Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 259, Page 261 - For Whom Do We Fight?
Atahox Passage, Atahox Galaxy
Hoqatar Sector
Since Rendelli's difficult escape, the war shouldn't have been so difficult.

The only explanation is that Honor knew the whereabouts of the 28th Mobile Fleet in advance.

Subsequently, when Prokhor's Hyperion Task Force arrived on the battlefield, he was capable of turning the tide and achieving victory against almost any other opponent.

However, this time he was outnumbered and in trouble, so after struggling for a while, he was finally defeated.

Hundreds of warships were targeting his "Divine Will" class ship, and no matter how powerful the "Chimera" was, it was impossible to escape the storm of war.

What Raine couldn't understand was why Prokhor would betray him after he provided information about the Sith Lord.

Is it revenge?

Or perhaps it was out of loyalty to the republic.

The enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend.

Or, from a more objective perspective, both Prokhor and Raine were pursuing their own interests.

If Prolo hesitated even slightly, it would invite a lot of suspicion upon him.

Besides, Raine had already provided the intelligence they needed, so there was no urgent reason to save his life.

If the battle hadn't been so chaotic, Prokon might have stepped in to help.

But what about firing on allies?
Even if Salima gave the order, it is just as the Jedi proclaimed: "Jedis are ruthless and even kill their allies."

This also paved the way for Palpatine to implement Directive 66.

……

The scene before Raine was like a fireworks display from the abyss.

The missile traced chaotic trajectories in the darkness, with blue and red energy beams flashing past from all directions.

On the battlefield of Rendili, the starfighters were constantly turning into burning flowers, and the laser beams created futile blue vortices on the deflector shields.

He couldn't even tell which side the escort ships belonged to, or whose warships were firing.

Two more cruisers collided head-on, as if this were not an interstellar battlefield, but a duel between knights.

The Chimera was caught in the storm of this war, with separatist robot-controlled warships intercepting it and constantly turning into stardust.

In the final scene, a Victory-class Star Destroyer painted in the blood-red camouflage of the Great Republic Army breaks through a gap in the Separatist defenses and heads straight for the Chimera.

Like a scorching knife approaching butter, the "Victory-class" ship pressed down on Rennes like a guillotine.

At that moment, he vaguely felt the tactical robot shove a small, sharp object into his hand and then push him toward the blast door.

Taylor grabbed Ryan's arm and practically dragged him into the flagship's smoke-filled interior.

As the blast door slowly closed, Ryan caught a glimpse of another ship.

A separatist "Divine Will" class warship rammed directly into the side of the "Victory" class ship, swerving it off course.

Immediately afterward, the shockwave from the explosion spread out, and just before the door closed completely, Renn clearly heard the sound of transparent steel cracking.

Chaos has broken out inside the Chimera.

Every robot on the ship was activated and moved at full speed through the corridor.

Firefighters rushed into the smoke-filled compartments, and blast doors were closed everywhere to isolate the unseen damage and hull breaches in the Reine.

A terrible wind was blowing in the corridor, alarms were blaring, and red and amber lights were flashing alternately.

Through a layer of blue atmospheric shield, he saw a row of missiles fired at the enemy "Jerusalem-class" Star Destroyer in the distance.

Just then, the steel plates of the gun deck bulged inward in front of them.

The next moment, Ryan was floating in space.

He was surrounded by the wreckage of battle: twisted blocks of Dura steel and charred, blackened fragments.

Long electrical wires and pipes floated slowly by, tumbling one after another in the vacuum.

The shattered, transparent steel spun like jagged fragments, capturing and reflecting the eerie glow of distant laser cannon fire.

There are still many people around.

Some of the corpses were intact, swollen and bluish, with frozen astonishment on their faces, mouths agape, and eyes staring blankly into the void.

The Chimera was cut in half.

The entire pointed bow was flattened by the shockwave generated by the collision of the two giant ships.

The two giant ships fused together above him, forming a colossal entity that blocked out the starlight.

The "Divine Will" class warship had penetrated nearly half of the "Victory" class hull, somehow avoiding the reactor explosion.

When Renn saw the paint scheme on the "Divine Will" class warship, his heart sank.

