Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 253-255 - This is battle; we will not abandon our allies (Part 2)
The separatist arrowhead formation gradually converged into a sharp spindle, concentrating all its kinetic energy on breaking through the gap.

On both flanks, Admiral Dua Ningo's "Bastion-class" battlecruisers spread outwards, desperately holding back the edge of the Republic's battle line from breaking.

As the damaged Victory-class warships charged forward, the Bulwark-class, like the armored knuckles of a black iron gauntlet, firmly locked the breach, buying crucial time for the main force of the Combined Fleet to pass.

They formed an iron wall, constantly twisting and deforming under the relentless onslaught of the Republic's star destroyers, yet never retreating.

With fewer than fifty "Bulwark-class" ships, they withstood the fierce attack of three hundred Republic warships.

Dua Ningo's steely will allowed them to stand firm like a rock in a storm.

For a full minute, Carly Trilm forced her eyes open, watching the "Star of Serenno" tremble as it charged through the barrage of fire, struggling forward amidst the Republic's artillery fire and its own counterattacks.

The system alarm blared sharply, and red lights flashed frequently, causing the ship to shake violently with each hit.

then……

Suddenly, everything fell silent.

The explosions and the roar of the turbo lasers gradually faded into the distance, turning into a distant, low murmur, like a storm receding into the tide.

They broke through.

It took Carly a few seconds to realize this.

She blinked, almost unable to believe that the chaos of moments before had been replaced by the silence that followed.

Her flagship was battered and bruised, but it continued to sail.

The bridge lights flickered, the alarms faded, and the shelling that had almost torn the ship apart seemed like a distant memory.

She let out a long, silent sigh.

They did it; they broke through the Republic's defenses and escaped from Obi-Wan Kenobi for the third time.

She almost burst out laughing.

They are now maintaining their momentum, and the "Open Ring Fleet" will need time to regroup and pursue them, but by then it will be too late to stop the separatists from entering the jump.

“Damage report?” she asked.

Despite the adrenaline still coursing through her veins, her voice remained remarkably steady.

The crew on the bridge acted swiftly, their hands moving rapidly across the control consoles to assess the situation.

An unbelievable sense of relief filled the crowd.

They miraculously survived.

After assessing the data, Tex turned to Carly: "The hull is severely damaged, the engines are stable, the shields are at 15%, but half of the main weapons are unusable. However, we can still operate."

"Then... what about the fleet?"

"Current statistics show that 372 warships broke through with us," Tex said confidently. "Seven-tenths of the combined fleet successfully broke through."

The "Bastion Fleet" opened a path to survival for them, but at a heavy price.

Carly counted no more than thirteen surviving Bulwark-class ships, including the fleet flagship, the HMS No Regrets.

We almost failed to complete the task.

But in the end, they did it.

The remnants of the "Bastion Fleet" may no longer have the power to sway the course of the war, but the Alliance's most powerful conventional warships can now finally enter mass production, bringing with them valuable combat data, which may be the key to reviving the separatist war machine.

However, at this moment, these analyses are still far from her reach.

“That’s not what I’m asking,” Carly said, looking around. “It’s our own fleet, the 19th Mobile Operations Fleet.”

“We’ve lost a quarter of our ships,” the robot replied directly. “Fifty-four warships.”

The 19th Mobile Combat Fleet consisted of 300 warships when it set sail.

Now only half remains.

half!
The word echoed hollowly in her mind, robbed of all sense of reality by the devastating loss.

but……

“We did it,” Rael Hathor said breathlessly, as if trying to convince himself and others, “we did it.”

“Well done, Major General,” General Dua Ningo praised. “We can finally go home.”

“Perhaps it is for you,” Captain Jess Darlin said more calmly, “but it is my fleet that has paved the way for you all… If we continue forward, we will be getting further and further away from home.”

"Did you hesitate, Captain?" Carly Trilm asked, her tone not harsh.

“I have my orders…” he took a deep breath, “but when the league finally wins… promise me we will return to Lundley.”

“I cannot make such a promise,” Carly replied. “Only the Pantora can make such a guarantee.”

"……All right."

“Indeed,” General Dua Ningo’s voice was a mixture of relief and satisfaction; he had been trapped in the core area longer than any of them. “Shall we head to Mann’an?”

At that moment, Carly Trilm really wanted to say yes.

They can finally go home.

