Star Wars Republic Commando: Knight of Honor ✓

Chapter 31

Author's Note: My heartfelt thanks to everyone who has been keeping up with the story, and a warm welcome to the new readers who have since then discovered this little tale. The interest is most appreciated! 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

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 ceta (nee SET-ah): sorry (lit: I kneel) grovelling apology - rare

Koytc (koh-TEESH): strong  

Shab (sh-ab): a Mandalorian word for excrement 

Vode (VOH-day): brothers, sisters, comrades

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Chapter 31

As a child, Arlesse used to carry around a heavy-bound flimsi novel that contained a collection of fantasy legends. She read that novel faithfully, even though the flimsi pages were falling out of the bindings and the pictures had faded. I got her a new novel to replace the one in disrepair, but she told me that the new flimsi didn't read the same. At first, I thought she meant that the printers had reworded the stories and changed some of the text, but when I compared the flimsies, they were exactly the same. I was baffled by what she said, and I didn't understand it then, but at some point, I finally figured it out. Arlesse had so much of her childhood embedded in that old novel that to remove it from her collection would erase the comfort those stories initially gave her. The new flimsi remained unread on the shelf in her room, but the old one was devotedly left in plain sight. As she grew older, I would occasionally see her run her fingers through the pages, and memories of her younger days would pass through her eyes.

King Vollan Psach, recalling a memory of his daughter while preparing the speeches for her memorial service

Tochin Moon III, 786 Days ABG  

A fast, hard explosion of light echoed through the woods scattering birds and creatures in every direction. The droids had been in the midst of forming up into guard position behind the Koorivian, but now at least two of them were knocked to the ground. One was thrown towards Zech and slammed him into a tree. The crack of the baron's head hitting the wood was lost in the firefight that suddenly erupted.

Blaster bolts began firing wildly into the wooded land, but Crimson remained hidden in their alcoves, firing on the droids.

Gunna didn't hesitate to get back up on her feet and move further into the clearing. Two droids attempted to follow behind her, maintaining their guard duty. However, Dusty lived up to his name and "dusted" the metal soldiers, his smile hidden beneath his gray helmet.

"Mouse, Gunna's coming your way!" Jas reported his words strangely on edge.

"Relax, ner vod," he replied calmly. "I have a surprise for her."

Gath and Dusty concentrated their efforts on the remainder of the droids, and Jas stepped from his secluded position amongst the shrubs. The Koorivian was quickly regaining her sight and hurried faster, as she ran back towards her ship. Jas thought of nothing but the dead clone trooper and finding Les'ika as a broken and frightened child in Hazar's prison bay. Instantly, his adrenaline pushed him, and he ran after her faster.