Chapter 209 - The End Of Admiral Dao (1/2)

A few minutes before the destruction of The Sincerity.

The Republic troops on the ground had disengaged from the enemy, and retreated even further than before. Now, they were waiting in an opening. Three paths crossed this opening. They came from one of them, and so would the droids. Of the other two, one was directly in front of the other, and crossed several canyons, while the other followed the terrain.

They led to the same place - the Twi'lek hideout - but one was much longer than the other. That opening was where they would make their last stand, because if they retreated any more, they would have to fight around civilians, and that would only disturb them.

Thanks to the brave sacrifice of three dozen clones under the command of recently-promoted Lieutenant Agil, who stayed behind, the survivors of the battle were a few hours ahead of the Separatist.

Dageer, Commander Keeli, Ragout, General Di, Gobi, and Syndulla were sitting on rocks, planning for the next skirmish. The situation was dire. Of the three thousand troops they had, only eleven hundred could fight, while the other six hundred who survived were badly injured. And, without medical supplies, they were suffering. Every moment, another trooper died due to untreated wounds.

The clanckers, on the other hand, still had more than four thousand units, and the possibility of receiving reinforcements any time.

Suddenly, a bright light attracted everyone's attention. Looking up to the sky, they saw one of the three Republic cruisers on orbit blow up. The ship was ripped apart by the explosion, and like shooting stars, burning debris cut across Ryloth's atmosphere.

”Vindicator...”

”It's gone, General Ragout.”

What followed next was something straight out the 303rd's nightmares. The Sincerity was hit several times, and the turrets and cannons on it stopped firing. The lights went out on the ship, and several smaller explosions shook it, as every laser now hit it directly.

When those on the planet below thought that the cruiser was going down, The Righteous dove between it and the enemy fleet, and straight into a Providence-class Dreadnought. The two sh.i.p.s collided, the dreadnought falling first, followed by the Republic Cruiser.

Every trooper held their breaths, and clenched their fists. Some, like Dageer, so strongly that they hurt themselves. But they didn't care. They had joked about their demise, they had mocked it, but when the end really arrived, none of the clones could look at the sky and be indifferent.

General Di sat on the ground, looking defeated. For the first time ever, the Jedi showed his inner thoughts. The Nikto couldn't bear to watch as the clones under him died far, far away in space, fighting for a planet they had never set foot upon. Only now he questioned the decision that the Galactic Senate made when sending the 303rd to Ryloth.

Ragout knelt beside his master, but he couldn't muster the strength to say anything. He had seen death before, many times, but to him, the war always was something that they would certainly win. Now, he knew that wasn't the case. He understood that the Republic would have to pay a heavy price to win the Clone Wars, and that the 303rd was only a small part of it.

Syndulla and Gobi looked at one another, despair filling their eyes. After everything the 303rd had done to them, they felt their loss not only as allies, but as friends.

Commander Keeli was more direct than the others. He punched the ground in anger, until his fist bled. He couldn't believe it. He was trained to face defeat, he was even trained to be expressionless when sending his troopers to certain death. But nothing trained him to lose everything.

And then The Sincerity blew up.