Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 194, Section 196 - Verdict!

The reason why this seemingly unsustainable "death spiral" can exist and exert such a chilling pressure lies in the fact that the 28th Mobile Fleet possesses two qualities that are difficult for any other fleet to match.

First and foremost, the fleet's entire crew had an absolute, almost blind, trust in Commander Rear Admiral Ryan Buntry.

During that brief strategic meeting before the war, Asagi Ventress questioned whether the fleet could truly trust their rear admiral to carry out an operation in which they knew nothing of the full plan.

But she didn't actually understand.

She did not personally experience those desperate defensive battles on the Peremian front.

In order to stop the seemingly unstoppable advance of the Grand Republic Army, they made one terrible sacrifice after another.

She wasn't in Centares either; on that hellish battlefield, the morale of the Peremian Alliance was on the verge of collapse.

She was not in Kolmogorov, that decisive battlefield.

It was Rear Admiral Bontri who single-handedly pulled the Allied fleet back from the brink of collapse and ultimately launched that earth-shattering counterattack against the Republic fleet, turning the tide of the battle.

The galactic historical record and propaganda machine have primarily bestowed the halo of victory upon Severn Tann.

The Confederate propaganda machine was at full capacity, proclaiming how this renowned general had arrived "just in time" to save the war.

Those who truly fought valiantly in dire straits and bought precious time for the final victory, their names and achievements have been intentionally or unintentionally obscured by the shadows of history.

But every captain, officer, and crew member of the 28th Mobile Fleet knew the truth.

Because they are the backbone of the Peremian League.

Because they witnessed firsthand how the Kolmmex shattered the arrogance of the Core World.

When their Rear Admiral Bontri willingly sacrificed his elite forces to protect the other seventy-five warships in the formation, this loyalty, demonstrated with his life, had already forged an unbreakable bond of trust within the fleet.

If Rear Admiral Bontri ordered them to charge into hell and then come back, the crew of the 28th Mobile Fleet would carry it out without hesitation.

Soon, they will prove it again.

When Tann appointed Ryan Bontri and Carly Trilm as commanders of the 28th and 19th Pelmian Alliance core fleets, he created two elite forces with an almost unbreakable trust in their leader and in each other, a trust that was as strong as blood ties.

This was the perfect piece that was indispensable in her grand war plan.

Secondly, there is the almost demanding level of exceptional experience and skills possessed by every captain, officer, and even ordinary crew member in the fleet.

The Galactic Republic Army Strategic Command had long ago listed the Peremian Alliance Fleet as a top priority threat target.

This is precisely why Anakin Skywalker's "Open Ring Fleet" was urgently transferred to Sallust.

They are widely recognized as the sharpest and deadliest blade in the Confederate armed forces.

Severn Tann initially used this fleet as bait to set Sallust's trap.

Their experience is unparalleled.

They experienced the most brutal fighting of the war.

In the purgatory of Centares, as the battle lines of the Republic and the Confederation clashed fiercely at close range, with warships turning into burning wreckage around them and crew members being swallowed by the vacuum, their nerves were tempered to the point of steel, and they did not flinch even when facing the muzzle of a cannon.

In the unprecedented battle of five thousand warships at Kolmogorov, a precise adjustment at the fire control console or a perfect output control in the engine room could instantly determine the life or death of hundreds of comrades. Their professional skills reached a state of perfection under extreme pressure.

These crew members steered the warships as experienced riders steed the most unruly horses.

Completing "impossible missions" is their hallmark.

Apart from the 19th Mobile Fleet, no other fleet could replicate this illogical "death spiral" maneuver.

At this moment, this steel vortex, imbued with terrifying power, is accelerating steadily, pressing towards the Republic's defenses.

The muzzle gleamed with a gleaming light, ready to fire, while the missile launch tubes revealed their cold fangs beneath the armor.

……

On the bridge of the Star Destroyer USS Majesty, Kendall Ozer gritted his teeth.

