It was a hot and sunny day in the desert terrains of Geonosis, and much has happened over the last few months. Inside Academy has workshops used by the cadets to modify their battle droids, one of which is owned by Richard Mann.

His workshop has a balcony he could use to look out of the hive and enjoy the view, and sometimes he uses the open area to take a relaxing seat on his recliner under the glaring sun, getting a sunbath while droids are busy with their own thing inside the workshop.

As Richard lays comfortably on his Relaxo Rancho, he takes a swig of his bottle of scrumpy.

"Ah~!" Richard said with a satisfied sigh after taking a swig from drunk while the rays of the sun hit him, "Now this is life! Never thought it would be like this!"

Richard has never had this much enjoyment in the past few weeks and it's nice to enjoy some peace for a change.

"Aye, you said it mate!"

"Yeehaw!"

Okay, scratch that, two droids are relaxing alongside him outside the balcony with their relaxed rancho. There is a BX-Demo Droid, and a B1-Engineer Droid on either side of him, both enjoying the hot sun with their recliners and taking a swig of their respective drinks. Speaking of which, inside his droids are having antics that are not restricted to their TF2 Personalities. Some chatted with each other, some did mundane activities like playing chess such as what the B1-Medic and one of the B2-Heavy are currently doing. OOM-117 and B1-Engineers meanwhile are inspecting the team's weapons to ensure that they're all in working order for the next match-up.

Oh yeah for the readers from the previous chapter that wanted the Gonk Droid to be in the team, well...

"Gonk!"

"Mmphm!"

"Dammit!"

...Here it is.

In the corner of the room, a B1-Pyro Droid and B1-Soldier are playing pazaak, a Star Wars version of a poker game. I don't know, the author didn't know anything related to it. As the two played, with the B1-Pyro winning third a row, the Gonk Droid is just watching the two playing said card game.

The Gonk droid from the simulation ended up becoming part of his team after so many successes. Now you'd think Richard stole the Gonk droid himself but, /NOPE.AVI/ the droid followed Richard and the rest of the gang to the workshop like a puppy because the power droid LIKES being around these ragtag of Battle Droids whom he danced with.

Trench didn't mind as they have more Gonk Droids they could replace it with. So with a new member of the Team, Richard decides to TF2-fy it. Now the Gonk Droid is a walking dispenser, able to provide all munitions of all types and providing the ability to heal nearby teammates. And interestingly enough, it was given an increase in armor durability.

The other Team Fortress 2 droids, on the other hand, were either dancing the Kazotsky Kick while others were attempting the Conga line, basically all TF2 fun stuff they could enjoy.

Though quite noticeable. He has double the amount of droids than he had before, but the other half has a different color. An interesting detail to take note of for this chapter, wouldn't you say? Does he somehow have 24 additional droids? I wonder how that happened? *wink* *wink**willy wink*

"Stop it!"

No! FaCk U!

Anyways, Richard looks over and smiles seeing the droids having their fun and hobbies before looking out onto the mesas of Geonosis. But he eventually frowned when he was reminded of which part of the timeline he is.

He can't help but feel sad that in a few months or a year, all of this fun and peace would end with a proxy war that would expand across the Galaxy. And the more he thinks about it, the more his mood seems to drop.

As someone who watched the Clone Wars as a kid, he has always rooted for the Confederacy and it frustrates him to no end to see the droids being treated like jokes, hell, there are so many war crimes being committed by the Republic he questions if they are still called the "Good Guys." And also hearing the aftermath of what happened to the Geonosians in Disney canon...

Richard's grip on the bottle tightened at the tragic fate of the geonosians. As he thought of what happened in canon, his mood changed. His mind delved further into the Star Wars knowledge of what happened to the CIS such as the Bad Batch Episode regarding the Separatist Holdouts. He hated what happened to them, it was unfair and cruel.

But that's why he's here now, Richard Mann will ensure that the timeline will change for the better for Confederacy and its people.

If any Republic maggot will try to deter that and give rise to the Empire, he will give them a good chance to surrender or else he'll make their existence a living hell.

And unbeknownst to him, elsewhere in the inner rim, a republic governor and various republic officers felt a chill down their spine. About something that would happen to them... and a fate worse than death.

—X—

"Inspect the rocket launchers for any defects, I want them in working order."

"Yeah, gotcha."

"Also, be sure to check our ammunition for the next simulations. Just in case."

"Alrighty, then."

OOM-117 experience with Richard's group has been very interesting, to say the least. For the past few months since has worked with the odd commanding officer, things changed for him in one way or another which is far from how far his processor could have predicted.

He had doubted Richard before and now, he's ever more confident in his oddball of a commander.

"Lieutenant!" A deep accent voice caught his attention, he turned to see a B2-Heavy with the B1-Medic whom he sat across the small table with a chess board on top. The Heavy gestured to the chess board, "Want to play chess with, Heavy and Medic?"

"Ja, come join us, Lieutenant. You might vant zome time to relax, Lieutenant." The Medic of the team suggested.

OOM-117 has since gotten used to the odd antics of his unit. Before they used to be regular droids, used as nothing more than tools of war and intentions to train the future commanders of the great Confederacy. But when Richard came along, those changed, however. These droids are no longer the same monotone or perhaps least-expressionless tin cans months ago, they became more alive that they can be considered as sentient beings, in the eyes of those who see droids with more value than tools.

And in those months, OOM-117 has picked up his commander's quirks but not too extreme, just enough to fit in with his comrades.

"Oh yeah." The Helmeted Command Droid nodded before stalking forward, "Also, it's not OOM-117. Call me... Chief."

And there, he finally found the name he could be identified as.

"...Why does the Lieutenant want to be named Chief."

"...It feels right."

Now the reference fits.

—X—

Trench sat behind his desk looking through the reports and status on each cadet's performance, inside the confines of his office are windows allowing the glaring sun to illuminate the room as well as the rough winds allowing fresh and hot air to fill the room. And by his side is his Tactical Droid.

And as of now, he is looking through Richard's profile, about his... unusual performance.

"Hm..." Trench hums as he looks at his datapad, "...interesting, his performance has since then improved for the past few weeks but his attention in my lecture needs more improvement."

He honestly doesn't know what to think about whether he should be proud or not. In the following months, Cadets went with the simulations with varying results with some cadets failing or succeeding, while Richard Mann can ace the training course like it was nothing as if he had done this before joining the Confederacy. And his droids are nothing to scoff at.

Yes, indeed. His Droids are perhaps a whole other level of (if Trench has to excuse his word) "WHAT THE KRIFF?!" after seeing their performance in the simulations so many times. And there are so many things that the Harch Admiral witnessed that Richard's Droids have done: Droids able to Rocket jump (Trench wondered if it was the Rocket Launcher that makes it possible), Droids able to turn invisible, Droids able to deflect projectiles with a flamethrower, and droids able to HEAL/REPAIR other Droids.

It baffles him to no end with this unusual weaponry, and he wondered how Richard was able to receive these weapons unless he made them himself. He wrote his findings down on his datapad, regarding that but has yet to report it to Count Dooku.

"Just what are you, Cadet?" Trench said looking through the cadet's profile, "Your droids are even odd. Even making slugthrowers much more lethal than an average blaster... What an interesting choice to make."

