Broke: A Clone Wars Tale - Volume 1 Chapter 275 Saved From Death's Door

Dageer found it weird when the droids Hell Squad was fighting suddenly started running. Cell, Metal, and a few other clones wanted to follow them, but the commander ordered them to hold their position. The Separatist had suffered casualties, that was for sure, but not nearly as many as the Republic. The number of bodies was about equal for both sides. For the clanckers, who usually fought to the last man, to retreat for no apparent reason, it was very weird.

“Wait. This might be a trap.”

“I don’t think so, sir. They were crushing us, why would they need a trap?”

Dageer reflected on what Brain said for a few moments, and then nodded. It didn’t make sense for the droids to prepare a trap now.

“Cell, Tech, you two go. If everything is all right, signal us.”

“Roger that, commander.”

The two clones soon returned, saying that the droids had retreated to their own ship. Instead of making Dageer happy, that only made him worry even more. There was no rhyme or reason for this move. And when something didn’t make sense, he didn’t like it.

Ordering the other troopers to stay on guard, Dageer ran towards the command bridge with the intention of leaving the Separatist fleet’s range as soon as possible. Mid-way, he found General Piell, who had the same objective.

They had not even entered the command bridge yet when they discovered why the seppies ran away. A Republic fleet, twice the size of the Separatist’s, had appeared in space, and was currently engaging the fleeing enemy sh.i.p.s.

When they got closer, Dageer recognized the colors of General Fisto. Several Laats left the Venator-class Cruiser that was his flagship, and flew towards General Piell’s cruiser, which was currently badly damaged.

“General?”

“I am not too sure myself, Dageer. However, this ship is lost. Get everyone on the gunsh.i.p.s that Master Fisto sent. After we are safe, we will discover what happened.”

“Yes, general.”

“Admiral Tarkin, give the order to evacuate the ship.”

“Of course, General Piell.”

Soon, alarms started ringing again, warning all personnel to proceed towards the upper hangar, where they would be picked up. Several corridors of the cruiser had collapsed under the barrage from the Separatist sh.i.p.s, and flames burst out here and there. Soon, the cruiser would break in two.

“Go, go, go!”

“Let’s move, lads! Wounded first!”

“I want three men here! Lift it up!”

“Come on, faster!”

Dageer carefully watched the troopers running around, and commanded them to enter the gunsh.i.p.s orderly. He didn’t know how many had died, and even if some had survived but were trapped. The best he could do was make sure those who were there left the cruiser. As for any survivors that might be left behind… He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind. It was useless to think about that, because there was nothing he could do.

It took less than fifteen minutes for the Laats to become full, and take off. Before they even got to General Fisto’s capital ship, the cruiser behind them blew up from the inside out, creating an enormous ball of fire that lasted for less than two seconds before being extinguished by the vacuum.

Looking at the remains of their cruiser, both Tarkin and General Piell frowned. A ship was just a ship, but after you spent a long time on it, it started to held certain significance.

When the Laats landed on the Venator-class Cruiser, a group of clones, and General Fisto, were already waiting for them.

“Master Piell, I am glad we arrived in time to help you.”

The Lannik glanced at the wounded being moved to the infirmary with the corner of his eyes, and sighed.

“Not all of us, unfortunately. But if it wasn’t for you, we would all be dead. You have my thanks, Master Fisto.”

The two Jedis exchanged polite greetings. It was clear they didn’t know each other very well, but all the Jedis seemed to be on friendly terms.

Dageer saluted the Nautolan, and nodded to Commander Monnk. The SCUBA Trooper was wearing normal clone armor, since they weren’t in a water planet.

“Follow me.”

Dageer gestured for Hell Squad to help the wounded, and walked behind the two Jedis. Monnk tapped his shoulder.

“Welcome, brother.”

“Thanks, Monnk. You came right on time.”

“Haha…”

…

“How did you know we were being attacked?”

“The Force made our paths cross. We were heading to Naboo when we intercepted a transmission from the Separatist, ordering them to move one of their fleets to this sector. We decided to come see what it was, and received your distress signal.”

Dageer and General Piell exchanged a glance. They had been extremely lucky. Now, that left the second-most worrying thing to deal with. How did the seppies know about their mission?

General Piell quickly explained to the other two why they were going to Kessel, and how they had been intercepted, which caused them to furrow their eyebrows.

“We won’t discuss that now. Monnk, I will leave Naboo to you. Master Piell, we have to return to Coruscant as soon as possible.”

“Yes. Dageer, Hell Squad too.”

The commander felt that his squad would be more useful somewhere else in the galaxy, fighting. However, he didn’t dare to disobey a direct order from a superior, so he could only nod.

“Copy that, general.”

When he left the command bridge, Dageer could feel the stares the two Jedis were exchanging. He was being left in the dark about something, but as much as that bothered him, he knew it was normal. He was just a clone, nothing more, nothing less.

—————————

Three people stood in a room, looking at each other. Dageer had his helmet under his arm, and his back straight. In front of him were General Yoda and General Windu.

It had been three days since he was back in Coruscant, on which he had been organizing troops and devising battle plans most of the time. In the middle of one of those meetings, he had been summoned by the two Jedis.

Unsure of what they wanted, he just stood there, waiting. Ten minutes went by, on which none of them said anything. Finally, Dageer couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Generals? Why do you need me?”

The two Jedis closed their eyes, and General Windu sighed, while General Yoda shook his head.

“We have a difficult task for you, commander.”

“Very difficult, indeed. Uhmm… Know our moves, the Separatist have, for a long time.”

Not understanding exactly what the Jedis meant, Dageer stood quiet. He knew there was a spy, or even more than just one, but he wasn’t sure what that had to do with him.

After a few more minutes of silence, General Windu stared Dageer straight in the eyes, his face more serious than normal.

“Commander Dageer, we need you to betray the Republic.”