Chapter 280 - War Waits For No One

In the darkness, eight shadows crawled forward. The streams of lava served as a source of light, even if there was no moon around Sull.u.s.t. One would have expected that to bother Hell Squad and Ragout, but the air was so hot that the thermal sensors of the Separatist didn't work, and the droids had to rely on their eyes. That made them easier to fool. And the clanckers weren't known for their intelligence either.

"All right. Hell Squad, from here on, complete silence. If we make a single noise, they can discover us. Captain Dice, when I contact you, initiate the attack."

"Understood, general."

Hell Squad just nodded, and turned off their comlinks. They couldn't risk making any sort of noise. After that, they slowly entered enemy territory, moving from cover to cover carefully, and, when there was none, crawling with their bellies touching the ground.

Droid patrols walked mere meters from them, but didn't notice the group. If it was any other planet, that would have been impossible, but Sull.u.s.t messed with the clanckers' sensors more than they thought initially.

The few times they were discovered, a quick green flash put an end to the patrols. Once again, Dageer admired what the padawan had grown into. He now knew how to use his powers perfectly, and was much more skilled. Liked them or not, Dageer was sure the Jedi Order now had one of the best generations of fighters in their history. Few things could make people improve like putting their life on the line at every moment.

Still, not everything went perfectly according to plan. Although they got pretty close to the Separatist command center, they could only go so far without being discovered. A radius of two hundred meters around the enemy camp was illuminated, and the group stopped at the threshold between light and darkness.

Ragout ordered for them to stop, and Hell Squad dropped to the ground. They hadn't expected the Separatist to be so cautious, and now they had no idea of what they could do. Luckily, they didn't have to worry about the sun rising, because the nights on Sull.u.s.t lasted about twenty hours.

Suddenly, the sound of a battle reached their ears. Sirens blasted in the Separatist camp, and battalions of B1 and B2 units started to march out of it. Hell Squad and their general looked at each other, confused.

It was normal for battles to break out, even at night. This was a real war, not children's play. Be it the Republic or the Separatist, if they saw a chance to deal a blow to the enemy, they took it. And, whatever the reason for the battle, it benefited Hell Squad.

Ragout made a gesture using one finger, and Dab nodded, acknowledging it. He would stay there to provide support. The others started moving forward, and into the illuminated area, trying to get as far as they could before being discovered.

They actually moved a hundred meters forward before the clanckers were alerted to their presence, and started firing.

The advanced command center the Separatist had was nothing more than a camp surrounded by Dwarf-Spider droids. Those units were basically mobile turrets, which could tear apart an entire Battalion in a matter of minutes. Usually, four of them would be enough to keep the Republic forces away, but not Hell Squad.

One hundred meters were easily covered by Ragout, and the Jedi cut the legs of two Dwarf-Spider droids before finishing them off. Dab took care of another one, hitting it right in the eye, and the other clones quickly destroyed the last one. In less than twenty seconds, the main defense of the seppies had crumbled.

Fighting as they got closer, Dageer quickly contacted Captain Dice, and ordered him to start the attack. The clanckers already know they were there, so there was no use in hiding anymore. Besides, their main target, the Dwarf-Spider droids, had already been taken care of.

The Republic forces that had been waiting about a kilometer away started to move, and suddenly, blue lasers cut the night, hitting the unaware droids. In a matter of seconds, a giant battle broke out, spreading for kilometers. In less than an hour, the entirety of the southeast front was burning with the flames of war as the Republic launched an all-out offensive in the middle of the night.

Meanwhile, Hell Squad and their Jedi general, Ragout, were cutting through the clanckers inside the command center as if they were nothing.

Brain threw two thermal detonators, which blew a group of B2 units to pieces. Tech and Three-four climbed up an AAT, and opened the hatch before executing the droids inside it. Outside the enemy camp, Dab was picking off the seppies on the outskirts, confusing them. With so many blue lasers coming from the Republic side, they couldn't identify which one was causing them so many losses.

Dageer looked at Ragout, and used his blaster to gesture to some kind of metal tent in the middle of the command center. If they were to find a tactical droid, it would be there.

The Jedi nodded, and started running, with Dsgeer, Metal, and Cell right behind him. Using his lightsaber, he cut the doors open, revealing the clancker they were looking for. With a simple slash, the droid's torso was separated from the rest of it's body.

"All right. All Republic troops, now is our chance!"

The voice of the Togruta resounded in every communicator, and the clones doubled their efforts, pushing the droids back. Dageer smiled under his helmet, while using his DC-17 to put an end to a group of approaching B1 units.

"You heard the general, lads! Let's show the tin cans what the Clone Army can do!"

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In a single night, the Separatist were forced to give up over three hundred kilometers of ground, while the clones pushed them back with relentless efforts. It was only three days later that the battle slowed down again, as the seppies reinforced their defenses, and Sull.u.s.t entered a stalemate.

"He didn't make it."

Dageer and Commander Cody glanced at Captain Dice's body, and acknowledged the medical droid's words with a nod. After a few seconds, they moved on, to see the other injured troopers. Every victory had it's price, and the number of wounded soldiers that couldn't resist was sometimes even bigger than the number of clones that died in battle.

"Commander Dageer, General Ragout requested your presence."

A trooper ran up to them, and Dageer nodded. He tapped Commander Cody's shoulder before leaving the infirmary.

"Okay. Where is he?"

"On the frontlines."

...

If one were to say that the Clone Army was unstoppable, then the Jedis simply weren't human. They could spend days without stop on the battlefield, only having small periods of rest and meditation every now and again. The clones, on the other hand, could only go for two days of uninterrupted battle before they passed out of exhaustion. Being constantly on the edge, with your life on the line, and seeing your brothers die, took a toll. The fact that they only slept four or five hours, because of the nightmares, didn't help. The more they battled, the more they saw deaths, the worse the dreams became.

Watching the Jedi waving his lightsaber, Dageer pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind, and approached Ragout.

"General."

"The higher-ups have a new assignment for us, Dageer. Prepare Hell Squad to leave. We are going hunting."