The flagship "Resilient" was slow to issue orders, while the enemy was closing in step by step.

He was not a reckless fool; he wouldn't naively believe that he could break through the enemy's formation simply by charging head-on.

The Mediator Task Force is indeed known for its frontal assaults, but the core pillar that enables this fleet to repeatedly achieve miracles against superior enemy forces is their Jedi General, Rhys Alrix.

General Aleks's ability is not the kind of "battle meditation" that can coordinate the entire army; her "tactics" are more like a precise strike based on Force intuition.

If it weren't for the superb skills and excellent teamwork of the many captains in the fleet, which could compensate for the minor deviations in her decision-making, her combat methods would not have been able to achieve such brilliant results.

They have absolute trust in the general and know how to build a tactical system around her core abilities.

Therefore, when Ozer judged the situation to be unfavorable and decisively issued the order to temporarily avoid the enemy's advance and retreat, the entire battle line of the "Mediator Task Force" carried it out without hesitation.

Each ship simultaneously activated its reverse thrusters, the engine nozzles emitting a dazzling blue light. The fleet moved backward as a whole, precisely synchronizing with the propulsion speed of the Death Spiral, patiently awaiting the general's next command.

They have figured out how this spiral works and its potential threats.

By rotating at high speed, when the side fire of the separatist warship is directed at the Republican Front, the warship in the "tangent" position can launch a precise and deadly salvo of missiles.

As the circle continues to rotate, this firepower strike is like a high-speed rotating machine gun, with missiles continuously sweeping towards the Republic's fleet.

If the Republic attempts to retaliate, their artillery fire will most likely futilely glide past the enemy's high-speed deflector shields—these shields can concentrate their energy highly on the starboard side of the ship where it will be hit.

Furthermore, the target warship will be quickly replaced by friendly ships that rotate up later.

While this spiral formation cannot perfectly concentrate the Star Destroyer's powerful forward main gun fire for devastating advance like Jedi Master Prokhorne's famous "Rotating Arrow" formation, it maximizes the use of the Separatist warships' generally strong side-mounted firepower, creating a continuous flank fire suppression.

……

Meanwhile, on the bridge of the HMS Resilience, Rhys Alrix himself found himself in an unprecedented predicament.

In theory, there is no such thing as a perfect, flawless formation. This paradox is enough to drive military theorists across the galaxy mad.

She knew this all too well, and had witnessed countless formations crumble before her very eyes.

No one can completely override the guidance of the Force in pure intellect.

However... at this moment, she couldn't find a way to strike decisively.

This spiral formation is not truly without flaws.

Any system with a complex structure will inevitably have gaps.

Rather, it's because these weaknesses appear too briefly, too randomly, and their locations are constantly shifting at high speed.

As the Death Spiral spins faster and faster, and the chaos intensifies, the flame she tries to lock onto in the Force—representing her "weakness"—flies from one location to another like a candle flickering in the wind.

These weaknesses are...

A frigate that can no longer keep up with the pace due to aging engines.

A heavy cruiser whose turning timing was off due to a helmsman's error.

A dreadnought whose main reactor is overloaded and whose shield output is unstable.

Or perhaps it's a destroyer whose power cells are about to run out...

All of these could become gaps that tear through the armor.

But they are fleeting. In the ever-evolving formation, a weakness may appear, only to be swept away by rotation or filled by other warships in the next second.

This was the first time she had failed to find a single, stable weakness on the ever-changing battlefield that was enough to launch a decisive blow.

Realizing this, she was unwilling to easily admit defeat and give up the galaxy she had captured and defended at great cost.

Aleks's tactical thinking naturally shifted to another target, a hidden danger she had long observed that had always threatened the enemy.

The five Confederate auxiliary ships hidden in the Sulurub asteroid belt.

They were like the Sword of Damocles hanging over the enemy's head, foreshadowing she had laid in advance.

But to strike these auxiliary ships, she had to get around the massive vortex of steel in front of her.

