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“So this is the ‘clone army’ spoken of so much in this galaxy!”
It wasn’t always reliable to assume with nonhuman species, especially unknown nonhuman species, but Rex thought that sounded more than a bit derisive.
But he could be professional about this. Though they didn’t exactly seem friendly, they clearly weren’t Separatists, and Rex wasn’t inclined to drag his men into hostilities with an unknown force if it could be avoided.
“Part of it, yes,” he said. “Captain Rex, of the 501st Legion of the Grand Army of the Republic.”
The leader of the other force either didn’t take the hint to introduce themselves, or he deliberately ignored it.
Rex was getting a bad feeling about this.
“Humans are an inferior basis for cloning! Weak and full of poorly defended organs! Sontarans do not possess these weaknesses!”
Rex’s men didn’t take well to that, muttering breaking out in the ranks behind him.
“You want to see just how “poorly defended” our organs are?”
“At least our Template wasn’t uglier than a blurrg’s backside.”
Rex signaled sharply for them to be quiet, and the voices died down in an instant.
The… Sontaran commander, Rex supposed – he had never heard of them – continued.
“We sought out this rival clone army to challenge and defeat in glorious combat, to prove the superiority of the Sontaran Empire, but you have already proved your inferiority before a single shot has been fired! A most disappointing prelude to battle!”
“Look,” Rex said, trying for placating as best he could. “If you want a friendly spar, I’m sure we could arrange that. But we intend no threat to your Empire; we’re just here to defend the Republic. As for the cloning choices… take that up with the Kaminoans, they’re the ones that made us.”
Unfortunately, Rex’s words had the opposite effect that he’d hoped.
“You further dishonor yourselves by shying away from battle!” the Sontaran commander roared. “Your words are the words of the weak and cowardly! A true warrior seeks the glory of conquest and warfare always! You do not even create your own soldiers or fight for your own glory! The Sontarans would never lower ourselves to serve another! Glory to the Sontaran Empire!”
And then the whole of the Sontaran force burst into some sort of war chant.
“Okay,” Rex said slowly, dragging out the word a bit and certain that they were no longer listening to him. Sure, the insult had rankled a bit, but it was getting a little hard to take these guys seriously. He wasn’t the only one, as he heard more than a few of the men snorting at the display.
“What are these guys, Mandalorians’ reject cousins?”
But Rex also recognized that it was dangerous to let their guard down. Sure, these guys were a bit… ridiculous, which could mean that they were simply crazy. But it could also mean that they were powerful and dangerous enough that they could afford to indulge in being ridiculous.
Speaking of which, Rex really wished he had a Jedi around right now. But the General and Commander had gone off to investigate some weird Force thing, leaving the rest of the 501 st to hold down the fort. He’d sent word as soon as the Sontarans had made their appearance, but it could be some time before they returned.
With all that in mind, Rex quieted the men and switched to internal comms.
“Keep sharp, everyone. We don’t know what these beings are capable of, and this could all be an act to get us to lower our guard. But they’re underestimating us. If they really want a fight, then we’ll show them what we’re really made of.”
“Yes, sir!”
They had their own pride, too. And Rex was certain that his men would all live up to the 501st blue.