Slick

|type=CIS
|image=
|name="Slick"
|homeworld=KaminoStar Wars: The Clone Wars Character Encyclopedia
|species=Human 
|gender=Male
|height=1.83 meters
|hair=Black
|eyes=Brown
|skin=Tan
|affiliation=*Galactic Republic
**Grand Army of the Republic
***Slick's platoonStar Wars: The Clone Wars – The Official Episode Guide: Season 1
*Confederacy of Independent Systems
}}
"Slick" was the nickname of a veteran Clone Sergeant in the Grand Army of the Republic during the War of the Ring. Named for his resourcefulness and discreetness, he began to develop a hatred for his Jedi commanding officers, believing that he and his fellow clone brothers were acting as the Jedi's puppets. In June 1981, Slick betrayed the Galactic Republic and began to pass inside information to the Dark Witch Jinx of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. After the Confederacy invaded the planet Christophsis, Slick accompanied a faction of Republic forces under the command of Jedi Generals Sam Gamgee and Frodo Baggins to liberate the planet from the Confederate oppression.
On Christophsis, Slick led his platoon on a reconnaissance of a strategical location for an ambush on the Confederate battle droids, and after returning to the Republic base, Slick informed Jinx and the Confederate General Whorm Loathsom of the Republic's plan. The Confederacy was able to ambush the Republic forces, and Gamgee and Baggins went to search for information in Confederacy-held territory while Clone Captain CT-7567 and Clone Commander CC-2224—nicknamed "Rex" and "Cody," respectively—stayed to find the possible Republic traitor. In the clones' following interrogation of Slick's men, Slick was revealed to be the Confederate spy, and after the traitor severely damaged the Republic base's weapons depot, Rex and Cody engaged him in a brawl. Slick was apprehended, and when Frodo and Sam returned, the traitorous clone was taken to lock-up.
==Biography==
===Clone traitor===
The clone trooper nicknamed "Slick" for his resourcefulness and discreetness served in the Grand Army of the Republic during the War of the Ring. Promoted to the rank of clone sergeant, Slick was given his own platoon of troopers. However, he began to develop a hatred for his Jedi commanding officers; frustrated with the clones' position in the Republic army as the Jedi's "puppets," Slick betrayed the Republic, and in June 1981, he began to pass secret Republic information to the Dark Witch Jinx of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. In exchange, Slick received credits, as well as what he personally believed to be freedom.
===Ambush on Christophsis===
In the tenth week of the war,The Essential Reader's CompanionThe War of the Ring: Wild Space the Confederacy invaded the planet Christophsis. Slick accompanied a faction of clone troopers under the command of High Jedi General Sam Gamgee and Jedi General Frodo Baggins to liberate the planet. After the Republic had set up a base, Slick led his platoon to reconnoiter a strategic site from which to ambush the Confederate droid forces. In the planet's capital city, Crystal City,Shadow Games Slick discovered a business complex with adjacent towers that faced the north and south and overlooked a major plaza. He then reported back to Baggins and Gamgee on considering the towers as ambush sites.
As they returned to the Republic base, Slick and his men encountered a squad of B1-Series battle droids attempting to clear a major boulevard of Christophsians. When the battle droids discovered a crippled Christophsian and discussed killing the man, the clones intervened and eliminated the droids. After returning to the base, Slick secretly transmitted the Republic's plan of attack to Jinx and the Confederate General Whorm Loathsom. The clone spy continued to send Jinx information every couple of days from a terminal in his unit's barracks.
The Republic forces stationed themselves in the two towers, preparing to ambush the battalion of battle droids approaching in the plaza below. Gamgee, Clone Commander CC-2224—nicknamed "Cody"—and Slick were based in the south tower, while Frodo and Clone Captain CT-7567—known as "Rex"—were positioned in the parallel north tower. The approaching column of droids suddenly split, and acting on Slick's information, a squad of B1 battle droids and Goblins ambushed Kenobi and his men in the south tower. Gamgee's forces were overwhelmed, and Frodo arrived with his men to assist Gamgee. Fighting back the droids, the Republic forces were able to escape from the roof of the tower via clone pilot Hawk's LAAT/i gunship.
Before going back to his barracks, Slick returned his Hush-98 comlink to the base's command center but left the device on so as to eavesdrop on Cody, Rex, and the Jedi as they debriefed on their failed plan. Slick learned that the Jedi believed that there was a traitor amongst their men; Baggins and Gamgee planned to secretly investigate behind enemy lines for information, while Rex and Cody resolved to stay and search for the possible Confederate spy. After the hobbits had left, Cody noticed the activated comlink, and Rex spotted Slick in the hallway but did not recognize the traitor's identity. Slick fled, and the two clone officers gave pursuit. Slick escaped into the mess hall, blending in amongst the other clones; however, this tactic put Rex and Cody on the lead that the Confederate spy was one of the clones themselves. Returning to his barracks, Slick reported the Jedi's mission to Jinx, and the Dark Witch planned to confront them at the Confederacy's base.
===Turncoat revealed===
Rex and Cody went back to the base's command center to continue their search for information. The two clones used the astromech droid R2-D2 to track an irregular wavelength in external communications—that Slick had caused from contacting Jinx every few days—to the terminal in the sergeant's barracks. Rex and Cody decided to interrogate Slick's men, believing that one of them was the double agent. When Rex and Cody arrived at his barracks, Slick insisted on talking with his men first, stating that their morale would be damaged, but the two proceeded with the investigations anyway. When Chopper was questioned, the trooper stated he had been in the mess hall after they had returned, but fellow troopers Punch and Sketch claimed that they had not seen him there till much later. Chopper revealed that he had been taking battle droid fingers from the battlefield—an act forbidden against war protocol—and had been stringing them together in a necklace. Slick used Chopper's discreditable situation to his own advantage, suggesting that Chopper himself was the spy.
