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monako-jinn-stories · 2 years ago

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Captain Howzer X Fem! Reader FanFic

Rebels on the Run

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Chapter Two

Chapter One

Ryloth is less than ideal of a place to be stranded, but you don’t exactly have any way off the planet. Your starfighter was destroyed when the men of your battalion fired at you, and ever since you narrowly escaped with your life, you’ve been hiding in the wild of the planet. That’s not to say you haven’t gone to the cities every so often, but you wore layers of cover when you did. Not only do you stick out as a human, you don’t want to be recognized as a Jedi.

It’s been months of hiding, and there’s been no variation in your weeks. Each day starts the same; scouting the perimeter of wherever you’re currently hiding before settling back down to make your meager breakfast. Certain days involve different activities after breakfast.

Primeday is when you would clean up your area, making sure everything is washed and put away, or neatly placed out of the way. Centaxday is when you go to the nearest city for food. Taungsday, you head to the farthest city for other supplies, like toiletries. Zhellday you sneak over to your lookout near the imperial base, spending the day listening in on what you can and observing the work of the empire. Benduday is when you allow yourself to relax, as much as possible given your state of being a fugitive.

There was one recent Zhellday where some very interesting events went down. First, what appeared to be a batch of rogue clones attacked the imperial refinery, and then a guard was sent to guard Lessu. Imperial forces were deployed from the Capitol building, but another squad had set up a trap at one of the Capitol’s exits, seemingly for the rogue batch of clones. After some happenings inside of the building, one lone clone exited and stated his defiance to the Empire. Then, he was arrested and escorted inside the Capitol building.

Once you’d been sure that nothing else interesting or important was going to happen, you’d decided to head back to your current hiding spot. As you had walked, you’d thought about the events you’d witnessed and how it might change things for you. If there were insurgencies within the Empire, then perhaps you could get to some people who would help you escape without asking too many questions. Not that you could ever trust a clone trooper, not after what happened with your own.

You can still remember the feeling of panic as your starfighter was shot down, the voices of your beloved friends ordering your death. And then the sound of your commander ordering his brothers to take his life, afterwards.

“Commander Sans, General Jinn’s ship has been shot down. It crashed and exploded on impact. There is no way that she could have survived,” Captain Hex had said over the comms, not knowing that you had in fact survived and could still hear.

“Our job is done then,” Sans replied. “Except, I have one more order for you and Major Steele.”

“Yes, sir. What is it, sir?” Steele asked.

“I have done what I was ordered to do, but I do not wish to live in a world without y/n. I know she was a traitor, yet my heart continues to betray me. My love for her will never overcome any other feeling I feel towards her. I could never hate her, and because of that, I will only ever hate myself for continuing to love her after taking her life.”

“What are you saying, sir?”

“I need you and Captain Hex to kill me.” The words had left Sans so effortlessly, almost matter-of-factly, as if this should have been the most obvious request.

“Sir?” Hex said, stepping closer to him. “I will not kill you, Sans.”

“Hex,” Sans said, and you heard his feet shuffle as he turned to face him, “I am ordering you and Steele to kill me. Shoot me and take my life, for I cannot live in this galaxy without y/n.”

“But Sans-”

“No, Steele. There is no argument. If you will not kill me, then I will take my own life.”

A silence followed these words, and you could only assume Hex and Steele had exchanged glances, a silent conversation playing between the two.

“Alright, Commander,” Hex said, “but we’re coming with you.”

“Then I will be waiting to march on with you,” Sans said before a brief silence followed by two blasters firing, and then both of those blasters firing again. And then endless silence on the comms.

You still feel guilt for not saying something, for not revealing that you had survived. But you couldn’t, because you would have been hunted down and killed. As much as you wanted more than anything to save their lives, you knew, in the end, it would have only delayed the inevitable. And you perhaps might have condemned Sans to killing you as you faced him, which you’d much rather him not have to bear the weight of. The only consolation is knowing that Sans, Hex, Steele, Aid, Tie, and Bomber are now all together again.