Its call sign, "Star of Sereno," was prominently displayed on the hull in a clearly legible cursive script.

Carly.

Ryan tried to twist his body, but it was all in vain.

He fumbled for his escape suit and managed to activate a few attitude control thrusters, allowing himself to drift erratically among the debris for a few seconds, wasting precious fuel.

Floating in space, they could be struck by high-speed warship debris at any moment and turned into dust in the starry sea.

Just then, the appearance of the "Crumplinz" filled him with both joy and surprise.

The battlecruiser Theonis looks almost as if it has just come from the battlefield; although some areas are blackened, its mirror-polished chrome armor still shines under the starlight.

Rein relaxed, still holding Hal and the chip, and let the robot drag them toward an airlock hidden behind the sail-like structure of the "Crumplinz".

Once the airlock was sealed, normal gravity returned, and Renn collapsed to the ground without any grace.

"Major General, I'm so glad you're alright!"

"Carly! Do you know where she is?"

Diederich frowned. "I know where her ship is. She sent me to you earlier..."

Raine was dizzy and unable to speak. He could only feel himself being lifted up by several hands and placed on a suspended stretcher.

The steady hum of the anti-gravity device under the stretcher was reassuring.

“…Take it,” Rein gritted his teeth and handed the chip to Diedrich. “Now you are in command of the fleet.”

"I will lead everyone out, Major General."

“The 19th Fleet…” Rein gasped as the medication was injected.

“I will also command them,” Diderich Greshad reassured her. “As for Kari Trilm… she will be fine. She wants to die less than all of us combined.”

……

Subsequently, Brigadier General Diderich Greshad led the remnants of the 28th and 19th Mobile Combat Fleets to retreat to the Mann system.

Many ships were lost during the jump and voyage, and it took several days for them to arrive at the rendezvous point.

The Peremian Alliance's six hundred warships entered the core region of the galaxy to carry out "Operation Starburst".

Two months later, when they withdrew from the Lundli system, only one hundred warships arrived in Manan.

There has been no news of Carly Trilm ever since.

Contrary to convention, Raine ordered the entire fleet to repeatedly review all video recordings and check logs in an attempt to develop a reasonable timeline to trace her movements and find her last known location.

This was driving almost everyone crazy. Carly wasn't in the crowded medical bays of the Combined Fleet, nor in the depressingly empty morgue.

It appears that Major General Carly Trilm sank with her ship.

There's really no need to search so desperately.

It is common for commanders to be killed in battle; that is war.

Kretz is missing, and the one-eyed Aviso is also nowhere to be found. They are probably both dead, frozen into ice blocks in the wreckage of Rendili, floating in space.

Kari Trilm might be the same.

But Renn simply couldn't believe it.

He owes her his trust.

She saved his life.

Perhaps he still has a chance?
Perhaps she was captivated by the loyalists... but he knew it was just wishful thinking.

In any case, they still arrived in Manan.

This meeting point was chosen by Carly.

Manan is located in a remote area, hundreds of seconds away from the nearest large hyperspace passage.

Loyalists might be able to trace their jump vectors, but the resulting search area is too large, making it like finding a needle in a haystack.

Interestingly, this planet was once a thriving production planet, specializing in the production of koto, an early alternative to bakta as a healing potion.

However, Couto is less effective than Bakta, and its supply is extremely limited.

Manan is the only planet in the Milky Way that can be mined.

After several devastating wars, most of the planet's surface became barren, and the local Selcas people retreated to the deep sea of ​​this water world, thus Manan lost most of its strategic value.

This made it an ideal place for the defeated separatist fleet to recuperate.

They stayed within a safe range for as long as possible, never making contact with the Selcas, but only taking stock of the losses, repairing ships, and waiting for ships that had fallen behind in the battle to rejoin the group.

But the Republic was not idle either; scouts soon discovered that the Republic's reconnaissance ships were sweeping through the area.

They immediately set off for their next destination.

What's the next destination?

The nearest friendly planet they could reach was somewhere on the Southsiri front.

In a way, it's both frustrating and a little ridiculous that it all started with Admiral Trench's flagship over Southbury and has now come full circle.

This made Ryan feel that the entire operation had yielded absolutely nothing...

