Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 273-275 - The Invisible Hand
In deep space, the transport fleet hesitated briefly, the ships swaying erratically in the void as if disturbed by an invisible hand.

Then, one after another, their engines spewing flames to adjust their attitude, they began to turn toward the temporarily designated assembly area.

The whole process was slow and chaotic, with the civilian vessels moving clumsily, seemingly still unwilling to leave the Republic's fleet, the only one that might offer refuge.

However, among these ships, the "Iron Gull" and its three companions did not obey.

The four bulk carriers maintained their original course and stubbornly continued to accelerate, heading straight for the core of the battle group.

Their navigation lights flashed silently, their intentions were all too clear: they had no intention of stopping.

Captain Tarkin watched this scene with sharp eyes.

“They’re testing us, General.” His tone was icy, one hand resting on the edge of the console.

Evan Peel's resolute face was expressionless, but his mind was racing.

Through the Force, he could sense the emotions emanating from the cargo ship—not just panic, but a mixture of fear and desperate resolve.

“Captain,” he said calmly, “I’m warning you again. Try to communicate first, and if that doesn’t work… then we’ll take more decisive measures.”

Tarkin nodded and shouted sternly into the communicator, "'Iron Gull,' final warning! Shut down the main engines immediately, or we will open fire!"

Seconds passed, and the cargo ship continued to charge toward the fleet.

Tarkin looked at the Jedi Master.

Everyone on the bridge held their breath, waiting for orders; the tense atmosphere was almost frozen.

"Aim at their engines, low power fire." Tarkin swiftly turned and ordered, "Aim at the thrusters! Lowest power setting... just disable them, don't sink them! Fire!"

The turrets of the "Arrogance" spun, and several pale blue energy beams shot toward the cargo ship.

The explosion flashed at the tail of the target, the momentum suddenly disappeared, and the ship tilted forward due to inertia.

Just when everyone thought the threat was over, the cargo door at the front of the "Iron Gull" suddenly opened, shattering some of the ice shards attached to its surface.

Immediately afterwards, a large number of objects suddenly poured out of the cargo hold that had previously appeared "empty" on the sensor screen.

An officer gasped.

The cargo hold was packed full, and at that moment it was spraying out countless metal objects.

The same thing happened to the other three cargo ships.

At first, the objects looked like just a jumble of metal boxes, tumbling lifelessly in the vacuum.

But soon, they all started up, their surfaces glowing faintly. The silence was broken by the panicked voice of a tactical officer:
"Warning! Interception mines detected! Number... several hundred... no, several thousand!"

Evan Peele's heart sank; he finally understood the truth behind the trap.

A strong sense of crisis surged through him. He stepped forward and shouted, "Aim at those mines! Activate all defense systems!"

The HMS Pride and its escort ships immediately opened fire with their point defense guns, the dense barrage drawing countless bright lines in the darkness.

However, for every one destroyed, more escapees keep getting closer using their ion thrusters.

Even more chillingly, the Jedi Master clearly saw the corpse.

Human, Qua, Duro, Nikoto, Quaren, Rodia, Tirek... thousands upon thousands of corpses were scattered from the cargo hold, freezing and tumbling in space.

These transport ships were carrying not only landmines, but also civilians, most likely refugees trying to escape Taris.

They were crammed into the ship's hold like cargo, and are now being tossed into the Republic's fleet as disruptive equipment.

"Smash those mines!" Tarkin roared, his voice tinged with barely concealed panic. "General, please give the order!"

But there was no time left.

“将军！”传感器军官大喊，“侦测到克罗瑙辐射！分离主义舰队跳出超空间！方位1-4-5，标记0-2-2！距离极近……就在我们正上方！”

Evan Peele could sense the sudden change in atmosphere on the bridge without needing the Force.

Every officer froze instantly...

A massive separatist warship appeared overhead, its presence cleverly concealed by the mass shadow created by the interceptor torpedoes.

Leading the fleet was a massive "God's Will" class cruiser.

The Invisible Hand!
Grievous's flagship suddenly appeared and began to close the trap.

"Transfer all shield energy to the upper part of the ship's back! Form a defensive wedge formation! The rearguard fleet engages the enemy! Immediately recall the Garan Task Force!" The Jedi Master shouted the order, his voice drowning out any panic.

“第二支敌方舰队跳出超空间！方位0-3-3，标记3-0-4！距离待确认！”

The electronic warfare equipment on the HMS Pride emitted a piercing alarm; enemy targeting lasers had locked onto the flagship.

On the holographic screen, blue vector lines converged, pointing towards the "Invisible Hand" that was charging towards them.

The warship, with its jagged hull and numerous gun emplacements and missile ports, hurtled toward the "Pride" without slowing down.

“Grievous is after me. He even brought a second fleet to encircle and annihilate us here.”

"The enemy flagship is heading straight for us!" Captain Tarkin reported, his voice hoarse from tension. "Identification signal confirmed—it's the 'Invisible Hand'! It's 9,000 kilometers away and is still rapidly approaching!"

The engines of the Pride were running at full power in an attempt to avoid a collision, but the Invisible Hand was in hot pursuit, ignoring the Republic cruiser's salvo.

Explosions flashed continuously on its shields, but the giant ship did not slow down in the slightest.

"All forward turrets, concentrate fire on its bridge!" Tarkin shouted the order. "Send all auxiliary power to the forward and upper shields!"

Evan Peele felt a sharp warning coming from the Force.

