Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 214, Section 216 - Melee
"...The 'Storm Fleet' is no longer under your control!"

Upon hearing this, Asagi Ventress felt an unprecedented clarity of mind.

"You are betraying me."

She said calmly and confidently that this confidence surprised both Dooku and herself.

Count Dooku met her hateful gaze. "I'm afraid this is..."

"Stop spouting nonsense!" Ventress interrupted sharply, the hissing of the laser beams overhead and the explosions of torpedoes fading into background noise. "What is all this for, Dooku!? Lataturak, Geonosis, this war!? What is the Confederation!? Tann doesn't believe you, but I do! I believe in the better galaxy you depict! Tell me! Why do I no longer belong to the future you envision!? What did I do wrong!? Where did I go wrong!? What does the Confederation mean to you!?"

“Nothing.” Dooku’s answer was concise and cold, the word like a vibrating knife piercing her abdomen, and the following words relentlessly stirred the blade: “The Confederation means nothing to me, Asagi. Your mistake is not seeing that, nor realizing that you are merely a pawn in a grand game you cannot comprehend.”

I'm so sorry, Asagi.

You were my finest creation, and I eagerly anticipated having you by my side as I established the new order. I placed my hopes on you... But in the end, you couldn't even accomplish something so simple, couldn't even hold onto a fleet that was almost handed over to you. This defeat will be your last.

The communicator clicked and disconnected.

A powerful electromagnetic wave erupted from one of her "coleopteran" shuttles.

The Banshee was close enough to intercept the code.

The encoded string scrolls across her dashboard.

She instinctively maneuvered her starfighter away from the formation.

A series of silent thuds rang out.

The navigation lights of two hundred dormant warships suddenly lit up, and the black armor plates slid back to reveal rows of neatly arranged turbine laser cannons and missile launchers below.

Then, chaos erupted.

……

Anakin witnessed the activation of the Storm Fleet clearly from his Aetherian interceptor cockpit.

R2-D2 sounded an alarm, and every bulky warship made an astonishingly sharp turn, which was quite remarkable considering its design.

Anakin had to admire its mobility and the amazing engineering behind it.

"Cargo ship" and "maneuverability" are almost antonyms, but the designers of these disguised cargo ships defied common sense in some way.

But he had no time to appreciate it.

The situation is not good right now.

Ventress succeeded.

He slowed down and retreated because the "Storm Fleet" had tightened its formation, and he felt there was no need to confront a well-prepared anti-aircraft fire network head-on.

However, the next moment, Anakin began to doubt his own judgment.

For some incomprehensible reason, the Storm Fleet began firing wildly at each other.

The river of light was swallowed by red energy beams and the thick smoke trails of missiles, and the fleet poured fire upon each other.

R2 let out a long, confused whistle, roughly meaning: "Are they attacking their own people?"

“No,” Anakin pursed his lips, “they are attacking each other’s targets, friendly fire is just a side effect, but they don’t seem to care.”

R2 let out a crude screech, and Anakin chuckled briefly.

The smile vanished instantly, as the "Storm Fleet" suddenly ceased its internal firing and turned in unison towards them, advancing like a wall of destruction.

However, before he could react, a light on the control panel began to flash.

R2-D2 beeped again, notifying him of a public channel access.

The sender was a spearhead-shaped destroyer positioned at the forefront of the separatist fleet.

Anakin felt a strong sense of déjà vu, and unusually, immediately recalled the source of this feeling.

Atlacore.

"You'll find out soon enough that those fake cargo ships are full of civilians," he muttered bitterly as he connected the communication.

“General Skywalker,” a woman’s voice came through, “are you interested in reaching a temporary ceasefire agreement? I believe it is wiser for us to fight the enemy together than to kill each other.”

If I get a credit point every time a female opponent proposes a truce, then I'll have two credit points by now.

The first time was by rebel forces from the Republic, and now the second time it's by rebel forces from separatism.

Strangely, this kind of thing always seems to follow him.

With his keen sense of the Force, he once again felt that the woman was telling the truth.

Perhaps he truly possesses some kind of "charm".

“Isn’t the Stormfleet yours?” Anakin retorted. “I don’t know your ships. Whom do you represent?”

“I am Naradan Dulin of the Shadow Guard of Mistral,” the voice replied. “I will now answer your question. The Storm Fleet is out of control, and now only insane code controls them.”

Anakin cursed inwardly.

Unfortunately, we're dealing with a horde of doomed robots, not a dormant one.

That being said, he did know about the Mistral Shadow Guard.

“I didn’t know that ‘Combat Hydra’ dealt with mercenaries.”

“I have never seen a nobleman who did not do this.”

“That makes sense,” Anakin muttered. “Alright, let’s settle accounts with them after we’ve dealt with the Storm Fleet. Is there any way to take them down?”

“My escort ships can interfere with the slave circuit links between their ships, disrupting their coordination,” the Mistral told him.

“I think you’ll need to get into a specific position to do that,” Anakin mentally sketched out the jamming formation, “and I’ll need to draw their attention.”

"That's right, I will support you..."

“No need,” Anakin interrupted her, a glint in his eyes. “My fleet can handle this basic task.” “What did you say? They have two hundred ships, and you only have fifty.”

“Basic mission,” Anakin repeated, then switched frequencies. “Attention all units, a temporary ceasefire with the Separatists is in effect until we deal with the Storm Fleet.”

"This is the second time already, isn't it?" came the voice of "Strange Ball".

“You’re right.” Anakin snorted. “’Vanguard’, order all warships to attack positions. Target: ‘Storm Fleet’. All warships are authorized to operate autonomously and launch a full-scale attack!”

