บท 288: A Pacifist
"Senator Amidala, I am Commander Dageer, and this is Hell Squad. We will be escorting you during these negotiations."
His helmet under his arm, Hell Squad standing behind him, Dageer presented himself to a human female. Senator Amidala had long, brown hair, tied up in a unique hairstyle. She wore long and fancy robes, and looked exactly like what one would imagine a politician looked like. However, on her hip, Dageer recognized the volume of a blaster pistol, hidden beneath the clothes.
That surprised him. Politicians usually relied on their bodyguards for safety, but Senator Amidala seemed to be very independent. And she was also sharp. Her dark brown eyes stared at him, unperturbed by his scar, and she noticed the glance he gave at the weapon.
"Didn't think you would see a Republic senator carrying a blaster, did you, commander?"
Dageer kept a straight face, but inside, he was surprised. Senator Amidala was quite blunt, but a clone preferred that to the usual mind games politicians liked to use.
"No, ma'am."
"Well, you don't need to worry, if everything goes okay, I won't need to use it. Let's hope those negotiations go on peacefully. I would hate to resort to aggressive negotiations again."
Dageer was confused as to what the senator meant, but she just grinned. The clone couldn't help but feel surprised once again. He liked Senator Amidala. She wasn't one of those politicians who stayed their entire lives in their rooms, talking about a war they knew nothing about. She looked like she didn't mind getting her hands dirty.
What Dageer didn't know, was that he made a wrong judgment of her personality. He didn't pay attention to politics - no clone did - otherwise he would know that Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo was one of the leaders of the pacifist section of the Senate. They wanted the end of the war without any more conflicts. And she was a member of this faction because of the same reason why she carried a blaster. She had seen death and war before, and she hated it.
"Commander, unless something happens, keep your calm, and don't make any provocative moves. Aboriginal species like the Talz can be quite... Expressive when they are talking."
Dageer only nodded. He had met, and fought against and with, primitive species more than once, and he knew that they tended to make gestures when communicating, many of which could look very hostile.
"You don't like to talk much, do you?"
The clones were taken aback by the unexpected question, especially Dageer. Senator Amidala once again surprised him, the third time in the short few minutes they had talked.
"Uhmm... With all due respect, senator, it's just that... Clones in general aren't used to talking to someone aside from our brothers. We don't have many chances to interact with others, especially civilians."
"Haha... That is understandable. Created for war, hum? Such a cruel destiny..."
Senator Amidala chuckled, but she seemed incomparably sad while she did so, and her last words confirmed that she only laughed out of politeness.
"Commander Dageer, I would like to talk to you, if that isn't a problem."
"Not at all, ma'am. Brain, I will leave the final arrangements to you."
"Yes, sir. In about sixteen hours, we will arrive at Pantora."
Hell Squad dispersed, leaving Dageer and the human senator alone. He wasn't sure of what she wanted, but Senator Amidala started walking around the ship, so he followed her.
"What are your thoughts on this war, commander? What are the thoughts of the men under you?"
Dageer hesitated for a moment. That was the second time in a short while that someone had asked him that. First it was Ragout, and now Senator Amidala. He might not know a lot about politics, but he knew that it couldn't be just a coincidence. Everything pointed out that there was some kind of movement in the Senate to end this war peacefully.
In the end, he told Senator Amidala almost the same he told Ragout. His thoughts hadn't changed. She was pensive for a long while after he finished, thinking.
"I asked several commanders and troopers the same question, Commander Dageer, and none gave me a clear answer, and certainly none gave me an answer as satisfactory as yours. Why?"
The clone stopped, and looked at the young senator. He didn't like the direction the conversation was going, but he had an instinct that he could trust Senator Amidala.
"General Ragout asked me something similar, some time ago."
"General Ragout? Is he a Jedi?"
"Yes. Former apprentice of General Ima-Gun Di."
Senator Amidala frowned for a moment, probably trying to remember who General Di was, after which her expression turned to one of surprise.
"Wasn't Master Di the general of the 303rd Attack Legion? Then..."
Dageer grinned, sadness and bad memories flooding him. It was normal that Senator Amidala didn't know about Ragout's and General Di relationship. Jedis rarely disclosed their secrets, even if they weren't necessarily secret.
"Yeah. Hell Squad was part of the 303rd. After Ryloth, General Ragout went to finish his training, while the survivors were sent to other legions."
The senator looked at Dageer while he explained with a nonchalant expression, but she wasn't fooled. She talked to a lot of clones during the two years of war, trying to discover their thoughts, so she could use them as an argument to end it. She might not have been successful, but one thing she learned was that clones cared for their brothers above all else.
"I am sorry to hear that. But... You said the survivors were sent to other legions. You and your squad don't use the colors of any legion I know..."
"Hell Squad is an exception. We are a special unit, so it's quite normal you never heard about us. And our colors are the color of the 303rd. We still belong there."
"Special unit? So you do what other clones can't do?"
Dageer shook his head. He wasn't dumb, and already understood that Senator Amidala wanted him to talk more, so she could use it in her discussions in the Senate. Once a politician, always a politician. Even a simple soldier like him understood that.
"No. We are clones all the same. Hell Squad does what otherwise would cost hundreds or even thousands of our brothers' lives. That's why we exist."
----------------------------
When Dageer stepped out of the ship, his leg sank deep into the snow, to knee height. Besides him, he heard Three-four curse.
"I hate snow planets. It's way too difficult to fight on."
Dageer had to agree. It slowed their movement speed, and many times, that meant death. But he couldn't let his men scare Senator Amidala, although the woman seemed pretty unperturbed by the way clones behaved.
"Hopefully we won't have to fight at all. Now, take out the BARC Speeders. The meeting point is twenty kilometers from here, and it seems like there is a blizzard coming."
"Yes, sir."
While Hell Squad started unloading the speeders - the meeting point was at a plateau, protected from the snow and wind, and where no one could plan an ambush, but ships were unable to land because of it's size - Senator Amidala walked out of the ship, having changed her robes for tight white clothes and a coat. Clones didn't need any of that, because their armors isolated the coldness outside.
"Do you think we will face any problems to get to the plateau, Commander Dageer?"
"If the weather here is any similar to Mygeeto, no. But I don't know about the natives."
As Dageer said that, he pointed towards a cliff half a kilometer away. He had long noticed the white creatures watching them.
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Reis123
Reis123 I love Padmé's character, and I don't know why I waited so long to bring her into the novel. I hope I am doing a good job at representing her (and also adding a lot of references, some obvious, some not so much).
Tell me what you think, and, as always, stay safe, and may the Force be with you!
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