. That would allow her to keep the final pieces of her undergarments on and simply give her that extra peace of mind.

Dropping her eyes to the plainly tailored and colorless fabrics that hugged tightly to the intimate parts of her body, Arlesse was aware that the cloth wouldn't be ruined by the water because of the natural fibers they were created from, and it would only be beneficial if they were washed anyway.

Stepping from behind the blanket, the princess moved to the bank of the water and stepped slowly into the lake. It was colder than she had anticipated, as a series of small bumps formed along her arms and legs, and a chill crawled down her back. Taking a breath to help suppress the shivering of the cold water, Arlesse moved quickly into the blue lake and watched as the fish scattered away from her.

She continued in the water, resisting the urge to complain about the temperature or the shivers that it caused. Just the fact that the sweat and dirt she had built up from the last couple days was lifting off her skin was enough of a relief that it made the uncomfortable temperature more bearable.

She got out far enough from the shore so that she could stand in the lake and be covered up to her shoulders while her feet touched the soft dirt below. Arlesse turned and looked back to the soldiers that waited at the shore. She could only discern which one was Dusty, as the others had already covered their faces again in their helmets, and they had moved about to different positions, making it impossible for her now to tell which of the three men were which. Dusty, however, kept his helmet on the ground beside him on top of the neatly created pile of his armor parts. 

The pieces of the protective shell seemed so much smaller now that they were stacked within themselves, and as Arlesse looked to Dusty, she was surprised by just how physically well-kept he was. The armor had hidden the muscle tone that made up the bulk of his body, and as she tried not to stare at Dusty's physique, she could only wonder if Jas looked exactly the same beneath the protective armor.

Turning away now from the soldiers, Arlesse pushed Jas from her thoughts and scolded herself silently for thinking about him again, especially in that capacity. He had made it very clear that he had no interest in her, and she needed to get a grasp on her fantasies. He was a soldier who was risking his life for her, and he deserved the respect that a princess was expected to offer, not the daydreams of some overly imaginative young woman.

Taking a deep breath, Arlesse submerged herself under the water and ran her fingers through her tangles of curls. She scratched hard at her scalp, removing the layer of dirt and sweat that had settled beneath her thick hair. After a few minutes, she came up for air and brushed her hair from her face with her hands, feeling the cold tingle of the water as it ran down her head and face.

A sweet smell blew across the surface of the water, and Arlesse looked to the pink flowers that bloomed up from the lake. She swam a few feet closer to them, having never seen a Lagoon Orchid up close before. The pink petals were almost a deep red toward the center, and the color shaded out gradually until it was nearly white at the tips. The orchid was the size of her hand, and this particular one that she was studying had a violet and blue flutter-wing standing in the center, seeming to drink the sweetened oils that formed along the inside of the petals.

"Ma'am, are you okay?"

Arlesse recognized Gath's manner of speaking, and she didn't realize just how long she had been mesmerized by the flutter-wing that seemed to remain safely in the confines of its chosen flower. She thought there was something ironic in that. Here she was trying to absorb every last moment of her experience with freedom, and this tiny creature was so used to being free that it wanted to hide within the flower's confining solitude.

Turning from the flutter-wings and the patch of Lagoon Orchids, Arlesse made her way back to the shore. She was as clean as she could get without any of the scented soaps she used, and she knew that even though her hair was no longer full of dirt and residue, it would be wild and untamed as it dried without a brush or a servant who knew to handle the tight curls.

Jas turned from the princess as she emerged from the water and returned to the branch that contained her clothing. For as curious as his thoughts were about the shape of her body that was hidden by the multiple layers of fabric she wore, he had no intention to be disrespectful to her privacy. 

He patiently waited a couple of minutes before he brought his eyes back towards her, and he had expected to see her returning the various layers of clothing to her body. However, instead of getting dressed, she put her clothes on another branch and used the blanket to wrap tightly within so that her head, shoulders, and arms were exposed.

Jas then brought the HUD back to normal vision, shutting down the infrared, knowing that if the princess decided she wanted to change into her clothes now, Jas could simply turn from her. Finding himself fascinated by how her long curls were straightened into waves as they hung heavily around her and soaked into the blanket, Jas caught himself staring for a few minutes. He watched in fascination as she ran her fingers through the tangles on her head and carefully worked free the large knots.

A heavy touch landed on Jas' shoulder, and he jumped slightly at the unexpected weight, disappointed in himself that he had become sidetracked. However, Gath's grasp was the distraction he needed from being so mesmerized by this civilian princess taking for granted the simple task of combing her hair.

"Show me this shelter," Gath requested. "That storm might be coming in faster than I anticipated."

Jas turned without question and led his brother to the cavern he had found. If this was the calm that came before the storm approached, Jas could only imagine what would lie ahead of them once it struck.

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