Chapter 257 - The Way Of A Soldier

"We keep going until this war is over. That is how clones do it."

After Dageer said those two phrases, every trooper within earshot paused for a brief moment, before resuming what they were doing. They all put more effort into their actions, be it firing at the seppies, dealing with data at the command post, or treating wounded. Dageer was right. Waking up every day, ready and willing to fight and die. Every trooper was born to battle, and they were proud of their destiny.

Commander Cody glared at Dageer silently for a few seconds before turning back to the control panel, and ordering the heavy vehicles to concentrate fire on a group of Dwarf-Spider droids.

General Kenobi, on the other hand, was impressed. Two mere sentences, casually uttered by Dageer, had been enough to make the clones double their efforts. It was easy to see why General Di had been so focused on developing Dageer, even though the commander had been bred to be just a simple clone. He was a natural leader, and was respected by the men around him. After over a year of war, the Jedi knew it wasn't easy to earn the respect of the clones. To people who faced death every day of their lives, what normal folk considered as invaluable and absolutely necessary, they deemed as worthless. Perishing in battle, with a blaster in his hands, and his brothers by his side, was all a soldier could ask for.

And General Kenobi also felt something else. The flow of the Force around Dageer was different. It was... Erratic, confused. It wasn't strong enough so Dageer could use it, and he couldn't sense it inside the clone. It was as if the Force surrounded Dageer, not shaping his decisions, but going along with them. The clone would have some role in the course of this war. However, due to the nature of the Force itself, the Jedi couldn't tell which role would this be.

"Dageer... Sometimes, do you have dreams? Not normal dreams, but some sort of vision?"

Dageer shuddered, and lifted his head to look straight into General Kenobi's eyes. His hand unconsciously moved towards his hip, where his blaster pistol was, but he stopped himself, and controlled his facial expression. Gazing at Commander Cody through the corner of his eyes, Dageer prepared his words very carefully. He didn't know why, but he couldn't tell the Jedi about the nightmares.

"Everyone has dreams, General Kenobi. Even clones."

The Jedi was surprised by the sudden wave of hostility that hit him, and shocked to find that it didn't come just from Dageer, but from all the clones around him, even Commander Cody. He thought it was because he had been rude, although he wasn't sure which score spot he had touched, and quickly explained himself. Luckily for him, he hadn't noticed the hands reaching for the blasters, otherwise things would have escalated quickly. Dageer's mind had blanked, and for a moment, he had seen the Jedi as an enemy rather than as a superior. Just like the nightmares.

"I didn't mean to intrude on your personal thoughts, Dageer."

"Of course, General Kenobi. It's just that... Clones usually don't have good dreams. Too many brothers have fallen, more than we can remember."

The Jedi nodded. It made sense. Even before the war, he would have nightmares about how his master died. It was normal that clones also would, considering that thousands upon thousands of them died every day.

"Now, if you would excuse me, General Kenobi, I have to rest while I can. I'm sure the higher-ups will soon send another mission to my squad, so I have to get them in shape for it."

"Sure thing, commander. I will see you on the battlefield."

Dageer nodded, and left the command post. He didn't plan on resting, as he was afraid of what he would see when he closed his eyes. Instead, he wanted to help defend against the seppies that were attacking their perimeter, but he realized it wasn't needed. General Skywalker and his padawan had arrived, and with the help of the 501st, the 212th was able to push back the clanckers. General Mundi also arrived not much later, although he was pretty badly wounded. It didn't seem like he would be able to partake in the battle anymore.

Dageer was just about to head to where Hell Squad was when a lieutenant, using the white and yellow armor of the 212th stopped him. It was only after Lieutenant Shield took off his helmet that Dageer recognized him.

"Hello, Commander Dageer. Great job destroying those turrets."

"Shield! I see you are doing well in the 212th."

"Still alive. We lost Jolt and Bowman today, but the others are doing fine. I don't know about our brothers in the 501st, though."

After the 303rd Attack Legion had been disbanded, some of the survivors went to the 212th, while others to the 501st, under Captain Rex and General Skywalker. Both were elite legions, and Dageer tried his best to keep track of the sixty or so clones. It wasn't easy, but using his authority as a commander, he could at least know when one of them died.

"They are doing well too. Helm, Cork, and Welle died, but most of them are okay."

Lieutenant Shield nodded. There wasn't much they could do for their fallen brothers, but he was glad to know about them.

Dageer didn't keep Lieutenant Shield occupied, and told him to get back to work. The battle was still going on, and the lieutenant could be punished if he wasn't doing his job. He also had just seen the Jedis and their respective commanders going towards the command post which he had just left. It appeared it was time for another meeting.

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"Thanks to Master Ragout and the men under him, we were able to prepare a safe landing zone, for now. However, we are still far from the foundry. We will use this region as a resupply point, and advance from here, by air and ground."

General Kenobi explained their battle plans to Ragout, General Unduli, and her padawan, Bariss. General Skywalker and Ahsoka were already back in the fray, leading not only the 501st, but also Commander Jet and his men.

"I shall find young Skywalker, and join his attack. Obi-Wan, I take it you will be in charge of the air assault?"

"Yes. We will try to keep the Separatist forces on the planet away from the droid factories. Ragout, I am going to need your help."

The Togruta looked at the hologram table, and nodded. No matter how much he would have liked to invade the foundries and capture Poggle, he wasn't that harsh young apprentice anymore. He could see the bigger picture, and knew where he would make a difference.

"I spoke with Dageer earlier, and he said his squad is ready to return to combat. Is that right?"

"Yeah. Hell Squad and Delta Squad only had some flesh wounds, no broken bones. We will be at the frontlines tomorrow."

"If you say so. We need every man we can get on the battlefield. Geonosis is a core planet for the Confederacy Of Independent Systems. We conquer it, and it will be as if we have chopped off their arms."

The bearded Jedi looked around the table, and saw several nodding heads.

"Then, ladies and gentlemen, you know your tasks. This battle is still going, so let's move along."