Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 26 - Brigadier General Bontri (7k views, please continue reading)
"Can I transfer prisoners here?"

Raine wanted to get rid of this Jedi apprentice from his hands as soon as possible.

It wasn't just the fact that keeping a Jedi locked up made him uneasy, but also the feeling of having a Jedi by his side was like having a bright red target drawn on his back.

If Baris Orpheus doesn't use any tricks to escape through the Force, someone will come to her rescue sooner or later.

What's her condition now?

“She… uh, is meditating in her cell,” Renn said hesitantly. “Actually, it’s been several days. She’s eating, but very little. And I brought her lightsaber.”

As he spoke, he handed over the lightsaber.

Tann took the lightsaber, activated it, and a blue short blade appeared.

She examined it carefully, adjusting her grip on the hilt, the light from the sword almost blending into her deep red eyes.

Then, with a gentle wave, the blue light blade traced an arc of light before dissipating.

The lightsaber was deactivated, leaving only a cylindrical alloy hilt.

“I have relayed your idea to Count Dooku,” Tann said, walking to a surprisingly smooth wall, a place unlike the rest of the cave.

Raine followed behind, listening to her continue, "But he thought it necessary to turn Orpheus into the dark side, or, if that proved impossible, just kill her."

Tann spoke crisply and clearly, allowing Ryan to fully understand her perspective on the matter.

The thought of executing a minor child, though cruel, is better than having another Sith.

“However, I disagree with his judgment,” Tann said, weighing the lightsaber in his hand. “I will take this lightsaber as proof that she is dead, and your task is to turn her into one of our agents.”

He...what?
This is crazy.

What am I, a nanny?
Ryan was speechless.

Tann seemed to sense his mood and said, "You seem a little reluctant?"

“I…I have no training in this area, sir,” Ryan thought to himself, and despite his reluctance, he could only resort to a roundabout strategy, “I trust the others…”

“The girl is dead, Captain!” A glint flashed in Tann’s eyes, his tone firm. “Count Dooku didn’t even know her name, or whether she was male or female. In the separatist-controlled space, only three people know her true identity. You must continue to keep this secret. I don’t care what methods you use; I only care about the outcome. As for the rest… leave it to me.”

“Excuse my bluntness, sir,” Ryan protested, his gaze sharpening, “what makes you so confident about this operation? I’m simply… raising a hasty objection to what I consider the unreasonable use of enemy prisoners of war…”

Tann's lips twisted slightly, as if he knew something Tann didn't. "You did a good job."

I go.

Things took an unexpected turn. Rein forced a sigh, his face displaying a polite yet cautious expression of resignation. "Yes, sir. What is my next mission?"

Headache!

We need to think of a solution.

Tann scrutinized Raine for a few seconds, then tucked Baris's lightsaber into his cloak. "How would you describe our current progress?"

"Progress status?"

"Progress in winning this war."

Uh……

Renn wasn't quite sure about it.

If they could destroy Kamino's cloning facilities, that would be a huge step, but for now they're just... maintaining the status quo.

The breakaway activities of independent galaxies are disorganized and even lack coherence.

In some star sectors, they are attacking key resource planets, such as Exaga and Christophersis.

In other star sectors, star systems allied with separatism are struggling to survive in order to resist the advance of the republic.

The war situation is different in each war zone, the commanders are different, and the objectives are different.

Ryan wasn't a staff officer; his job was to win his own battles, not to study maps.

"Uneven quality".

He pondered for a while and chose this word to describe it.

As far as Raine knew, there were victories and defeats in the battles across the various star sectors.

These junior officers had only met once or twice, and were merely nodding acquaintances.

Like the employees who worked for the company in their previous lives, these officers wanted to know the latest situation and liked to complain about the actions of the higher-ups.

Tann made a gesture, and the wall suddenly began to flicker.

Raine then realized that the unusually smooth wall was actually a huge observation display screen.

For a moment, he felt as if he were gazing into an entrance to another dimension.

A factory, no, a factory city, because the canyon was so large that it could contain the entire Royal Palace of Ondron, and he couldn’t even see the end of it.

