Chapter 208 - A Transmission Cut Short

Far, far away from Ryloth, a giant planet was bustling with life. Sh.i.p.s and people of every corner of the galaxy landed and took off in a constant stream. Buildings as tall as the planet itself, going from one side of it to the other, and lights that never turned off.

However, not all of Coruscant was like that. In a famous, clones-only bar, several troopers wearing differently painted armor looked at a hologram. All the clones were captains and above, with the exception of a few sergeants and lieutenants.

Commander Cody, of the 212th, Commander Ponds, of the 91st, and Captain Rex, of the 501st, together with many officers, looked at a hologram of Admiral Dao. The admiral had transmitted his pleas for help not only to the Jedi Council, but also to the commanders, in hope that when the 303rd died, others would avenge it.

"We can't let them die just like that!"

"Calm down, Ponds. There is nothing we can do. Even if we could get to Ryloth in time, and we can't, we don't have our orders."

"But we will have soon. I spoke with General Kenobi today. In twenty or thirty days, our battle over Christophsis should be over, and we will be redeployed. I doubt they will leave Ryloth belong to the seppies for long."

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While the clones were discussing in the Revontre, a very similar conversation was happening in the Jedi Temple, on the other side of Coruscant.

Like the last few times, the ones talking to Admiral Dao were General Yoda, General Kenobi, and General Windu. This time, however, the admiral talked with an urgency that wasn't there before. That was understandable, since he was not only in the middle of a battle, but in his last battle.

"Generals, I said before that I probably wouldn't contact you again. I was wrong. But now I am certain. Ryloth needs help. General Di needs help."

"Much fear I sense in you, Admiral Dao. Uhmm... Fear... But also happiness. Why?"

"I am about to die, General Yoda. That is why I feel fear."

"A wise man fears death, admiral. But Master Yoda is right. I can sense excitement, even when you say you are about to die."

General Windu frowned. He had been to many battles since the Clone Wars started, and even more before that, but he had never seen a man happy or excited because he will die.

"Remember how I told you before that our fleet was already dead? That the only ones who could be saved are the troops on the ground? That hasn't changed. I've ordered our sh.i.p.s to attack."

"Attack? I thought the fleet lost so many sh.i.p.s you could barely hold?"

"That is the truth, General Kenobi. This is our last attack. If we have to go down, then many of their sh.i.p.s will go before us."

The three Jedis looked at him stunned. Even General Yoda seemed surprised by the determination and madness in Admiral Dao's words.

Suddenly, the hologram buzzed with interference, startling the Jedis. Alarms went off on The Sincerity. Admiral Dao looked behind him, and saw the Acclamator-class Cruiser blowing up in millions of pieces. Without time to talk anymore, Admiral Dao just conveyed the message that General Di gave him.

"If help doesn't arrive soon, the entire Outer Rim Garrison will be wiped out."

"Surely there must be something you can do..."

General Kenobi looked pensive, and tried to think of solutions to their predicament, but before he could finish talking, the hologram suffered from interference once more, and a clone ran up to Admiral Dao, panicking.

"The main reactor has been hit, sir! Systems are shutting down! We are dead in space!"

Admiral Dao's face showed deep sadness. It was clear that, no matter what he said, the admiral wasn't happy with the idea of dying and failing in his task. Still, he mustered up the courage to finish what he was saying.

"With regret, I report that my fleet will no longer be able to provide protection for the troops on Ryloth."

Something happened on the other side of the transmission, and Admiral Dao had to grab the hologram table to stay on his feet. The clone next to him fell to the ground, as probably did many others on The Sincerity. It's main reactor had been hit, meaning that not only the turrets and laser cannons have stopped working, but so had the shields.

"I repeat my request that help be sent right away..."

Unfortunately for Admiral Dao, he wasn't even able to finish General Di's message. The hologram that showed him shook once again, and the three Jedis could hear a clone yelling before the transmission ended.

"The shields are gone! We have no..."

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A few hours earlier, on The Sincerity.

Admiral Dao watched as thousands of Vulture droids threw themselves at the small Republic force. It wasn't necessary for the Separatist to do that. It wasn't even strategically good. But the seppies must have been feeling ashamed for taking so many losses to conquer Ryloth. That made Admiral Dao happy. The 303rd had put on a good fight.

Like they had planned, the three cruisers flew in the front, protecting the starfighters behind. And their plan worked, at least for a while. They took down three Separatist frigates before they had their first loss.

The Acclamator-class Cruiser blew up while Admiral Dao was transmitting General Di's message to the Jedi Council. That made him hurry up, and deliver what he had to.

Unfortunately for the old admiral, he wasn't able to do anything else. When their shields faltered, the Hyena-class bombers hit The Sincerity's main reactor. When that happened, all systems failed, including long-distance communications.

Therefore, while the Jedis thought that The Sincerity had been destroyed, and Admiral Dao was dead, what transpired was different, but not much.

When their systems shut down, the cruiser started to drift in space. Without power, they couldn't control it. Several droid bombers turned around to have another go at it, and this time, the ship was sure to be destroyed.

However, before they could get there, The Righteous took The Sincerity's role as the spearhead of the Republic's attack. Without caring for anything, Captain Ace threw his Venator-class Cruiser in the nearest Separatist dreadnought. The enemy tried to move out of the way, but it was too late.

The sharp front of the cruiser carved a path through the dreadnought, eventually taking down the command bridge, and, with it, the whole ship. However, it also lost it's shields. A few minutes later, it suffered the same fate that the Acclamator-class Cruiser had.

Looking at the last two cruisers the 303rd had blowing up in balls of fire, Admiral Dao felt proud. He fought with those men for months, and he knew each and every one of them gave their lives with a smile on their faces.

Now, he stood in front of the window of The Sincerity's command bridge. All the clones and crewmen had stopped working, and were on their stations watching the droids come for them.

With his hands behind his back, Admiral Dao smiled at the incoming lasers. He knew he had done his best, and even at the end, he was happy he had the chance to fight alongside people like General Di, Ragout, Commander Keeli, Dageer, Rozal, and all the others.

...

Twenty-four days after the Battle Of Ryloth started, the Republic fleet position there, belonging to the 303rd Attack Legion, was destroyed. There were no survivors.