Star Wars: Brave Misdeeds

Chapter 9

"Fame is a burden too heavy for the shoulders of innocence to bear. I know; I used to be innocent."          —Avari <RW>

Soelle suffered a recurring pang of guilt for leaving Maku behind on Talus with Memcha. Her ears still rang with the Socorran Tailring's accusing protests and pitiful whimpers. He was a fierce little fighter, proving himself invaluable on her reconnaissance missions, particularly on Lok. When a Corsair Pirate took aim at them, Maku dared the Trandoshan's rifle and attacked before the scavenger could get off a single shot. Talons and beak working in a frenzy of rage, the desert dragon blinded the pirate by scratching and pecking his eyes out, while simultaneously strangling the pirate with his tail. Though Maku was but a flea in comparison to his distant desert cousin, the Kimogila and even the Krayt Dragon, the Tailring possessed the same indomitable spirit and ferocious temperament.

Nervously fingering the golden hoop earring at her lobe, Soelle consoled herself with a solemn promise. She would take the feisty Tailring to hunt in the park on the outskirts of the Theed starport. Memcha had mentioned transporting her three youngest cubs to make their first kills there where confrontations could be closely monitored by an older, more experienced cat—usually E'yor. Hardly a match to a Corsair Pirate, the wild flocks of nuna and spineflaps that made their home in the park would be no contest for the Tailring. In the process, Maku would be an excellent defender for the young cats if they got in over their young heads.

Still, the supposed betrayal weighed heavily on Soelle's loyalties and threatened to mar the excitement of this historic evening. Thus reminded of the impending mission, her focus shifted back to the events unfolding about her. Thoughts of Maku dismissed to the back recesses of her mind, she tucked her helmet beneath her arm and went to stand at the shuttle door as the craft landed on Naboo. She wanted to be the first to peer out onto the sights of a true military maneuver. Behind her, armored, armed, and fervent for a war, <VIPER> was well represented and in full force: Tokkan with his carbine, Lomm and her knuckler, Ralrolow, Weolo, and over a dozen others. It was the largest gathering of the guild that Soelle had ever seen at one time.

As the shuttle settled onto its landing struts and the ramp slowly opened, Soelle hesitated to step down into the chaotic scene before her. Among quaint avenues of Nabubu City's vine-covered Nabooian mansions and domed huts, more than a hundred stormtroopers stood at attention as their captains barked orders at them to tighten their position. These men were not the raw boot recruits Soelle was used to fighting with from the Talus Imperial Garrison. Gathered in the square, their shadows shedding darkness over a myriad of parks and garden, eight AT-STs swayed from side to side as their servomotors were tested and retested to inure their functionality.

Whispering words of encouragement and wishes for good fortune, the members of her guild brushed passed Soelle to join the assembling squadrons of Imperial soldiers. They were eager to mingle with friends and acquaintances from other associations, as well as receive their orders for the night's operation. Within moments, Soelle lost sight of them. They were promptly swallowed up in the sheer numbers of the Imperial forces gathered there in the bustling metropolis. Nabubu City was the unspoken Imperial Headquarters of the planet of Naboo.

These men and women, all soldiers of the Empire, were masters of every categories: riflemen for destroying turrets; fencers, pike men and Teras Kazi for frontline penetration; bounty hunters and commandos for opening those front lines; and doctors to fortify minds and bodies for the coming battle. Somewhere in the mayhem, Kesi worked making medical enhancement drugs to use on the troops. Unlike Weolo, however, the dancer would remain behind in the safety of the cantina, while more battle-experienced physicians took to the field with the soldiers.