The machines hammered piles of armor plates into shape, and the flying Geonosis carefully sculpted the focusing crystals before installing them into huge, deep red metal spheres.

The manufacturing station debugs the anti-gravity device, and then staggered conveyor belts transport all the parts to the assembly area, where they are assembled by wingless workers.

Raine suddenly realized.

This isn't a robot factory, it's a tank factory.

"I think our war effort is completely misguided," General Tann commented. "Geonosis is producing droid armies day and night, and this will be the first of many Destroyer Forges on this planet. Tell me, what can a hundred Destroyer Brigades do?"

Ryan immediately replied, "Conquer the galaxy."

A single "Destroyer" is a terrifying presence on the battlefield.

A battalion can take over a planet, and a brigade can control a star sector.

What about a hundred brigades?

Forget about tactics; such a massive force is enough to force any government to submit through sheer military might.

The Destroyers were originally a secret weapon program of the Republic, which was later stolen by Tann on the main planet of Eledin. She then used them to create chaos in the Middle Ring and even penetrated into the Core World, reaching as far as Sarapin.

Their turbo-laser cannons can penetrate AT-TE walkers and LAAT gunships like tearing paper, and they have multi-layered shield protection that can almost withstand precision air attacks.

Each unit is a mobile fortress.

Raine had previously thought that these destroyers were never intended to be mass-produced, but Geonosis had its own way of doing things.

If he remembers correctly, Geonosis is where the Death Star project was founded.

Just as the scene where Dooku takes out the Death Star blueprints in a war room like this suggests.

Tann looked at him, his tone completely flat, and asked directly, "Then why haven't we conquered the galaxy yet?"

This is a rhetorical question, and Ryan cannot answer it.

The main reason is that he doesn't want to answer the question.

Now, he can sense the direction the conversation is taking.

This time, Raine did seriously consider siding with Tann.

In fact, he didn't have many other options.

Choose either Trench or her.

Although they hold similar ranks in their respective branches of the military, to be honest, even the most arrogant admiral would follow Tann's orders in a critical moment.

Even without a formal title, General Tann's position in the Confederation was second only to Count Dooku himself.

Under her supervision, his career prospects will be bright.

As for Grievous...

Renn doesn't know why he is still missing.

He wasn't quite sure what had happened to cause this outcome, but... everyone said this guy was a Jedi assassin, and the most powerful general in the galaxy.

But he was killed with a single shot from a blaster, so he wasn't sure how credible that claim was.

Moreover, Grievous doesn't seem like the kind of upright person who would care about his subordinates.

So for now, Tann is probably his best option.

“Venok, Carrock, come here.” Tann snapped his fingers. “Listen carefully.”

Two human men suddenly appeared from the corner of the room, startling Renn.

Although they looked unremarkable, the lightsabers hanging on their belts made him wary.

Two more Sith?

These people seem to have sprung up from underground.

They appear and disappear without a trace.

Raine remembered that Sidious (Dath Sidious, also known as Palpatine) followed the "two-man rule".

Perhaps this rule doesn't mean what he understands it to be.

“We are losing this war,” Tann said bluntly, leading Ryan back to the table. “The Senate is divided, and everyone in power is pursuing their own goals. Watt Temple is pursuing his personal grudges in Reilos, Passel Argent is pursuing personal glory in Camino, exhausting the resources of separatism in the process… Even Count Dooku is using the emergency powers granted to him by the Senate to use military assets for his own selfish gain.”

She pressed a button, and a super-detailed map of the Milky Way rose from the holographic table.

“The Battle of Sarapin was the closest we ever came to crippling the Core World,” Tann said, frowning. “I could have continued the offensive, but Dooku ordered me to withdraw to Krant to oversee the production of the Destroyer.”

Renn opened his mouth but didn't speak; he just listened.

Tann ignored his reaction and continued, "As long as the robot army lacks a supreme commander, Dooku has the authority to act in his place—"

Ryan knew that the crucial moment was approaching.

