Chapter 63 - Starting a Trend

Apparently, the enemy commander, a mon calamari called Merai, saw that the battle was lost for the Separatist and tried to do a suicide charge with his starfighter on the jedi starfighters hyperspace rings, and succeeded. The rings were destroyed and the jedi weren't able to chase the retreating Separatist sh.i.p.s.

Without the commands of the jedi the Republic cruisers decided it was too risky to chase, and the remaining Separatist cruisers, frigates and dreadnoughts disappeared in the space.

"Commander, brothers, is good to see you, but where is Berro? He was with me when we jumped off the cruiser."

"Don't worry sir. Berro is in another infirmary, and besides a few broken ribs he is ok."

"Tech is right, Dageer. Actually, you better thank Berro as soon as you leave the infirmary. If he didn't drag you out of the water you probably would have drowned. He said he found you almost unconscious."

"It is good to hear that. I will make sure to go after him soon."

The kaminoan from before came back, waving her long hands and fingers to make Commander Keeli and Hell Squad go out.

"Commander... there are many... troopers that need rest... I shall ask... you... to leave."

"No problem Juma-Fy. We were just making sure that this clone here was all good."

Juma-Fy gave Dageer some pills, and soon he drifted into a heavy sleep, this time without dreaming.

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A few days later Dageer was out of the infirmary. His broken rib didn't need a bacta tank, so his recovery took a little more this time, but there was no imminent battle, so he didn't rush it.

The Republic discovered which path the Separatist had taken to arrive on Kamino, and were now guarding it tightly. Dageer expected that the 303rd would soon leave Kamino and go find another battle.

Of course, he didn't forget to visit Berro on the other infirmary. He was more injured than Dageer, so his recovery would take a little more.

Most places of Kamino suffered some measure of damage. Corridors of glass were shattered, the mess had a patch of metal covering a hole in the ceiling where some laser fire melted the roof. There were still broke droid bodies here and there, and the robots were working hard to clean them.

While roaming around Dageer saw a teenager cadet talking to a clone on a litter. The clone had a bandage on his leg, but besides that seemed alright.

"Don't worry kid, it is just a blaster wound. Soon I will be back. You were very courageous there, make sure you and your squad work hard."

The cadet nodded, and Dageer became curious. He had supposed that by now all wounded clones would be on the infirmary, so why did that one have a fresh wound?

"Trooper! What happened to your leg?"

"Sir. Nothing much. Some clanckers managed to lock themselves into a storeroom, so we didn't discover them until today. It was quite a surprise, and they gave me a little gift before dying."

The clone tapped himself on the leg and them frowned with pain.

"Go get yourself patched up."

"Yes sir."

Dageer turned to the clone cadet. He himself was quite amused by the situation and felt like smiling, but the cadet seemed afraid that it would get reprimanded.

"And what was your play on all of this cadet?"

"I... I was near the room at that time sir. I helped to pull him out of the way when he was shot."

Dageer couldn't hold it anymore and smile, making the cadet sigh in relief.

"That was very brave of you kid. What is your name?"

"CT-4040, sir."

Dageer shook his head. He should have known that a cadet wouldn't have a name yet. Most of the grown soldiers were just getting theirs.

"That can't do. Let me tell you a secret, little brother. A clone fights much harder when they have a name. We aren't just a bunch of numbers anymore. Many of us bleed and died for the Republic. We deserve at least that."

The cadet listened attentively, feeling anticipation for Dageer's next words.

"CT-4040 right? Forget that numbers. Let me think... what about... uhmm... Cutup! Yeah, Cutup is good. Don't forget to tell our brothers what I said to you. We are living beings, not machines. Never forget that."

Quite satisfied with himself, Dageer left the clone cadet behind and went to meet Hell Squad at the mess.