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

Kandosii (Kan-DOH-see): Nice one! Wicked! Well done!

Koytc (koh-TEESH): strong

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 30

As a child, Arlesse used to carry around a heavy-bound flimsi novel that contained a collection of fantasy legends. She read that novel faithfully, even though the flimsi pages were falling out of the bindings and the pictures had faded. I got her a new novel to replace the one in disrepair, but she told me that the new flimsi didn't read the same. At first, I thought she meant that the printers had reworded the stories and changed some of the text, but when I compared the flimsies, they were exactly the same. I was baffled by what she said, and I didn't understand it then, but at some point I finally figured it out. Arlesse had so much of her childhood embedded in that old novel that to remove it from her collection would erase the comfort those stories initially gave her. The new flimsi remained unread on the shelf in her room, but the old one was devotedly left in plain sight. As she grew older, I would occasionally see her run her fingers through the pages, and memories of her younger days would pass through her eyes.

King Vollan Psach, recalling a memory of his daughter while preparing the speeches for her memorial service

Tochin Moon III, 786 Days ABG  

"You're certain we're safe out here?" the Koorivian CIS commander asked, skepticism and distrust clearly evident in her deep voice.

"These woods are abandoned, Commander Gunna," Zech responded. "Eons ago, the natives migrated to the land where the towns now exist. These trails were once used for equine outings, but the farm where they were kept had burned to the ground about six years ago, and the trails had closed down shortly afterward."

"And you're certain that no one decided to take over the farm?" the CIS commander asked, uncertainty clearly evident in her voice.

"Looking for a retirement?" Zech offered with quick sarcasm, as though he was in a hurry to get back on topic.

"Just being cautious, Baron," the Koorivian replied, changing the subject now to the task at hand. "Have you heard anything else to confirm the girl's demise?"

Zech paused, and a trickle of regret began to enter into his voice. "She's a princess, not just some common..."

"And you said nobody would miss her, that she's useless..."

"I also said she was harmless, Gunna. You promised me that she would be safe."

"I promised you that Hazar could behave as long as he continued to receive adequate payments. I forewarned you to keep him on his credit leash, and I even threw a clone trooper his way to keep him distracted from her."

Jas swallowed hard, knowing now who was ultimately responsible for bringing one of his brethren to the hands of Hazar. He quickly looked to Les'ika and saw her hands over her mouth, but her trembling was no longer solely from fright. He saw the anger in her eyes at the way these two beings were talking about her and the murdered clone trooper. Silently, Jas put his hand on her shoulder and felt her tension ease slightly.

Her eyes came to his visor, and he took his hand from her shoulder to hold a finger before the lower part of his helmet, silently telling her she had to remain quiet. Her eyes closed softly and she nodded once in acknowledgment before opening her eyes again.

Jas then turned his attention back to the Separatist and the baron. Zech shook his head, seeming to want to know answers to a mystery that was eluding him. "Hazar was paid as he wanted, so what would possess him to attempt to leave the base on Moon II?"

The Koorivian commander offered no pity in her voice. "Forget about the girl. Besides, she was just collateral damage, and she served her purpose. From what you mentioned earlier, the clones' discovery of Hazar's wreckage had significantly distracted Psach. While he's mourning her loss, this is the perfect opportunity to strike. He will not see it coming while he is blinded in his grief."

Zech sighed heavily and shook his head again seeming lost. "I just wanted to scare Vollan, to find some way to get it through his thick skull that an alliance with the Separatists would be better than staying under the corrupt Republic."

"Look, Baron, we lived up to our end of the bargain. It's a little late to have regrets. You advocated solely for a Separatist Alliance for the last two months. If you're backing out now, you will not have another chance. We can do this civilly, with your cooperation, or we can just bring in the droid army and wipe out your people. Either way, we get your tolium, but I'm certain you'd rather do so with a mutual relationship established than by us taking a path of dominance."

Zech touched another button on the tiny holoprojector, and a series of lights turned red within the structure of the palace. He started talking about the security system as well as the shifts and the rotation of the guards.

"I'm awaiting your signal, Gath," Dusty said, sounding somewhat impatient to get blasting at something.

Gath kept his focus on the holographic image, calculating the speed it would take for those droids to round on them and if any of their shots or shrapnel would deflect, striking the princess, the sole object of their mission that they had to protect.

"There's a light transport ship and a single-person speeder in the small clearing to the north of the path," Mouse reported, keeping his communications on the private channel that allowed him to speak covertly with his brothers and not allow anyone else to hear them.

"When the hell did you disappear?" Dusty grumbled, realizing now that Mouse had taken point and moved silently through the woods to recon what else they were up against.

"Learn to keep your mouth shut and you could be doing this, too," Mouse jibed. "Seems Gunna only brought with her the small escort you see out there. I'm getting no other readings off the ship – no biological and no droid."

