Howzer stole our hearts when he appeared in TBB S1 E12, and I wanted to write a bit of a backstory for him. It begins with his newbie days during The Clone Wars and stretches to where we last see him in The Bad Batch. Enjoy his character arc and som...
Months passed, blending together with the unceasing rhythm of pushing back the Separatists, losing ground, and repeating. Ryloth was an important planet, despite its attempts to remain neutral and simply be left alone as an independent system. It had been utilized by the Hutts for years as a center of slavery and spice trade. Dooku had secretly backed coups on it before the official start of the war, in an attempt to further sow discord. And despite the valiant sacrifices of Jedi General Di and his unit, resulting in a breakthrough of the Separatist blockade, the conflict continued.
War had a way of turning even the most optimistic cadets into disillusioned cynics, but the clones were born and bred for one reason alone, so their plight went on. They found brotherhood with one another, as well as the occasional Twi'lek, and punctuated weeks of fighting with days of rest and recovery.
The planet had a notably diverse landscape, ranging from tall mountain ranges to desert plains, peppered with lush forests throughout. It pushed troopers to their limits as they were forced to engage with the Separatist army on every terrain. Men were lost, names and numbers fading into oblivion as the cost of war, and replacements were delivered from Kamino.
Howzer's unit had taken a heavy blow in the last battle, and he felt heavy with the weight of it all. Perhaps "waddling around after the diplofat" on Coruscant hadn't been so bad in comparison. But he still closely held his dreams of leadership, of being in a position where he could truly make a difference, and that kept him going even when things were tedious and discouraging.
The start of the rotation found Sprint briefing his company: General Kenobi and his team had successfully destroyed the proton cannons guarding the planet, which cleared the way for General Windu and company to land in the hopes of taking the capital city of Lessu. As Windu's forces were fighting their way to the capital, Sprint's job was to take a platoon to clear a few villages of hostiles along the way, ensuring places for Windu's men to rest and recoup, to save their manpower for the fight at the capital and give the Republic the best chance at finally conquering it.
The first village had been surprisingly easy. Only a few units of battle droids remained, since the village had no apparent tactical use and wasn't assumed to be much of a target. Howzer felt his confidence rising, a much-needed boost after weeks of drudgery. The next village was larger and was situated neatly inside what looked like a large crater. There was excellent visibility, allowing them to scope it out from a nearby ridge.
"I don't see any droids," a clone scout said, scanning through the streets and buildings with electrobinoculars, "But there are natives, mostly in their homes. Not much activity."
"Hmm," Sprint considered, taking the scope and having a look for himself. "It's unlikely that the Separatists would leave it completely unattended, being so close to the capital..."
"Let's just skip it and go on to the next one," Howzer chimed in from behind, shifting from one foot to the other with impatience. He had grown a lot in the last few months, but the youthful vigor still surfaced when it came to seemingly mundane assignments.
"We have orders," Sprint chided, giving Howzer a stern glance. "Let's move in and see what we're working with. Stay in formation, keep it tight. Eyes everywhere."
"Sir, yes sir," chorused the troops.
***
They combed through the village, tension mounting as they apprehensively worked their way around every corner. A few Twi'leks said things to them in passing, but the only words Howzer could make out were random and didn't make sense -- things like "empty" and "gone". He assumed it was confirming the suspicion that the Separatists had moved on, but it still was mystifying as to why they had pulled their forces out.
It had been dark for a while when Sprint called the platoon to regroup, pulling up a hologram of the remaining sectors of the village, "It's getting late, so let's split up. Two squads with Lieutenant Trax, head this way and divide to cover these two areas. The remaining two squads with me; we'll work our way through these two."
Off they went, fanning out into the darkness, illuminated occasionally by the flickering lights along the streets and the warm glow coming from various windows. It felt oddly peaceful, and after hours of finding no combatants, Howzer was starting to let his guard down. His hand was tight around his DC-17, and he marched quietly next to his partner, following Sprint's teal-lined helmet up ahead.
BOOM!
The ground shook and the skies lit up with an orange ball of flame on the far side of the crater, followed by two more, as an array of droid bombers screamed past above them. The droids pulled up, making an arc high in the sky, and turned to make another pass over the village.
"Bombers!! Take cover!" Sprint shouted, and the squad scattered. Distant screams reached their ears as the bombers dropped another round on the village, closer now. The buildings rattled with the impact, various things falling to the ground, and the scent of smoke quickly followed. A group of Twi'leks appeared from an alleyway, clutching each other and casting frightened glances to the sky.
"Get inside!" Sprint yelled to them, motioning to a nearby doorway. Howzer edged over to them, hearing the droids approaching yet again, and pointed with his gun, encouraging them to move. A chorus of Twi'leki words met his ears as they gestured frantically, but he had no idea what they were trying to say. He grabbed the female in the lead by her arm, nodding his head, and pulled her across the street, blaster at the ready.
The rest followed behind, growing more and more insistent in whatever they were trying to say, and Howzer pushed them toward some stairs leading to a doorway. The droids were coming around again, the ominous sound growing louder.
"Why are they bombing a civilian village? They shouldn't even know we're here!" one of the clones yelled to Sprint, who threw his hands up in frustrated confusion. He was gesturing for them to move further to the edge of the town when suddenly his eyes landed on a small Twi'lek boy running down the street, calling the same words over and over, tears streaming down his face.
Bombs began to fall, thundering closer and closer to them now, and the boy cried out in terror. Sprint found himself running toward him, abandoning his cover, yelling and waving an arm to the child. Howzer squeezed the last of his group through the downstairs doorway, ready to cram himself in behind them when he saw Sprint flying past them above on the street.
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