Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 227, Page 229 - Reunion
"They're coming from the west; it's a cargo escort team, led by a major general."

Ryan didn't really want to deal with Asagi Ventress.

Strategically, it's a good choice, but personally, he'd rather avoid her.

As he observed the "Storm Fleet" and intelligence ships slowly entering the Yagdul system, he vigilantly kept an eye out for pursuers behind them.

However, as time passed by, minute by minute, hour by hour, the familiar wedge-shaped silhouette of the Republic's "Jester-class" Star Destroyer never appeared.

He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, a feeling of both hope and disbelief welling up inside him.

"The 'Sharrihen' is requesting communications from us, sir," Kavia Slen reported to Rein.

At this moment, in the spacious but somewhat empty cockpit of the Chimera, there were only him, Little Tower, and Kavia, as well as a few Marines from different alien races.

The Battle of Yagdul had exhausted all its strength, and most of the crew and robots on the aircraft carrier destroyer were undergoing emergency repairs in various workshops deep within the ship.

Ryan forced a smile that was at least somewhat cheerful on his usually expressionless face.

Little Tower showed no reaction to this; he was already used to it.

Kavia's eyes widened slightly, then she quickly looked away, pretending not to notice his expression.

"Get in."

"Almost done, boss." The woman from Weng Delun, who served as both a guard and an engineer, jumped to the nearest control panel and skillfully connected the communication.

“We’ve made it back,” Naradan’s voice came through the loudspeaker, “but it seems my worries were unnecessary.”

“What else can I say? I can only say I told you this already?” Renn paused, then asked, “What about Skywalker? I hope he’s dead?”

He didn't really want anyone to die, but if the so-called "chosen one" prophecy ended so abruptly, it might be a good thing for the galaxy... and more importantly, it would be very beneficial to his own mental state.

“You’ve made a significant mark on the history of the galaxy this time. As for Skywalker… unfortunately, he’s not dead,” Naradan replied. “That guy was a living nightmare. In the end, we had no choice but to activate Project E.”

Ryan was so surprised he almost jumped out of his chair. "Dooku really gave up on Ventress?"

"It seems so. She's currently recuperating, healing from the damage Anakin Skywalker inflicted on her. Shall we proceed to Geonosis as planned?"

So Ventress is in a coma?
Renn breathed a sigh of relief for the time being.

Plan E means that the Skywalkers are temporarily trapped in the Lonne Nebula, and now they have Ventress, a card they can use to deal with Count Dooku.

This was indeed an unexpected development, but it's clear that he and Naradan had already prepared for all possibilities.

Controlling Ventress is equivalent to controlling the key to the most powerful weapon in Dooku's coup plan.

That is the master control code for every combat robot manufactured by the Confederacy.

Because Geonosis Industries was commissioned to design these master codes, it is virtually impossible for outsiders to penetrate or destroy them.

After all, Geonosis Industries is merely the shell through which Little Borg's Stargarsin Hive conducts business with other civilizations in the galaxy.

Unless you're a member of Dooku's inner circle, or you're a Geonosis person yourself, you won't even get close to him.

Fortunately, they now have someone from Dooku's inner circle.

Hopefully, Dooku is unaware that Ventress is still alive and has not revealed any relevant information to Borg Jr.

They also have the "Storm Fleet," though not all of them, but enough for them to approach Geonosis without triggering an alarm.

The fact that all the elements of control over Geonosis seemed to be in place, and that at least one thing was moving in a positive direction, gave Raine a little peace of mind.

However... if the Geonosis operation goes wrong, the Storm Fleet will need some support.

Soldiers, troops.

They have Mistral people, but they are better at covert operations.

This is useful for this type of task, but it's always good to have a backup plan.

Given their objectives, using combat robots is clearly not a wise move.

Rein quickly scanned the bridge and recognized members of different factions in the 28th Mobile Fleet Marine Corps.

"Small tower."

Little Ta silently turned his head toward Raine, indicating that the servo system inside him had recently been oiled and maintained.

"Prepare our transport ships," Ryan ordered. "I'm transferring our Curivar Rifles, Skako Commandos, and Ondron Guards to the 'Storm Fleet.'"

These elite forces, drawn from the corporate alliance, the technology alliance, and Ondron, were all loyal to their small cause of fighting against Count Dooku and the Sereno government.

When they jump into the core world, they will leave the Trade Federation and the Merchant Guild's marines in the 28th Mobile Fleet.

