Summary: This is the introductory story of my new OC Inoc Romal. Inoc is a Cathar who grew up in the Cathar villages on Taris. He is a 40 year old retired SpecForce soldier, and now owns his own Private Security company called V.O.R.E. Security. The acronym stands for Veterans of the Republic, as he's devoted his life to providing steady work for men and women who've been trained to kill and not much else. He believes that a Veteran should have the option of getting out, instead of staying in simply because it's all they know. He's currently been hired to look after the daughter of a wealthy Alderaanian Diplomat. Syleen Valeera is an accomplished scientist, and has a tendency to break the rules if she feels that Inoc is being overprotective. She'll do anything to make the discovery first.

Inoc's story was inspired by a friend of mine. She's a wonderful person, a super talented artist, and all around joy who doesn't mind listening to me ramble about my writing even when she doesn't understand half of what I'm talking about. My friend is also Ace, and, in an effort to show support for my writing, started reading. I think we all know that Fynta Wolfe(my main OC) can't go a single chapter without being inappropriate. So, to spare my friend from the bad behavior of my characters, I challenged myself to write a story specifically for her. Now, I don't know if Inoc is Ace, or if I'll just leave that part out of his story (there is more to life than sex, after all). I am leaning towards the fact that he might be, and have been encouraged to pursue this by a few people. But, we'll see.

Anyway, I found this prompt: Protectively aggressive, wrathful hugs, and knew I had my story. I'll add more as the ideas come to me.

Chapter Title: Something Shiny
Word Count: 1,700

Anoat sector, Hoth, Icefall Plains

Bitter wind snatched at the hood of Inoc Romal's coat, held in place only by the two clasps that connected it to the cloth covering the lower half of his face. He blinked away the tears threatening to blind him, knowing they would freeze within seconds of leaving the warmth of his body. The Cathar should have taken time to don his cold weather suit, but when word reached him that his stubborn ward has slipped off base, Inoc's instinct had been to give chase. Besides, the damn thing was soaked from a day on the frozen tundra, putting it back on wouldn't have done a bit of good.

Inoc urged the Tauntaun faster, ignoring the beast's complaints. He knew where Syleen would go. The blasted girl had been furious when he'd called an end to their expedition for the day. Inoc snarled at her impatience, startling the tauntaun into a skipping stumble. With considerable effort, he reigned in his mood. Inoc confined further rumblings to his thoughts rather than giving them air. The poor creature didn't need a reminder that she had a predator on her back.

The tauntaun's breath puffed rapidly as they ran, and Inoc hunched lower in the saddle. Finally, the blessed music of a radar ping reached the Cathar's ears, and he pulled his mount to a slow jog. He wouldn't let the poor beast stop for fear that she'd collapse. "Alright, princess, show me where you're hiding." V.O.R.E. Security had access to all of the latest gadgets, and Inoc appreciated that civilians seldom swept for bugs. Otherwise, this search would be a hell of a lot more difficult.

The wind whipped loose flakes of ice into Inoc's face, stinging his exposed flesh even through the protective layer of fur. It momentarily clouded the readout on his wrist-mounted screen. The image frosted over, causing water droplets to smear across it every time he wiped them away. Finally, Syleen's tracker registered. Gotcha.

"Come on, old girl." Inoc coaxed the tauntaun back up to speed. She rumbled in displeasure, but allowed him to steer their course. Only three klicks, you can make it.

"Bloody hell," Inoc growled when the ground opened up into a vast crater half a klick from his target. He jerked the reins back, lurching the tauntaun to a halt before she blindly stumbled over the abyss. The ravine stretched deep enough to make his stomach turn when he leaned over the edge. "This wasn't here six hours ago."

Inoc dismounted to walk the precipice. Deciding that she'd done her duty for the day, the tauntaun folded herself down on the snow. Her sides palpated with the effort of dissipating the extra heat that she'd built up by overextending herself.

Turning back to the gaping hole in front of him, Inoc rubbed the top of his head as he tried to see the best way down. He didn't have climbing gear or heavy moving equipment on hand. What he did have, was a missing twenty-three-year-old scientist: his responsibility. Swearing under his breath, Inoc located the smoothest place to descend, then promptly slid down on his ass after the first few steps.

Having finally reached the bottom, Inoc looked back to measure how far below the surface he'd descended. By his best estimation, it was further than he could lug a probably unconscious human female. Inoc set his locator beacon to alert the rescue team that had still been assembling when he left, and started through the trench.

Following the steady ping on his tracker, Inoc pushed deeper. Once, the closeness of the walls might have provided an escape from the frigid temperatures above. Now, it funneled the sharp wind like a whip. With every passing second, Inoc felt his spirits dwindle as fear wormed its way through his gut. What if he was too late to save the girl? Then, he scolded himself. Thinking like that would certainly seal her fate. Inoc would find Syleen, and he'd get her home in one piece.

