Chapter 65 - Scarif

Maybe it was coincidence, or some mysterious formation from when the galaxy has been created, but most planets near Kamino were almost or entirely aquatic. Scarif was no exception.

That was what Dageer was thinking, while he looked down on the planet from the command center of the CR90.

Scarif was ninety percent water, and the remaining ten percent were composed of archipelagos. In fact, from the images that Dageer got before, it was a very beautiful planet. Contrary to Kamino, where it was always raining, Scarif was sunny a hundred percent of the times.

If the planet wasn't so far from the Inner Core, and so deep on the Outer Rim, where pirates and criminals were kings, it would most probably be one of the most visited planets on the galaxy.

Speaking from a strategic perspective, though, the planet had zero value. Kamino was already near the end of the known galaxy, and the planet was even further than that. Also, there were no sentient beings, so the only intelligent life-form were the clones based there to collect medical supplies which would later be sent to Kamino.

Dageer looked at the captain of the corvette. Hell Squad was the only combat group on the ship, the rest being crewmen and some scientists.

"Captain, were you able to contact the medical station?"

"Yes sir. Apart from the missing clones and the lack of medical ingredients, they say that nothing is wrong."

"Land. It will be up for me and Hell Squad to say if there is anything wrong."

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The medical base was nothing more than four or five buildings connected by halls. Since it wasn't a war facility, the garrison stationed there was of only thirty or so clones, commanded by a sergeant.

After they arrived they discovered that the actual number was much smaller than that, and that the situation was much worse than they initially thought.

According to the captain, about a few days before they arrived, the algae and small sea animals that were used to make some of the medicines stopped appearing. The machinery was still working, but nothing came.

The day that happened the sergeant sent two clones to see what was going on, but those two never returned. After that, at least one soldier would disappear every day. By now, of the thirty men garrisoned that, only twelve remained. The sergeant was scared and looked at Dageer as if he was his savior.

"I am very grateful that you arrived sir. We were starting to think that you hadn't got our message."

"If the situation was so serious, why didn't you tell us, sergeant? One clone disappearing might be an accident, or a native creature, but eighteen of them is no such thing. You better pray those men are well, or you are not going to have a good ending."

"But... sir, we tried to contact you. There was no answer."

"What do you mean sergeant? The only transmission we received from you was that production stopped and some clones went missing, so we were sent to solve this, and take medical supplies to Kamino. That was eight days ago."

"I know sir. After we sent that transmission more men disappeared, so we tried to call Kamino once more. Our transmission was sent, but no answer came."

"And... we never received those transmissions. That means they were intercepted somewhere in the middle."

"What do you think it is sir?"

"Certainly not a native creature. I am sending the corvette back right now."

Dageer turned on his comlink and contacted the captain of the CR90, but the voice on the other side wasn't the one from a clone.

"Clooone. Yooour kind killed my father. Now I will kill all of yooou."

"Who are you?! What did you do to my brothers?!"

"Yooou mean thooose cloones? They are alive. Yooou can cooome get them in a while. Yoooou wooon't die sooo easily. I will start with yooou all and they destroy all of yooou."

The voice cut off communications. Dageer instantly got into action, putting his helmet and grabbing his DC-15A before running out. The sergeant followed suit, as well as the two guards. Midway Dageer contacted Brain, telling him to surround the corvette with Hell Squad.

When they arrived the ship was entirely encircled, but after they entered it all they found was the unconscious crew and water puddles.

Metal and Three-four started carrying the unconscious clones to the medical station, while Tech started checking the ship for any hidden bombs. Brain and Dageer checked the near areas but found no one.

"Sir, who do you think it was? And why leave the crew alive?"

"I don't know who it is Brain, nor why not kill them. But I can guess why he is attacking us. He is a mon calamari, as was the enemy commander in the Battle of Kamino."