Be close to your friends, but keep an even closer eye on your enemies—close enough to have a gun pointed at their heads every time they're awake.

"Even we Ondren people are going?" Kavia asked in surprise. "Even... including them?"

“The entire Ondron Squadron,” Raine confirmed, “is going to a place where the 28th Fleet doesn’t need the Marines, and where the Storm Fleet is going… you know, we might finally get to see firsthand just how aggressive the Demon Moon’s plants can be when planted on a desert planet.”

Kavia Slen grinned. "I think I'll...?"

Ryan shrugged. "Didn't you propose this whole operation in the first place? I see no reason not to let you go."

Kavia skipped over to Little Tower and happily punched him on the shoulder, making the big guy, who was over 1.8 meters tall, stagger backward.

The little tower's optical sensors flickered a few times in surprise. He looked down at his moved foot, as if calculating in his mind how much force would be needed to propel him, and whether a human could possibly possess such strength.

Meanwhile, Raine looked down at his arm, wondering if he, being an Ondron native, could also do such a thing.

Then he remembered that Kavia had also been a guard before becoming an engineer.

She might be able to lift the little tower effortlessly, or even break it as easily as snapping a tree branch.

“Alright, ‘Sharrihen’,” Ryan called out, “I’ll send a few troop transports to your fleet. On the other hand, I’m bringing back the intelligence department. Do you need to find a port to repair the ships?”

“We have to get in before the Republic cuts off the Harlem trade corridor,” Naradan replied, her fifty escort ships having broken away from the main fleet while the “Storm Fleet” continued toward the jump point, “so we have no choice but to refuse.”

Raine shrugged, though the other person couldn't see him. "Whatever. Continue with Plan E. Give my regards to Ventress and good luck to you."

“If your God can guarantee our eternal victory, I might start to believe in him.”

“What he’s guaranteeing is ultimate victory,” Ryan responded. “For me, that’s a comforting idea enough.”

"……really."

“Get this done, Naradan. Next time we meet, I’ll treat you and Ventress to a drink. The best wine the ‘Wheel’ can offer, on me.”

Naradan laughed, his laughter quite pleasant. "If that's the case, then I won't stand on ceremony... provided you're willing to pay for my entire squad."

"If this is the necessary price to do a good job, I'm happy to accept it."

Raine stood up, stretched comfortably, and his spine made a satisfying little crack.

The little tower is issuing orders, and four ships that look somewhat old, namely the "Noah's Wrath," the "Nausicaä," the "Shining Elf," and the "Wandering Castle," are separating from the main fleet and adjusting their bows to align with the "Storm Fleet" that is currently sailing.

Meanwhile, dozens of flashing navigation lights weaved between the massive battlecruisers, making the troop transports seem insignificant compared to the capital ships, as tiny as fireflies in the vastness of space.

However, the soldiers carried by these troop transports may be the key to the Confederation of Independent Systems' ultimate victory—

It was at least the key to defeating Count Dooku.

But that's only half the plan, isn't it?
As Kavia gathered the Marines aboard the Chimera and organized them to board the shuttles, Raine was still refining his still-developing strategies for infiltrating the Core and surviving there.

“Lord Raine,” a small LEP service robot awoke from hibernation in a corner of the bridge, “I have connected to the Priestess Network.”

For a moment, the entire cockpit fell into dead silence.

Raine and Little Tower stopped what they were doing and what they were thinking, and focused their attention on the little metal rabbit that was carefully unplugging the connector from the charging port.

Then--

"Error, error, recalculate the probability matrix—"

Ok? !

Hal actually did it!
He excitedly patted the little tower on the back, causing the robot to stumble forward two steps.

……

With the return of the 6th Auxiliary Division and the 7th Intelligence Division, the number of combat-capable ships in the 28th Mobile Fleet has increased to over one hundred.

The number of ships is still far from the approximately three hundred that were initially assembled in Yugoslavia.

However, there was a glimmer of hope, which Renn clung to like a lifeline.

They managed to salvage more than a hundred other damaged warships, which could theoretically be repaired and put back into service.

Although he longed to requisition the captured Republic warships, especially the capital ships, he had to face reality.

In terms of manpower requirements, the Galactic Republic Army and the Confederate Air Force are completely different in size.

They could still receive and refit some smaller Republic frigates and destroyers, but it would be too costly to equip a single "Jeffier-class" Star Destroyer with the large crew required, as it would consume an immeasurable amount of resources.

(End of this chapter)