Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 37 - Flanking Maneuver (Part 37)

Bosa Galaxy, Gorm Channel.

Bosa Space.

Those familiar with Severn Tann's past combat experience might find her strategic deployments almost insane.

Karl-Heinz had a deeper understanding of this.

Tann was methodical and extremely cautious, perhaps even overly cautious.

She would never act lightly unless she had already determined the outcome of the action through deduction, intelligence, or the Force.

Once she confirms the outcome, she goes all in, mobilizing all resources to take action, which is what has made her famous today.

In this region of the star system, just 700 parsecs southeast of Bosavoy, Karok witnessed her most glorious victory.

Tann used himself as bait, and the Republic Task Force took the bait without any doubt, falling into the trap that had been laid.

Closer to home.

Karok glanced at the cold, glowing numbers on the bridge's main timer.

They have been in a standoff with the combined fleets of the Republic and Bosa in this airspace for a full five standard hours.

General Tann remained motionless, like a statue embedded in the captain's seat.

Her signature dark red eyes were tightly closed.

Karok could sense that she was sinking her consciousness into the depths of the Force, exploring information flows that ordinary people could not access.

But he didn't know what she was searching for in the vast sea of ​​the Force.

All he knew was that he had been standing beside her for nearly eight hours, his feet inside his military boots were numb, and his calf muscles were stiff and sore, barely able to support his weight.

The reason they haven't launched an attack yet is simple: the enemy fleet is entrenched within the dense asteroid belt of the gas giant planet Gorm.

The two sides are separated by more than 60,000 kilometers, a natural barrier in space composed of dense ice, rock, asteroids, dust and other interstellar debris.

No guided missile could effectively penetrate this chaotic defense.

Even with its powerful particle shield, the Calamity would be depleted of energy by the continuous impacts before the Dreadnought could cross the area and reach the other side.

But Karrock understood that the Republic's primary purpose in choosing this battlefield was to prevent them from using General Tann's signature railgun tactics.

Tann's eyelids trembled slightly, and his red-glowing eyes opened for the first time after hours of silence.

Through the bridge's wide forward observation window, she squinted, her sharp gaze fixed on the blurry enemy fleet formation in the distance, as if she had only just realized they were in the midst of a fierce battle standoff.

If Karlock hadn't also been immersed in a shallow perception of the Force and caught the subtle mental ripples as her consciousness returned, he would have truly thought the general had just awakened from a long period of meditation.

"Enemy numbers?"

Tann's voice was dry and hoarse from the long silence.

"Twenty-one Acclamator-class Assault Ships, including the confirmed 'Negotiator' and 'Tranquility'."

Karok immediately reported, the data already memorized: "Thirty-three 'Aquitans-class' assault ships and seventeen CR-90 light frigates, in addition to six Bosa local assault ships and eleven Bosa frigates."

His gaze swept over the flashing blue enemy ship markers on the tactical holographic platform.

"Hmm." Tann made a short nasal sound, his gaze remaining fixed on the stars outside the viewing window. "Can you sense the presence of the Jedi? Any Force disturbance at all?"

Karlock focused his mind and tried again to sense the enemy fleet through the Force.

However, his power level was relatively low, and his spiritual tendrils appeared extremely weak in the vast, cold vacuum of space, making it almost impossible for them to effectively penetrate this distance and the invisible barrier formed by the asteroid belt.

Observing with the naked eye through the thick viewing window is meaningless.

The distance was too great; separated by dense asteroid belt debris clouds, he couldn't even make out the red paint scheme on those Republic warships, let alone sense individual life forms.

"No." Karok silently lied to himself, not wanting to appear incompetent. "I didn't sense any Jedi."

“That makes things simple.” Tann’s tone was short and firm, as if he had already ruled out an important variable. “Captain, can you tell me the most effective way to defeat them? The way that saves the most time and resources and ensures minimal losses for our side?”

The most effective method!
Karok repeated the words to himself; the general's tone suggested that the Republic Fleet's defeat was a foregone conclusion.

The problem is not how to defeat them, but how to do it cleanly and efficiently with minimal cost and loss.

This means that the general already has a detailed plan in mind, and at this moment it seems more like he is testing whether Karok can understand her intentions, or at least offer valuable insights.

Temptation.

Karlock's life so far has seemed like a series of endless trials, but this is the first time that the trials have nothing to do with Force techniques.

This time, it's about tactical thinking, strategic vision, and command skills.

I have to prove myself. I can't afford to fail again.

Karok focused his attention on the tactical hologram, observing the battlefield situation once again.

With the main force of the Second Fleet carrying out a blockade mission in the orbit of Bosavoy, this detachment of the First Fleet had a force roughly twice that of the enemy.

