Path to War

The darkness of space hung heavy in the air, twisting around its slumbering passengers of the Silver Wing. She had made a dangerous journey from the Outer Rim, destined to dock at its final stop in Coruscant. Her hull was scarred with carbon burns from narrow escapes and her hyperdrive was damaged beyond repair after escaping a Mandalorian battle cruiser. She carried smugglers, mercenaries, soldiers, civilians, and possibly a few crime lords, but they all had one thing common despite their occupations. They were fleeing from war. Many had narrowly escaped the horrors of their homes being burned by Mandalorian soldiers. They never saw their dreams slowly die in the lands they and their ancestors had worked so hard for. Others like Hawkan were not as lucky.

Hawkan had hailed from Corellia; however he was serving in the Outer Rim armies when the Mandalorian forces had hit. Every single person he had known in those outer worlds had been slaughtered. Women…children…old and young, every last one killed without a bit of pity or a hint of mercy…yet Hawkan survived even just barely. He suffered crippling wounds, but he lived. He spent almost a week in the bacta tanks, healing wounds of the body and mind. It was within that time he came to a revelation. He would join the Republic army and fight. He didn't know if one person could make much of a difference but his instincts told him to go to Coruscant and that's exactly what he did. As soon as he was able to leave under his own will power he barged the Silver Wing, one of the few ships making its runs to Coruscant from the Outer Rim.

Hawkan felt his mind begin to drift away until he heard someone breaking through the fog in his struggling mind.

"By the window" a female voice called out as her voice spoke in a mild tone to keep from stirring up any of the passengers from their slumber. The voice wasn't human though but it seemed friendly, "this one wishes to speak to you."

Hawkan blinked a few times shaking off any more lingering thoughts. He tilted his head slightly back so his eyes could see the creature who seemed to be referring to him. He and a dozen others were near the window, but his senses told him that this creature wanted his attention. The creature that stood in the shadows was a female Bothan from what he could tell. Hawkan had few encounters with their kind, but he knew of their skills in stealth and they were often used as spies. They weren't known for being the greatest of warriors, but no one could deny their skills in gathering information. Her body lowered to the ground in a squatting position, her canine head visible in the light. Her nose sniffed the air as her fingers gripped the fabric that rested against her knees. "You smell of the bacta tank. You've seen war."

"Maybe," Hawkan replied, a bit surprised at how well this Bothan spoke the basic language. She hardly held any accents of her people. "I am sure there are others here who have seen the same things as I."

Her pointed ears twitched to his comment as she ran her fingers through her short brown fur along the side of her face. "No, they flee from their homes. Fires never reached their doors nor has the hand of death brushed against them like one such as you."

Hawkan raised an eyebrow a bit intrigued about what she was saying. "How do you know this? Did you ask them?"

She shook her head. The beads that tied her hair in elaborate braids jingled together in an echoing chime in the passenger hold. It reminded Hawkan how quiet the ship had been. "Data is easy to read when one knows where to look."

"Ah," a smile spread across Hawkan's face as he tapped his nose, "I get it now. Sliced the ships' computers and got into the passengers' data list."

She smiled, her short fangs visible as her lips curled to the expression, "That is how one of your kind would see it, but one has to be careful of false identifications. Deeper searches are required."

"That would take some time to do."

"Time that we have had in this journey," she pulled at her shirt collar to loosen its death grip it had around her thin neck. "This one knows much of everyone here."

"Yeah?" Hawkan felt like listening to some amusing things about a few of the more annoying passengers, but he decided to see the extent of her abilities. "Alright, then tell me what you know about me."

She was a bit reluctant to speak as she stared at him a moment longer with her soft green eyes, but she raised a hand to cover her muzzle as she cleared her throat. "Hawkan Noshi…" she began in a softer voice, "…born on Corellia and sired from a middle class working father who worked in the investigation department; birthed from a mother who was running from her own home world due to crimes that have been recently deleted within the files. Mother passed from childbirth and father perished on a mission investigating the local gangs. No immediate family you were raised by distant family members until you gathered enough credits to buy passage to the Outer Rim. You joined the local militaries as you traveled…until the Mandalorians hit when-"

"That's enough," Hawkan said suddenly as he felt a bead of sweat roll off his forehead.

"This one did not mean to upset you," she said in apologies as she lowered her head in submission.

Hawkan almost felt bad that he stopped her now; he shook his head to wave off her apology. "No…it's my fault not yours. I was left for dead, but I survived. It's the memories that bother me…from time to time."

"No lasting injuries?" she asked in an attempt to steer the conversation to a more comfortable area.

"Not really. My gait is a little different since I had shattered my hip bone and had it replaced. Maybe other things are different, but not enough to stop me." He smiled at her as she smiled back with a hint of envy in her eyes.

"You are brave; this one admires such a quality."

"Hmm…say you never said much about yourself and why you're so interested in me," Hawkan leaned forward against his knees, "How about enlightening someone who isn't the greatest of slicers?"

"This one has little to tell. The clan that this one belonged to was returning home from delivering supplies. Mandalorians attacked ship and crashed. All dead, but this one." She patted her chest lightly, "This one can still hear their cries and this one was too weak to help."

'Clan?' Hawkan thought to himself as he struggled to remember everything he knew about Bothans. They were closely connected with the members from their clans and if she lost all of them…he couldn't imagine how that would feel…or maybe he could. He reached over and gripped her shoulder gently as he looked into her green eyes. "Come with me then. Join the Republic forces and then you'll learn to be strong and save others from those monsters."

"What if this one isn't strong enough?" she asked as she searched in his eyes for the answers.

"You won't be," he offered her his hand now with his palms facing up, "I'll be there with you the entire way."

She looked down at his hand before she gripped it with hers. "Then this one will go."

"Great, now we won't be alone." Hawkan chuckled lightly as a thought came across his mind, "Uh, what should I call you?"

"This one believes your tongue will not be able to pronounce true name."

"You're probably right, I'm not very good at speaking other languages too well. Hmm…let's see what should we call you, how about Night?"

"This one likes to know why Night?"

Hawkan leaned back against the wall with a grin, "Your fur is so dark it looks like the night sky. Plus it's simple, I mean if you don't like it I can always-"

She patted his head lightly as if he were the canine of the two, "If Hawkan Noshi likes it then this one likes it."

"Hawkan, just Hawkan," he said as he snorted to the pat on his head playfully, acting as if he were offended. Night seemed to pick up on his playful manner and continued to pat his head, struggling to suppress a chuckle that was forming in her throat. Hawkan couldn't help but laugh as he looked to his new companion. "I have a feeling things are going to interesting once we reach Coruscant."