Chapter 178 - Freedom Fighters

"How dare you! We never asked for help, that is just an excuse for the Republic to conquer us!"

"Cham Syndulla and his traitorous rebel friends should be hunted, not assisted by you!"

"Mister Shar, Mister Jyrot, I understand your concerns, however, I can assure you that the Republic's intent isn't to conquer, Ryloth, but to help it. Cham Syndulla is..."

"Cham Syndulla is a traitor! He should have been executed when we had the chance! He is..."

When General Di entered the room, what he saw was his padawan trying to reason with a bunch of fat Twi'leks, but it was in vain, and his voice was drowned by their endless complaints.

Seeing his helpless apprentice, General Di almost chuckled. Ragout's specialty was battling, not talking. Deciding to help his padawan, General Di used the Force to create a small shockwave, just enough so everyone knew he was there, and that he was a Jedi.

"Council, please, listen to my padawan. The Republic never had any intention of conquering Ryloth. The word of a Jedi should be more than enough to assure you that. When had we ever lied?"

"As if we didn't know you all are dogs of the Chancellor..."

A fat green Twi'lek muttered under his breath, maybe thinking that the Nikto wouldn't hear him, but he was wrong. General Di turned towards him, recognizing him as Mister Shar Yellps, the one who complained the most against Ragout.

"Jedi aren't underlings of the Chancellor nor of the Senate, Mister Shar. We are peacekeepers. We are here to protect Ryloth."

"You brought war to our planet!"

General Di eyed the Twi'lek, disgust evident in his glare.

"May I remember you, Shar Yellps, that Ryloth is part of the Republic, and the only reason the Republic is here is to help you. May I also remember you that war would have come to Ryloth sooner or later, and it came now because some of your rulers and politicians tried to hand over the planet to the Separatist. Don't forget, Mister Shar, that your name, and the name of others in this room, appear more than once as the masterminds behind this attempt. The Republic didn't trial you up till now, but if you insist on handing over Ryloth to the Separatist, our hand will be forced."

The room instantly became so silent that one could hear a pin drop. Amongst the tens of council members, only one or two faces appeared happy, while the others showed rage and fear.

Weeks before, an emissary of the Separatist commander Wat Tambor came to Ryloth. He promised many benefits to those who aligned with the Separatist cause. Most of the members of the City Council were greedy and arrogant, and didn't hesitate to throw away the interests of the population in favor of theirs. The few who were against it were quickly silenced, and some even were thrown out of the council.

However, what those greedy men didn't expect was that the Republic would be faster than the Separatist, and now, they were stuck in an awkward position. They couldn't turn away the Republic, otherwise it would be considered open treason, but they already received benefits from the Separatist. If they betrayed their new allies, then the consequences would be dire when they conquered Ryloth. After all, the Separatist weren't kind.

Seeing the impact his words had, General Di decided to continue. He had to subdue these men now, or they would backstab him and the Republic.

"May I ask you all, do you know what the Separatist do when they conquer a Republic planet? No? Let me tell you. Under the excuse of being 'prisoners of war', the entire population, men, women, and children, are forced to work to them. Many die from inhuman treatment. And the destiny of those who have some kind of power or influence over the people - a City Council, for example - is even worse. They all disappear mysteriously."

...

The council left the room to debate after those words. It was unclear whether they were more afraid of the Republic or the Separatist. Ragout approached his master, smiling.

"That should get them on our side, master."

"No. That made them afraid. They will be on our side for as long as it is beneficial to them. We will have to be careful. The moment they see the Republic show weakness, they will backstab us without hesitating."

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In a cave outside of Lessu, an old Twi'lek, with beige skin was hearing the reports made by his soldiers. Groups of Twi'leks scattered around this cave and others, taking care of children and moving supplies around. Every a.d.u.l.t was carrying at least one blaster, and many had scars, showing they were battle-hardened veterans.

"Cham. Cham! Are you listening?"

"Sorry, Gobi. I was thinking."

"You always are. Haha... What I was saying is that clones arrived. They are called the 303rd Attack Legion. They are in all the major cities. Lessu, Kala'uun, Nabat, Rhovari..."

"And how are they behaving?"

"They took over those cities. Our spies said that the Jedi, Ima-Gun Di, scared the City Council so much that they almost ran away. Hahaha!!! O think we can trust him."

"You know I don't trust anyone. Uhm... I will have to meet him. Organize it, Gobi."

"Yes, Cham. And... give them a chance. We need their help."

"That depends on them, brother."

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Dageer was inspecting an outpost that the 303rd had built a few kilometers away from Lessu. Over the past two days, that was all he had been doing, going from one city to another.

The citizens still showed some distrust towards them, but after news of how the seppies treated prisoners started to spread, they weren't so hostile anymore.

"Sir! General Di is asking you to return to the city."

"All right. Captain Agil, you will be in command of this outpost."

"Yes, sir."

Dageer took a BARC speeder, and left the outpost. Fifty kilometers were covered in twenty minutes with the vehicle. Even before he arrived, he saw Ragout waiting for him on the gate.

"Dageer, over here."

"General."

"Dageer, we were contacted by Cham Syndulla, leader of the freedom fighters. Master is busy, so we are going to meet him."

"Just let me gather my squad, general, and I will be with you."

"They are already waiting for us. Syndulla wants to meet outside the city."

Something about this whole situation didn't seem right. Cham Syndulla had contacted the Republic, asking for help, but after the Republic arrived, he waited for days before finally asking for a meeting. It was okay for Syndulla to wat to meet outside the city, since the City Council considered him and his men traitors. Still, Dageer's instincts told him something was wrong.

"General, I think it is better if we go with a larger group. Lieutenant Shield is in the city. If we bring him and fifty troopers..."

"No. Cham Syndulla is our ally, but he doesn't trust us much. Taking sixty soldiers will make him think we are up to something. He might not even go to the meeting if we do that. Hell Squad will be enough."

"Yes, general."

A few minutes later, the group departed from Lessu on BARC speeders. Dageer put up two fingers and slid them across his chest in a way that only Hell Squad saw it. His men acknowledged the signal, and checked their weapons. They had long learned to trust Dageer, and if the sub-commander was instructing them to pay attention, they will.