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.

This chapter's opening quote is taken from Karen Traviss' novel, The Clone Wars: No Prisoners.

Mandalorian (Mando'a) words

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

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

Sha'buir ( SHAH-boo-EER): extreme insult - *jerk*, but much stronger

Shebs (shebs, s.); shebse (SHEB-say, pl.): backside, rear, butt (sometimes vulgar)

Vode (VOH-day): brothers, sisters, comrades

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Chapter 23

I'm a soldier. It's all I am. I don't know a lot about the outside world, but I'm pretty sure that other soldiers have families and lives outside fighting. We don't.

Clone Captain CC-7567 "Rex"

Tochin Moon III, 785 Days ABG

A calming peace had currently settled down upon the forest, extending into the lake that was surrounded by the wooded land. The night brought with its tranquility, and a cool breeze would pass through on occasion rustling the trees, causing some of the creatures to shift about in their nests. The humidity of the morning was long gone, and Gath was not wrong in his predictions about how the storms that had struck earlier were going to be fast and deadly. The elements had rampaged through the land, battling for dominance while the wind had howled angrily, and the rains fell in heavy sheets. The lightning had been bright and dangerous, the thunder deafening in its crackling as it seemed to split the sky in half.

The group of soldiers and the young princess that was in their care had no choice earlier but to confine themselves into the cavern and wait out the weather. No one complained or objected to the circumstances, however. They knew that it was by sheer luck that they had happened along the natural shelter, and if they had been left to the elements instead, they weren't entirely certain they all would have survived.

By the time late afternoon had come to the forest, the storms had evaporated as quickly as they had approached, and the sun had broken through. With the last of the rains and the gray clouds dissipating, the forest had been left bright and crisp. Raindrops had settled upon everything, seeming to portray crystal shards that reflected a multitude of colors around the lake. For the barest of moments, there was complete harmony amongst the life of Tochin's third moon, and the war for the Republic's freedom was nothing but a distant memory for Crimson.

However, the reality was never far away from them, and when the hunger for nutrition began, Mouse took the initiative to gather fish from the lake for their evening meal. Gath and Jas tasked themselves with trying to find decent firewood, regretting that they had not done so earlier before the rains struck. Dusty had accompanied Les'ika through the surrounding forest, their intentions to find more RubyFruit. He had thought about discussing with her the increasing tension she shared with Jas, but Les'ika had put her mind forth to the task at hand, and it left Dusty without a comfortable opening to approach her on the subject. Instead, he used his time to just be a soldier and protect her while they gathered the berry-like fruit.

Getting the fire started had taken longer than any of them hoped because of the lack of dry wood. However, once they managed to get a decent fire underway, the fish heated up relatively quickly. As opposed to the hours it took the Fang-bird to cook, the fish was ready to eat in about twenty minutes. Again, without seasonings or sauces, the flavoring was raw and wild, but it was one more meal that allowed them to hold onto their limited supply of ration cubes.

After the fish had been consumed, Dusty used the time to learn from Les'ika how to cook the RubyFruit the two of them had gathered earlier in the afternoon. He was determined this time to have more than enough of the candy-like rations so that he wouldn't have to endure ration cubes or Plumrinds in the morning.

Shortly after night had settled down upon the lake and the cavern, Mouse ventured into their natural shelter, not hesitating to get some rest. Gath had run through the sentry duty schedule earlier, telling them that he would take the first shift and secure the perimeter of their chosen destination by the lake. Dusty was assigned the next shift with Jas following and Mouse taking the early morning shift. Gath had tasked Dusty and Jas with inventorying what was left in everyone's kits during his absence.

Dusty sat just outside the cavern and had piles of their rations, supplies, and the new contribution of RubyFruit surrounding him. Jas was helping to count, organize, and evenly distribute the remaining provisions. The two of them were also trying to figure out how to reallocate the weight in the packs so that they could more evenly carry the loads.

Arlesse had tried to follow Mouse's lead and get some rest of her own, but sleep was elusive. Her thoughts were overwhelmed with the events of the last couple of days, and for as exhausted as her body was, her mind just could not settle down. Trying to avoid the feelings of frustration, as she knew it would only distract her from resting, Arlesse decided that a short walk might help her still her thoughts.

