Chapter 180 - Mistakes Were Made

Dageer could feel a blaster poking his back, and he had to resist the urge to strike his captor. It would be so easy. The Twi'lek obviously didn't know how to handle weapons. If Dageer turned around and grabbed his hand, then the blaster would be his. However, he knew he couldn't do that.

Dageer glanced at Cham Syndulla, the leader of the freedom fighters. As weird as it seems, Dageer knew that the Twi'lek wouldn't kill them. It was clear now that someone tried to frame the Republic, and make the Twi'leks think of them as an enemy. That person, or group, wanted to use Syndulla's temperament to kill Ragout and Hell Squad, which would undoubtedly start a war between the freedom fighters and the Republic. However, whoever it was, he or she had put too much trust on the hot temper of the Twi'lek. To be able to lead a resistance big enough to threaten the Separatist, obviously Syndulla had to be able to control himself.

After many minutes, the tunnel they were following gave place to a well-lit cave. Many Twi'leks using ragged clothes were in the cave, talking and working. Kids were running around, and two of them almost bumped in Dageer.

Seeing the group of clones using their battle-scarred armors, the kids yelled, and ran away, hiding behind their parents.

Some of the a.d.u.l.ts approached them with friendly smiles on their faces, until one of them noticed that their comrades were aiming blasters at the back of the clones. The Twi'lek yelled something, and the smiles were replaced with distrust.

Cham Syndulla said something to his people, and sat at a rock in the middle of the room. The other Twi'leks pushed their prisoners rudely, making them sit on the ground in front of Syndulla.

"Jedi. I believe when you say that you know nothing of my man. But I don't believe it wasn't your kind who did it."

"Jedis are peacekeepers. Why would we want to start a war with you?"

"Peacekeepers... Ha! Why are you leading a war, then? You might have been peacekeepers one day. Not anymore. Now, all Jedis want is power, the same as everyone else."

"That is not true!"

"Believe in what you want. That is not why I brought you here. I want to free my soldier. Gobi. He went to find your master, and didn't come back. My people in the city saw him enter the City Council building, and he never left."

"The 303rd isn't staying on the council building."

"What?!"

That was the first time Syndulla showed any kind of reaction other than rage or distrust. Dageer saw in his eyes that the Twi'lek knew exactly what happened, and that he was blaming the Republic wrongly. Ragout obviously saw it too.

"Who did it? You know, don't you?"

Cham Syndulla closed his, and stayed quiet for a few minutes. Ragout didn't seem worried at all, as if he already knew how things would unfold. When Syndulla opened his eyes, he wasn't looking at his captives, but at the men behind them.

"Lower your weapons. The Jedi is telling the truth. It wasn't the Republic that took Gobi. It was someone from the City Council."

After a small moment of hesitation, most of the freedom fighters lowered their blasters, and some even stepped aside so the clones could get up. However, two of the Twi'leks still had their weapons aimed at Ragout.

"Cham! How can you believe them?!"

"Syndulla! You can't do that!"

The first one was Miwy, whom Syndulla completely ignored, at least for now. The second one was a skinny Twi'lek with purple skin. His eyes shined with a cunning light, and he had a half-smile on his face whenever he looked at Ragout or Hell Squad, as if he was planning something. Seeing the skinny Twi'lek brazenly contest his authority, Syndulla's face got darker.

"Tram Cholq, you better be careful. Don't forget I was chosen to be the leader. It isn't up to you whether or not I can do that. If you have a complaint about my methods, call a vote. If anyone has a complaint, call a vote!"

Syndulla looked around, and a few of the freedom fighters lowered their heads, while most of them looked back with trust in their eyes. Tram's eyes burned with rage, but he backed off when confronted. Dageer could tell that Syndulla had to be careful in the future.

Seeing his opponent give up, Syndulla set down again, and glanced at Ragout, his intentions clear. The padawan signaled Hell Squad to get away, and sat near the rebel leader.

Hell Squad walked until they were close to a wall, and sat down. Surprisingly, a Twi'lek brought them their weapons. He even had a friendly smile on his face. It was hard to believe that the freedom fighters trusted Syndulla so much, to the point of taking each of his words as guaranteed truth. Otherwise, why would they trust Hell Squad immediately?

While Hell Squad checked their weapons - they had to make sure nobody played a trick - Dageer was looking around. He soon noticed that although most of the a.d.u.l.ts were carrying weapons, few looked like they knew how to use it, maybe thirty or forty out of one or two hundred people. Most likely the actual freedom fighters were just a few, while the rest were their families.

"Mister soldier, would you like something to eat?"

Dageer was surprised to hear a soft voice speak to him. Standing next to Hell Squad were a bunch of kids, carrying pots and trays with food and drinks. The one who spoke to Dageer was a small girl, probably younger than the cadets when they first started training.

The little girl looked at him with hopeful eyes, and Dageer smiled unconsciously. Her blue eyes made a good contrast with her amber skin, and the way she talked showed her innocence.

He saw the rest of Hell Squad looking at him, and nodded. The clones took off their helmets, and the kids yelled in surprise.

"You have the same face! And you too!"

"Are you brothers?"

The clones laughed, and Metal patted one of the kids in the head.

"Yeah. We are all brothers. Every one of us."

"Whoa!!! That must be so nice! I wish I had a brother! Or a sister! Do you have a sister?"

"Hahaha!!! No, I don't. But I have many more brothers. Later, when you see someone using an armor like mine, you will know he is my brother."

The kids started asking all sorts of questions, and screamed in awe from time to time. Their parents at the side, initially looking protectively to them, were now smiling and laughing too.

"You won't take off your helmet?"

Dageer saw that the little girl was still looking at him, holding the small tray. He shook his head.

"I got hurt, so I have a big scar. I don't want to scare you."

The moment he said that, the kids grouped up around him.

"I am not scared of anything!"

"I also am not scared! I am very brave! One day I will be a warrior. Warriors can't be scared."

Boys and girls all boasted, saying they weren't scared at all. Dageer smiled under the helmet. His only experience with kids came from his training as a cadet, but the way the little Twi'leks behaved was almost the same as he and his brothers did when they were smaller.

"You should take it off, sir. They won't stop pestering you until you do."

"Hahaha!!!"

While Dab was a bit more sensible, the rest of Hell Squad laughed to their heart's content. It was simply too funny to see their stern sub-commander being dominated by a bunch of children.

"Okay, okay. I will take it off. Ready?"

"Yeah!!!"

Slowly, Dageer took off his helmet, and showed his face to the kids. As he had expected, they all jumped back, screaming. Even some of the a.d.u.l.ts had their mouths opened in shock.