Chapter 291 - An Unlikely Alliance (1/2)

Dageer grunted in pain as a laser hit his left shoulder, but he ignored the wound, and continued firing his blaster. Two commando droids fell when he hit them, but one got up shortly after. Even with Dageer's precision, it was difficult to kill the commando droids in a single hit, even more in the middle of a battle of the proportions of the one they were in.

”They are getting closer, sir!”

”I can see that, Cell! Shut up and keep firing!”

Usually, Dageer wouldn't be so harsh on his words, but they were in a life-threatening situation. And, to make matters worse, they were running low on ammunition. After all, they didn't expect to be ambushed, so they didn't carry a lot of it with them.

Taking cover behind the BARC Speeders - which they had created a circle with - Hell Squad kept firing at the droids. By now, almost fifty clanckers had already fallen, but the others just kept advancing, emotionless.

”I'm almost out, sir!”

”Me too!”

Cursing, Dageer dropped to the ground, getting half-buried in the snow, and threw his last two magazines to Cell and Three-four. At the same time, the speeder he was hiding behind was hit in the energy cell, and started smoking.

Knowing that the vehicle wouldn't take long to blow up, Dageer kicked it, and the speeder floated away. The explosion didn't hurt any of the clones thanks to Dageer's quick reactions, but it opened a hole on their already precarious defenses. Red lasers flew in their direction, hitting Metal on his left forearm, and Senator Amidala on her right thigh.

The clones were able to mostly ignore the pain, but the senator wasn't a battle-hardened combatant like them. She screamed in pain, and fell down.

Curiously enough, looking at Senator Amidala clutching her wound and groaning, gave Dageer an idea.

”Boys, listen up! Starting by you, Brain, next time a laser comes close, fall down, and stay quiet!”

The troopers paused for a second, confused, before realization dawned upon them, and they understood what Dageer meant.

”Just like Dantooine?”

”Just like Dantooine. Play dead, and when the seppies get closer, we surprise them. Let's take a few more of the tin cans with us before we go down.”

Hell Squad nodded. After a few seconds, Brain yelled, and laid on the ground, his hand still clutching his blaster. If Dageer didn't know any better, he would have thought his brother really died.

”Senator, you will have to do the same. However... Seppies check for dead. When they approach us to confirm, you will have a small opening to escape. The downside of ambushing us is that they don't have any vehicles. As long as you get on one of the speeders, and flee, they won't be able to catch up.”

Dageer spilled his entire plan in one breath. No matter what, Hell Squad had to protect Senator Amidala, even if that meant gambling everything, including their lives, in one last move. That was their mission, and they would complete it, or die trying.

”Commander, that is unaccep...”

”That is Hell Squad's duty, senator. If you die here, the peace treaty will be torn apart, and all your efforts will be for naught. Do as I say. And don't worry about Hell Squad. We have been in worse situations, and yet, we are still alive.”

It was a terrible lie, and both Dageer and Senator Amidala knew that. However, it was all it was needed to convince the senator. She might be brave and kind, but she wasn't ready to give up on her life so easily.

Also faking death, Dageer was the last one to fall to the ground. Laying on the snow, with his back to the sky, he made sure his pistol and vibroblade were easily accessible.

Silence fell on the snowy plains, and the droid army stopped firing. Merciless machines, they didn't show any pity for their fallen companions, and stepped over them to arrive at the small defense circle Hell Squad had created. It was standard protocol to check if the enemy was really dead, and, if there were any survivors, kill them.

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