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84.12% Broke: A Clone Wars Tale (Star Wars) / Chapter 296: No Culprits In A War

Chương 296: No Culprits In A War

Count Dooku saw the clones before they saw him. The sniper, Dab, had also joined them. But he wasn't worried about the clones. He would admit that he underestimated them, and his swollen face was a reminder of that. But he would get his vengeance very, very soon. Unlike the Jedi scum, who despised revenge, the Siths adored it. It was anger, pain, and rage that gave them their power.

He could already envision his next course of action. Since he was on top of a tree, he would wait for the clones to pass by him, and then jump down and split the one carrying a gigantic blaster in half. Then, he would cut off the head of the one with an almost entirely brown armor. And the Jedi... Count Dooku turned his eyes to the Togruta leading the clones. He would get what he deserved.

He thought back to the words the Jedi had said to him, about him being the cause of this war, and sneered. He wanted nothing but to kill his old master, but the green midget was right when he said there were no culprits in a war. A war didn't start for nothing, neither did it start because someone decided to do so. Wars took a long, long time, and a huge amount of pent-up aggression, to commence. No one and everyone was to blame.

"Dooku, I know you are here. Show yourself!"

Startled, the Sith almost jumped down from the tree, and gave himself away. However, he wasn't someone who would fall for old tricks, and noticed right away that Ragout had no idea where he was. The Jedi probably could feel his presence through the Force, but not pinpoint his exact location.

That, however, instead of putting Count Dooku at ease, worried him even more. He was also a Force user, and an extremely powerful one on top of that, so he obviously knew how to shield himself from a Force scan. If Ragout was still able to sense him, that meant the Togruta was incredibly powerful.

And that led Count Dooku to another thought, and a very simple one. He couldn't allow the Jedi Order to grow stronger. Ragout had to die.

--------------------------

Dageer heard Ragout speaking confidently, but he could tell by his posture that he didn't know where Count Dooku was. Still, he believed the Jedi had a plan.

"Stay sharp, boys. The seppie is here somewhere."

"Roger that, commander."

"If he appears in front of us, we will give him what he deserves."

Metal had barely finished bragging when Dageer saw a shadow move in the corner of his eyes. Without thinking, he pushed his brother, but the tip of the red lightsaber still made contact, cutting a gash two centimeters deep and half a meter long in the clone's back. It wasn't a life-threatening wound, but it was very, very painful.

Screaming in pain, Metal fell face-first into the muddy water, and Count Dooku spun his lightsaber, preparing to finish him off, but Ragout was faster.

The Jedi parried the attack, and Dageer took the opportunity to pull Metal away from the two Force users.

After getting his brother out of immediate danger, he turned around to help Ragout, but found himself in a similar predicament to his squad. Each of them was able to hit a moving target from hundreds of meters, but the Jedi and the Sith battled in speeds impossible for the clones. Their lightsabers clashed time and time again, and their movement was faster than their eyes could follow. If they fired, they risked hitting their general.

"First, I am going to kill you, Jedi scum. Then, it will be the turn of your men. My apprentice has a special interest in them. I am sure she will appreciate torturing those clones until their deaths."

Ragout wasn't shaken by the Separatist's words, but he glanced briefly at Hell Squad, and frowned. He had saved them this time, but for how long could he keep doing that? Count Dooku was as powerful as him, probably more. One single mistake by Ragout's part would be enough for the Sith to wipe them all out.

Knowing that, the Jedi did a backflip, putting some distance between him and his opponent, and spun his lightsaber provocatively. Count Dooku grinned, knowing that he was being baited, but went along with it. Soon, both figures had disappeared into the swamp.

"What do we do, commander?"

Dageer looked at Metal, who had fallen into unconsciousness. He couldn't leave his brother behind, but he also couldn't let his general fight Count Dooku alone.

"Three-four, take care of Metal. Dab, you stay here too. Cell, Tech, Brain, you follow me. We have to help General Ragout."

"Understood."

"Roger that."

Several heads nodded, and Hell Squad got up. They split up silently, each member knowing their job. The three Dageer called followed him, and went after Count Dooku and Ragout.

They hadn't gotten far when a weird noise filled the swamp, getting louder by the second. In the distance, they could see trees falling and toppling over.