He questioned before reaching over to his desk and taking a sip of an alcoholic beverage...

...Oh yeah, ever since Richard Mann's antics started going out of control, Trench ordered the strongest alcoholic beverage he could have in the outer rim due to the insanity and physic-breaking inducing droids of Cadet Mann. He's currently on his 15th Bottle.

His Tactical Droid reminds him not to drown himself in alcohol just because the cadet manages to defy the law of physics— never mind, even his Tactical Droid ended up requesting thirty-weight oil because of the bullshit he witnessed with the droids.

Anyways, back to what's important. While Trench is impressed and proud, despite the never-ending migraine he experienced daily from Cadet Mann that led him to drink more often, there was one problem that Trench noticed: Richard Mann's tactics are only effective because they're exclusive to only HIS droids, the ones he tinkered on, NOT the regular or standard Droids of the CIS.

He thought this could be a problem for Richard Mann because none of the combat doctrines or battle plans would suit any of their regular droids. Is he capable of commanding troops who are not from his unit? Is he capable of making tactical decisions that are exclusive to standard CIS Doctrines? Is he able to lead troops that are not unusual like his own?

But the following simulations prove him wrong once more as not only is Richard Mann, a capable strategist, he's able to adapt to the switch of his unit of standard battle droids to be bloody effective, that he didn't think he'd see. And he is glad to be proven wrong when it comes to his leadership regarding leading regular Battle Droids. Trench was honestly shocked that he was able to make effective use of the standard droids to be somewhat effective and lethal as their Modified Counterparts.

He still remembers that day when he switched Richard's droids with regular battle droids like it was yesterday.

—(Flashback)—

Trench stands at the entrance of Richard's workshop, watching as Richard Mann inspects the droids he's ordered to lead while the modified battle droids watch from the sidelines varying degrees of slight interest or boredom.

"So, you're going to be a part of my unit, huh?" Richard Mann raises an eyebrow under his helm, taking his time observing the droids he's been ordered to take under his command. It's the same amount as last time: 12 B1-Series Battle Droids, 3 B2-Series Battle Droids, and 3 Commando Droids. Eighteen Droids in total.

But these are regular battle droids, not his Team Fortress 2 Droids. Speaking of which, the Team Fortress 2 Droid, watch on with slight interest and doubt at the so-called "regs" as they like those who are not upgraded or tinkered with by Richard Mann. Or anyone who's not TF2-fied by him.

"Affirmative, commander." An OOM-Command Droid nodded, "Admiral Trench requests that you lead regular units into the field instead of your modified ones."

"Is that so?"

"Roger, Roger." The Command Droid nodded, "He deems it necessary since you will be leading mostly regular droid units when the real war begins."

Trench watches this and expects Richard to deny the request since saw how close he is to those droids and how much he values them, as not just combat force but as comrades. To his surprise, Richard smiles. The Cadet takes a glance at Trench before looking back at the new Command Droid under his command.

"I like where this is going." Richard Mann begins with his arms crossed behind his back, "What's your designation?"

Droid then stands straight and salutes his commanding officer. "I'm unit OOM-118."

"What? You and 117, are related or something?"

"Uh... no..."

"Meh, doesn't matter." Richard waves dismissively before looking at OOM-117, "Lieutenant! Address the recruits!"

OOM-117 gave a stiff salute, "AFFIRMATIVE!"

Richard steps aside as OOM-117 takes the stage and stares down at regular droids despite the helmet blocking his view. (Trench still wonders how the droid can see).

"Alright, Maggots!" OOM-117 begins, "ATTTEEEEEEEEENNNTTION!"

The Battle Droids straighten their backs while Trench looks on with amusement.

'It copied Richard's mannerisms...' Trench thought as interest in Richard Mann's droids grew even more. How odd to see these droids copying the mannerism of their commanding officer.

After getting their attention, The Command Droid begins drilling the regular droids before him.

"If fighting were to result in victory then you must fight!" He says as he paces back and forth in front of the first row of droids, "My Commander said that! And I say he knows a little more of fighting than you do pal because we learned from it!!" He says after he poked one of the droid's heads before he stops.

Richard is seen tearing up in the background muttering, "You've made me proud!"

The Modified Command Droid then continued with his drill saying, "Then he perfected so that no living droid or man would best him in the ring of honor!"

He faced them before grabbing the two thermal detonators behind his back while saying, "Then he used his fight money to buy two of every animal on Earth and then he herded them onto a boat, and then he beat the crap out of every single one."

He mimes a walking motion with the grenades before clashing them against each other for emphasis, which causes the droids to step back in anticipation the detonators would blow up, but it didn't happen. OOM-117 says this and puts the grenades away, laughing to himself.

"Hehehehe..." But he stops himself and quickly says, "...And from that day forward, anytime a bunch of animals is in one place, it's called a zoo!" He shouts up close and personal to one of the B1 Battle Droids who steps back in slight fear of this... unusual droid.

"...Unless it's a farm." He says after he leans back.

Trench starred in amusements while Richard chuckled and wheezed alongside the Modified Battle Droids.

The regular droids meanwhile look at each other, not sure how to respond to that. Was that some kind of inspirational speech or something? They're not sure. And one glance at Richard and his Droids is enough for the newcomer droids to know they're not under the command of a...

Regular commanding officer so to speak.

—(During the Simulation)—

"/ATTAAAACCCKKK!/" Richard and his droids stood on top of the hill before firing down on enemy droids with extreme prejudice.

Welp... whatever brain cells Trench had just committed sudoku. The same could be said with his tactical droid, except for brain cells it's now filled with junk files.

In the spectator room, Trench just stared at the scene in absolute flabbergasted fashion which is shared with the other cadets in a separate room. The regular battle droids are not only able to push through the simulations but they're using Slugthrower weapons to great effect just like the modified droids, but only an albeit slower and more strategic, and more careful with persevering their ammunition.

"/Maximum Firepower deployed!/" A B2-Super Battle Droid through the screen exclaims out while mowing down the enemy droids with his minigun, "/Slug weapon combat effectiveness: 90%./"

"/I didn't think slugthrowers would be this effective!/" OOM-118 with a slugthrower sniper rifle commented, who is adjacent from his position after taking down an enemy B2-Super Battle Droid with a precise shot to the red photoreceptors.

"/Hahaha! Never underestimate a proper real gun, you maggots!/" Richard Mann said to his new droids before blowing up a group of enemy Battle Droids with a single missile.

"/I'm taking minimal damage./" Another B2-Super Battle Droid not far from his position reported through the comms as a few blaster bolts pelt his chassis while he continued firing his minigun on them, "/I require assistance./"

"/Call a medic, he could help!/" The Commander in the simulation suggested before taking out the enemy droids that were attacking the B2-Unit with another missile and then crouching behind cover.

"/A what?/"

The banter between the commander and droid is so surreal for Admiral Trench. He's fully aware that Richard Mann shows some odd companionship with his droids but he boiled it down to him upgrading them which gave them interesting personalities for him to banter with.

But with regular droids? He's talking to them as he's having a chat with a friend. He's not ignorant of droid sentience no doubt about it, but it's still surreal to see Richard talking so casually to an unmodified droid.

Trench puts those thoughts aside as he continues to watch the simulation.

