Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 178, page 180 - Fatal Weakness

“We cannot achieve a tactical victory here,” Jedi General Rhys Alrix concluded, her voice calm yet carrying undeniable weight, as if this were not merely analysis, but a Force-based foresight.

"General?" Brigadier General Kendall Ozer's voice was filled with confusion.

“However,” Aleks’s sharp gaze swept across the bridge and finally settled on the approaching enemy fleet, “we can still prevent the separatists from achieving the kind of complete victory they desire. Very well, Commodore, order the fleet to prepare for interception. I will personally designate the primary target. Now, order all ships to form a tight diamond-shaped combat command package. To avoid prematurely revealing our intentions, we will only tighten the formation when we enter close combat.”

“Excellent, General!” A flicker of eagerness and appreciation crossed Ozer’s face, and a smile spread across his lips. “When shall we deploy the starfighters?”

"Order all fighters currently on combat patrols to return to the mothership's hangar immediately," Aleks commanded decisively. "We will only release fighters when executing a crucial strike to break through enemy lines."

Ozer's smile froze instantly and then vanished.

"General?" His voice rose eight octaves, filled with disbelief. "Before we even get close, their 'Vulture' robot fighters will swarm us like locusts and tear us to shreds! Without fighter cover, we're sitting ducks!"

“I have heard and recorded your comments, Commodore.” Aleks barely looked at him, his gaze still fixed on the tactical screen. “Now, execute the orders. Prepare the combat command package and await my final instructions. Helmsman, all fleet to maximum combat speed, advance!”

The massive hull of the Star Destroyer "Endurance" shuddered violently, its powerful sub-light-speed engines unleashing a surge of thrust. Even with the inertial dampers working at full capacity, a muffled hum still emanated from the bridge floor.

Ozer felt as if the crew on the bridge had not heard his warning at all; everyone was meticulously carrying out the Jedi General's orders without the slightest hesitation or questioning.

He swallowed hard, reacting quickly to the markers representing enemy ships on the tactical screen, with more engine exhaust signals flashing on the detectors.

Kendall Ozer is a staunch believer in sustained offensive tactics and takes great pride in them.

But this is completely different from a suicide charge!
Aleks's current orders were no different from the latter in his eyes.

He seemed to be able to clearly "see" the terrifying scene.

Once the ships of the "Mediator Task Force" cross that invisible boundary of contact with the enemy, countless "Vulture" robot fighters will swarm out from the blinding engine light of the enemy warships, instantly overwhelming their fragile formation.

While shipborne sensors can indeed identify light attack aircraft more clearly at close range, such identification is meaningless without friendly fighters intercepting and hindering them in the vast space battlefield, leaving the enemy to launch a deadly attack.

But the Jedi... have their own way of understanding war.

Ozer knew that Alrix was no fool.

She must have "seen" something he couldn't perceive, and the crew on the bridge chose to unconditionally trust her judgment.

"What exactly did you see, General?" Ozer couldn't help but ask again, his voice trembling slightly.

Rhys Alrix's answer was concise and powerful, with an all-knowing certainty: "A...fatal weakness."

……

Ryan's gaze swept over the timer on his wrist again.

The numbers ticked slowly, making each second feel exceptionally long.

The hours leading up to the start of a battle are often the most agonizing.

Knowing that he had issued all the necessary orders, the fleet had completed its combat readiness deployment, and everything was ready.

However, at this moment, all they can do is wait passively.

He knew that the fate of himself, Vinok, Greshard, Ventress, and even thousands of Confederate soldiers and droids hung by a thread, but he could do nothing more because he had already done everything he could.

This feeling of powerlessness is so heavy it's suffocating.

This feels like facing a crucial final exam during your school years...

Even when you're certain you've reviewed all the material and the exam paper is right in front of you, the anxiety still gnaws at your heart during the wait for the start signal.

