Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 237, Page 229 - Victory Level

Scaco Galaxy, Scaco orbit.

The shuttle was heading toward the fleet flagship, the HMS Allione. Captain Jane Dordenauer sat in the cabin, trying to suppress her unease.

The warship has a sharp silhouette, like a drawn weapon, pointing directly at the planet below—Skako.

The entire city-planet floats in the dark space, its planetary shield shimmering with a pale blue-purple halo, its thick methane atmosphere absorbing infrared radiation to give it a distinctive hue.

Dordenauer didn't consider himself particularly brave; the thought of the battle on the front lines made his stomach clench.

But as a captain of the Republic's Navy, his duties always come first.

The shuttle adjusts its posture, preparing for docking.

Looking out the porthole, the 900-meter-long Victory-class heavy cruiser Arione slowly passed by.

Dordenauer refrained from exclaiming in surprise like the military cadets.

The ship wasn't particularly large, nor was it flashy in appearance. In fact, his own "Jester-class" Star Destroyer, the "Cautious," was two hundred meters longer.

However, the exposed missile silos and turbine laser gun turrets of varying sizes on the deck of the "Alioney" clearly demonstrate its firepower.

Within its relatively compact hull, it is equipped with the equivalent of a battleship's weaponry, plus two large shield generators and a particularly conspicuous solar ionization reactor.

It is powerful enough to take on two or three Jagdpanzer-class destroyers by itself and completely crush them.

Miniature battleship!
That's what it's called within the Navy.

Dordenauer had to admit that the ship was well-designed and ingeniously constructed.

It is a solution developed by the Republic's Navy to counter separatist missile tactics.

This is why Admiral Honor Salima moved her flagship from the traditional flagship of the Coruscant home defense fleet to this location.

However, the "Alione" is not the only "Victory-class" ship currently in service with the Home Fleet, and the fact that so many similar ships were gathered over Skako still surprised Dordenauer.

Just three standard years ago, the process of building, sea trials, evaluation and commissioning of warships was still very long and constrained by laws, treaties and bureaucratic procedures.

The pace of construction and commissioning was astonishingly fast, even somewhat rushed, but the dire situation forced even the most stringent survey associations to approve it.

At that moment, the cruiser's tractor beams caught the shuttle and smoothly guided it into the brightly lit hangar deck.

Before the plane had come to a complete stop, Dordenauer strode off the plane, data pad tucked under his arm, and gave a crisp salute.

"Requesting permission to board, sir?"

"Welcome aboard, Captain."

Dordenauer crossed the boundary and officially stepped onto the deck of the Star Destroyer USS Allione, his pace unwavering.

What is the most distinctive feature of this ship?
tidy.

General Honoré was extremely strict in his military discipline.

The reflective floor was spotless, with no loose cargo containers and no crew member in disheveled uniform.

The bridge of the "Arione" is very different from that of the "Jackey-class".

First, it's smaller.

The "Jackey-class" is a front-line combat ship with command functions, while the "Victory-class" is a pure front-line gunboat.

It lacks the expansive tactical command area of ​​the Jagdpanzer-class carriers and the 270-degree field of vision required by aircraft carriers.

The Arione is more compact, more focused, and more agile.

He saluted a figure from behind in the central aisle: "Captain Dordena reporting for duty, sir."

General Honor Salima was tall and stood straight, with neat short silver hair and a serious expression.

Beside her was Captain Trinald Skreid of the "Arione".

He rarely showed his emotions, partly because of his prosthetic eye, but his distinguished military achievements were undeniable.

The home fleet is now the most modern force in the Republic's navy, so it is not surprising that the fleet commander chose him as the captain of the flagship.

For a moment, the only sounds on the bridge were the beeping of electronic devices and Admiral Horno's footsteps.

“Well done, Captain,” Admiral Honor praised. “Now the Bulwark Fleet has nowhere to go.”

Dordenauer nodded modestly.

The home fleet relentlessly pursued Dua Ningo, with Honoro personally leading the main force in pursuit across various star systems, while Dordena led a squadron to outflank and cut off every escape route for the old Salust man.

This was a meticulously planned coordinated operation that gradually depleted the strength of the Barrier Fleet, forcing them to find a safe harbor for repairs.

Skako, a planet of the Technological Alliance, has the largest separatist shipyard in the region.

"Supreme Command has ordered us to expedite the destruction of the Barrier Fleet, Admiral," Dodener reported. "They want us to contain the expansion of the Peremia League."

Honor's lips twitched slightly. "That's what they're asking for. Do those Coruscant people really think I'm omnipotent? To monitor the entire Hydian Seaway? To conjure up warships out of thin air for patrols? Against an elusive enemy, there's no way I can contain them."

