บท 212: A Brilliant Strategy
On Toydaria, almost at the same time that Dageer was talking to Commander Keeli, Senator Organa was in an audience with the Toydarian king. With him was Representative Binks, of Naboo. Unfortunately for them, Senator Lott Dod, of the Trade Federation also was there.
"Great king, Senator Organa is deceiving you. The inconvenient fact remains, that this is a war, and Ryloth is a battlefield."
Senator Dod showed a projection of Ryloth, surrounded by Separatist ships, and then another hologram, this one depicting a clone shooting at two B1 units.
"The planet is under a Separatist blockade, because Jedi Knights and clone soldiers are battling the droid army for control of the surface. This will not be a humanitarian base. It will be a military base!'
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"Come on!"
"We gotta move quickly!"
Twi'leks riding Blurrgs hurried to get all their supplies packed, and to get the civilians to safety. Clones - those who were injured and couldn't return to the battlefield - helped them.
"Hurry, hurry!"
"Now is not the time to play, children. Where is your mom?"
"Move!"
While all that was happening, General Di and Commander Keeli approached Syndulla and Gobi, who were supervising the freedom fighters. The commander took off his helmet, showing his shaved head. He wasn't in the middle of a battle right now, so it was more comfortable this way.
"How is it going, Syndulla?"
"We are going as fast as we can, Master Di. However, we have to many to take care of. It will take a while."
General Di frowned, and looked at the not so distant battlefield. He, Commander Keeli and Ragout had been away from it for a while, but they received constant reports from Dageer, who was back in the fray. The droids were crushing their defenses one by one, and it wouldn't be long before they got there.
"Keeli, call Dageer and Ragout back. I need to talk to them both."
"They are not gonna like it, general."
"I know. But it is my decision, and they will obey it. After all, I am their general and master."
"Understood, general."
Syndulla and Gobi looked at the Jedi and the clone, not understanding what was transpiring between them.
"Dageer? Can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear, commander. What is it?"
"I need Hell Squad back here. And bring General Ragout with you."
There was a slight pause on the other side of the comlink as Dageer processed his orders. Or fired at a droid, Commander Keeli wasn't sure, because there was too much noise.
"I am not sure we can get back now, commander. We are quite deep into the fight here. And I have no idea where General Ragout is. Communications have been a little... difficult."
"You have your orders, Dageer. The general is somewhere between your position and us here. He went to bring back the wounded. Now, get back here."
"Yes, commander."
Dageer had no option but to follow his orders. He commanded Lieutenant Shield to take Hell Squad's position, and hold off the enemy while they returned. The lieutenant was a seasoned veteran, and although he and the men under him weren't as good as Hell Squad, they would do the job just fine.
After Commander Keeli got confirmation that Dageer was coming, he turned off the comlink, and nodded to General Di.
The Nikto acknowledged the gesture, and frowned. The dialogue he was about to have with Commander Keeli was one which they both knew how it ended, but they needed Syndulla to listen to it. Taking a deep breath, General Di turned to Commander Keeli.
"Commander, is the gunship ready?"
"Yes, sir. But it is too small to evacuate the refugees."
The clone gestured towards a Laat. It was the only one that remained. All the others had been destroyed or had gone to the freedom fighters' hideout before - carrying wounded and injured - and couldn't return now because of the Vulture droids roaming Ryloth's sky.
When Syndulla heard that, he panicked. He had ordered his people to abandon the fight, but now, they had nowhere to escape.
"No escape?! But our families are with us!"
When Commander Keeli heard Syndulla yelling, he felt sorry but angry at the same time. Sorry because they were all going to die, including the civilians. Thinking of Shouta and the other kids he met before, Commander Keeli thought it was a pity. However, he also felt angry at Syndulla, because it was mostly his fault. If he had trusted the Republic since the start, then they probably could have done something to save the Twi'leks. But Syndulla had been too stunned by the Tram Cholq's treason, and later by the death of his son, Tae Boon, to think straight.
General Di frowned too, thinking the same as Commander Keeli. However, he already expected this, and he had long made a decision, without even telling Commander Keeli about it. Holding a twig, he used it to drawn something on the sand.
"If we reconfigure the fuel system, we can turn the ship into a bomb big enough to collapse the pass..."
He crouched, and put a cross on one of the two paths that lead to the Twi'lek hideout. Then, he marked the second path, the long one, with three crosses.
"... here. The enemy will, then, only be to engage us on one front. From this ravine."
Commander Keeli was completely stunned, while Syndulla and Gobi traded glares, shocked and surprised. They didn't know what to say. The clone obviously knew that General Di planned to stay behind, but he hadn't listened to the plan before.
"While we provide cover, the Twi'leks will have time to escape with their families, over the mountains."
He got up and, Commander Keeli mimicked him. Surprisingly, the clone felt a smile on his face, and chuckled ever so slightly that only he himself was able to hear. That was the reason why he admired General Di so much. He never hesitated to put himself in danger to save others. In this case, he was prepared to give his life so the freedom fighters could get to the hideout without the droids finding them.
Commander Keeli would gladly follow him into death.
"Brilliant strategy, general. Uff... I will go tell the men."
He gave Syndulla and Gobi one last glare, disappointed. The Twi'leks looked sad, surprised, and even pained. However, none of them said anything to convince General Di to give up his plan, or even offered their help.
Walking towards the soldiers, Commander Keeli put on his helmet. If the troopers saw his face, he wouldn't be able to tell them what their last mission was.
"Lieutenant, is Hell Squad here yet?"
"No, sir. Sub-commander Dageer said he and General Ragout are on the way. It should take a few more minutes."
"Commander! The left flank is breaking down!"
Before he could even finish his talk with the lieutenant, a trooper ran up to him with bad news. After mulling over it for a few seconds, Commander Keeli ordered full retreat from all troops.
"Lieutenant, get that Laat to the pass over there. Is Timer still alive?"
"No, sir."
"Then find two troopers who knows how to fix a gunship. I need them to mess with the fuel systems of the Laat. I want that thing to become a bomb."
"A... Bomb, sir?"
"Yeah. The bigger, the better. Then, get all troops ready. We are going to fight our last battle."
Suddenly, the lieutenant became serious. Putting his helmet on, he saluted Commander Keeli.
"Right away, commander."
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