Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has voted and commented on the story so far and read this story so far! If you have any 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)

Ner vod (nair-vohd): "my brother/sister"; colloquially also "my friend"

Buy'ce (BOO-chay, BOO-shay): helmet; Colloquially: pint, bucket

Ba'vodu (BAH-vod-oo): uncle (plural bavodu'e) or aunt (plural bavodu'e)

Ba'vodu Gan: Uncle Gan

Haran (HAH-rahn): hell; Literally: destruction, cosmic annihilation  

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

Chapter 6

No one told the Kaminoans to remove the clones' sense of nobility. Chivalry is part of the genetic code that is the foundation for a good soldier, and a damsel in distress is something no man, cloned or not, should ever ignore. I merely instructed Crimson to be polite and considerate to a lady unless otherwise threatened. It was naïve of me to think that a moment of chivalry would ever turn into something... permanent.

Gan Pohin commenting on Gath's debriefing of the Tochin Mission

Onboard Fatal Bliss, located on Tochin Moon II, 783 Days ABG  

Jas found the keypad to the doorway that lead to the captain's quarters. He inspected the area around the door, trying to rule out any possibility of there being a trap set. It would not be uncommon to open the door only to have it blow apart into shrapnel that would kill whoever was inside. 

He considered his options and had decided that there was no sign of trap around the door. Hazar hadn't thought that far ahead because he never considered the commandos would be called in to wander through his ship.

 Jas opted instead to use the code-breaker, a small hand-held datapad that had a pair of wires trailing from it, to break the chamber's lock.

He plugged the wires into a set of identical ports on either side of the keypad. He tapped a few keys on the datapad and stood patiently as he could, keeping his head scanning around the hallway for any sign of movement.

Suddenly, a female's scream came from inside the compartment. Waiting for the code-hacker device was not an option now, and Jas quickly pulled free the line of explosive tape that was coiled in the small storage area of his thigh plate.

Dusty finally caught up with Jas. "I tried to tell you to wait for backup. Could be an ambush in there."

Another scream came from inside the compartment.

"Shab," Dusty grumbled as he took from Jas the rest of the tape, and the two of them worked to set it as quickly as they could. After a few moments, they both took safe positions away from the doorframe. 

Dusty took the remote detonator and pushed a button on the device, causing a bright red light to flash around the doorframe. 

In the dimness of the hallway, it looked like a string of lava outlining the door. Suddenly, the door fell forward and slammed loudly onto the deck plating inside the chamber.

With Deeces ready, Dusty and Jas entered the prisoner hold. Hazar had managed to get himself inside the chamber from an unmarked door on the opposite side. He held a young woman before him, and the commandos easily recognized her as the princess from their mission briefing.

 Hazar held one arm around her ribs locking her against him, forcing her to become his unwilling human shield. His grip squeezed her ribcage, causing obvious pain as her breathing was strained, and she cried out every time he moved her. 

His other hand held a small blaster aimed at her temple, and there was no room for negotiation in his eyes as he looked at the clones.

"Your little princess and I are leaving," Hazar demanded.

"What do you plan to do?" Dusty taunted, "Jump out the cargo bay?"

You're so naïve, slave soldiers," Hazar said shaking his head. He pulled the princess with him and moved closer to the hidden passageway from where had emerged.

"I knew your repairs were a lie," Dusty argued, seeming to take personal offense at the merc's words.

Hazar smirked lopsidedly. "Believe what you want, enslaved clone."

Jas heard Dusty breathe angrily through the helmet speakers and he knew his brother was losing his patience.

"It wouldn't be wise to stop me," Hazar said as he stepped closer to the doorway. "I have no worries about killing her now that I've been compromised, but if you leave me be, I'll let her live."

Jas watched the princess try to pull free from the mercenary, but his grasp was firm.

Dusty kept his Deece aimed, refusing to be intimidated. "I don't plan to stop you." Going to private communications so that only Jas could hear him, he said, "I just plan to kill you."