Anakin Skywalker may not have been the luckiest Jedi, but he knew almost everything about starships.

It's clever to disguise warships as cargo ships for concealment purposes, but there's a reason why warships look like warships and cargo ships look like cargo ships.

Warships are designed to optimize combat elements such as firepower, speed, and maneuverability, while cargo ships are purely designed to maximize cargo capacity and cost-effectiveness.

In other words, the hull structure of a cargo ship is inherently unsuitable for use as a warship.

You can cram a PCL 27 cargo ship with state-of-the-art hardware and sophisticated software, but you can't overcome the fundamental geometric limitations.

He could tell at a glance that a Jagdpanzer-class attack cruiser could easily take on two or three such ships in a head-on confrontation.

But this will not be a head-on battle, because the robot fleet has a second major weakness.

Once their formation is disrupted, they become extremely vulnerable.

The only significant advantage of those disguised cargo ships with their box-shaped hulls was their extremely thick armor.

From the moment Anakin gave the order to allow each ship to operate autonomously, the captains of the "Open Loop" fleet must have understood his intentions.

Fifty Jagdpanzer-class warships, including the Vanguard, roared forward simultaneously, displaying astonishing ferocity and agility in the face of an enemy four times their size.

The two fleets clashed against the picturesque backdrop of the Longen Nebula. The "Jungar-class" sword-shaped hulls easily cut into the enemy formation, plunging the "Storm Fleet" into a chaotic melee.

Despite the chaotic situation, the "Open Ring" fleet operated in an orderly manner. Each "Jackey-class" ship, even when facing two to five enemy ships at the same time, was able to cover each other's flanks in a complex and ingenious way, which was particularly effective in sudden encounters.

The main weakness of the "Jackal-class" is its exposed engine compartment. In the ever-changing battle situation, the captains of the "open-loop" fleet support each other by covering neighboring warships.

This is the core of their training, honed through countless exercises and simulations.

But for the "Storm Fleet" controlled by robots, the situation is completely different.

They couldn't keep up with the rapidly changing pace of the battle.

In addition, the Republic's ARC-170 and BTL-B Y-wing fighters, along with the separatist "Vulture" and "Hyena" fighters, swarmed in like thunder, wreaking havoc.

The Storm Fleet was helpless against this, and its four-to-one numerical advantage became less significant.

Anakin skillfully maneuvered the Aetherian, tumbling and speeding past beneath the belly of a cargo ship before appearing beside another, unleashing the munitions carried by the agile aircraft as it flew.

He weaved between the two giant ships, and when they opened fire, he jerked the control stick sharply, narrowly avoiding the gunfire by just a layer of transparent steel.

He cheered as the missed shells struck the flattened hull he had just passed.

His helmet was filled with the frenzied shouts of clone pilots, the roar of battle, and the chattering noise of the "Vulture" robot fighters.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a squadron of Y-wing fighters and a pack of Hyena bombers rushing toward the same enemy ship.

A robotic shriek came through the public channel, and the Y-wing fighter confirmed that the "Hyena" had the advantage in attack angle, so it abandoned the attack.

In the distance, Vulture and ARC-170 fighter jets worked together to straf the steel canyon formed by the flat hull of the cargo ship, flying in perfect attack formation.

Deep within this chaotic melee, Anakin could only see these two unnatural allies repeatedly emerging victorious in small skirmishes.

But he knew in his heart that the reality was not like that.

Quantity is crucial; the four-to-one gap cannot be ignored.

The Storm Fleet still had more warships and more cannons, and slowly, the Open Ring Fleet began to feel the pressure.

He did not believe that the Mistral people would betray the ceasefire they had hastily agreed upon.

The "Generosity-class" corvettes cannot compete with the "Storm Fleet's" cargo ships like the "Jackey-class" corvettes.

Even if the "Open Ring" fleet is defeated, the remaining strength of the "Storm Fleet" is enough to crush the Mistral fleet simply by sheer numbers.

Anakin's premonition was correct.

Outside the battle zone, fifty Separatist Star Guards made full use of the fighting, spreading out into a loose circle to surround the Storm Fleet along with the Open Ring Fleet.

It's as if a boxing ring has been set up, with the "Storm Fleet" and the "Open Ring Fleet" as gladiators in the arena.

Anakin had R2-D2 pilot the fighter jet while he searched for the Mistral destroyers in the cockpit, discovering they were lingering on the edge of the battlefield.

At that moment, they looked less like spearheads and more like poisoned arrows, waiting for the right moment to deliver a fatal blow.

……

A fatal blow?
"Storm Fleet" is an out-of-control separatist force.

Are they here to destroy it... or to take it?
Anakin connected to the Vanguard, squinting through a burning shard to get a general view of its direction. "Po, this is Skywalker, get it?"

“Roger that, General,” Apo’s voice came through. “It sounds like it’s quite lively outside.”

“You’re right, Commander,” Anakin instinctively lowered his head as a pair of proton torpedoes whizzed past his head. R2 screamed in terror and slammed down the nose of the ETA-2. “I need as many landing craft as possible to carry out the boarding operation. Can you do that?”

“My men are ready to go at any time, sir.”

This is Apo's way of saying it, meaning "You don't need to ask at all."

This clone commander is sometimes too reserved.

Another explosion shook the cockpit, and Anakin's head slammed against the transparent steel canopy like a marble, and communications were cut off.

He cursed again.

"Atu, can't you fly a little more steadily?"

(End of this chapter)