The Separatist group was composed of only twenty clanckers, but all of them were commando droids. Dageer had fought them on more than one occasion, and he knew they were deadlier than an entire battalion of B1 units. It appeared the seppies weren't taking any risks.
The leader of the commando droids gestured for his men to stop, and continued by itself. Seeing that, General Secura did the same. The female Twi'lek walked forward, until she and the droid were only two meters apart. Both had their melee weapons - a lightsaber and a vibroblade - but there was no doubt about who would be faster to pull it out if needed was.
"Jedi... We brought our prisoner... Bzz... Bring your's forward."
"You first, droid. Unless I am sure Master Plo Koon is safe, Tambor isn't going anywhere."
The commando droid looked at her, his white eyes flashing. He had orders not to give the Jedi to the Republic unless Emir Wat Tambor was safe in their hands.
"The Jedi is... Safe. R0-S5, bring him forward... Stop there."
One of the commando droids pushed General Plo Koon, and he stumbled forward, almost falling. After he walked about twenty meters, the clancker held his shoulder, keeping him from moving.
Now that he was closer, Dageer saw that the general seemed... anxious. He couldn't talk, and the eyes of the Kel Dor weren't easy to read. However, Dageer had long grown used to reading a person's body language, and General Plo Koon was too tense and nervous. Even in his situation, Jedis usually were calm. There was something wrong.
"Commander..."
"I know. Everyone, stay in your positions, and be prepared to fight. Bly, something is going to happen."
Cell wanted to warn Dageer. His sharp eyes had already discovered the same problems as Dageer. Commander Bly and his men were more used to open battles, so they hadn't noticed.
"What is wrong?"
"I don't know yet. But keep your aim on the commando clancker. Aim for the head."
"All right."
General Secura was focused on the commando droid, and didn't notice General Plo Koon's warnings. She motioned for the clones to bring Wat Tambor forward. She and the droid had gotten in a silent agreement to do the trade at the same time.
When one of the 327th troopers stepped ahead to take Tambor, Dageer moved to grab the Separatist's arm. With his head, he gestured for the clone to stay, and took his place. The man was confused, but he stayed quiet. Now wasn't the time to show indecisiveness.
While he was leading the Separatist, Dageer let his eyes dart from side to side. They were on a landing platform, but obviously, it wasn't being used. Bunches of crates laid here and there, but they had scanned it from the ship, and there was no droid hiding inside them. The most they found were some small life forms, animals of some sort.
The buildings on the north and the east blocked the vision of any sniper, whatever side it may be. Clearly, the seppies had chosen the location carefully. They wouldn't be able to ambush the Republic there, but the Republic also wouldn't be able to catch them off guard.
Still, Dageer's instincts told him there was something fishy going on. The closer he got to General Plo Koon - who was now being brought forward too - the stronger this feeling got.
When he arrived by the side of General Secura, she too had noticed General Plo Koon's weird behavior. Frowning, she looked at the device preventing him from speaking, and turned to the commando droid.
"Take it off."
"I do not have... Bzzz... The tools for that. You can take it out yourself, Republic... Bzz... Sc.u.m."
Dageer saw General Secura clench her fist in anger. She could easily destroy the device with her lightsaber, but turning it on would be considered a violation of the small truce they had to realize the trade. And, considering there were twenty blasters aimed at General Plo Koon's back, this wasn't a very intelligent move. Tied like he was, even a Jedi wouldn't be able to dodge.
"What are you waiting... for? Bzz... Trade the prisoner."
Both Tambor and General Plo Koon walked forward at the same time, and crossed paths. With the trade completed, both sides were preparing to return to their sh.i.p.s and leave when a dark figure jumped out of one of the containers.
Holding two red lightsabers, the person ignored General Secura and General Plo Koon, and looked at the clone near them.
"Oh, my dear Dageer... I'm glad I have another chance to kill you."
---------------------------------
Ventress had been hiding in the container for the past day, waiting. Since her master gave his command, she was more than glad to kill two Jedis.
Knowing the Republic would scan the location that had been chosen, she hid her life force using an ancient Sith technique. Watching through a gap in the container's frame, she was surprised to see the characteristic armor of Hell Squad.
She usually wouldn't remember the names of the clones, after all, they were no more than worms she could easily squash. However, Dageer was different.
Not only had he resisted her interrogation, but he had escaped her not once, but twice. And, to top all that, he had buried her alive under thirty meters of snow. She had failed to kill him in Iktotch, but she wouldn't fail this time.
Her hatred for him was so great that she almost ignored the Jedis she was sent to kill.
"Oh, my dear Dageer... I'm glad I have another chance to kill you."
She grinned, and waved her two lightsabers in a downward slash, aiming not at Dageer but at General Plo Koon. She might hate the clone, but she knew that her biggest threat were the Jedis.
...
Dageer looked surprised at Ventress. He didn't expect to see her here, and the fact that she had her lightsabers out meant she wasn't respecting the truce.
He saw her swing her lightsabers at General Plo Koon, who still had his hands tied, but General Secura used her own weapon to intercept it.
Using the Force to push Ventress back, General Secura cut the chains that tied General Plo Koon, and the device in his mouth. At the same time, she threw a green lightsaber to him. Together, they started to fight Ventress.
All of that happened in less than three seconds. Looking at the commando droid holding Wat Tambor, Dageer discovered that their metallic faces seemed as surprised as the clones by the turn of events. However, that surprise wouldn't last long. After all, Ventress was a Separatist, and the truce was gone.
Lifting his blaster to waist height, Dageer fired three shots, hitting the commando droid in the head.
The clancker was a powerful unit, and could take several dozen shots to the chest, but not to the head. It felt to the ground twitching, and it didn't get up.
At the same time, both sides reacted, and an all-out battle started. Tambor ran to hide, and Dageer fired at his direction, but he was forced to dodge the lasers of the droids, and most of his shots missed, barely scratching the legs of the Separatist leader.
Running backwards, Dageer ducked behind a crate, just in time to escape death, and heard Metal chuckling as he warmed up his double-barrel repeating blaster.
"You were right, commander. There was something wrong."
// Author's Note //
Hello guys. You know I usually don't share personal things, because I don't want you to think like I am asking for pity, but I feel this is important, so here it goes.
Yesterday, I lost a friend - albeit not a very close one - to COVID-19, and I was feeling really down (still am, in fact). As such, I decided to do something that always cheers me up: write. I love it, and it always makes me feel better. And, while I was writing, I saw someone had posted a review, so I went to read it, of course, because I love to see what you guys think. And so, I read it, and it made me feel slightly better.
Because of that, I decided to, once again, read all your comments and reviews (I already did that a few times, because - am I repeating myself? - I love them all). And I have to say, seeing all the support you guys throw at my novel, it really warms my heart.
I never thought I would have so many loyal readers, and every day, more come. I can't express how much I appreciate and love you all. And, after reading every comment, from chapter one to two hundred and something, I was feeling a lot better. I am still sad, and tired, but not as much as I would have been if it weren't for you.
However, I also want this message to be one of warning. Coronavirus is dangerous, and I now know this better than I ever wanted to. Maybe you think it isn't important, maybe you think it is an invention from the China government, or whatever. But it is dangerous, and it kills, and I can't emphasize that enough. Please, be careful, and take the necessary precautions, for you, your family, and your friends. Hundreds of thousands died already, and I really would rather not have to go through what I am going now, again.
So, be careful, and, once again, remember, we are all in this together, and I love you all.
And may the Force be with us.