Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 205-207 - Encirclement
Renn's heart suddenly raced, and a strong sense of unease rose within him.

He clung desperately to the thread of reason that was about to snap, and asked, "How long would it take for a fleet to travel from Mechis to Agdul?"

Little Tower quickly replied, "About twelve standard hours."

"Then why haven't they shown up yet?" Renn's voice carried a barely perceptible tension.

Yagdul must have sent out countless distress signals.

Even with the strongest intelligence agencies, it's impossible for them to intercept all signals.

Without this supply line, the entire Southern Second Sector Army would likely crumble before Horn Ambigine.

If Renn were on Planet Mechis III, within a day's journey, he would definitely rush to his aid immediately.

Either the infighting within the Republican Army was more severe than he had anticipated, or... everything before him was a carefully laid trap.

Xiao Ta paused for a moment, and her posture seemed to change slightly.

He climbed down the lower deck of the bridge, leaving Ryan and Goldell behind.

Raine's gaze was fixed on the tactical hologram as the fleet drew ever closer to Yagdul.

hastily!

Why wasn't it discovered before?

How did the Republic come to the discovery?
Where is the flaw?
Renn gritted his teeth.

The operation to encircle Yagdul is progressing, but at a very slow pace.

He thought he had a time advantage, but it turned out to give the Republic ample time to make its plans.

"The scout has sent a communication!" Godell's voice broke the silence, and he immediately connected the signal.

The communication access prompt scrolled across Renn's holographic screen, but his eyes remained fixed on the star map.

He glanced quickly at the sender's identifier.

"Read it aloud as a voice!" Renn lowered his voice, his tone filled with suppressed anger.

"--Received! Enemy fleet detected to the northeast," the Rebel-class destroyer USS Lexington reported in a voice that sounded like a maintenance robot. "Identification number: Army of the 20th Sector. Their flagship is the Jester-class battlecruiser USS Excellence, and the commander is Governor Octavian Grant... A total of 252 warships have been detected."

What was bound to happen, happened.

When Octavian Grant last commanded the siege of Mechis III, he had more than 500 warships under his command.

He only brought a little over two hundred ships, which means he is not the main force... but this number itself does not pose a decisive threat.

anyway……

"Why would 'Lexington' use a service robot's voice?" Ryan asked, puzzled, his brief shock somewhat dampened by this little incident.

Gaudel made a shrug-like motion, which was quite an effort for a robot with no movable shoulders, “assigned by the system based on her personality matrix.”

"What is this..."

"Enemy fleet spotted to the northwest!" another Rebel-class destroyer, the USS Saratoga, reported. This time, it used the LEP droid's voice transmitter, and the voice even sounded somewhat cheerful. "Identified as Task Force 'Swift Justice,' flagship is the Knight-class battleship 'Swift Justice,' commanded by Jedi General Empatojejos Brand. Observed... approximately one hundred warships, possibly a little less..."

"What's wrong?!"

Ryan pressed for an answer, his heartstrings tightening again the moment he relaxed.

“Their fleet has a large number of warships.” Saratoga’s voice sounded somewhat tense.

Abundant warships.

Renn's thoughts raced.

Has Fengduo fallen?
If it has fallen, how could there still be so many warships?

Is this surrender?
This is not good news.

He originally planned to use Fengduo as a safe haven during "Operation Starlight"...

One hundred warships?

This means that, with the addition of the four hundred ships of the Yagdul siege fleet and the two hundred ships of the 20th fleet, the number of Republic warships now facing off in the system has reached seven hundred.

The situation was completely different from when they arrived 25 hours earlier.

"Kronau radiation detected on the south side!" The sensor robot's third alarm nearly made Rein jump out of his seat. "Two hundred... no, three hundred engine signals! The flagship... the flagship is the 'Pioneer'! It's the 'Open Ring Fleet'!"

Renn numbly pulled up the tactical hologram.

Three Republic fleets suddenly appeared at the three reconnaissance points that originally formed an equilateral triangle.

A total of one thousand warships.

An invisible giant net has quietly closed in, trapping them firmly.

What a coincidence that three different fleets arrived at the same time?
“It seems they were prepared,” Little Tower calmly analyzed from the lower deck. “They knew Yagdul was our target. Our operation has been exposed, and now there’s no turning back… Godell, order the scouts to remain silent. We can’t lose them.”

How did they discover it?
Aside from the highest levels of the Confederate Air Force, no one knew that the 28th Mobile Fleet's target was Yagdul.

The order was issued in Yugoslavia via highly confidential real-time transmission.

Ryan grabbed his tablet and quickly scanned the documents, looking for any potential leaks in the plan.

The result was that only one local text document was found, which was his own notes.

The name "Yagdur" was not found in any of the incoming or outgoing communication records.

The only communications the Republic could possibly intercept were the messages that Count Dooku sent to Ventress without authorization from Salust… but by then Salust no longer had any Republic power.

Unless their escape pods are equipped with extremely specialized electronic warfare equipment... but Rein has serious doubts about that.

