Chapter 202 - Ryloth Conquered

Tram knew that Dageer was a bigshot of the 303rd Attack Legion. Not only was he the sub-commander of the legion, but he was also the leader of a so-called special squad. He didn't know what was so special about them, other than their different armor and weapons. However, he knew that by capturing Dageer, he would be able to use the hostage to go free. Or at least, that was what he expected.

However, after he grabbed Dageer, and put his blaster against his head, the clone didn't struggle - which he understood, after all, he had a blaster aimed at him - but the other clones didn't seem worried. One of them, in fact, even put down his blasters and start analyzing the destroyed bridge controls, as if Tram wasn't there, holding his squad leader hostage.

"The bridge is still up, sir, but I should be able to deactivate it with a little bit of time."

The clone - that Tram recognized as Tech - turned to Dageer, and said that. At the same time, Syndulla and Tae entered the room, and were almost as confused as Tram. The traitor was furious, but before he could threaten the clones, he heard Dageer mutter something.

"What? Get out of the way or I will blow his head off!"

"I said... You are too close."

Before Tram could process what Dageer said, the clone launched his head backwards, and headbutted Tram. With a 'crack', the nose of the Twi'lek broke. At the same time, Dageer grabbed the arm that Tram had around his neck, and threw him over his shoulder. Before the traitor hit the ground, Dageer already had his DC-17 aimed at his face.

"Take this bridge out now, Tech. I saw an MTT and a dozen battalions already crossing it."

Dageer signaled for Metal and Three-four to hold Tram Cholq, and turned to the window. Several hundred droids had already entered the city, and small fights erupted everywhere as the Republic forces were hunted down. Now, after securing the entrance of Lessu, the vehicles of the Separatist were starting to move in, the first one being one of the big MTTs, capable of carrying hundreds of troops. Behind it, closely packed B1 units marched.

"Come on Tech, you have to be quick."

Tech typed frenectly in the control panels, but this time their plan worked against them. When they blew up the room, the machines were damaged just enough so Tech couldn't work with them. However, the ray bridge was still there.

"Come on, come on..."

"We really need to move fast, Tech."

"I'm trying, sir. But this damn thing isn't working."

"Ha! You are doomed! When the Separatist arrives, you will all be killed, and I will represent Ryloth to join the Confederacy Of Independent Systems. You and all the clones will be killed or captured, and Ryloth will be safe. Finally."

Tram, with a crazy look on his eyes, laughed at the futile attempts of Hell Squad to stop the clanckers. At this moment, Dageer decided it was enough.

Turning around, he walked until he was in front of Tram, and put his DC-17 in the forehead of the traitor. Suddenly, the look of contempt on his face became one of fear. He was sure Dageer was about to kill him, and that the clone wouldn't hesitate for a moment.

"Tram Cholq, you betrayed the Republic and aligned with the Separatist. Your actions caused not only the loss of a crucial planet to our efforts of war, but also the death of hundreds and thousands of troopers. That is enough for you to be sentenced to death a dozen times. I, as the sub-commander of the 303rd Attack Legion of The Galactic Republic, have the authority to execute your sentence immediately."

Tram was frozen in fear, while all the members of Hell Squad looked at Dageer quite shocked. It was rare to see Dageer so angry. However, in the end, they had orders they had to follow. Brain stepped forward, and put his hand on Dageer's shoulder.

"We have orders to take him alive, sir."

For a few seconds, Dageer stood still, looking straight at Tram. The black visor of the clone's helmet didn't let the Twi'lek see Dageer's eyes, but it was somehow even scarier than if he could.

Finally, Dageer lowered his arm, and walked to Syndulla, who was standing in the corner of the room without saying anything. He gave the freedom fighter his DC-17.

"We have orders to take him alive. You don't. Brain, take those detonators, plant it on the controls. This is our last chance."

"Ye-Yes, sir."

After hesitating a while, and being scolded by Dageer again, Brain planted the thermal detonators. Dageer was being harsh, but it was all because of the situation they were in.

"Let's hope this works."

Dageer pressed a button on his comlink, and the detonators blew up. Almost at the same time that the bridge controls exploded, the ray bridge started to falter. Several holes appeared in it, and hundreds of droids fell through them.

When it totally disappeared, it was a massacre. At least three to four thousand B1 units and several hundred B2 super battle droids disappeared in the abyss below. Six AATs, two dozen Dwarf-Spider droids, a few Crab-droids, and one Tri-droid also went down. The sound of metal hitting rocks engulfed Lessu, silencing, for a moment, everything else.

Unfortunately, even taking out the bridge was not enough at this point. The MTT had half of its body hanging over the edge of the abyss, but it managed to get up. Immediately after it entered Lessu, it started spewing droids. Almost a thousand of them joined the ones who were already in the city, pushing the 303rd even farther back.

"Let's go, or we will be trapped here."

"Yes, sir."

Dageer turned to Syndulla, who was aiming the DC-17 at Tram. The freedom fighter nodded to Dageer, and the clone acknowledged. Gesturing to Hell Squad, the clones left the room, headed to the City Council building.

"Err... sir? Shouldn't Syndulla come with us?"

"He knows the city better than anyone. He will figure his path. Besides, what will happen between him and the spy is something concerning the freedom fighters, not us."

"But... What about Tram Cholq? What about our orders?"

"Our orders were to take down the bridge, and we did it. The rest you leave for me to worry. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

To tell the truth, none of the clones liked the idea of Tram Cholq being alive after causing the death of so many brothers. However, they wouldn't disobey orders, and even though Dageer technically wasn't disobeying, it still felt... wrong. But, they decided to shut up and follow their squad leader.

...

Nobody knew what Tram Cholq and Cham Syndulla talked about. However, Syndulla and his son made it back to the City Council building, and Tram Cholq was confirmed dead. Other than a stern stare, there were no consequences for Hell Squad or Dageer.

A few hours later, suffering heavy casualties, the Republic was forced to abandon Lessu to the Separatist. The next day, the ray bridge was up again, and hundreds of thousands of droids walked into the city.

Despite the small number of surviving clones and freedom fighters on the ground, and the few Republic sh.i.p.s still battling in space, Ryloth was considered conquered by the Separatist. The planet was lost, at least for now.