Chapter 254 - Bugs

The composite-beam turrets fired green lasers, which were highly unstable. That was proved when Dageer, aiming at one of the Vulture droids, missed, and hit a rock pillar. After a brief second, the entire pillar, which was over a hundred meters tall, and twenty meters wide, imploded.

"Ihuuu!!!"

Dab yelled victoriously as a Vulture droid blew up. Two more to go.

"How long to the landing site, Oddball?!"

"Six minutes!"

Knowing that time was running out, Dageer focused even more on his target. Instead of trying to aim at the Vulture, he calculated in his mind what was the droid's trajectory, and fired. The Vulture flew right into the green beam, and was cut in half before exploding.

He tried the same trick with the last droid, but the clancker was faster than he expected, and he missed.

"Dab, he is going to your side!"

"I see him! And I... Got it!"

Letting out a sigh of relief, Dageer watched the last Vulture droid crash into the ground, missing a wing, and returned to the main compartment of the Laat.

"Good job, you two. Oddball, go down, and drop us now."

"We are still twelve kilometers away from the landing zone, General Ragout."

"I know, but by the time we get there, we will have more seppies on our tail. I don't want to see you blow up in the sky."

"Understood, sir."

"All right. Boss, do you copy?"

"Loud and clear, general. Beautiful job cleaning those Vultures."

"We will be landing now, and you will do the same."

"You got it. Raver, bring us down!"

...

The Laats didn't even touch the ground. Before they did so, both squads, and the Jedi, had already jumped out, weapons ready. However, there weren't any clanckers nearby. While the clones prepared to move out, in the direction of the anti-aircraft turrets, Ragout knocked twice on the side of the gunship.

"Oddball, you and Raver go back to the fleet. You still have a lot of work today."

"Understood, general. Be careful of the bugs out there. Those things are nasty."

"You got it. Now, go."

The Laats took off, and Ragout turned to the two squads of clones, at the same time opening a map on his comlink.

"All right. We have about ten kilometers of ground to cover until we get to our original landing zone. There shouldn't be any Separatist on our way, but be careful. Delta Squad, when we get there, we split. You already know your tasks."

"Yes, sir."

"Okay. Then let's move. And remember the Geonosians are hostile. Pay attention to every nook and crevice on the way. I heard some pretty gruesome stories."

Both squad leaders nodded. They had been on the first assault of Geonosis, and they knew the Geonosians weren't exactly righteous or proud. The bugs were especially fond of picking up troopers, and carrying them hundreds of meters high before letting the poor soldier go. There were also a few unlucky clones who were captured, and brought to the tunnels under the ground. Needless to say, none of those troopers was ever seen again.

It was said the Geonosians all worked for a Queen, and had their minds controlled by her, although no one had ever seen the so-called Queen. Still, Dageer had seen his fair share of insect-like creatures around the galaxy, and he knew how a hive worked. If the bugs really followed a Queen, then he didn't want to get anywhere near her.

...

Ragout closed his fist, then opened it and put two fingers up before pointing to the south. Boss nodded, and gestured for Delta Squad to follow him. The clone commandos broke up from Hell Squad, and started running to their section of the anti-aircraft turrets.

The Jedi then made the same signals, but this time pointing to the north. Hell Squad followed him quietly. They were very close to their target, and, although there weren't any seppies in sight, they had to be careful. The Geonosians could blend in perfectly with the rocks.

Dageer lowered his macrobinoculars, and zoomed in, scanning the Separatist camp, looking for their target. It wasn't difficult to find them. Anti-aircraft turrets weren't exactly small.

"Uhmm... Bad news, general."

"What is it?"

"The artillery we have to destroy are J-1 proton cannons. Those things are droids too, so they will actively try to kill us."

Ragout frowned as he tried to remember what the J-1s were. He knew Hell Squad had destroyed a few in Ryloth, but he had only seen the wreckage of them. Anyways, they would only have to be more careful.

"Master Ragout, are you there?"

Hearing Ahsoka's voice, Ragout answered his comlink.

"Yes. We had some troubles in the sky, but we are about to make our move."

"That's great to hear, master. Master Kenobi said we will start the attack in two hours, even if those artillery guns are still there."

"Don't worry. Two hours is more than enough. I will see you at the landing zone."

After finishing the call, Ragout turned to Hell Squad, and grinned. He could sense their excitement, and he felt the same. It had been six long months since he fought alongside clones, and he missed it. For a padawan that was trained amidst a war, the conclusion of his training on the Jedi Temple had been painfully boring, although he had finished it with stellar results.

"How do you want to do this, general?"

"They saw us landing, and it isn't like we were very secretive about our plans. This is a head-on battle, Dageer, so let's behave accordingly. Each of those artillery droids needs a large amount of ammunition, and I bet it isn't light. That means it will have to be near the J-1s, otherwise it would take a long time to reload."

"I see what you are going for, general. It's a plan."

"A good one?"

"That depends on whether or not we survive. But you are right, it is the only viable option. All right, Hell Squad!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Let's blow up some clanckers."

--------------------------

Turns out the J-1 Proton Cannons weren't manned by droids, but by Geonosians. The bug-like creatures were grabbing cylindrical, red capsules as big as a human, and putting them on piles near the anti-aircraft turrets. Although the droid cannons could aim and fire by themselves, they still needed someone to load them.

Now that they were quite close to the Separatist camp, Hell Squad discovered their plan wouldn't go smoothly. There was an open area of about two hundred meters between them and their target. All the rocks and boulders had been removed, to make sure no one could sneak upon them. And, of course, that wasn't the only problem.

"Termyke-type ammo, commander. My charged shot might be able to get through the capsule, but normal lasers won't. We will have to get close and throw a couple of detonators."

"That will cause a chain reaction. We won't be able to get out on time."

Dageer frowned, and knelt, before aiming at the nearest Geonosian. Two hundred meters were nothing for him, especially when he had a stable position. However, he didn't press the trigger, but kept switching his aim between the bug and the nearest pile of ammo. In the end, he got up.

"Any ideas?"

The clones shook their heads, and even Ragout didn't see to know what to do. Ultimately, the Jedi patted Dageer's shoulder.

"We will figure it out. For now, let's start."