Richard in the screen of the simulation sighs before saying, "/Never mind, let me do it. MEDIC!/"

The B1-Battle Droid with the same beam gun and unknown pack, like Richard's other Droid, is not too far from his position and hears him. He walks up to him while crouched behind the hill to avoid getting hit, "/Me?/"

"/Yes, you./" Richard said to the droid, "/Be a comrade and heal him, alright?/"

"/Um... how do I do that? Should I take him to maintenance or...?/"

"/Nope! Just use the Medi-gun on your hand and your friend will be healed!/"

"/Wait! That's what this thing is for?!/" The B1 Battle Droids look at the medi-gun in wonder.

"/Yep! Now hurry it up before he takes more damage. But don't leave yourself in the open just stay behind him./"

"/Um... Roger, Roger./"

Trench watches from the screen as the B1 Battle Droid then runs up behind the bulking frame of the B2-Super Battle Droid before he aims the so-called medi-gun at him and pulls the trigger, thus releasing a blue beam that Trench has seen before from previous simulations. And just like from those previous simulations, it began healing the B2-Super Battle Droid's injuries.

"/Damages were taken: 0/" the B2-Super Battle Droid reported, "/I'm being repaired? What is happening? Why are my damages being repaired?/"

"/It's because of the medi-gun. Huh, I guess that's why the Commander made me the medic. I must've been good with healing./" The B1-Battle Droid said before looking at the battlefield. Trench watches from the screen as the B1-Battle Droid scans the battlefield while remaining behind the hulking form of the B2-Super Battle Droid. He then ordered the droid he was healing, "/But enough chatter, follow my orders, and blast those droids to the right flank! Provide suppressing while our support units take out key targets!/"

"/Negative. I am your superior. Not you./" The B2-Super Battle Droid bluntly said to the healer.

"/Oh?/" The B1-Battle Droid challenged, which surprised Trench, "/If that's the case, then who's the ONE healing your injures and ensuring you don't get an easy ticket to scrapyard heaven, huh?/"

"/.../"

"/Yeah, I thought so. Now hurry up and follow my orders! As the Medic, I have other droids to repair than focus on you./"

"/...Roger, Roger./

"/Hey, I'm supposed to give the orders!/" OOM-118 through the comms complained as he took cover behind a boulder after sniping another droid.

"/Well, you were doing nothing but sniping at the enemy./" B1-Battle Droid snarked while keeping the odd-beam weapon on the B2-Super Battle Droid before running off to heal the other droid units, "/Someone needs to take charge./"

"/But-/"

"/Medic, I'm handing you the secondary command of this unit!/" Richard quickly linked into the comms, cutting OOM-118's complaint.

"/WHAT?!/"

"/Yay!/" the Battle Droid Medic cheered before he quickly relayed his orders, "/Now, follow my orders sergeant! Take out that Assault Droid before it discharges a rocket at us!/"

Trench could have sworn he can hear the bitter reluctance of the B2-Super Battle Droid's vocabulary module and the OOM-Command Droid after him. Looks like being ordered around by a so-called inferior B1 Unit or anyone in lower rank is quite degrading for them.

Speaking of other B1 units...

"/I never thought setting droids in flames would be this satisfying! I wonder if this is what the other droids in the Commander's unit feel! I think I can understand the satisfaction! Burn! Burn, you scrap heaps!/" A B1-Battle Droid joyfully after getting close and setting aflame a few simulation droids, who are all currently screaming out of terror and pain.

"/...That's a disturbing thought./" The BX-Droid beside him holding a grenade launcher said with visible unease, as he stared at the burning droids who were trying to put the fire out.

Even the bloodthirsty and cold-calculating BX-Commando Droids are beyond disturbed seeing the brutality and horrific fate that was laid on the enemy droids... And is that a BX-Unit being burnt there as well? Screaming out for mercy and death? Sweet force.

"/You're just jealous you're not using the flamethrower./" The B1-Flamer Droid then lit up another unsuspecting droid on fire.

"/And I'm glad that I'm NOT at the end of that... massacre./" The BX Droid said before lobbing a few grenades over the enemy's position.

Yeah, this is an odd sight indeed.

—(Flashback End)—

Shockingly for Trench, the cadet was able to perform well with just regular battle droids under his command. Though it didn't reach the same effectiveness and performance as his modified Battle Droids, results did show Richard Mann is a capable commander that can lead regular troops into battle. Though noticeably he took a more strategic approach than the direct line of fire attacks that he's become infamous for in the Academy.

Following that week, Richard's new droids have been given the same modifications as the other TF-Droids, and are dubbed as BLU Team so there's that, though noticeably they don't have the odd personalities that RED Team has, so either Richard forgot about it or maybe, quite possibly, Richard wanted the droids to their personalities to develop naturally... Trench ended up doubling his alcohol consumption.

Still, as an admiral and mentor of all these cadets, he will ensure that they will learn everything regarding their duties and responsibilities as further leaders of the Confederacy.

Now it's time for him to shake things up a bit.

—(Next Week)—

In the following week, Trench set up a simulation with two teams of cadets fighting against each other. Their objective is to either annihilate the other team or stun the opposing commander or capture the enemy checkpoint.

Sounds easy enough for the cadets but they are nervous as this is the first time they will be testing each other's skill sets. As for Richard? He's ecstatic and so are his droids. Trench saw the excitement on Cadet Mann's face while his droid units expressed their enjoyment, which unnerved not just him but the other cadets as well due to how lively they look and feel.

His Tactical Droid is in charge of managing which Cadet they'll be going against who. Surely enough the cadets each have their opponents to face, and the unfortunate individual to face Richard is... Arya.

Wait what? Isn't this just a coincidence that the girl that was introduced in the last chapter is being put up against Richard? What is this shipping issue? Anyways, once it was decided and the Tactical Droid announced it.

"Cadet Mann and Cadet Arya are next for the simulation." He announced before he looks over the screen that shows their names,

[Cadet Warhan - Cadet Mann]

When they were picked, Trench watched as Richard stood up from his seat and looks at his opponent, who looked at him with a competitive look. Richard does the same and offers a hand, "I'll see you on the battlefield!"

"That goes for you as well, Cadet Mann," Arya said with a smirk and shook his hand.

Trench has a feeling that Richard has something planned and he's certain that Arya is probably not prepared for it, despite her skills as a strategist. From the past months, Arya is quite the leader so to speak. Everything she did from the simulations is what he expects to see in a leader, one that is prepared and ready to take command. And one who prioritizes which tactic to use. But against Richard Mann and his crazy band of droids? I don't think even Arya with all her talent can compete against the craziness and nonsense that would follow.

'Welp... no point in stalling the inevitable.' Trench shrugged before walking towards the control panels to begin preparations while thinking, '...Now where's my beer?'

He needs a lot of it for the upcoming migraine he will experience in this simulation from Richard's nonsensical antics with his droids.

Sooner or later, Trench might as well order a huge crate of alcohol for his sanity.

—X—

"Set up a heavy repeater blaster here."

"Roger, Roger."

"You, position yourself and your squad at the east."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Arya is by all accounts the top of her class, she's the most attentive in the lectures and well-versed in the Art of War. She has come from an arid world that has been neglected by the republic as far as she can remember, and their negligence is what drove her to fight for the Confederacy. But now she faces Richard Mann, the academy's odd cadet, in a simulated battle that will test their strategic and creative thinking.