Tann looked at Raine with interest and said, "Captain, if I remember correctly, you have connections in the council, right?"

“Yes, sir,” Ryan nodded in reply, “but to convince them…”

Tann raised his hand to stop him from continuing and said, "There's no need for any excessive actions, as that would attract unnecessary attention. I need the council to draw its own conclusions... Dooku seems to enjoy the power he's been given, but I cannot accept a politician being the supreme commander of our armed forces."

ha?
This is the first time this has ever happened.

However, Ryan knows that he can handle this.

“I need your professional advice,” Tann said, his tone carrying an inexplicable trust in him, “How can I get the Senate to appoint me as Supreme Commander?”

Renn weighed the options in his mind.

Over the past few weeks, he has turned down many bribes and favors from officers. If he were to suddenly jump ship with Tann, it would attract a lot of attention.

He didn't want to make too many enemies right now, so he agreed with Tann's statement that such an appointment could only be proposed by the Senate.

He used to work in marketing, so he was very familiar with the thoughts of this group of "customers".

Rein composed himself, his tone tentative, "Sir, please forgive my bluntness?" "Of course."

“Your brand recognition is already quite high,” Ryan recalled his holographic call with his cousin Lux. “The problem now is that a third of the senators don’t support the establishment of any supreme commander, and another third have their pockets stuffed with corporations. They will never accept an outsider like you.”

"A full third of them... think it's unnecessary?!" Tann glared, utterly incredulous. "Can't they see that we're in a situation where we're constantly on the defensive?"

She couldn't understand, "Now the supply lines in the outer ring have all fallen into enemy hands, and the entire war zone has been cut off!"

"In the intelligence that has come back, we are winning, sir..." Renn carefully chose his words. "The news from the front lines has been filtered through layers of information, and almost nothing reaches the ears of the people. Of course, the front-line star systems know that the war is still going on, but in the Confederate foundries (the core area), there are still people who do not believe that we are really at war. That is why the pacifists are still fantasizing about a bloodless ending."

Upon hearing this, Tann scoffed, his disbelief undisguised.

“Now, the Battle of Sarapin is strategically worthless, and the core area has long since recovered,” Renn analyzed the current situation, pointing out the root cause: “The business deal between Exagh and Lyros is purely a business transaction, a waste of military resources. Aksion has won a tactical victory, but it is not very significant.”

All of these were deliberately packaged as glorious and momentous victories and sold to the masses as proof of our just cause. And what about our defeats at Munirinst, Sifar, and Leanna?

“I bet,” Raine looked at Tann and said with certainty, “that not a single civilian on Laxus has heard of the defeat.”

One of the Sith apprentices standing next to Tann frowned and looked at Raine, asking, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"What I mean is, the reason there is no supreme commander is because we can still achieve victory on the battlefield without a supreme commander."

Raine observed Tann's expression and saw only a blank expression of pain on her face, an expression that was hard to describe, but that was it.

Seeing that General Tann had no intention of speaking, he could only continue, "If we want these things to get into their heads, we need to produce evidence that we are losing this war. If we want to 'sell' a supreme commander, we have to first sell the necessity of having a supreme commander."

Tann was silent for a moment, then turned his gaze to the Sith apprentice beside him, "...Venok, what do you think?"

Raine glanced at a Sith apprentice who involuntarily moved when Tann called out his name; this must be Vinok.

The Sith apprentice shook his head, pondered for a moment, and replied, "If Captain Bontri is telling the truth, then there's no way we can break through that machine specifically designed for propaganda, unless... we have more credits than those corporations."

The situation is bleak.

and……

The oligarchs are clearly keen to use military resources to pursue their own private interests.

Their hands have long been deeply embedded in the lifeline of the media; they can distort the facts of war at will without bearing any consequences.

“Is that necessary?” another Sith apprentice, Karlok, questioned. “We just need to overwhelm them with the truth.”

Ok?
Renn glanced at the Sith apprentice with some surprise; he had actually thought of the same thing as him.

Tann turned around, his face expressionless, his voice cold and tinged with sarcasm: "You mean... from now on, we're going to deliberately lose battles?"

