The Clone Assassin: A Star Wars Story

Follow the Protocol

Sgt. Blinder's unit took shifts on their missions, leaving one man to stay behind with the child and the ship.  This time, that duty fell upon Blackeye, a seasoned warrior who'd earned his name from the burn scar covering his left eye.  

"You know," he muttered to himself, watching the little girl play on the floor of the gunship, "I've heard that girls mature faster than boys, but this is ridiculous."

The female clone had matured from infant to toddler in the course of a few months.  She was dressed in a patchwork of old and stolen uniforms—pieces of cloth crudely stitched together by men who couldn't sew.  She had the same dark hair, brown eyes and olive skin as the other clones, and her facial structure was similar to theirs even at her current age.  Unlike her fellow clones, however, she didn't have a name.

"I mean, come on.  We weren't trained for this."

The girl looked up from her toy made of woven wires and smiled at him.  All he could do was wave back, as he still wore his helmet.  Then she resumed playing, and Blackeye's com beeped and blinked.

He answered the transmission.  "How'd it go, Sergeant?"

"Mission complete," Blinder replied.  "We're heading back to the ship.  Make sure the cadet follows the protocol."

Blackeye looked at the toddler on the gunship floor.  "Right away, sir."  He ended the transmission, then stood up and approached the girl.  "All right, kid.  Time to go dark."

She looked at him, upset.  "But—"

"Orders from the sergeant."  

The soldier put down his gun for a moment, then picked up the girl.  She didn't protest as he crossed the gunship with her and placed her in an empty ammo crate.  She did, however, drop her wire toy.  Blackeye retrieved it and placed it in the crate with her.  

"You know the protocol," he told her, attaching a rebreather to her face.  

"Stay quiet, stay hidden, stay alive," she recited.

The Trooper nodded.  Then he closed the crate, retrieved his gun, and exited the ship to stand guard and lookout.  

After a while, he saw his black-armored squadmates approach.  It seemed it would be another smooth extraction.  But then a wild creature native to the planet—some cross between an insect and a giant serpent, with multiple sets of spindly legs on its elongated body and a mouth with both pincers and fangs—sprang up from the ground.  It appeared and sounded quite aggravated.

Blinder shouted, "Open fire!" and the clones opened fire at the unexpected enemy.  Blue lasers streaked across the terrain, creating sparks as they struck the creature's exoskeleton.  Aggravated further, the beast thrashed its head against the gunship.  

Blackeye turned to the beast.  "Oh no, you don't!"  

He fired at the creature's eye.  The shot found its mark, but this only caused the beast more irritation.  It thrashed the ship with its head again, toppling it over with the little girl inside.

The unit stopped by the toppled ship, joining Blackeye.  There wasn't time to check on the cadet, for the beast roared and attacked the clones.  The men continued to fire as it caught one soldier in its pincers and swallowed him whole. 

"Blast it!" Blinder spat.  "Our position will be compromised at this rate!"

Behind the soldiers, the little girl climbed out of the gunship, still wearing her rebreather and holding a tactical knife that held an electric charge.  In her other hand she held her toy, which she threw at the creature.  The beast spotted her and lunged, and she jumped out of the way and landed on the ground, scraping her arms and knees.