After they went to their respective bases, the two teams immediately went to work planning their attacks and defenses.

Arya has deduced that Richard Mann puts more focus on his offense than he does on his defense. She decided to be mostly defensive, she sent a small force of droids to attack Richard's base, thinking and believing that it would be mostly undefended. If that's not the case, she sent three commando droids to help with the surprise attack.

Any droids she has left are set up in defensive positions that would be a hassle for Richard Mann and his droids.

Her base is located on top of a plateau, which she used to her advantage. The only entrance and exit are at the north, the steep rock position on the side of the plateau that acts as a small ramp of stairs for anyone to walk upon. She has some B1 Units in the elevated positions on top of the canyon supported by BX Units to attack Richard's Droids from the height advantage, below the B1 and BX units are the B2 Units. Since they're the heavy units, she made them the first frontline units while B1s and BXs remain in the back lines as support.

From the height the plateau has given her, she has an advantageous overview of where the attack would come from. And since Richard's base is south across the canyon, it's most likely he will pass through the canyons and into the open fields where the plateau is located.

Arya was confident of her defensive position, while she did see how Richard's Droid fought in the simulations in the past few weeks she was certain that she would counter whatever will be thrown at her. She studied his tactics and strategies, suspecting that Richard would take a direct approach. She noticed that Cadet Mann prefers quick action and a never-ending amount of firepower, a direct approach.

Fortunately, her base is on top of the plateau. This means she has an elevated advantage against him and his odd droids, so she has a fighting chance against—

—15 Minutes Later—

*BOOM! *BOOM!* *BOOM!*

Arya was stunned and startled. Richard's droids just caught her off-guard! Even though she expected the attack very soon, the execution of the attack was very unexpected! The droids outflanked, outmaneuvered, and out-firepowered her! Okay, the last part is made up but still, she didn't expect such an attack strategy from Richard.

Here's what happened:

Arya saw Richard's Charge at them in the open and she had her repeater blasters open fire on him. But surprisingly, Richard Mann was able to dodge the incoming bolts of plasma, and his droids either tanked them or dodged them.

Snipers from Richard's team have taken out key targets like the operators of the repeater blasters and a single B2-Super Battle Droids.

What happened next was that two of the B1-Battle Droids with unprecedented speed had run ahead of their group and dodged the incoming blaster bolts and agility and movements that left her aghast. By the time the B1-Battle Droids reached one of the repeater blaster nests, they immediately took out the operator and even the two Super Battle Droids with their Slugthrower Shotguns! That didn't stop their momentum as they soon ran up the steep steps which immediately made Arya have her droids prioritize their target on the fast-moving B1s, thus weakening the other defenses on their respective positions.

But the worst for her has just begun.

Richard Mann used the same attacks from the other simulations but this one felt different.

From the front of the assault, his B1-Battle Droids were able to rocket jump onto the plateau while firing indiscriminately at her droids, how that works is still up to debate even though she has expected this technique. Even so, she has other things to worry about. From below, his B2-Super Battle Droids ran up steep slopes entrance of the plateau, and they were able to get in range and began tearing and mowing her B2-Super Battle Droids on the low levels of the plateau with extreme prejudice as slug projectiles tore through them like cheaply made metal.

"We're being flanked!" A Battle Droid exclaimed.

True to the Droid's words, they are indeed being flanked on the west and east side. B1-Battle Droids with gas masks have some kind of jet pack equipped (she wonders where Richard got those) and they flew up to her defense's blind spot in the plateau with flamethrowers on hand before lighting her droids aflame.

Much to her dismay and terror, she watches as her droids scream out in genuine fear as they burn alive.

"FIRE! I'M BURNING!"

"BY THE MAKER! IS THIS WHAT THE SIMULATION DROIDS FELT?!"

"I am on fire... AAAAAAHHHHH!!" Her BX-Commando Droid said before running around screaming attempting to get rid of the fire.

*Boom* *Boom* *Boom*

Distance sounds of explosions are heard but are not close to her position. By the time she looked up, she was left agape.

"There can be only one!!!"

"Kablooie!!!"

She stared flabbergasted as a trio of Commando Droids descended from the air and began lobbing grenade after grenade on her droids' position, while still in the air, blowing them up to smithereens.

"Hahaha! Not one of you are goin' to survive this!"

To make things worse for her, his oddball of droids is tearing through her droids like it was nothing despite the height advantage. Many concussion rockets and grenades were launched at their position, rubber bullets pelting her droids to complete scrap.

The fast B1 Battle Droids run circles around her and her droids' defenses, firing their shotgun slugthrowers weapons at her droids, tearing them easily apart. They're so fast that even the agile or fast commando droids struggle to even lay a hit on one, even if they're able to, it didn't take down a single B1 Battle Droid.

Said fast B1-Battle Droids were openly jeering and mocking the Commando Droids, as they continued to run circles around them. And to her surprise, her commando droids are visibly showing... frustration? Wait what...?

"HOLD. STILL!" The Commando Droid growled and fired a blaster at him but kept on missing which infuriates him.

"Nah! You just suck!" The B1 Battle Droid runs to his side and then fires a spray of slugs at him.

"ARGH!" The Commando Droid cried out in pain as the impact of the slugs tore him apart.

The B1-Battle Droid slaps his thigh as if riding a horse and jeers at the now deactivated Commando Droid, "Dat's what I'm talkin' about!" Before he runs off to look for his next target.

Her attention was brought to a B2 Super Battle Droid, who came into view and aimed his wrist-mounted rocket at one of the enemy: the B1 Battle Droid wielding a flamethrower. She immediately recognized the threat that was about to occur.

"Firing, Wrist Rocket."

"No! Wait-" She tries to warn her droid.

It was too late as the rocket was launched at the Droid with a flamethrower, and you know what happened next...

*FWOOM*

"AAAAAH-" B2 Super Battle Droid was blown to shreds when it was air blasted back at him.

"...idiot!" She said in frustration before she turned to see the enemy B1 Battle Droid raising his flamethrower above his head, laughing maniacally along the way. Another droid passed him, the same BX-Commando Droid that seemed to be intoxicated as blaster bolts whizz past him while he fired his grenade launcher at her droids.

"I'm drunk!" The Commando Droid drunkenly announced as more grenades lobbed at her droids, thus blowing them into pieces.

She aimed and tried her training blaster at the droid, and a few bolts hit true but didn't bring down the Droid. The BX Droid grunts in pain before turning attention to her, and she could have sworn the droid is glaring at her which made her freeze on the spot.

"If you're lookin' for trouble, lass! You found it!" The BX Droid declared before lobbing a grenade over to her position in a long arc. Arya yelped in fright as the grenade landed on her position before she then ran out of cover they then exploded, and the resulting shockwave knocked her to the ground.

She steadily raises her head as ringing is heard in her ears. She watches as her droids are being pushed back while desperately trying to lay a hit on them or trying to take one of them out but the ruthlessness of Richard's droids has made it impossible for it to happen.