A week had passed, and you’d returned to the imperial base. It had been busier, and you could only assume it was because of the defiant clone and the rogue clones. You had heard whispers in the cities that General Cham Syndulla and his wife Eleni, along with their daughter, had been rescued and taken off planet by the rogue clones. A bitter feeling flooded through you as you’d heard the news. Of course you weren’t lucky enough to also be saved by them. It’s what you get for remaining hidden in the shadows.

As you had watched, your mind kept drifting back to think about the defiant clone and the few followers he had raised. You wondered what the likelihood of him still being on planet is, and the likelihood of you being able to help-

No, you’d told yourself before you could finish the thought, you are not going to risk your life for a clone that will just end up killing you or betraying you.

And yet, a few weeks later, you weren’t given much of a choice in the matter.

It’s earlier than normal when you wake up today, and your body is rigid with tension. Something feels off, it’s what had awoken you early, and you can’t tell whether it’s danger or just cautionary. You don’t give yourself much time to debate it. You crawl out of your make-shift bed, which is in reality just a slab of stone, and put your bounty hunter mask on before grabbing your blaster and heading close to the entrance of your hiding spot. You keep hidden while you listen to their steps, trying to sense their location through the force. They seem to be curious about whether or not this area could provide shelter.

“Huh, I wonder how easy it would be to carve out a living space in this rock,” the person says, and his voice sends a chill down your spine. “No doubt that it would be hard to find me out here.” Your grip on your blaster tightens, sensing him continuing to look around, getting closer to you. “That’s weird,” he mutters, and you can tell from his force signature that he’s found your secret path, the one that leads directly to your entrance. His footsteps echo down the short, hollowed out corridor, and you let out a steadying breath before you make your move.

In an instant, your blaster muzzle is pressing into the side of the clone trooper’s head, and he’s frozen in place, his hands up in surrender. A silence fills the room, and you fight every instinct that tells you to shoot him now, taking away his chance to shoot you.

“You’ve wandered a long way from your little imperial base,” you say, “what led you all the way out here?”

“I’m wanted by the Empire. I’m trying to escape the planet and join the clones who are rebelling.”

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

“Look at me,” he says, beginning to move his hand to gesture at himself. You grab his wrist, fearing him possibly reaching for his blaster. “Relax, I’m not going to hurt you. Besides, I have no reason to hide anything. If you just look at me, you’ll see proof that the Empire was holding me in prison and was trying to torture information from me.”

“Anyone might have tortured you. For all I know, you’re trying to make your way back to the Empire.”

“How can I prove to you that I’m being honest?” You think for a second, trying to decide what could possibly reveal to you that he’s not lying. There is one way, but it’s risky, especially given that he is a clone, but you take the risk anyway.

“Say it again.”

“Say what again? That I’m being honest?”

“No, your claim about fleeing the Empire.” Your grip tightens slightly on him, and your fingers wrap around to feel his pulse.

“I’m wanted by the Empire. I’m trying to escape the planet and join the clones who are rebelling.” You close your eyes as he speaks and sense his words. Unsurprisingly, he’s telling the truth. You knew his voice had been eerily similar to the defiant clone, and this is all but a direct confirmation of his identity.

“I believe you,” you reply after a minute. You let go of his hand and lower your blaster, motioning for him to sit on your make-shift chair while you sit across from him on your make-shift bed.

“If I may ask,” he says, “how did you know you could trust me just by holding my wrist?”

“When people lie, their heart rate typically spikes. I felt your pulse, and it remained steady.” It isn’t exactly false, but it’s not quite the method you had used. But you also aren’t going to outright admit that you’re a Jedi when he could still kill you.

“Ah, I see,” he says, his hand subconsciously rubbing his other wrist. “Now I guess it’s my turn to ask who you are.”

“None of your business,” you reply simply, and he looks at you silently for a second before nodding.

“I understand you might not trust me completely-”

“The only thing I trust about you,” you begin, cutting him off, “is what you told me about your condition with the Empire.”

“I guess that’s fair,” he replies. “But, I can promise you that I’m not a threat.”

“Not a threat to who?”

“You. Anyone. Well, anyone except the Empire.”

“You’re a clone trooper.”

“Yes.”

“You’re a threat to the Jedi. You’re a threat to citizens who do not want to align with the Empire, even if you’re not with them anymore. People will still see you and fear occupation.”