“They believe we have done that for the Barrier Fleet,” Captain Skreed noted.

“Nonsense!” Honoro narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharp. “Dua Ningo is an old-school military man. He likes to put all his eggs in one basket and keep things under control. The only naval battles he understands are large-scale fleet decisive battles and show of force. If he had the split-and-conquer mindset of Carly Trilm, he would have retreated to separatist territory long ago.” The admiral turned abruptly and strode back to the observation window.

Skreed and Dordenauer exchanged a glance.

They met during the Republic's judicial forces period and participated together in the Stark Hyperspace Wars and anti-piracy operations.

Rumors circulated that Skrid lost an eye during the siege of Nile when a madman chopped off half his face with a vibrating axe, but this also allowed him to break through the defenses.

“I heard your son is in Comeno,” Skreed said in a low voice.

“He’s there,” Dordenauer said, his body stiffening slightly as he tried to keep his voice steady, “but there’s no definite news yet.”

Skreed lowered his head and nodded slightly. "We are all doing our jobs."

He gripped Dordenauer's shoulder firmly, then turned to face the general. "So, are we going to ignore this order?"

Admiral Honoré's shoulders were taut, his hands behind his back, as he stared at Skako.

Dordenauer followed her gaze and saw tiny ripples spreading across the planetary shield, like raindrops falling on a lake.

That was the result of missile and turbo-laser bombardment.

The entire home fleet is launching a fierce attack on Skako's shields, taking over the mission from the First Reserve Fleet.

Some might assume that planetary shields are uniform, but that's not actually the case.

There is no shield generator in the Milky Way that can completely cover an entire planet.

In contrast, planetary shields are composed of densely distributed shield generators that, when activated, form overlapping protective layers on the planet's surface.

Therefore, to break through the planetary shield, the besieging fleet must find the weakest point and then concentrate its firepower to attack it.

Many planets will choose to deploy shields evenly, but most will concentrate their protection on cities and industrial areas, while rural areas will have weaker shields.

Typically, the shields would be breached there, allowing the army to land and launch a ground offensive.

But Skako is a city-state, the home planet of one of the most technologically advanced races in the entire galaxy, and the headquarters of the Technological Alliance.

The home fleet has been focusing its bombardment on the shield area above the shipyard where the Barrier Fleet is located.

That's their goal.

“Ignore…?” the fleet commander mused. “If those puppets in the Supreme Command weren’t busy licking Palpatine’s wrinkled toes, they should have advised that senile old man not to send the fleet to the border. From that moment on, the consequences were already sealed.”

The two captains remained silent in the face of the admiral's sharp words.

This is a sensitive topic for all of them, because all the troubles the core galaxy is currently facing can be traced back to that rash decision to attack.

Overly optimistic expectations of victory led to the redeployment of reserve fleets to the front lines, forcing Coruscant to disperse its home fleet to various protesting star systems for garrison duty.

These star systems have now lost the protection of their reserve fleets.

Although Honor left a small garrison in Coruscant, it was not enough to stop the sabotage of the Barrier Fleet.

"It was my dereliction of duty that I failed to stop the Barrier Fleet's breakthrough in Forros," Dordenauer apologized.

"I remember Brigadier General Wuld Tansen was in command at Forster?" the general asked sternly.

“Yes, sir.” Dordenauer swallowed hard.

“I believe you have done everything within the limits he allowed,” Honoré waved his hand impatiently. “Anyway, he’s dead.”

He and his flagship were destroyed over Frost when the Barrier Fleet attacked.

"The Fifth Reserve Fleet is still in the core area, Admiral," Skrid reminded him.

“I suspect they’re panicking over Queen Titan’s secession from the Republic,” Admiral Honor said angrily. “It was a separatist fleet that traversed the deep core, and now they’re frantically trying to recall it to the core system. Don’t they realize this is exactly what the Pantora want?”

Dordenauer lowered his head. "The core galaxy is about to descend into a political melee."

“That’s not our concern,” she said, without revealing her worries about the fate of her homeworld. “Our first priority is to destroy the Barrier Fleet.”

“How should we respond to the order, sir?” Trinald asked.

"...We will also deal with the Peremia Alliance fleet," Admiral Honor made the decision, "but only if the home fleet has the right to use the resources of all hyperspace route registry offices in the core system without restriction."

"That's asking too much," Dordenauer pointed out cautiously.

“If they want my fleet to exceed its mission targets,” Honoro replied calmly, “they’ll have to give me the necessary resources. Send them out, Captain Skreed.”

"Received, General."

"And, Captain Dordenauer?"

Dordenauer straightened up. "Sir?"

"Move your fleet forward and continue probing the shields. I need you to tell me where to concentrate your firepower by the end of this week."

"Yes, sir."

(End of this chapter)