She was just dumbfounded, there's a clear difference between watching Richard Mann's droids from a screen to experiencing it first hand. His droids are aggressive and give her no chance to retaliate. And she noticed that Richard is even joining the battlefield upfront with his personal rocket launcher, shotgun, and shovel; destroying so many of her droids she was unable to count how many.

Just what kind of droids did Richard even field?!

—X—

"Hehehehe! The Confederate wins again!" Richard said as he looks at the carnage before him his eyes fell on the dazed and dumbfounded Arya Warhan.

She's quite smart, he'll give her that. Using the environment advantage against him, and having droids in high and elevated positions where they're advantageous can give any cadet who's inexperienced a hard time to counteract, and would even make the most experienced of the cadets struggle before figuring out a different angle. That's very smart of her.

But she made two critical mistakes:

1). Arya assumed that he would face her in a very traditional sense. She is quite the tactician and she must've expected that he would attack her in a direct approach with overwhelming firepower like in the simulations. Though that's quite true for the most part, this is different. Richard fights and leads in battle similar to how Team Fortress 2 fights, not through traditional ways of warfare but through unorthodox means. So he made use of his droids' unusual and uncanny abilities to outsmart hers.

2). Arya thought that Richard would do a direct assault on her base just because he used the same tactics from past simulations. That would have been the case for the most part, if it weren't for a change of teams. For this simulation, he deployed the newly formed BLU Team for this simulation rather than RED Team.

There's a stark contrast between the two teams that makes both combat doctrines different from each other.

RED Team: prioritizes brute force, speed, and overwhelming firepower, hence why he was able to ace the first simulation and many others with unprecedented speed and firepower.

BLU Team: they are more tactical and use strategies to win battles, to plan carefully before taking action, which is why Richard took his time in the previous simulations when he was leading regular battle droids.

And now these regular battle droids are upgraded with the same Team Fortress 2 aspects, and on par with their RED Counterparts but less brutish and more tactical.

To keep things simple for the readers here: RED Team — Brutal but Cunning; BLU Team — Cunning but Brutal.

Yes, that's a Warhammer 40k reference, no need to point that out but hey you're the reader/commented, you can do as you please.

That's why some of the tactics used seem unorthodox and more strategic than the usual Team Fortress 2 Strategy. Furthermore, he has come prepared for occasions like these. While he doesn't doubt RED Team's abilities he wants to give the BLU Team Droids some experience with their newfound abilities as TF2 Droids, simulation droids are one thing but against human opponents? He needs to give them the experience, alright.

'This attack is tame compared to what the RED Team does.' Richard thought, mentally comparing BLU Team's carnage with RED Team's.

As Richard thought of this, he can't help but feel like he's forgetting something important. Something tang should make him think.

'Did I forget something back on the base?'

—X—

And yes, Richard. You did forget something. A squad of Two BX-Commando Droids, a few B1s and one B2, approaches the seemingly undefended base. The BX-Commando Droid scans the outer walls for any defense but there's none. He reaches into the side of his head where the comms is at.

"Commander, we've reached the base. It's undefended as you predicted."

"/Capture it! Quickly! If it's undefended capture then we win this simulation!/"

"Roger, Roger." He cuts comms before looking over his squad, "Move forward!"

The droids nodded and with no hesitation they ran into the base, once they did it looked barren with only the hums and beeping of the monitor and the command post in the middle of the base. Along with large crates stacked on top of each other on each side of the area. There are no defenses on sight. As the droids carefully traverse toward the entrance, they're quite surprised by the lack of any form of defense.

"Huh, well this is easy."

"Just as our commander predicted." The Commando Droid said, arrogance in his voice box, "The Organic Commander was a fool to leave his place undefended. Capture the Command Post at once."

"Roger, Roger."

Oh dear, it looks like Richard will have his first loss in the simulation because of the lack of any defenses. Don't fear my baby biscuit, because he has the solution for this.

As the droids were passing one of the large crates, they heard a single distinct beeping noise. By the time they turned their heads to the source, they met with...

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

"Howdy!" A western voice said.

"Oh, shi-AAAAAAHHH!!"

The offending droids were met with a spray of bullets, tearing through the droids into pieces followed by the discharging of rockets, and reverberating of the sentry's twin Gatling guns.

The droids were obliterated by the concealed defenses set up by the B1-Engineers in the base. Even the agile Commando Droids were unable to predict the incoming hail of gunfire and explosive ordnance.

Do you think Richard would have left the base undefended? Ha! He didn't bring any of his engineers onto the attack. So he was prepared for a possible counterattack from them. Even though there are only three B1-Engineers, they're enough to handle a couple of droids by themselves.

With that said, Richard's base was successfully defended, leaving Arya's droids nothing but scraps.

The B1-Engineers were amused by the outcome and laughed, before taunting.

"Now that's how it's done!"

"Shucks! I was just gettin' started."

"Hehehe, I've built that!"

The B1-Engineers enjoyed the sight of the defeated droids before one of the B1-Engineer Droids then sat down behind one of the nearby small crates, while he pulls out a banjo before he plays it as the other B1-Engineer Droid did the Kazotsky Kick with the third one following suit.

"YEEEEEEEHAW!!"

—X—

Richard shrugs from his musing, "Meh, probably not important."

He says as he then watches his droids then surround Arya, after getting rid of her droids. They have yet to capture the command post which reminds him so much of his Team Fortress 2 days, but that's beside the point.

Arya, steadily stood up as the droids surrounded her, weapons aimed directly at her with the B1-Medic stepping forward with a needle gun, "Ze healing is not zhe hurting."

Oh, yeah he forgot to mention that OOM-118 is no longer the so-called Command Droid. After he formed the BLU Team, he saw that the BLU B1-Medic seems to be more strategic than OOM-118.

So when he formed BLU Team he made the BLU B1-Medic, who named himself Quick-fix after the Medi-gun he used during the first simulation, the leader of BLU Team, much to the dismay of the B2-Super Battle Droid now B2-Heavy, and the formerly Command Droid now OOM-Sniper Droid.

This applies to the RED Team as well. OOM-117 or Chief, is the second-commanding officer of the RED Team.

Anyways, back to the story!

Arya looks around and finds herself surrounded by all sides. She was outsmarted and outgunned alright, and she has yet to hear any reports from her droids on the attack which means they failed their job as well. So she sucks up her pride and raises her hands.

"I... yield." She says looking at the droids with some respect and bitterness.

Quick-fix looks pleased before raising his blaster upward, "Now zhat's vhat I like to hear. OOM-118, cuff her."

"Yeah, alright!" The Former Command Droid said before tipping his hate then reaching behind his back and pulling out a pair of cuffs.

Richard walks up to her with two droids by his side, once up close Arya raises her head to meet him. The odd cadet smiled and said, "That was a hell of a fight! You've fought well."

Arya looks at him with a bemused smile, since a). He steamrolled her, b). This is more of a curb stomp than an actual battle. Still, Richard is showing signs of Good Sportsmanship, so perhaps in his eyes, she did fight well. Despite the so-called battle being very one-sided.

"Yeah, you too." She smiles as Richard laughs before he looks over his droids with a smile.

Then...

"We must dance!"

"Wait... what?!" Cadet Warhon exclaims but she is then removed from bindings as music is heard.