She stood and quietly left the cave, not worrying about telling the soldiers where she was going. They all watched her very closely, and she no longer had to explain her departures. Each of them had their ways for keeping her in eye contact, even when she thought she had privacy.

She had only walked about twenty yards from the opening of the cave when she found a rock by the banks of the lake. It jutted up a couple feet from the ground with a relatively smooth surface, and she wondered briefly if a primitive Tochin inhabitant had sculpted it in such a manner eons ago. Whether it was a natural design of the rock or a purposeful one, Arlesse was just grateful it was there for her to use. She settled herself upon it and looked behind her for a brief moment to see Dusty and Jas continuing with the inventory. She was certain that she was close enough to remain within their protection, and she could imagine that if they needed, they would be by her side within a matter of seconds.

"Short end of the stick says it's your turn to keep an eye on her," Dusty told Jas as he set up a pile of ration cubes to distribute.

Jas decided he couldn't hold back his resentment any longer, and he had to make an effort to face his irritation with Dusty. He kept his voice low so he wouldn't arouse any of Les'ika's attention. "How could you do it, Dusty? How could you shut off your communications knowing that the entire Clone Army was depending on you?"

Dusty stopped moving inventory around for a moment and looked to his brother. "It wasn't that simple..."

That brought a snort from Jas. "Then which head did she hold the blaster to?"

At that, Dusty grabbed Jas by the neck and pinned him against the wall on the outside of the cavern. Mouse immediately mumbled something to them about letting a vode get some rest or he'd gladly shoot both of them.

Dusty kept his voice soft but offered no room for argument. "Get your kriffing, self-righteous head out of your shebs, you di'kut."

"You could have killed us, all of us!" Jas said, biting down on his rising voice. "And for what?"

Dusty stared hard into his brother's eyes and brought an unusual edge to his words. "Stop thinking like a Clone for one damn moment, Jas. You're allowed to be a man."

"Not if it puts my brothers at risk, I don't."

"Shab, you truly are a sha'buir," Dusty grumbled. Trying a different tactic, he asked. "Who do we fight for?"

"The Republic..."

"Wrong!" Dusty said, leaning further into Jas to keep him pinned against the rocky wall. "My time with Cerina taught me that I need to narrow my focus. A government means nothing to me. I'm not even a kriffing citizen in the Republic, but when I think about Cerina, I find clarity in my actions. I fight to keep her safe and others like her that do give a damn about us."

"That's anarchy," Jas said, concerned that he may have to kill his own brother for being a traitor.

"No, that's war," Dusty responded. He nodded his head behind him. "You need to fight for her – that girl over there, and if you want to keep her safe, you need to earn back the trust you lost with her. You're not the only one who can close off feelings, Jas. Les'ika built a fortress around her and made sure not to include you."

Jas tried to push Dusty away, but his brother held him firmly in place until he was done. "She doesn't see you as a Clone. Don't you understand that?"

At that, Jas stopped fighting against Dusty's grasp.

"If you walk away from someone like her you're going to regret it," Dusty said, thinking for a moment that he had gotten through to Jas. Then, he saw his brother put up his defenses again, and he shook his head instead. "Never mind. Go tell her she has to come back to the shelter now and be sure to be a di'kut about it when..."

Suddenly, Jas brought his fist into Dusty's jaw. "I hate you, you traitorous sha'buir."

Training instantly kicked in and Dusty rolled with the strike, lessening the blow. He loathed that he always had to hide the truth about that night with Cerina, especially from his brothers, and Jas' reaction was exactly what he feared. Dusty had concealed his experience with Cerina for months by feigning his ignorance about women, but he couldn't keep it bottled inside any longer. Jas needed to know what kind of regret would await him if he didn't step outside the rules and orders they had ingrained in their psyche. Dusty's experience with Cerina had somehow freed him from the desolate life he would have lived, and it made him appreciate the galaxy differently.

Watching Jas, Dusty rubbed his jaw knowing he would have a decent bruise come morning, and he had no idea how he wanted to explain that to Gath yet. "I almost think you meant it that time, Jas."

"Go to hell," Jas mumbled, his fist clenching as though seeking to strike again. However, instead of lashing out, he simply sighed, calming himself down. Then, he started walking away from Dusty.  

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