Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 1 - Captain Ryan Bontri

Long, long ago, in a distant galaxy.

……

22 BBY.

Dooku gathered Separatist leaders on Geonosis, but was captured after Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi discovered this.

The Jedi Knights and clone reinforcements that arrived later engaged in a large-scale battle on the planet Geonosis, officially marking the start of the war.

The war quickly spread to all parts of the galaxy, from Coruscant to the outer ring planets, becoming a battlefield.

Christoph's Galaxy.

Savarin sector.

Inside the bridge of the "Repulsion," Rein pondered the peculiar design of the Separatist spaceship's bridge.

As a "Generosity-class" frigate, the "Repulsion" had its cockpit bathed in green sunlight, with tinted windows surrounding the prominent front of the bridge. While this provided a wide field of vision of nearly 180 degrees, it also made the bridge a conspicuous target for enemy attacks.

Ryan's constant pacing caught the attention of TF-1726.

"Is there a problem, sir?"

The robot's digital voice hummed.

This is a T-1 series tactical robot that accompanied the "Repel".

“No problem, Little Tower,” Ryan waved it away, “but don’t you find it a little boring to just sit here doing nothing?”

“My programming doesn’t have the ability to perceive ‘boredom,’ sir,” the mouth-like component of the little tower blinked. “Please don’t call me that. You can call me by my serial number, sir.”

“I envy you, little tower,” Raine patted its metal casing. “So… how’s the repair going?”

“‘Repel’ was undamaged,” Little Tower said. “Our deflector shields can be fully charged within an hour.”

Raine stared at the tactical robot's expressionless, beak-like mask for a while, wondering what was going on inside its cognitive module.

He then plopped back into the command chair, his brow furrowing slightly as his bottom hit the hard metal seat. "The Republic's spacecraft are still hiding behind the satellite."

"There are four Jedi cruisers, sir," Little Tower confirmed.

Raine glanced out the porthole and saw the frozen Sith satellite in space.

On either side of the "Repel," nearly twenty "Generosity-class" frigates circled the blue-green sphere of Christophersis, with the massive "Lukeri Hook" battleship providing support. From a distance, it looked like a poor imitation of an asteroid ring.

Far below, General Worm was fighting the Republic's army, besieging Chaledonia, the capital of Christophersis.

Ryan hoped that General Worm was acting according to plan.

"Connect the communication line with the 'Invincible'," Raine ordered the small tower. "I need to speak with the fleet commander."

A holographic image of the fleet commander popped up from the projector, and a chilling creature suddenly appeared.

He was a two-legged spider with six arms and six evil little red eyes on his head.

Raine flinched, trying not to look away from its messy fur and clicking mandibles.

Even through the holographic image, that clicking sound sent chills down one's spine every time it rang out.

Commander of the Trenchy Fleet.

"Sir."

“Captain Bontley,” Trench said, stroking its furry mouthparts, “what is it?”

“The Republic’s task force is hiding behind the satellite right now,” Ryan straightened his collar and replied. “They’re probably waiting for reinforcements. If you can give me eight, no, six frigates, I guarantee I can force them out.”

“If the Republic’s reinforcements are en route, our patrol ships should have already noticed them,” Commander Trench waved his cane. “We are a blockade force, not an attack force, but I appreciate your initiative and know that this task force is a target that must be eliminated at the moment.”

"What suggestions do you have, Fleet Commander?"

Trench's needle-like teeth clicked menacingly as he replied, "How's the attack on Christopher Sith going?"

Raine realized that the creature wasn't asking him, but rather the tactical robot beside him that wasn't in the image.

“The resistance is crumbling, sir,” the robot stepped into the sensor range, its holographic image appearing next to the fleet commander. “I estimate the battle will be over in about half a planetary rotation cycle.”

Trench's mandibles clicked as he thought. "We need to put some pressure on those guys sent to rescue the enemies on Christophersis... Send 'Hyena' bombers to attack Senator Organa on the planet's surface." He chuckled and ordered, "That should get them out of there..."