Judging from her words, the idea itself was an insult.

It's even incomprehensible.

“I agree with this approach, sir…” Raine continued, seemingly trying to persuade Tann, “We are not losing battles, but winning tactical victories without regard for strategic gains or losses. If we do nothing, we will still lose cities and territories, but we will lose some insignificant worlds in return… Analyzing the situation, the war is currently concentrated in the trailing star system and the western frontier, far from our main population centers. Some defeats may actually lead to victory.”

Vinok quickly understood Rein's intention and added, "We can inflict defeats in the new territory and the Trans-Dian region. If the Republic begins to advance along the Peremian Seaway, those who tout victory will have to admit that the flames of war have reached the Confederacy, and the victory they see will be reduced to ashes. At that time... they will understand the necessity of having a Supreme Commander!"

Raine glanced at the two Sith apprentices.

The fact that these two were able to quickly understand his intentions suggests they weren't as bad as he thought.

Karok leaned over the holographic table and zoomed in on the map to the Peremian trade route that pierced the heart of the Confederacy. "The only problem now is that we all know the importance of the Peremian route. It is heavily fortified from Malakol to other areas, and some of our most powerful fleets regularly patrol the hyperspace routes in this region."

Raine rested his chin on his hand, propped up by his other arm. "The Clysm fleet is stationed in Salvara, guarding the entrance to the foundry. I know the fleet commander, Trilm, quite well. Perhaps we can..."

He stopped halfway through his sentence, suddenly realizing that a dangerous silence was permeating the atmosphere around him.

In that moment of clarity, Renn realized that he was advocating for a deliberate defeat.

The person he's facing now hates failure.

As far as he knew, she didn't even know the meaning of the word "failure".

silence.

The three of them waited quietly for Tann's response, an atmosphere that gave Ryan a strange sense of office camaraderie.

Raine inwardly groaned, feeling that Tann might unleash his fury on them at any moment.

However, it does not.

In fact, Tann didn't react at all.

The blue-skinned alien simply stood beside the holographic table, silently staring at the galaxy projection.

Time passed by minute by minute.

Ryan glanced at the timer.

Six minutes have passed.

He had an urge to wave at Tann, who remained silent and seemed stunned.

But he held back.

"The logistical supply lines in the spin zone have collapsed."

Tann suddenly spoke, startling Raine and the two Sith apprentices.

Tann didn't look at them and continued, "The Hutts' shipping lanes have fallen into enemy hands, and the entire salient has become an isolated area that is difficult to maintain. Now, we have two choices: either use our remaining forces to break through the encirclement and abandon this area, or concentrate our forces at both ends of the Bosa and Gamor shipping lanes to re-establish direct communication between the north and south."

Ryan nodded, pointing out the key issue: "The government will absolutely not accept abandoning the entire war zone like this."

"Then we only have one choice left."

Tann plans her strategy using a holographic console.

Currently, their war zone, centered on the Corellia Passage, is isolated from other areas controlled by separatists.

Previously, they had always used the neutral Hut space to bypass the Republic's encirclement, but that was no longer feasible.

Unlike their territories on the western edge, this front could not be self-sufficient.

This means that they have already started racing against time before resources run out.

In order to restore their supply lines, their allies in the north must capture Dalang, a key stronghold of the Republic.

Dallang controls the vital routes to the Trax Pipeline, the Bosa route, and the Gamor route.

Meanwhile, their fleet in the south had to break through the Bosa space and rendezvous with the Northern Fleet at Rangnick.

The action name, in Oribesch script, is:
A roundabout approach.

What's the problem?
Their fleet is now too scattered.

To launch such a large-scale offensive, they would have to redeploy their most elite forces from the Trans-Dian region, creating a military vacuum in the Peremian Channel.

This was the perfect bait for the Republic's intelligence services.

All they have to do is make it seem believable.

“We will send this memorandum to all fleets in the region via a secure line,” Tann said with an unusually grim expression. “However, this urgent message must also be transmitted to our allies in the north via transceivers controlled by the Republic. Unfortunately, the encryption key we are using has been cracked by enemy intelligence, but our people here are unaware of it.”

