บท 333: Deserve Their Trust
Dageer was talking to Ragout while gesturing to some of their broken vehicles when he heard a commotion. Turning to it's source, he saw a BARC speeder flying towards them at speeds much higher than it should.
Frowning, Dageer lowered his macrobinoculars, while the soldiers around him aimed their blasters at the vehicle. After so many unorthodox tactics from the Separatist the last couple of days, they were scared easily by anything out of the usual.
"Hold your fire! It's one of ours, and he is wounded. Get a medic! Burner, help me stop the speeder before it crashes into something or someone!"
Having said that, Dageer jumped on a speeder himself, mimicked by Burner. Together, they zoomed towards Zap, and positioned themselves one on each side of him. With a little bit of trouble, they managed to slow it down, and eventually stop it. Dageer had already noticed several black spots on the BARC Speeder, certainly caused by lasers. The driver wasn't in a much better shape.
A few dozen clones, including Hell Squad, encircled them as Dageer and Burned lowered Zap. He was barely breathing, having been hit three times. One of the wounds wasn't so bad, only injuring his shoulder, but the other two lasers had hit him right in the back. By the looks of it, his lungs had been perforated, and several organs were completely scorched. It was a miracle he was still alive.
The medic looked at him for a second before shaking his head to Dageer. The Commander nodded slowly, before patting Zap's head, to wake him up from his stupor.
"What happened, brother? Where were you attacked?"
"Garrison... Wiped out. Sixty thousand... Droids... At least. Garrison..."
Zap didn't hear Dageer, his eyes unfocused. He kept repeating the same words, over and over again. Clearly, he had relied on them to hold on for so long, even if he was mortally wounded. He didn't even realize he had arrived at his destiny.
"I know him, sir. Zap was assigned to the outpost in sector GH-11 "
"That is almost a hundred kilometers behind our lines. How did they get attacked and we didn't hear of it? How did the seppies reach them even?"
While the others were discussing, Dageer and Ragout were still kneeling besides Zap. The Jedi put a hand on his friend's shoulder, and calmed him down with the Force.
"Pass... Message... Warn you... Commander. Don't let... Death for... Nothing."
In a last moment of lucidity, Zap grabbed Dageer's forearm, his words barely audible. After that, his grip lost strength.
"I won't, brother. Don't worry."
...
"What are you thinking, general?"
Zap's body had already been carried away, and the troopers had dispersed, leaving only Hell Squad and Ragout.
"It's pretty obvious. The Separatist managed to sneak a sizable force behind our lines. Somehow, they captured our bases and outposts before they could send out any kind of distress signal. Fortunately, Zap managed to escape and survive long enough to tell us this, otherwise we would be engaged in battle only to then be attacked from behind. Pincered, we wouldn't have any shot at survival, much less winning."
"Our chances are still low, even if we know about their attack. What can we do? We don't have enough troops to resist one army, whatsoever two."
Cell's words sent Ragout into deep thought. Neither he nor the clones were used to fantasizing and lying to themselves about their own destiny. If they were going to die, then they were going to die, plain and simple. But they would only admit defeat when there was no other option.
"Come. The Christophsians swore to fight alongside the Republic, for the liberation of their own planet. It's time they live up to their promises."
---------------------------
Reluctantly, Omé let the Jedi and the clones who followed him enter his home. Over the past days, the Togruta had been trying to meet him frequently, but he had managed to avoid it. Until now.
Unfortunately for him, this time Ragout had threatened to cut down his door if he refused to let them in. An uncharacteristic behavior by a Jedi, but, hearing the coldness in his voice, Omé had no doubt Ragout wouldn't hesitate to fulfill the threat.
"Master Jedi, what can I do for you?"
"Sit down, Omé. As we speak, Republic troops are facing seven hundred thousand droids in the front. An unconfirmed number of seppies is also preparing to attack us from behind. They will arrive tomorrow afternoon at the latest. The Clone Army is outnumbered three to one. You, however, have over two hundred thousand soldiers under your command, who had been doing nothing."
The Christophsian was speechless. As a politician, he was used to hours of small talk and pleasantries before reaching the main topic. His counterparts were never so blunt. But he still had his pride, and couldn't accept a scolding.
