Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 54 - The War Situation in the Republic (2.6k)

Coruscant Galaxy, Coruscant Star.

Korusa Sector.

Anakin saw Ahsoka's resolute character beneath her unconventional nature at the tournament and ultimately accepted her as his apprentice.

Ahsoka had thought that becoming an apprentice would allow him to leave Coruscant and see the Milky Way.

But weeks passed, and as she followed Anakin around, all she saw was Coruscant.

It was just another side of her that she had never seen before.

As Ahsoka moved between the Jedi Temple, the Senate Rotunda, the Senate offices, and the massive military operations center before him, he gradually came to understand his Skywalker master's intentions.

Before engaging in combat, she learned how war works.

LAAT gunboat.

The clone soldiers called them "Latti".

They are currently landing in a military area.

Through the porthole, the spectacular view of the Coruscant naval dock came into view: a sea of ​​durable steel, with dozens of cruisers undergoing maintenance under the busy work of giant gantry cranes.

“See those red and yellow circles on the hull?” Anakin walked up behind her. “Those are the markings of the ‘Open Ring’ fleet. And look at those red markings, five on each wing, representing the Fifth Fleet.”

"They are new."

Ahsoka immediately noticed the difference.

Obi-Wan's apprentice Scout squinted at him.

The other ships in the "Open Ring" fleet all showed signs of battle.

Blackened armor plates, impact craters left by torpedoes...

Ahsoka even saw a twisted hangar door, which had been melted by a turbo laser cannon and then solidified again.

In contrast, the ships of the Fifth Fleet gleamed in the afternoon sun.

Ahsoka has very sharp eyes.

This is probably due to her Togrutta lineage.

Anakin was silent for a moment before saying in a deep voice, "The Fifth Fleet has suffered heavy losses. These are all replacement ships. Hopefully, these converted ships won't be sunk so easily."

He pointed to one of them, “That’s the Pioneer over there, our flagship. Apprentice Tano, you’ll be serving on the Watchtower next to it.”

During his time as a Skywalker apprentice, Ahsoka's unease grew stronger and stronger.

The course of the war does not seem to be as smooth as the holographic network has portrayed it.

She glanced at her master furtively, wondering if this was yet another test of her insight.

“Anakin, I really hope it’s true that what you said about the ‘Negotiator’ sinking is true.” Obi-Wan’s voice was filled with worry, but the reason for this worry was unexpected.

"Why?" Anakin turned around.

The two Jedi exchanged a glance, thus completing a silent communication.

This left Scout and Ahsoka completely baffled.

Ahsoka crept closer to Scout and whispered, "They mentioned a stealth spaceship..."

"Shh!" Scout quickly stopped her, "You'll get us into trouble..."

The two apprentices glanced nervously at their Jedi master.

Obi-Wan noticed their gazes, winked at them, and then walked toward the top of the Republic's military operations center.

……

The strategically planned circular theater boasts an extremely spacious interior.

But unlike the entrance hall of the Jedi Temple, which inspires awe with its grandeur and solemnity, it is more like a dark, gloomy, and eerie cave.

"Solemn" is the most fitting word to describe the atmosphere here. At this moment, hundreds of members of the strategic advisory team fill this space.

Not only were there team members, but also officers from the Supreme Command, and even holograms of some sector governors were included.

Among the figures, Ahsoka saw the uniforms of naval commanders and the robes of Jedi.

This was clearly not an ordinary meeting, and to her surprise, there were quite a few apprentices present.

This somber atmosphere affected the usually lively Asoka, causing him to become more reserved.

What she didn't know was that this meeting would determine the future of the entire war effort.

“Don’t cause trouble,” Anakin warned them.

"Come on, Anakin," Obi-Wan interjected, "they can take care of themselves... don't treat them like children!"

"More than a month has passed!"

At that moment, a naval admiral's voice rang out in the amphitheater, "We still have no news of Admiral Wurtz from the Toidaria side! We can only conclude that the 'Iron Spear Fleet,' like the previous 'White Breastplate' task force, has been completely destroyed by General Severn Tann!"

Ahsoka recognized him as General Woolf Yularen.

