Gobi wondered around the outskirts of the small refugee camp, in the opposite direction to the many twi'leks that wished to pay their respects to the late Athena Syndulla. The courageous woman had been gunned down by a Separatist ship only this morning and the entire clan was still reeling from the loss. She deserved a grander ceremony than a hole on the side of the camp, but in times of war, even having a burial was a luxury.

Gobi had been one of the first to pay his respects. He had known the woman since his teens, when she had first moved to their village. Although, he had only truly gotten to know her well when his best friend had become smitten with her stubbornness and unbreakable will. One of the last things she had ever said to him was to make him promise to look after her family if the worst should happen.

Gobi was fulfilling that promise now, as he searched the nearby caves for any sight of the two remaining Syndullas. He thought he'd seen the pair disappear into them after paying their respects. The sight brought on memories of him and Cham playing games in the tunnels under their village when they were younglings. But now that they were used as shelters and escape routes, the wonder in them was lost and replaced with unknown danger. He cautiously walked through the winding caves, searching for any sign of them. As much as he understood their want to be alone, it was too dangerous for them to be this far away from the camp with the imminent threat of nearby Separatists and wild gutkurrs.

After turning down another winding tunnel, he noticed something bundled in the shadows out of the corner of his eye. It blended into the dark caves, as though it was a shadow itself. At first he thought it was just a bundle of abandoned rags, but on closer inspection, he realised that it was a young twi'lek girl, whose instantly recognisable light green skin was barely visible as she buried her head against her chest in as tight a ball as physically possible.

"Hera?" Gobi said gently. Not wanting to scare her, he crouched slowly in front of her.

Gradually, Hera lifted her little green head to reveal large, blinking eyes that stared at him as though she couldn't comprehend what was real anymore.

"Unc-uncle Gobi?" She stuttered.

"I'm here." He whispered.

It was as though at those two words a damn had burst, as not a moment later, she had flung herself against his chest in a flood of tears. Naturally, Gobi wrapped his arms around her to hold her shaking body close.

"I want Mama! I want Mama!" Hera cried against his chest, her tears soaking though his armour.

"I know eoh uru, I know." Gobi said, stroking her lekku like he'd seen her mother do.

It was almost unnatural to see the girl like this. Even at just ten years old, she was as stubborn and headstrong as her parents. She understood better than most children her age the perils of this war, and had adopted a detached, focused personality, as though determined to be a future leader like her parents. To see her like this was so unlike her and reminded Gobi of just how young she really was.

Hera continued to cry shrieks of anguish, until eventually she cried herself to exhaustion. Despite everything Gobi had seen in this god forsaken war, he somehow found that one of the most disturbing things he'd ever witnessed.

Gently he lifted up her limp body which was neither awake nor asleep back to camp.

Most people seemed to have paid their respects by the time they arrived back and had started to settle down for the night. At least as much as they could on the hard desert like ground.

Gobi noticed one of Hera's aunts setting up one of their few tents and went over to her.

"Would you mind watching her for a moment?" He asked. The woman didn't hesitate to take the girl into her loving arms with a kind, yet sad smile.

With a nod of gratitude, Gobi left to find the last remaining Syndulla.

His instincts took him back to the meandering caves that had somehow grown even more sinister in the short time between dusk and night. The shadows that once told fun stories, now held threats of unseen enemies. But he kept going, desperate to find his friend.

Suddenly, an unnatural growl came from the tunnel ahead and Gobi didn't stop to think before following the sound, afraid of what it could mean. He followed the ghastly noise until he came to find that it belonged to a figure pounding the cave walls with beastly ferocity. It was Cham.

Gobi watched in horror as he punched and scratched at the wall with untamed anger, causing his nails and knuckles to bleed. He continued attacking it, as though under the delusion that the wall was responsible for his wife's death.

The moment Cham started to stop to breathe, Gobi walked over to him.

