Star Wars Character Studies
Warnings: Canon-typical violence, drunkenness, Selonian Jedi OC (species that looks like otters)
Howzer + "Is there a problem here, gentlemen?"
Howzer had been trained to handle anything, but Coruscant was overwhelming. If he had been told to find the place in the galaxy that had the most differences from Kamino, he would have chosen this planet.
Kamino was blank, sterile. Coruscant was colorful and loud, filled with people of every species, age, and background that someone could imagine. As he walked, unfamiliar smells teased his growling stomach and the music floating through an open door made him want to dance.
There was so much to see, to feel. Did all nat-borns feel like this all of the time? Or were they so used to the madness that they didn't even notice it anymore?
As Howzer walked, an odd coolness filled the air, a pleasant sense of calm in the middle of the throbbing life. It was subtle, but undeniable, like the scent of pastries that had surrounded a bakery he had passed earlier on his walk. A quick glance up made the source clear: he had unknowingly approached the Jedi Temple.
The temple was huge, nothing less than Howzer would expect from a building meant to hold so many beings. But it dominated the visible skyline for reasons other than size. The majority of Coruscanti architecture seemed to follow the main concepts of Kamino - plain, straightforward, utilitarian. They were structures meant to hold the maximum number of people with the most efficiency.
The Jedi Temple was completely different. It swooped and rose and fell for reasons that had nothing to do with fitting more people inside. Howzer couldn't go inside - would never dream of asking to, really - but he was willing to bet that it was beautiful. Maybe there were carpets on the floors, music might fill the air. Maybe the ceilings were high for no reason other than that they could be. Howzer would never see the inside of the temple, but oh… He could imagine and that was almost good enough.
His walk through the city took him on a path skirting the edges of the Temple, letting him soak in the precious feelings that poured out of it. There was peace in this section of Coruscant, a freshness in the air that the rest of the polluted planet could only dream of experiencing.
But then he heard something wrong, something that rang his soldier's instincts like a bell. His mind kicked out analyses as quickly as it could form them, not taking even a moment to process. There was chanting up ahead, roughly 40 yards away and around a corner, and he could hear angry voices from a crowd that sounded like it contained between 35 and 45 people.
Howzer moved cautiously, his training taking over the way he approached the situation. He tried to look casual rounding the corner, but his back was regulation straight and he knew his brows had straightened into a firm line that mirrored the line of his mouth.
A group of beings, mostly humanoid, were gathered in front of the steps that led up to the main entrance of the temple. Some held obviously hand-made signs while others wore eye-catching clothing emblazoned with slogans, but most members of the crowd were chanting and all of them looked angry.
However, they weren't causing any real trouble and the masked Temple Guards were still standing by the doors. Howzer had been taught in his planetary briefing that the Temple Guards were meant to literally protect the temple. They were banned from leaving their posts or interfering with Coruscanti life for any reason - unless someone made an attempt to enter the Temple itself. Howzer had heard rumors that they could be terrifying, but he hadn't believed it. Staring into their blankly masked faces, he was more willing to believe it now.
"Look!" one of the members of the crowd cried, pointing at a slender figure nearby. "A Jedi!"
The crowd swarmed over to surround the figure and Howzer glanced at the guards. They hadn't moved. He joined the crowd, pushing forward until he could see the Jedi in question.
Howzer had seen a Jedi before, of course. General Ti had arrived on Kamino before Howzer's training was completed, and he had briefly served under General Even Piell. However, he had seen both of them from a distance. Most of his service had been in non-Jedi battalions. Most of him was filled with concern for an officer, but a tiny part of him was curious to see a real Jedi up-close.
When he saw this Jedi, Howzer couldn't help the small surge of disappointment.
Unlike the grandeur and grace of General Ti or the raw strength that had poured off from General Piell, this Jedi was nothing more than a kid. They were a Selonian, impossible to determine gender or age, but the small build made it clear to Howzer that this was nothing more than a youngling.
"Hey, leave the kid alone," Howzer ordered in his best commanding officer voice.
Several members of the crowd turned to him, glaring even harder when they saw his face. "A clone trooper."
"Of course, here to break up anything anti-Jedi."
"Well, they're nothing but the Jedi's attack massiffs, didn't you know?"
"I doubt they're even still loyal to the Republic."
