Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 190, Section 192 - Trust!

Horn Ambigine, from the Taidan Galaxy.

During the Republic era, he led an anti-Galactic Republic militia for decades.

During the Clone Wars, Ambigine joined the Independent System Confederation and served as a ground forces general.

Count Dooku stationed him on the planet Prandias in the Blacks Sector to oversee organic training and instruct other separatists in defending their homeland from attacks by the Republic.

After the Clone Wars ended, Ambigine became the leader of the Blacks Freedom Fighters, a remnant of separatist forces operating in the Blacks Sector.

After issuing the declaration of rebellion, he publicly renounced his separatist past and, during the Galactic Civil War, led the freedom fighters to join the Rebel Alliance, whose forces later became known as the Blacks Sector Forces.

However, this latter part has changed, and no one knows whether the result will be the same.

Trench didn’t care whether the Supreme Commander knew Horn Ambigine’s true nature.

In the vast Milky Way galaxy, Ambigine is merely a guardian of an isolated star system on the outer edge of the galaxy.

It's quite normal that his decades-long struggle went largely unnoticed.

But as a general in the Corporate League, Trench was no stranger to violence and exploitation.

When necessary, he would also commit atrocities in the name of greed.

Although he always drew a line for himself, never personally participating in the dirtiest dealings, the old Hatch man never denied that he had witnessed, or even indirectly caused, those inevitable horrific events born of exploitation.

After all, he had led the Allied fleet to plunder wealth and resources in the outer regions on numerous occasions.

Throughout his long career, Trench had naturally heard of the legend of the "Taidan Ghost".

They were the avenging guardians of a prosperous galaxy on the edge of civilization.

This specter is so cruel to any exploration team, merchant fleet, or even judicial escort that it seeks to establish itself in the Taidan system that even the largest corporations consider the place a losing proposition.

If it weren't for a strange twist of fate and a common enemy that made them unlikely allies, Trench might have eventually gone to meet this "Ghost of Taidan" in person.

For this reason, Trench only met Horn Ambigine once, when the Supreme Commander was enthroned on Laxus II.

It was at that moment that he realized how deceptive first impressions can be.

Prior to this, he already had a clear image of this infamous figure.

In reality, the First General was already old by human standards, and his voice was rough and harsh.

Apart from that, he looked like a white-haired veteran who had climbed to a high position through seniority and could tell some exciting war stories.

Even now, Trench finds it difficult to combine these two drastically different images into one person.

It was out of concern and goodwill that he decided to tell Tann the stories about Horn Ambigine that were circulating among former corporate officers.

“Elijado represents everything he despises,” the two powerful officers in the separatist alliance looked at each other, “an outer world that has betrayed the outer world’s predicament, a world that is willing to lick Coruscant’s boots, a world that has abandoned the common cause of the outer world and chosen to collude with the exploiters rather than resist.”

“General, if you want to instill panic in the Republic, choosing Horn Ambigine is undoubtedly the right choice,” Admiral Trench said, finding a holographic star map showing the position of the Fourth Fleet Group in orbit around Eliadu. “I assure you, the Republic will panic, but not because of fear of our Allied Fleet or the ‘Bastion Fleet’.”

"So what are they afraid of, General?"

“They will fear what I fear, General,” Trench felt a chill run through his aging body, for he knew he could never fight like Horn Ambigine. “What I fear is how long it will take Horn Ambigine to show the entire galaxy how to turn a planet with 2.2 billion people into a graveyard.”

Tann stared at him, his finger reaching for the communicator again, as if considering revoking the order.

“So,” Trench warned, “is this the burden the Confederation is willing to bear?”

The supreme commander ultimately did not press the communicator button, but instead withdrew his hand and neatly placed it on his lap.

Her gaze passed over Trench's shoulder, appearing empty and blank.

Trench vaguely realized that she had once again fallen into that state of being able to perform massive calculations in an instant, an efficiency that would make even the Yagdurgi people, who were known for their computing power, envious.

"All I can say is..." After a brief silence, Tann finally curled into a cold smile: "I'm looking forward to it!"

Trench understood what she would lead the Confederation to in order to achieve victory.

……

The Sulurub asteroid belt, Salust system.

Braymar Sector.

Rein strode onto the command bridge of the "Chuck Drucker" warship, his purple cloak billowing behind him like flames.

Everyone before him—his Ondron private guard, the Kurival flintlock musketeers, the Gosam commandos, the Skako legal representatives, the Nemoidian gunners, or the officers of Asagi Ventress and the 28th Mobile Fleet—stopped and saluted him. One hundred and thirty-one star-hours had passed since the first engagement between the Sulurub asteroid belt and Salust.

