"Commander, it's good to see you. Your squad saved our fleet."
As soon as Hell Squad stepped on the Terminator's command bridge, Captain Gold approached them.
"Say nothing of it, brother. It is good to be back in a ship where no one is trying to kill us. Haha..."
Captain Gold smiled. He was at ease now, because the 327th fleet had received a lot less damage than it could have, and he received confirmation that General Secura - and also Commander Bly, General Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, and Captain Rex - were alive.
However, the captain suddenly noticed that something was missing. If he remembered correctly, Hell Squad had seven members. However, he was seeing only six in front of him.
"You lost a man, commander?"
"In Falleen."
The clone only nodded. It was normal to lose soldiers during the war.
"Where are you headed next, Gold?"
"Although we didn't lose many cruisers, many of our sh.i.p.s are still badly damaged. We are going to the shipyards in Bracca. Do you already know what your next mission is, commander?"
Dageer shook his head. After Falleen, they had jumped directly into the battle of Quell. Hell Squad had no time to discover what their next assignment was.
"No. Not yet."
---------------------------
Inside a Venator-class Cruiser, one of the biggest military meetings in the history of the Republic was happening. It was also the biggest ever since the Clone Wars started.
Around a hologram table, half a dozen Jedis - some in person, some in holograms - and several clones waited for General Yoda and General Windu's arrival. The Jedis - General Kenobi, General Skywalker General Unduli, General Mundi, and the two padawans Ahsoka Tano and Bariss Offee - were talking amongst themselves, while the clones stood quiet, their hands behind their backs.
Commander Cody, Commander Gree, Commander Jet, Captain Rex, and thirty or forty other high-ranking officers were there, silent. However, on the other side of the room, ten clones were talking quietly.
"It's good to see you again, Boss. You three as well."
Sev, Scorch, and Fixer nodded at Dageer and the members of Hell Squad. Despite their antics and discussions, both units had long become friends.
After a mission on Felucia, where Hell Squad rescued Delta Squad from a Separatist base, and later from a bunch of the giant creatures known as Rancors, the clone commandos realized that their feeling of superiority over the normal clones was uncalled for, and, most of the times they were no different than their brothers.
"How are you doing, Dageer? Any idea of what this meeting is about?"
Dageer shook his head. The Clone Wars had been raging on for over a year and a half, but this was the first time he partook in a meeting this big.
"We will have to wait for General Yoda to know."
"Wait more you will not, commander. Here, I am."
Dageer turned around to find the hologram of a small, green being, with a wrinkled face and pointed years. Immediately, he saluted the Jedi. General Yoda wasn't only the leader of the Jedis, and the highest-ranking general of the Republic Army, but was also extremely respected by the clones. Dageer once saw him destroy an entire droid battalion before the clanckers could even lift their blasters.
"General."
"Uhmm... Come on, start this meeting we have to. Important it is. Uhmm... Very important indeed."
The clones turned to the the small Jedi and his tall companion on the hologram table. As soon as General Yoda appeared, all noise died down.
"Uhmm... Welcome, welcome. Sad to bring bad news, I am. A new battle, start we have to."
Dageer couldn't help but think that, although General Yoda was powerful, he didn't make much sense most of the time. Like most Jedis, he always beat around the bush before finally arriving at the topic he wanted. Soldiers like Dageer preferred more direct conversations.
"We are already fighting on several fronts, Master Yoda. I'm not sure we can afford to engage in another one."
"Our choice to make, that is not, young Skywalker. Uhmm... When this war we started, our choice was done. Bear the consequences of our decisions, we have to."
"It wasn't our fault, master! The Separatist started this war!"
General Skywalker's padawan, Ahsoka, complained, only to receive a stern stare from her master. Padawans weren't supposed to talk in this kind of meeting.
"No. At fault, we all are. Just one side, a war doesn't have. Separatist and Republic, both decided. This choice, where will it take us, see I can't. Blurred the Force is."
A few minutes of silence followed what General Yoda said. The Jedis were quiet, and the clones exchanged a few discrete glances, but didn't say anything. It was only when General Mundi talked that the silence was broken. The Cerean had left the Battle Of Mygeeto to lead a company of clones specialized in heavy weapons such as flamethrowers. Commander Bacara stayed on the snow planet, so, the one General Mundi currently had under him was Commander Jet.
"Master Yoda, you said this is a battle we can't escape from. Why?"
"Uhmm... The longer this war goes on, stronger the Dark Side gets. End this struggle, this Clone Wars, we have to. Attacking Geonosis, once more, we are. Destroy the droid factories, a must is."
Dageer tensed up. Geonosis had been where the first battle of this war happened, and it was also a special place for many of the clones who partook in said battle. Too many brothers lost their lives trying to conquer the planet, but the Republic barely succeeded in forcing the Separatist to hide underground. For the last three months or so, the Republic had been forced to reduce its troops on the planet, and the seppies took the chance to fight back.
General Yoda was about to speak again, when a trooper walked up to him and whispered something. Dageer, who was close, was able to understand the words 'general' and 'arrived'.
"Before I left Coruscant, a last-minute addition to the attack force, I ordered. Very eager to battle, Master Latte was."
When he heard that, Dageer was shocked, and so were the members of Hell Squad. Latte was a name they hadn't heard in a few months, but it was one they would never forget. Turning to the door, the six clones surprised Delta Squad and the other clones with their sudden movement.
Hell Squad ignored their reactions, and saluted the figure that was approaching. Ragout Latte, that was the name of the young Togruta, dressed in the brown Jedi robes, that entered the command bridge.
The padawan - no, Jedi Master - smiled when he saw Hell Squad, and, after greeting the other Jedis around the hologram table, shook Dageer's hand, and then proceeded to do the same with the others.
"Dageer, Dab, Tech, Cell, Three-four, and Metal. It's good to see you again."
Dageer noticed that Ragout refrained from saying anything about Brain, and was glad. He was sure the Jedi would want to talk about it later, but now wasn't the time.
"Haha... Long time no see, general. It's good to see you too. Very good indeed. It's been what? Five months?"
"Six, and you know that. Ever since Ryloth, I've met Shield and the others a few times, but Hell Squad hasn't been to Coruscant once."
"We have been jumping from one mission to the other, general."
"Of course you have."
"Erm... Master Ragout, Commander Dageer, I am sure you two have a lot to catch up, but we have a meeting in progress."
Dageer returned to standard military position, and Ragout nodded at General Kenobi, to say he was sorry. He wasn't a padawan anymore, so he had to behave like a master.