Howzer bristled at that - no one had ever called his loyalty into question - but was relieved to see the youngling sneaking away while the crowd was distracted. Their furred face looked back at him, seeming distressed at leaving him behind, but Howzer kept his attention on the crowd.
"What business is it of yours, clone?" one of them spat out.
Howzer narrowed his eyes, but relaxed slightly when he saw the youngling make their way around another corner. He shrugged then, unbothered by the venom thrown his way. "None at all, really. Just a normal man, passing through on my way home."
Through the thick crowd, Howzer could see several larger beings move in the direction the youngling had gone and he tensed. Maybe they were just leaving, too... or maybe they meant to continue harassing the youngling with more privacy. Howzer needed to cut this conversation short. "I'll just be going, then."
"Are you trying to tell us you're not a clone?" someone demanded.
"Nope," Howzer said, distracted by watching the worryingly large beings leave. "But I understand your confusion. I get that a lot. One of those faces. Excuse me."
Despite their protests, he managed to dodge around the crowd to follow the youngling and the shadows they had picked up.
When he rounded the corner, Howzer found the young Selonian pressed against one of the stone outcroppings that lined the temple outskirts. They looked utterly panicked, something Howzer gathered wasn't common among Jedi. Four beings of various genders and species surrounded the frightened youngling, ranting about the war and what it had taken from them.
Their complaints weren't empty, Howzer had to admit. One had a sibling who had died on a Republic cruiser and another had lost his parents during the Zillo beast incident. But regardless of the complaints, Howzer was certain that this Jedi hadn't chosen for any of it to happen. Unless they were secretly Yoda's second-in-command, the youngling probably didn't have any say in what had happened to these people.
In any case, it had to stop. These people had a right to their pain, but they didn't get to vent that pain at an innocent party. Especially one who looked as scared as this one did.
"Is there a problem here, gentlemen? Ladies?" Howzer asked loudly, striding up to the group.
"Walk away," one man warned, and any hesitation Howzer had been feeling disappeared. The only reason they would want him to leave is so they could do things that he wouldn't allow.
"Sorry, pal," he breezed. "I can't do that. My friend and I are late for a meeting in the Temple and we need to go."
He had pushed through enough people that he stood beside the too-still Selonian. He rested a hand on their shoulder and faced the crowd as he leaned in to speak lowly into their furred ear.
"I'm Howzer. I'll get you out of here."
"Casul," the Selonian returned quietly, voice clearly shaking with nerves.
"Don't worry, Casul," he said with unearned confidence. Four against one weren't great odds, even if he had a slight advantage since all were apparently inebriated. "When I tell you to... run. There's another entrance around here, right? Just get to one where the Temple Guards can help."
Just around the time he was finishing his conversation with Casul, the biggest man in the group decided that he was offended by Howzer and started making threats.
Howzer kept his calm until the man pointed directly at Casul. "... and then we'll tear that thing apart!"
Ah, so the man was a bigot as well as a bully. Howzer felt an unpleasant smile cross his face. "You won't do anything of the kind. You need to leave. Tell your friends out there to disperse immediately and I won't call the Coruscant Guard."
"Here's a better idea," the man countered, launching his fist at Howzer.
Howzer easily saw the hit coming. The man was large, but he hadn't had the training that the troopers had been given. He let the fist make contact with his shoulder for one simple reason: if Howzer was going to pick fights with civvies, it was better if he was able to say that he hadn't thrown the first punch.
He took half a step backward to regain his balance and came forward with a solar plexus blow delivered with his knee that left the man gasping. The others hesitated, trying to decide whether to join in or run. When the first started forward, Howzer barked, "Casul, now!"
Then they were on him. Long fingernails scraped over his neck while a fist collided with his eye socket. Howzer grimaced. This wasn't good. It was his turn to hunch protectively as he took a solid hit to the gut.
"Stop!" Casul cried from behind him. No one listened, and if Howzer could speak without any air in his lungs, he would have told them to run.
"I said stop!" Casul repeated, and something pressed so hard against Howzer's back that he toppled to the dirty duracrete.
Oh, this really was bad. Now that he was on the ground, his assailants would have the advantage. It would be difficult to ward off their hits, almost impossible to stand up. They could very well kill him. He only hoped that Casul had the sense to run.
A moment later, he frowned. No one was hitting him. He cautiously uncurled from his protective pose and glanced around, startled to find that the little group of dissenters was on the ground as well.
