Chapter 302 - Our General

"Sir, can I ask you something?"

Boss put away his blaster, and stepped back. Hunter did the same.

"Say it."

"When we were cadets, we always heard of Delta Squad. We always looked up to you, because you are commandos just like us, and we were told you are the best unit of the Clone Army. But..."

"But we listen to Dageer, even though he is just a... What did you call him? A normie?"

"Well... Yeah."

"Hahaha! Your squad training was mostly separated from the others, right? Ours was too. After all, commandos have different battles to fight. But you gotta remember something, kid. We are all clones. Commandos, ARC Troopers, normal clones, we are all brothers. I would listen to a cadet, if what he said made sense. No matter what your rank, unit, or legion is, we are a family."

"I understand."

"I know you do. You are one of us, after all."

Hunter nodded firmly. The sense of belonging he had amongst other clones like him was stronger than anything. But Boss hadn't answered his question. And if there was one thing Bad Batch didn't know, was how to be subtle.

"Who is better? Your unit or Hell Squad?"

"Hell Squad."

He was surprised by the lack of hesitation. He thought Boss would have more difficulty to admit it, even though it was quite obvious what he thought.

"Delta Squad was better than Hell Squad once, that's true. But that was when they didn't have all of their members, and had just been created. You heard the stories. Normal troopers, transformed in a special unit during the First Battle Of Geonosis. That alone is enough to show their capabilities. They faced and killed enemies that even the Jedis ran from. If only we had more like them, maybe we wouldn't be losing so badly."

"Losing? I thought we were winning."

"That's what they tell the cadets. We can't have you thinking that all the training is worthless. But you will see it by yourself soon. We are fighting in dozens of systems, and losing in most of them. The clanckers are too many for us. Sometimes we have to make cruel decisions."

"Like what?"

"Like Ryloth. Hell Squad promised that they would only stop when they have avenged their legion. One of the many reasons why they are so good, unfortunately."

Hunter looked at Boss without fully understanding what he meant. Delta Squad's leader sighed, and made him go back to training. Like all shinies, Hunter would only know how brutal the war was when he saw a brother of his die by his side. Before that, he would still believe everything he was told in Kamino.

Thinking of this, Boss exchanged glances with Brain. By the expression on the clone's face, he knew something serious had happened. Something serious enough to make Dageer leave the training without warning. He hoped it was just another planet lost, and not something worse.

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General Shaak Ti heard the blast doors opening, and looked up from the hologram table to find Dageer. Frowning, she told the two clones who were with her to continue what they were doing, and went up to the commander. She could feel a lot of anxiety emanating from him.

"Something wrong with Clone Force 99's training, Commander Dageer?"

"No, general. They are doing fine. As long as they can survive their first battle, they will be on par with Delta Squad."

"Then what is wrong?"

"General Ragout was captured."

General Shaak Ti was stunned. She herself had only just received this piece of news, and only because she was a Jedi.

"How do you know that, commander?"

"Every clone knows how important Ragout is for Hell Squad, general. We made a promise a long time ago that we would never let anything happen to him."

The Jedi opened her mouth, startled, and closed it again. She looked around, and discovered that the clones were avoiding her gaze. It was a severe breach of security, but she couldn't bring herself to be angry at them. If they changed places, she would have done the same.

"A promise to who?"

"To General Di. The same day we left him to die, while we escaped."

"You had no choice, commander. You were given an order, and you followed it."

"And I will live with it forever, General Shaak Ti. But Ragout is all that is left of the 303rd, general. Of all the brothers that died on Ryloth."

"A sacrifice was needed so Ryloth would have a chance of escaping the Separatist's grasp."

"It should have been us. Not him. We are clones. This is our job."

"You are people, commander. You are not worth anything less than anyone in the galaxy. Master Di made a choice. And because of his choice, Ryloth is still ours. If you have died there, many of the battles you won for us would have ended differently."

Dageer shook his head. The past was the past, and no matter how much he wanted to change it, he knew it was impossible. It was useless to discuss that now. He already saw General Di and his dead brothers every night.

"A rescue operation will be mounted. Hell Squad took part in several ones before, let us take part in this one. Please."

"I'm not sure your unit is emotionally prepared to such a mission, Commander Dageer."

"We saved many Jedi Generals before. We will save ours. No matter the cost."

Having said that, Dageer turned around and left. There was someone he needed to talk with.

The Jedi, on the other hand, stood still for a long time. She knew that if Hell Squad was ordered to stay in Kamino, they would. But she wasn't sure if that was the right decision. One didn't need to be a Jedi to notice that Dageer and his men were prepared to die for Ragout. They would be a valuable asset to the rescue mission that was sure to be organized.

"How many of the original troopers of the 303rd Attack Legion are still alive?"

She turned to one of the clones around the hologram table, although she already knew the answer to her question.

"Seven, ma'am."

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"We will get him back, commander. I don't care about Ryloth, and I know you didn't too. I won't let it all be in vain. A lot of things happened since you died. Many more died. Shield betrayed us. Only Hell Squad is left. And Ragout. You always liked him, even though he was just a kid when we first met. The 303rd lives on him. All of our brothers do. We won't let him die too. For us."

His eyes closed, Dageer saw countless similar faces flash through his mind. Every night, when the nightmares came, he wished he had died at Ryloth, so he wouldn't have to carry the burden of being a coward who ran when he should have stayed. Who obeyed orders when he shouldn't have.

But when he opened his eyes, he would remember the promises he had made to General Di and to Commander Keeli. Hell Squad would only die when every clancker had become scrap metal. Until them, they would continue fighting. He would continue fighting.

Glancing at the old, broken helmet in his hands, Dageer got up determined. Carefully, he laid the helmet on the shelf above his bed, where it had been for the last two years, and put on his own helmet.

"I promise."