Chapter 209: The End Of Admiral Dao
A few minutes before the destruction of The Sincerity.
The Republic troops on the ground had disengaged from the enemy, and retreated even further than before. Now, they were waiting in an opening. Three paths crossed this opening. They came from one of them, and so would the droids. Of the other two, one was directly in front of the other, and crossed several canyons, while the other followed the terrain.
They led to the same place - the Twi'lek hideout - but one was much longer than the other. That opening was where they would make their last stand, because if they retreated any more, they would have to fight around civilians, and that would only disturb them.
Thanks to the brave sacrifice of three dozen clones under the command of recently-promoted Lieutenant Agil, who stayed behind, the survivors of the battle were a few hours ahead of the Separatist.
Dageer, Commander Keeli, Ragout, General Di, Gobi, and Syndulla were sitting on rocks, planning for the next skirmish. The situation was dire. Of the three thousand troops they had, only eleven hundred could fight, while the other six hundred who survived were badly injured. And, without medical supplies, they were suffering. Every moment, another trooper died due to untreated wounds.
The clanckers, on the other hand, still had more than four thousand units, and the possibility of receiving reinforcements any time.
Suddenly, a bright light attracted everyone's attention. Looking up to the sky, they saw one of the three Republic cruisers on orbit blow up. The ship was ripped apart by the explosion, and like shooting stars, burning debris cut across Ryloth's atmosphere.
"Vindicator..."
"It's gone, General Ragout."
What followed next was something straight out the 303rd's nightmares. The Sincerity was hit several times, and the turrets and cannons on it stopped firing. The lights went out on the ship, and several smaller explosions shook it, as every laser now hit it directly.
When those on the planet below thought that the cruiser was going down, The Righteous dove between it and the enemy fleet, and straight into a Providence-class Dreadnought. The two ships collided, the dreadnought falling first, followed by the Republic Cruiser.
Every trooper held their breaths, and clenched their fists. Some, like Dageer, so strongly that they hurt themselves. But they didn't care. They had joked about their demise, they had mocked it, but when the end really arrived, none of the clones could look at the sky and be indifferent.
General Di sat on the ground, looking defeated. For the first time ever, the Jedi showed his inner thoughts. The Nikto couldn't bear to watch as the clones under him died far, far away in space, fighting for a planet they had never set foot upon. Only now he questioned the decision that the Galactic Senate made when sending the 303rd to Ryloth.
Ragout knelt beside his master, but he couldn't muster the strength to say anything. He had seen death before, many times, but to him, the war always was something that they would certainly win. Now, he knew that wasn't the case. He understood that the Republic would have to pay a heavy price to win the Clone Wars, and that the 303rd was only a small part of it.
Syndulla and Gobi looked at one another, despair filling their eyes. After everything the 303rd had done to them, they felt their loss not only as allies, but as friends.
Commander Keeli was more direct than the others. He punched the ground in anger, until his fist bled. He couldn't believe it. He was trained to face defeat, he was even trained to be expressionless when sending his troopers to certain death. But nothing trained him to lose everything.
And then The Sincerity blew up.
It started on the command bridge. Then, a chain reaction ran around the capital ship of the 303rd fleet. In a matter of seconds, the cruiser broke in half, and fell on Ryloth, not far from where they were.
Dageer stared at it, but couldn't process what happened. He knew they were going to lose. He knew they were going to die. Still, all he could think was about how many brothers he lost. And Admiral Dao.
The old admiral was the only one in the entire legion who wasn't a clone nor a Jedi. Still, he had proven his worth more than once, and earned the respect of all the clones. They all started treating him like a brother, and the admiral returned the treatment with honor. It was the first time he ever felt like that, and the first time he felt the loss of every soldier he commanded. It were the best months of his career, and he couldn't have asked for a better legion, a better army, and a better general.
And now, it was all over. Dageer was sure Admiral Dao had died with a smile on his face. It was just how the man was. He liked to say that he would go down in a blaze of glory, and not die on his bed. And he sure had.
Leading an outnumbered fleet, he had protected Ryloth to his last breath. Dageer felt pain in his chest when he saw the burning remains of The Sincerity crashing on the planet. The ship had been his home for a very long time, and even her destruction pained him.
...
The fight that followed the fall of The Sincerity was as short as it was intense. Admiral Dao's plan worked, and almost a dozen Separatist frigates, and three dreadnoughts, were destroyed by the Y-Wing bombers and the starfighters.
Flying past the broken remains of their cruisers, the Republic pilots saw not only pieces of metal, but also many bodies floating in the vacuum of space. It was a horrible sight, that only fuelled their desire to kill.
Although they felt burning rage and pain, they didn't forget the last mission the dead admiral ensured them.
The V-Wings cut down Vulture droid after Vulture droid, the few hundreds of pilots destroying more than five times their numbers in enemies.
When they approached the big ships, and the turrets started to take down starfighters, they flew even closer to each other than before. They gave their lives to make sure the bombers would arrive at their destination. And they did.
The enemy commander had despised the suicidal strategy, and that cost him more than the tactical droid could ever imagine.
Just like Rozal and countless clones had done before, the pilots sacrificed themselves, even if it did just a little more damage to the enemy. Now they weren't fighting because they had orders or because it was their only option. They were fighting for revenge.
Missiles were poured into the Separatist ships, breaking the long 'necks' that were their command bridges. Several frigates crashed in Ryloth, and the others became pieces of metal floating around.
Twenty minutes after the battle started, it ended. After all, there were just too many Vulture droids. They hunted down every single Republic starfighter.
The last pilot of the 303rd tried to crash his V-Wing into the command bridge of a Separatist dreadnought, but only pieces of it reached the ship.
The 303rd Attack Legion was no more.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Reis123
Reis123 Well guys... Like ai said before, it is very difficult for me to write those chapters. I know it isn't real or anything, but I really feel kind of like how Dageer and the others.
So, I won't say much. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and may the Force be with you.
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