The Varactyl Squadron Commander (A Star Wars: The Clone Wars Fan-Fiction)

Chapter Six

The elevator was out of order, which meant they were going to take the long way- the stairwell. Unfortunately for them, the stairs weren't exactly the normal kind of stairs. Instead of having one stairwell that went straight up to the top floor, there was a first-floor stairwell that lead up to the second floor, then on the other side of the facility was the next stairwell to the third floor, then another to the forth on the same end where first-floor stairwell was. Yes, Unim did know they were coming and he knew that if he made sure the elevator didn't work, they'd have to take the long route.

Through every single hallway of the forsaken laboratory.

The first floor was simple enough, not very much security among the older, discarded lab equipment except for a traditional cheapo clanker here and there. No sign of the One-eyes yet. Commander Rino took the lead with confidence as she blasted each droid before it could say 'Roger-Roger', leaving steaming blue scorch marks in their heads with a deadly precision. It didn't take too long for the clones to realize that every single droid their Commander saw ended up on the ground with a hole in the dead-center of its face.

"Damn, Commander, you gonna leave any for us?" Tyson asked in a whisper. Fifteen droids into the mission and the only person to pull their trigger was the woman leading the pack.

"Trust me, you'll get your share of action. This is nothing compared to what's above us right now." Rino warned her guys. She meant every word. Molindi's gut was twisting into a tangled mess in her stomach, a constrictive snake slithering and writhing slowly and sluggishly inside her. You'd think that nerves were just a common side-affect of being in a war, with other people counting on your success and the high-probability of death lurking around every corner. But not with Molindi.

The snake in her stomach, she secretly named him Bean, only came when she knew that the fight ahead wasn't going to be easy. It wasn't going to be a typical 'blasters shooting at blasters' battle where you could take cover if you needed to. This was going to be intense. 

At the sound of that information, the troopers behind her stiffened and glanced at one another. Even though they couldn't see each other's faces, they all knew that the tension level sky-rocketed and recalled just how deadly the CCD looked on the hologram back in the hangar. Sure, they acted tough, but this new threat was something else. It was pretty much an upgraded version of a Commando droid with claws and rockets attached to their backs. Commando droids weren't something to be underestimated, which meant these new One-eyes...

They all climbed the stairwell to the second floor, making sure their boots were soundless on the metal stairs with each step they took. The squad got to the door leading out to the second floor hallway and the Commander lifted her fist as a signal for the group to stop. The men did as they were silently told and Molindi closed her eyes, listening. The wall between them and the hallway wasn't that thick, allowing the sound of metal droid feet clanking against the floor to be extremely audible. 

The number of footsteps was uneven and she knew for a fact that One-eyes didn't march like regular droids in a straight line. They were more independent. A quick recount clarified that there weren't as many as she'd originally thought, only two of them approaching. If she got in close enough and used the act of surprise to her advantage, she could pick them off without even having to use her blasters.

"There's two of 'em. Stand back."

Without giving them a chance to ask why, she kicked the control panel on the door, sending a small blast of sparks in the process, and grabbed the platinum blade she kept in her boot at all times. The door slid open, revealing two large red eyes staring back at her, shocked. She had less than one second before they would comprehend what was happening and fight back. But that was all she needed.

In a flash of movement so fast that her guys could barely keep track, the commander drove her blade straight into the first droid's eye. Its red optic lens flickered before she yanked the knife free and spun around to face her next victim. The remaining One-eye lunged and before she could react, it wrapped its metal fingers around her wrists and tackled her to the ground. It rolled forwards, slamming Molindi on her back . But that was a mistake. 

Using the droid's momentum against it, the commander tucked her legs up to her chest between her and the One-eye. The soles of her boots flat against the droid's torso, she kicked with every ounce of strength and sent the droid soaring over her. Instead of crashing to the ground in a heap like she'd expected, it somersaulted and jumped back to its feet, crouched and ready for another attack. Molindi stood up and brushed herself off.

Its red eye glowed evilly, the painted blood on its face glimmering in the crimson hue. The claws on its hands were even more frightening in person than on the hologram, needle-like pincers with one purpose and one purpose only: to peel the flesh from its victims' bones. Molindi felt the eyes of her troopers on and her opponent now and she flipped her knife in her grasp.

"Don't shoot." She ordered them. "Observe it's actions, learn how it fights."

"She's insane." Breaks commented under his breath. She just smirked.

"Thanks." 

The One-eye flashed its claws once more before winding one arm back, as if preparing for a punch. She expected the fake-out before it even came. It wanted to distract her with the wind-up, then get her with the opposite hand. A side-step to the left and the droid's left arm sailed past her helmet in a whistling blur, a leap to the right and its right arm barely grazed her armor. Yeah, this newly-made droid was extremely fast and agile, but she was better.

She ducked down and hooked her leg behind the One-Eye's knee and knocked it back down to the ground. Before it could get back up to its feet, she straddled its chest and plunged the knife deep into its eye-socket.

It quivered and shook as the light flickered out of its eye like a fish out of water. Once the droid was still, she yanked the knife from the dead droid's eye and got to her feet. And she hadn't even broken a sweat. Her helmeted head turned towards her soldiers, who were staring back at her in what she could only assume was awe. She slid the blade back into her boot.

"Careful,the next one's yours. Let's keep moving."