Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 185, Section 187 - Bottleneck Frontline
Compared to the Republic's heavily armored and heavily armed warships, the Confederate fleet's advantage lay in its medium- and long-range firepower projection.

The "Jackal-class" star destroyers are typically equipped with only four torpedo tubes, while the Republic's latest "Knight-class" has completely abandoned torpedo and missile systems, relying entirely on energy weapons.

Engaging in long-range bombardment in vast areas, such as the Battle of Sentales, is a tactic that the separatist fleet excels at.

Once forced into close-quarters combat, especially under the fierce guns of a star destroyer, the chances of a "God's Will" class ship winning in a one-on-one dogfight are extremely slim.

“It seems Aleks doesn’t want to repeat what happened 16 hours ago,” Hogo Schiff grinned, a sly glint in his eyes. “You can’t blame her, can you?”

Sixteen hours earlier, Alrix sent a Hammerhead-class light frigate too close, entering the firing range of one of Schiff's missile frigates, and it was instantly destroyed.

This time, she used the complex terrain of the asteroid belt as cover to press forward step by step. The core of her tactics was to force the separatists to abandon their expertise in long-range attacks and enter into close-quarters combat, which they were trying to avoid.

At this distance, the Republic's warships have a significant advantage.

In fact, the Separatist fleet was trapped in this asteroid belt fortress largely because of Ventress.

If it weren't for the fact that her damaged fleet needed this base for emergency repairs and rest, they could have safely remained in outer orbit of the Salust system, patiently awaiting the signal to launch Operation Stormgate.

However, the choice of this abandoned mining site as a base was not accidental.

Those two tunnels, which appear to be natural barriers, have a crucial feature that cannot be detected from the outside.

The tunnel widens very gradually and subtly as you go deeper inside.

By the time the attackers realize something is wrong, it is often too late. The diameter of the tunnel will quietly expand from 4 kilometers at the entrance to nearly 10 kilometers at the end near the core airspace, enough to accommodate more warships to deploy.

“There’s another problem,” Ventress’s hoarse voice came through the communication channel, with her usual coldness, “Our ‘Vulture’ robot fighters are basically useless in this godforsaken place.”

“It’s not entirely useless,” Diderich Greshad corrected cautiously, “it’s just that… the advantages of cluster operations are gone, and its effectiveness is very limited.”

The reason is obvious: in the dense debris flow of the asteroid belt, large-scale fighter formations simply cannot deploy or maneuver; forcibly deploying them would only result in collisions or destruction by meteorites.

“I will bring the most elite pilots, live aces, and the fastest-reacting ‘Vultures’,” the Sith apprentice said decisively. “Any more would be a burden. This time you have to listen to me and not give orders like you did last time.”

“Understood,” Ryan turned to another officer. “Vinock, is there anything else you’d like to add?”

Vinok's slow voice came over, tinged with self-deprecation: "Ventris, you should also keep an eye on me. My connection with the Force isn't as strong as yours, so my reactions might be a beat slower."

Ventress let out a cold snort, but still crossed her arms in front of her chest, which was taken as tacit agreement: "I understand."

“If there’s nothing else,” Hogo tapped the control panel with his long, thin fingers, making a soft clicking sound, “then let’s begin this ‘ball’!”

“One last reminder,” Kretz’s voice rang out again, with an undeniable seriousness, “When facing the Jedi, the most dangerous thing is not their lightsabers or fleets, but their ability to disrupt your thinking. In a battle that defies common sense, clinging to conventional thinking is often the biggest weakness. No matter what happens, keep a clear head and don’t overthink it.”

Kretz's holographic image flickered and then disappeared.

The bridge lights of the "Repulsion" instantly switched to a dark red combat lighting mode.

A heavy impact rang out, and the thick blast-proof armor plate descended, covering the huge observation window.

The next second, the holographic head-up display lit up in front of the cockpit, and various sensor modes quickly switched, finally settling on infrared imaging, clearly outlining the cold asteroid and the blazing engine exhaust.

Raine slammed his hand heavily on the tactical control panel of the "Repel".

The roar of engines came from deep within the ship's hull, and huge ion nozzles sprayed out dazzling blue-white light in the space filled with debris.

