Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 224, Section 226 - Hook
Ahsoka could only watch with awe as Admiral Jularen skillfully commanded the double "Zeta" formation.

He maneuvered nearly fifty battlecruisers and aircraft carriers with almost flawless precision, as if the entire fleet were an extension of his body.

However, at the same time, the separatist fleet reacted immediately, their battle formation shrinking again to form a spindle shape with a hollow core.

The enemy's spindle formation crashed head-on into the Republic's spindle formation—

The Republic's formation collapsed almost instantly.

The lighter Aquitaine-class frigates and Perta-class destroyers in the "Open Ring Fleet" were simply no match for the fierce firepower of the separatist destroyers and cruisers.

The once orderly array of small warships instantly transformed into a waterfall of fragments and wreckage, plummeting towards the Republic's main battle line under the force of inertia, its speed as swift as the threat of the separatists.

“Very good,” Admiral Yularen nodded, as if the hundreds of crew members who had just sacrificed themselves before his eyes had not affected his judgment. “Attacking an overextended formation is an instinctive reaction; they’ve taken the bait.”

Of course, given their extremely close proximity to the Republic's Spindle Formation, if their "Jäger-class" warships were to open fire on the separatists, they would inevitably injure friendly forces.

But this is precisely when the second characteristic of the double "Zeta" formation comes into play.

The second layer of "petals" consists of eleven "inverted" Jaeger-class warships.

In other words, their hangars were out of the sight of the separatist forces.

“Level B,” Yularen calmly commanded, “All starfighters, sortie, descend ten kilometers, then maneuver in dispersed clusters, employing reverse fire speed, and execute zone attack mode. Good luck with the hunt.”

Eleven hangar doors slowly opened, and a swarm of starfighters, like fangs, roared out, all assembling within the mothership's visual shadow zone and the enemy's blind spot, and accelerating to attack speed.

Immediately afterwards, they simultaneously pulled the control sticks sharply, appearing suddenly like a strange spring gushing from the edge of an aircraft carrier.

From a separatist perspective, all of this came without warning...

One second it was empty, the next, four thousand bloodthirsty starfighters had entered the attack route in perfect formation.

The enemy hastily assembled a combat patrol to attempt a counterattack, but the hounds had already pounced on their prey.

The separatist frigates exploded and disintegrated one after another under the violent impact of the shock missiles, and the fragments tumbled and scattered in space.

Six light destroyers were blown to pieces.

Three heavy cruisers attempted to break away from the formation; two of them were completely destroyed in the rainbow-colored rhenium-based fuel steam, while the third was rendered completely incapacitated.

Separatist battleships and battlecruisers reinforced their forward shields, taking advantage of the time gained by sacrificing lighter warships.

They withstood the attack, their hulls were battered but clearly not fatally damaged, and they struggled to maintain their formation amidst the fierce assault.

"This is for 'swift justice'! For the 20th Fleet!" Someone on the bridge cheered excitedly as the flames of the explosions continued to burst outside the observation window.

“This is swift justice!” another echoed.

Soon, the space around the spindle array was filled with dense point defense fire, flying missiles, and shuttling starfighters, making it almost impossible for the Pioneer's scanner to maintain accuracy.

Trapped within a deadly barrage of fire, the remaining separatist forces fought desperately to break free of the kill zone, regrouping into a more dispersed formation before launching a new attack.

This time, it was a barrage of torpedoes fired by a squadron of robot-piloted fighter-bombers.

However, outside the spindle formation, the four interlaced layers of firepower from the double "Zeta" formation had already locked them in place.

"All ships: Open fire!" Admiral Yularen roared, "Primary target: enemy capital ships! Except for maneuvering necessary to evade enemy fire, maintain formation! All ships and gun emplacements are granted local fire control!"

The dual "Zeta" formation instantly unleashed a salvo of super-heavy turbo laser cannons, while the SPHA-T turret's energy beam weapon also fired devastating volleys.

Ahsoka stared intently at the display screen. The separatist fleet attempted to launch an attack several times, but was repeatedly thwarted and repelled by fierce firepower.

At this moment, the "Open Ring Fleet" successfully withstood the fierce attack of the "Battle Hydra".

But Ahsoka always knew in his heart that Hydra had more than one head.

Moreover, if the "Zeta" formation has a fatal weakness, it is that it is almost completely immobile.

Just as the whirlwind-like, ever-changing formations used in the Seventh Battle of Sallust were difficult to sustain, the almost static "Zeta" formation was equally difficult to maintain.

The reasons for the two are different: the former is limited by the fatigue of the crew and the hardware, while the latter stems from the ever-changing battlefield situation.

The Zeta formation is so effective in a defensive posture because it maximizes the firepower coordination of the "Jackal" class within the formation.

Once this delicate relative positioning is broken, the entire formation will crumble into disarray, and each ship will be forced to fight independently.