"Excuse my bluntness, Fleet Commander," Raine interrupted him directly, saying, "If Charedonia is about to fall, then bombers will not be of much use in persuading the Republic to launch an attack. If they decide to continue hiding behind the Lysis satellite in the face of the current situation... if I had a few ships, I could go around to the dark side of the satellite and attack them from the rear, forcing them out, and then our fleet could attack them from both sides and trap them."

"I calculated that this tactic has a 78.6% success rate," Little Tower said.

It was obvious that the commander of the Trench fleet was furious when he heard this, even through his spider-like face.

Clearly, this fleet commander disliked being questioned by his subordinates.

His own tactical robot then echoed "agree," which further angered Trench.

Renn met Trench's gaze.

But in his heart he thought, "This guy is terribly ugly."

When most subordinates are robots without independent thinking ability, it is indeed easy for them to become arrogant once they achieve consecutive victories.

However, Ryan also understood that Trench was not a fair boss.

“I heard you distinguished yourself in the Battle of Kovir, Captain,” Trench touched his mouthparts again, “tell me, what was that battle like?”

“We lost, sir,” Rein replied, somewhat taken aback by the sudden change of topic. “We were on the verge of victory, but Republic reinforcements arrived and turned the tide of the battle. A Jedi Starfighter squadron destroyed many of our ships, forcing us to retreat.”

"But you performed admirably, didn't you, Captain?" the fleet commander asked. "I heard that if it weren't for your decisive actions, our defeat would have been even more... devastating."

“I must have done something right, sir,” Ryan forced a smile, “otherwise I wouldn’t be sitting in this command chair.”

At that moment, ten dots appeared on the tactical display screen above Ryan's head. The active scanner of the "Repulse" captured the "Hyena" bomber formation of the "Invincible" speeding out of the port hangar and then adjusting its course toward the planet's surface.

“Now I understand your concerns,” Trench said, his tone softening, “but we still have to obey orders.”

“Excuse me for speaking frankly again,” Raine protested again, “but if the orders are unreasonable, I also have a responsibility to question them. If I had followed the orders to retreat completely in Koville, I’m afraid the Republic would have won a complete victory in that battle, instead of what turned out to be a Pyrrhic victory.”

Rein was just boasting a little, but if Trench were responsible enough to know his subordinates' past achievements, he should know how he saved the troops in Kowell.

Although he disobeyed the order to retreat directly, he was not only not tried by a military court, but was also promoted, which was a pretty good outcome.

“Captain, I was ordered to maintain the blockade, not you,” Trench hissed. “I’m not disagreeing with you, but unless we are in a precarious situation like we were in Corviel, we must obey orders.”

Ryan sighed slightly; this was the best result he could achieve.

If he were in Trench's position, he wouldn't stand up for a subordinate who disobeys direct orders, even if the subordinate's motives are justifiable.

"Yes, sir!"

“New target spotted aft port, sir,” Trench’s robot hummed in a pre-programmed calm tone. “Not our ship.”

Trench's round head snapped around, his six eyes scanning a spot outside the screen. "There! A stealth spaceship."

This was an unprecedented situation for Ryan. He couldn't help but wonder how such a thing worked, as he didn't recall seeing any space submarines in movies.

"Torpedo locked on, approaching," Trench's tactical robot issued an alarm.

Trench cut off the communication, and the holographic image flickered and disappeared.

Ryan leaped from his chair, staring intently at the observation window on the starboard side of the "Repulse," and soon saw four torpedoes tracing fiery arcs through space.

Less than a minute later, the torpedoes struck the bridge of the HMS Invincible, and the normally invisible thermal shields became visible when hit by these projectiles.

Xiaota: "No damage was found."

"Mark the last known location of that stealth ship!" Rein hurriedly ordered, and at the same time, the Invincible launched a salvo of missiles in retaliation.

The space submarine had a peculiar shape, resembling a long spear, with a slender hull.

It released a burst of flares before the missile hit, causing it to deviate from its course.

Moments later, the spaceship became invisible and disappeared from the visual and sensor displays.

"Have you detected its heat signature?" Ryan asked eagerly.

Xiaota: "After the target became invisible, we lost track of it."

(End of this chapter)