Howzer shot to his feet, along with two of the beings. They both looked frightened, staring at Casul like the youngling had turned into something horrific.
"Let's get out of here!"
"It's gonna use Jedi tricks on us!"
"Run!"
And all four took off, running flat-out toward the larger group at the front of the Temple. Casul appeared at Howzer's side, small hand reaching for his face.
"Was that you?" he asked as Casul smoothed a gentle hand over his forehead.
They nodded. "Combat is not my strong suit, but I hoped that a show of strength…"
They shrugged, but Howzer beamed. "That was perfect! Got them running off, anyway. But they might come back with more people. You'd better get inside."
"Please," Casul said, looking at Howzer with liquid dark eyes, "let me help you first. You're injured."
"I am?" he asked stupidly.
Casul showed him their paw-like hand, stained with bright crimson blood. It wasn't much, not enough to be a cause of concern, but it wasn't great that he hadn't noticed it. His adrenaline was higher than he had thought.
"Let me help you," Casul requested again. "I have some training in healing."
Ah, so Casul was older than Howzer had guessed. From what he had picked up in conversation about Jedi, their training was comparatively simple and general until they became a padawan to another Jedi. That was when they would take on special training, like healing.
He shrugged, answering the question in Casul's eyes. "Sure, go ahead."
Casul's large eyes closed as they put all of their focus on Howzer. Both of Casul's hands rose to his face - one pressed to his brow, the other pressed to his cheekbone. For a long moment, it felt like nothing happened, but Howzer gradually became aware of a warmth growing under his skin.
He kept expecting it to grow too warm, like an explosion or the side of a gunship on a sunny planet, but it never did. Maybe it wasn't even the warmth of a raised temperature, but warmth of feeling. It certainly felt like the peace that radiated from the Temple was thick in him now.
When Casul drew back, they traced tufted fingers across the side of Howzer's neck. "None of the injuries are completely healed, but neither will they scar."
"Thank you," Howzer said hesitantly. It seemed like a waste of precious talent to him, but who was he to tell Casul how to use their abilities? "You didn't have to."
"I disagree," Casul told him softly. "I would not wish you to be marked by the decision to protect a stranger in need."
"Eh, marks don't matter much to me. I have plenty of perfect brothers out there to impress the galaxy with their looks," Howzer told them with a chuckle. Casul didn't seem to find it nearly as funny as he did, so Howzer cleared his throat. "But thank you anyway."
Casul bowed their head. "It is I who must offer my thanks to you, though I can offer you little but gratitude."
Howzer nodded, but glanced up at the Temple. "Are the ceilings high in there?"
The minute he asked it, Howzer felt stupid, but Casul only gave a gentle smile. With their hand extended toward his face, they asked, "May I?"
Howzer nodded and his mind lit up with unfamiliar images. It took a beat to realize that he was seeing the inside of the Jedi Temple.
Just as he had hoped, the ceilings were high, soaring up overhead until he almost couldn't see where they met the roof. Carpets were clean and deep under his feet and soft music played on unfamiliar instruments filled the air. A group of younglings ran past him to a room filled with fountains, laughing with overwhelming joy and he felt it echo in his own chest. There were murals on the walls, with hand-carved furniture sitting in front of them so people could admire the work that had been done. Delicious smells filled the air, floating through the sunbeams that filtered down through the windows. There was so much light and happiness and peace and joy... Casul was already pulling away when Howzer realized that the images had all been made up of emotions.
"Are you all right, Howzer?" Casul asked gently and Howzer swiped at his face.
"Yeah. Thanks. I just… I never expected to see anything like that. I never even hoped… Thanks."
He hadn't been ready to leave such a wondrous place, but Howzer had his own family, his vode, that he needed to return to. They were his support, and he was glad Casul had some of their own.
Casul smiled, the expression sad even as warmth shone through. "It was my pleasure. Be safe and go well."
With a small bow over clasped hands, Casul left, disappearing through a concealed door. Howzer took a moment to collect himself in the peaceful shadow of the Jedi Temple.
With one last glance back at the towering structure, Howzer continued his exploration of Coruscant.
Author's Note - this was another Tumblr request (hence the dialogue prompt title). I swear, not all of these studies will focus on Howzer! I'll also accept requests here if anyone has a particular character they'd like to read about. If your request sparks a one-shot, I'll gladly write and post it! Thanks for reading!