Captain Howzer Short Story

3.

Flashback....
Despite how tired and hungry he was, Howzer still managed to find Pyxis in the field hospital. She was sedated after her surgery and sleeping but Stinger let him see her anyway.  He held his gloves in one hand as he smoothed the hair away from her face with the other. He didn't know why he was so drawn to her and wanted to make sure she was ok, but he couldn't resist her presence.  His brow furrowed in worry and sadness as he thought about her family, and her friends, who died in the crash.
"Captain Howzer," Cham said behind him.
"General." He answered.
"Her family and friends have all perished. Eleni and I will take her in. She will be a good companion for Hera."
"That is very generous of you, sir."
"We all need to do what we can for each other." Cham nodded at Howzer and then left the small tent.

————

Pyxis sensed light and voices talking before she opened her eyes. Her fingers gripped the stiff sheets of her small cot as her heart began to race. A monitor nearby began to beep loudly and then a clone medic was hovering over her. "Miss? Miss? Are you awake? How are you feeling? Are you in any pain?"
Pyxis blinked her eyes a few times and looked around the small tent. There were other clones, all with the same face as the one tending to her. She had heard about the clones and the war, but hadn't seen them up close.
"I'm ok, I guess. Where am I? Where is my family?" she asked cautiously.
With her question the expression on the clone's face fell. "My name is Stinger. Captain Howzer and I rescued you about a week ago from a crash site. None of your family survived. Or any of the other families. I'm sorry."

Pyxis felt like she had been punched in the stomach. Her whole family was dead? "That can't be true. My dad is an excellent pilot. There must be some mistake," she said quickly.
"No, miss. I'm really sorry."
Pyxis tried to sit up from the bed but the sudden sharp pain in her side made her grimace and lay back down. She held her breath and rolled to her side and then sat up, throwing back the thin sheet from her legs. "I've got to find my family," she said through gritted teeth.
"Miss, I need you to lay back down. Someone will be here shortly to assign you a dwelling," Stinger said.
Pyxis squinted her eyes and drowned out what he was saying. "I've got to find my family," she said to herself.

Stinger realized he wouldn't be able to convince her to stay in bed and he had other duties to attend to. He took a step back and motioned for another medic to come over. "Find me Captain Howzer immediately," he said quietly.
Pyxis stood and braced a hand on the bed to stand. Her legs were weak from being in bed so long. She looked around the tent for the exit and started to make her way to the door when Captain Howzer stepped in. He came fresh from the field, his armor hot from the sun and coated with dust. He took off his helmet and Pyxis bumped into his chest plate as she stepped toward the door. He quickly dropped his helmet and grabbed her on her biceps to keep her from falling over.
"What are you doing? You should be resting in bed," he said to her.
Pyxis was so startled and caught off guard she could only stare at him . She barely recognized his face and armor, but she felt like she knew him.
"Who are you?" she asked as she stared up at him.
"I'm Captain Howzer. Stinger and I rescued you from a crash site. Do you remember anything?" he asked.
Pyxis furrowed her brow, trying to remember the day she was found. Flashes of her memory were coming back. Fire. Smoke. Crashing and twisting metal. Explosions. Blood. Then his face. It was kind and brought comfort to her. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes as she laid a hand on his cheek. "It can't be true," she said in a whisper. He laid his hand over hers, shocked at her small hand touching his skin.
He tried to guide her back to her bed but she pushed against him. "No! You're lying! Where's my family?!" She was crying hysterically now, and Howzer didn't know what to do. He had occasionally seen a twi'lek fighter crying over a fallen comrade, but this was out of his realm of experience.
She began to weakly bang her fist on his chest plate, and then she collapsed in his arms. He held on to her as he didn't know what to do. She was crying quietly as he laid her back in her cot and covered her with the sheet. She laid on her side, not looking at him anymore as he kneeled down next to her. He wiped at the tears on her face that had mixed with the dust from his armor, trying to clean it off of her. "I'm sorry about your family." He didn't know what else to say so he stayed by her side, smoothing her hair away from her face. He whispered a few more things to her before she fell into a dreamless sleep.