"Damn it! That's bad news. Three-four, do you copy?"

"Yes, sir. What is that?"

"The seppies brought out the big toys. Fall back with Metal. We are going to meet you at our mark."

"What about General Ragout?"

"He is a Jedi, he will manage it. We won't be able to help him if we are dead. Let's move!"

Immediately, the four clones turned around to regroup with Three-four, Dab, and Metal. After giving a quick glance at the giant machines destroying the marsh, going towards Ragout's position, Dageer followed them.

----------------------------

Ragout brought his lightsaber crashing down onto Count Dooku's head, but the Separatist stepped to the side, dodging, and counterattacking with a swing of his own.

The two of them had been fighting for almost half an hour now, but a winner had yet to be decided. Even with his shoulder brutality wounded, Ragout had been able to cut a gash on Count Dooku's right side, evening the odds. Now, it was all down to a battle of attrition. Unfortunately, Force users could fight for hours without getting tired.

"Surrender, Dooku. I won't ask again."

"You asked three times already, my answer won't change, young one. But, unfortunately, our playtime is over."

Ragout was somewhat stunned when he heard Count Dooku. What did the Separatist mean?

"General, there are two MTTs going your way!"

He had been so focused on the battle, that it took Dageer screaming in the comlink to make him notice the weird, unnatural sounds coming from the swamp. He hurriedly turned to his opponent, enraged.

"You called for backup! Couldn't handle me on your own, Dooku?"

"Haha! Why would I waste my time on a duel with a wannabe Jedi? I have more important plans, and a war to lead."

"I thought you still had some honor in you, Sith, but it appears I was wrong."

"What is the use of honor in war? Where did honor take your master? It's just a pathetic excuse the Jedis give to themselves to justify their ego and selfishness. I don't need honor."

Having said that, Count Dooku turned off his lightsaber, and ran away. Ragout, instead of following him, turned to face his new opponents: The gigantic vehicles, and the hundreds of droids they carried.


SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO
Reis123 Reis123

What's up, everyone! I hope you liked the chapter. There will also be some interesting turns of events coming up on the next few chapters I thi k you are going to like.

Also, a few people pointed out we theoretically surpassed the 300 chapters, which is awesome. I say theoretically because there are 5 auxiliary chapters, but soon we will hit 300 of pure novel. Thank you all for following me on this journey, and sit tight, there is more coming.

Discord link: https://discord.gg/Gdv2arS

Chương 297: Nightmares

Dageer was firing at the B1 units running after Hell Squad when he saw a shadow with the corner of his eyes. Blaster ready, he turned around, and prepared to fire, but was surprised to see a Togruta.

"General Ragout? How did you get here?"

"I stole one of their STAPs, but they shot me down before I could get to the rendezvous point. Since you also got stuck here, it doesn't make much of a difference."

"What about Dooku? Did he escape?"

"Unfortunately. Where are the others?"

"Three-four, Metal, and Dab are holed up a few clicks from here. They managed to find a good defensive position, and were waiting for us. But the seppies got here first."

"How is Metal?"

"Holding on. He will get another scar, but he will survive."

Dageer left unsaid that Metal would only survive if they could escape. And now their chances weren't looking too good. The MTTs were slow, but if they didn't move soon, the vehicles would get there eventually. And even a Jedi wouldn't withstand a chance against the two rotatable twin blaster cannons it had.

"We can't stay here. The swamp will slow the clanckers down, especially the MTTs. I'm going to create a distraction, and we run towards the others."

"We will be slowed down too, general."

"Not as much as them. Ready?"

Dageer shot a quick glance at Brain, Cell, and Tech, and, when he saw them nodding, gave an affirmative signal to Ragout.

Seeing that, the Jedi unhesitatingly got up, exposing himself to the incoming lasers. Suppressing a sigh, Hell Squad did the same, and fired back, to cover Ragout while he used his Jedi powers.

It didn't take long. A huge curtain of water was raised up from the marsh, right between the two groups. When they saw that, Hell Squad turned around and retreated without the need for an order. They had fought with and against Force users before, so they knew it was taxing on Ragout to maintain such a huge amount of water in the air.

The distraction lasted for about ten seconds before Ragout couldn't maintain it anymore, and the water fell. It wasn't much, but it was enough for the clones to get a few dozen meters away.

