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

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

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

Udessi (oo-DAY-see): Calm down! Take it easy! 

--- --- --- --- ---

Chapter 54

For centuries, the palace guards were responsible for the safety of the royal family. I wasn't too keen on the Republic Army stepping into our territory, but at least they knew their limits. The Empire took away the only employment I've ever had, and now that I've been removed from that honor, I find civilian life is much more complicated than I ever imagined.

Chora Wsau, former Tochin palace guard

Tochin Moon III, 82 Days after Order 66

"You're not here for the equinine farm," Saun said quietly after he took a long swig of his drink. Then, his eyes darted between the two former commandos. "But, you don't seem to be with the Empire either."

"Didn't think you were quite so clever," Dusty told him as he rested one of his arms across the table. His other one remained hidden out of sight, and he quickly distracted Saun from noticing it as his next statement was said to mildly confuse the former guard. "Last time I saw any palace guards they were more babysitters than real soldiers."

At that Saun raised an eyebrow and a twinge of anger touched his face. Dusty saw his words had done their trick as Saun was suddenly annoyed and was trying to figure out how a Mandalorian and a real estate mogul knew anything about palace guards. It was the distraction the former commando needed to keep his blaster concealed while it was trained on the former guard.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Davi asked sharply.

"Snide comment," Dusty replied quickly, waving it away with his other hand. "I was out of line."

Davi wasn't convinced, and his face took on the typical mask an interrogator would exhibit just before getting into a long session of questions. "You know more than you pretend. Around here, that's not taken too kindly."

This time Jas spoke. "She was always a burden to you, wasn't she?"

Davi raised an eyebrow and allowed a moment of confusion to cross his features as his voice portrayed it in his frustration. "Who are you talking about?"

This time Jas answered. "Think back a long time ago. She only wanted to say goodbye to the squad that ensured her safety, and you thought she was nothing more than a lost child who wandered into the hangar."

Anger sparked in Davi's eyes, and his head spun sharply at the armored man. "Who are you?"

"Udessi," Dusty warned softly to Jas. Then, he brought his attention back to Saun. "What can you tell us about Harkin and the events that took place before he relieved you of your station?"

Davi leaned over the table again and eyed down the Mandalorian. "I don't care what kinds of weapons you're armed with, you've no right..."

Dusty moved his free hand between Jas and Saun, prepared to push either Jas or Saun away from each other and get between them. "Look, I'm just here for a land purchase."

"Somehow I doubt that," Davi snapped quietly.

"Tell us what you know about Harkin," Jas said without any warmth.

"How about you tell me why you're really here on Tochin," Davi argued instead.

Jas sighed angrily. "Maybe we're just angry mercenaries in need of a good fight."

"We're not looking for any kind of fight, despite what my trigger-happy bodyguard wants," Dusty countered, trying to keep these two from getting into some kind of scrap and blowing the mission. Briefly, he wondered exactly when he became like Gath and Jas became like him. Then, he pushed the thought aside. This was not the time to grieve again for his brother. Instead, he shot Jas a look for nearly losing the one lead they had managed to acquire during the day. "We just want information."

"What kind of information?" Davi asked. "You've set foot onto an Imperial stronghold, and there's nothing to be had here unless you want to meet a squad of stormtroopers and a quick death."

Then, Davi looked between the two off-worlders again. "Besides what do you know of those clones who...?"

Suddenly, the former guard planted his hands firmly on the tabletop and leaned forward. His voice was low, as he quickly realized just whose company he was within. "Not sure why I didn't recognize it sooner that you were military. It should have been obvious to me in your ability to pin a man down without harming him, but you're good at throwing off your quarry. You know that if I turn you in, I get decent compensation for my supposed loyalty to the Empire."

"Let's just say that you're not dealing with run-of-the-mill troopers here," Dusty warned as his hidden hand suddenly cocked the concealed blaster that he had kept trained on Saun.

Jas slowly reached into a pouch near his thigh plate. It wasn't the usual place he stored the item, but he wanted to access it quickly in case a situation such as the one they were in arose. He brought forth the braided lock and showed it to Saun hoping it would get his point across explicitly and with as few words as necessary.