“Time to get back into action, old pal,” Renn murmured, as if speaking to the giant ship.

The massive hull of the "Repel" trembled slightly, and the roar of its engines grew louder, like a battle cry, responding to its commander.

……

The battle began with piercing alarms and the buzzing of energy weapons charging.

Kendall Ozer could only watch helplessly as the vanguard fleet of more than twenty Jagdpanzer-class destroyers, led by the "Resilient," receded into the distance.

The deafening roar of their heavy DBY-827 twin-mounted turbo-laser turrets on the bow heralded the start of the general offensive.

Just moments before the firing began, the staff were still incessantly warning that this could be a trap set by separatists.

Their reasoning was that in such a narrow passage, the large separatist fleet could not fully deploy and could not effectively utilize its usual and troublesome "broadspan salvo" tactics.

Therefore, the staff deduced that the enemy must have set up some kind of deadly trap ahead.

Ozer scoffed at this, cursing the cowards inwardly.

There aren't that many twists and turns!

Separatists cannot set a trap, because the initiative is in the hands of the Republic!

They are the ones choosing the battlefield and controlling the pace.

In this game, the rules are set by the Republic, and the enemy can only passively respond.

Exactly 63 star hours after the first small-scale conflict in Salust, the Republic's loyalist forces and the Confederate main fleet finally clashed in their first large-scale head-on confrontation in this star system.

The Republic's warships formed a solid convex line, like a moving steel wall, steadily advancing, intending to crush the enemy with the overwhelming frontal firepower of the star destroyers.

Hundreds of blinding energy beams, the blue of the Republic and the red of the Separatists, tore through the dim space of the asteroid belt, like deadly fangs biting into the deflector shield.

The firepower was so intense that within the narrow passage, the interwoven blue and red lights almost merged into a dazzling sea of ​​purple light.

Don't overthink it!

Ozer silently recited his creed in his heart.

There's no need for fancy formation changes, sophisticated tactical maneuvers, or complex strategic calculations here. Only a heavy shield at the forefront, and the enemy behind that shield that must be destroyed.

This is not a contest of skill, but a pure clash of strength and firepower! And the Republic Navy has no shortage of firepower!
General Alrikes's Jagdpanzer-class battlecruisers charged forward in a fierce frontal assault.

The heavy DBY-827 turrets on the bow and sides roared incessantly, unleashing devastating energy upon the enemy.

On this restricted battlefield, Confederate capital ships were unable to effectively turn their hulls to display their dense array of side-mounted torpedo tubes.

Conversely, the unique wedge-shaped hull design of the Republic's warships allows most of the guns on the bow and sides to be pointed directly forward without obstruction, unleashing their full firepower.

However, Ozer felt a churning in his stomach.

There is no doubt that the battle situation appears to be in their favor.

After enduring the Republic's initial onslaught, the right wing of the separatists, led by Diederich and Holgo's forces, began a steady counterattack and slowly retreated along the corridor, employing delaying tactics.

But there was always something inexplicable that made him uneasy.

He commanded the nine most powerful Knight-class warships in the entire Mediator Task Force, but was now positioned in the middle and rear of the assault echelon.

The arrangement itself is not unreasonable.

"Knight-class" weapons are precious weapons for decisive battles, but Ozer desperately wants to be at the forefront and witness the enemy's defeat and escape.

Since he couldn't get what he wanted, he could only stare intently at the tactical holographic display screen, trying to get a feel for the battle situation from it.

Just then, a detail caught his attention.

As the Republic's left-wing fleet forced the separatists to retreat step by step, the diameter of the passage seemed to be slowly but steadily widening!

It's like an inverted funnel.

The wider the passage, the more warships the separatists can deploy to the front lines.

Several separatist Divine Will-class dreadnoughts have already attempted to risk breaking out of the direct fire suppression range of the Republic's vanguard, the Resilient, and are almost pointing their deadly broadside torpedo tubes at the Republic fleet!

Fortunately, the relentless and fierce artillery fire from the Republic's front lines promptly pushed them back.

"Connect me to General Alrix immediately!" Ozer roared, his voice drowning out the noise on the bridge.

"Connecting to 'Resilient,' sir!" the communications officer responded.