“The Jedi have all been wiped out,” he responds, “and it is not the clones that forced the occupation, it’s the imperials that order us around.”

“But they’re the sign of occupation, are they not?”

“I mean…I guess.”

“And how can you be certain all the Jedi have died? I’ve heard quite a few rumors about some surviving and in hiding.”

“Well, those are just rumors,” he counters.

“But if you knew there was a Jedi nearby, you’d kill them, right?”

“I-” he begins, but then his face scrunches in thought, almost as if he’s in pain. His hand goes up to his head, but then he shakes it, clearing his throat before looking back up. “Part of me believes that it is my duty to make sure all the Jedi are dead, but the other part of me believes that the Empire lied in order to take control.”

“How come you aren’t convinced of this like you’re convinced that the Empire is wrong?”

“Well…I don’t know,” he admits, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s almost like…it’s natural for me to think the Jedi deserve to die.”

“But you fought alongside them for years, did you not?”

“Yes, I did.”

“And did they ever show signs of betrayal then?”

“No.”

“So what makes you believe that they might have betrayed the Republic?”

“I…don’t know. Like I said, it just feels natural.”

“But there’s no evidence to support this natural feeling?”

“No, there’s not.”

“Then perhaps there is no reason to believe they betrayed the Republic. Perhaps the Empire lied about it.”

“Is that what you believe?”

“Yes,” you say simply. “From the moment he became Supreme Chancellor, I have never trusted Palpatine. Everything he said was always too vague, too…interpretive. I believe that he’s always been up to no good, and never truly liked the Jedi.”

“I guess that does explain some things that he did and said,” the clone responds. “I’m willing to change my opinion on the Jedi if I’m shown that they did not betray the Republic.”

“I’m afraid there is no concrete way to prove this. There is no evidence that the Empire betrayed the Jedi. All you can really do is take the word of those who knew and were close to Jedi.”

“Did you know a Jedi?”

“Yes…I did,” you reply. “He was like a father to me. He cared for me in ways that no one else ever had. And he always had the best interests of others on his mind. Especially my best interests. He taught me how to be the person I am today, how to treat and care for others, while always looking out for myself as well.”

“He sounds very important to you.”

“He was. And he never would have betrayed the Republic. He loved the men under his command as a father loves their sons. And the other Jedi that he introduced me to had equal love for their men. They were all pure of heart and just wanted to help others.”

“I see. I’m sorry that you lost so many people, especially the one who was like a father to you. What was his name? I might have fought under his command.”

You hesitate, not knowing whether or not revealing his name could reveal your own identity, but you decide to take the chance, because you hadn’t spoken his name since his death, other than in screams of despair and nightmares. “His name was Codo Daawa.”

“Codo Daawa? General Daawa?” the words are almost sad, regretful even. “He was a very kind person. I did fight under his command a few times. I looked up to him and how he always looked out for us and protected us. I’m sorry, again, for your loss.”

“Thank you,” you reply quietly. A few minutes of silence pass between the two of you, both of you in your own minds. You are again thinking about the feeling that you’d had when Codo had died, how you instantly felt a difference in the force. You’d known without a doubt that he was next to you, but within the force, and he wanted more than anything to comfort you, though it was impossible.

“My name is Howzer, by the way,” he says, breaking the silence. “Formerly Captain Howzer, in case General Daawa ever mentioned me.”

“No, he didn’t,” you reply, and he nods understandingly.

“And your name?”

You bite your lip under your mask, a new wave of panic taking over. Do you dare reveal your real name? What are the chances that he knows who you are? Even if he’s heard of you, would he immediately assume you’re the same person as General Jinn?

“It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me,” he adds as you remain quiet, “I understand you still don’t trust me.”

“It’s better for both of our safety if you don’t know.”

“I see.”

“But,” you say, clenching your hands in your lap, “I won’t get anywhere in life if I never trust again.” He looks at you curiously, patiently waiting for you to continue with where you’re going. You let out a deep breath, trying to calm your nerves. You lift your head to gaze at him through your mask. And after closing your eyes and preparing for the worst, you open your mouth to speak.