What hope Inoc had managed to muster faltered when he reached the point where Syleen's signal stopped. There, sitting on top of the still blinking dot, was a wall of crumbled ice. "Syleen!" Inoc called, cupping his hands over his mouth to carry his voice further. It bounced off the solid object in front of him, then fractured into dozens of echoes at his back. His ears strained to hear even the faintest whimper over the howling wind; there was nothing.

"Bugger it." Inoc didn't give up so easily. He clawed his way as high as he could and began tearing at the wall of ice. Piece by piece, he chipped it away, ever vigilant for sounds of life. He didn't know how long he'd been there, but at last, Inoc heard something.

The Cathar paused, head cocked to the side and breath burning in his chest for fear that he miss it if he exhaled. There it was again, a squeak, something akin to the sound of a whamp ratling. "Hold on, darling," Inoc huffed, his frayed nerves softening the irritation he'd originally harbored towards Syleen.

Jumping down from his perch, Inoc pressed his ear to the barrier. He ripped his hood back and uncovered his head to hear better. "Make some noise for me."

She did.

Inoc heard Syleen scratching against the floor, allowing him to pinpoint her exact location. The Cathar stepped back and examined his options. It would take too long to dig down to her; she'd be dead from exposure long before he could shift enough debris. He saw another choice, not a great one, but perhaps Syleen's only hope for survival

A gap had opened between two large sheets of ice while Inoc tore through the upper layers. If he held his breath and thought skinny thoughts, be might just be able to squeeze in. Granted, that didn't help Syleen. He'd have to make room for her to crawl out and hope she had the strength to do so. "Good thing I'm made from sturdy stock," Inoc snorted to himself. It was a habit, something to break the silence when no one else could.

Getting into position proved difficult, but offering direction while crammed into the too small space was worse. "Listen up, Syleen." Each word had to be forced from his lungs, and gulping the air required to refill them felt like swallowing fire. "When I lift this, I need you to crawl out. Can you do that for me?"

Inoc grit his teeth when Syleen didn't immediately respond. "Give me a sign."

More scratching followed. Inoc chose to take that as an affirmative. Screwing his eyes shut, the Cathar pressed his shoulders into the ice above him and snarled as he forced the gap to widen. Inoc stretched his arms wider, and the chill of open air whispered up his right arm. Good, that meant there was space on the other side. With muscles screaming, he extended them a little further. Then, he felt it.

At first, Inoc wasn't sure if it was real; just a faint flutter against his fingertips. "Come on, I've got you," he ground out.

A small hand grasped his. Cold seeped through Inoc's clothes, his limbs quivering as he fought to maintain his will over gravity so that Syleen could claw her way free of the rubble. Her fingers wrapped around Inoc's boot, using him as an anchor. Then, a pale face appeared moments later.

The girl took a gasping breath, hazel eyes dull from lack of oxygen. Even as uncomfortable as he was, Inoc still managed a relieved exhale. "Go on. Right behind you." Forming a coherent sentence was almost beyond his capacity, and Inoc began to feel dizzy from the strain.

It occurred to Inoc when Syleen's hip bumped his leg that he didn't have a plan for how he was going to get out from under the ice. He supposed setting it back down was out of the question. He'd already disturbed the pile's equilibrium, meaning the whole damn thing would collapse on top of him.

Grinding his teeth, Inoc slid his eyes to the girl. "I need you to scurry up the path a little more, this'll be messy."

Syleen's eyes widened with mingled fear and comprehension, and she scrambled away on her hands and knees. She slipped clumsily over the chunks of packed snow, but Inoc wondered at the fact that she could move at all. With her safely away, Inoc mentally psyched himself up for what would likely be his last heroic act. After several false starts where he lost his nerve, Inoc sucked in a ragged breath and heaved his burden back into its original place. In the same moment, the Cathar threw himself to the side, curling into a ball with his hands covering his head. When the dust settled, he was still alive.

Inoc had no time to revel in his victory. The Cathar clambered to his feet, stumbling down the broken path and nearly bowling Syleen over. She sucked in a startled breath when he yanked her into a fierce embrace and began petting her hair, murmuring words of comfort while she trembled in his arms. "You're a bloody fool, you know that, girl?"

Syleen's forehead bobbed against Inoc's chest. The Cathar put enough space between them to open his jacket, then pulled her closer again to share as much of his body heat as possible. As he folded it closed around her, Inoc mentally prepared his lecture for when they returned back to base. For now, he decided to keep things light. "Next time you see something shiny on your radar, share with the group, understand?"

Again, a silent nod was Inoc's only response. He held Syleen until her trembling eased, no more than a minute or two, before deciding that she was fit to move. Scooping her into his arms, Inoc thanked the Force that she was such a slight woman, and began the climb back towards the opening of the ravine. Rescuing her had been relatively easy, answering to her father would be an entirely different matter.