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

Chapter Three

"Alright, boys. Meeting time is over. Now we get to serious business."

Commander Rino stated once they had made it to the hangar. The four guys couldn't help but be a little dumb-founded of their new commander, and who could blame them? She was a complete chick! It was obvous that Risk, Tyson, and Breaks were all crushing on her by the uncomfortable way they walked and how stiff their posture became. But Axel kept his cool. He knew better than to look at his commander in any other way than as his superior. He knew that his fellow troopers were treading on some thin ice by making their infatuation so easy to see, but he kept that fact to himself.

The five soldiers stood around a large hologram model of an enormous white planet. Naturally, they assumed that it would involve their next mission. And naturally, they were correct. Commander Rino pressed a button on the holographic projector and the image switched from the planet to a person, a Trandoshian man wearing a white lab coat and holding a beaker filled half-way with some strange liquid.

"Take a good look at 'im, boys. This man is Doctor Darius Unim, a middle-aged Trandoshian scientist from the snowy planet of Abbakinto. Lately, our specialists have been keeping tabs on our buddy here and have noticed that he has been working on some pretty dangerous projects." She said and grasped her hands behind her back as she spoke.

Her eyes scanned over her men while she briefed them on the situation and she ignored the fact that many of them were struggling to keep a straight face. For some strange reason, she had a feeling that it was all because of her gender. The woman knew that this was going to happen eventually. But she didn't dwell on it. There were more important things to worry about than this. She would deal with the situation later.

"What exactly do you mean by 'dangerous', sir?" A voice dared to ask. Her eyes darted over to the clone that had just spoken and she raised an eyebrow. Out of all of her men, this one had been the only soldier not to give her googly-eyes on sight or glance at her chest every minute or two. Molindi thought for a split second before remembering his name.

"Excellent question, Axel." She told him. "By 'dangerous', I mean that this man has been working on newly developed diseases that can kill a man in seconds if exposed, mutating animals into ruthless monsters that rip their victims' limbs off and serve only him, creating implantable devices that can control the minds of the wearer, need I list more examples?" She questioned with a look on her face that could have been a shadow of a smirk.

"No, sir." Axel answered.

"That is messed up." One of the others remarked, his eyes wide. Breaks. Molindi nodded in agreement, thankful that these men didn't completely have their heads in the clouds. This was an important mission, she couldn't afford them not being on their guards. Even if this was the first time they had ever seen a female human up close.

"Yeah, it is." Molindi agreed, then pressed a button on the control panel of the hologram and the image shifted. Now, instead of Doctor Unim being shown, the display was of a battle droid. But it wasn't one of the usual clankers that the clones had seen with their slim tan structures and crescent-like heads. Before them was a whole new robot, one that looked even more dangerous than a commando droid. "This is also one of his experiments. He's named them 'Cyclops Clone Demolishers', or 'CCD's." The sight was definitely intimidating to her new soldiers. She wasn't surprised, the new droid was definitely something scary.

It was a little larger than a super-battle droid and slightly taller. The arms and legs were slimmer, no-doubt more swift and fast with a weapon, and its feet were flat and thin, allowing it to move easier. There were five human-like fingers on each hand tipped with metal claws, followed by a strange-looking clip of metal on the inner-most part of its wrist. On its back were two large holes going vertically up towards the droid's neck, and two similar, but smaller, ones rested just above each of heal on the droid's legs. One large rotating eye sat in the center of its head, earning it the 'cyclops' part of its name and a strip of sensors had been placed where the ears of a human would've been.

But the scariest part was the paint.

Just beneath the droid's eye, someone had painted red lines and drops, as if the machine was crying blood. Sitting beneath the tears was the most disturbing smile any of them had ever seen. On the edges of the grin were two red arrows, teeth, each one dripping blood as well. The claws on each finger appeared to be stained with red, too, like the droid had ripped into someone's flesh.

"You can call them whatever you want," Commander Rino said to the four as they stared dumb-founded at the new machine. "But my personal name for them is 'One-eyes'. It's easier to remember than 'Cyclops Clone Demolishers' and 'CCD's is too main-stream for me."

"Yeah, alright." Tyson scoffed, but she knew he feared this new weapon. As he should. His eyes never left the image before them. "They can't be as dangerous as they look. It's just another clanker."

"It's okay to be scared, Tyson." She told him as she folded her arms. "No one's judging you. Trust me, if I came face-to-face with one of these things, I'd crap myself then run in the other direction." That earned a laugh from the four clones. A small smile worked its way onto Molindi's face. She was happy that they weren't completely psyched out by the new information they had learned if they could laugh at a joke. Her anxiousness of the situation slowly rose from her shoulders and she could breathe once more.

Maybe they'd survive this mission after all.

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Hey, guys! I know it's been a while since I've updated and I'm sorry. But here it is! I hope you like the chapter!!! :D

~Madness