“The Republic will guess that the foundry is actually completely unprepared,” the general continued, “and then launch a massive probing attack to try to capture Lacus II and end the war… This will sound the alarm for the Senate, forcing them to elect me as Supreme Commander, and then they will launch a counterattack from the south to outflank them.”

“How can we ensure the Republic doesn’t advance too far?” Vinok asked. “We’re doing this just to scare the Senate, not to actually threaten Lax.”

Tann looked at Raine and said seriously, "Buntri, I will promote you to brigadier general. You will then return to Lax and build a new fleet there. During this time, you may use my name and authority as you see fit."

What are you doing?
Do you expect me to hold off the entire outer fleet?!
Raine kept his thoughts to himself. "What is the purpose, sir?"

“First, we’ll prevent the Republic from getting close to key planets like Metalon and Ringo-Venda, strategically forcing them to occupy only strategically insignificant systems like Castlefield, Agonall, and Jorios—systems we can afford to lose, but close enough to cause panic,” Tann explained. “Second, we’ve obtained a wealth of enemy data from the 'Guarara' archives, including their supply routes. We’ll use this information to plan attacks on their logistical support, thus slowing their advance.”

When the strategic mission was announced, Renn didn't know whether to be happy or worried.

On the one hand, he was promoted.

On the other hand, his primary task was to single-handedly stop the Republic's full-scale offensive.

He genuinely thought the promotion would be a satisfying thing.

but……

Now that he's a general, he can finally access the resources needed to develop a response plan more easily.

Not to mention that Tann granted a blank check (allowing him to freely allocate resources).

“Yes, sir,” Ryan said respectfully. “However, this operation requires a commander who can execute hit-and-run tactics. He needs to be flexible and adaptable. I’ve found that robots are too rigid in this kind of war that requires adaptability.”

Tann fiddled with the communicator, then said, "Venok will serve under you as captain... And what about Commander Trilm? Is she trustworthy? Which Enterprise faction does she belong to?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Renn noticed a wingless Geonosis worker bee enter the war room. "She doesn't belong to any corporate faction. I think her commission was personally issued by Count Dooku."

Tann's expression turned serious. "How loyal is she to Dooku?"

“Terrem is the kind of opportunist!” Like Ryan, that’s why they get along. “She’s loyal to whoever can benefit her.”

"Can we bring her to our side?" Karok interjected. "How close are you to her?"

Renn felt somewhat uncomfortable.

At a party shortly before the Battle of Geonosis, they and other officers celebrated their newly appointed commissions, got drunk, and then engaged in some intimate behavior.

Rein took a deep breath and said softly, "I can get the Crysm fleet on our side."

The Geonosis worker bee walked straight toward him, holding something that looked like a folded blanket with a military rank insignia on it.

The Confederate rank insignia were unique, designed to be completely enclosed within the Confederate circular emblem and could be sewn directly onto the shoulder.

The insignia for a brigadier general is gray in the first part of the circular insignia, the top triangle, and the second, third, and fifth parts.

Renn carefully took the items from the Geonosis.

He was very careful to avoid touching the insect-like creature.

However, he quickly realized that General Tann had planned this promotion in advance.

She simply used this promotion to dump two extremely unreasonable tasks on him, while simultaneously preventing him from protesting in any practical way.

Meticulous and terrifying.

“Very good.” Tann gave Raine a meaningful look. “I have prepared a frigate to join your squadron to make up for the loss of the Resistance. You will lead your fleet back to Lax via Trielus to avoid the Republic’s space. As long as you operate covertly, the Hutts will not notice three ships passing through their territory. Do you have any other requests?”

Renn quietly looked down at the new uniform in his hands.

He knew it in his heart.

Now that we're already on Tann's ship, we might as well make the most of it.

He met Tann's red gaze and said, "Sir, I need a letter of appointment and a Navy lieutenant's badge."

He added "sir" to make his tone sound more polite.

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(End of this chapter)