A few seconds later, General Aleks’ blue holographic image appeared in the projection area of ​​the bridge of the “Majesty”.

Her khaki Jedi cloak seemed to flutter slightly in the virtual air currents, her expression serene.

"What is it, Brigadier General?" Her voice came through the communicator.

"Report, General!" Ozer almost forgot to salute, but thankfully the other man didn't seem to notice. "The passage is widening! The further in we go, the more space we have! The enemy can commit more troops to fight us. The deeper we push them, the more our terrain advantage will slip away, which will actually benefit the separatists!"

It seems the separatists anticipated this and deliberately retreated to the more open airspace behind the asteroid belt for defense.

By carefully examining the tactical star map and combining it with sensor analysis of the density of surrounding asteroids, it can be seen that this region resembles a "bottle".

The Republic's fleet is rushing in through the narrow "bottleneck," and as it goes deeper, it will soon enter the wide "bottle belly."

If the advance continues, the separatists could easily mobilize powerful reserves from both flanks and complete the encirclement before the Republic fleet could react.

General Aleks's image paused for a moment, clearly as he retrieved data to verify Ozer's findings.

In that brief moment of silence, a dense stream of asteroid fragments rained down on the "Majesty" and the rearguard led by Ozer, like hail.

Some of the debris bypassed the reinforced particle shield at the bow and slammed into the Knight-class's thick side armor, producing a dull and terrifying roar that caused the ship to shake violently!

The armor plate was torn apart, and the alarm sounded instantly.

Preliminary reports indicate that the damage was only superficial, possibly a chain reaction caused by a meteorite loosened by friendly fire or enemy attack.

Just two minutes later, a second, even more violent torrent of debris, carrying chaotic energy turbulence, crashed down from the starboard side!
This attack directly disrupted the formation of the rearguard fleet, and several Jagdpanzer-class ships nearly collided.

Ozer sternly reprimanded the somewhat panicked bridge crew, ordering them to immediately concentrate the shield energy and transfer it to the starboard side to defend against the next possible wave of impact.

"Hold the formation! Hold the line!" he commanded fiercely. "Sensor officer! Give me a detailed report immediately! What the hell is going on?!"

General Aleks's image had not yet returned, and the holographic projection area was only covered by a faint blue halo, occasionally interrupted by the blurry figures of officers rushing across the bridge of the "Resilient".

“It’s difficult to pinpoint the source, sir!” The sensor officer’s fingers flew across the control panel, his voice tinged with tension. “But… the shockwave seems to be coming from our right flank!”

“Right wing? Explain yourself!” Ozer roared.

"It's the 'Statesman' squadron, sir!" The lieutenant swallowed hard, his face pale. "They're... they're bombarding the asteroid belt on the side of the tunnel! Creating an artificial rain of debris!"

Ozer fell into deep thought, his brow furrowed.

The sensor officer, mistaking his silence for incomprehension, hurriedly added, "...They used artillery fire to shatter large asteroids, sir, creating a large number of high-speed fragments that then collided with other asteroids, triggering a chain reaction! Now this artificial meteor storm has reached our side! The right wing is trying to use this method to collapse the passage and completely block the route..."

“I know what they’re doing!” Ozer interrupted him impatiently, his anger flaring. “What I want to know is why they’re doing this! This wasn’t part of the original plan at all!”

“Brigadier General.” General Aleks’ calm voice suddenly rang out, causing Ozer to turn around abruptly. Her holographic image became clear again. “The ‘Politician’ reports that they are under heavy attack and have been forced to retreat.”

Ozer subconsciously licked his dry lips, his gaze involuntarily drifting to the observation window on his right.

Aside from the flying debris outside the window, the scene of the fierce battle in that distant passage was not yet visible.

But the enemy's strategic intentions became clear in his mind in an instant. The only explanation for how "easily" they could defeat this "weak" enemy force was that the separatists had concentrated all their elite and powerful main forces to deal with the "Politician"!

“They definitely want to concentrate their superior forces to first crush our detachment in the stellar direction,” Ozer quickly judged, speaking rapidly, “and then maneuver quickly to outflank and attack our main force from the rear! General, how should we respond?”

(End of this chapter)