Chapter 113 - Planet-wide Invasion

A green ball floating in space, Dantooine was a quite beautiful planet. It would be more if it weren't the debris floating around in space or the clouds of smoke on the planet that were visible from space.

Between big and small starcraft, the two Republic fleets hovering above the planet had close to fifty sh.i.p.s. That was without counting the starfighters, of course. But such a big group of cruisers had nothing to do in the battle that was about to start. The droid defenses were too near the cities for an orbital strike, and the few targets that weren't were not worth it.

As it was usual before a battle, Commander Keeli was making his small speech to boost morale. The only certainty on the conquest of Dantooine was that many troopers would die. That was something nobody said but everybody knew, and they could do nothing about it.

Ever since Dageer became sub-commander, his sense of responsibility had become stronger, as it was expected. That prompted him to make sure the battle plans were the best possible, and that weapons, sh.i.p.s, vehicles and soldiers were ready. Everything could save the life of a brother.

But his increased responsibility also made him think a lot more about the consequences of a battle, even if it hadn't started yet. He didn't know how many of the brothers he grew up with would die today, and how many more would be severely hurt. He could die today, as could Commander Keeli, General Di, Ragout, Brain, Metal, Tech and any other clone.

But he had to steel his heart and fight. In Dageer's vision, he had a bigger purpose on Dantooine and any other battle. That purpose was command Hell Squad and destroy any droid in his away. Only by doing that could he make sure the brothers who came behind him would face less danger.

"Get on the Laats! We are going in, boys! For the Republic!"

"For the Republic!"

When Commander Keeli finished his speech, Dageer shouted the same as the soldiers. As a clone, his job was simple. Fight for the Republic.

...

The Laat Hell Squad got into was different from the ones he was used to. Its sides were freshly painted with the reddish-brown of the 303rd. Two horns, one on each side, made the gunship look fierce. And it wasn't only his Laat that was like that, but all of them. In the words of the pilots: 'we might fall today, and if so, let it be for the 303rd.'.

Personally, Dageer liked it.

Using the basic tactic of splitting the commanders so they don't get all taken down in one swoop, Commander Keeli and General Di each boarded a different gunship.

"Sergeants, check out your groups. We set off in six minutes. If anything is wrong, fix it now, or go without it. Move, move, move!"

Dageer rushed the men in the gunsh.i.p.s, and for six minutes there was only the sound of troopers moving and the sergeants making the last minute checks.

Hell Squad boarded their Laat quietly. There was a tradition that the clones started after Geonosis. That was to close their eyes and stay quiet until the Laats took off. It wasn't just a sort of mental preparation, but more of silent respect for all the clones who would die, and already died. That way, the moment the clones stepped on the battlefield they could focus entirely on the battle.

The moment he felt the gunship vibrate under his feet, Dageer opened his eyes. The clones with him were hanging on the sides of the Laat, or on each other. Just before the procession of Laats left the Venator-class cruiser, the doors closed. The clone army was taking off directly from space this time.

As usual, the lights turned on, bathing the helmets of the soldiers in red. Near him, Cell gripped his blaster harder.

"Just like Geonosis, all over again. It looks like more than four months."

"I hope we have a better landing than I did on Geonosis. The sub-commander and I crashed hard."

That was Brain chiming in. He and Cell talked without thinking, speaking in the most inappropriate moments. Dageer had to shush them to hear Commanders Keeli on his comlink.

"Quiet, you two. Okay... hummm. Yes, commander."

Closing the channel, Dageer turned on the hologram projector on his hand, and showed the clones in the gunship an image of what they would face.

"Dab, Cell and the sniper team, stay back until we take this position here. Then, provide support so we can take objective J3. Lieutenant Fondor, your objectives are J4 and J5. Make sure to clean all the droids on them. After that big hill, we have a good hundred kilometers of plain ground. The seppies have trenches, turrets and whatnot. It will be a tough battle, so don't run after clanckers. Complete your orders and hold position until you are given new ones. This battle won't be over in a day or two, so there is no need to rush all the way to the capital in one swoop."

"Sir, we are about to enter their range. Hold on to something!"

"Got it. That is it, troopers. Just do your job well and we will be one step closer to ending this war."

Dageer concluded his words just about the moment the anti-aircraft Separatist turrets fired their first shots. Most of them missed, and those who hit didn't do much damage. But that was just them calibrating their guns. The next volley would be much more deadly.

And so it was. As the sub-commander, he constantly received the updates about which and how many Laats had fallen. Cell was right. It was really like Geonosis.

Luckily for them, unluckily for many of their brothers, Hell Squad's Laat suffered nothing but a scratch. When the gunship touched the ground, Lieutenant Fondor immediately jumped down with his troops. All over the green plains of Dantooine, clones disembarked their gunsh.i.p.s and a ran towards the droid defenses.

The gunsh.i.p.s had formed circles, and the clones were using them as cover to start their offense. A red laser hit the walls of the Laat, centimeters away from Dageer's head, leaving a scorched mark. Nevertheless, Dageer still walked out of the gunship unhurried.

He was still too far to get accurate shots out, so he didn't waste ammunition. Using the macrobinoculars on his helmet, Dageer inspected the droid positions. The green of the grass plains was even more green through the macrobinoculars, but Dageer soon identified their goals.