Chapter 196 - The Mission To Toydaria

Somewhere in the galaxy, traveling through hyperspace, a Republic CR90 received an important transmission.

A tall human male, with black hair, and dressed in the characteristic robes of a senator, faced a hologram of General Kenobi, General Windu, and General Yoda.

"... My trade mission was successful, thank you for asking."

The man frowned when he spoke. The Jedis called him without any prior warning, and everyone knew that when a Jedi looked for you, it wasn't good. Besides, his instincts were telling him something was wrong.

Bail Organa was an important senator way before the Clone Wars started, and had spearheaded many peace talks and negotiations between different planets. He also was one of the leaders of the pacifist faction of the Senate.

So, when General Yoda contacted him out of nowhere, he knew something was wrong, and he didn't like to beat around the bush, so he asked straightforwardly.

"But what is the matter? You all look very somber."

With his arms crossed in front of his chest, General Kenobi seemed troubled, but he still answered the senator.

"The fleet protecting Ryloth has been destroyed, and the supply lines had been cut."

Senator Organa was shocked to hear that. As a member of the Senate, he had heard of the Battle Of Ryloth, and how the Republic troops were suffering. However, he never thought that the fleet would be wiped out. And, without a fleet to protect them, and to provide supplies, it was only a matter of time before the ground troops were defeated. What the senator didn't know was that only a few thousand troops remained.

"The troops are out of food, fuel, ammunition. And the civilian population is starving."

That was true. One of the first things the Separatist did after arriving at Ryloth was arrest thousands of civilians, including children, for 'helping the enemy'. Now, those civilians were forced to work for the seppies, and those who weren't arrested had nothing to eat under the merciless government of Emir Wat Tambor, one of the closest allies of Count Dooku.

And, while the population was starving and working, Tambor was grabbing their riches, and sending them to his capital ship above the planet. Not only that, but most of the politicians and leaders of Ryloth had been arrested or killed, including those like Shar Yellps, the Twi'lek who General Di had arrested. The council member had been executed for treason against the Confederacy Of Independent Systems.

And so, the Separatist succeeded in pissing off not only the civilians, but also the higher-ups of Ryloth. Thousands of Twi'leks escaped the cities to join the freedom fighters, but unfortunately, just a few hundred could fight, and the rest became another burden that Syndulla had to carry.

"That is grim news."

Senator Organa was cautiously neutral when answering. He had been a politician for long enough to understand what the Jedis wanted.

"Our blockade runners should be able to penetrate the Separatist lines, and drop relief supplies. But they do not have the range to reach Ryloth."

"The planet Toydaria is two thousand parsecs closer than the nearest fleet. If the blockade runners get supplies from there, they might reach Ryloth in time."

As always, General Windu wasn't willing to waste time talking, and stated their objective directly, forcing the talkative General Kenobi to cut to the chase.

Senator Organa sighed. It was dangerous, and he was against getting involved in the war. However, he wouldn't be able to sleep if he didn't help the innocent people of Ryloth. Besides, he was still a member of the Republic, so, he had the obligation of helping.

"What would you have me do?"

"We dispatched a ship with relief supplies to meet you in Toydaria."

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After a long talk with the senator, General Kenobi turned off the hologram table, and went to meditate. He was a good friend of General Di, and it pained him to be unable to provide help to the Nikto. Not only that, but the much-needed supplies were stuck in Toydaria, thanks to the interference of a senator of the Trade Federation.

The Trade Federation, although maintaining a neutral stance, worked for the Separatist, and everyone knew that. However, there was no proof.

With the trouble caused by this senator, it would take a long, drawn-out negotiation to convince the Toydarians to help the Republic, even more after they discovered there was a Separatist blockade around the planet. Unfortunately, General Di and his troops didn't have that time.

He couldn't even warn the Jedi that relief supplies were coming, because all communications were cut. For now, all General Kenobi could do was hope that General Di could hold on.

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Dageer felt pain. An incredible amount of pain. Looking down, he saw a piece of metal had gone through his armor, and was stuck in his tight. Judging by the amount of blood dripping down from the wound, it probably had cut a big artery.

He fell to the ground, and leaned on the carcass of a destroyed AAT. That was the source of the piece of metal that hurt him, and it was his own fault.

He had approached the tank and delivered a thermal detonator to it, rolling the grenade down the barrel. He was unlucky, however, because the AAT was already charging another shot, and when the detonator blew up, the two forces combined, creating an even bigger explosion.

Since he was still in range of it, several pieces of scrap metal peppered his armor, and this one was able to pierce it.

Dageer looked around. Dead droids, Twi'leks, and clones surrounded him. He could see a few allies alive, but they were too far to help him immediately.

It was a rare moment of calmness on the battlefield, and for a few minutes, no lasers were flying. Dageer saw this happen before, in many battles. The droids were regrouping, and the Republic was happy to let them do that, and get a few minutes of rest.

Knowing that he had a little bit of time, Dageer ripped off a piece of cloth from a dead freedom fighter, and tied it above his injury. He also left another improvised bandage near him.

Gritting his teeth, Dageer pulled out the piece of metal. The pain was almost unbearable, but he didn't make a sound. He had suffered worst before. He quickly tied the second bandage around the wound, and it was soon dyed red. It wasn't the most effective of bandages, and it also wasn't the right treatment for this kind of wound, but it would do. At least it was better than running around with a piece of an AAT on his leg.

Getting up, Dageer started moving towards the next pocket of Republic resistance. He didn't want to be caught alone by the clanckers.

...

"Sir! Ouch... That isn't looking too good. Sit down."

No matter what is your rank, a medic always has absolute authority when you are wounded. Dageer did as Three-four said, and sit down to let the clone treat his leg. It was only at this moment that he noticed the medic also was hurt. A bloody bandage wrapped his head, and there were two black spots in his chest, where lasers hit.

Looking around, he saw that it wasn't only Three-four. The entirety of Hell Squad was injured in some way or another.

"We will have to retreat again so..."

A laser cannon shot hit the ground next to them, and Dageer fainted.