—(Play this "I MUST DANCE 4" by SilentManJoe)—

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

Just like before, the battlefield from Richard's debut to the simulation, became that of a dance floor and music played in the background. Arya stared dumbfounded as she had a front-row seat to the dance that was about to begin.

There she stared as Cadet Mann's Droids surrounded them, then... a B1-Sniper Droid with a Saxophone came around and started playing!

(Instrumental)

As the song begin the B1-Scout Droid sounded oddly feminine and sang through the mic that came out of fucking nowhere with Richard bobbing his head to beat off the music.

I wanna be your endgame
I wanna be your first string
I wanna be your A-Team
I wanna be your endgame, endgame

Then... the dance began with BX-Spy leading the dance as B1-Scout and the B1-Sniper Droid followed his example, as the lyrics played out much to the surprise Arya.

Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard
Said, "No more counting dollars, we'll be counting stars"

The droids dance consists of several up-and-down arm waves, two jumps, and three wide arm stretches, followed by a few hops before they did their unique chance that looks like they're posing in front of the camera: The B1-Scout Droid did an aerobic routine with a butt slaps and pointing forward; the B1-Sniper Droid spread his legs and wiggles his butt before tapping his feet on the place before getting into a pose that made him stand on one leg with the other raise and his arms forming a gesture of story. The BX-Spy did his dance followed by a Crab-Pose.

Eventually, the feminine voice of the B1-Scout Droid stopped dancing and continued singing in some unknown language with Richard dancing, and the other Droids began dancing.

Despite the silliness of the scene before her, she can't help but join in the dance.

'This... isn't so bad!' She thought as she danced with the odd cadet and his droids. Perhaps this is the beginning of a wonderful friendship between the two.

—X—

Ever since that simulation came to a predicted conclusion with Richard's victory, many cadets attempted to replicate how Richard Mann made his droids to be effective. But even then, it didn't work out well for as Richard Mann's droids are just too unpredictable and the cadets don't have the right tools for the job nor do they have the knowledge and know-how on modifying droids without taking weeks to get it right. Unfortunately for them, they're unable to achieve it.

So how does Arya Warhan feel about losing to the odd cadet? If she were someone else, she would feel a huge amount of resentment and anger for losing against a supposed idiot like most stories on this site.

But surprisingly, she's honestly respectful of Richard Mann. Despite losing against him, she ended up bonding and getting to know the crazy cadet, exchanging strategies and tactics, and even offering each other's advice. And this unexpectedly spouted a friendship or friendly rivalry between the two cadets.

While Arya is top of her class for her strategic thinking, Richard Mann is one of strategic unpredictability and copious amounts of firepower.

Richard Mann has garnered a reputation as the most unpredictable and unusual cadet in the entire academy. Many people see him as an oddity in the academy because of his eccentric personality and his behavior.

During simulations with other cadets, Richard Mann is shown to be extremely unpredictable in cooperation. Many cadets are unable to cooperate with Richard properly because his strategies are too unpredictable for even the most esteemed or skilled cadets in the academy. It's hard for the cadets to even copperplate with him, and even if he's willing to cooperate with anyone he's partnered with, his kind of warfare is too much for even said partners to handle. Only a few cadets, such as Arya, can at least understand to some degree how Richard Mann strategizes and can cooperate in some way.

More importantly, it was this fact that many didn't look at Richard with respect due to his craze attitude. He's too weird in their eyes and his patriotism to the CIS, while admirable, is extremely annoying. Not that Richard even minds as he feels more comfortable in the company of Battle Droids or Geonosians than he does with other people.

After all, why need human or alien friends when robots and bugs can be your friends?

...you know, thinking about it feels like a sad way of living...

Regardless, the feeling of ostracism won't stop him from doing what he does best as a proud cadet of the CIS, that is to ensure the safety of the Confederacy with his Team Fortress Droids.

Speaking of which, he's not the only one who garnered an interesting reputation...

"I am B2-Heavy 972..." The B2-Heavy Droid showcases his Minigun to a small gathered group of Security OOM-Series Battle Droids. He grabs Minigun as he says, "...this is my weapon."

"Ooooh..." The Security Droids are in awe.

"It's impressive!"

B2-Heavy 972 then lays both hands covetously on Minigun, "...She weighs one hundred fifty kilograms and fires two hundred dollars, custom-tooled cartridges at ten thousand rounds per minute." He looks intently at droids, "...It costs four hundred thousand dollars to fire this weapon...for twelve seconds."

"Amazing!" The Security Droid said in awe, "I bet you can mow down thousands of Jedi with that!"

"Won't they deflect it back?" One of the Security Droids beside him questioned.

"This thing is a Slugthrower! What makes you think the Jedi can block slugs?"

"What's a dollar?"

Richard's Droids have too got themselves a reputation to be as unpredictable as their commanding officer. Richard is considered to be a friend to all droids so to speak. Unlike most of the Cadets, Richard allows his droids for some free time or break, he allows them to have fun in the workshop and rare occasions would roam the academy and talk to the regular droids in the academy.

Some would attempt to interact with the other cadets but were shunned away which is expected since the majority of the Star Wars Galaxy has a prejudice against droids. Only a few, like Arya, interacted with some of them which is quite odd for them after losing against them before.

It could be said that droids who are placed under the command of cadets who didn't care for their well-being are quite envious of Mann's Droids for having a commanding officer who not only cares for them but allows them a degree of freedom with little restrictions.

After all, how lucky could the droids be if they have a commanding officer that cares for them and gives them upgrades suited to their preferred fighting style? Sure Richard seems crazy and extremely unpredictable, he's at least someone who looks after his droids.

The same could not be said for some droids who have a distaste towards inferior units, some BX Units attempted to intimidate or perhaps even put those B1 Battle Droids in their place, reminding them who's the superior unit...

...this backfired effectively as this B1 Battle Droid is not your average cannon fodder anymore.

"Oh? You got something to say to my face, huh tough guy?!" B1-Scout Droid glared at the two BX-Droids.

"Your models are inferior to more specialized units like us." The BX-Commando Droid declared, "You are useless compared to us."

"Useless, huh? Oh, why don't we test that out?!"

"Your chances of beating me in melee is zero percent-" The other BX Droid wasn't able to finish when he was kicked so hard on the faceplate that he was sent flying across the hallway, which stunned the other BX Unit.

'W-what?!' The BX-Commando Droid starred in absolute shock as the supposed inferior B1s were able to send a commando droid flying. He wasn't able to react in time when the B1-Scout then sweeps his leg across the BX's droids causing the droid to fall on his back.

The B1-Scout Droid swiftly stood up smugly as he watched the BX-Commando Droid recover from the sudden attack.

"Hahaha! You got owned!" The B1-Scout Droid taunted the two Commando Droids.

Once they got their bearings, they fired their blasters at him but the droid ended up dodging the projectiles as the scout then taunts them as the blast failed to hit their target much to the frustration of being taunted by a supposed inferior unit.

"Ha!"

Evade.

"Missed me!"

Sidestepped.

"Sor-ry!"

Duck, plasma shot missed.

"Dat didn't hurt!"

His head tilts as a blaster whizz pass him.

"So close!"

The more taunts they heard, the more shots they missed as the B1-Scout continues to berate their shooting skills.