Jas suddenly clicked his communications to private interface with Dusty. "We can't harm her. Are you going to take the shot?"

Opening the public channel again, Dusty asked out loud, "Does it rain on Kamino?"

Hazar suddenly stopped moving, as he seemed confused with the suddenly strange question that the clone had made, and it was the opportunity Dusty needed. 

He fired once, making a clean shot to the black head wrapping. Hazar fell backward, his numb hands losing their grip on the princess. She fell forward to her knees but wasted no time as she scrambled to the corner and pulled herself into a tight ball.

Jas now returned his communications to an open channel and watched Dusty as he stood with his Deece still trained on Hazar, somehow expecting the merc to lash out at him. 

Dusty brought the toe of his boot experimentally into Hazar's ribs. The man was dead, and his cold, green eyes were still looking up at the ceiling. Dusty then turned to the tiny and shaking form huddled in the corner not sure what to make of her.

Jas saw Dusty's hesitation to approach the princess. Stepping cautiously forward, Jas gave his attention to the young woman. "Ma'am?"

Dusty stepped closer to Jas, knowing that Hazar was no longer their concern. "We don't have all day," he complained. "What's wrong with her?"

Jas reached a hand toward her with his palm up, and he realized that he must have looked like he was trying to get the attention of a wounded animal instead of a high-ranking member of Tochin's royal family.

 Not sure what to tell Dusty for the moment, Jas began to think that maybe a wounded animal wasn't such a bad analogy for the princess. She was obviously frightened, and although she didn't look physically harmed, there was something in her eyes that had marred her emotionally.

"We're here to take you home," Jas offered as he crouched down. Keeping his hand out for her. "We're Republic soldiers."

Slowly she looked to them, forcing herself to make her tears settle. 

Shakily she began to bring her hand toward his. However, the attempt was short-lived as her hand suddenly fell away when both Jas and Dusty made a sudden reaction to the yelling that came over their helmet communications. 

They had forgotten that the princess couldn't hear the incoming voices and their startled body movements let her fear them again.

"We've got trouble!" Gath shouted. "Mouse and I are in the cockpit and it feels like this bucket of bolts is about to fall apart on us."

"Oops," dusty said sheepishly, "Maybe Hazar wasn't lying about the repairs,"

The ship suddenly lurched beneath them, and Dusty grabbed onto a wall to steady himself. Jas fell to his knees and set a hand on the floor to stabilize himself. 

The princess stayed tucked into her corner and seemed firmly secured there from the wild movements of the Fatal Bliss.

"Let me know what you need to be done," Dusty replied to Gath as he got his balance back and started to leave the prison cell. 

Turning to Jas before he stepped into the hallway, he said, "You need to get her out of there. I did my good deed of the day."

Jas sighed quietly. It was up to him to deal with the wounded animal. Looking at the princess again, he decided that it was unfair to think of her as such. Maybe part of the reason she was so frightened was because of their intimidating presence.

 After all, commando armor wasn't meant to resemble colorful flowers or ornately winged insects. Their armor was to give a clear message to the enemy that their movements were numbered. 

Jas never thought about what the armor put into the minds of the civilians, and frankly, he didn't normally care. The princess was the first civilian he really encountered that wasn't part of the local traffic he was ordered to ignore.

"Ma'am, please don't be afraid." Moving slowly closer Jas brought his hand forth once more. "We are here to keep you safe."

The princess bit her lower lip gently and slowly uncurled herself. Her eyes looking to the dead mercenary Then, she pulled herself tighter again.

Jas suddenly understood why she was so frightened as his eyes trailed to where hers were looking. "He's dead. He can't hurt you again."

Turning back to the princess, he saw his words had done no good. She was still curled in her tiny little ball, staring with terror at the sight of the dead, black-wrapped man.

