Star Wars Republic Commando: Knight of Honor ✓

Chapter 35

Author's Note: If you have any tips 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

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

Di'kut (DEE-koot): idiot, useless individual, waste of space (lit. someone who forgets to put their pants on)

Ika (EE-kah): diminutive suffix written as 'ika - also added to a name as a very familiar or childhood form, e.g, Ord'ika - Little Ordo

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

Ni vore (NEE-vor): "I accept"

Shabla (SHAH-bla): screwed up  

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Chapter 35

I wanted to give you a moment in time, an opportunity to remember. You needed to know who you fight for, not just what and why.

Cerina Browlin, liaison to RC-1168, "Dusty," during the Denon Mission

Tochin Moon III, 786 Days ABG

Gath ran a gloved hand over his hair, scratching at an itch he didn't really believe he had but felt inclined to get rid of anyway. He was worried about Jas and how his brother seemed to have shut down from them. He tried to warn him and prepare him that such an attachment would only lead to emotional agony. Even though Gath never had the opportunity to experience any kind of relationship with a woman, he had his own experience with attachment when he was still only about four years old chronologically.

Gath remembered back to one night when he couldn't sleep due to a particularly hard day with blaster training. For whatever reason, his mark was off, and he could only graze the targets. The Kaminoans ushered him to get his eyes checked as well as a full physical, and everything had resulted in normal ranges. He managed to avoid the reconditioning chamber thanks to Gan telling the Kaminoans he was just having an off day and that he would pull out of the uncharacteristic mood after a good night's sleep.

Gath had taken Ba'vodu's advice and gone to bed early that night. However, his sleep was interrupted as he felt something scratching under the blanket near his feet. Waking, Gath had discovered a small, comlink-sized rodent scurrying around beneath the covers. Rather than call an alarm or simply kill the small leathery creature, he caught it in his hands. Gath remembered waiting to be bitten, but the tiny mammal simply sniffed at him as though looking for food and warmth. Offering what he could, Gath allowed the creature to curl up within his blanket. Over the next couple of days, he had sneaked in small portions of food and took care of the mammal-like any other curious boy his age would have.

His brothers in Crimson, who shared the room with him, simply ignored Gath's newfound pet. They decided that if he wanted to get into trouble for having it, then they would feign stupidity and offer no knowledge of the creature. In fact, neither Crimson nor Gath ever told Gan about the rodent for fear that he would be resentful of the creature since Gan had openly admitted once that he hated rodents.

Gath had successfully cared for the creature for nearly two weeks. Then, one day as he returned from a particularly fine day of training, he returned to his room exhausted but feeling good and looking forward to playing with the rodent. Unfortunately, when he arrived in the room, he saw that one of the Kaminoans had already discovered his tiny pet. Without so much as a blink of regret, the Kaminoan injected the rodent with a small vile, and the creature had died within just a couple seconds.