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...
Howzer stretched on his bunk, rolling his head side to side, slowly working out the kinks of another night spent on a flimsy sleeping pad. He was replaying the conversation from the day before, relishing the complete and total shock on her face as the door closed behind him. He had felt bad about that whole situation for a long time, and it had eventually subsided, blending into the rest of his memories, swirling records of ambition and misdirection, triumph and failure. He certainly had never expected to see her here, however, and felt mildly resentful of the sense of regret that it stirred within him.
He sat up, swinging his knees over the side of his bed and getting up in one fluid motion. With a sharp exhale, he began getting ready for the day, resolving to leave this all behind him. It was in the past, and honestly felt like a completely different life. There was no point in dwelling on it.
Picking up his helmet as his final step, he looked at the teal accents he had added on either side of it. His mouth set in a firm line, he paid silent respects to Sprint, then pulled the helmet on and made his way to the exit of the barracks. Syndulla was off-world, so his duties were straightforward -- keep an eye on the Imperial activity in the capitol and summarize pertinent details to share upon Cham's return.
He took off for the main square at a brisk pace but hadn't gone more than a few steps when a hand touched his elbow. With a quick turn of the head, he saw Aurelia standing next to him, a smile on her face that looked like a painstaking attempt at casual politeness.
"Hi... trooper. Er, Captain," she said, pulling her hand back from his arm to give a self-conscious wave.
"Howzer," he said, stopping to face her, "What, you're going to pretend like you forgot my name now?" It was delivered lightly but his jab felt empty -- not at all like the boisterous playfulness she remembered.
"Why didn't you tell me it was you from the start?" Aurelia asked bluntly, "You knew the whole time?"
"I don't know; what would have been the point? I didn't want to impede your investigation," he said, with just enough emphasis on the last word to give it a slight tinge of condescension. She squinted, trying to figure him out, and he continued, "Plus, I didn't think you'd be dancing in the streets to know it was me."
"I mean..." she started, searching for a legitimate answer and coming up with none. "Yeah..." she finished lamely. "I guess we didn't part on the best terms."
"Yeah, sorry about that," Howzer said, suddenly removing his helmet and lifting his chin to meet her eyes with a serious expression. "That was... pathetic. And immature. I know you didn't want to hear my apology back then, but you still are entitled to hear it now. I don't expect anything, just wanted to clear the air... You deserved more than that."
She was taken back by his sincerity, dropping her eyes to the ground in response to his directness. His scars accentuated the solemnity of his face, and he stood with a self-assured maturity that was palpable. She had played the scenario out in her head many times, if she ever were to see him again, and this is definitely not how she had envisioned any of them. "It's okay," she said dismissively, "You were young..."
"Youth isn't an excuse for idiocy," he remarked, tilting his head.
"Well, it's not an excuse, but the two sure do seem to go hand in hand more often than not," Aurelia quipped dryly, trying not to focus on how the sunlight caught his eyes.
He chuckled, a short little exhale that was disproportionately rewarding, before shifting his weight to one foot. "Did you need something?" he asked.
"Oh, uhh," she said, looking down the street. "No, actually. I just wanted to see you, once I realized it was you... But I don't know why. I mean, not that there's no reason, but... Well no, there's no reason, but... oh kriff." Where was the wisecracking bartender that had been able to catch and return any jab anyone had ever thrown at her?
"Okay..." Howzer said, a little more softly. "Well, I'm walking to the square if you're headed that way."
Swimming with relief at his clever navigation out of an awkward situation, Aurelia fell into step beside him as he put his helmet back on and began down the street. Buildings rose on either side, bustling with vendor carts in front of them and various flags and clothing items flapping from balconies above. Species of all kinds roved here and there, but primarily the crowd was made up of the native Twi'leks and the occupying humans.
"What have you been doing here?" Aurelia asked, attempting a normal sort of interchange for once.
"I'm Cham Syndulla's Captain," Howzer answered, "So I do whatever he needs when it comes to managing all the Imperial activity. Before that, it was the Republic activity. Before that, it was Separatist activity. New day, new overlords, you know?"
"I see. I mean, the Empire is different, at least -- now we can finally have some sort of peace and stability for a while."
"Peace?" came the slightly loud response, and Howzer stopped in his tracks, facing her again. "Does this peace feel different from the 'peace' we had with the Republic? What were you just investigating? A weapons shipment... Why all the weapons? They were just supposed to put in the refinery, to 'bring economic prosperity'. Instead, it's a constant stream of troops and weapons. Doesn't look like peace to me."
"Ryloth is an Imperial protectorate," Aurelia answered, taken aback by his sudden vehemence. "They're bringing all of that in to keep you safe!"
He looked at her for a moment, gaze hard, a litany of responses swirling in his head. But he didn't even know what he believed about it anymore, and instead took a deep breath, grounding himself in the things he did know: "Well. My job is to keep the people of Ryloth safe."
"And that seems to be going well," she said, a genuine attempt to smooth things over. She was both confused and surprised by his suspicion; she would have assumed that he of all people would have been grateful for the Empire's attention to his planet and their desire to bring order where there had been chaos.
"Mm," he responded shortly, any further thoughts cut off by the arrival of a squat little man.
"Aurelia!" said Moss Gowden, smiling at her politely. "What are you doing out here?"
"Finishing my investigation," she said quickly... Almost too quicky. Howzer turned to look at her.
"What a good girl," Gowden crooned in a tone that made her stomach turn, "Wonderful. Why don't you bring your findings to my office and we can dive right in. Have you eaten?"
"No," she began, "But--"
"Perfect!" he interrupted, "Come on then." He placed a hand on her lower back, almost too low, and with an odd sense of ownership, Howzer noted. "If we finish early, I might have some other things we could do." He gave Howzer a quick nod and turned to steer Aurelia toward the street with him before she could get another word out.
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