Sighing quietly, Jas offered, "I can remove him if it will calm you."

Jas saw her eyes flashed to him after he said that, and he knew he had no choice now but to do it. Cursing under his breath at the thought of having some dead mercenary for a total stranger, Jas grabbed Hazar's body and dragged him out of the prison cell. 

Without care or ceremony, he pulled the man by his legs into the hallway and dumped him in a dark section of the corridor. He then returned to the cell and saw that the princess still hadn't moved from her confined space.

Shab, he thought, wondering what else he would possibly have to do.

Her eyes blinked slowly now, as though waking up from a nightmare when she saw Hazar's body was gone. Then, she looked over to Jas, and there was relief in her face.

Jas decided to take the chance of stepping closer to her. He knelt on the floor before her, keeping a polite distance for the moment. He had decided that if it came to it, he was prepared to grab her and throw her over his shoulder. 

He was just trying to do the courteous thing first because he knew that's what Gan would have told him to do. 

Chivalry, Ba'vodu Gan had said, was the difference between a soldier doing his duty to protect others and a mercenary who did his duty for credits. Unlike a mercenary, though, a soldier had to be skilled in more than just dexterity of weaponry. A soldier needed to exhibit courtesy as well as courage.

 A mercenary had the luxury of doing the job to his or her liking. Well, Jas knew that he had been more than chivalrous already. He just never thought he would have to put the theory of chivalry into use. 

He never imagined that he would have to deal with a female other than a Jedi, and he had seen that Jedi were more than capable of taking care of themselves.

A voice that was strained and scared broke Jas from his mental complaining. He realized it was the princess, and her words sounded like a raw whisper. "I just want to go home."

'That's why we're here, Ma'am," Jas told her. His words came out softer and gentler than he thought he was capable of doing. 

Then again, he never had a reason to be gentle like this before with anyone. It wasn't like Crimson had run scenarios of rescuing frightened princesses in their training drills.

Jas decided it was time to edge a little closer to her, and he raised his hand toward her, offering it again. This time, though, instead of holding his hand to her like a wounded animal, he offered it as though to help her stand.

Gradually she uncurled herself and inched her way out of the corner. Jas took a moment to mentally compare the resemblances between the holo they were provided and the young woman before him. 

Her cosmetics were long gone, and her blue eyes seemed bright against her pale skin. Her brown hair was twisted and knotted, no longer falling in the carefully placed curls that the holo had suggested. 

She resembled a frightened child more than a young woman who was an heir to a mining kingdom.

Taking a quick inventory, for any obvious injuries, Jas saw no signs of any cuts or bruises. It was hard to see much, though, as her clothing covered most of her. In the moment of calm, he noticed that the heave fabric of the burgundy dress she wore was embroidered with silver trim along the wrists of her long sleeves and on the edge of her skirts.

 The bodice of the dress was cream colored with a delicate, burgundy ribbon that was sewn into the edging. A darker shade of burgundy created a pattern of twists and swirls along the outer skirt of the dress.

 A pair of white boots peeked out from beneath the skirts, and Jas was momentarily relieved to see that she at least had enough sense to wear flat bottomed heels. He would never understand how or why any woman could stand, let alone walk, on a pair of spikes beneath their feet.

Moving slightly closer, Jas felt his eyes catch on the silver pendant that rested against her chest bone. The seven-pointed star reflected a distorted image of his helmet, and the blue of his visor mirrored brightly onto the silver. 

Each of the seven points had also caught the reflection of his visor, and it made the pendant appear to have blue stones on each of the seven points.

Unintentionally, Jas felt his eyes drift down from her pendant and took notice to the modest curvature of her chest. The bodice of the dress held tightly around her, and the rounded collar of the dress rested just above the part of her anatomy that was referenced as cleavage. 

Jas discovered that there was something fascinating to him about the way her flesh responded to each breath she took, and he found the movements to be appealing on some basic and instinctual level.

