Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 30 - A Person's Name, A Tree's Shadow

Whoosh!
An unidentified shell pierced the cruiser's passive shields and armor, blasting a huge hole in the bridge pillar of the HMS Victory.

The flames of war burn in the starry universe.

Yularen felt a wave of nausea wash over him.

The HMS Victory was rocking violently. In this decapitation strike, the ship's support structure broke directly, and both bridges were severed.

The cockpit of the "Pioneer" was completely silent.

Everyone wore expressions of disbelief.

What exactly is this?
A new weapon developed by separatists?

Yularen never imagined that the Republic's arsenal contained such weapon systems, whether in active service or under development, capable of achieving such speed and range.

If the separatists demonstrate a range that exceeds theirs in combat, then...

This is a terrible result.

Even he was unwilling to think about it deeply.

For a fleeting moment, Yularen hoped that this new weapon system had reduced reload time to compensate for its reduced power.

But this idea was quickly shattered.

The separatist fleet then launched three more purple beams of light.

A streak of light swept past the observation window of the "Pioneer," leaving only a faint purple afterimage.

Another grazed the bow of the "Indomitable," blowing off a large section of the bow hatch and revealing the starfighters inside.

The final jet of gas crashed directly into the planet's atmosphere, exploding in mid-air with a deafening roar and creating a massive mushroom cloud visible even from low orbit.

"Fortunately... it's not very accurate."

Someone muttered to themselves.

“It’s very difficult to aim accurately,” another officer whispered, “You saw it blow the bridge off the HMS Victory.”

"Approach the planet and initiate evasive action!" Yularen decisively ordered, then asked, "How is the identification of the enemy progressing?"

Lieutenant Clive slammed his fist on the control panel, cursed under his breath, and then stood up and shouted, "The Confederate Second Fleet! We see three Lucrehulk-class battleships, fourteen Recusants-class cruisers, thirty Munchity-class cruisers, two Providence-class destroyers, four Providence-class aircraft carriers, fifty-five Lupus-class guided-missile frigates, and one hundred and two Diamond-class cruisers. The flagship is a Providence-class Dreadnought dreadnought... Checking registration information..."

This is an invading fleet.

What circumstances would require such a large force to come here?
A thought flashed through Yularen's mind.

Has Geonosis already fallen?
What about Camino?
“Match successful!” Clive said solemnly, “CIF-PV-09 Calamity (Confederate Fleet - Divine Will - 09 ship “Calamity”, Severn Tann’s private flagship!)”

Fu-ck.

Upon hearing this name, a buzzing sound filled Yularen's mind.

Tann's information was recorded in the database of the Grand Republic Army.

She was the only separatist general to successfully penetrate the core world, reaching Sarapin in her first campaign.

Furthermore, it is widely believed that this person was responsible for the complete annihilation of a "White Breastplate" task force commanded by Jedi General Shen-Jon in Bosa Space. Extremely dangerous.

Extreme caution must be exercised when engaging in battle with them.

Caution alone is not enough; one must also have an advantage in troop strength.

“We’ve established a downlink with General Knobi’s rear command post, sir!” Lieutenant Afri said. “They’re now transferring communications to General Wurtz, which is the best way to bypass the interference right now.”

“Very good!” Yularen replied, forcing a calm demeanor. “Make sure to inform them of the current situation and advise them to retreat immediately. Also, I need a real-time report on the prisoner rescue operation, and please get in touch with General Skywalker and General Kong.”

"The rescue operation is proceeding as planned!" a clone soldier immediately reported. "A 'Cheerleader-class' troop transport is in position and ready to evacuate at any time."

If the overall situation weren't so dire, this would be something to celebrate.

soon……

"Connected!" Under immense pressure, Afri almost threw his headset away in excitement, but then immediately calmed down. "I mean... we've connected with General Wurtz. Sir, the holographic image isn't very clear, but the audio is fine."

"Transfer it to my console."

"I'll get right on it, sir."

General Wurtz's holographic image flickered in front of Jularen, his body fragmented due to a sensor malfunction.

This is not important.

The important thing is that they can communicate normally.

“Jularen, it’s a pleasure to see you,” Wurtz said with a grim expression, skipping the pleasantries and getting straight to the point: “We are in the process of retreating. The separatists have trapped us in a bad position, and now our situation is precarious.”

Yularen nodded in agreement.

“Please evacuate our ground forces as soon as possible and retreat to Zar via Mongaza. Tann has blockaded us from the south, so we have no choice but to sail through the separatist airspace for a while.” Wurtz’s figure almost disappeared when his warship was hit, but his tone remained firm and resolute. “I will hold off Tann and Bonis to buy you some time. I am trapped now, so don’t argue with me.”

Yularen swallowed hard. "What do you plan to do?"

Through the poor communication signal, Wurtz gave a wry smile. "Of course, I'll use the 'Tarkin Assault Tactics.' Tann is keeping his position and not moving, only firing at me with the new weapon, so I need to close the distance between us. If I'm lucky, Tonis will give chase... Don't look at me like that, Yularen. I'm not planning to end my service in the Republic here yet."

“Where will you retreat to?” Yularen asked with concern. “All retreat routes pass through separatist territory, and I’m going to Zar. You don’t have many options left.”

“Mandalo is a Republic stronghold located at the other end of the Mandalo trade route. I can hold out there, and if things get bad, I can retreat to the Bosa and Hut space,” Admiral Wurtz explained. “I will bring the ‘Negotiator’ and the ‘Tranquility’ to lure the separatists into pursuing me.”

He paused slightly, then continued, "Tann's initial targets were the 'Victory' and the 'Vanguard,' which means she's hunting the Jedi, so the Jedi must evacuate. This is of utmost importance... Do you understand what I mean?"

“I understand.” Yularen sighed. “Good luck, General.”

"the same as you."

Communication is interrupted.

Yularen stood there for a while, watching the "Iron Spear Fleet" turn and charge toward the Confederate Second Fleet.

Another purple beam shot out from the darkness, piercing through another cruiser like a lightsaber.

"Get our troop transports to the ground," Yularen ordered without hesitation. "Connect me to the Skywalkers!"

(End of this chapter)