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

Chapter Sixteen

This undercover mission wasn't exactly what Varactyl squadron thought it would be when General Skywalker brought it up.

Although Anakin had no idea Commander Rino would be anything besides a clone trooper, the fact that she was a woman played in their favor. After meeting with Commander Rino and Varactyl squadron's troops, General Skywalker would've had the strenuous task of trying to find a female spy qualified enough for this task on such short notice. But, with the commander's gender being the opposite of what he assumed it to be, Anakin could kill two birds with one stone, a convenience he wasn't expecting.

The eleven of them were standing around a holo-device when the General began the briefing on what was to come of this new adventure. 

"Alright, everyone, this is what we're after," General Skywalker pressed a button on the device and an image familiar to Molindi and her troopers appeared as a hologram, glowing blue and flickering every once in a while like holographic projections did. Though they'd already fought One-Eyes before, the reminder that they existed still sent subtle shivers down the Varactyl troopers' spines. "These are called Cyclops Clone-"

"With all due respect, General," Commander Rino interrupted, standing in between Axel and Breaks as they surrounded the holo-device. She tried not to be too distracted by everyone's full attention on her, knowing that the only reason the newer members of the group were so focused was because of her gender. Despite that, she kept her posture straight and succeeded in looking just as authoritative as the two other powerful men across from her. "We know all about the CCDs. Our last mission to capture a Seppie scientist required us to take them on personally."

"Yeah, they're evil bastards." Breaks spoke up. "Almost kicked our asses the first time we went toe-to-toe. But Commander Rino here could take 'em all at once with her eyes closed." The rest of her squad all vocalized their agreement (except for Axel, but she was used to that by then), and she rolled her eyes in a teasing manner.

"You flatter me, boys." She smirked confidently, although she was fighting to keep her face from turning bright red with embarrassment and sheepishness. 

"Well, great," The General flashed a pleasantly surprised smile in her direction. "That makes my job much easier. Long-story-short, we'll most likely be dealing with a few of these things on this mission if plans end up going sideways."

"And by 'a few'," Commander Rex, who'd been unusually quiet during the beginning of this interaction, chimed in. "he means 'a few hundred thousand'. The scientist you captured in your previous mission was scheduled to send out the plans for his latest creation to the Separatists." 

"The CCDs you encountered on your last mission were prototypes," General Skywalker continued. "Twenty-four hours before his capture, one of his assistants made it out of his lab with a copy of the blueprints he'd made for his droids. Those blueprints are to be showcased at a Separatist political gathering a week from now."

Each member of Molindi's squad was listening intently to what the General was telling them, even though they had no idea what their role in this mission would be yet. Politics weren't exactly what the clones had been made for, but as the General continued talking, they couldn't help but feel slightly guilty over the fact that the plans had gotten out of Republic hands in the first place.

They hadn't been told anything about CCD plans in their mission briefing before they infiltrated Unim's laboratory, only that they couldn't blow up the facility because there was information vital to the Republic. If they'd known that there was something of value that need protecting, they should've been sent to capture Unim twenty-four hours earlier than when they'd left Kamino. It was all a horrible mess, and the worst part was they believed they could've stopped it.

"The woman Unim's assistant gave the blueprints to is Lady Aveline Denitt of the planet Twar," The General switched the hologram's image from the droid to a woman, though the only way anyone could tell it was a woman was due to her figure since her face was hidden behind a mask and her hair (if she had any) couldn't be seen beneath a hooded shawl draped over her head. "And she's the one in charge of the event. This is who you're going to pretend to be during this mission, Commander Rino. The real Lady Aveline was caught twelve hours after receiving the plans for the CCDs and is now in Republic custody on Twar's neighboring planet, Naboo."

"The only setback here is that Lady Aveline didn't have the plans on her when she was caught." Rex spoke up once more. "The plan is to sneak into the facility where the gathering is being held, find the plans, and sneak out before anyone notices anything fishy going on."

"Wait, if I'm going to be Lady Aveline, then who are the rest of you going to be?" Molindi asked, though her voice was slightly monotonous and her eyes were locked on the image of the woman in front of her. All those men on that mission to Abbakinto...entire squadrons of troopers wiped out...the snow stained with their blood...and they could've prevented it all if they'd been sent a day earlier. That information was really starting to hit her, and all she could do to keep herself together was drain every ounce of emotion from her body as fast as possible.

"Lady Aveline has a husband, but no one has seen him before. Men don't have much of a social role on Twar, so this will be the first time anyone has ever seen his face in public. Unfortunately, Lady Aveline's real husband has also been put in Republic custody, so the role of Sir Denitt will be played by Commander Rex, here." General Skywalker patted him on the shoulder. "As much as I would've loved to escort you, my dashing good looks are just too recognizable among the Separatist crowd." He smirked. Although Molindi would've been giggling and doe-eyed like JC when encountered with an attractive man being slightly flirtatious, all she could do was smile slightly and keep her eyes glued to the new image on the holo-device.

"The rest of you will be acting as bodyguards, while General Skywalker will be the pilot of Lady Aveline's personal ship." Rex continued. "Your task will be to follow us around and keep your eyes open for any signs of potential threats. Best case-scenario, we're in and out in less than an hour. Any questions?"

A pin dropped a few yards away, creating a horribly loud echo in the room.

"Alright then. Your special Twar armor will arrive at your personal barracks in a few hours. Commander Rino, your outfit is being sent to your quarters. We're to meet back here as soon as everyone is ready."

Molindi and her squad left the hangar without another word.