"I say we take them out now," Dusty said, his voice itching for a firefight. "We've handled more than eight droids before, and we have the element of surprise. They don't even know we're here."

"I can't risk that with a civilian in tow," Gath reasoned. Again, he had the mental image of the princess taking a lethal blaster bolt or worse and their mission is a complete disaster.

Jas had heard the entire conversation that took place between Zech and Gunna, and he spared a look at Les'ika, knowing she had heard it, too. He couldn't deny that he wanted some personal retribution for this CIS commander having thrown one of his brethren into Hazar's razor-sharp clutches, and he wanted to prevent Les'ika from further harm at the Separatists' hands. Knowing that he didn't have the chance to help his murdered brother, Jas knew that he could, at least, help Les'ika. "Gath, we have to stop Zech and Gunna from launching this attack."

"He's right," Mouse advised. "Tochin is one of the Republic's larger suppliers of tolium. If we lose that, we may as well be fighting with sticks and rocks instead of blasters."

"Mission orders are to protect the princess and get her home safe," Gath reiterated.

Jas sighed in frustration, wondering how his brother could not clearly see the consequences. "And, if we follow those outdated orders, she may not have a home to go back to. This is what we do, Gath. This is the kind of mission we've been trained to handle."

"And, we've bent our orders so close to insubordination that we've practically shattered our armor," Gath argued. "Without communications, we don't even know if another squad was already planted to handle those Seps. We might end up killing our own."

"But, what if you're wrong, Gath, then what?" Jas asked. He turned his helmeted head to Les'ika and gently lifted one of her hands from her face. He studied her eyes as they shifted from anger and fright to curiosity and concern. Wrapping his fingers around hers, Jas squeezed her hand gently to offer her silent reassurance, selfishly allowing him a second to absorb himself in the blue of her eyes.

Dusty breathed softly. "We only have one chance for this, Gath. I'm not going to take the risk that there's another squad of ours out there. We all know we were assigned the Tochin mission because it's out of the way from the real fighting. Reject Squads don't get real missions, but if we walk away, Tochin might fall under Separatist control, and then we'd really be the Reject Squad."

Gath watched Zech as he passed the holoprojector to the Koorivian, and he knew he that had to make the decision right now about what they should do. It would only be a matter of minutes before Commander Gunna and Baron Zech broke away from their planning and scheming. He had to make this decision immediately, and even he knew his brothers were right. Without further thought, his voice came across with the flat, monotone accent of a man issuing orders calmly, "Triangulation."

Arlesse felt Jas' hand suddenly become tense, and his body stiffened as though he had changed again into the soldier who kept her locked out. He released her quickly and brought his sidearm blaster into her hands. She took a shuddering breath, knowing that something was about to happen, and it involved Zech, Gunna, and Crimson.

Jas' voice was a near-whisper, a faint sound that could easily be lost amongst the breeze and the creatures in the woods around them. "Keep down, and be prepared to run."

Arlesse shook her head, her questions coming faster than her voice could produce them, and before she could utter a sound, Jas' finger was over her lips.

"You're kotyc," he told her, taking his finger away.

Arlesse looked to the blaster in her hands, an object that appeared to be an oversized weapon and one she had no experience in using. She couldn't count the single shot she had taken earlier this morning as any kind of significant training, especially when it was Jas who aimed it and steadied her hands. Part of her wanted to push the blaster back to him and curl into his armor-plated chest where she could hide and feel safe. However, something inside her didn't want to be the helpless and scared child anymore. There was something about these soldiers, and Jas especially, that made her want to be stronger – kotyc, as the Mando'a language pronounced it. She needed to prove to herself that she could allow Jas the chance to save her father without having to worry about her. Arlesse knew her father had no idea of the danger that was about to unleash on him and his subjects, and she had no right to be selfish with her fears when there were others who needed Jas and Crimson more.

Reaching a hand upwards, Arlesse tilted Jas' helmet slightly downward and placed a gentle kiss above the blue T-visor. Taking a calming breath, she uttered simply, "Be careful."

Forcing himself to push aside the concept of leaving Les'ika to fend for herself in this endless forest, Jas tried not to think about the new branding that his helmet had just received. He knew it was only his imagination, but he could swear that Les'ika had burned a mark on his bucket with her touch and her soft lips. Closing down all the emotions he suddenly wanted to feel and stuffing them into his mental box, Jas moved silently from Les'ika, seeking his place in the triangulation maneuver. He had his communications already set back to the channel he shared with his brothers, and he listened to Crimson report in, hurrying to get into his own position.

"I'm already near the vehicles. I call dibs on disabling them," Mouse reported softly.

"Kandosii!" Dusty shouted, and his voice tingled with excitement. "I call sniper."

Gath sounded reserved. "Jas, you in position yet? I need a crossfire."

Jas couldn't hide his concern for Les'ika in his words. "Okay, I'm ready."

"On the count of two, flash grenade," Gath told them. "One...two."

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