Chapter 193 - Battling For The First Outpost

After slicing the barrel of an AAT, a small Togruta started running. However, the direction he wanted to go was blocked by thousands of droids.

Ragout looked at his communicator, and discovered that it wasn't working. The droids must have jammed it. Looking at Hell Squad retreating, the padawan decided to go in another direction, where his master should be.

He deflected the incoming lasers without even looking, but there were too many, causing him to almost be hit many times.

"Over there!"

A droid pointed at him, and he became the focus of even more lasers. He slashed forward, cutting down three droids with the same move, and jumped over their heads. While he was in midair, he pushed his hands forward, and the Force smashed several droids in the ground. Using the impulse, he flew four or five meters before landing on one of the Tri-droids.

The droid's head spun, trying to throw Ragout away, but he used his lightsaber to pierce the droid, and steady himself. The droid jolted, then started falling. The Jedi apprentice jumped, using the droid's height to reach the wall. Up there, he was out of sight from most of the droids. The few that were up on the wall were quickly pushed off.

Ragout took advantage of the brief period of calmness to look for his master. Hell Squad and their men were already in the rocks that surrounded the Separatist outpost, most likely heading to the Republic one. There was an AAT following them, and hundreds of droids, but Ragout wasn't too worried. Dageer knew how to take care of himself and his men.

On the other side, he saw more droids entering the gorges and valleys, probably after his master and Commander Keeli.

At this moment, Ragout sensed something. His instincts took over, and he jumped as high as he could, which saved his life. The part of the wall he was in now had a big hole, and shrapnel flew everywhere as a laser cannon shot from one of the Tri-droids hit it. Even though he jumped, the shockwave still hit him. He felt his bones rattle under the pressure, and his lightsaber escaped his hand.

Despair filled his heart. A lightsaber was a Jedi's weapon, but it was also its companion. He couldn't lose it, no matter what. Not only that, but losing his lightsaber amidst the droid army was the same as asking to be killed.

So, when Ragout saw his beloved weapon fall on the outer side of the walls, he didn't hesitate, and jumped. The walls were about a dozen meters height, and that, for a Jedi, was nothing. He landed on the ground, using the Force to soften his landing, and looked for his lightsaber. A few meters away, he saw a metal stick amidst a pile of scrap metal.

He pulled his lightsaber using the Force. And he was just in time, since two lasers hit the ground next to him. The droids had gotten to the top of the wall, and were aiming at him. However, since he had jumped to the outside, he was safe, at least for now. The few lasers that came his way were quickly deflected.

Using the Force, he sensed where General Di was, and ran towards him.

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Everything had gone well at the start, but they had underestimated the reactions of the Separatist. Now, General Di, Commander Keeli and Syndulla, together with the clones and freedom fighters, were trapped.

They had destroyed one AAT, and eleven Dwarf-Spider droids. That was way less than they wanted, but they had been discovered, forcing them to retreat. Their retreat path was blocked by droids, so they entered another gorge, but that resulted in them being surrounded.

That is, until a young Togruta saved them. General Di watched proudly as his padawan came from behind the droids, and used the Force to push them, opening a path.

"Keeli! Follow Ragout!"

The commander was quick to react, and soon, the survivors of the attack were escaping, not without casualties. In total, including the ones led by Hell Squad, thirteen clones and eight Twi'leks died. That was almost half of the attack group.

"Ragout! Where are the others?!"

General Di looked around, but saw only his padawan. Ragout shook his head, and pointed to the Separatist outpost's direction.

"We got separated, and our communicators aren't working. He will probably retreat towards our outpost."

General Di looked to the fleeing Republic combatants, and his face became even more serious. They couldn't make it to the outpost, nor could they meet with Hell Squad now. All they could do was flee to one of the freedom fighters hideouts, and wait until they got out of the jam's range.

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Dageer looked at the horizon, and finally saw the Republic outpost. Five hours had passed since they ended their attack on the Separatist base, and although the results weren't extremely good, each vehicle and droid destroyed meant one less for them to fight.

In the meantime, he finally got to talk with Commander Keeli. Although the two Jedis and the commander wouldn't be able to support them on the outpost thanks to the Separatist cutting their path, the plan would remain the same.

Since the droids outnumbered the Republic by a large margin, then they would fight a drawn-out war. Hell Squad was to defend the outpost for as long as they could before retreating. Then, they would repeat it again and again. Dageer had no expectations of being able to win the battle for Ryloth this way, but at least they would cause serious damages to the Separatist. And that was all he wanted now.

"Lieutenant Fondor, go ahead and get the injured to the infirmary. Freedom fighters, follow him. Those who aren't injured, find a position. The seppies will arrive soon."

Lieutenant Fondor acknowledged, and the Twi'leks nodded. After seeing how many droids they were up against, they had no complaints about fighting anymore. They would give everything to defend their planet.

...

The clone in charge of the outpost was Sergeant Storge, a battle-hardened veteran that was with the 303rd since Geonosis. Dageer quickly explained to him why they were separated from Commander Keeli, and ordered the sergeant to get into position.

The outpost was nothing more than a complex of simple buildings and two walls, one to the north and another to the south. The west and east were two rock walls almost a hundred meters tall. It was impossible for the droids to climb it. The outpost held thirty-six clones. Plus Hell Squad and the others, there were a total of fifty-two defenders.

After talking to Sergeant Storge, Hell Squad went straight to the walls. It had been more than a day since they last slept, but none of them would be able to sleep now. They already had too much on their hands without the nightmares.

...

As the sun appeared in the sky, Dageer saw the Separatist. Only two Tri-droids were with the army, meaning the others had gone to attack another place. The Separatist intelligence was much better than expected, and they were able to uncover the locations of every Republic forces on the planet. That was, at the very least, suspicious.

But he had no time to worry about that. Looking at the thousands of droids, Dageer ordered his snipers to fire. He heard a loud sound as the blue lasers hit several droid sergeants and captains. Looking up, he saw that the Separatist fleet came back for more.