章節 226: Saying Goodbye
Dageer felt the heat of the lasers flying over his head. The moment he dropped to the ground, he didn't fire at the droids, but rolled to the side. His instincts were proven right, because several red lasers hit the spot he was in before.
The droids were taken down pretty quickly, overwhelmed by the 303rd. All the clones who had survived up till now were not just elites. They were better than any other legion in the galaxy. They didn't miss a shot, they didn't make mistakes. Every laser that left their blasters meant a droid less in the Separatist army.
Getting up, Dageer stepped over the bodies of the droids. They had lost two clones at the doorway, but most of them made it through.
What followed was a simple cleaning operation for the 303rd. They swept the relay station room by room, killing the droids fast and efficiently. In less than an hour, there were no droids left.
"Dab, take a few men and wait outside. I want to know the moment our ships break through the blockade or the clanckers' reinforcements arrives, whatever happens first. Cell, go with him."
"Understood, sir. Come, Cell."
"Right away."
"Tech, find General Ragout for me."
"Okay, commander."
"Metal, how many did we lose?"
The heavy machine gunner approached Dageer, and took off his helmet, revealing a very familiar face. Metal looked around, and after confirming his report was right, he turned to Dageer.
"Thirteen, commander. We also have a few slight injuries, but nothing too serious."
Dageer frowned hard. Having just thirteen casualties and taking over a base with a droid garrison of over a hundred clanckers were incredibly good numbers. Still, Dageer didn't like the feeling of losing more of his brothers, not after he had already lost so many.
"Dageer! I take you had no problems with the droid garrison?"
"General. In the latter half, we were finding more sliced droids than living ones."
Ragout chuckled. Obviously, he was quite proud of his work, and he had every right to be. At least fifty clanckers were killed by him alone.
Looking at the halves of the droid captain, Dageer picked up a piece of scrap metal, and crossed a line on his armor.
"General, commander, you have to come outside! The 501st did it!"
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Dageer had no idea at what he was looking at. When he went out, he expected to see an entire Republic fleet, but what greeted him was one cruiser, in flames, landing. Looking past the ship, he saw the remains of another cruiser, and surprisingly, found out that the Lucrehulk-class Battleship and the dreadnoughts were also destroyed.
"What happened? Where is the 501st fleet?"
Ragout asked the question that was on Dageer's mind, but he was unable to answer it. Calling Dab over, he asked the sniper what happened.
"I... I am quite confused, sir. I knew General Skywalker was crazy, but not that..."
Dab stopped before he could finish the sentence, only now realizing he shouldn't be calling a superior crazy. However, what happened before had astonished him just too much. Ragout, however, gestured to him, showing the clone that it wasn't a big deal.
"Tell me what happened, Dab."
"Well... At first, just one cruiser came out of hyperspace. However, instead of battling, it just flew towards the Lucrehulk. It looked like it was surrendering. Then, it suddenly accelerated, and crashed in the Lucrehulk, breaking it in two. And when this cruiser came out of hyperspace..."
Dab gestured to the approaching cruiser. Now that it was closer, they could see that although it appeared to be in a bad shape, the only damage that it actually received was to it's 'belly'. The rest of the cruiser seemed fine.
"... it turned sideways. I never saw anything like that. The rest was easy. Fighters and bombers took down their ships."
"Well, it is not much of a fleet."
"Maybe not, general, but they took down the blockade. And if General Skywalker was confident enough to sacrifice one of his cruisers, then he must be sure there is help on the way."
"Probably Master Kenobi. The last time my master talked with the Jedi Council, they said Master Kenobi's fleet would soon be free to help."
"Maybe. General... We will need to talk to General Skywalker. About everything."
"I know, Dageer. Let's go meet him."
Dageer was surprised by how quickly and determinedly Ragout answered. Only when he saw the padawan's trembling fists did he understand that Ragout wasn't nearly as calm as he was showing.
Straightening his back, Dageer took off his helmet, and held it under his arm, with his DC-15A on his other hand. Watching the cruiser land, and the lower ramp open, he called his men.
"303rd Attack Legion of the Republic, on me!"
Troopers scurried forward, and formed up in front of him and Ragout. The padawan gestured at Dageer to give his speech.
"Troopers, men of the Republic! We have fought bravely. And we lost too much. But now, our duty here in Ryloth is over. Ryloth will be ours again, thanks to the brave sacrifices of our brothers! Now, it is time for you to rest. Let the 501st take over. You did well, my brothers."
Dageer knew it wasn't the most inspiring speech, but he didn't mean it to be. They were way past the point of lying to the clones, telling them everything would be all right. But now, he could at least promise them that their fight on Ryloth was over. The Clone Wars were still raging on, but the commander was sure his few men would get some time out of the war.
Forty-four troopers stood in front of him, lined up, their helmets under their arms just like Dageer. They weren't a large force, but dozens of dead droids surrounded them, making for an impressive sight.
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When General Skywalker and his padawan Ahsoka stepped out of their only remaining cruiser, they were greeted by about fifty clones. Captain Rex, who was following behind them, stopped for a moment, hesitantly. Just by looking at the dirty, scarred, and damaged armors, he knew what had happened to the 303rd. And he knew that the troopers before them were all that was left of the once mighty legion.
General Skywalker walked forwards, and put his hand on Ragout's shoulder. He could see the Togruta was trying to be strong, but deep down, he was afraid. All the sadness from the past few days and weeks was boiling inside him. As such, General Skywalker decided not to talk about war matters right now.
"Ragout... I am so sorry for your loss. Master Di was a great Jedi, and he will be missed."
"T-Thank you, Master Skywalker."
"Snips, take Ragout to the ship. We need to get you back to Coruscant, young one."
Ragout looked at General Skywalker, and then looked back to Dageer. He wanted to ask what would be made of his troops, but Dageer nodded at him, instigating him to go. For a moment, it looked like they were friends, not an officer and his superior. And that is because they were friends. Ragout had long considered Dageer more than just a soldier.
"You should go, general. We will see you soon."
Ragout nodded, and followed Ahsoka, disappearing inside the ship. As Dageer looked at his general's back, he heard the sound of several ships coming out of hyperspace. Looking up, he saw several Republic cruisers.
It would take time, and the price would be hefty, but Ryloth would belong to the Republic once again. General Di, Commander Keeli, Admiral Dao... Their sacrifices weren't in vain. The 303rd's sacrifice wasn't in vain.
創作者的想法 
Reis123
Reis123 Hey guys, passing by just to say that I took a little bit of "artistic liberty" in this chapter. Those of you who watched the series will see I didn't put the 212th fleet (they arrived later, did nothing for the battle in space, but led the ground assault). I just seemed to me like adding them would be a lot of unnecessary filler, so...
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
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