As a quick side note before you read: In my universe [Click] is the Geonosian name for their main god.

As Sev began putting the Horned Vipers through brutal Republic training, Sen'luh and Boss made their way to a more private area of the ship. Boss had proposed using his quarters, a conference room or even the canteen. However, this was shut down by Sen'luh who decided it was best to keep an eye on his squad. The pair made their way to Hanger B's balcony where the GRA chief switched on his diamond shaped holoprojector.

"Okay Delta, I'll get straight to the point. This data was brought to us by our GRA trackers last week. It indicates that the Separatists will stage a full-frontal assault on Geonosis to finally purge it from the Republic. I was hoping to keep it secret from my platoon, but it seems I was unsuccessful."

"Hence why they-" Boss began.

"Have all called in sick, yes." Sen'luh interrupted.

The holoprojector displayed an armada of battleships, starfighters and what seemed to be some kind of advanced gargantuan weapon, all focused on invading and destroying Geonosis.

"What's that?" Boss asked, pointing towards the unfamiliar weapon.

"My guess? Some kind of orbital super laser capable of destroying planets."

"Why would they need a planet destroying laser if they're just trying to get rid of us?" Boss asked in confusion.

"Not sure… maybe as a last resource in case they can't take back the planet?" The chief theorised.

Boss was still sceptical. "Are you sure about this?"

"Of course! This information came from a very reliable source, Alein'A."

Boss looked at his rebel ally waiting for him to elaborate. "…Who?"

"Everyone in the Trellik hive knows Alein'A, they're my sister's babysitter…well ex-babysitter and technically Clraot'ri is my sister-in-law. Actually, fun fac-"

"Okay!" Boss quickly interrupted, having been in this situation too many times before and already wasted enough time. "Assuming your source is valid, this means that all our forces and allies are in terrible danger."

Sen'luh nodded solemnly. "Exactly. The Separatists will not stop until all traces of the Republic are wiped from Geonosis. No one is safe."

"Okay, I'll inform the captain as soon as I can. The way I see it, we have two options. Either we stay and fight or we evacuate and wait for reinforcements. I'll probably propose the latter." Boss suggested, attempting to rapidly calculate the options in his half-awake brain."

Sen'luh shook his head. "No. There's also not enough time to evacuate with your current resources and the longer Republic forces are away, the more difficult it will be to invade Geonosis again. The Prosecutor is a tough little ship and I'm sure Captain Martz would agree with me. She's smart and experienced…even if she can be a bit paranoid."

Boss was stunned at Sen'luh's knowledge. "How do you know all this?"

"As Sun Fac says, '1strule of being a leader is to know your allies.' I know he was a separatist, but the GRA still respected his battle theories." The chief responded with a smile.

"I wasn't aware he was so admired." Boss admitted not knowing much about his former assassination target.

"Even though he was an upper caste, we still thought he was one of the good ones. He was probably the best chief lieutenant we ever had, I wonder what happened to him?" Sen'luh pondered.

Before Boss could respond, the two were interrupted by the Horned Viper's yells of pain and Sev's idea of motivational training. "Move it you filthy stinking maggot! Unless you want to get reacquainted with my vibroblade!"

"…Are the Horned Vipers going to be alright?" Sen'luh asked his Delta counterpart.

"Apologies. Sev… really loves GRA training, he can get very excitable."

"My grandmother could do this faster than you, AND I DON'T EVEN HAVE ONE!" Sev shouted as he fired his blaster inches above their heads.

Sen'luh looked back at his ally in astonishment. "I suppose I should have seen this coming. I'm aware that having allies who look just like your oppressors can be very…disconcerting. But I'm not worried, I know my Horned Vipers aren't in any danger. Being a good leader means knowing everything about those under your command."

"Well, I'm sure there are some things you don't know about your warriors." Boss countered.

"Not my platoon and especially not my Horned Vipers" The chief gave Boss a cocky smirk as he demonstrated his point. "Hunter Vesso is the greatest sharpshooters I've ever met. If he has his mind on something, nothing can stop him. He is deadly, efficient and far too stubborn for his own good. But by [Click], is he a good soldier." Boss could see Vesso stare down Sev as he did his exercises, refusing to show any sign of weakness.

The chief concluded his assessment. "Ironically, he never even wanted to be a soldier but after the Separatists killed his brother…" Sen'luh gave a shudder. "Poisoned in his own bakery as well. Terrible way to go."

Before Boss could say anything, Sen'luh spoke again. "Healer Midec is reliable, dependable and never speaks out of turn. For me, he is the perfect deputy." Sen'luh rapidly informed before pausing for a moment and continuing in a smaller voice "And when my soulmate was murdered, he was the only one who stood by me and supported my plans without question."

Sen'luh wiped his eyes as Boss looked down and saw Midec follow Sev's orders without question no matter how dangerous they seemed.

"And what about Dy'Hag?" Boss asked after an uncomfortable silence had passed.

"Do that again, I'll rip the wings off your body and stuff you back into your egg!" Sev roared at the quivering young soldier.

"…Well if he survives this, he'll survive anything. What about you Delta lead? Since you're all clones, I'm guessing you must know your men better then you know yourself?"

"Uh sort o-yeah. Umm…" Despite being weary, hungry and unprepared, Boss tried to copy the platoon leader's example. "My second in command Fixer is always someone I can rely on. His relationship with the squad isn't exactly one of love but I know he would never fall out of line or abandon us."

Sen'luh remained silent prompting Boss to move on. "My demolition expert Scorch can be immature, but he does his work well and doesn't really care what anyone thinks about him."

The platoon chief was clearly not impressed so Boss decided to talk about his own fierce hunter. "And Sev is my sharpshooter. Hates the Geo-the Separatists more than anyone I know. He's a lot like your Vesso actually. Brutal, stubborn…excessively violent."

The GRA leader looked down at his warriors before looking back at his Delta counterpart with concern.

Boss quickly began to reassure him. "But he's still a soldier of the Republic and I promise you, any violent tendencies or prejudices he may have will not affect his professionalism."

As soon as he said this, the leaders heard Dy'hag scream "I'msosorrypleasedon'tkillm-ARGH!"

"Eht Kl'e [Click]!" Sen'luh cried out in astonishment as he quickly flew down to his incapacitated squadmate.

Boss stared down in both shock and a morbid sense of fascination. He'd never seen an exoskeleton get dislocated before.

Author notes:

I briefly mentioned it in this chapter but for those still unaware, Sun Fac was an assassination target for Delta Squad from the first level in Republic Commando.

I reference Sun Fac and his rules of combat frequently in 2nd story in this series aptly named 'The Rules of Combat'. I recommend you read it partly because I will reference it a bit more in this fic and also because it's favorite fic in the series (with the exception of this one)