“My name is y/n. Y/n Jinn.”

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#captain howzer #howzer #star wars #star wars the bad batch #star wars the bad batch fanfic #star wars fanfic #star wars fanfiction #the bad batch #howzer the bad batch #captain howzer the bad batch #captain howzer x reader #howzer x reader #jinn the storyteller🤍🤍#rebels on the run

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monako-jinn-stories · 2 years ago

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Howzer X Fem!Reader FanFic

Rebels on the Run

Main Master List

Multipart Stories Master List

Chapter One

Chapter Three

Chapter Two

Howzer stares at you silently, and you can see him trying to make sense of your words. It’s almost as if he’s debating whether or not you’re lying, and whether or not he should stick around, leave, kill you, or let you live. You, on the other hand, are internally debating if you should kill him before he possibly attempts to kill you. You took the risk to reveal your identity, and now you have to wait to see if it was the wrong choice or not.

“Y/n Jinn…” he repeats after a minute, his hands slowly moving down to his side. You watch, and slowly move your hand to your blaster as well. He notices your movement, and slowly grabs his blaster and vibroblade. “If you are who I think you are claiming to be,” he says, “then you have no reason to fear me.” He sets his blaster to stun and then sets both weapons on the ground before sliding them over to you. You set a foot on top of each one, but continue to watch him carefully.

“You could still physically attack me.”

“But I’m still sitting here, aren’t I?”

“False trust.”

Howzer sighs, and you watch as he moves to sit on the floor. “Now I’m in a worse position to get up and try to attack you.” You remain silent, but you too settle yourself on the floor. He watches curiously, and then his eyes go slightly surprised as you lift your bounty hunter mask off and set it to the ground. He looks at you for a minute before letting out a slight chuckle. “Commander Sans was right.”

“About?”

“How beautiful you are.” You feel your cheeks burn up at the compliment before a pang of hurt strikes you. You look down, tears building in your eyes. “I’m sorry if that was too much-”

“No,” you say quickly, shaking your head, “it’s just…” You take a deep breath. Maybe it will be therapeutic to talk about what had happened. “Sans, Hex, and Steele believed that they had shot down and killed me, and after that they all took their own lives. Sans ordered Hex and Steele to kill him, and then they killed themselves. I heard everything over the comms. I would have done anything to save them, but I knew they’d just end up hunting me down and killing me, and still end up killing themselves after. It would have only delayed the inevitable.”

“I see,” he says, “I’m sorry you lost such loyal men.”

“I just…I don’t know or understand what happened. I loved them so much. And they loved me…I thought.”

“We were given an order, order 66,” he starts, “and it was to kill all Jedi because they betrayed the Republic. Or so the Chancellor claimed. But I want to believe you, that the Jedi were in fact innocent. But at the same time, I don’t want that to be true, because then we all turned on our generals that fought alongside us for so long, and took their lives for a false belief.”

You remain quiet, not quite sure how to respond. Howzer is right, the Jedi had fought alongside the clones for the entire clone war, and with one simple phrase, they’d turned on them and killed them. It doesn’t make sense, it shouldn’t have been that easy. There has to be more to it.

“I have things to do,” you say after a while.

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Howzer says, standing up awkwardly. “I’ll uh, be on my way, then.”

“Not so fast,” you say, holding him in place with the force as he begins to head to the entrance, “you can’t forget your weapons. Especially since you’re a fugitive.”

“Right,” he says, reaching to take the blaster and vibroblade as you hand them to him. You take a step back after he grabs them, and watch as he hesitates while looking at them. “Can I ask you a question?”

“You haven’t given me a reason to deny you the right to.”

He nods, clearing his throat while holstering his blaster. “Would I be able to…stay with you? I know my being a clone might put you on edge, but I can promise to be helpful. And I think we’d both have a better chance of surviving if we worked together.”

“On the contrary,” you say, turning to grab your mask, “being in greater numbers will attract more attention, and the likelihood of one of us getting caught and ratting out the other is also high.” His face falls as he listens, knowing you have a point. “However,” you face him, tucking the helmet under your arm, “it is quite lonely, and it might be nice to have someone around. Just as long as you follow my…routine.”

