SWTCW Oneshots (Mainly Clones) part 2

Protector

sorry not sorry for this

Everything was such a confused mess. Howzer could barely understand what was going on, but the one thing he knew is that the Empire was wrong.

Everything they were doing was wrong.

Hell, Hera was only a child and they were hunting her down like an animal. Despite his orders from the Admiral that his own squad would be searching for the child, he decided that he needed to so himself.

He needed to prove to Cham that they could trust him. That he wasn't there to hurt them or keep them in a prison cell for the rest of their lives.

So to insure Hera's safety, he needed to find some way to track her down. And then try to convince her that he wouldn't hurt her.

That didn't seem too difficult. If he didn't run into the Commander or any of his squad members. There was a lot of things he didn't like about it them.

But the fact that they were going to punish a child..and possibly send her who knows where..

Howzer couldn't even think about it. He couldn't even begin to imagine what they'd do to her.

After he talked with the Admiral, he started off across the base, surveying his own squad members, who seemed to be nothing but mindless droids at this point.

He was faintly confused at the random headaches that came and went, but seeing as they weren't very bothersome, he decided to ignore them. They never got any worse, so he assumed it wasn't a big deal.

The galaxy was a chaotic mess.

The first place he searched was their base, which he found an odd place for her to hide as it was heavily guarded by his brothers. He left the base after that, heading over toward the rocky hills and ledges at the Syndulla's home. Upon hearing voices echoing up ahead, he crouched down and peered over the edge, securing his helmet over his head.

3 of the Commander's recruited soldiers were talking with said Commander. He was close enough to overhear their conversation.

"We searched their home," one of them said. They definitely weren't clones. "The Syndulla girl's gone."

"She could have already fled the planet," Another said, to which the Commander shook his head. "Not without her parents. Find her."

Howzer watched as they dispersed. It would be hard to get down to search the house himself because of all the clones on close guard.

Something shifting to his left caught his attention. The Captain climbed down as carefully as he could, peering around the corner to see the familiar Twi'lek girl peering down at the soldiers. When she was done, she turned and caught her breath for a few moments.

She was scared. He could tell by how fidgety she was. He didn't blame her.

He got to his feet and made his way toward her. "Hera?"

The girl jumped, eyes widening when she spotted him. Almost immediately, she began to crawl backward.

"H-Howzer.." She stuttered. "I—I-I can explain! I—"

"Shh," He looked around, setting his helmet on the ground. "I'm not here to hurt you."

She didn't look much convinced. "Then why are you here?"

"I'm here to protect you," His gaze softened. He knelt down to her level. "Look, I know you're probably confused, but I'm not like them. I'm not hunting you."

Slowly, she began to unfold herself, looking up at him with wide eyes. "You're not?"

The Captain shook his head. "What the Empire is trying to do is wrong. Especially to you and your parents. I just want to make sure you stay safe."