Chapter 303 - Back To Where It All Started

"Where is Dageer?"

"He is talking to Commander Keeli."

With furrowed eyebrows, Boss looked at Brain. The grenadier wasn't joking. And, by the looks of it, he wasn't surprised either. He probably was used to it.

That was when a door opened, and Dageer got out of his quarters. The clone commando was able to catch a glimpse of a battered Phase II helmet, with two brownish-red painted horns. The helmet was almost cracked in half, the visor broken. It was Commander Keeli's helmet.

"What is it, Boss?"

For a few seconds, Boss didn't answer, and only looked at Dageer. The commander had an unreadable expression on his face, the scar over his eye slightly red. He had worked with Dageer long enough to know that meant he was nervous.

"General Shaak Ti wants you in the command center. She called a meeting to discuss General Ragout's situation."

"That was quick. Brain, get the others. Boss, see what you can do to keep Bad Batch's training going."

"Roger that."

"Okay. And good luck, Dageer."

"Thanks. Maybe Delta Squad will be together with us on this one. Who knows."

Boss nodded, and saluted Dageer. After doing the same, the commander, followed by Brain, went to meet General Shaak Ti.

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Commander Doom had been through many battles, and seen death multiple times. He knew war brought out the worst in everyone, and clones were no exception. Still, when he saw the clone wearing brownish red armor, and with a scar on his face, he was surprised by the intensity in his brother's gaze. He knew that the clone before him was a man willing to do anything to complete his objective. He knew that because he once had the same fire on his eyes.

The Laat that he was on was shot down as soon as it left it's cruiser, during the Second Battle Of Felucia. He was the sole survivor, lost behind enemy lines, over two hundred kilometers away from the nearest Republic base.

It took almost three months for him to get back to the Republic side of the planet. He had long been declared dead. He rarely talked about what happened in these months, but it was a fact that he came back with many new scars, and parts of his armor were missing, and broken.

And he had with him a tactical droid's head, the same he had been sent to get when his gunship was shot down.

So, he easily recognized Dageer's intentions. He would rescue the Jedi, General Ragout, or he would die trying.

He had never worked with Hell Squad before, but just like any other clone, he had heard of them. In fact, as a commander, he had access to more information than normal troopers, so he knew about some of their missions that weren't disclosed to low ranking officers. And yet, not even him could get intel on over half of their operations.

Dageer saluted him, and he acknowledged it with one of his own. Then, Commander Doom returned his attention back to the meeting.

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As soon as Hell Squad entered the room, they saw General Shaak Ti, Broodi, two Jedis they had never seen before, and a clone in dark green and yellow armor, whom they recognized as Commander Doom. The hologram table, on the other hand, showed General Kenobi, General Skywalker, Captain Rex, and Commander Cody. Too many people for a simple rescue mission.

"Since Hell Squad is here, let's start."

General Shaak Ti called everyone's attention, before doing the introductions. Since they would be working together, it was important that they knew each other.

"Master Kenobi, Master Skywalker, you already know Hell Squad and Commander Broodi. Commander Doom, and Masters Tiplee and Tiplar, you should have heard of Hell Squad before."

The two women bowed slightly to Dageer, and he returned a salute to them. One had red skin, while the other was green, but their facial features looked very similar. They were probably sisters, Dageer concluded. He couldn't say which species they were from, but if he had to guess, they were from the Outer Rim.

"As you already know, Master Ragout was captured during his return to Coruscant after the Battle of Umbara. His ship was attacked by a fleet led by Separatist admiral Trench. After which, he was brought to Geonosis."

She paused, and looked up to see if everyone was following. They were.

"We have to rescue Ragout. To do so, we will be sending two teams to Geonosis. Master Skywalker, that part of the plan is yours."

The young Jedi nodded, and his projection grew bigger. Meanwhile, Dageer was thinking rapidly. Geonosis was the core of the Confederacy Of Independent Systems. The droid factories and foundries were there, and it was the most well-guarded planet of the Separatist. Even entire fleets would have problems breaking through the blockade around the planet. But sometimes, it was better to have quality over quantity. And Jedis certainly had that.

"I know a smuggl... I mean, a captain, that can get us the clearance codes needed to pass through the blockade. We will need a Separatist ship for that. Once on surface, we will split up. One team will rescue Ragout, while the other will rig as many factories as it can."

There was the reason why so many people - especially Jedis - were involved in this mission. They would only save Ragout, but take the opportunity to destroy, or at least damage, as many foundries and factories as they could. Still, Dageer could already see at least half a dozen flaws with the plan, and so could the others.

"Assuming we can get to Geonosis without being discovered, and that they won't suspect one of their sh.i.p.s not landing where it was supposed to, how are we going to know where Master Ragout is?"

"And what about bombing the factories? They extended for dozens of kilometers underground, and are hundreds apart from each other. If we can partially disable one, it will already be impressive."

And useless for the war effort. That was what General Tiplar meant, although she didn't say it out loud. Luckily, it seemed that General Skywalker had an answer for both questions, although not very reassuring.

"My droid, R2-D2, will control the ship after dropping us. Don't worry, he did it before. The seppies won't suspect. As for the factories, it's a little more complicated. We will need to split up again, but if we are too little, it will be dangerous."

"What about..."

While the Jedis discussed, the clones stood quiet. Dageer was analyzing the plan carefully, and, crazy as it seemed, Hell Squad had gone through worse before. It was possible.

He was deep in thought when General Shaak Ti called him. With just one look, he understood what she wanted.

"They only had a day's worth of training, general. They are not ready."

"You said it yourself, commander. No amount of training will replace real experience."

"Still, it's too soon. We would need at least a week."

"That's how long our preparations should take."

Dageer nodded slowly, acknowledging that the Jedi was right.

"Sorry to interrupt, Master Shaak Ti, but about who exactly are you talking about?"

Their short conversation left the others confused. General Kenobi asked after they were done talking, while the others looked at them curiously.

"Hell Squad is training a new unit. It's time to take them on a field trip."