Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 211, Page 213 - Take one down, two more remain.
Grant's smile gradually faded, replaced by worry.

As the two fleets passed each other, and the staff of the Excellence began planning the return route needed to annihilate the remnants of the separatist fleet, Octavian Grant once again carefully examined the terrain of this star system.

A sense of unease lingered in my mind.

A question lingered in his mind.

Why didn't Ryan Bontry commit all his forces to attack the 20th Star System fleet?

Where did the 75 warships go?

Octavian Grant was eager to know where they had gone.

His gaze swept quickly across the tactical hologram, jumping from one possible point to another.

Perhaps they are attacking two fleets simultaneously?

It's possible, but unlikely.

Seventy-five warships are insufficient to counter the "Open Ring" fleet, and using seventy-five to attack the "Quick Justice" task force is pointless when two-thirds of his fleet is engaged in attacking the 20th Fleet.

If he wanted to escape, there were more efficient ways.

This strategy won't work if you want to win.

This means that the missing 75 warships... were also targeting the 20th Star System Fleet.

Where will it come from?
Octavian Grant's eyes suddenly sharpened.

From there.

In the heat of battle, he hadn't noticed that the 20th Fleet had advanced far enough to pass Yagdul's third satellite.

This satellite created a huge blind spot behind the fleet's port side.

If Bontri had hidden a third of his fleet behind the satellite, tracking their movements and waiting for the perfect moment to launch a pincer attack from the rear...

“I understand,” the general’s voice rang out on the bridge, drawing the crew’s attention. “It seems we’ve been outmaneuvered.”

"General?" the adjutant asked, puzzled.

Grant handed the data panel to the staff officer: "Helmsman, full speed ahead. We must break out of this melee. Select the most damaged warships and leave them at the rear to act as physical shields. Order them to turn their hulls to the rear. Once the personnel have completed the operation, evacuate immediately."

As expected, once the frigates and battleships broke through the Republic's blockade, they began to disperse.

The remaining three Lucrehook-class battleships roared as they dove downwards, while the escort fleet dispersed upwards, outwards, or downwards.

It was through this maneuver that the Republic's crew were able to see the damage to the enemy's battle lines.

37 frigates and 20 destroyers are gliding along their final course, relying on inertia on invisible tracks.

They are neither maneuverable nor able to change direction.

In contrast, only 16 Republic battlecruisers were rendered combat in that engagement.

However, this brief joy was shattered in an instant.

They broke into the firing range of the last layer of the separatist three-tiered battle line.

This time, they faced the full flank fire of the Crying Sun and all 74 warships of the 284th Combat Division.

At the same time, the sensor officer on the bridge of the USS Illustrious shouted:

"Enemy ships detected! Relative to planetary azimuth 039 degrees, distance 2 kilometers! They've emerged from behind the satellite!"

"How many?" Grant asked a question he already knew the answer to.

One of the boats was particularly eye-catching, its chrome armor gleaming on the display screen, and its magnificent solar sails would not look out of place even on a luxury yacht.

That was a Tyon battlecruiser.

This masterpiece, a fusion of outstanding engineering and naval design, touched Grant's heart as a nobleman.

He had never seen a ship like this before, and even from this distance, he longed to speak with the captain of this fine warship.

"75 ships, sir!"

“They’re flanking us from both the front and the back,” the adjutant said pessimistically, but with unwavering sense of duty. “We may be facing our end here.”

This instantly brought him back to reality.

2 kilometers... well within the effective range of separatist missiles and torpedoes.

Sure enough, as if responding to this thought, the enemy's battle line flashed with light.

Once, twice, three times...

A barrage of deadly missiles hurtled toward the 20th Fleet's rear, which was not entirely unprepared.

"Concentrate the shields forward," Grant ordered with cold composure. "Gunners, take local control and concentrate fire on the enemy ahead. Aim for vitals, torpedo tubes."

"As you command, sir."

With swift reaction, the gunners of the 20th Fleet turned their guns straight ahead and unleashed a thunderous barrage of fire.

Almost simultaneously, the 284th Combat Division also launched a volley.

At such close range, sparks flew in the void separating the two battle lines, and violent explosions seemed to be roaring right in front of them, forcing the viewing windows to automatically dim to prevent the crew from going blind.

The space was far too narrow, and energy particles, turbo laser beams, and torpedoes collided with each other at extremely high speeds, annihilating one another in a self-destructive rage.

Then, behind them, the enemy's first volley hit the target.

It crashed directly into the battlecruiser bulwark that Grant had ordered to remain at the rear as a physical shield.

They shattered upon impact, sending tens of millions of tons of steel fragments flying outwards toward the 20th Fleet's vulnerable engine bays.

Smaller fragments were incinerated in the ion propulsion exhaust, while larger debris slammed into the stern bulkhead.

"Order all ships to immediately cut off all power transmission to the engines!" Similar orders rang out on the bridge of every surviving battlecruiser. The captains skillfully took control of the situation and prevented what should have been an inevitable disaster—a chain reaction of engine explosions.

Then came the second salvo, followed by the third.

