History Literature / RepublicCommandoSeries

%%* {{Asexual}}:
%%Vau, possibly.

* TheDreaded: A neat effect in ''Order 66': Jedi General Arligan Zey is found hiding under a desk, having barely survived his own personal Order 66'ing and flat fucking terrified of what [[BigBad Palpatine]] will do to him. Maze and Ordo mostly tell him where to stick it.

* RealityEnsues: A lot of the series is about employing this trope on events in the main ''Star Wars'' films.[[BroadStrokes These are all also still canon unless stated otherwise.]]
** The Battle of Geonosis looked really cool, but was apparently a tactical clustercuss, with huge clone and Jedi casualties. The Republic Commandos are thus overstretched and at half the strength they were meant to be.
** The Jedi are great warriors, but never trained to lead militaries, leaving the Republic Army less prepared than it'd like to be.
** The clones had their growth accelerated, but if the aging isn't stopped, [[YourDaysAreNumbered they'll all die in their forties.]]
** All the battles look really cool, but strategically the running of the war seems like a total mess.
--->'''Atin:''' It's almost as if [[BigBad someone]] is trying to strand as many generals as possible in as many stupid places with inadequate support.'''

* ScrewYouElves: Jedi that aren't openly critical of using the clones as a slave army aren't viewed well at all by the Mandalorians.

* ShellShockedVeteran: Increasingly played with as the series goes on. It's a world of a difference to see Darman's personality at the beginning and end of the series. Shab, all of the clones.

* MoralDissonance: One of the characters, Kal Skirata, likes to make a big stink about how the Jedi ([[DependingOnTheAuthor supposedly]]) don't care about the clones as individuals like he does, all while he imposes his own culture onto the clone troopers under his command without any consideration given to them ever having a choice in the matter. Since the culture in question is the [[CreatorsPet Mandalorian culture]], and the writer is Creator/KarenTraviss, [[SarcasmMode naturally this is the only right thing to do.]]

* RefugeInAudacity: "True Colors" details the legal nature of Order 66, explaining it was one of 150 Contingency Orders... And that Order 65 was an order to ''arrest the Supreme Chancellor and kill him if necessary''. The only noticeable difference between Order 66 and the rest of the list is that Order 66 can be enacted purely on the Supreme Chancellor's say-so, where Order 65 requires sign-off of the Senate or the Security Council; the distinction is intentionally obscured by the LongList.

* The Mandalorain Morse code {{Expy}} is called ''dadita''. Written or spoken, dots and dashes in Morse code are called ''dits'' and ''das''.
* The tendency to harangue the upper brass is pretty realistic.
*

* HappilyAdopted: All of Skirata's kids. He notably has several "levels" of adoption, though. The Nulls are his first kids, but he only formally adopted Ordo at first (Mando adoption only requires a spoken oath to be binding) and only got around to the others later. He later adopts Bardan to give him a place to stay, and he informally serves as father to every one of his hundred and four commandos.

* SleepDeprivation: With the commandos. It's noted that since the commandos are at half their planned strength ([[HollywoodTactics half of them died on Geonosis]]), they don't get much time between missions and snatch sleep whenever they can. When they're defending key positions during the Battle of Coruscant, they're awake for forty-eight hours and sleep a few minutes at a time.

** Smart commando units are good enough to notice that the war is being conducted like an idiot, [[DramaticIrony almost as if Republic leadership is drawing out on purpose.]]

* RealityEnsues:
** A lot of the series is about employing this trope on events in the main ''Star Wars'' films. Most obviously, the clones' status in the Republic is fully [[PlayedForDrama Played For Drama]]. [[BroadStrokes These are all also still canon unless stated otherwise.]]

**
** Most clones live a purposeful life, but some do not, and have no legal recourse.

** Smart commando units are good enough to notice that the war is being conducted like an idiot, [[DramaticIrony almost as if Republic leadership is drawing out the war.]]

