Chapter 318 - Burning Hatred (1/2)

”No!!!”

Dageer struggled to free himself from his handcuffs, and from the two commando droids escorting him, but all he got was a punch to the back of the head.

Behind him, he heard the noise of his brothers being dragged towards an area of open ground, the wounded yelling in pain as the clanckers showed no empathy. For a few seconds, he heard the sound of bones breaking as flesh hit cold metal, but the attempts of his brothers to resist were useless.

When the sound of lasers cut the air, calmness resumed. Dageer wasn't even able to look at his brothers as they were merciless executed.

After a month buried alive, they had finally found hope, only to have it crushed again by the Separatist. If they had at least been able to fight back, and take a few droids down with them... But General Kenobi's order to surrender had been their downfall.

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”Arghhhhhhh!!!”

A clone screamed in agony while a medical droid used all kinds of drugs on him. Even in different cells, the captured troopers could hear him.

Eventually, the clone fainted, without saying anything useful to their captors. The droid wasn't fazed by it, and moved on to the next victim. He had been torturing them for days now, to no avail. Each one of the Republic soldiers that Passel Argente captured were battle-hardened veterans, who had been through and experienced everything the Separatist could throw at them. Simple torture wasn't enough to make them open their mouths.

When it was his turn again, Dageer simply snorted, which prompted Argente to punch him. The Separatist leader had always prided himself in being able to recover useful intel from war prisoners, but none of his methods worked against these clones. Especially the seven who used brownish-red armor. No matter how he tortured them, they wouldn't make a single sound.

What Argente didn't know was that Hell Squad could resist even Asajj Ventress and her master, and even force Sith Lords to retreat. Of course, Count Dooku wouldn't let his underlings learn of such shameful facts. As such, the Koorivar kept needlessly interrogating the clones, instead of putting an end to their misery.

...

After using every method at his disposal to obtain intel from Dageer, but failing, Argente left the room with the medical droid. He would try again the next day. He didn't believe that a simple clone could withstand weeks and months of interrogation. One day, Dageer would crack, and he would be there to listen to it.

”Cough... Are you awake, Dageer?”

”Uhmm... I'm here.”

It took a few seconds for the commander to regain enough consciousness to groan and answer Commander Cody.

”How long did you say it would take for them to find us? Cough... Cough!”

”How many days has it been? Nine? Or ten?”

”Twelve, sir.”

”Ugh... Less than a week, then. Hunter is good with tracks, he won't lose us. All we gotta do is wait.”

There was a collective sigh when his brothers heard him. The fact that they could withstand torture didn't mean they were indifferent to it. Another week of this hell would pass slowly.

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In a well-lit, albeit poorly furnished, room, General Skywalker, General Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano sat on the ground, eyes closed. They were prisoners, but, compared to the clones, their conditions were much better.

When the door opened, and Passel Argente entered, the three Jedis opened their eyes to glare at him menacingly. They had the ability to kill him, but didn't dare to do so, not when the lives of Dageer and the other clones were at stake. The ones who had been executed days ago were already too heavy of a weight on their conscience.

”Comfortable?”

”Humph!”

None of the Jedis answered him with anything other than a snort. Seeing they remain so arrogant even when they were his prisoners made Argente angry. If it wasn't because of Count Dooku's orders to leave the Jedis unharmed, he would have already started torturing them. He was sure they wouldn't last nearly as long as the soldiers under their command. It would only take a few rounds of torture for them to fall from their high pedestal.

Without saying anything more, the Separatist turned around and left. As soon as the door closed, the three people in the room looked at each other worriedly.

”Still no interrogation. Why?”

”Someone must have ordered that we weren't touched. But for what reason?”