Sev and Boss looked at the platoon of four in surprise.

"4, 24. 'Close enough' as I would say to the taxman!" Tabura joked before beginning to crack up at her own lame joke for a full minute. Eventually she realised she was the only one laughing. "I'll uh-I'll check on the stock in my room." She said before quickly hovering out the exit.

The burly Geonosian who carried the drinks keg took a heavy step forward and looked down at Boss.

"You Delta-38?" He asked. Boss gave the overgrown soldier a silent nod who gave a polite smile in response. "Glad we could finally meet, I've heard a lot about you! My name is Sen'luh. Commanding Chief of the 1st CXO platoon and squad leader of the Horned Vipers."

The chief indicated towards the elite with a green 'X' on his chest. "This is my deputy platoon chief and our squad healer, Midec." The shorter and slightly leaner stoic warrior gave the pair a professional salute.

"My finest soldier and our squad hunter, Vesso" Sev stared at the tall wiry rebel with cruel red claw scars down his face who gave a nod.
The platoon chief cleared his throat before introducing the final member. "And I believe you know our newest recruit, Dy'hag."

"Hey Delters! Long time no see!" The young skinny bug gave a smile and 2 thumbs up as he broke formation.

"Not long enough." Sev grumbled.

Whilst the platoon leader pushed the recruit back in line, Boss finally spoke. "No offensive Chief but where's everyone else? Last I checked, I was expecting 24 soldiers, not 4.

As soon as Boss asked this question, he immediately sensed a feeling of unease from the Geonosians. "They uh… all called in sick." Said Midec whilst averting his gaze.

"Sick? They were cowards!" The two clones looked towards Vesso who had made the spiteful declaration, clenching his jaw in disgust.

"Stand down, Hunter." Sen'luh quietly warned the soldier. He leaned closer to Boss and lowered his voice. "Unfortunately, Vesso may be right. We've managed to get hold of some valuable information about the Separatists, which I'm afraid is also why 5 of my squads are absent. May I talk with you in private?"

"Very well. Sev, take over training the platoon-uh the Horned Viper squad. If you would like to follow me Chief."


As the two leaders left to speak somewhere else, Sev cracked his neck and walked down the line, looking at his new trainees with a sharp gaze. A platoon of 3. What a pathetic sight, Sev thought. He quickly began to read healer Midec's expression. Reclusive and quiet. Able to follow orders but completely devoid of any bloodlust or the craving for battle. A soldier without a soul.

Next was Dy'hag. In the 3 months since they last met, he had not changed in the slightest. He was still an annoying and immature… teenager? Young adult? Sev still didn't know how Geonosian ages worked. Regardless, it seemed rebel army training had 0 effect on him. He lacked the ferocious spirit required of any fighter. The only way he'd kill a separatist would be by dumb luck.

Finally, there was Vesso. For some reason, Sev found the squad's hunter the easiest to figure out. Based on his reaction earlier, Vesso was quick to anger with a passionate sense of pride. A pure and simple warrior. But Sev also noticed how he managed to quickly and methodically calm himself down after the initial outburst. Sev kept his eyes on the hunter for longer. Let's put those calming techniques to the test, he thought.

The clone commando finally stopped at the end before ordering "Horned Vipers. Atten-SHUN!" The elite squad immediately stood at attention in perfect synchronisation…except Dy'hag who fell a whole second behind.

Sev gave the recruit a glare as he slowly paced up and down the line in full drill sergeant mode. "I am Republic Commando One-Two-Oh-Seven, you will all refer to me as either RC-1207, Delta-07 or Sir. I am the designated sharpshooter for Delta Squad, loyal soldier to the Galactic Republic and for the next 3 hours, I am your worst nightmare! I have killed 982 Geonosians and I intend to kill another 4000 Geonosians before the war is over-" Before he could continue, Sev noticed Vesso's mandibles tense up.

He approached the squad's hunter. "Do you have a problem with my little speech, Geonosian?"

Vesso stared calmly into his new instructor's eyes. "Yes I do, Delta-07. Permission to speak clearly?"

"Vesso." Midec whispered before silently indicating for him to back down

"By all means Geonosian. Permission. Granted." Sev said with a deliberate tone waiting to see how the Geonosian would act.

"With respect sir, we do not use the term 'Geonosian'. Dy'hag is Stalgasish, the chief and healer are both Trellikian and I am from the Golbah hive." He calmly explained.

Sev recognised the name. "Golbah? As in the hive that makes those nightmarish hailfire droids?" As soon as he said this, Sev saw a sense of pride flash in Vesso's eyes for a split second.

"Just be quiet for once, please?" Midec warned under his breath, not wanting any trouble.

Vesso ignored his subservient deputy chief as he responded "That is correct, Delta-07. They've also made some very sweet moist cakes, along with the best sniper on Geonosis." The hunter knew nothing good ever come from his attitude, but his strong matter of regional and personal pride refused to let him stay quiet.

"What do you mean best sniper?" Sev asked with a dangerous tone in his voice. Midec cringed as he knew what would happen next.

"I have over 982 kills. Does that answer your question, Oh-Seven?" Vesso answered with the same prideful glare in his cold eyes.

Realising what the hunter was implying, Sev grabbed the collar of Vesso's thick armour and got close to his cruel face. "Let's get one thing straight, you maggot-faced fierfek. I don't give a kriff who you are or what you've done. In my professional opinion: You're not brave, you're not heroes and you are not the GRA."

Vesso dropped his glare to give a look of genuine confusion which was shared by the other Horned Vipers. "Wait, what?"

"…okay, you are the GRA." Sev quickly retracted as he continued with his act of intimidation. "The point is: if you give me any reason to drive a plasma bolt through your tiny bug brain, I won't hesitate to take it. Do you understand me, Hunter?"

"Yes sir. Permission to speak freely?" Vesso calmly asked.

Sev became slightly unnerved by the hunter not even blink in the face of these threats. "Granted."

"The feeling is mutual, Commando."


Author notes:

At last I get to introduce the Geonosian Rebel Alliance! I briefly mentioned Geonosian rebels in Children of War but this fic really helped me flesh out the rebels and how they worked. It was a lot of fun creating a more tribilistic military without traditional role names like Captain or Sergeant.

I'm curious if anyone will catch the reference to an old classic sitcom I snuck in here, but it may be too obscure if you're not from a certain country so don't panic!

I hope you enjoy anyway and as usual; critiques, queries and theories are always welcome!

As a side note: I hope Drill Sergeant Sev was as fun to read as he was to write.