Are there any omissions? Are we prepared sufficiently?
This worry lingered like an invisible ghost in the commander's mind.

On a flagship like the "Repulsion," which is primarily controlled by robots, it is almost impossible for weapons engineers to cut corners, deck officers rarely forget to perform necessary system checks, and the tactical robot Little Tower has exhausted all pre-set combat plans.

But this is just a ship.

That deep-seated anxiety, ingrained in the commander's instincts, always remained.

It often only becomes apparent at the most crucial moments of a battle, and you will regret it when an unexpected deficiency occurs in a certain link.

Waiting for the battle to begin is torture in itself.

Ryan and his fleet are here, and Alrix and her task force are there.

The order to launch "Operation Stormgate," which he had been eagerly awaiting, came from the Confederate Supreme Command, thousands of parsecs away.

It may arrive in minutes, or it may take hours, days, or even weeks.

Therefore, when the engine exhaust signals of the "Mediator Task Force" on the tactical hologram suddenly intensified, and they charged straight at our fleet in an almost savage, disorganized manner, like trapped beasts breaking free from Salust's gravitational pull, Renn felt an inopportune surge of relief—

At least, the enemy lacked patience more than him.

"Report the status of all fleets!" Rein suddenly stood up, his voice ringing out from the bridge.

"All ships report: combat systems ready, personnel/robots in position, awaiting instructions," Little Tower responded quickly.

"The entire fleet system is operating normally, and all parameters are within the green safety threshold," Kavia confirmed from the system monitoring console.

Rein pressed the dedicated communication button on the armrest of the command chair. "Ventris, order all your fighters to take off immediately. Command of the 'Vulture' fighter group of the 28th Mobile Fleet is also transferred to you. Proceed according to plan!"

A hoarse but crisp reply came through the communication channel: "Understood!"

Raine immediately switched to the fleet broadcast channel: "Attention all ships, this is the flagship 'Repulsion'. All fleet, maximum combat speed, advance! All combat divisions, execute the pre-arranged combat orders, maintain course, maintain formation spacing, and do not allow any ship to fall behind!"

"'Repulsion', this is 'Reputation', yes sir!"

"'Repel', this is 'Crumplinz', understood!"

"'Repel', this is 'Crying Sun', confirm execution!"

More than a hundred confirmation signals flooded back to the communication channel, and Rein soon found himself unable to identify the specific ship names one by one.

But as his gaze swept over the waterfall of confirmation messages refreshing on the communication repeater, the dense feedback made him refocus all his attention.

A deep rumble emanated from the depths of the massive hull of the "Repel," as the sub-light-speed engine nozzles spewed forth torrents of scorching, dazzling plasma.

Accompanied by a series of dull mechanical release sounds, swarms of "Vulture" robot fighters, like a swarm of metal bees leaving their nest, filed out of the hangar and quickly formed a tight escort formation around the mothership.

On the port side of the flagship, the 4th Combat Division, commanded by Commodore Vinok, advanced in a neat, parallel formation, the roar of the engines of the dreadnoughts and battleships merging into a sound wave that shook the starry sky.

On the starboard side, the streamlined Tion battlecruisers of the 3rd Combat Division under Commodore Diedrich Greshad displayed an astonishing speed advantage, charging forward like hounds breaking free of their reins.

At the same time, her signature fan-shaped Ginivex-class starfighter flew out of the hangar of a warship in the Ventress fleet.

Following closely behind was a whole squadron of "Rogue-class" starfighters cobbled together by the 46th Escort Fleet.

This fighter was mostly piloted by the IG-100 Magnetoid robot. In the original work, it participated in the attack on the cargo ship "Dawn" carrying Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano, and was also used to guard Zenith Station.

Soon, more robotic fighters, including "Vultures," "Hyenas," and "Scarabs," poured out from the motherships and gathered at a distance behind the main battle line, forming a massive and ever-thickening cloud of metal.

(End of this chapter)