Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 215, Section 217 - Lomanda-style Standoff
R2 responded with a series of indignant beeps.

Anakin craned his neck to look around again, maneuvering his fighter jet to climb above the chaotic airspace and check on the progress of the jamming formation.

The encirclement was almost complete; the last escort ship was sliding into its designated position, and then—

A piercing scream suddenly erupted from the cockpit of Anakin's Aether Interceptor, and the R2-D2 also emitted a terrified cry.

A frantic shout and the robot's panicked beeping exploded from his helmet, followed by a deafening white noise that suddenly filled his eardrums.

Anakin cried out in pain, ripped off his helmet, and slammed it against the control panel. His ears were still ringing, the eerie noise still echoing in them.

Anakin Skywalker, as an ace Jedi pilot, is intimately connected to his starfighter through the Force, as if he could personally feel every mechanical vibration and electronic signal of the fighter's operation.

In this sense, he was as if he had been suddenly thrown into a black hole of senses.

The battle instantly fell silent and lost its luster. The laser beams fired by the three sides briefly froze as all participants struggled to cope with the sudden and intense interference signal that overwhelmed every electronic device on the battlefield.

It was during this extremely brief, almost imperceptible moment of calm, which was only possible with extreme sensitivity or the aid of the Force, that the twenty Mistral destroyers seized their opportunity.

With an acceleration that even Anakin himself found astonishing, they suddenly charged into the chaotic formations of the "Storm Fleet" and the "Opening Fleet."

Like all mercenaries, they were clearly looking for a specific target.

Anakin gritted his teeth, using a sharp pain to dispel the static interference and tinnitus in his eyes.

He grabbed the control stick and, using the fighter jet's unaffected analog control system, reactivated the dagger-shaped engine.

“Are you still there, Atu?” Anakin forced out the words through clenched teeth, a hint of rust in his mouth. “Tell me you’re still there.”

The sturdy robot was directly connected to the fighter jet's flight computer. It quickly displayed a line of text on the instrument panel to confirm that it was functioning normally.

“Okay, I need you to do something.” Anakin skillfully weaved between the blindly flying Vulture fighters and the panicked clone pilots.

what happened?

He could sense the turbulent thoughts and emotions surging within him through the Force.

Are separatists attacking us?

We've been betrayed?

Is this still part of the plan?
Is the ceasefire agreement still valid?

How do I contact the flight captain?

what should I do?
The best course of action for the clone pilots is to maintain the existing formation or rendezvous with the nearest friendly aircraft and then follow the lead aircraft.

Some pilots were still cooperating with Vulture and Hyena fighters, while others had begun attacking each other. The entire temporary joint formation exploded in a crossfire of torpedoes and lasers, and neighboring fighters turned to fire at each other without warning.

Anakin broke through all the firepower and plunged headlong into the chaotic group of fighters and warships, closely following a Mistral destroyer.

"Atu, help me draw the attention of Apo's gunboats."

Unable to rely on the fighter jet's fly-by-wire flight control system, Anakin had to risk a quick glance at the instrument panel display to check R2's response.

It says on it: How to do it?
"I have no idea--!"

The Force warned him, and Anakin jerked the joystick to the side, narrowly avoiding a rampaging mass of debris.

For a fleeting moment, he couldn't tell if it was an ARC-170 or a Hyena bomber; the image flashed through his memory. "You figure something out! I'll try to get as close to the Vanguard as possible while keeping a close eye on Mistral's ship!"

Fortunately.

Hundreds of LAAT/i gunboats are pouring out of the tarmac of a dozen or so carrier-configured Jagdpanzer-class warships, which, for obvious reasons, are not using the aft hangar.

As Anakin sped past the Vanguard, R2 made the fighter's navigation lights flash wildly and even launched one of the two missiles hanging under the landing gear.

The missile entered the center of the gunboat formation and then exploded harmlessly.

The gunboats scattered and circled, turning towards the direction from which the missiles were coming.

Anakin yanked the control stick back, drastically slowing the boat down so the gunboat could keep up.

Continue until you are close enough to see the sign clearly, then push the engine back to full speed.

Anakin counted them: twelve gunboats.

That's nearly 350 soldiers.

enough.

After the interference, almost all the destroyers of the "Storm Fleet" came to a standstill, reacting extremely slowly even when faced with the most devastating salvo of turbo lasers.

Gunboats selected specific cargo ships to board, and hundreds of soldiers equipped with grappling hooks surged toward these paralyzed giants like a tide.

Anakin quickly locked onto his target, the cargo ship escorted by two Mistral destroyers, and sped toward it.

R2 launched the second and final "Etheric Ascension" missile, which exploded harmlessly on the cargo ship's powerful ray shield, thus marking the target.

The twelve LAAT gunboats silently reformed into a standard attack formation, their hatches sliding open to reveal the gleaming blue and white armor of the 501st Legion soldiers.

With skillful technique and effortless maneuvering, the first two gunboats rapidly swooped down using anti-gravity devices. Just as the quadruple armor-piercing rockets roared out of the launch pad and slammed into the cargo ship's hull like heavy hammers, they disappeared beneath the ray shield.