"Master Ragout! This is my home, and I want you to show some respect! Christophsis sided with the Republic, and has been giving useful information and help to you. Several of our people lost their lives..."
"A fraction of what the Clone Army lost, governor. And the majority of them were civilians, not soldiers. The only members of the Christophsian Army that died were those who decided to ignore the orders of you and your friends, and fight for their planet and their freedom. At least they died with some honor, and knowing that they were fighting for what is right. It's a shame I can't say the same about you."
"Y-You!"
"Make no mistake, Omé. I'm not one of the diplomats and seat-warmers of the Senate you dealt with before. If you refuse to pay the trust your people put on you when they elected you, Commander Dageer will arrest you for interfering with the war efforts."
Ragout had spent more of his training with clones than he did with his fellow Jedis, and it was normal he started to resemble them, and mimick the way they talked. He was, after all, a little more than a kid, and was easily influenced, although the countless scars and the threatening air around him might hint otherwise.
Omé was shaking, horrified, when he heard the Togruta. He was nothing like the calm image he had of the peacekeepers the Jedis were supposed to be. No. He was ruthless. The terrifying clone behind him, with a giant scar, only contributed to his fear.
"Y-You can't do that! You don't have the authority!"
"No, I don't. At least not to fully arrest you. But I need the Christophsian Army tomorrow, and by then, the news of you being imprisoned wouldn't even have reached the ears of your friends yet."
"They won't follow your orders! Even more if you arrest me!"
"You are missing the point, governor. We are not your enemy. I'm not your enemy. The Separatist are. I already overlooked the shady dealings you had with the CIS before the war, but, if you continue to refuse to aid the Republic, I will start to think you maintained some old friendships."
This time, Omé was truly scared. He didn't betray the Republic, and he also wanted to save Christophsis. However, he didn't want to lose the army under his command. Still, in the end, he had to concede. He knew Ragout had the means to make it look like he was a traitor. Whether or not a Jedi would really do that, he didn't know, but he didn't dare to test it.
"Coward."
One of the clones muttered something under his breath, barely understandable. Still, Omé's blue skin burned red with shame.
"Quiet, Metal. He is finally doing something right. You will see, governor... Tomorrow we will either be all dead, and you can push the blame to us, or we will have won, and you can take the credit. Remember, clones don't fight for fame. I certainly don't. We fight for the free people of the galaxy, and for the people of Christophsis."
The Christophsian was dumbstruck, realizing that in his indignation and anger, he had forgotten what should truly matter to him.
"Oh, and just so you know, I already talked to the officers of the Christophsian Army stationed here. With or without your consent, they would have followed us into battle tomorrow. They are fighting for their home, after all. Orders only matter so much when everything you know and love is at stake."
// AUTHOR'S THOUGHTS //
A longer chapter than normal, but I couldn't end it without letting Ragout speak all he wanted, could I?
Jokes aside, I just wanted to thank everyone who gave their opinion on what I asked last chapter. I already contacted Royalroad, and they were very helpful. I'm glad to say that they have no such thing as exclusivity, meaning I can upload my new novel both here and there.
For those who are confused, I am starting a new project, called Iferes: Slaves Of the Gods (and I will say nothing else for now). It will still take a few months before I start uploading it, however. But trust me, you guys will be the first to know when it starts.
I will upload both here on Webnovel, and also on Royalroad, and I also set either a Patreon or a PayPal (maybe both?), which I did not do for Broke, because it was a fanfic. But let's leave that for later.
For now, what I want to say is that while I will upload on both sites at the same time, I am pretty sure that going premium here on Webnovel is unavoidable. From what I understand, and learned when talking to fellow authors, all novels here (minus fanfics) HAVE to go premium after chapter 100. I still have to confirm, but I think that's how it works. So, just know that even if it does go premium, it will be free on Royalroad.
Well, I think that's it. I will have a lot more to say the closer we get to the release of the new novel. Any ideas, suggestions, critics, and such are welcomed. Thank you all for your time!
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Reis123
Reis123 For some reason the app insisted I had this author's thoughts section, although I don't know why. A bug, probably. Anyway, read my note at the end of the chapter please, and may the Force be with you!
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