Chapter 84 - Treason

"Not that way, general. Leave those bombs and return. We can't have an internal conflict when we are about to enter a battle. The mon calamarians need to see that you, the king and the Republic are on the same side!"

Kit Fisto words were touching, but useless. Yos Tivos was fighting for something on which he believed, and Dageer knew by experience that it was impossible for such a man to give up. He was all too familiar with this because that was the way every clone fought.

"Dooon't think yoou can cooonvice me, jedi. As we speak my men are planting mooore booombs. Even if yooou try tooo disarm them, there wooon't be enooough time!"

"Enough time for what?"

A third voice was introduced in the conversation. Dageer looked up, to the quarrens and Separatist above them. There were at least a hundred, and on the front was Chieftain Nossor Ri. Clones and mon calamarians had been so absorbed in their confrontation that they didn't notice the enemy arriving.

The quarren leading the enemy was Nossor Ri himself, holding his crown in one hand and a scepter on the other.

"So, General Yos Tivos, would you be kind enough to tell me your plans?"

Dageer slowly moved while Nossor Ri and Yos Tivos were quarreling, trying to get to a better position. At the moment the clones were too exposed, and the Separatist were right above them, at a perfect angle to kill them all.

The mon calamarians that Yos Tivos brought with him, presumably his guards, were doing the same. Both groups might have been discussing moments ago, but when they were put against the wall, they were still on the Republic side.

Their actions, however, didn't pass unnoticed. With a shout from Nossor Ri, a hundred blasters were pointed at them.

"Don't you try anything, Republic sc.u.m, or you are dead."

Kit Fisto talked at this moment, his eyes closed in concentration. His hand was moving left and right, in a hypnotic rhythm.

"Chieftain, you don't want to kill us. You want to let us free. You will let us go, and you will retreat your troops."

"I... will let you go..."

For a few seconds, the eyes of the chieftain became dazed, and Dageer thought that maybe General Fisto use of the Force would work. But then Nossor Ri's body shook and the misty in his eyes disappeared, giving place to anger.

"No! Your tricks won't work on me, jedi! My mind is too strong. You just dug your own grave, trying to control me, the king of Mon Cala!"

"Yooou are nooot the king! My broooother is the ooonly king Mon Cala have!"

Yos Tivos face was entirely red, and he disregarded everything when he heard Nossor Ri calling himself king. He tried to swim to Nossor Ri, but gave up when dozens of E-5s were pointed at him. Nossor Ri sneered, disdain all over his face.

"Little general, why are you so angered? Don't you already know that your dear brother charged you with treason? Hohohohihi! Did you really think my spies wouldn't discover why you came here? As we talk my men are disarming your bombs."

Yos Tivos face showed surprise, despair and then a defeated smile.

"Soooo that is hooow it is. I guess I can ooonly redeem myself by coooompleting my treasooonooous acts."

He opened his fists, showing that they weren't closed only because of his anger, but also to hide something. A small switch was revealed.

Many things happened at the same time. Ki Fisto yelled a 'No!', and Nossor Ri ordered his men to stop Yos Tivos. But Yos Tivos pressed the switch, and then was immediately torn apart by the lasers of the droids.

Muffled explosions happened all around them, and big boulders and rocks started to fall. One big boulder hit the droids and quarrens, burying them under a few tons of rocks.

More rocks crashed down, directly above Hell Squad. Before everything went dark, Dageer felt a small push on his body.

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"Hell Squad, can you hear me? Brain! Cell! Dab! Meta..."

"You don't need to call in the coms, sir. We are here."

"Tech! Is everyone all right? Report."

"Tech here."

"Brain here."

"Cell and Dab ready to go, sir."

"I am here, sir. Three-four."

"Metal here."

"Good. General Fisto, can you hear me?"

There was no answer. Dageer touched his helmet, and found out that he lost his lantern.

"Men, turn on your lights. Let me see what we have here."

One by one, small light beams appeared in the darkness, barely enough to see anything.

"Ohhhh!!!"

"Three-four! What happened?"

Dageer looked to one of the moving lights.

"Nothing, sir. Just got a bit scared here."

Dageer looked over, and saw that Three-four was facing the corpse of a mon calamari, only that its bottom half was buried under the rocks.

Miraculously, no one of Hell Squad got hurt, but it appeared that only them had that luck. Around them was an empty space, where no rocks had fallen, and then the rest was a mess of broken boulders and droid parts. Brain called him.

"Sir, I found General Fisto."

Dageer swam over to the middle of their 'cave' and saw Kit Fisto there, laying on the bottom of the ocean, covered in dust. His arms looked like they were frozen, stuck in a manner that hands were pointed to above, his open palms facing the rocks.

"I think he used the Force to protect us, sir. That is the only way we can be unharmed."

"Yeah... Three-four, do a check on him, see with he needs anything. The others, look for any way out of here."