章 221: Paying Respect
Dageer stopped beside a body. The clone was laying on a rock, facing the ground. His arms dangled around when Dageer moved him, and he almost seemed alive for a moment.
"Frit."
The cheerful trooper had received almost ten lasers to the chest before he died. His blaster was next to him, and Dageer picked it up and put it on Frit's hands. No clone would like to die without his weapon. It was a representation of what they faced, and how they behaved before their deaths, and it was also a sort of superstition.
No one in this galaxy knew what happened after one died, and there were thousands of millions of theories. Clones didn't even have the time to create an explanation. It didn't matter. Frit and the others died a valiant death, and they deserved this kind of respect. Since he couldn't bring their bodies back to Kamino, that was the least Dageer could do.
"They... Did all of that?"
Miwy's shutter brought Hell Squad back to the present. They had all been roaming around, looking at their dead brothers, and remembering them. It wasn't the first time they saw something like this, and it wouldn't be the last. However, it was... different.
When the Twi'lek called them, they finally looked at the battlefield as a whole. It was true that the 303rd had gone down in battle, but they weren't alone. The price of their deaths was the destruction of more than a thousand clanckers.
The broken remains of B1 and B2 droids made for a sharp contrast with the white and brown armor of the 303rd. The more they walked, the more droids they saw. Their metallic carcasses pilled up, side by side with the clones they were fighting.
Suddenly, Metal stopped, and Miwy almost stumbled into him. Ignoring her, the clone knelt, and picked up a helmet. It was broken, scorched, and dirty. However, the two painted horns on it were unforgettable.
"S-Sir..."
Dageer walked over to him, and pulled the helmet of Metal's grasp. The clone's fingers held onto it for a moment, not willing to let go.
Dageer looked at the broken visor of Commander Keeli's helmet. The helmet he knew so well. Suppressing a sigh, he glanced around. It was easy to spot Commander Keeli's body. A pile of droids laid around him, bigger than any other.
His dear DC-17s were next to him, and he had his eyes closed. If it wasn't for the laser marks on his chest armor, he might look like he was just sleeping. Unfortunately, he wasn't.
General Di wasn't too far away from Commander Keeli. Contrarily to the commander, there were almost no droids near his body. They all seemed to have been pushed away, certainly by a last exhibition of the Force the Jedi used.
There was a peaceful smile on General Di's face. When Dageer got close to him, he noticed his comlink blinking. The Nikto must have received the news that the freedom fighters got their much-needed supplies.
"Let's go."
Turning to the other clones, Dageer gestured towards the two bodies. They picked them up quietly, and left the valley. It was a place of death, and it would remain like that for a long time. Much later, the bodies would be rescued, not only there, but in all of Ryloth. Or at least what remained of them. There were many creatures on the planet that didn't care whether their prey was dead or alive.
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"Dageer. Are those... they?"
Ragout watched as Hell Squad entered the hideout in their speeders, two bodies hanging carefully on them.
Dageer stopped his BARC speeder in front of the young Togruta, lifting a cloud of dust. Clones and Twi'leks surrounded the speeders, the freedom fighters murmuring curiously, the troopers silent in respect and grief.
"Yes, general."
Ragout stopped beside General Di's body, touched his master's head, and closed his eyes. After a few minutes, he lifted his hand, and General Di and Commander Keeli started floating.
The people opened a path for him as he walked. It was kind of eerie, watching a Togruta with dark circles under his eyes and two bodies floating behind him. Many of the Twi'leks, and even clones, flinched, and parents took their kids away.
"Dageer, follow me."
Looking at the members of Hell Squad behind him, Dageer shrugged. He wasn't the least shaken by the scene, but he knew it wasn't good for the morale of the troops.
Without saying a thing, Ragout put the two bodies in special storage boxes, where they would be preserved until it was time for them to be properly sent to the afterlife. Dageer waited respectfully behind Ragout as the padawan said his final goodbyes to General Di.
When Ragout finally looked up, Dageer saw a new glint in his eyes. There was still sadness, but also determination. A lot of it.
"Dageer, as per today, you are being made commander of the 303rd Attack Legion. My... My master wouldn't want us to stop and grief for him. He gave his life so he could help the people of Ryloth. We will do that in his stead."
"Sir?"
Dageer was surprised, to say the least. They didn't have a legion anymore. The 303rd was gone. So, how could he become the commander of it?
"I am a general, ain't I, Dageer?"
"Yes, you are, sir."
"Then I have the authority to do so. Our legion might be gone, but we are still alive. I can't let master's sacrifice be in vain. I can't let anyone's sacrifice be in vain. And neither can you."
Dageer didn't know what to say. For once, he wasn't happy about his promotion. It came at too high a cost. However, he could see that this was Ragout's way of reviving the 303rd. A new commander would bring sad memories, but it would also give a new purpose to the troopers.
"I understand, general. It is my honor to serve as the new commander of the 303rd Attack Legion. I will make sure the sacrifices of all my brothers won't be in vain."
Ragout nodded. There was a dark aura around the padawan, and for a moment, Dageer remembered General Di telling him to not look for vengeance. Ragout wasn't following those orders, but it wasn't Dageer's place to tell him what to do.
"Let's go talk to Syndulla. He has something for us."
Dageer followed, frowning. He didn't know what the Twi'lek could have for them, but after the few weeks of constant battling, his respect for Syndulla had become despise. The freedom fighter only cared for those close to him, and didn't even wince when he saw 303rd troopers dying one after another while he and his freedom fighters ran.
Still, the newly-appointed commander followed his general. Looking at Ragout's back, Dageer felt pity. He didn't know a lot about the Jedis, but based on what General Di told him, it would be difficult for Ragout to find a new master, especially when he was showing such blunt hate and rage that even a clone could feel. He really liked the young padawan, and didn't want to see all his training go to waste. That is, if they survived.
...
The clones reacted just as Dageer expected when Ragout announced his promotion. There was a sad silence a first, which was then followed by a few cheers and congratulations. It was normal for a sub-commander to take the commander's place in case he died, so there wasn't much of a surprise.
The Twi'leks didn't really understand the implications of Dageer's promotion, so apart from those who had gotten somewhat closer to the clones - like Shouta, Goby, Miwy, and Yva - most of them ignored it.
クリエイターの想い 
Reis123
Reis123 Again, I understand a lot happened in a single chapter haha, but it is important for the development of the novel. As always, I hope you liked it, and may the Force be with you.
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