"HOLD STILL AND LET US KILL YOU!" The BX Commando Droid shouted angrily.

"Oh yeah, you're really scary!" He dodged another blaster bolt before mockingly saying, "Pop quiz: How long's it take to beat a moron to death?"

"Is that supposed to be a trick question, inferior-" The BX's head was removed from his shoulders by the B1-Scout Droid, who ran forward with unpredictable speeds that even the other BX-Commando Droid wasn't able to calculate in time.

The B1-Scout Droid imitated a buzzing noise, "Times up! You're dead!"

He turns to look at the other BX-Droid who stared at him frozen in shock at what happened and for the first time expressed... fear?

The BX-Commando Droid then took a step back, "S-step back!"

"Oh, what's this? You're scared?" The B1-Scout looked amused as he placed his bat on his shoulder, "Well who's the tough guy now, huh, tough guy?"

"I-I s-said, stay back!" The BX-Commando Droid shouted, attempting to intimidate but his quivering grip on the blaster says otherwise.

"Hm... Nah!" The B1-Scout Droid readies his bat to give the arrogant Droid the beating of his life. Oh look, pot meets kettle.

"W-wait!"

Too late, the BX-Commando Droid wasn't able to plea for his life as he was then beaten to death by the B1-Scout Droid. He didn't make his death quick, he took his time as the BX-Commando Droid felt every single inch of pain and suffering from a weak B1-unit. But after growing bored, he decides to end it by blowing his head off with a shotgun blast.

The B1-Scout stood up proudly with his handiwork before laughing out loud, followed by spreading his arms before jerking his left hand downwards,

"Hey, is someone keeping track o' my heads batted in? Boink!"

The B1-Scout droid walks away, leaving behind the scrap heap that used to be the infamous Commando Droids, now they're nothing more but useless scraps.

Unbeknownst to the B1-Scout Droids, at the other end of the hallway two other BX Droids and a B2-Super Battle Droid saw what happened and were honestly unnerved and even scared. The three looks at each other before they wisely and steadily take a few steps back before running away, indicating their fear and nervousness after witnessing a supposed 'inferior' droid model beat their series with such speed and agility. To any Commando Droid or Super Battle Droid who saw this, they made a mental note to themselves to never cross paths with Richard's Droid units regardless of the Droid model.

But that's not all, the Geonosians have an interesting interaction with him and his droids. And it involves one of TF2 Player's favorite pastimes.

—X—

A group of cadets were passing by Richard's workshop but then heard some kind of...up-tempo synthesized beat. And to no one's surprise, it's coming from the workshop of the weird cadet of the Academy.

Curious about what is going on in the Odd Commander's workshop, they went to see what was going on, and inside they see...

"Dancing! Dance!"

The Mann Battle Droids danced alongside their commander and Cadet Arya, who became frequent guest. Hell, even some of the geonosians seem to have joined for some reason, along with regular security droids and Arya's Droids, who has since then been replaced. The droids and geonosians did several up-and-down arm waves, two jumps, three wide arm stretches, then a few hops. They all followed the Commander's moves, who was in front of them.

This is so odd to see they can't help but stand and watch this tomfoolery happening before them. A few security droids were passing by and they too were curious and saw the droids dancing alongside the unusual commander.

"There's not more Confederate than exercise!!" The Commander of his group in front of him returned with a series of affirmations.

"I never thought this would be fun, Rick!"

The Commander stops then punches himself then turns and sends flurries of punches before posing. The B1 Soldiers did as the commander did; they went with their aerobics routine while giving their responses.

"Hahaha! Dancing!"

"Roger, dance, Roger!"

The geonosians that joined go through their aerobics routine and then get into a specific pose with their legs pressed together, crouching slightly, and raising their hands like pincers.

"{I've never felt so alive!}"

"{...and the... Geonosia-Crab!}"

"{We should do this more often with the hive!}"

The Cadets just watched as this is going on and they were not sure how to feel with all of this.

—(Months later)—

As of now, Richard Mann is in his workshop talking with Arya, the two showing how much fun they're having. While his droids either went to do their own thing and stuff.

"...And then, after me and my classmates were done with our swimming lessons one of them was oblivious of his actions we saw his butt crack from behind! Right in front of us! In the school's pool all for all to see!"

"Is that so?" Arya says with curiosity as she leaned forward with her elbows supporting her on the table.

"Yes! And one of my classmates shouted in a very cracked voice, 'I'm scarred for life!'"

Arya snorted and then giggled from his story. What kind of man would be extremely oblivious to even put on proper attire?

"Yeah! It's honestly hilarious!"

"Why didn't your instructor discipline him?"

"He was looking the other way," Richard explained to which Arya snorts and laughed at the explanation.

It's always interesting to learn from each other's life. While Richard learned that Arya was from a planet in the outer rim, that was neglected by the Galactic Republic. Arya learned from Richard that before he joined the CIS Academy, he lived mundane life and took the opportunity to join the confederacy and she wondered what planet he lived on. It's not Raxus since he seems oblivious to the world, and assumed he must've been from either the Mid-Rim Planets since he seems well off from being born in one of the neglected planets of the Outer-rim.

What she didn't know is that Richard's story was based on his previous life. And possibly even based on the author currently writing this segment. (Yes, someone in my previous school did something like that. Very oblivious and lacking awareness).

It could be said that seeing the top student of the academy hanging out with an oddball cadet is as odd as the mentioned cadet, but calling it odd is an understatement. Arya Warhan became friends with Richard a month ago and the two became the best of friends, and she is the only friend that Richard has made from the pool of cadets in the academy.

Despite the obvious differences between the two cadets, they can get along well with Arya's pragmatic personality and Richard's eccentric attitude.

But this little fun interaction came to an end with Arya looking a bit grim after she gazed at the rising sun of Geonosis.

"Rick..." Arya begins as she looks at him with his helmet-covered eyes.

"Yeah?" Richard as he is about to take a swig of his drink.

"When war does happen... Do you think the republic will accept us?" Arya questioned him, "Most of their forces are judicial, and I doubt even the Jedi can stop us. We just have to scare them into submitting to us. Perhaps the Jedi should understand our reasons, right?"

The odd cadet stops drinking and eyed her with sympathy.

'Oh, you sweet summer child.'

Richard internally winces at her statement, because of his advanced knowledge of Star Wars, the republic isn't as defenseless as it was before thanks to Count Dooku and Darth Sidious' interference and orchestrating the whole war. Even without them, war was still inevitable since Generation Tech made it clear that even without the two Sith Lords controlling everything from the shadows the Mega-corporations would eventually declare their secession from the Republic with or without their permission.

"I just hope that... once the time comes, we can force the republic to recognize the Confederacy and the people of the Outer-rim as something of value..." Arya said determinedly to which Richard helped but felt he had heard this before...

Wait a minute don't tell me...

"...I want our worlds to prosper, people no longer living in fear of pirate raids, and exploitation from those of the inner rim."

'Oh my great Lord Gaben... it's one of those cliche somber speeches.' Richard internally groans as the cadet before is telling her speech. But no offense to his friend, he is getting tired of hearing these speeches. He likes it better when they're just chatting like friends.

"I want to see the lives of people free from the oppression of the republic. The Jedi have failed us and now it's our turn to defend ourselves. Not just for the Confederacy but for the people we love..."

