Commander Tano Meets Commanders

Bacara

CDR_Grae requested Commander Bacara in one of their splendid reviews on Archive of Our Own. I hope you all enjoy it!

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Chapter 5: Commander Bacara, during 'Front Runners'

Remember your purpose, but always question it.

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"Remember your purpose." Skywalker told Tano before he and Kenobi left the Togruta and clone Commander in the street.

Bacara scrutinised the Padawan, like he had been doing since they met before deployment to Onderon, and noticed a longing look in her eyes. She had been undoubtedly distracted by one of the young, male rebels who they were advising.

In Bacara's books, having a distraction was the easiest way to be killed on the battlefield.

"I guess that leaves us." Tano eventually said, turning to him, "We should go back to the others."

"And watch you drool over Bonteri? No thanks." He told her bluntly before jerking his head towards the market area, "I don't know about you, but I'm starved."

She pursed his lips at his first comment, but at the proposal of food- good food- she softened her expression. "What about the others?"

"They aren't exactly famished like the rebels I met on Tatooine." He said with a shrug. It only took three steps until he heard the patter of feet behind him, and Tano was suddenly by his side, "You a meat eater?"

"I'm a Togruta." She replied, a hint of confusion in her tone. When he glanced at her, she bared her sharp canines at him.

"I met a Jedi who didn't eat meat once." He explained, "Got real offended when he opened his ration pack." The smile faded off his face before it had really formed. "Us clones don't understand how you can pack muscle on without eating meat."

"Hm." Tano replied, paying him no attention whatsoever. He knew exactly who she was thinking about.

He watched her stirring the stew they bought from a market stall. It was a pricey broth, but it was worth it considering the amount of veg and meat in it. Bacara ate his portion quickly, not savouring the flavour in exchange for digesting the food as quickly as possible.

Jedi were strange creatures; he had always known that for a fact. Skywalker was reckless to the point of stupidity, although Bacara had a lot of respect for all the victories under his belt. Tano, from what he had seen so far, was also a good fighter and leader, but she showed a lot of compassion for the rebels, which wouldn't help them take back their planet.

In the 21st Nova Corps, compassion was a foreign concept. In fact, any marine who was spotted making small talk with civilians would have pictures of the encounter posted across the mess hall walls.

Jedi were weird when it came to compassion. Their Code forbid attachment, but they were encouraged to help others at every opportunity, dedicating their entire lives to doing good for others.

"Remember you purpose." He thought out loud, "What did Skywalker mean by that?"

"He meant that I should remember my role as a Jedi." Her gaze slowly lifted to meet his, but she couldn't hold eye contact for very long. Instead, Tano settled for looking at the collar of his jacket, "We're not warriors, like you."

"Like me?" He snorted, "I think Skywalker's killed more sentients than me."

"Possibly." He was slightly surprised that she agreed with him. Tano tilted her head to watch the bustling market to the left of their table, "But Jedi always try to use diplomacy first. That's where we differ from clones."