CK-205 stared intensely at the clock in front of him. The orange digital numbers were embedded into the visor of his Storm Commando helmet. As he sat huddled in the confines of the TIE Lander, 205 was relieved that the worry on his face was hidden from the four commandos around him.
“Two minutes.”, CK-111, the squad captain, growled in the familiar echo that vibrates from behind the Empire’s haunting masks. He turned to the other commandos and threw up two fingers before turning back to the open doorway to survey the planet below him. The rivers of Naboo slithered into the horizon like snakes. 205, with his head to the floor, looked up at the other members of his squad. Though he had no way to tell, he knew there was no fear or reluctance aboard the ship but his own. He took a deep breath, seemingly inhaling the courage of the men surrounding him and exhaling his own fear.
205 was no coward. He had served his Emperor for many years as a Stormtrooper before being hand-picked by Crix Madine to join the ranks of the elite Imperial Storm Commandos. CK-205 would gladly give his life in service of his Galaxy. It wasn’t fear of a superior force that scared him, it was fear of the task his squad was ordered to do. 205’s squad was commencing, what seemed to him, a suicide mission: the assassination of Kylantha, the Queen of Naboo. Although, 205 didn’t doubt for one moment that the squad would succeed in their mission, he knew there would be repercussions. The squad was being dispatched to an uprising in Theed. In secrecy they hoped to eliminate the Queen, preventing her from taking true power from the hands of the Empire following the death of the Emperor. Naboo was an important planet. Yet, there lay the problem. The squad was moving into a crowded city in disarray hoping to assassinate a queen. While it looked good on paper, 205 knew Kylantha had to be killed out-of-sight to prevent further anti-Imperial sentiment from the Naboo, as well as preventing Kylantha from becoming a martyr to her people.
As the Lander approached the capitol, the sound of explosions and roaring crowds echoed through the ship. CK-205 swallowed deep. Once again pushing his own fear away from his thoughts to remain focused on the mission. CK-111 motioned to the men, they were at the drop point. The TIE Lander would hover near the Royal Palace at an outdoor tower where the Queen frequently held weddings for distant relatives and friends of the Royal Family. The tower connected to the main palace, where, latest intelligence stated, Kylantha was holed up.
“Let’s go.”, CK-111 growls. The squad was at the tower and it was time to lock-and-load. CK-205 checked his carbine one last time. The fear had gone, the only thought on his mind wasn’t the inevitable suicide his squad was walking into, but the suicide of the Empire.
“Two minutes.”, CK-111, the squad captain, growled in the familiar echo that vibrates from behind the Empire’s haunting masks. He turned to the other commandos and threw up two fingers before turning back to the open doorway to survey the planet below him. The rivers of Naboo slithered into the horizon like snakes. 205, with his head to the floor, looked up at the other members of his squad. Though he had no way to tell, he knew there was no fear or reluctance aboard the ship but his own. He took a deep breath, seemingly inhaling the courage of the men surrounding him and exhaling his own fear.
205 was no coward. He had served his Emperor for many years as a Stormtrooper before being hand-picked by Crix Madine to join the ranks of the elite Imperial Storm Commandos. CK-205 would gladly give his life in service of his Galaxy. It wasn’t fear of a superior force that scared him, it was fear of the task his squad was ordered to do. 205’s squad was commencing, what seemed to him, a suicide mission: the assassination of Kylantha, the Queen of Naboo. Although, 205 didn’t doubt for one moment that the squad would succeed in their mission, he knew there would be repercussions. The squad was being dispatched to an uprising in Theed. In secrecy they hoped to eliminate the Queen, preventing her from taking true power from the hands of the Empire following the death of the Emperor. Naboo was an important planet. Yet, there lay the problem. The squad was moving into a crowded city in disarray hoping to assassinate a queen. While it looked good on paper, 205 knew Kylantha had to be killed out-of-sight to prevent further anti-Imperial sentiment from the Naboo, as well as preventing Kylantha from becoming a martyr to her people.
As the Lander approached the capitol, the sound of explosions and roaring crowds echoed through the ship. CK-205 swallowed deep. Once again pushing his own fear away from his thoughts to remain focused on the mission. CK-111 motioned to the men, they were at the drop point. The TIE Lander would hover near the Royal Palace at an outdoor tower where the Queen frequently held weddings for distant relatives and friends of the Royal Family. The tower connected to the main palace, where, latest intelligence stated, Kylantha was holed up.