But one question lingers.

“Wait… what about the 28th Fleet?” She lunged at the tactical map, looking north.

Or rather, to the northwest... the battle with the "Opening Fleet" had pushed them millions of kilometers off their original positions.

Just then, her breath hitched.

The 28th Mobile Combat Fleet is surrounded, in a situation exactly the same as it had been a few minutes earlier, but without the numerical or firepower advantage of the Combined Fleet.

They are completely trapped and heading towards destruction.

If it weren't for the 28th Fleet tying down the home fleet, the 19th Fleet would be trapped and on the verge of destruction right now.

Now, are they going to abandon their savior and let him fend for himself?

"Can we make it that far?" Carly asked herself.

“Yes,” her tactical robot confirmed, “but according to calculations, time is extremely tight.”

That's enough.

She was somewhat surprised by her own unwavering willingness to return to the fight.

This seems like an exception for someone who has always been reluctant to take risks.

“Admiral Ningo, Captain Darlin,” Carly began, her resolve hardening, “please proceed to Mann-an as planned.”

"Aren't you coming with me?" General Ning Ge understood the implication in her words.

“We’ll meet up later,” Carly replied briefly.

For a moment, she considered asking for their support. Even a dozen or so Bastion-class destroyers could change the course of the battle.

But then she remembered the mission she was on this trip.

The "Bastion Fleet" must enter the separatist-controlled area, and so must the Lundli Home Defense Fleet.

Only in this way can the flames of resistance in the core world be kept burning.

As long as the Rendili fleet remains, the Republic will be unable to completely extinguish the embers of separatism on its own soil.

"...It is a blessing to help friends in need, Admiral," Jess Darlin told her. "A person of integrity is one who repays kindness. May the Force be with you, and may the stars protect your path."

“I will have fine wine ready for you in Mann, Major General Trilm,” the old Sallust man said goodbye, clearly unwilling to argue with her decision and not wanting to stay a moment longer. “I will always owe you a debt of gratitude.”

Nearly two hundred warp beams lit up as the "Bastion Fleet" and the Lundli Defense Fleet disappeared into the sea of ​​stars.

She had initially thought that some of the captains from her 19th Fleet would leave with them, but after taking inventory, all 150 of her remaining warships had stayed behind.

This even includes ships that are severely damaged and almost incapable of fighting.

"Another battle is about to begin, isn't it, madam?" Rael Hathor joked as the "Sanalor" adjusted its course and headed towards the rear of the Coruscant home fleet.

"Gentlemen, this is the last leg of your journey with me." Carly Trilm led her battered fleet slowly toward the enemy.

“It’s our duty,” Lieutenant Aviso, the one-eyed lieutenant, snorted. “This is battle. We don’t abandon our allies.”

Isn't this the cornerstone of the establishment of separatist states, and the declaration of the Independent Galaxy Confederation?
If we are to leave the Republic, then let us leave together.

……

……

Meanwhile, the 28th Mobile Fleet was besieged by the home fleet led by the 'Open Ring Fleet' and 'Bloodhound', and the situation took a sharp turn for the worse.

The Coruscant home fleet is closing in from all sides; the situation couldn't be clearer.

The air inside the bridge of the Chimera was so heavy it was suffocating, as if Renn and the entire fleet were being strangled by the enemy.

Two columns of Victory-class Star Destroyers approached from the flanks, applying continuous pressure, while a heavy array of Hunter-class Star Destroyers from behind violently rammed their retreat route.

The 28th Mobile Combat Fleet was pinned down in this narrow passage, with almost no room for maneuver, leaving it with no choice but to fight back with all its might.

Missiles rained down on their sides, but they fought back tenaciously, running their weapon systems at overclock and continuously overloading their firing capacitors until the hulls of every ship were glowing with a dazzling golden light from overheating.

Ironically, the lighter ships in the fleet were the ones that survived the massacre.

The frigates and light cruisers managed to weave through the enemy lines like fish and slip into open airspace.

However, the heavy warships, including the Chimera, were subjected to a fierce onslaught of concentrated fire from the home fleet, with Admiral Honor Salima relentlessly directing most of his strikes at these main forces.

The four Lucrehook-class battleships under Kretz's command faced the greatest pressure.

Their relatively exposed engine rooms became prime targets for the Republic's light attack cruisers, and soon all four giant ships were severely damaged.