As the smoke and debris cleared, a dented but unpenetrated crater appeared on the cargo ship's hull.

It's ok.

The next two gunboats repeated the same maneuver, aiming at the same position.

Then two more, and then two more. Next, there were clear signs that boiling air was hissing out of the damaged hull, forming wisps of steam.

Then, a particle beam was fired, and the gunners in the spherical turret precisely cut through the hull, clearing a path for the soldiers to board.

Meanwhile, Anakin felt around at his feet and found a spare extravehicular activity helmet.

His vacuum-sealed flight suit was already on. The Jedi put on his helmet and checked the airtightness to ensure it was working properly.

After confirming that everything was correct, he maneuvered the "Etheric Flying Immortal" to fly directly in front of the breach, where at least a hundred rappelling cables were already hanging.

After all, a Jedi general can't do without fighting alongside his soldiers.

“Thanks, Atu.” Anakin muttered as he struggled to open the canopy and stand up. “You can go back to the Vanguard and fix yourself up. I don’t need a ride back.”

Without waiting for a response, he jumped into the breach.

……

"Have you checked the air, Apo?"

Anakin returned to the bridge, dusting himself off as he asked.

“Looks fine,” the clone commander replied, handing the data panel to Anakin for inspection.

“Very good.” Anakin waved his hand to indicate that he didn’t need to look at the data panel, and instead pulled off his helmet, taking a deep breath of the polluted air.

“I don’t understand why a robot warship needs to maintain an environmental system,” Apo muttered under his breath, glancing around as he habitually patted his carbine.

“Because it’s hard-coded, Commander.” Anakin snorted. “These ships are designed by organisms, and for organisms, because we flesh and blood can’t imagine another way of building ships. If you let separatist tactical robots design a ship, well, I can’t even imagine what it would be like. I think that’s the key.”

As the boarding team ventured deeper into the warship, the sounds of the ongoing battle outside gradually faded into distant echoes.

As if to confirm his statement, the lights in the corridor were on, and the gravity panel and other environmental systems were functioning properly.

Whenever someone from the team approaches, the door next to the corridor will automatically slide open, revealing the perfectly maintained machining workshop, equipment room, and crew rest cabins.

This is not exactly the same configuration as a standard Class A bulk carrier, but it is clearly designed for living crew members.

However, there is one indication that no organisms live here: the air.

The air was still breathable enough that Anakin wouldn't suffocate, but it was stuffy and heavy, mixed with the smells of engine oil, dust, and rust.

He tasted a metallic flavor on his tongue, but couldn't tell if it came from the air or the blood in his own mouth.

They followed the evacuation signs toward the bridge, and in addition to the sound of their own footsteps, they could hear the faint mechanical hum of idling equipment whispering in the background.

The only thing that seems out of place is that there are no robots.

But the mystery was quickly solved when they discovered the first wreckage of a robot.

The wreckage was neatly cut in half, with smooth cuts, as if it had been uniformly melted.

"Lightsaber." Apo recognized the cut and raised his carbine.

“Ventris,” Anakin agreed. “It’s definitely her. At least we’ve found the right ship.”

It wasn't far from where they boarded the ship to the bridge.

They broke into a compartment on the upper deck of the cargo ship and found that the bridge was located on the longitudinal spine of the ship, right between two sensor arrays at the top, on the only way to a straight corridor that ran from the engine room to the bow, passing through several bulkheads that should have easily triggered alarms.

Of course, they found the airtight door was closed and locked, but for some reason, it was not a blast door.

Anakin guessed this was to avoid arousing suspicion among those who boarded the ship to inspect the cargo, but that didn't matter at the moment.

Apo's squad blasted the door open with ease, like poking a hole in a damp, soft piece of paper.

The boarding squad rushed in, armed with blaster guns, and spread out along the walls to maintain order.

Anakin burst through the blasted bulkhead, his lightsaber gripped tightly in his hand.

The first thing he noticed was the flashing lights above.

The bridge is connected to an observation dome, from which one can look down at the warship's spine and catch glimpses of the battle unfolding around them.

The second thing he noticed was Asagi Ventress.

The Sith assassin stood in the center of the room, one boot resting on a beeping control panel.

To say she looked disheveled was an understatement.

Half of her face was blackened by soot, and her black dress was torn in several places and still smoking, revealing several patches of abnormally pale skin underneath.

She met his gaze, her eyes burning a fiery orange-red, and then brandished one of her two red lightsabers.

“Skywalker,” Ventress drawled, but Anakin could sense the weariness in her voice—she was almost at her breaking point—“it’s great that you’re here to join in the fun.”

The third thing Anakin noticed was the Mistral Shadow Guard, who wore distinctive black uniforms.

They stood at the other end of the compartment, guarding the second door leading to the rest of the warship's spine.

Standing in front of them was a tall, dignified woman, whom Anakin naturally assumed to be Naradan Durin.

Ventress was pointing another lightsaber at them.

“Well, folks,” Anakin joked, loosening his grip on his sword slightly in the rather comical situation, “it seems we’re having a Lomanda-style standoff here.”

(End of this chapter)