"Cham." He said calmly, his hands raised so the man knew he wasn't a threat. Cham spun round, his fist prepared for a fight. As soon as he realised it was Gobi he lowered his hand, but the anger never left his body.

"I'll kill them!" The man swore with a power in his voice that Gobi had never heard before. "I'll kill every last Separatist on this planet!"

"Yes, you will." Gobi said, not doubting the man's words for a moment. He had spent enough of his life by the man's side to know that when Cham wanted something, he wouldn't stop until he got it. "But right now, you need to see your daughter."

Cham blinked at him for a moment as though not comprehending his words before his eyes widened and he grabbed Gobi's shoulders in panic, his mind jumping to the worst.

"Why? What's wrong? Is she alright? Is she hurt? Is-"

"Cham!" Gobi shouted, unsure of how else to get through to him in this state. He put his own hands on tops of Cham's where they clutched his shoulders to try and calm him down.

"She's fine. At least physically." He told him before sighing. He knew Cham wasn't going to like the next words that came out of his mouth but he needed to hear them. "She's a child grieving her mother. She's going to need her father to get through this."

"I can't." Cham said in his usual stubborn manner, his eyes betraying his fear. He then glanced away as his eyes clouded over in memory. "Athena was always better at comforting her than me."

"Well you're going to have to. She needs you." Gobi said, his tone kind but his words harsh, hoping that for once Cham would listen to someone besides himself or Athena.

Cham's whole body sighed. He leant forward until he was slumped against Gobi, his arms hung loosely around his neck. In return Gobi wrapped his hands around his best friend's back, being the anchor he knew that he so desperately needed right now. He held him as the man finally allowed himself to cry. Hot tears pooled on his shoulder until they dripped down his shirt to mix with Hera's. Gobi had known Cham for as long as he could remember, and not once had he ever seen him act like this. They stayed there for what felt like a lifetime.

Eventually, Cham's body ran out of tears to cry. They stayed there for a few minutes in comfortable silence, with him just leaning against Gobi as he regained its strength. After a while, he managed to unravel himself from Gobi to stand up by himself.

"We must return to camp. Our people need us." Cham said his voice steady as though he was delivering a speech before marching along the cave in the direction of the camp. However this only betrayed to Gobi how broken he must feel if he was using that voice to talk to him.

He told himself that Cham had to be feeling at least partly like himself if he was bossing people around again. Although it was a weak excuse even to his ears. He doubted the scars of losing the love of his life would every truly be gone.

He jogged slightly to catch up with his best friend as they walked back to camp. When they came near, Cham rolled his shoulders back and jutted out his chin with a face void of emotion, looking every bit like the strong, immovable leader they needed him to be. Gobi wished that for once Cham would put his own needs above his peoples', but he knew that the wish was hopeless.

When they made it to the tent where Hera was curled up in a ball Cham froze, torn over wanting to help his daughter but not sure how.

Gobi noticed this and gave him small nudge. Startled, Cham looked down at his blue skinned friend. Gobi gestured towards Hera with an encouraging smile, hoping that it would stir him into action. It seemed to work, as after a moment, Cham gave him a thankful nod, before walking determinedly into the tent.

Cham lay down next to his daughter, who hadn't been as asleep as she'd first appeared, as a moment later she curled herself up next to his side. A brief flash of something crossed Cham's face. The closest emotion Gobi could describe it as was fear. He slowly wrapped his arms around his daughter, before melting into her embrace and holding her as close to him as possible, as though trying to shield her from everything in the world.

Gobi watched the scene with a warm heart, glad that some good had come out of this day of misery.

A/N Once again here is a fic that no one has asked for but I have written anyway! I have put way to much effort into this fic! This is liken my magnum opus!

Anyway I hope you guys like this story! And I hope you liked the name I picked for Hera's mother even though in Greek mythology I'm pretty sure Athena is the daughter of Hera but who cares!

Rly: eoh uru(little one)

Xxxxxxxxx