However, the asteroid belt lying in the middle ruthlessly negated this numerical advantage.

While a dreadnought-like capital ship like the "Calamity" might be able to slowly traverse this area thanks to its heavy armor and shields, the particle shields would suffer severe wear and tear under continuous impact.

This would make them extremely vulnerable when they eventually face concentrated attacks from enemy fighters and missiles.

Not to mention the relatively fragile Diamond-class cruisers and Sirius-class corvettes in the fleet, which simply could not safely navigate such an environment.

“We need to force them out of that shell,” Karok said thoughtfully, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the edge of the console. “We could try sending a rapid strike group, bypassing the outer or inner edge of the asteroid belt, and attacking from below…”

“And they will maneuver to evade, vaulting over asteroid belts and using them as a barrier.” Tann interrupted him, his tone tinged with obvious impatience. “Captain, we didn’t come to the Bosa space to play interstellar hide-and-seek with the enemy.”

Karok felt a rush of heat to his cheeks, and he forced himself not to let his anger show on his face or in his voice.

He could feel the cold tentacles of the dark side quietly invading the corners of his consciousness.

He took a deep breath and tried to keep his distance.

“Our missile frigates are fast enough and maneuverable enough that they might be able to attempt a high-speed passage through the weak points of the asteroid belt,” Karok suggested. “Adding defensive cruisers to provide close-range cover would theoretically protect them from enemy fighter attacks.”

Tann straightened his back slightly and opened his shoulders back at an almost imperceptible angle.

Karlok took this as a positive sign, indicating that she was listening attentively.

Tann remained silent, glancing at the dense markings and fleet status reports on his data panel, and then carefully examining the simulated optical flow on the tactical holographic image.

“If the Second Fleet assembled in the Bosa space at this moment is all the force we have available, this method is feasible.” Tann objected, his fingertip tracing across the holographic platform. “However, if we divert our precious cover forces to protect the assault escort fleet, then the main fleet left behind will be exposed to the crossfire of the remaining enemy fleet, which is too risky.”

"...Then, what about recalling our Lucrehook-class aircraft carriers deployed on the Bosavui orbital blockade line? Use their droid fighter squadrons for suppression—"

Karl tried to find other options.

"Recall from Bosavuy? Captain, I need efficiency, immediate solutions, not hours of waiting for reinforcements." General Tann's tone revealed obvious impatience. "Captain, you must remember that specific tactical actions on the battlefield are an extension and concrete realization of the overall strategic intent."

Don't think of tactics and strategy separately; instead, treat them as a whole to see the big picture.

What we can do here today, and to what extent, was foreshadowed when I made key decisions at the strategic meeting on Geonosis a week ago.

"...Where is Commander Melley?" Karok suddenly asked, a thought flashing through his mind, "Where is Commander Melley's Enterprise Alliance fleet? Shouldn't they be operating in coordination?"

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, the bridge communication console emitted a series of urgent beeps.

"A sublight-speed emergency communication has been received from the edge of the Hopevui gravity well." A TC series communication robot reported in a monotone synthesized voice, "Signal identification confirmed: The main fleet of the Enterprise Alliance has entered this system, and energy signals from forty-three warships have been detected."

Hopavuy?

That's at the edge of a galaxy!

Karl frowned.

The Bosa system has a relatively dense structure, with eight planets and numerous moons, and a complex gravitational environment.

A corporate alliance fleet as large as Commander Melley's could not safely make a precise jump to reach the combat airspace near the planet Gorm; it could only escape hyperspace at the outermost edge of the system.

If Tann felt that drawing battleships from nearby Bosavoy was too inefficient, then waiting for the entire fleet to slowly travel from the edge of the shockwave at sub-light speed for hours or even longer to arrive was out of the question; the battle would have been over long ago.

Out of the corner of his eye, Karlock keenly noticed that General Tann's lips curled up slightly, revealing a fleeting, yet all-knowing, smug smile.

This subtle change in expression made his heart tighten.

"Tell Commander Melley to advance at full speed and get to the designated combat positions." Karok suppressed his frustration and tried to give the order, "Tell him to move quickly, at any cost."

“Uh, sir?” The communications robot looked up, its optical lens flashing. “Commander Melley himself is not in the fleet’s signal sequence. The identification code shows that the current commander is Vice Commander Torren Vast, who is in command of the ‘Vanguard Flare’.”

"……what?"

Karl was stunned, and confusion instantly replaced his frustration.

Did Melé die in the Battle of Camino?

Karok quickly recalled the recent battle reports.

This doesn't make sense; there are no relevant records...

Just then, the Force emitted a faint warning hum in his mind, and he sensed that something was wrong.

He seemed to have overlooked some crucial information, and a sense of omission grew stronger.

(End of this chapter)