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

Chapter Thirty-Four

"How come you all look the same?"

It was one of the first questions the triplets asked after the tension in the room had died down and the soldiers began their feasting. Molindi powered JC up once she was sure no other unforeseen assault would be taking place, which was fortunate on their part since she knew exactly what to say to keep their cover intact. The droid knew everything there was to know about Twar and its people; she used her data to her advantage.

"All royal guards l-look alike," JC began as the three girls stared in awe at the men around them. Twaran men were never allowed to reveal their faces, therefore it was easy to convince the children what she said was true, though she liked to have Molindi as back-up if her claims started growing a little too thick to seem plausible. "Right, Aveline?"

Molindi sat across from the girls and beside her robot, tearing pieces of bread from a loaf of something she'd never heard of as she ate. At first she hadn't had much of a hunger upon the arrival of the two girls, but after some subtle insisting on behalf of Risk ("You need to stay fed and healthy if you want those cuts to heal quickly."), the woman admitted defeat and gave in. It was much better than she thought it would be, soft on the inside with a thick crust. She nodded in agreement with JC before swallowing.

"Wait, hold on," The triplet farthest to the left, the one with her hair pulled back in a braid, Jordae, scanned the room of men stuffing their faces hungrily and muttering silently to each other when their mouths weren't full, til her gaze fell to Rex, standing over by the door and smiling softly at the young girls. She blinked once or twice, as if mentally fitting two pieces of a puzzle together, before looking back at Aveline. "You married a guard?" She gasped and the other two girls giggled.

"What's so funny about that?" Lindi raised an eyebrow, smirking, before popping a berry into her mouth. Though a glance back in Rex's direction showed he wasn't watching them, Lindi wondered if he was still listening in on the conversation, or if any of the others were trying to hear where this interaction was going.

"Mother said you were promised to a baron's son from a village out east," The triplet in the center, hair flowing freely down around her shoulders, Nata, spoke in question. "Why would she lie about that?"

"To keep her reputation, no doubt," Cyndea, the last of the three with her locks pulled into a simple bun, commented. "Her allies would call her crazy if they heard she'd allowed one of her daughters to marry anyone with a bloodline of no significance. No offense," The girl quickly added towards the end of her statement. "But Mother must really love you if she allowed something like this, even more so if she lied to her court about it."

"What the court doesn't know won't kill them," Lindi bit another piece of bread.

"No, it won't," Nata lowered your voice. "But it'll kill him if anyone ever found out."

"Then I suggest you three keep this to yourselves," Molindi whispered back in a tone similar to that of Nata's. The woman paused for a moment, wondering if the topic on her mind was something she should truly confess to the little sisters before her or if acting as if it never happened was the best way to proceed. In the end, her heart got the best of her and she couldn't help but open up to it. "You know I've felt enough loss to last countless lifetimes, please don't make me go through that again."

In all honesty, it wasn't a lie: Lindi didn't want to lose her men, nor did she want to lose Rex's men or Rex himself. If she could make Nata, Jordae, and Cyndea understand that and respect her wishes, that would be one less thing for her to worry about.

"Your secret's safe with us," Jordae nodded enthusiastically, braid bouncing at the back of her head. The other two nodded in agreement just as energetically. "Things make much more sense now that we know. Why the guards started wearing helmets the past few years, why there was never an official wedding, why Mother didn't try to rescue you guys..." The girl trailed off when she felt the other two triplets glaring at the back of her head. Apparently, she'd said something she shouldn't have.

"Don't worry about it, I know Mother did what was right for the family," Lindi did some damage control on Jordae's behalf. "If anything, my capture was for the best; I understand how important my guards are to me and have learned to care for each and every one of them." The girls exchanged glances of sympathy.

"If what you say is true, then we pity you, sister," Nata said drearily. Molindi furrowed her brows in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you remember?" Cyndea asked. "With every sacrifice given to the gods from dirtied blood, there must also be one of pure blood to be given as well." JC's engine began to whir at the sound of that and Lindi knew she must be looking up any information she might've missed in the case of religious offerings. From the way her metal body sagged, as if suddenly being held down by a massive weight, Lindi knew it wasn't anything good.

"What are you saying?"

"Tomorrow, when the traitors of the queen are to be sacrificed, each of the highest royals must choose one of their own to sacrifice as well for each being of dirtied blood. You have to decide which one of the men in this room will shed their blood in honor of the gods."

**********

No one felt like eating anymore after the revelation of their own possible mutilation. The triplets didn't stay long after that; they knew their sister had much thinking to do for tomorrow's events. As soon as the three witches had left the suite, the doors were locked behind them and the Republic spies gathered once again in the foyer for another important meeting.

"I'm not going through with it," Commander Rino seethed in anger as she paced back and forth in the center of the foyer's circle like a caged animal, trying to think of some way to back out of this situation without putting the mission in jeopardy.

"With all due respect, sir," Slides spoke up from his spot on the floor, legs crossed elbows on his knees. "We're prepared to die for the Republic, we've been prepared for that since we were bred. If one of us has to give up our lives in order for the information on CCTs to remain hidden, then it's a small price to pay." Breaks, Risk, and Tyson all agreed as they stood, Breaks draping a blanket around his own shoulders like a little kid while Tyson and Risk carried their pillows, gradually taking small steps towards Axel with eyes a little too mischievous for their own good.

Not to me, she wanted to shout, but kept her mouth shut. Her expression softened at the sight of her men being themselves, regardless of the serious topic at hand. Leave it to them to make her want to smile even in the darkest of times.

"None of that will matter if our cover is blown by those kids," Dodo brought up the previous altercation as he sat beside Slides. "If they slip up or say something even remotely close to the things we've told them, we're screwed regardless of who get's put on the chopping block tomorrow."

"JC," The droid jumped at the sound of Commander Rex addressing her. "Is there anything we can do to avoid having to give up one of our own tomorrow? Any secret rules Commander Rino could use without compromising our position?" The droid's engine began to whir once again as she searched for the most information on the Twaran tradition she could possibly find.

"What if we ask the queen to make an exception?" Rocket suggested, arms folded and leaning against the wall with Champ to his left. "Like the kids said, the queen would do practically anything for her oldest daughter. Hell, she let her marry Rex, that's a miracle in anyone's book." The joke seemed to somewhat lift the dreariness in the room, more so for the troops than the commanders, but lightened the mood nonetheless.

Despite Rex's attempt to keep a straight face, Lindi noticed his hand twitch and his eyes fell to the floor. She didn't think badly of his bashful demeanor, Molindi herself was trying not to blush at the mention of their fake marriage. What she appreciated was the fact that he hadn't pounced on his soldiers for making a mockery of the scene.

"W-wait," JC suddenly interrupted the sound of chuckling, her body going rigid and her head shaking from side to side. "I f-found something," She turned to face Rex. "But you guys aren't going to like it."