The Mediator Task Force has engaged in six battles with the 28th Mobile Fleet, continuously weakening the Confederate fleet.

Now, Trench has finally been freed from his restraints and has given the order to carry out "Operation Stormgate".

Ryan placed his palm lightly on the tactical round table, his eyes meeting the gaze of each officer present with an empty look.

His eyes held only cold, ruthless rage, and the shadows around his eyes spoke of the exhaustion he had endured for hours on end, constantly devising strategies.

Ventress felt the air around her was suffocating.

This is not heavy or oppressive, nor is it the same feeling as standing in front of Dooku.

No, the air here... is nothingness.

It was as if there was no air at all.

It felt like being in a vacuum; every breath was futile, unable to deliver oxygen into the lungs.

The Force was extremely far away from her, as if she were trapped in a stagnant force field, unable to draw even a trace of the Force to her fingertips.

Having lost the Force connection, Ventress felt... utterly exposed.

A cold, unshielded feeling, like losing the weight of armor one is used to.

Across the table, Vinok's face also showed discomfort, which made her realize that she wasn't the only one feeling this way.

“I’m sure you all already know, but I must reiterate it here,” Raine’s lips moved, but his voice seemed to resound directly in everyone’s minds, exceptionally clear, “Operation Stormgate has been launched. We will defeat Alrix here and then immediately move to Aghdul.”

"When shall we depart, General?" Diderich Greshad asked.

“Didn’t you hear me?” Ryan’s tone was flat. “I said immediately.”

Faced with the silent questions filling the air, Raine took out four data cards.

“Only Ventress, Diedrich, Vinok, and Holgo will accompany me,” he slid the data cards to the four men. “Kret and Chom will stay behind… This is the strategy devised by Little Ta and me. Insert the cards into your flight computers; they contain encrypted instructions for dealing with all sorts of possible situations. When the system detects that preset conditions are met, the instructions will automatically activate, accept the command, and execute it to the best of its ability. If it cannot execute, it is allowed to act independently.”

Doubt instantly turned into confusion, even Ventress was surprised.

“This…can it work?” Vinok held the data card up to the light, as if trying to find a secret in the thin metal sheet. “So far, Alrix has seen through all our strategies.”

“She’s had the upper hand so far,” Ryan retorted. “Now it’s our turn. Five days have passed, and if I still haven’t figured out Alrix’s tricks, I’ll have Ventress gouge my eyes out myself.”

“That’s an honor,” Ventress replied coldly.

“Let me guess,” Hogo Schiff, a Muen, pointed his bony fingers into a spire, “that there will be no communication between the squads throughout the entire battle?”

“That’s right,” Ryan said, scanning the crowd again. “Do you all trust me?”

Even Ventress had to admit that how could they not trust them?
During the fourth conflict in Salust, Raine almost sacrificed his personal command force to protect his three commanders and their squads.

Given that Ryan was known for his solo style, many people had doubts at the time.

But since then, he has proven that in the heat of battle, his own safety is not his priority.

If trust is mutual.

But to engage in battle without knowing the full extent of the plan... is a completely different matter.

Ventress was genuinely unsure if they could achieve what Ryan had in mind.

“Very good,” Rein took the stunned silence as an answer, “because I will trust all of you to carry out my orders in battle. My flagship will lead the charge, followed by Ventress, Vinok, Diedrich, and Hogo. Until the data cards are activated, simply follow one standard order: stay close to the leading ship. Communicate this order to your subordinates and to every ship you directly command. Any other questions?”

“Aleix’s connection to the Force is incredibly strong,” Ventress gritted her teeth. “How does this strategy work? What makes it different?”

Their eyes met.

Ventress thought of Count Dooku, the man with the confidence that seemed to have the galaxy at his fingertips.

Raine's confidence wasn't overtly flamboyant... but she also felt like a pawn, acting according to a higher will.

It was as if Raine had the entire Salust system at his fingertips, as if he controlled both fleets without either side noticing, as if victory was already assured before the battle even began.

“We’ve tried many times to outsmart the Force, but we’ve failed repeatedly,” Raine said meaningfully. “The root of the problem lies in a key misunderstanding of Alrix’s abilities. For the past five days, I’ve been testing my hypothesis, and now I’m certain. The Force is a cheat, but Alrix is ​​the cheater. All I need to do is get into her head, and the Force becomes useless.”

“We will completely devour Alaric in this battle, from the fleet and the ships to the personnel,” he narrowed his eyes. “Forget about outsmarting the Force; we will play the game under Alaric’s rules and defeat her.”

(End of this chapter)