“Sounds easy enough,” he says, a smile coming to his lips. You nod and set your helmet on your head before motioning for him to leave. Once outside, you take him over to where you keep your speeder. You had managed to sell bits and pieces of your destroyed ship and get enough credits to buy this, and a few other things. The rest you’ve been slowly spending, as you have no means to earn any more.

“Today is my moving day,” you start as you point to your speeder, “I pile everything that I can take onto here and leave the rest behind while I find a new place to live.”

“How long have you been doing this?”

“I used to do it every week, but now I only do it once a month. It’s just too tiring having to move so often, and of course finding places to live isn’t easy.”

“I think I might know a place that could work for the both of us,” Howzer suggests, but you shake your head.

“If you know about it, chances are so does the Empire.”

“I guess I didn’t think about that.”

“Don’t worry, soon enough, thinking about survival and staying hidden will become second nature to you. We can move today, and then I’ll go into the city tomorrow for food. On Taungsday I’ll go and get you a mask like mine, and some clothes for you to wear until the next Taungsday, when you can go with me and pick some clothes for yourself.”

“Alright,” he says, not quite sure how he feels about waiting so long to head out or to have proper protection.

“Stay here, I’m going to go change, and then I’ll bring some stuff out and you can start loading it on the speeder.” He nods briefly to you before you head back inside. It doesn’t take long to change, and you only grab the necessities to take out and load on the speeder. Howzer quietly works to set everything on and secure it, and after about five minutes, you’re almost ready to leave.

“Is this really all you’re taking?” he questions, looking at the relatively small amount of items you’d brought out.

“It’s all I need, everything else is replaceable,” you shrug. “I just have one more thing to do. If you want, you can go ahead and get on the speeder, this will only take a minute.”

“Okay,” he replies, getting on the speeder and starting it up. You head inside, looking around your tiny one-room home for the last time before you pull your blaster out and start firing. It’s not more than only a few seconds later that you faintly hear Howzer calling your name, and you pause and turn to see him running in. “Wh-what’s going on?” he questions, utterly confused as he looks around at the room. You notice his blaster in his hand, and you keep your gaze trained on it as you reply.

“I’m destroying everything,” you state simply. “I always do it so as to not leave any personal traces behind.”

“A warning would have been nice,” he responds, “I thought you were under attack.”

“Yeah, but I also wanted to see how…loyal you are. Now, it’s safe for me to assume that if anyone you’re working with appears to be in danger, you’ll be there to help as quickly as possible.”

“You really don’t trust me, do you?”

“I don’t trust anyone anymore, and neither should you.”

“So you’re saying I shouldn’t trust you?”

“No,” you say, “you can, but you shouldn’t.”

“I’m also beginning to see what Sans meant by you being confusing and sending mixed signals,” he chuckles, but you just remain quiet. It isn’t the same as with Sans. Deep down you always knew you loved him, but you wouldn’t let yourself show it or give in to it. In another universe, you would have allowed yourself to be in love, to give him everything you always wanted to give him, but not in this one. In this one, things weren’t meant to work out for the two of you.

“If you want to help, I would appreciate it. It would go a bit faster.” A moment of silence lingers between the two of you before he nods. You turn back and continue destroying the room, blasting the ceiling until it collapses while the two of you back out. Afterwards, you silently walk to the speeder, you in the front while he sits behind you.

Before you take off, you close your eyes and begin to spill what you’ve been wanting to say. “I never told Sans that I felt the same way he did. I…I didn’t want to get my hopes up that we would have a chance together after the war. And now…well, I just wish I would have taken the chance when I had one. Then maybe things would have turned out differently. Maybe he would have been able to fight more…”

Howzer is quiet for a moment, thinking of how to best respond. “I’m…sorry that’s how things went. I wish you could have had a better outcome.”

You just let out an amused huff. “Yeah…so do I.” You look up and squint, reaching for the handles. “Can you do something for me?”

“Oh, uh, yeah, sure,” he replies, not expecting you to ask him for anything after that revelation.

You wait a moment, wondering if this is what you really want to do. You just sigh and shake your head slightly before asking him, “can you…never mention them again?”