“Let’s go.”, CK-111 growls. The squad was at the tower and it was time to lock-and-load. CK-205 checked his carbine one last time. The fear had gone, the only thought on his mind wasn’t the inevitable suicide his squad was walking into, but the suicide of the Empire.
Osha’ri sat looking up at his mother. He had never experienced a goodbye before but, he knew, he would not be seeing her again. The Narglatch cub and his twin sister, Shi-boo-ya, were being abandoned. They would be left in the swamps of Naboo to fend for themselves against dangerous predators and even more dangerous creature handlers. Mother, as the twins knew her, was leaving Osha’ri to watch over his sister, at least, until they reached maturity and separated. As Shi-boo-ya bounced on her hind legs trying to reach the top of her mother’s smooth back, Osha’ri sat back and watched his mother intensely. The time had come, his first goodbye. Mother turned her head and grabbed Shi-boo-ya, who had reached her back, with her mighty jaws. She swung her head around and tossed the little cub into the grass next to her brother. Shi-boo-ya spun a bit in the wet grass until finally reaching a halt. Without even a growl, a howl, or a whimper, Mother turned her back and was gone, vanished in the misty swamp. Shi-boo-ya walked up to her brother and nuzzled his neck. Osha’ri returned the sentiment, playfully snapping at his sister. He began to pounce and claw at her and, if possible, he seemed to smile. Yet, something weighed heavy on his mind and in his heart: survival. He had become his sister’s keeper.
Thirteen months had passed since Osha’ri’s last goodbye. The cub tried not to think about that moment as he watched his sister yards away across the swamp stalking a Kaadu. Osha’ri was stalking too. That was how the cubs hunted, always together, never alone. Osha’ri took pride in knowing he chose to stay with his sister and look after her, rather than have her face another goodbye. He was unaware that this was the way Narglatch life went, and that Shi-boo-ya too would one day abandon her cubs. Nevertheless, he tried to keep his mind focused on the present. It had been a few days since the cubs had eaten, they seemed to have hunted everything in their area of the swamp. A young Kaadu wandering alone was a rarity, but the twins were hungry and chose to ignore the circumstances. Shi-boo-ya tapped her paw to the ground, signaling to Osha’ri that she was ready. Osha’ri in turn tapped his paw, causing the Kaadu to stand alert and face his direction. The animal’s excellent hearing would be it’s downfall. As the Kaadu snapped to attention Shi-boo-ya leapt from the bushes. She leapt right into the net of a Gungan hunter. A trap had been set. The hunting the twins did had made them a target. Osha’ri watched helplessly as Shi-boo-ya twisted and writhed in the net. Desperately, he wanted to assist his sister, but his own instincts of survival kept him quiet. Hatred began to fill him; hatred for Kaadu, for Gungans, for his Mother, and hatred for himself. He had to say goodbye. If possible, he seemed to cry.
Thirteen months had passed since Osha’ri’s last goodbye. The cub tried not to think about that moment as he watched his sister yards away across the swamp stalking a Kaadu. Osha’ri was stalking too. That was how the cubs hunted, always together, never alone. Osha’ri took pride in knowing he chose to stay with his sister and look after her, rather than have her face another goodbye. He was unaware that this was the way Narglatch life went, and that Shi-boo-ya too would one day abandon her cubs. Nevertheless, he tried to keep his mind focused on the present. It had been a few days since the cubs had eaten, they seemed to have hunted everything in their area of the swamp. A young Kaadu wandering alone was a rarity, but the twins were hungry and chose to ignore the circumstances. Shi-boo-ya tapped her paw to the ground, signaling to Osha’ri that she was ready. Osha’ri in turn tapped his paw, causing the Kaadu to stand alert and face his direction. The animal’s excellent hearing would be it’s downfall. As the Kaadu snapped to attention Shi-boo-ya leapt from the bushes. She leapt right into the net of a Gungan hunter. A trap had been set. The hunting the twins did had made them a target. Osha’ri watched helplessly as Shi-boo-ya twisted and writhed in the net. Desperately, he wanted to assist his sister, but his own instincts of survival kept him quiet. Hatred began to fill him; hatred for Kaadu, for Gungans, for his Mother, and hatred for himself. He had to say goodbye. If possible, he seemed to cry.
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