Chapter 81 - Yos Kolina

Kit Fisto turned on his hologram projector, and showed Dageer and Monnk some underwater Separatist buildings.

"When I went ahead, I passed a good number of their patrols, both droids and quarrens. Their base is quite well hidden. If I haven't followed one of their patrols, it would have been difficult to find."

He zoomed on the face of one quarren, presumably the king, since he had a crown on his head.

"The quarrens have always been more aggressive than the mon calamarians. He is Chieftain Nossor Ri. Ever since the Separatist contacted him, he had shown huge support to their cause. Now, he is at their camp. This shows where his loyalty really lies."

Next, the jedi showed the base once more, this time focusing on the buildings.

"Their weapon depots are here, here and here. I saw at least two buildings that look like storage of some sorts, they might keep the deactivated droids there. Also, the quarrens are staying in a group of buildings out of the base. Maybe the Separatist doesn't trust them, or they don't trust the Separatist."

"Or maybe both don't trust each other. Did you see what defenses they had general?"

Dageer shrugged, and asked the most concerning thing for an attack force.

"I am no specialist in regards to quarren weapons, but there were at least twenty things that looked like giant pipes. I bet they are a cannon of some sort. And there are many Separatist Manta Droids and Mini-subs."

Dageer looked at the projection, and thought of many different ways of attack, but none of them had a hundred percent chance of they winning. Besides that, there weren't that many clones, and they had to minimize their casualties as much as possible.

While he and the jedi were thinking, Monnk spoke for the first time.

"We could bury them."

Dageer was startled, as was the jedi. Kit Fisto didn't answer immediately, but went deep in thought. Dageer and Monnk kept quiet, but Dageer could understand what the SCUBA trooper meant.

The Separatists wanted to keep their base hidden, so they chose a crevice in the rocks, and as the jedi discovered, it was extremely hard to attack. But that also meant that the clones could undermine the rocks above, and crush them.

Strategically speaking, that was the best way to destroy the enemy without suffering a single casualty. Dageer nodded his head, agreeing with Monnk, but the jedi didn't.

"No. If it was just the droids, I could agree. But there are quarrens there. Even though they are our enemies now, we can't do that."

Monnk shook his head disappointed but not surprised. Dageer knew what both sides were thinking. Clones were genetically engineered to be combat machines. Things such as mercy and pity were unknown to them. But the jedi were peacekeepers. Their history came from thousands of years, when the galaxy was at a chaotic moment, and the so-called Dark Side ruled. After many thousands of years, the jedi had accommodated on their role of guardians, judges and mediators, and were unprepared to the Clone Wars. At least that was what Dageer thought.

But a general was still a general, even if his methods weren't the best.

"If we can't do that, then a frontal attack is our only option, but the cost will be high."

"Dageer, Monnk, return to the barracks. Monnk, I will take your suggestion to Yos Kolina. He is still king, and that is still his planet, he has the right to at least know our options. Dageer, take your men to outside the city, Monnk will send someone to give them some basic training."

"Yes general."

"Yes general."

When the jedi left, Monnk turned to Dageer speaking in a way that clones only spoke with each other.

"Brother, let me present myself unofficially. I am Monnk, commander of the SCUBA Troopers, and under General Fisto."

"Dageer, sub-commander of the 303rd Attack Legion. I see that General Fisto is quite... difficult to deal with."

"He is... emotive. His mood swings very fast, but his sense of righteousness is unmovable. Now come, let me give your boys a taste of underwater combat."

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Vernila, Red Palace, Side Hall.

Dageer and Monnk were at the most important building of Mon Cala, the Red Palace, where the king lived and made his decisions. At that moment, what they were deciding was their course of attack. The meeting had been called by the king himself, Yos Kolina. For fear of spies, only the most trusted men of the king were there, mainly generals, and the prime minister. Of course, jedi Kit Fisto and the clone commanders, Dageer and Monnk were also there.

As Kit Fisto have suspected, when he took Monnk's suggestion over to the king, the old mon calamari rejected. But many of his generals didn't view the matter the same as him. They supported burying the quarrens, and Yos Kolina was having a hard time suppressing their protest.

The side hall was filled with angry voices shouting, and the situation was getting a little intense. Because of that, General Fisto used The Force to move a torrent of bubbles right in the middle of the hall, attracting everyone's attention.