Skywalker once told her to memorize a list of important people and their faces, reasoning that "knowing who is who is half the battle won in these circles."

"Absurd!" an army general shouted in protest. "Are you saying that out of hundreds of ships, not a single one could jump back into friendly-controlled territory?!"

Ahsoka was familiar with emergency jumps.

It is usually used to escape unfavorable battle situations, and the decision is mostly made by the captain. After large-scale fleet battles, there will always be ships that "drift" to nearby star systems.

“That is the truth,” Armand Isard, head of the Republic’s intelligence department, stepped forward and said. “Our Bosa allies have confirmed that a large-scale battle took place in the Bosavui system, and the conclusion is that both the Iron Spear Fleet and Bosa forces have been destroyed, and the planet Bosa is currently under invasion.”

"Then we must send reinforcements immediately!" shouted an excited bald man with a goatee. "What are we doing here if we don't help our allies when they need it most? The atrocities committed by that Pantora man must be stopped!"

"Hauser, you idiot!" Governor Biliu's holographic image flickered as he roared, "It's so easy for you to say that in Vogel! You have no idea what's going on! We should be thankful that Pantora hasn't taken any further action. If she had marched into the Core World, we wouldn't even have been able to muster the Thirteenth Army. We wouldn't have been able to stop her advance at all!"

The Jedi lost most of their forces at Christopher's Sith.

Although the statement was not explicitly stated, its implied meaning hung like a sharp sword in the air.

Although General Biliul didn't glance in the direction of the Jedi delegation, Ahsoka had no doubt that he blamed the Tenth Three-Star District Army for their defeat.

Governor Hauser demanded sharply, "So we're just going to let the Bosa people be slaughtered by the separatists?!"

“General Hauser, you are overthinking it,” Master Windu reassured him, with Governor Ravic of the Red Tail Command standing beside him. “Now that Ravish has returned to the Republic, I will personally lead the 91st Legion to support our ally, Bosa.”

“Don’t underestimate Tann,” Master Yoda cautioned. “She probably has other plans in the Bosa dimension.”

“The Bosa intelligence network?” General Ravick gestured. “General Quintaro and I have both pledged to send part of the fleet to participate in this operation. The Bosa intelligence network must not fall into the hands of separatists.”

“The Bosa intelligence network serves both our and their objectives,” an intelligence officer objected. “That Pantora woman certainly knows this. If she really wanted the Bosa intelligence network, she could just negotiate with the Bosa people directly!”

It is well known that the Bosa people are two-faced, but the official is right. For an organization as large, resource-rich, and mysterious as the Bosa intelligence network, it would not be wise to seize it rashly as long as the existing arrangements are still in operation.

“Severn Tann is a ruthless executor,” Anakin suddenly spoke up, and Ahsoka shrank back under the gazes of the crowd. “Count Dooku only sends her to places where something needs to be destroyed.”

“Anakin is right,” Obi-Wan said, stroking his beard. “What’s needed to destroy or turn the Bosa intelligence network is a scalpel, but Dooku sent a sledgehammer. Whatever she’s looking for in Bosa, the target won’t be the intelligence network itself.”

Director Isard exchanged a glance with his assistant, then stood up. "Director Deminar's cryptographic analysis department intercepted a piece of intelligence. It was a priority command sent from Tann's headquarters in Geonosis and relayed to the Lacus 2 satellite via the satellite transceiver in Bosa Space. This might provide us with some clues."

Ilko Deminar cleared his throat and tapped the communicator. "The Confederate Second Fleet has always been a key target of our intelligence efforts."

"Can we obtain information about the Bosa satellite?" Yularen asked.

“The Bosa intelligence network has dealings with various parties,” Director Deminar said with a faint smile. “As long as the price is right, we can obtain and decrypt this kind of information.”

At this time.

A holographic image of a separatist general, nearly two stories high, was projected into the center of the amphitheater.

Anakin looked at the projection, his expression turning cold.

"I am General Severn Tann, requesting reinforcements from the Confederate First Fleet." This recording was played clearly in the amphitheater. "The situation in the South is extremely dire, and the front lines are on the verge of collapse."

(End of this chapter)