章節 168: Total Failure
The rest of Hell Squad woke up when they heard Cell yelling. Like all troopers, they never slept too soundly, so even a small amount of noise was enough to wake them.
They all gathered around Dageer, the first question being if he was well, and the second being how did the operation go. He, however, didn't have an answer to the second question.
He contacted Commander Thorn, and asked the results, but the clone ordered him to meet face to face instead of giving him the answers through comlink.
"Uhmmm..."
"Sorry, sir?"
"Nothing, Brain. I need to go meet Commander Thorn. You all stay here."
"Yes, sir."
...
The headquarters of the Coruscant Guard was as busy as always, but all the troopers seemed, somehow, depressed. They still gave Dageer the normal salutes, but their enthusiasm was null compared to the day before.
Commander Thorn, Sergeant Hound, Lieutenant Thire and Commander Fox were around the hologram table, which showed Jedi General Anakin Skywalker, and the young Togruta that saved Dageer, twice.
"Commander Thorn, Commander Fox. Hound, Thire."
Dageer saluted the two commanders, and greeted the other clones, who acknowledged him. Then, he turned to the holograms.
"General Skywalker. And..."
"My name is Ahsoka Tano, sub-commander. I am Master Skywalker's padawan."
"Thank you for your help, General Tano. You saved my life."
The padawan looked down with sadness, which only confirmed Dageer's worries.
"Unfortunately, I couldn't help more."
Dageer walked next to Thire, so he could look to the holograms without them having to turn around.
"Commander Thorn, I was in the medical bay until a few minutes ago. How was the operation?"
Thorn shook his head. Like the other clones around the table, with the exception of Dageer, he was wearing his armor, but his helmet was under his arm. Instead of answering Dageer, he looked at the scar on his eye.
"That wasn't due to yesterday's battle, was it?"
"No, commander. I got it on Mygeeto. Was it really so bad?"
The shock trooper sighed, but was interrupted by Commander Fox before he could say anything.
"Not saying it won't change anything, Thorn. It was a total failure, Dageer. Sing, Bossk and Castas escaped."
Upon receiving confirmation, Dageer punched the table, making the holograms sway a little, and Commander Fox stared angrily at him.
"Sorry, commander."
"Well, it wasn't a total failure. We captured that mon calamari."
The soft voice of the padawan pulled Dageer back from his thoughts. He remembered his surprise in seeing Hiigi, who he thought was dead, working with Sing. If he was detained, that meant he might have information on her.
"His name is Hiigi, General Tano. I fought him before."
"Ugh... don't call me general. It took me ages just to get Rexy-boy to call me commander. Do the same."
Dageer was unsure of what to do, while General Skywalker barely managed to contain his laughter. After a few moments, Dageer realized that 'Rexy-boy' was Captain Rex, the commander of the 501st Legion. How the padawan managed to come up with such a nickname for the stern captain, he had no idea.
"Okay, Commander Tano. I fought with Hiigi before. He... doesn't like me. That might help if I am allowed to interrogate him."
He turned to the two Coruscant Guard commanders, who nodded. They didn't have any problem with it.
"And... how were our casualties?"
Commander Fox nodded to Thire, who passed a datapad over to Dageer. The sub-commander read it, and closed his eyes. The scar on his face became longer, now covering his eyelid.
"Twenty-nine troopers perished, and fifteen others were wounded. Those percentages are bigger than even the worst battles the Republic had."
Hound pulled up a list with about twelve bounty hunters, two of which Dageer recognized as the Aki-Aki and the IG-88 unit that attacked him and Thire.
"Sing had about twelve bounty hunters with her, not including Hiigi, Castas, and Bossk. Only one escaped, while the rest were either killed or captured."
"They weren't our target. No, Hound, Commander Fox is right. We failed."
-----------------------
A few hours later, Dageer was on the canteen, alone. Hell Squad wanted to go with him, but Brain knew their squad leader wanted to be alone, and held them back.
Now, Dageer was almost alone on the 'mess'. No clone would spontaneously join him because of his status as a sub-commander, except for one.
Sergeant Hound, of the massiff unit, sat next to him without asking for permission. Usually, that would have been disrespectful, but Dageer wasn't in the mood to care about it.
"How are you doing, sir?"
Dageer sneered. How could he be doing well? It was the first time he ever failed in a mission. Sure, he had retreated before, he had lost battles before, but it was against a droid army, where the strength of a single unit was insignificant. But now, when he had to capture a single person, he failed.
What Dageer didn't think about, was that if he hadn't been there, many more would have died. He was never meant to be on the chase after Sing, it was entirely coincidental that he was on Coruscant at the time. If he wasn't there providing overwatch with Thire, Sing could have sniped more clones. If he didn't push Hound down on the alleyway, the sergeant would have died under Sing's hands.
"How is Grizzer doing, Hound?"
The massiff had been hurt when he jumped on Sing, but he could be considered lucky. The two others had died.
"He will recover. But that isn't the reason I came here, sir."
"What is it, then?"
"That mon calamari, Hiigi. He killed four of my men on the alleyway. And it wasn't a nice death. When you interrogate him, can I go with you?"
Dageer thought for a while before denying. Hound wasn't emotionally stable enough for this. The sergeant stopped talking, neither contesting Dageer's decision, nor agreeing with it. The sub-commander changed subjects to avoid the awkward silence.
"That padawan of General Skywalker. Was she the Jedi assigned to chasing Sing?"
"I think so, sir. She is good. Saved our lives. I only wished she arrived earlier. "
Dageer thought back to the sad expression that Commander Tano had when she heard the casualties. It was clear that she was very inexperienced, otherwise she wouldn't be so affected. Even Ragout, who wasn't much older than her, could now ignore the deaths of the clones and keep going on the battle. War was war, and compassion and empathy wouldn't stop it.
"Leave it. She probably arrived when the fight was already ending. Now, get back to your duties, sergeant. I'm going to see Hiigi, but I will be sure to let you know if he gives away something."
"Yes, sir."
------------------------
"What's wrong, Snips?"
"That clone, the one with the scar. You met him before, didn't you, master?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"He was stabbed two times, but he still went after the bounty hunter. And then, when I arrived, she was almost killing him, but he didn't give up. He was still trying to fight her. Does he hate her so much?"
"Did you feel hatred when you talked to him?"
"No. I felt pain and sadness."
"That is what most of the clones feel. You just didn't have the opportunity, or rather, the misfortune, of witnessing it on the 501st. He kept fighting her when he was about to die because that is his duty, but mostly because she was a threat, not for him, but for his brothers. That is how a clone mind works."
"Maybe that is how everyone's mind should work..."
創作者的想法 
Reis123
Reis123 The year is ending, and I am very proud of all the work I've done, and all you all have done. I know there were some mistakes along g the way, but you all showed so much support to me, so much more than I ever thought I would receive.
I just wanna thank you, wish you all a happy New Year, and say that everyone should follow your dreams, like I am following mine right now.
May the Force be with us!!!
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
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