He sits in silence, being shocked by your words. He understands that you lost your best friends, but wouldn’t you want to talk about memories? Get to know more about them as cadets? He also doesn’t want them to be forgotten, especially not by you. Though, from what he knows about your bond with the men of Jawa Squad, it would be very hard for you to forget them.

You swallow hard, noticing his hesitation. You can’t blame him, you’re asking him to never talk about his brothers again. They may not have been as close to him as they were to each other, but still. It’s not that you want them to be forgotten, it’s just…it hurts so much. “Perhaps…in time, I’ll be able to hear their names again, and speak them, but…for now, can you promise me not to mention them? At least when I can hear?”

“Of course,” he finally replies, “I don’t want to make you upset or uncomfortable.”

You nod, giving only that small response before turning on the speeder and heading off. You don’t exactly have a spot in mind, just a direction. Sort of, if you could call a wide arc a direction. “Scan the area for places you think might be good to hide in or around,” you call back, and you hear a brief acknowledgement from him. You’ve been hiding in caves and little dugouts the entire time you’ve been stranded, maybe having another person's input might lead to a better living situation. You wonder if you should take the risk and have a little place up on a piece of land that overlooks a lower area. It would probably be too obvious to Imperial patrols, though.

You ride in silence for a while, watching almost absentmindedly as the barren landscape flew by. You wish there was more environmental diversity near the cities you visit, it would definitely make places much nicer to inhabit. But that might lead to you getting too comfortable, so maybe it’s better that there isn’t much other than dry land around.

It almost reminds you of the desert back on your home planet. Dohbar’s massive desert at the front of the palace spread out over almost a third of the world, and it came into contact with the grassland region and the snowy mountainous region. It had always amazed you as a child how it could be extremely hot in one spot, and only a couple hundred feet away, it was cold enough to snow. It was probably due to the massive mountains acting as a border between the two regions, keeping the cool weather to the west, and the warm weather to the east.

You wonder how everyone is doing on Dohbar. You know Ahni and Kwol must be worried. They’ve lost so much in this war, and you want nothing more than to be by their sides and comfort them. Tayah is still missing, but you’ve heard rumors. And Ringo…last you knew, he was at the Jedi Temple during ‘Order 66’, as Howzer had called it. But there’s no reason to wonder whether or not he survived.

You’ve been plagued with nightmares every night of Jedi that you were close to being slaughtered and killed by the troops they commanded and cared for. Even the few younglings that had touched your heart weren’t spared in the tragedy, including Ringo. You wake up in a cold sweat whenever you see the blaster shots impale Codo, who had been trying to stand in front of the younglings, protecting them the best he could. But his efforts had been futile, and after he fell, Ringo and the others did as well.

An arm pointing off to the side in your peripheral catches your attention. You turn your head to look where Howzer is pointing, and it’s a decent little area that is hidden. You nod and slow down, turning back a little bit before flying over.

“Wait,” he says suddenly, and you stop, looking around to see if he had seen someone. “I…we probably shouldn’t.”

“Why not?” you ask, looking back at him now. His face is weary, and he seems slightly concentrated. You can feel that he’s nervous, and you instinctively reach a hand to a weapon.

He notices, and raises his hands in defense. “I…a patrol I was on once found this place.”

“Oh,” you reply, glancing around again. No one seems to be here. “It’s a bit far out from the base, do patrols or troops regularly come here?”

“Well, no, I don’t think so,” he shrugs, “but there’s still the risk.”

“There’s going to be a risk anywhere we go,” you say simply. You take the speeder a bit closer before getting off. There’s a skinny path that leads inside, barely big enough for a speeder to slip through. “Have you been inside?”

“Yeah, it’s actually very nice. It’s like a little oasis, I think,” he says, “there’s a few trees, some grass, and a spring in the middle.”

“It sounds lovely,” you say, stepping into the pathway, “maybe enough room for us to have our own spaces?”

“Yeah,” he agrees, “should we leave the speeder here?” You glance back and purse your lips as you think, but then you shake your head.

