Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 269, Section 271 - Agreement
The air was thick with the intense tension characteristic of a fortress on the verge of battle.

Trench's multifaceted gaze swept over the soldiers who remained at their posts, and some of them recognized him.

He saw confidence, exhaustion, and determination on these people's faces, but not the fear he had expected.

Moreover, there were indeed no clone soldiers.

“General Kota, I admire you,” Trench said, moving his jaw slightly. “Not many Jedi, especially the Loyalists, are willing to sit down and negotiate with the Separatists.”

“You’re mistaken, Admiral,” Kota replied curtly, his tone as cold and hard as the surrounding bulkhead. “As a Jedi, it is my duty to negotiate with the enemy, no matter how insidious or despicable they may be. Refusing to negotiate means needlessly sacrificing one’s life.”

"These are your men, General?" Trench pointed with one of his forepaws at the Marines patrolling the corridor.

Their armor, though worn, remained clean, and their eyes were sharp, always on alert.

“Yes,” Kota raised his chin slightly, “I neither like nor trust the clone army. They are born for war, but soldiers without conviction and motivation do not deserve to be called warriors. As you can see, General, I am different from most Jedi.”

“No,” Trench replied, his multifaceted eyes gleaming with an unfathomable light, “General Kota, you are more like a true Jedi than most Jedi.”

Kota turned to look at the Hedgehog general, frowning slightly. "I rarely hear that."

"They fought for you? For your beliefs? Were they there voluntarily?" Trench pressed.

Kota's eyes darkened, and he slightly shifted his gaze. "Most of them are."

“Something is better than nothing,” Trench said, tucking a pair of forelimbs behind his back.

They continued along the corridor, then suddenly turned and stopped in front of an exquisite wooden door.

The door, though scratched, has been meticulously polished, a stark contrast to the cold, practical style of the combat station's metal corridor.

Behind the door, the faded wallpaper is faintly visible through the wear and scratches of time, and the carpet underfoot is worn and hard, as if it has been stepped on thousands of times.

“I must ask your guards to remain outside during the conversation,” General Ram Kota nodded, “and so will my men.”

"I accept."

The Jedi General pushed open the door and strode in, gesturing for Trench to follow.

A combat robot rushed to the door, scanned the room from top to bottom, and finally allowed the separatist general to enter.

Trench's own prosthetic eye also began to analyze the space that would soon be used for dialogue.

The room was furnished very simply, with only a table without any drinks on it and two chairs.

There was an empty space in the corner, and scratches on the floor indicated that a bed had once been placed there.

A reinforced, wide viewing window stretched out in front of me, clearly reflecting the array of separatist fleets in space outside.

“Alright,” Ram Kota gestured to a chair and sat down first, “let me hear your vision for peace.”

“Of course,” Trench accepted the gesture, “you risked letting me onto your battle station, so I will treat you with the same respect.”

“You can call it an adventure,” the Jedi general said gravely, “but I see it as insurance. With you on board, your fleet would never dare to fire on this battle station.”

Trench remained unfazed. "I don't understand. Fanta Station is far beyond the range of our fleet..."

“Survivors in Colfil report that a blue comet appeared out of nowhere from the outer planetary region,” the Jedi General’s voice suddenly turned stern, “crashing directly into their combat stations and killing tens of thousands. Admiral Trench, a comet cannot travel at the speed of light. As the guardian of the Salin Corridor, it is only natural for me to maintain contact with the satellite fortresses of the Gordian Extension. Likewise, it is my duty to be aware of your superweapons.”

Trench leaned back, the human-sized chair creaking under his weight. "You think I brought this kind of weapon this time?"

“I don’t know what you brought, so I have to be careful.”

“If I truly possessed the kind of weapon you suspect,” Trench calmly analyzed, “why would I insist on negotiating with you regarding fleet passage? I could have easily destroyed you before you even realized it.”

“You may be able to destroy this Fanta station, but you cannot destroy the Fanta fleet,” General Kota said, spreading his arms wide. “As you can see, I have dispersed the fleet across various planets, and your superweapons cannot lock onto them all at once. The Fanta station is just one node in the Fanta defense system of the fortress planet.”

Trench remained silent.

A somber light flickered in Ram Kota's eyes.

“As we speak, the largest military operation to end this war is advancing outwards along the Haidian route,” he continued without pausing. “The Jedi Expeditionary Fleet, you want to intercept it, even though you have only a third of its ships… no, the expeditionary fleet is mostly troop transports, while your ships are all combat-ready. Even so, you still hope your fleet can pass through this system unscathed, which is why you are sitting here negotiating with me right now.”

“Interesting analysis, General,” Admiral Trench chuckled, a sound so inhuman that even the resolute Jedi felt a shiver of unease. “But you are wrong. Count Dooku is an enemy of the Lax government, and I, like you Jedi, want his life… This time, I intend to assist the expeditionary fleet.”

Ram Kota froze in disbelief, then jumped to his feet, his face contorted with rage.

"Ridiculous! I warned you, separatist, that your tricks wouldn't work on me!"

“What you see is a separatist,” Trench said wearily but earnestly. “Look at me… Admiral Trench, the Confederate Navy.”