'Oh god, why?'

As she's giving her cliche speech that is meant to inspire, but for Richard who had a fair share of reading stories online and watched movies from his previous life... it's only annoying and overused.

Okay, before anyone hates on me for complaining about heroic speeches but have you ever been invested in a speech that's not too generic or boring to listen to? How many times have we read stories that had some character give their speech about righteousness and a just cause? And how many of us have we ever been engaged in?

*some readers point at (Insert Very-Inspiring Character here)*

Okay other than that, but most speeches are just exposition. And ironically that's what's happening with this story so yeah, Pot meets Kettle and all that Jazz, but that's beside the point.

Think of her speech as Ruby's many speeches from RWBY, it's goddamn annoying and you won't care about it and just skip through all of it. Arya is giving the same thing except it's about Justice for the Outer-Rim and all that jazz, which is more justifiable considering the situation they are in. At least not during a situation where lives are at stake or when fighting is about to commence.

The author would have taken this seriously if it wasn't a Crack-Fic, and you're here for stuff like *Good Stuff* and not generic speeches for a just cause. But since Richard is bad at listening to statements longer than 20 words, let's say he kind of blocked out all that was said and just waited for her to conclude her speech.

"Blah, blah, oppression. Blah, blah, for the Outer-rim! Blah, blah, blah for my people! Blah, blah, blah... have sex with Batman!"

The last part is made up. Not what she said.

Ignoring the last part, that's basically what Richard is just hearing, and what you're possibly hearing right now: just zoning out from the boredom because such speech wouldn't dent you in a Crack-Fic.

While that's happening, I'm just going to borrow some SpongeBob Time-Cards because there's no way in hell the author would want to spend his effort on making a generic somber speech that he has no care about in a fucking Crack-Fic story.

Now where's that time card!?

—(T)—

—(T)—

Okay, we're done? Good, back to the story. Arya is finally concluding her damn speech.

"... that's why I joined the Confederacy Military... I want Dooku's vision to be true." Arya said before looking out of the balcony, "I want the Outer Rim to prosper. I want the republic to see the Confederacy as a legitimate government. A noble cause." She then looks at Richard's helmet-covered eyes, "Why do you fight for the Confederacy, Rick?"

She expects many things whenever a cliche speech or social commentary would be expressed: it always goes with silence followed by a resolved look by the said person whose question is directed to them.

But for Richard...

"I fight for the Confederacy because war is hell! My kind of hell! Hahaha!"

His answer was so instantaneous that it destroyed the atmosphere or vibe that Arya was going for. There was no resolved or determined tone in his voice, just an optimistic view of the possibility of conflict. That's it.

"Is that it?" Arya asked incredulously.

"Yes! Even the others agree!" Richard gestures to the Droids who have since then been listening to their conversation.

On cue, the Droids cheered their affirmation.

"Roger, Roger sir!"

"Was is our hell! And we will kill the Republic!"

"Tiny Jedi scum will face my new giant gun!"

"War is coming... is nice."

Arya felt offended. After her heartfelt speech, she thought Richard would have taken her speech seriously or perhaps responded appropriately but instead is just playing it for laughs and giggles.

I mean what do you expect from someone who has the powers of Gmod and SFM on his side? He wouldn't take things that seriously unless he wants to. Of course, she doesn't know that but his response wasn't appropriate for the speech given, which the author purposely skipped so he's going to be blamed here. Anyways, his offhand answer to her question and speech, in general, has offended her.

She glared at him. The person she called friend, just wanted to fight in a war.

"Is fighting what you only care about? What about the Confederacy and its people?!"

Once again, Richard laughed which only angered the girl.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm all in with helping the Outer-Rim and everything, but I'd also want to fight on it because I want to have fun."

"You think it's all games, Richard?!"

"...The War as a Game..." Richard goes silent before responding, "...is nice."

Her face fumes in rage.

"Are you really that selfish that the lives of the people are at stake?!" Arya shouted, "Are you that much of an ignorant idiot, that you want nothing more but war?"

But before she could continue any further, something interesting happened. She felt a chill as despite his helmet covering his eyes she could have struck a nerve on him. And there's one thing she has realized now... she dun goof.

Richard looks over her with a hardened expression. Even with the helmet covering his eyes, she can tell the odd cadet has

"Don't call me that." He says with a stern tone, that even his droids felt a chill down their spinal strut, "Never call me an ignorant idiot. I may be many things but an ignorant idiot is not one of them." 'Sometimes...'

He stares down at her with his helmet-covered eyes before he continues, "...I may love the prospect of war, and I'll take the opportunity to fight in it. Not just the thrill of the fight, but perhaps even a just cause."

Ah fuck, he's falling into the speech trend. Ah well, the author kind of planned this. (Tzeentch: Just as planned!) Get out of here, you tentacle monster hentai!

Anyways back to Richard's sudden speech, "...Just you know, war is coming. And I bet 500 Credits that it is likely to happen regardless of what you think. Peaceful solutions are no longer effective and no longer the Senate will heed the Outer-Rim's plea. The Republic wants war, and they will get one whether you like it or not. You may see my love for war and death to be selfish or cruel, perhaps both but don't think of my mindset as that. I do care for the people of the Outer-Rim and I'll make sure the Republic will pay dearly for it!"

Richard stands up and walks towards the entrance of his workshop, as his droids watched him. Hey, on the bright side, his speech was very short. It didn't have to be a wall of text or exposition.

"...And just you wait, I'll make changes that you possibly wouldn't believe!"

But before he could leave, the door slams open revealing a cadet looking alarmed and tired as other cadets run past him in the hallway in panic frenzy.

"Woah, what's wrong?!" Richard exclaims. He already knew what is likely to happen due to his extensive knowledge of Star Wars Canon and the timeline of it. It was a matter of time before he reached its due date...

The cadet painted before he answered.

"We-we need to head to the command center. Admiral Trench has an announcement to make! The Republic knows our intentions."

Arya sat in her place in absolute shock as did her droids. War is happening and the republic would try to stop them. War is inevitable...
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"Called it!" Richard laughed which ruined the tension in the room.

"Rick!" Arya exclaimed, annoyed at him.

"What? I did call it! You owe 500 credits!"

________________________________

To be Concluded.

[News theme starts playing]

Swag
Yoda
News

"Unknown Filipino Battle Droid illegally bought a Cadillac from an Unknown Canadian Wizard. Local authorities seize more than 42 tons of illegal cocaine. Details of this incident are being investigated by the local police department." Swag Yoda explained.

"/There's no reason to panic. Leave this situation for professionals to take care of./" Robot-BLU Soldier stated to the viewers.

The camera pans to BattleDroid1106 in the back of the police car, "Welp, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and stay tuned for the next chapter! Also..." BattleDroid1106 looks at the police and gives the finger, "F*CK YOU!!!"

Cuts to Swag Yoda, "I miss my wife, Tails."

TV then turns to static and has the sign that says "No signal" follo by a Woman's voice, "Your television subscription has expired, Goodbye!"

The TV then has wheels and starts driving away.

EnderBoy8123 stares where it went, "Welp! Back to the front" he ran towards the door, "CHARGE!"

Breaks through.

(Outro-Idea by EnderBoy8123)