“You can take it in. I’ll follow behind.” He nods and scoots forward to take the controls while you step out of the way. He goes slowly, letting you stay with him, as you make your way inside. “It’s a decently long path,” you think out loud, “plenty of time to hear people coming and get prepared.” He nods again before he finally breaks into the open. You follow shortly after, and gaze around at the area he had described. It’s beautiful, lush grass and amazing trees. The water looks crystal clear and you have the sudden urge to jump in, but you quickly pull yourself out of the trance. “Does anyone ever go up there?” you ask, pointing to the top of the rock walls surrounding it.

“Not that I’m aware of,” he replies while getting off the speeder. “There wasn’t really much use for this place when we found it, so when we reported it, the higher ups just disregarded it. And it’s practically impossible to sneak off in this Empire, unlike the Republic where troops could sneak away for the night almost whenever they wanted.”

“You snuck out,” you reply, “does that mean you’re more skilled than others?”

He glances at you, becoming slightly shy all of a sudden. “Uh, well, maybe?” he says, a hand going to smooth down his hair nervously, “I don’t really know, I don’t compare myself to others much. I just follow orders and lead the men I’m in charge of.”

“You follow orders, or you followed orders?” you ask, “the tense of the word matters.”

“Followed,” he clarifies, “unless you count me following your orders.”

“I don’t give orders,” you reply, “I give suggestions. Rules. It’s up to you whether you listen to them or not. I don’t have any control over you. I never had any control over my troops. They were given free will, in every decision. Even in the most strict of plans, if they felt like something was better, they were allowed to do it.”

“You really were one of the good ones, weren’t you?” he says, and you just shrug.

“Yes,” you reply, “I was. Unlike you, I do compare myself to others.” You begin walking around then, not noticing his slight chuckle at your comment, and you look at the rock to see if there’s any naturally carved out areas that you could use as a resting place. Howzer follows silently behind, not quite sure what you’re doing. “You can go find a place to set up your rest area,” you say, and he lifts his head slightly, snapping out of a thought he’d been in.

“Oh, yeah,” he says, scratching the back of his neck, “I guess that is something I’d need.”

“I can help you carve out a place if you’d like,” you offer, slowing and stopping in front of a nice corner spot. You grab your lightsaber and step forward, igniting it and beginning to cut out an entrance. Howzer stands and watches, slightly mesmerized by your skill. You can feel the thoughts in his mind, and stop, turning to look at him. His face is scrunched in concentration, and you let out a sigh. Stepping forward slowly, you make your way to him.

“Sorry…” he mutters, shaking his head, “it’s not…too bad…”

“What’s not too bad?” you ask, narrowing your eyes slightly.

He looks up at you briefly before pointing to the side of his head. “Rumors…of a chip that controls us. It’s apparently what made the order so effective.”

“Is it true?”

“I think so,” he nods, squeezing his eyes closed again, “I get headaches sometimes. It hurts, like now. It’s like someone else is in my head trying to tell me to do things…”

You study him for a second before making a decision. “It’s dangerous,” you reply, “and if you’re going to stay with me, things need to change.” He just nods, not having the strength to argue. When you walk over to him you slowly reach up and set your fingers on either side of his temple. “Can you open your eyes and look at me?” you ask quietly, and he does as you say. When he does, you stare at each other for a second before his eyes roll back and fall shut. You catch him easily and lay him down on the ground before using the force to pull the speeder over. You quickly sort through your supplies until you find a medkit. “This is really stupid,” you mutter to yourself before you set to work.

