Chapter 213 - A Secret Meeting With The King

Representative Jar Jar Binks of Naboo, and Senator Bail Organa, from Alderaan, walked dejectedly on the halls of the royal palace of Toydaria. They had just come out from a meeting with the king and his advisors, and the answer to the Republic's plea for help was negative.

According to the king, he and his people wanted to help, but he couldn't risk losing their neutrality, otherwise the war would arrive at their doorstep. Needless to say, Senator Lott Dod was extremely pleased with his answer, after all, it meant that Ryloth couldn't be saved, and it would remain in Separatist's hands. It also meant that most clones and freedom fighters there were going to die.

"My friends."

Senator Organa and Representative Binks turned around, and saw the Toydarian king flying towards them. He looked quite clumsy, with insect-like wings that were too small for his body.

"Toydaria can not turn a blind eye to the suffering of Ryloth. The Twi'leks are innocent victims caught between the warring factions through no fault of their own!"

Senator Organa felt a rush of hope and excitement, but he didn't let it show on his face. He knew that even though the king's words meant he would help Ryloth, the fact that he met them secretly meant he wouldn't do it out in the open. They would have to be careful with what they said, otherwise the Toydarians might change their mind.

"I'm glad you agree, your Highness. What are you prepared to do?"

"You may use Toydaria to transfer the supplies you brought with you."

"That is only enough supplies for one, maybe two rotations."

"It will have to do. And you must guarantee that the Trade Federation will not be able to link Toydaria to the mission."

"Agreed."

Senator Organa didn't hesitate. It wasn't a lot, but it was better than nothing, and the Twi'leks could use anything, no matter how little.

...

That night, several Toydarian sh.i.p.s left the planet, heading for Ryloth. They were undetected by the Trade Federation, and, since they were sh.i.p.s of a neutral planet, they wouldn't be stopped by the Separatist blockade around the planet.

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When Dageer met Ragout, the padawan saved his life.

He had been too absorbed by the conversation he just had with Commander Keeli, and he wasn't paying attention to the battlefield. There was something wrong about how the commander talked. Very wrong. However, Dageer couldn't put his finger on what it was. And now, Hell Squad was tasked with finding Ragout and retreating. That was even weirder. For all he knew, there was nowhere to retreat. And how were the Twi'leks supposed to escape?

Dageer knew that the 303rd was going to make their last stand there. He had known that since the moment their fleet was destroyed, because that was the moment their last hope of leaving Ryloth was gone. To tell the truth, he didn't really care. Even if they somehow won, or even just survived this battle, the 303rd had less than a thousand men remaining. They were hardly a company, whatsoever a legion.

So, Dageer didn't care about dying here on Ryloth. He was afraid of dying, of course, but he would gladly go down just to kill a few more droids. He had never hated anyone more than he hated the sc.u.m who started this war. Without it, so many of his brothers would still be alive. It never crossed his mind that without the war, he and all the others wouldn't even exist.

And so, it was when Dageer was lost on his thoughts that he felt something pulling him. It was invisible, fast, strong, and it saved his life, because the spot he was on blew up milliseconds after he was pulled. The impact from the explosion added to the force that was pulling him, and he was launched a dozen meters forward.

When he approached the ground, he curled up, and rolled. Feeling at least two of his ribs crack, the sub-commander looked up and saw Ragout stretching his hand to him.

"Dageer! Are you okay?!"

Grabbing his hand, Dageer pulled himself up, wincing in pain as he felt wounds all over his body opening and bleeding again. Thankfully, Three-four had bandaged them well enough, so the bleeding didn't last long.

"As okay as I can be, general. Thank you."

He looked around. The explosion originated from an AAT, but the tank didn't see to be aiming specifically at him. It was just a random shot, after all, he was already a distance away from the frontlines.

"Argh... Uhmm..."

Behind him, Dageer heard Dab groaning as he got up, and realized that Ragout hadn't only pulled him, but the entirety of Hell Squad. It was no wonder the padawan looked tired.

"Is everyone all right? Call out."

"Dab okay, sir."

"Cell too."

"Metal."

"Tech. I'm all good."

"Three-four. Argh..."

While the other seemed to be mostly uninjured from the explosion - only from the explosion, because they all had at least a dozen wounds for many different reasons - Three-four was holding his right leg tightly, and was already bandaging it. He appeared to be in lots of pain, and the armor did little to stop the blood from seeping out.

"How is it, Three-four?"

"I will live, general. But you should worry more about Brain. He didn't answer."

Ragout was surprised. With all that was happening, it was difficult to keep track of every trooper, and he didn't notice Brain hadn't said anything. However, when he turned around, he saw that Dageer was already kneeling besides the clone.

"Brain! Wake up, trooper!"

"How is he?"

Dageer took of Brain's helmet. It was soaked with his blood, coming from a big cut on the back of his head.

"Bad. Three-four, can you take a look at him?"

"Just give me a moment, sir. I'm not sure I can walk just yet. Meanwhile, put something on it to stop the blood."

"Understood."

Dageer took one of many bandages that Three-four carried with him, and used it to cover the wound. In a matter of seconds it was red, but at least it stopped the bleeding.

"We need to move. Metal, Cell, carry Brain. Tech, help Three-four."

Soon, Hell Squad started moving again. However, they were now in a bad shape. Dageer warned a trooper that they would soon arrive at Commander Keeli's location, and started walking next to Ragout.

"Thanks for the help back there, general. If it wasn't for you, we would have suffered a lot more than just a few injuries."

Ragout laughed awkwardly. It wasn't like Dageer to thank him twice.

"Is it really that bad?"

"Ha! Yes, general. It is. We are down to about five hundred troopers. And the freedom fighters... Well, they are fleeing for their lives. Sometimes they are more of a hazard than of help."

"You can't blame them. They aren't soldiers."

"Neither are you, General Ragout."

Ragout stopped, and Dab almost bumped into him. The padawan knew exactly what Dageer meant, after all, the sub-commander wasn't being very subtle about it.

"I'm not leaving my master and you all and escaping, Dageer."

"You have to, sir. You represent the 303rd more than anyone. More than any clone. We were created for this war, and this war is our life. But it isn't yours. Neither it is General Di's. You two have to go. Leave the dirty job to us."

"This is not an option. Now, keep quiet, trooper. I don't want to hear any more about it."

"Yes, general."