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

Chapter Forty-Three

In all his years of training, one of the most important things Rex ever learned was that the one thing guaranteed to keep you alive was your instincts. That fact was something the clone army as a whole liked to take pride in. Bred to survive and lead others to survival, the clone army of the Republic was made specifically to be advantageous over the Separatists' droids with a fighter's gut was one of the perks.

He couldn't remember picking up Molindi's sword from the arena floor, but with adrenaline pumping through his veins, the commander had no explanation for his actions other than pure instinct fueling each of his quick movements.

Watching as the woman floated in mid-air and the giant monster suddenly become still as stone, he took the opportunity and leaped onto the gorog's thigh, digging his hands into the rough skin for a good grip while holding the hilt of the sword between his teeth.

It wasn't hard to figure out who was carrying Commander Rino to safety; the other clones and General Skywalker hadn't returned yet from their half of the mission. The only other people on the planet he'd witnessed possessing a similar power to that of a jedi were the triplets. And if the movement of guards along the uppermost reaches of the arena were any indication, those girls were wreaking havoc worthy of a show.

But regardless of their abilities, they were still children and Rex knew for a fact that they wouldn't be able to keep up the fight for long- each second Molindi hovered in suspension and the gorog remained stationary was a grain of sand draining from an hourglass of borrowed time. His gut was telling him that despite the help, this scene wasn't going to end well if he didn't act fast.

In a matter of seconds, he'd worked his way up to the frozen beast's torso, reaching one hand up over the other at a speed that would've more than impressed his old drill sergeants back on Kamino. Every so often, he'd look up to make sure his fake wife was still drifting towards the royalty's platform before picking up the pace and pushing forward with his climb.

Once he reached the gorog's shoulder, he could see the drama around the queen's platform more clearly: The triplets were putting up a hell of a fight, but even from more than twenty yards away, he could still see the shaking of their weak arms and hear the strain in their voices over the roaring of the crowd. They needed backup, and if he kept his balance well enough to sprint across the gorog's outstretched arm, Rex could jump the gap to the platform.

His body swayed as a panicked growl vibrated throughout the gorog's stoic body. Cydnea was struggling to keep the beast still and Rex knew he only had a few more seconds before she lost control completely. With a quick breath and a silent prayer that all the long-distance jumping practice they'd done for fun a few years back rose up to the surface once more, the commander took the sword from his mouth and dashed across the gorog's limb.

He didn't get very far before the shit finally hit the fan and girl's knees buckled completely. She fell to the ground, her chest heaving as the giant beast was released from her control.

The next few seconds went by in a blur.

A blaster shot zipped past him, barely skimming the armor on his right shoulder before striking Nata in the chest. The girl was thrown backwards, a hole steaming in her chest where the shot had made contact and Molindi's body began to plummet back down towards the ground. There was no time to think. No time to second-guess what actions he wanted to take. No time to doubt whether or not the dumb idea would actually work.

Before common sense could set in, Rex leaped from the gorog's arm and dove after her.

***

Molindi felt as if she'd been shot herself when she saw the little girl collapse in a motionless heap on the ground and the pride she once felt turned into absolute terror as she began to descend through the air once more, headed straight for her death.

That is, until she felt an arm wrap around her stomach and pull her close.

She couldn't tell if it was Axel or Rex, but her instincts kicked in and she laced her arms around his neck as the sound of metal scraping through rock cut the air like a knife and white sparks shot from the line the blade was leaving in the arena wall. She could feel the heat from the friction like a furnace and the pounding of her heart against his chest. Or was it his heart?

In a matter of seconds, the duo had slowed their fall and Rex released the sword once they were two or three meters from the ground. She'd never know if the soldier did it on purpose, but within the last few feet of the fall, the man had twisted the two of them horizontally so that her somewhat smaller body landed on top of him, breaking her fall completely.

"Are you alright?"

They hadn't even caught their breaths yet before he was questioning her health and she nodded as she coughed the sand from her lungs and quickly got to her feet.

"Come on, we have to get back up there. They're gonna kill them if we don't do something." She choked out frantically. That is, if the guards hadn't killed the triplets yet. Hadn't killed Nata.

"We'll never make it in time," Rex countered. "And we don't stand a chance against the guards." He was right. Molindi hated to admit it, but the trooper was telling the truth. Trying not to panic, she struggled to think of some way they could work this situation into their favor. But despite the adrenaline rush and the feeling in her stomach telling her to do something, the woman couldn't find a solution. Not when they had almost every disadvantage in the book.

They didn't have time to think of much more before another horrendous roar belted throughout the arena and they remembered that they weren't down there alone.

"Move! Move!"

The gorog's fist smashed into the sand and sent the duo flying in opposite directions. The triplets would have to come later; they had bigger fish to fry. A fish the size of the Jedi Temple. How they'd fry it with only one sword, they had no idea.

That is, until the general showed up.
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Hey guys, sorry this chapter was so choppy. This fanfic is my favorite out of all my works so I want it to be the best when it comes to all of my stories combined. I'll come back and edit it if I ever get the time, but I've been in flow with Clone Wars ideas ever since the Clone Wars Adventures Emulator was shown to me. If you ever played CWA back when it was running, I'd recommend checking out its reboot recovered by the fans for the fans.

Anyway, thanks for 12k reads and I hope you've enjoyed the story so far! :)

~Madness