In the end, many Republic captains began to distribute shield energy between the front and rear to more effectively disperse damage.

Nevertheless, by the time the two separatist combat divisions completed their respective "T-shaped maneuvers," most of the ships in the 20th Fleet were already immobilized.

Their massive ship engine rooms became a burden under the onslaught of separatist warheads.

Thanks to Octavian Grant's decision to sacrifice some ships to protect the rear, the main body of the fleet remained intact and the weapon systems were still operational, but without properly functioning engines, they became floating fortresses.

However, faced with this group of immobile "sitting ducks," the surviving forces of the Peremian Alliance fleet ignored the badly damaged 20th Fleet and continued westward along their current course.

Octavian Grant stared at the now-extinguished holographic transmitter, where the tactical star map had once been displayed.

The "Illustrious" was experiencing intermittent power outages as engineers worked to restore the severely damaged main reactor.

The emergency battery is still maintaining critical systems such as gravity and air.

Grant sketched out the final image of the tactical hologram in his mind, imagining tracking the enemy fleet's departure trajectory.

“…I understand,” he murmured to himself, “That’s brilliant.”

"Sir?"

“I must admit that my previous assessment of Commander Tal was unfair; she deserves more credit,” Octavian Grant acknowledged. “She was right from the start to identify Task Force 'Quick Justice' as Ryan Bontry’s primary objective.”

“I thought the main target was us, General.” The adjutant raised an eyebrow.

"How many of our ships are permanently rendered combat ineffective, Captain?" Grant asked.

"...about one hundred ships, General."

"Will the other 150 ships be able to return to combat service after repairs?"

"Yes."

“This is a battle that has yet to be decided,” Grant analyzed. “Buntry has realized that, since General Brand and I are close in position, one fleet can support the other, but he also understands the importance of crippling our 20th Fleet so that we can cut off communication between the 'Quick Justice' task force and the 'Open Loop' fleet.”

Therefore, his attack on us was not a typical 'divide and conquer' annihilation campaign, but rather aimed at rendering us incapable of action.

We are paralyzed; we can neither move nor communicate.

Then, Bontri wouldn't get bogged down in a war of attrition that could get him into trouble.

"It is our shame that we failed to deduce his intentions."

“I agree,” Octavian Grant paced on the deck. “I never imagined an Ondron man could devise such a brilliant strategy. Do we know anything else about him?”

“He is a nobleman, an officer, from the Bontri family,” the officer replied stiffly. “Should we order the engineers to restore our ships to combat readiness?”

“That makes sense,” the Tapani nobleman nodded solemnly. “Right now, the priority is to restore communication equipment and order all ships that are still combat-ready to rendezvous with the ‘Open Ring’ fleet. This cannot wash away the shame, but fighting alongside Commander Asoka in the final battle can at least make up for our disgrace.”

"Yes, General."

Governor General Octavian Grant let out a long sigh of relief, his gaze fixed on the pitch-black void outside the observation window of the "Illustrious".

A thrilling duel, Bontri.

I look forward to our next encounter.

……

Meanwhile, 3 kilometers away, the Tyon battlecruiser "Crown Prince" was communicating with the separatist fleet flagship "Chimera".

“He’s very capable, that Octavian Grant,” Brigadier General Diderich Greshad said. “We need to keep an eye on him.”

Renn nodded absentmindedly.

Their original plan was to completely annihilate the 20th Fleet there, using their battle formation to hold the enemy back for enough time, and then luring them between two complete battle lines armed with torpedoes on their broadsides to crush them.

However, nearly a quarter of the remaining strength of the 28th Mobile Fleet has now been reduced to floating scrap metal, while they have destroyed less than half of the ships of the 20th Fleet.

“We’ll have to go back and deal with them later,” Ryan told Greshad. “Right now, we have to attack Empatojejos Brand before he can react. We can’t make the same mistake again.”

"So you show no mercy even to your own people, General?"

"The Jedi only recognize Coruscant as their home."

"Makes sense."

Rein's mind was in turmoil.

Octavian Grant is a new opponent he knows very little about.

Previously, the 20th Star System Army was content to hold the borders of the Tapani Governorate, and little was known about its officers and fleet.

He had always believed that the core world fleet of the Galactic Republic Army was mostly composed of relatively mediocre individuals, with the elites being transferred to the front lines.

But if all commanders of the 20th Star Force are as capable as their general, he may need to reassess this assumption.

The initial obstacles to "Operation Starburst" may be more challenging than he anticipated.

“As for Octavian Grant,” Greshad said thoughtfully in a loud voice, “if we don’t deal with him now, he could become a problem in the future.”

“His performance exceeded my expectations,” Ryan admitted. “This gives us even more reason to get rid of him as soon as possible. After this, he won’t make the same mistake again.”

One can imagine Diedrich Greshad smiling on the bridge of the "Crown Prince": "Yes, he lost more than he gained this time."

"That's true, but only this time. Next time... who doesn't have something new to offer him?"

At this moment, every separatist captain had only one thought in mind.

Take one down, and there are two left.

(End of this chapter)