He knew she couldn't see him under his buy'ce, but Jas still gelt his eyes rise quickly and pushed aside the reddened flush he knew was on his face.

 It was the closest he had ever been to a female, and even though her anatomy had nothing to do with the mission, the primal side of him was captivated by what lie there.

Forcing himself to remember his imaginary locked box of stray thoughts, Jas turned back to the objective of the mission and knew that the feminine parts of her body were not a requirement for getting her returned safely.

 Part of him still felt that he needed to apologize for his starring; however, he pushed aside the thought of an apology as he reminded himself that she couldn't see his eyes or the curious roaming they had done.

Something small grasped his hand, and it broke him from the battle between his primal fascinations and what was required to successfully complete this mission.

 It had taken him a moment to realize that the princess had taken his offered hand and had wrapped her fingers around his gloved hand seeming to cling onto him.

 Pushing aside his distractions, Jas also noticed that she had crept from the corner and was sitting nervously before him.

Her eyes were frightened, and she appeared to be looking hard at the visor as though trying to see if he really was who he said he was.

"Will you keep me safe?" she asked softly.

Jas now saw it was more than just fright. She had genuine terror in her eyes, and whatever that di'kut mercenary had done to her, it was going to leave her scarred. 

Then, he wondered if the merc had violated her in ways he didn't even want to imagine, and he felt a strange pity for her, should she have to endure that kind of exam.

"Your safety is my job, Ma'am," Jas explained. "Are you..." he paused wondering how he would verbalize such a question. He decided to start simple and go more specific as needed. "Are you hurt?"

"Shab! Jas, what the haran are you doing down there?" Dusty asked over the comm.

Jas quickly turned himself over to private communications. "She's been terrorized, and I'm trying to earn her trust."

"Is she harmed?" Mouse cut in.

"Not that I can see."

"Then, the objective has been reached," Mouse answered.

"We're having trouble problems with the engines," Gath explained, the ever-patient voice of reason. "Mouse and I are trying to just stop the ship from falling apart before we even reach Moon III's atmosphere. I'm ordering you to get yourselves into a safe crash position in case this entire escape goes sour."

"In other words, we might die," Dusty said with feigned casualness.

"We'll be breaking into the atmosphere very soon," Mouse reported.

"You don't have a lot of time, ner vod," Gath said soberly. "Find somewhere safe."

"Copy," Jas answered. He sighed quietly and looked at the princess, wondering if this was about to be his last mission and if he was about to die with a complete stranger, as opposed to being with his brothers. That thought made him feel strangely cheated somehow.

"Can you hear me?" she asked, and he saw that there was a concerned expression on her face.

Jas pushed aside the moment of his fear and shoved it into his locked box. He knew when this mission was over, and he opened that box, there was going to be one ugly mess of emotions and thoughts in it. 

He then set his buy'ce back to an open frequency so that he could continue his conversation with the princess. He had been aware that she was talking to him at the same time as his brothers, but he didn't think it was important to tell her that his helmet could be put to a private conversation with the slightest blink.

"Yes, I can hear you," he answered, "Did the merc touch...?"

"No," she said quickly, shaking her head, and he saw she was being truthful. "He said he was told not to harm me."

Relief washed through Jas. A violation of her body would certainly have complicated things. It would probably have been an instant failure of the mission in the king's eyes.

"We're having some malfunctions with this ship," Jas told her, not wanting to think about a mission failure and not entirely certain why the thought of someone violating her angered him so greatly. He brushed it off as just an instinct that came over from being a good soldier.

Fear suddenly washed over her, and her tiny grasp on his hand grew fierce. Jas had nearly forgotten that he was still holding her hand, but now was not the time to dwell on it.

"We're going to complete this mission," Jas assured her, changing his thoughts. "My brothers will land us safely, and you'll get home. Crimson Squad does not fail missions."  

      --- --- --- --- ---      

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!