...

The next few hours were frenetic, with the Republic group - after meeting up with Three-four and the others - doing their best to escape, and killing a few dozen droids which were on their trail. Ragout was right when he said they would lose the MTTs on the swamp, but even so, the B1 units were relentless.

Still, things were looking better now. Sure, Count Dooku had escaped, and they had no means to leave Aleen. But they were alive, and mostly unharmed, except for Metal.

"I think we have finally shaken them off, general."

"Good. Metal, how are you? Can you keep moving?"

The machine gunner laughed, albeit weakly. He used a rock to stand up, grunting in pain, but doing his best to hide it.

"They have yet to build the seppie that is going to take me down, sir. Don't worry, we can keep going."

Ragout nodded, and Hell Squad stood up. And then Dageer got shot.

---------------------------

"Dageer!"

"Sir!"

"Commander!"

It all happened in a second. Dageer had just gotten up when a laser left the trees, and hit the back of his head. He fell down without a sound, smoke rising from the spot where he was hit.

In one single movement, Hell Squad turned around, and fired at the direction the laser came from. A commando droid fell on the water, and sank. Then everything quieted down.

After a few seconds of silence, the clones dropped their blasters, took off their helmets, and knelt besides Dageer. Three-four had already turned him around, and was examining him with a grave look on his face. However, no matter what he did, Dageer had no reaction.

"Three-four... Is he..."

The clone didn't answer. Instead, he told Brain to hold Dageer, and carefully took off his helmet. When he did that, he weaved a sigh of relief.

"He is alive. But he won't be for long if we don't get him proper medical care soon."

Ragout and Hell Squad all slumped to the ground, relieved. Even if it was just for a few seconds, believing Dageer was dead had been terrible. Hell Squad would be completely lost without him. He had always been the cornerstone of the unit, always there for them. They knew they could rely on him for anything. As for Ragout, he wasn't feeling much different. In his heart, Dageer had a position close to his master's.

Ragout carefully picked up Dageer. The clone still showed no signs of waking up.

"Let's go."

----------------------------

Dageer didn't feel anything. One moment he was getting up, and the other, everything suddenly went dark. And, in the darkness, he saw his dead brothers.

He couldn't be more familiar with what was happening. He was having a nightmare, the same he had every time he closed his eyes.

Thousands of clones, each one a friend and brother he cherished, but who were all dead now. Their mouths were open in silent screams, their faces contorted in pain. Then, everything slowly started dissolving in red and black lights, creating a gigantic, hooded figure.

"Kill... Kill... Kill the Jedi... Jedi... Jedi!"

The same grave, old voice, repeated these words intermittently. Usually, that was when clones woke up, sweating and confused. They also couldn't remember exactly what the voice had said, only that it terrified them.

But this time, Dageer didn't wake up. He struggled, knowing that it was just a dream, but being horrified all the same. The voice got louder, until it was like a blaster cannon being fired next to his ears. The words were imprinted in his head, and yet, he could do nothing. He didn't notice that he started to mumble and repeat them unconsciously.

And suddenly, it was all gone. Everything returned to the darkness, but somehow, it was even worse than before. Because now he was alone with his thoughts, and all he could think was of the voice, and Ragout. And those weren't good thoughts.

...

He didn't know for how long he was unconscious, but suddenly, without any warning, he was pulled from the darkness, and opened his eyes.

The first thing Dageer noticed was that he was submerged in a blue, viscous liquid, and had a tube attached to his mouth, so he could breathe. A bacta-tank. And that was all he had time to look at before an immense wave of pain spread through his body, coming from his head. He couldn't control himself, and started shaking.

"Warning! Warning! Patient CT-4063 destabilizing! Warning! Patient CT-4063 destabilizing! Activating secure protocols."

Something cool was injected into him, and his eyelids became heavy. However, it also made the pain go away. Before he entered unconsciousness once more, he saw a familiar face before him, as a soothing voice reached him. Even in his current state, he could feel the Force attached to it, calming him down, helping him fall asleep.

"Calm down, Dageer. You are between friends. You are home."


SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO
Reis123 Reis123

I don't have much to say today. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and, as always, stay safe, and may the Force be with you!

Discord link:

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