34 ABY
Shuttle *Khrya*
It was going to be a textbook operation for the Ascendant Clan. The shuttle was loaded with two weeks of supplies, eight personnel, and enough explosives to level a starship. Their mission was to locate an Iron Legion supply base on Ord Mantell, plant the explosives, and then successfully extract from the area. Nothing about the mission was out of the ordinary, albeit anot operation of extreme risk. But in Laren's line of work, nothing was too risky for the right *amount* of reward.
The mercenary had an odd habit that he had acquired from his military training on Mandalore. After initially packing his equipment, he would rummage through his bags a second time while he was on route to the mission location. It was a practice of self-assurance so that he knew he was still paying attention to detail, and letting nothing escape his grasp. He found himself in the cargo-hold of the shuttle, removing items such as spare clothing, datapads, and even spare explosives in case it was needed. However, as he reached the bottom of his scout pack, he realized something was missing.
"Are you bloody SERIOUS?!" His voice was a crescendo, ending in a tone so filled with molten rage and disbelief that the commandos nearby stopped what they were doing to observe their commander.
Kneeling in front of his now empty bag, his items strewn messily around him, he looked wildly among his things. He had his ablution kit, his sleeping and camp gear, weapons, spare ammo and more. Yet of all the things he decided to forget on an operation that required them to self-bathe in the middle of an alien forest, Laren had decided to forget his towel.
Towels were mostly obsolete for soldiers in the galaxy, but a white towel served many functions. Laren had made use of the white towel in situations when he was beaten to lull his enemies into a false sense of security. It was also a good luck charm.
"Damn it."