Ohh? You Arrived...

Dageer was sitting on the ground, his blasters and helmet next to him, and his eyes closed. Around him, the members of Hell Squad, and also the clone commandos from Delta Squad, were also resting. General Ragout had his legs crossed, and was floating three or four centimeters above the ground.

The group had completed their objective - the artillery was gone - and were now waiting for the rest of the Republic forces. Point Rain was an open area, several kilometers inside enemy lines, but still quite a distance away from the foundries where Poggle was hiding. A small group of eleven people had no problems sneaking past or killing the Separatist on their way. The job of systematically clearing the bulk of the enemy forces would be left for the legions.

"All right, listen up. Commander Dageer, Hell Squad, you too."

Fixer, Delta Squad's mechanic, pilot, and technology specialist, called out the clones, being careful not to interrupt Ragout's meditation.

"General Kenobi just contacted me. They are about to start the real invasion."

"And what they have for us?"

"Nothing. They told us to stay here, and hold our position."

"Are we expecting trouble?"

"Aren't we always?"

The troopers laughed. Scorch had made a good point. When in battle, there was always the possibility of being attacked, so staying sharp was obligatory.

"Anything else?"

At some moment, while the clones were talking, Ragout had woken up from his meditation, and was looking at them. It was clear that, although the Jedi was quite distant, his hearing was much better than that of a normal person.

"I don't think so, general. As soon as our gunships start landing, this area will become the focus of the Separatist counterattack. We take it our job will be to defend until we can form a perimeter."

"Just us? That isn't going to be easy."

"No, it won't. They are going to throw everything at us. Dwarf-Spiders, AATs, Hailfires, and what else."

"Plus the bugs and the tin cans."

Ragout raised an eyebrow, but he wasn't that surprised about how nonchalant the clones were about it. After one or two battles, every trooper acquired a certain level of disinterest towards the future. When you could die in the next second, the future didn't seem so important.

"As you said, General Ragout, it isn't going to be easy. But before we can win this battle, dozens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of our brothers will die. The bare minimum we can do is make sure they have somewhere to land in."

The Jedi looked at Dageer, not shocked be Dageer's bluntness. Such was the reality of war for the clones. You entered combat not only knowing you could die, but also having the certainty that several of your brothers would perish. And yet, you still pick up a blaster, put on your helmet, and follow your orders. That is what it meant to be a clone.

"You are right. Well, this is going to be fun."

--------------------------

It wasn't fun. The Republic's initial predictions were that after destroying the two main groups of anti-aircraft, the few scattered clumps that remained wouldn't be enough to cause much trouble. They were wrong.

Hundreds of Laats were shot down the moment they left the cruisers, many blowing up instantaneously, and several other crashing on the planet. The initial time predicted to reach the landing zone with a sizable enough force to make a stand was of three hours. It took eight before the first gunship even got close.

General Mundi and General Skywalker, together with their respective clone commanders and troops, were hit, and crashed, although both groups survived, not without casualties. General Kenobi had been the only one to reach Point Rain, or, more accurately, to crash in Point Rain. Luckily for him, he and the few survivors had been rescued by a team sent by Commander Cody.

Ragout and the two special units were the first sight that the Jedi saw when he was brought, limping, to the perimeter that the Laats had created.

"Ohh? You arrived, Master Kenobi. Ugh... Just a second."

Ragout jumped on top of a gunship, and used the Force to deflect several incoming missiles from a Hailfire. The missiles changed directions, and hit a cluster of clanckers, blowing them and everything around to pieces. The Hailfire that launched the missiles became the target of two AT-TEs, and didn't last long.

General Kenobi raised an eyebrow when he saw Ragout pull this stunt with the Force. It wasn't easy, especially considering that the Togruta had a bloody bandage wrapped around his torso, and a laser mark on his thigh.

"Are you having fun, Ragout?"

"Before you arrived, no. I was too worried to have fun. I know you and Master Skywalker had a bet going to see who arrived first, but you took quite a long time. I and the two squads had some trouble to secure this landing site."

"Nothing too bothersome, I hope. Did you lose anyone?"

"No, fortunately. When the troops arrived, I ordered them to take a rest. They are over there."

Surprised, General Kenobi raised his eyebrow even further. Although Ragout made it seen like nothing much, the Jedi Master knew it couldn't have been easy. Looking to where the Togruta pointed, he was even more sure.

Sev, Fixer, and Metal were laying on improvised beds, unconscious. Three-four and Cell had their arms covered in bandages, and it was clear it weren't wounds from just one laser or two. Boss and Tech had their legs and torso in the same situation. Dab also had similar injuries, and only Scorch seemed mostly unharmed. Although they were all alive, it was clear they had gone through a brutal few hours.

General Kenobi found Dageer in the command post - a moving, circular platform with four legs. The clone was talking to Commander Cody, and General Kenobi was surprised that he was still standing. His left arm was immobilized, he had a bandage around his head, and he wasn't using his armor's chest piece. This stomach and torso had several bruises, and a medic was currently wrapping it with white clothing. Several scars and bruises could be seen in the skin below the bandages.

"Welcome, general."

"General Kenobi. Good to see you in one piece."

"I wish I could say the same of you, Dageer. Shouldn't you be in a bacta tank?"

"Are you talking about the arm? I broke it once, and it got dislocated two or three times, so it is quite susceptible to... A lot, really. But Three-four already put it back in place."

"I wasn't talking just about the arm, commander, and you know that."

Commander Cody stifled a laugh when he heard how exasperated General Kenobi sounded. He had long grown used to Dageer's attitude of not caring about himself.

"Err... I was taking a look a our plans. General Skywalker and General Mundi should arrive soon, so I have to get Hell Squad ready."

"Are you sure you and your men can take part in this assault? By holding this landing site, you saved thousands of soldiers. We can't ask more of you. Besides, you aren't exactly in perfect shape."

Dageer grinned, and looked at Ragout, still fighting. He couldn't stop, not while his general was still going. That was something he owned General Di.

"We have been worse, general. Delta Squad too. We keep going until this war is over. That is how clones do it."