In desperation, Kretz used the last remaining operational attitude control thrusters to bring his warships together into a tight cubic formation, with the broadsides of the "Lukerehook-class" spreading outwards like steel petals.

"This is probably our end," Hogo Schiff muttered to himself as he tried to provide cover fire for Kretz's battleships.

"Your ship isn't broken yet," Kretz retorted sharply, "Mine is already failing, you'd better get out of here!"

There was a brief silence on the communication channel!
"You don't need to say it a second time," the Muen man muttered, then led the remaining ships of his 2nd Strike Division to retreat with the main fleet.

The conversation was quickly drowned out by the noise of battle, but when Raine looked back, he saw the fortress made up of "Lukerehook-class" ships gradually disappearing from the sensor interface.

It wasn't because of the increased distance, but because the identification signals of numerous Republic warships overwhelmed that airspace.

Battlecruisers, cruisers, starfighters... swarmed in.

The Republic's rearguard had no choice.

Despite the damage to these Lucrehook-class ships, they remain among the most powerful conventional warships the Alliance can deploy, and may even be the most powerful.

Each fully equipped Lucrehook-class destroyer weighs 1.5 billion tons, more than 100 times the weight of a Jagdpanzer-class Star Destroyer.

The home fleet must completely eliminate the combat capability of these rearguard warships before they pose a further threat to its main force, or it will be tied down itself.

However, without the cover of Hodge Schiff, the cumbersome and bulky flaws of the "Luke Hook-class" were fully exposed.

There's a reason why these giant ships always need swarms of vulture robot fighters and escort vessels.

Lacking support, they became prey for starfighters.

With all the light attack cruisers already engaged, the remaining twenty or so ships of the 5th Division were close together, ready to fight to the last in the flames, determined to make the enemy pay a heavy price.

"Kretz has tied down a significant portion of their forces!" Rein regained control of the communications, shouting into the statically jammed channel. He barely managed to break through the interference thanks to the separatists' advanced communication technology. "Hogo, move your division to the left flank! Diedrich, order your battlecruisers to hold the right flank! Iriet, can you find a breakout route!?"

"The enemy is rotating warships along our route," Dodcia Iliet brought grim news. "They have no intention of letting us leave."

Ultimately, the home fleet was nearly twice the size of theirs.

Despite Kretz's efforts to hold off some of the enemy's rearguard, "Bloodhound" Honor Salima still brought overwhelming force as she charged toward her.

With ruthless efficiency, she rotated the battle lines, constantly sending fresh troops to the front, while the ships that were replaced were redeployed to the front, continuing to hold the "choke point" where the 28th Fleet was trapped.

Her intention was very clear: she wanted to wear them down minute by minute, hour by hour, until they were completely wiped out.

Then, just as the situation was descending into utter despair, the Chimera shook violently and lurched forward, throwing Raine to the ground.

Just as his cheek was about to hit the deck, he quickly grabbed the edge of the control panel with one hand and used it to pull himself up.

A piercing alarm blared across the bridge, and the lights flickered, casting shadows in the normally bright command cabin.

The Chimera's sub-light-speed engines crackled and sputtered before finally shutting down with a painful groan, leaving the flagship of the 28th Mobile Fleet adrift helplessly in the void.

A few sparks flew from the console before it went dark, the once steady hum of the engine replaced by an ominous silence.

"The engine isn't responding!" Taylor shouted. "We can't reach the engine room either!"

Raine couldn't help but wonder if the stern section still existed.

It wasn't just the lights; too many of the displays on the Chimera malfunctioned one after another during the battle, almost leaving her and Raine half-blind and deaf.

He couldn't even fully grasp what was happening on his own ship, let alone the entire fleet.

Half of the tactical map was malfunctioning, while the other half was filled with enemy jamming signals.

The only reason he could still roughly grasp the situation was that their communication array technology far exceeded the level that the Republic's army could counter.

This can be described as a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

"Send an engineering team to the stern!" Little Tower hurriedly ordered, then turned to Rein, "Sir, you must evacuate this ship; the 'Chimera' is already trapped."

“Leave the ship…” Raine’s voice was hoarse. He looked up through the cracked observation window at the star system that had been swallowed by steel and fire, “…and then where can we go?”

P.S.: An extra 4.2k words, bringing the total to 10.5k words.

Asking for a monthly ticket!
(End of this chapter)