"The main fleet is here!" the sensor chief suddenly shouted. "Ten thousand kilometers below us! Eighty-three ships... they are forming a battle formation!"

Ahsoka and Admiral Yularen exchanged a quick glance; the crisis was far from over.

……

"This is really..."

Raine carefully examined the Republic's peculiar formation; he had never seen such an arrangement before and was searching for a suitable word to describe it.

"A strange formation?"

“A… exquisite formation,” Raine finally said, marveling at the tight and efficient tactical relationship maintained between the Republic cruisers. “Is our battle formation complete?”

"It's done, General." "Very good."

The 3rd Combat Squadron of the 28th Mobile Fleet commenced operations.

Each ship adjusted its attitude within the formation, pointing its bow toward the Republic fleet above, so that the entire Separatist fleet formed a rectangular battle array by gliding sideways.

This formation differs from the arrangement of the 2nd battle group. The heaviest capital ships are concentrated in the center, surrounded by layers of lighter frigates, with the outermost layer supported by light frigates.

Just as the warships at the very center of the formation, including the Chimera and the Krumplinz, moved directly beneath the Republic's downward-facing spindle formation, the entire battle formation launched a synchronized upward charge!
Similar to what happened before at the top of the "Zeta" formation, the Republic's spindle formation collapsed again under the Separatist's rapid attack.

The Krumprinz, at its maximum speed, led the charge into the spindle formation.

The center of the entire separatist battle formation began to bulge forward, forming a funnel-shaped offensive, with the Tyonis warship charging forward at full speed, intending to swallow the Republic fleet whole.

This seems to be exactly what the "open-loop fleet" has been waiting for.

Separatists have taken the bait once again.

The "C level" of the dual "Zeta" formation, with its hangar facing away from the 3rd battle squadron just like the previous "B level," has now released its starfighters.

But this is exactly what the 28th Mobile Fleet has been waiting for.

This time, it was the Republic that took the bait.

"All starfighters, sortie!" Renn decisively ordered. "All capital ships, retreat! Frigates, advance! Crush them to dust!"

Like hounds released from their leash, the battlecruisers of the 3rd Squadron swiftly turned around, reversing their charge with the exceptional maneuverability characteristic of the Tionys battleships.

At this moment, the funnel-shaped attack began to reverse inward, transforming into a cup shape—

The main battleships retreated, while the escort ships on the perimeter pressed forward aggressively.

Imagine the mindset of the Republic's pilots: their comrades had just been defeated, and they were eager for revenge;

Their comrades above them had created a hellish battlefield on the separatist positions and achieved great victories; now they longed to replicate the same triumphs below.

The closest targets within range were naturally those separatist battlecruisers that appeared to be isolated and out of their own.

To these Republic pilots, these behemoths were easy prey.

So they chased after the retreating capital ships, glory seemingly within reach.

It is unknown whether the commander on the flagship "Pioneer" was aware of the trap, but in any case, the Republic pilots who went forward did not realize that they were flying straight into the gaping maw of "Hydra".

By the time they realized it, it was too late.

The funnel formation has been completely reversed into a tight cup-shaped formation, with the capital ships located at the bottom of the cup.

At this moment, the starfighter only has two choices.

They could either fly in the opposite direction and risk crashing into the dense, nearly twenty-kilometer-thick point defense fire net woven by dozens of escort ships around them.

They could either try to penetrate the formation of the capital ships and break out from behind the "cup".

Or rather, whatever choice they make is actually irrelevant.

At this time.

The frigate opened fire.

More than four thousand Republic pilots died in this massacre.

It's like catching a turtle in a jar, except this time the jar opened its mouth on its own.

The surviving pilots immediately began a frantic retreat, attempting to return to the "Zeta" formation, weaving through the wreckage and debris of their comrades, using the floating pieces of the ship as meager cover.

At this moment, the entire separatist formation maintained its cup-shaped formation and advanced as a whole, launching a new general offensive against the heart of the Republic fleet.

In this way, when the separatist center launches missiles and sends out fighters, the Republic's spindle array, if it attempts to intercept, will completely expose its flanks to the relentless attacks of the separatist flanking fleet.

Rein looked at the display screen; the 28th Mobile Fleet was rapidly entering effective firing range, and the distance was constantly decreasing.

He has completed his deployment, delegating the authority to fire to the commanders of each ship. Now he can only wait for the results and watch as the "open-loop fleet" is gradually weakened.

"The second battle group is retreating," TF-1726 reported to him. "Commodore Vinok and Schiff reported that their losses have rendered them ineffective in combat, and half of our fleet is gone."

Half of the fleet was gone.

These five words echoed heavily in the silent cockpit.

Ryan remained motionless, weighing the weight of those words.

If they could still send back this message, it would at least mean that his two commander colleagues were safe and sound, he reasoned, barely managing to maintain his composure in front of the robot crew.

But for a commander, there could be no worse news.

What was gained at the cost of losing half of the fleet can never be called a victory, but a disgrace!

(End of this chapter)