"Cabur here has never been happy about your interference that day in the hangar," Dusty told Saun as his eyes darted between the object in Jas' hand and Saun's expression of trying to piece together this chance meeting. "Someone in authority much higher than yours gave her permission so she could be there with him."

"Sithspawn," Davi breathed as he took a long look at the brown braid and then to the Mandalorian visor. Shock registered on his face as the concept of it struck him slowly. When he did finally comprehend it, Davi's eyes changed, as he was no longer the hardened guard who had been trying to figure out the intentions of the off-worlders he came into contact with. Instead, his face softened, and something just shy of a strict father crossed his features, making him seem older than he was for a long moment. It was obvious now to Jas that Saun actually did care about the princess. Where Vollan was probably gentle and kind, Saun was strict and no-nonsense.

"You're back for her," the former guard finally said quietly, "You really came back."

"I need information," Jas said, allowing for genuine concern in his voice as opposed to the no-nonsense and aloof bodyguard he had been portraying. Saun was exactly the kind of partner he and Dusty needed, and Jas saw that they had finally made progress towards acquiring an essential ally.

Taking the braid from the former guard's sight, Jas returned it to the concealed pouch as he saw his point had been clearly made. Saun had understood now that Jas was not here to harm Les'ika as his armor would suggest, but instead, he had come to protect her, to take her away from the world that had destroyed everything she cared about.

Saun shook his head with pity and looked between the two men before him wondering how he missed the obvious features in the one without the helmet. If he looked hard now, he could see that the structure of the man's jawbone defined him as one of those former Republic clones.

"Honestly, none of us really knew what transpired at that moment," he explained while talking about the past. "We saw things exchanged between you two, but none of us believed that her father would have defied the law and given that kind of permission, especially not to a soldier who might not return."

"He found a loophole and did everything legally," Dusty said, relaxing his guard and setting the blaster back in its hidden holster. He could see that Saun had removed his façade of being the pub's agitator and that they had clearly passed whatever test he and Merrine set up for the off-worlders who entered the tavern. Studying the man's eyes, Dusty saw the trustworthy and genuine loyalty that Saun still exhibited for the deceased king. The former guard might have been an arrogant di'kut at one point in his life, but unemployment had obviously humbled him.

"He pulled an ancient law," Jas further explained. "It wasn't removed from the doctrines, merely forgotten about over time."

"Vollan was good at that kind of stuff—finding loopholes—especially with her," Davi offered with a small smile as he rubbed the top of his head. After a moment, he shook it sadly seeming to relive that moment in the hangar so many months ago, appearing to choose his words carefully. "Poor kid. She always kept to herself, kind of quiet like that. When we saw her in the hangar, we could just see that she had no idea how to maneuver around all the crates and the commotion. If her father knew we'd let her get hurt without so much as trying to warn her, it'd break his heart. We had no choice but to step in. Then, later on when you and her kissed, well, Chora just panicked. She and I both thought you were just some cloned army thug trying to take advantage of her. Your friend, Tarj, though, he said that if we wanted to know what honor was we needed to watch you. Of course, he also grinned with some kind of madness saying that he'd like to challenge the first one of us who interferes to a bare-knuckles one-on-one. Honestly, none of us knew she chose you. Like I said, she's quiet like that and keeps to herself."

"She's in trouble now, isn't she?" Jas asked carefully.

"She's more than in trouble, I'm afraid," Saun said with sincerity, as failure crept into his voice. "Moff Harkin announced just the other day that he's going to marry her."

Jas felt his world suddenly collapse in on itself and his shoulders slumped with an internal agony that only he could feel.

"But, rumor has it," Saun offered leaning in closer, "She's going to make an appearance in the town later this week. If you want an extra set of eyes, I'm in. I vowed my life to the security of the royal family, and no one's come to me to force me into revoking my vow of service. As far as I'm concerned, Vollan's daughter is still my responsibility."

--- --- --- --- ---

Quick Author's Note: Did you love that chapter!? I hope you did! Show your support for the author by simply clicking the little VOTE button to the bottom left or top right of your screen! Have a wonderful day!

Votes and Comments/Feedback most enthusiastically welcome!