Now, you aren’t at all close to being qualified to perform medical procedures, let alone cut into someone's brain, but you do your best, closing your eyes and using the force to guide your movements. You cringe as you work, not enjoying this one bit, but knowing it will be better for the both of you in the end.

~~~

You finish carving out your room and setting up a makeshift bed, and unpack a few things while you wait for Howzer to wake up. You take advantage of the big leaves from the trees and the grass around to make it more comfortable, and bring color into the room. You know you shouldn’t get too attached, but the area is very nice.

You glance out when you sense movement, and see Howzer sitting up and lifting a hand to his head. “How are you feeling?” you ask, stepping to the doorway of your room.

“Head hurts a bit,” he says, “but my mind is clearer.”

“Good,” you say before nodding to his side, “there’s some pain relievers in that medkit, take what you need. I’m going to check on the wound in a little bit.”

“Wound?” he asks, reaching up and feeling the bandage, “what happened?”

“I removed your chip,” you say simply, “I didn’t really trust you with it.”

“Does that mean you trust me now?” he questions, and you let out an amused snort, smiling very slightly.

“No, it means I’m just less suspicious of you,” you reply. “Did you want me to carve you out a place to rest, or are you good on your own?”

“You should probably help,” he admits, “especially since you worked on my brain.” You nod and step out, reaching an arm out to use the force to help him stand up.

“Where would you like it to be?” you ask, and he looks around for a little bit before shrugging.

“I don’t really know. Never had to think about this before. I guess anywhere is fine.” You nod again, thinking to yourself. Having a person on opposite sides would be good for defense and listening for danger, but help is further away. Having places right next to each other could offer better support in case of attack, but you wouldn’t be able to hear as much.

“Why don’t you take that corner,” you suggest, pointing to the corner down the side wall from you. You would be further away, but not too far, and would be able to listen from both the left and right side of the oasis.

“Sure,” he says, walking over to look more closely at it. He sets his hands on his hips, cocking them to one side. You can’t help but let out another amused snort as you watch him. He turns around, a curious expression on his face.

“You look like my friend,” you reply, “Kwol. He has this ‘dad pose’ that I like to tease him about.”

“‘Dad pose’?” he questions, looking at his own stance. “Is this how dads stand?”

“It’s how he stands,” you shrug, “usually when he’s scolding his kids or watching them play. Well, when he did,” you say, a pang of hurt running through you again. Howzer notices, and turns more towards you.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

You swallow, taking a breath before meeting his eyes. “They were twins. Both force-sensitive. Tayah, his daughter, had lost her way, not satisfied with the way the Jedi Order was training her. She ran off, and we assumed she joined the Sith, as we never saw her again, but still felt her in the force. I can still feel her out there now. But her brother, Ringo…he was still at the Jedi Temple when the order was given. My former master tried to protect the other younglings he was with, but…” you stop. Both of you know how the story goes from there.

“I’m sorry,” he replies. “You seem like you’ve lost…a lot.”

“I have,” you reply, “but hopefully we won’t be stuck here for long, and we can both go off and start new lives.”

“Will you return to where your friend is?” he asks, and you take a second before nodding.

“Yes, my people will protect me,” you say. “I’m not just a Jedi, but also Queen Monako of Dohbar,” you explain. “We were never a part of the Republic, and I can’t imagine Kwol would allow us to be integrated into the Empire. Nor would Ahnimaka allow it.”

“Senator Caree?” he asks, and you nod.

“Yes, Ahni is our senator. Kwol’s wife.” A sense of relief seems to come from Howzer, but you ignore it, not knowing why it could have happened. “I have a feeling they aren’t out there looking for me.”

“What?” he asks, “why wouldn’t they be?”

“Because they’d know it would be too dangerous,” you reply, “and I’d rather them and our people be safe, rather than risking their lives to find me. If I’m meant to, I will find my way back home.”

Howzer looks at you silently for a second before nodding. “So, Dohbar is a safe place? For everyone, or just you?”

You look at him as he stares at the ground, and you can sense his thoughts. “Anyone who is in need of protection is welcome on our planet,” you say. “Jedi, troopers, any sort of ‘fugitive’ that may need to hide out from a tyrannical power. You are welcome to join me if and when I go home.”

Howzer looks up at you then, studying your expression and letting your words sit for a moment before he smiles. “Thank you,” he replies, “I’ve never really had a place I could call home.”

“Dohbar will happily give you a comfortable place to stay,” you assure him, “but for now, we need you to make one here.”

“Right,” he says, suddenly remembering the task you’re supposed to be helping him with. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” you say, “I don’t like when people apologize a lot. You don’t have to be sorry for being curious and wanting to learn and know more. And if you feel like it’s a certain aspect of your personality, then you also don’t need to apologize for being yourself.” He looks at you again, and a small smile comes back to his lips as he nods. You meet his eye and let your own small smile show before looking back and nodding at the rock wall. You take your lightsaber, ignite it, and set to work.

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