Moreover, can the Republic really deduce their objectives from a single phone call?
Rein scanned the entire communications matrix of the Chimera once more.

However, still nothing was found.

A suffocating sense of familiarity washed over him, and Ryan's muscles tensed, his fingers trembling slightly as they hovered over the screen.

He was certain that the Republic could not have known about the plan in advance and set such a meticulous trap.

A chill ran down his spine. He could only think of one explanation.

Didn't I already defeat you, you invisible cheater!
Renn roared silently in his heart, then grabbed at the air in front of him with a heavy grip, as if trying to seize the invisible primal force.

Naturally, he caught nothing.

But when he opened his hand, a strange warmth remained in his palm.

"Communication from the 'Sharriheng'!"

"Don't tell me it's the enemy fleet again...!" Rein's voice was filled with suppressed frustration.

“It’s not the fleet,” Naradan Dulin said seriously, without a hint of jest. “We’ve discovered that the Dark Servant is behaving erratically, and Ventress has not followed orders.”

Raine practically lunged at the tactical hologram, spinning the image rapidly until the focus locked onto the "Dark Servant".

The lone "Divine Will" class warship was moving toward the western edge of the Yagdul system, while other friendly ships were speeding in the opposite direction.

Finally... Renn's mind raced like a high-speed processor, his gaze rapidly switching between various screens.

This is a trap... no.

This is a battle.

And all the battles are puzzles yet to be solved.

Ryan took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

Right now, we need to deal with the most dangerous enemy first.

Anakin Skywalker.

Only he has the ability to do all of this.

It must have been him; he used some method.

He set up this trap.

Now, Rennes must dismantle the situation piece by piece to break free.

“Wait,” Raine said quickly to Naradan, then turned to the communications bot, “Connect me… broadcast to Ventress on all channels, obfuscate the signal, I want the ‘Opening Fleet’ to hear it.”

"Yes, yes."

Renn took a deep breath.

"The line is connected, sir."

"...Ventris."

no respond.

"Do you understand your orders, Ventress?" Raine asked again, his tone more forceful.

"...This is not your order."

Renn was tracking the flight path on the tactical hologram.

The 28th Mobile Fleet rushed towards Yagdur.

The Republic's fleet is closing in on them.

He let the silence linger as he pondered his words.

“Alright… I won’t ask any more questions,” Ryan told her. “I am your superior officer, but not your direct commander. You have cooperated well without direct orders, but if your direct superior contacts you… then I cannot overstep my authority. I can only trust that your instructions are for the greater good of the Confederation.”

Silence descended once more.

Raine couldn't see Ventress's expression, but she could perfectly imagine what she was looking like at that moment.

"...It must be so."

“Then I choose to believe you,” Raine lied calmly. “Be careful, Commander. I don’t trust the Force, and I especially abhor its dark side, but I’m willing to believe that we are fighting for the same goal, so please be careful. Betrayal is a cancerous growth of the dark side. Good luck.”

Ryan cut off the communication.

He stared at the signal marker of the Dark Servant at the edge of the galaxy, where it could leap into hyperspace without hindrance.

But it just hovered there.

For a moment, Raine thought she would contact him again, until a flash of light and a surge of radiation caused the Dark Servant's signal marker to freeze, flicker, and then change to "Last Known Location".

The Chimera's remote scanner swept across that airspace, but there was no further response.

She disappeared.

“‘Sharihun’, this is ‘Chimera’,” Raine began, knowing that this deliberately poorly encrypted communication would be easily overheard by any Open Ring Fleet with even a slight eavesdropping capability. “Ventris is en route to the Lonne Nebula to meet ‘Storm Fleet’. I believe we can withstand the Republic’s attack until she brings back reinforcements. Her return with reinforcements is crucial, therefore, I order you to lead my fifty warships to assist her in this mission. Please confirm.”

Renn released the call button.

The communication robot nodded and adjusted the encryption level back to standard operational status.

“Are you sure about this?” the Shadow Guard responded. “It’s obviously bait for Skywalker, but… can you really hold off the Republic? This isn’t Sallust. You’re one against three now. If you send our intelligence to us… you’ll lose fifty ships and become one against four.”

“Hold on? That’s just part of the lie, Naradan,” Raine stood up and stretched again. “By the time you come back, there will only be one fleet left… my fleet.”

“I admire your confidence,” Naradan said seriously, “but even Alrix couldn’t win against four opponents.”

“I am not Alrix,” Renn said calmly but with a hint of ruthlessness, “and I will not fight four against one. I will deal with one at a time in four separate engagements.”

“…Understood,” Naradan’s voice revealed a hint of approval. “May the stars guide you, Bontri, you will need it.”

“Remember our plan, Naradan.”

"No matter what happens, the mission will be accomplished; this is Mistral's creed."

Subsequently.

The twenty Mistral destroyers of the Enbren Fleet and the fifty electronic warfare frigates of the 287th Intelligence Division changed course and sped toward the last known location of the Dark Servant.

They quickly cleared away the floating debris and escape pods in the exit area, then roared to life and leaped into hyperspace.

(End of this chapter)