Or rather, at least he gained nothing and only suffered losses.

But what about the Confederation?

They bought the Confederation time, allies, resources, and most importantly, morale.

They not only dealt a heavy blow to the Republic's sore spot, but also rampaged through the other side's "front porch" for two whole months.

This is definitely valuable.

At least they proved that the Confederation still had the ability to fight back even when outnumbered.

But now, after two or three months of no contact, it's time to go home.

But what will I face when I go home?
They bought the Confederacy time, but not victory...

The responsibility for the success of "Operation Stormgate" falls on the shoulders of the Pantora fleet commanders.

Has the Confederation regained its footing?

Or were all the efforts and sacrifices in vain?
Throughout the entire hyperspace journey, Renn's heart was in his throat.

During this voyage, they avoided Mimban—

This planet is already being fought over by loyalists, separatists, and the local governments they support, and they have no interest in getting involved in another battle right now.

The next major planet is Atahox, which was recently recaptured by the Confederate Third Fleet, the fleet of General Atticus Fasta.

Atticus Fasta... Raine racked his brains to recall that Fasta had been Severn Tann's second-in-command during the Battle of Bossane!
It appears that he was promoted to general after that battle and retained his rank despite the personnel changes triggered by the Militia Act.

They exited hyperspace outside the galactic hyperspace restricted zone to avoid alerting any possible blockade network set up by the other side.

This sight must have been quite unusual for the local space services department.

The Separatist "Divine Will"-class, "Bastion"-class, and "Dreadnought"-class warships, along with the "Consul"-class and "Victory"-class warships, appeared together.

They immediately sent access permits and transponder codes to all objects that might receive the signal.

However, it was soon discovered that this was an unnecessary precaution.

Because they have the "Crumplinz".

No other warship in the Milky Way looks like it.

“Brigadier General Diedrich Greshad!” a voice came through the communicator. “This is Commander Seris Mott of the 331st Strike Division. Welcome home.”

“Celice Mot,” Ryan murmured softly, “He was a notorious pirate when Nansley was still a pirate den. It seems he’s found a new livelihood after the Militia Act.”

"If you can legally plunder and steal, why do it illegally?" Diedrich joked, then opened the communication channel. "It's good to be home. It's been a long journey... but it's not my place to say that."

The Kolumex man gestured for Renn to take his place.

Ryan cleared his throat.

"Rear Admiral Rein Bontley of the 28th Mobile Fleet is speaking here," Rein said into the quiet communication channel. "Sorry for intruding into your defense zone, Commander Mott."

“Rayne Bontry…you’re not dead.”

“I’m afraid the news of my death has been exaggerated,” Ryan swallowed. “If I’m really going to die, at least I’d like to know why.”

“No… I’m sorry, Major General,” Celis Mott smiled nervously. “I’m just so surprised. You’ll be glad to know that we’ve routed the loyalists here, and the area is quite safe.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Ryan replied patiently. “May I speak with General Fasta?”

“Hmm…” Commander Mott paused for a moment, “I’m afraid the general has… a conflict of interest, especially since we’re talking about you right now. Major General, please forgive me, but I’d like to confirm that you have a close relationship with the Supreme Commander, is that right?”

Rein, Diedrich, and the other bridge officers exchanged glances: "If you mean we can communicate directly, then that's true, Commander."

"She listens to you."

"She will listen to my advice."

“That…that’s great,” Celis drawled. “Forgive me, but I have to keep this from the general, Major General. Please go through my zone all the way to Trax Passage, then head north into Admiral Trench’s zone…you will definitely be stopped again there. Please make sure you get to Laxus Sub-Star.”

"What is your purpose in doing this, Commander?"

“I hope you can reason with the Supreme Commander,” the former pirate told Raine, “or at least find out what’s going on. We’re at war now, but we want to know who we’re fighting for.”

Diedrich leaned closer to the communication channel: "Speak clearly, Commander!"

"..."

“During your ‘death,’ the ‘Independent Star Station’ occupied Laxus Sub-Star,” Celis Mott dropped a bombshell. “The Council and Senate have been dissolved by the Supreme Commander, and the Tion Hegemony Zone has been declared under martial law.”

(End of this chapter)