Success... Maybe?

"What about vehicles?"

"Then things get really bad, general. They brought out the big toys."

Everyone looked at Cell, and the scout closed his eyes to remember exactly how many vehicles there were. He knew wrong information was a mistake they couldn't afford to make.

"About a hundred STAPs, and twenty AATs. There were also forty or fifty Dwarf-Spider droids. I also saw three MTTs. And that wasn't all. There are six vehicles I never saw. They are like a big ball held by a few dozen meters tall legs. However, I recognized their weapons. Three laser cannons."

Commander Keeli's face became serious.

"Tri-droids. This is bad."

Syndulla looked at Miwy, who nodded, confirming Cell's report.

"How do you know there are eighteen thousand of them?"

Cell looked at Commander Keeli, and the clone nodded, allowing him to tell this kind of information to Syndulla.

"You add the officers, then multiply by the number of troops each rank had. Then you add a corresponding number of B2 super battle droids."

"And what are Tri-droids?"

This time it was Commander Keeli who answered, since, amongst the clones, only he and Dageer knew what they were.

"A huge death ball. Their laser cannons can easily blow up an entire platoon. Their height gives them a huge range, but is also their weakness. The way to take them down is to destroy two or three legs, and when they fall, concentrate all your fire right in the middle. It is where their core is."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

Commander Keeli looked at the Twi'lek who spoke, Yate. The freedom fighter was an idiot if he couldn't recognize the danger of the Separatist weapons.

"Wait till they are firing at you."

"That is enough. Let's get moving."

General Di interrupted Commander Keeli, and ordered the group to get into action. Syndulla commanded his men to do the same, and they started to follow their plan.

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

"Retreat!"

Dageer quickly yelled to the people around him, and fired at the incoming droids to hold them back.

"Metal, Tech, and Dab, stay with me! The rest, move back!"

Both clones and Twi'leks followed his orders without hesitation. Dageer had proven himself to be a leader worthy of their trust.

"Ahhhh!"

A Twi'lek that wasn't quick enough was hit in the back, and fell face-first to the ground. Dageer rolled behind cover, and checked the freedom fighter. Dead.

He wasn't the first. Between troopers and freedom fighters, at least ten combatants were dead. Of course, the droids had played a hefty price, since two of their Tri-droids and several Dwarf-Spider droids and AATs were destroyed.

Dageer looked at his comlink, but it was still out, leaving him unable to contact General Di, Ragout, Commander Keeli or Syndulla. After being attacked, the droids were quickly to jam communications and counterattack.

"Move back, quick! To the first outpost!"

Using his DC-17, Dageer quickly emptied the magazine in a B2 unit, almost melting it down. The attack went well initially, but soon they started to be suppressed by the clanckers, forcing them to retreat after suffering casualties.

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

Two hours earlier.

General Di looked at the surrounding leaders, and started splitting them into two groups.

"Keeli, Syndulla and I will go to the left side of their outpost, and try to hit their Dwarf-Spider droids. Ragout, you take Hell Squad, and Lieutenant Fondor, with ten troopers, and to the right. Bring down one of the Tri-droids, and they will all focus on you. I believe you can distract them for long enough to us to plant a few detonators, right?"

"Yes, master."

"Yes, general."

The troops were easily divided, and about six Twi'leks followed Hell Squad. When they were already quite a distance away, Syndulla looked back at them, and turned to General Di.

"Are you sure they can do what you ordered them, Master Jedi?"

"I am. Not only is my padawan is with them, but Hell Squad is also there. With this combination, I am confident they can escape without many casualties even if things go wrong."

Syndulla looked pensive.

"I hope you are right."

...

Ragout quietly led the group forward, careful to not alarm the droids. Suddenly, they heard a patrol ahead. The clones and Twi'leks gripped their blasters, but the Jedi soothed them.

"It is too early to make noise. Dageer, let's take them out."

"Yes, general. Cell, Metal, Three-four, with me."

"Yes, sir."

"Wait! Are just those enough?"

A female Twi'lek named Apele that was leading the other five stopped the Jedi. Ragout flashed her a confident smile that a youngster like him shouldn't have when facing battle droids.

"Don't worry. We can take them easily. Besides, if we are too many, they will hear us."

Without saying anything else, Ragout and the chosen clones went ahead, getting out of sight from the group. Barely thirty seconds later, Cell returned.

"Let's go."

Dumbfounded by how fast things went, Apele and the other Twi'leks followed Cell. Twenty meters away from where they were, the broken remains of six B1 battle droids laid on the ground. Two of them were sliced by a lightsaber, while the others were without their heads.

The Twi'leks didn't know how to react. They were so close to the patrol, yet they didn't hear a sound. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Fondor and the clones just stepped over the droids as if it wasn't anything uncommon.

Five more patrols found the same destiny in their hands before the group arrived at the Separatist outpost. By now, the Twi'leks already understood why the Republic was bold enough to attack eighteen thousand droids with less than fifty people.

"They are just ahead, general."

Cell returned from scouting, and quickly reported. Since he had already gone there with Miwy, he was used to the way, and quickly showed them their entry point. They were hiding behind a bunch of rocks, but it was very easy to see the almost endless droid army

Dageer looked at the dozens of droid battalions in front of them. The entry point that Cell mentioned was a place where the metal wall the droids used to build the outpost wasn't completed. However, the droids clearly weren't expecting an attack, since only a few dozen droids were guarding it.

"How do you plan on doing it, general?"

Ragout thought for a while before pointing towards the Tri-droids, which were visible over the walls.

"I will sneak in, and cut down at least one of those. If it is possible, I will try to cut the stabilizers of the AATs, but nothing too big, so they don't notice. That will keep them out of order for a few days. When you see the Tri-droid fall, blast your way in. Brain and Dab, use the thermal detonators and the charged shot to take down the Dwarf-Spider droids."

"Yes, general."

All the clones acknowledged his orders without hesitation. They knew that Ragout was way more capable than any of them, and that by using his Jedi Force powers, he would be able to infiltrate much better than them. Even the Twi'leks agreed that Ragout was the best option. The rumors and stories about Jedis had long reached their ears, making them seen as mystic entities.

"Contact my master, I will get going."

After saying that, Ragout disappeared in the night. A few seconds later, they saw a shadow ran up the walls of the Separatist outpost, defying gravity. None of the clanckers noticed the padawan. Now, all they had to do was wait.