Chapter 207 - The Last Call For Help

Hell Squad watched as their last AT-TE crumbled under the rockslide that the Hyena-class bomber caused.

Suddenly, Dageer felt a sharp pain in his leg, and was forced to kneel. Lieutenant Shield, who was beside him, turned around, fired at the incoming droids, and pulled Dageer to cover.

"Ugh... How bad is it?"

Lieutenant Shield looked at the injury in Dageer's leg, and took off the armor around his calf. He called for Three-four, and the medic quickly ran over to them.

"Don't worry, sir. It went right through. Just let me bandage it, and you should be able to walk normally."

While Three-four was treating the wound, Dageer took some painkillers that the clone gave him. In two minutes, he got up again. His leg still hurt, but as Three-four said, he could walk, and even run.

"All right, boys, we are falling back. No need to wait for orders. Hell Squad, on me! We are the rearguard here. Shield, get some squads to do the same on the rest of the trench."

"Yes, sir."

Soon, the Republic started a slow but organized retreat to the canyons and gorges behind them. The droids followed suit, but they had to pay a hefty price for every meter of ground they won.

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After splitting up with Dageer, Commander Keeli ran across the trench, firing his pistols wildly. More than once, when the clanckers were about to break into the Republic's defenses, he showed up just in time to stop them. Thanks to years of specialized training, and months of non-stop battles, the commander was better than normal clones by a lot. Still, his armor was full of scratches and blast marks, but he wasn't hurt. At least not too much.

He found General Di just in time to watch the Hyena-class combat clash in the cliffside and destroy the AT-TE. The Jedi was deflecting lasers side by side with his padawan, Ragout.

"Keeli! We have to order retreat!"

"That is why I came looking for you, general. And now that we don't have heavy vehicles anymore..."

The Jedi deflected another laser, spinning his lightsaber. Commander Keeli crouched, and fired at the far away droids. Ragout was also doing his part, using his green lightsaber to send back one laser after another.

"Master Di!"

General Di, Ragout, and Commander Keeli turned around to see a beige Twi'lek, with a number of scars, approaching them. Syndulla was riding one of the creatures used by the freedom fighters. The Blurrgs looked like big lizards, with two powerful hind legs, and small arms. The had a big mouth full of sharp teeth, but were very docile.

"Syndulla."

"We don't have any more medical supplies. We need to flee now."

Syndulla had an expression full of concern in his face. He could see his people dying in droves around him. And he had yet to learn that his son died. One could only imagine the impact that this news would have on him. After all, he had only recently told Tae Boon that he was his father, and for now, few knew this truth, so nobody bothered to tell him about another dead Twi'lek.

General Di spun, reflecting a volley of red lasers, and turned to Commander Keeli and Ragout.

"Keeli, call the retreat. Ragout, guide the injured out of here."

"Our troops are already moving, general. Dageer saw how the battle was going and ordered it a while ago."

Firing his DC-17s, Commander Keeli answered without looking to the Jedi. Ragout, on the other hand, glanced at his master. Worry, anger, and sadness dwelled in his eyes.

"You have to retreat too, master. I can't leave you alone."

General Di smiled, and patted his padawan on the shoulder. He could sense the turbulence in the Force around the youngling, clearly depicting his feelings.

"Don't worry, my young apprentice. I will stay behind just enough to get the last of our troops out of here. But I need someone to lead the injured, and a Jedi, even just an apprentice, will have more authority to do that. Now, go. Every second count."

Ragout looked at his master, clenched his fists, and bit his lips, but followed the orders that the Nikto gave. Watching his padawan run, General Di smiled. Ragout would be a good Jedi Master one day. He could feel it.

"Master Jedi! We are running out of food and water too. And our heavy weapons systems are out of power!"

Syndulla clearly thought General Di wasn't paying him enough attention, so he added some more bad information to the already dire situation. Lack of food and water - thanks to the Separatist bombers - would be a problem for some time, but could be fixed. However, with their AT-TEs and AT-APs all destroyed, they had no chance of winning this battle.

General Di put his hand on the head of Syndulla's Blurrg, and used the Force to calm the animal. Then, he turned to Syndulla, his expression serious as always.

"I will contact our forces in orbit. Admiral Dao, this is General Di. We are in trouble down here..."

Before the Nikto could finish what he was saying, a Tri-droid's laser cannon shot hit the ground next to them, killing two clones, and showering them in mud and red soil. Turning on his comlink again, General Di continued what he was saying.

"... We need those supplies immediately!"

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In the space above, the 303rd fleet was locked in a deadly struggle. They had followed Admiral Dao's plan, and thrown themselves at the enemy, even though they were heavily outnumbered and outgunned. So far, their plan had worked, and they had yet to lose a single cruiser. In fact, The Sincerity, The Righteous, and the Acclamator-class Cruiser had destroyed two Munificent-class frigates, and the V-Wings and Y-Wings had yet to come into play.

However, The Sincerity was shaking, as laser cannons, missiles and bombs were aimed and fired at it. Their shields wouldn't hold for much longer.

It was in this situation, with clones and crewmen running around the command bridge of The Sincerity, that Admiral Dao stopped in front of the hologram of General Di. From time to time, the Jedi would swing his lightsaber at someone out of the range of the hologram.

"I understand, general, but I am in no position to help. We are critically low in fuel and ammunition."

A series of explosions shook the small Acclamator-class Cruiser, the blast even making The Sincerity shake, and breaking the transmission a little. Thankfully, the cruiser held on despite the explosions, and continued to fight.

"Contact the Jedi Council again! Tell them reinforcements must be dispatched without delay."

General Di cut off the transmission as an AAT aimed at him, forcing him to turn off his comlink, and run. Where he was, a giant black crater appeared.

Admiral Dao couldn't even answer the Jedi, and stopped to listen to something a crewman was telling him. After that, he turned on the hologram table again, and called the Jedi Council in Coruscant.

General Di seemed to have faith that the Jedi Council would help them, but Admiral Dao knew that their plea for help would be as futile as the three dozen others he made before. Still, he did as the Nikto asked.