This is not an ordinary attack.

Grievous had a clear objective, even disregarding his own safety, and was determined to defeat the Pride.

The Jedi Master gripped the edge of the control panel tightly, the deck beneath his feet groaning and vibrating from the violent maneuvers. "Enemy aircraft approaching!" an officer screamed.

Countless robot fighters surged in like a black cloud.

"All fighter squadrons scramble to intercept!"

The tactical hologram suddenly became chaotic, with hundreds of points of light flying around and crisscrossing, and the lights of the air battle illuminating the area around the ships.

"Shield strength has dropped to seventy percent!" a young officer shouted, his voice trembling.

"Where is General Anduli?" Tarkin demanded, his tone stern.

The "Invisible Hand" grew larger and larger in the observation window, its bow weapons emitting a dangerous glow as they charged.

The approach alarm wailed mournfully, and the silhouette of the giant ship loomed over the entire "Pride".

"The 'Garland' is engaged in firefight with the enemy's rearguard, sir! Reinforcements won't arrive for at least seventeen minutes!"

“We can’t wait that long,” Tarkin whispered, turning grimly to the tactical screen.

"They're preparing to board." General Peel's deep voice remained clear amidst the chaos. He turned to the communications officer, "Announce to the entire ship: On your marks, prepare for boarding action."

Another barrage of shells shook the ship violently, and Peel had to hold onto the control panel to steady himself.

The Force is permeated with an aura of violence.

A screeching sound of metal scraping came from deep within the ship's hull as the docking clamps locked onto the "Pride".

"Enemy forces have connected the boarding tunnels on decks five through seven! Combat robots are pouring in!"

"Move all available soldiers to the breakthrough area," he calmly ordered, striving to stabilize the situation.

Jedi Master and Captain Tarkin retreated into the inner operations room. His remaining eyes were fixed on the tactical screen, where red markers flooded the structural diagrams of the "Pride".

The vibrations from explosions and blaster fire continued to emanate from the deck, while reports from clone soldiers, gunfire, and the clanging of robotic metal footsteps mingled together on the communication channels.

"They've broken through to the fourth deck!"

"Destroyer robots encountered on the sixth deck! Requesting backup!"

"The port hangar is being breached!"

"This is the engine room! We're trapped in the main reactor chamber!"

Pierre glanced at the live monitoring screen on one side.

The screen flickered, but the robotic soldiers could still be seen precisely surging into the corridor, with burst beams of energy constantly knocking down the clones holding their positions.

A squad of BX-type assault robots is nimbly charging toward the reactor core, their movements efficient and deadly.

“They want to shut down the main reactor,” Peel whispered. “They don’t want us to self-destruct the ship,” Wilhoff Tarkin responded.

Another scene shows the escape pod area, where a team of combat robots are methodically dismantling control panels to ensure no one can escape.

The boarding ships continued to pour troops into the left and right hangars, overwhelming the remaining defenders.

The point defense system of the "Arrogance" has been quickly suppressed.

The largest enemy force is steadily advancing towards the bridge. Squads of soldiers and blast doors have temporarily slowed their progress, but it's clear they won't be able to hold out for long.

The blaster's firepower raged through the corridor. When the robots encountered fierce resistance, they used molten metal bombs. The walls were blackened, and there were wreckage and remains everywhere.

When a surveillance camera switched to show a tall, skeletal figure walking at the head of the boarding team, flanked by cloaked guards, everyone in the operations room held their breath.

Griffiths moved with an unusual grace through the smoke and wreckage, his tattered cloak billowing in the leaky air.

His hunched figure was unusually tall, his mechanical limbs were long and thin but full of deadly power, and every movement was so precise that it was unsettling.

He is a bizarre combination of machine and organism, covered in terracotta armor.

Beneath the sternum, the remnants of biological tissue are faintly visible, and the slight rise and fall of the chest cavity suggests a lingering life maintained by a mechanical heart.

Griffiths slowed his pace as he walked directly beneath the cameras, as if sensing their gaze.

His metal claws slammed into the deck, sparks flying.

He raised his head, his sunken eyes gleaming with a sulfurous light, and his mechanical arm held up a white helmet—the helmet of a clone soldier.

"Run, Jedi." The monster's voice was a mixture of metallic scraping and hoarse mockery, brimming with malice. "Run, Jedi!"

His claws tightened, crushing the helmet; the plastic steel shattered, and blood dripped down.

"Ha...haha...hahaha!"

The twisted, inhuman laughter echoed down the corridor.

He didn't even bother to destroy the cameras, leaving them staring at the empty yet death-filled scene.

Master Evan Peale exchanged a grave look with the flagship's captain before turning his gaze to the tightly closed, heavy blast-proof door.

Nevertheless, he could still hear the metallic footsteps approaching.

He unsheathed his lightsaber and walked steadily toward the door, followed by dozens of clone soldiers and officers gripping blaster guns. Some had determined looks in their eyes, while many more were frozen in fear.

Just then, accompanied by a piercing metallic tearing sound, the blast door shook violently.

Four beams of blue-green light pierced through the thick steel plate like a hot knife through butter, the molten metal hissing.

The light blade rotated and moved, cutting a huge arc in the door.

Sweat beaded on the Jedi Master's forehead.

"Run, Jedi, run!" General Grievous laughed from the other side of the door, knowing they had nowhere to escape. "Run! Run! Hahaha!"

(End of this chapter)