** Averted heavily. In one short story, Fi fires a Verpine shattergun -- the EU version of armor-piercing rounds -- at Atin purposely and the armor deflects it. The commandos are appreciative of their armor's durability and it helps them survive many a firefight. In the same short story, Fi is able to jump on a grenade and come out badly rattled, but alive.

* ScrewThisImOutOfHere: Clan Skirata executes a mass-desertion from the GAR when Order 66 goes down.

* SecretPolice: Palpatine's secret hit squads that hunt down AWOL clones.

* BigBad: Interestingly, Palpatine still seems to play this role. Instead of a Sith Lord however, he's merely perceived as a manipulative politican who's much meaner than he looks. That the protagonists perceive this immediately while the Jedi are still figuring it out is a testament to their experience.

* ForegoneConclusion: All over the place, but especially in ''Order 66'' when we know the end of the war - and the end of the Jedi - is coming. This is especially worrying because several of the main characters are Jedi themselves.

** Vau also teaches a hold in ''Order 66'' that seems to involve grabbing the victim's uh, Death Stars.

* ForegoneConclusion: Played for drama for all its worth.

* ANaziByAnyOtherName: This shows up in a few different ways, apart from [[PuttingOnTheReich the normal Star Wars one.]] Building off of the clones, the idea of genetic superiority is thrown around often by the Kaminoans, and subsequently the clones.

** And the insults ''mir'sheb'' and ''shabuir'', which are understandable with context. Based on the meaning of ''sheb'', ''mir'sheb'' probably means "asswipe", and considering the meaning of ''shab'' and that ''buir'' means "parent", [[Creator/SamuelLJackson well...]]

* BigBad: Interestingly, Palpatine still seems to play this role. Instead of a Sith Lord however, he's merely perceived as a manipulative politican who's much meaner than he looks. That this is pretty close to the actual truth is pretty interesting.

* CloningBlues: Surprisingly averted. The clones don't care. They're even ''proud'' of their heritage, because they were bred to be whoopass on every other "randomly conceived being" in the galaxy.

** ''Shab'' or ''Shabla'', analogous to the F-word.
** The general insults ''di'kut'',and ''chakaar''
** The general exclamation ''Fierfek''
** We also have ''mir'sheb'' and ''shabuir'', which are understandable with context. Based on the meaning of ''sheb'', ''mir'sheb'' probably means "asswipe", and considering the meaning of ''shab'' and that ''buir'' means "parent", well...

* PardonMyKlingon: The Mando language is seen most often in swearwords. Right off the bat, we have
** ''Shebs'', analogous to "butt" or "ass".
** ''Shab'' or ''Shabla'', analogous to the F-word.
** The general insults ''shabuir'' and ''chakaar''
** And the general exclamation ''Fierfek''
** It's noted that swearwords circulate through the ranks faster than other Mandalorian words.
* PregnantBadass: Later on in the series [[spoiler: Etain]] becomes one.
* ThePurge: After Order 66.

* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: The Mandalorians prize readiness to defend what one cares about, to the point where (as noted in ''Literature/LegacyOfTheForce: Revelation'' by the same author) their language lacks a word for "hero," not because they don't recognize the concept, but because they don't consider it particularly ''noteworthy''. At least four of the Six Actions are tied partially or fully to martial arts.

* WouldHurtAChild: For all his talk that children are sacred, Skirata still murders padawans after [[spoiler:Etain jumps in front of one's lightsaber]].

* LetsFightLikeGentlemen: subverted ''every time.''
** Jango Fett himself is to have mentioned Skirata as "the dirtiest fighter I've ever known."

* ManOnFire: Darman [[spoiler: survives with little damage but plenty of nightmares.]]

* NoOneGetsLeftBehind: Atin frequently tries to talk Niner out of this in ''Hard Contact.'' It is later [[spoiler: subverted with Delta Squad leaving Sev behind on Kashyyyk.]]

* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: The Mandalorians prize readiness to defend what one cares about, to the point where (as noted in ''Literature/LegacyOfTheForce: Revelation'' by the same author) their language lacks a word for "hero", not because they don't recognize the concept, but because they don't consider it particularly ''noteworthy''. At least four of the Six Actions are tied partially or fully to martial arts.

* RedemptionDemotion: Arguably Vau.

* SoleSurvivor: Atin twice.

* {{Tearjerker}}: [[spoiler: Etain's death and the scenes that immediately follow at Kyrimorut. Also, Delta Squad leaving Sev behind.]]

* WhyDontYaJustShootHim?: Hokan, you moron.
%%* WorldOfBadass: '''''Mandalore.''''' That is all.

** Jango Fett himself is to have mentioned Skirata as ""the dirtiest fighter I've ever known."

* HollywoodHealing: subverted. After Atin's fight with Vau he still has scars all over his body.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: lots, but especially apparent before the quintessential Order 66.

* CutShort[=/=]LeftHanging: A sequel to ''501st'' had been planned at the time it was written, but was later canceled; as a result, a number of arcs from that novel have gone unresolved. Disney declaring the old EU [[CanonDiscontinuity non-canon]] makes any sort of conclusion even less likely.

* BadassFamily: the Skiratas. You do not mess with them. They will pwn your ''shebs'' any day of the week. Even the [[{{BadassAdorable}} baby]].

* BadassBookworm: Jusik, and, surprisingly [[spoiler: Maze]]

* [[spoiler: BadassAndChildDuo: Skirata and his grandson, Kad. Woe betide anyone who ruffles a hair on the kid's curly head.]]

There have been several spinoff novels and short stories from the computer game ''VideoGame/StarWarsRepublicCommando''[[note]]The first book, ''Hard Contact'', was released a few months before the ''Republic Commando'' video game.[[/note]], known as the ''Republic Commando'' series and written by Creator/KarenTraviss. Although there is a degree of intertextuality between these stories, they can be split into several defined story arcs that can be read individually from each other. While clone commandos appear in many stories, such as ''Literature/DarkLordTheRiseOfDarthVader'' and ''Literature/JediTrial'', this list only deals with direct spinoffs from the ''Republic Commando'' franchise.

** Played to the hilt and then subverted on the same page when [[spoiler:Kal Skirata first meets the Null Arcs. At the time they appeared four year old innocent and helpless children in desperate need of Kal's protection from the diabolical Kaminoans...until they stole Kal's holdout blaster to defend themselves.]]
** Early in the series, all clones qualified for this. [[spoiler: Etain first sensed Darman as a 'child' through the Force, rather than a soldier.]] As the series progresses, this becomes less true as the clones grow up mentally.

* ColdSniper: Played straight with Sev, subverted with [[TheHeart Fi]] .

* ConLang: Mandalorian. ''Triple Zero'' even includes a Mandalorian dictionary in the back.

* NicknamingTheEnemy: Seppies, bug-boys, wets, tinnies ... and that's not even going into all the Mando'a swears.

There have been several spinoff novels and short stories from the computer game ''VideoGame/StarWarsRepublicCommando'', known as the ''Republic Commando Series'' and written by Creator/KarenTraviss. Although there is a degree of intertextuality between these stories, they can be split into several defined story arcs that can be read individually from each other. While clone commandos appear in many stories, such as ''Literature/DarkLordTheRiseOfDarthVader'' and ''Literature/JediTrial'', this list only deals with direct spinoffs from the ''Republic Commando'' franchise.

* HonorAmongThieves: pretty much all of the Mandalorians have an unsaid mentality of 'us versus the auretii' when they're threatened as a group.

* InvulnerableKnuckles: Inverted after [[spoiler: Darman's NoHoldsBarredBeatdown on Skirata. His knuckles are scratched, bleeding, and generally wrecked.]]