She chose the roundabout route because she keenly realized that although the rotating circle was extremely powerful, its propulsion speed was relatively slow, and as a whole, it was far less flexible in changing course than a single ship.

The order was quickly relayed, and the "Mediator Task Force's" neat battle line began to turn 90 degrees to the right, reorganizing into a single column.

"Resilience" led the way, while "Majesty" was in the middle of the column.

The plan gradually became clear: the Republic Fleet would sail at high speed along the outer edge of the Death Spiral in column formation, conducting a "circling burn".

If the separatists are mobilized and forced to break the spiral formation they rely on to maintain, the Republic fleet can seize the opportunity of their chaotic reorganization to launch a deadly charge and wipe out the remaining enemy in one fell swoop.

The engines of the "Mediator Task Force" spewed long plumes of flame, like a giant silver python, as it began to roar and speed along the circumference of the death spiral.

They only need to fly in a 90-degree spiral to obtain a clear attack route directly targeting the asteroid belt support ship.

A full-power pulse propulsion takes only a few minutes...

……

Just as the Republic Fleet was about to complete its turn, the Chimera, like a stone projectile launched from a slingshot, suddenly broke free from the high-speed spinning storm of steel!
It charged straight at the “Majesty” Star Destroyer in the middle of the Republic Column with a near-suicidal charge, spewing blue flames from its engine nozzles along a precisely calculated interception line!

The long-planned attack has finally begun!
As if life had been breathed into the monster named after it, one could almost hear it roaring as it loaded heavy torpedoes into its launch tubes, while swarms of Vulture-type robot starfighters roared out of the hangar and external racks like bees, instantly obscuring a small patch of the starry sky.

The entire battlefield fell into a moment of suffocating silence.

Both the officers and soldiers of the Republic and the Confederation held their breath, watching in disbelief as the lone aircraft carrier destroyer brazenly broke away from the protection of the massive formation and charged alone toward the enemy's well-ordered battle line.

Follow closely behind the spacecraft ahead.

At this moment, the closest ship behind the Chimera is the Durandal, a frigate of the 2nd Strike Division.

In the chaos of high-speed spinning, the ship had long since broken away from its original formation, and all the secondary formations had long since vanished like sugar cubes dissolving in boiling water.

But only that deeply ingrained, standard command remained in the captain's mind, and he instinctively roared out the order:
"Follow that ship! Full speed ahead!"

The spell binding the death spiral was instantly broken!

The Confederate fleet, like a giant steel ring suddenly snapped, spread outwards violently!

The first head of the "Hydra" has already lunged out fiercely.

The USS Durandal followed closely behind the USS Chimera, with its engines running at full power and its cannons firing in unison!
Next up is the "Hound's Fang".

Then there is the "Safga Road".

Next are the "Shining" and the "Melody".

Immediately afterwards, the "Repulsion", "Reputation", and "Judgment" roared out of the vortex.

Finally, the entire 28th Mobile Fleet, like a beast breaking free of its cage, pounced on its prey with pent-up rage!

The bridge alarm on the "Majesty" wailed mournfully, leaving it with very little time to react.

The Chimera is almost here!
It suddenly veered sharply to the left during its high-speed sprint, the hull groaning metallically under the force of inertia, while the torpedo tubes on its sides flashed with deadly light, and a row of heavy torpedoes shot straight toward it, leaving trails behind!

Just as the Chimera passed parallel to the Republic column, its released Vulture swarm swarmed towards the two remaining Knight-class Star Dreadnoughts at the rear of the column, like bloodthirsty locusts.

Dense laser fire and anti-aircraft shells immediately wove a deathly barrage around the dreadnoughts, temporarily disrupting their powerful main gun aiming systems.

As the "Majesty" struggled to clear out the persistent "Vulture" fighters, the "Chimera" had already sped past like a ghost, its next target none other than the Republic's flagship at the very front of the column—

"Perseverance"!
(End of this chapter)