Jedi General Ram Corta stared at him and slowly sat back down in his seat.

“Look at me,” Trench leaned forward, his six red eyes unblinking. “Am I, Trench, the kind of person who would lie?”

“…No, Admiral Trench is not,” General Kota closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “In that case, your fleet can remain on the Lax side of the Salin Corridor. Rest assured, the expeditionary fleet will deliver Count Dooku’s head to the galaxy.”

"What if they fail?"

Ram Cota gave a scornful smile. "What hope does Sereno have? An experienced admiral like you surely knows that Dooku is at his wit's end and has nowhere to escape."

Admiral Trench placed a data panel on the table and pushed it toward the suspicious Jedi General. "What kind of trick is this now?"

“It’s not a trick; it’s just intelligence we intercepted from Coruscant, which I’m sharing with you now.”

Ram Kota looked at the Hufflepuff with suspicion, then at the data panel, before finally picking it up and opening it.

Trench let time pass, the Jedi General silently reading the declaration, his eyes moving rapidly across the screen, completely absorbed in its contents.

“It’s fake, another separatist trick,” he said expressionlessly.

"You know it's not."

“Master Procon, Master Adi Gallia… Master Yoda,” Ram Kota’s wrinkles deepened, “and Audran, Naboo, Chandela, Humbarian, Aesop, Mandalor, Brentar, Procopia…”

And the support of thousands of other planets.

"Do you believe this intelligence?" Trench stated.

“I believe,” Ram Kota cautiously replied, “no, I believe not only in its authenticity, but in every single word. This is not something separatists could have fabricated. The republic has long existed in name only, and this document… this declaration will completely tear away the facade that maintains its appearance. However…”

Trench nodded understandingly, "If we separatists can intercept it..."

"The Republic's intelligence services must have intercepted it long ago," the Jedi General's face turned ashen again, "and these people are completely unaware? How many Jedi were involved!?"

"I don't know that."

General Kota gritted his teeth, "Expeditionary fleet... I must warn them!"

"Are the entire expeditionary fleet composed of Jedi?"

General Kota's eyes widened. "You're worried... that they'll have internal conflicts after they find out?"

“This is bound to happen,” Trench said with certainty. “If my Second Fleet can reach an agreement with the Jedi while the Republic’s intelligence is taking countermeasures, the Republic’s intelligence will not dare to act rashly.”

"...Do you think they would act so quickly?"

Trench pointed to the data panel. "We intercepted it as it left Coruscant, General Corta. A coup is imminent, and the Republic's intelligence service will inevitably retaliate."

“If the situation worsens,” Trench continued, “Fanta is the closest friendly port to all the Jedi, and if… things change, they will look to you for refuge.”

"As a separatist, you seem to have an unusual sympathy for us Jedi."

“I respect the Jedi,” Trench told him. “We may be adversaries, but it is a matter of circumstance. The Republic, including many Jedi, sees us Separatists as the embodiment of chaos and disorder… but many of us in the Confederation still recognize the true nature of the Jedi.”

"So what do you think is the essence of the Jedi?"

"Guardians of the Galactic Republic"

"..."

“That is precisely why you naturally became our enemies,” Trench said. “It is unfortunate that the Jedi have indeed been misled, indeed guarding a corrupt order, but the Jedi are still the Jedi. For the Outer Rim, this war stems from the Outer Rim’s resentment towards the Core World. But at the same time, many planets in the Outer Rim have benefited from the Jedi’s good deeds, and the Jedi Order still enjoys a legendary reputation in the Outer Rim. This is one of the reasons why we so readily followed Count Dooku, who himself was once a Jedi.”

"Pre-Desperate Zone".

"We can't distinguish between these differences."

"...I understand. Whether it's true or not, your words are indeed very convincing."

“The truth is the most convincing of all lies,” Trench stood up. “I have no intention of fighting, much less of an enemy of the Jedi Order. All I seek is peace in the Outer Ring, for the sake of the Confederation I serve. I extend a hand of reconciliation to you now, but you need not respond immediately. If you permit, I will stay at Fender Station for three days to allow you time to make your decision. If you ultimately reject my proposal, I will return to the fleet and immediately launch an attack on Fender.”

Trench turned to leave, but Ram Kota stopped him before he could go.

The Jedi General extended his hand.

“I am not a man of indecisiveness,” the Jedi general told him. “I believe in you, Admiral Trench, and in the voice your legend has shaped. I only hope that you will not betray this trust and bring my deepest fears about the separatists to life.”

"Never will."

General Trench's massive, clawed hand gripped General Kota's hand.

"We have reached an agreement."

"An agreement has been reached."

"May the Force be with you, Admiral."

"May the Force be with you."

It's the first month of the new year.

General Trench stands on the site where the Confederacy suffered two crushing defeats, attempting to cross the fortress planet Fanta.

This time, the number of warships under his command is unprecedented.

Meanwhile, Fanta halted its fleet's preparations for war, withdrew its troops, lowered its cannons, and shut down the hyperspace blocking network.

In the first month of the new year, the Confederate Second Fleet, commanded by Admiral Trench, with its three thousand warships, passed through the Fanta system without firing a single shot and entered the Sereno space.

(End of this chapter)