However, while stating to Chopper his right to silence, Slick accidentally revealed that he was aware of the Jedi's secret mission, information he could have never otherwise known. When Cody noticed this, Slick's cover was blown, and the Republic traitor attacked Cody and Chopper before fleeing. Slick deduced that Rex and Cody would check the gunship landing platform, believing that he was trying to escape, and left his utility belt attached to a thermal detonator there. When the two clone officers arrived at the gunship platform, Slick activated the explosives, destroying the gunships and AT-TE walkers on the landing platform as well as the base's weapons depot. Slick then entered the command center and hid in the vents above; Rex and Cody followed him into the command center and engaged in a ruse to bait Slick out of the vents. Cody took the ammo out of his blaster and left the gun on the table, while Rex seemingly left to check the south exit. Slick stole Cody's blaster and sneaked up behind the commander but discovered that the blaster was empty. Rex reentered the room, and Slick was surrounded.
Exchanging derisive words with Rex and Cody, Slick suddenly attacked Rex, stealing the captain's blaster and knocking him to the floor. Cody was able to disarm Slick but lost his own blaster in the process. As Slick headed for the door, Cody grabbed his legs and brought him down to the ground before engaging Slick in close combat. Rex ended the evenly-matched pair's fight by pulling Slick off Cody, but Slick was able to knock his adversary to the floor. Using the "groin popper" maneuver to dislocate Rex's leg, Slick stated that while Jinx had offered him money for his information, she had also offered him freedom. However, Cody punched Slick in the head and rendered the distracted clone traitor unconscious.
As Slick reawakened, he was taken in handcuffs to the Jedi, who had returned from a duel with Jinx. Slick verbally abused the Jedi, decrying that he and his clone brothers were acting as their puppets. Slick also stated that he loved his brothers, but Cody intervened, asserting that if Slick had loved his brothers he would not have put them at risk. The traitor was taken to lock-up, receiving a lengthy prison sentence, while the Jedi devised a plan to continue the fight against the Confederacy with their remaining resources.
Rumors of Slick's treachery persisted many years later, during the rule of the Galactic Empire. In the Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide, an Imperial officer's manual published shortly before the Battle of Yavin, the Kaminoan Nala Se claimed that such reports were likely the result of Jedi tampering.Star Wars: Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide
==Personality and traits==
Slick's hair was the generic black color of the clone troopers; he shaved it off to a trim halfway up the sides of his head in a crewcut style. He also dyed his eyebrows a dark red. He stood 1.83 meters tall and had brown eyes and tan skin.
As his nickname suggested, Slick was both resourceful and discreet, taking advantage of Chopper's visibly discreditable position during interrogations. He was also able to hide his true intentions from the Jedi and his fellow clones for a time, but although he was determined to outfox Rex and Cody, he was ultimately unable to do so when his true allegiances were revealed. Slick knew that after he was revealed to be the traitor, Rex and Cody would deduce that he would try to escape and search the gunship landing platform. He used this to his advantage, planting explosives to delay the clones and sabotage the Republic's weapon supplies. Slick did not escape when Rex and Cody believed he would; rather, he attempted to flee after he realized that he had been outsmarted when the pair were able to bait him out of the command center's vents.
Slick professed love for his clone brothers, but possessed a hatred for the Jedi. He believed that the clone troopers were no more than cannon fodder for the Jedi, and because of this, he believed that fighting for the Republic was dishonorable. However, while Slick acted for his clone brothers, he put forth his own pursuits of greater deeds, unaware of the danger that he imposed on his fellow clone troopers. He became a threat to his brothers in selling information to Jinx as well as sabotaging the Republic's supplies; both actions decreased the Republic's chance of defeating the Confederacy and increased the chances of greater losses. Despite this, Slick believed that he was doing the right thing for all clones and that it was worth the sacrifice.
While Slick himself devised a plan to outmatch Rex and Cody that nearly succeeded, the two clones were able to outsmart Slick by baiting him out of the vents. Slick was capable in close combat, as evidenced by his brawl with the duo, and as both he and Cody were veteran troopers, they were evenly matched in fighting skills. The sergeant's ruthlessness was portrayed through his violent actions, as he did not hesitate to dislocate Rex's leg.
==Behind the scenes==
The character of Slick was introduced in "The Hidden Enemy," an episode in the 2008 first season of the The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Ring television series, and Shadowed, an issue of the series' weekly webcomic, leading into the episode. Slick was portrayed by voice actor Dee Bradley Baker, who provided the voice for all the clones throughout the series.
Slick was noted as being the first clone traitor introduced in the series—something considered contradictory of the clones, as they were all seemingly bred to serve the Republic and be identical in beliefs. The episode's director, Steward Lee, and the episode's writer, Drew Greenberg, both note this detraction as "an ominous sign of things to come," for if one clone can break from his brothers, there is no telling how many others would do the same.
Slick was to originally have red hair, but in the final version of the episode the standard black hair of the clones was used. This helped him blend in with the other clones, rather than stand out from them.
==Appearances==
*The War of the Ring: Shadowed 
*
* 
==Sources==
==Notes and references==
Category:Clone trooper sergeants
Category:Galactic Republic defectors
Category:Members of Slick's unit
Category:Confederacy military personnel
Category:Spies