Star Wars Republic Commando: Knight of Honor ✓

Chapter 64

Author's Note: Thanks again to everyone who reads and comments! I'd be lost without you there for me every chapter. You have really encouraged me to not leave this story unfinished, and you have my sincerest gratitude.

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

Buy'ce (BOO-chay, BOO-shay): helmet; Colloquially: pint, bucket

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

Mir'sheb (MEER-sheb): smartass

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

Riduur (ree-DOO-rok): partner, spouse, husband, wife

--- --- --- --- ---

Chapter 64

You took an oath to be one of us, and outside distractions lead to sloppiness. If you wanted a normal life, you should have stayed a civilian. Here, we don't have the time or the luxury for courting. Your sole obligation is to the royal family, not finding a mate. If you find you changed your mind and want to live the home life, you tell me up front, and you'll receive an honorable discharge, but you'll forfeit ever being one of us again.

Davi Saun reiterating the relationship policy with newly sworn-in palace guardians

Tochin Moon III, 87 Days after Order 66

Dusty looked up after he had moved the tunnel grate aside, his eyes catching Jas and Les'ika as they exited the building and moved towards him. Dusty saw how obvious it was that Les'ika didn't recognize him in his Bhen Shipley disguise just by the way she crept closer to Jas. 

Dusty watched her eyes then dart towards Tarj as though seeking some kind of approval from the former clone commander before she brought them back to him once more. It reminded Dusty very much of how she reacted when they all had first met after that crash landing in Hazar's escape pod and how she didn't know who to trust due to her sheltering. 

What didn't help then either was the trauma that Hazar had brought upon her and now Dusty figured she would always have that skepticism about others. It was the mark she bore from having her life violated, and it was probably the reason why her trust was so pure once someone earned it. 

Jas had been the only one able to look beyond the title above her head and see past the trauma that she had endured. And, with that thought, Dusty realized why Les'ika had grown so fond of his brother.

"It'll be nice to have my personal RubyFruit chef again," Dusty said with a smile, bringing up something he was certain would spark a memory for her. Just coming out and saying, "Hey, it's me, Dusty," wasn't his style, and he was still determined to maintain his cover just in case something went wrong so that he could at least walk away safely and try to come up with a new plan for getting them free. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to try and share the RubyFruit in those care packages?"

Arlesse felt herself relax now, realizing that only the men in Crimson would know about her RubyFruit and the care packages she used to send. She knew that Gath and Mouse were sadly dead, and that meant besides Jas, only Dusty could have known about the way she cooked the berry-like fruit for them.