Nine years, nine months, and twenty-five days after the Battle of Yavin…
Or the forty-fourth year, nine months, and twenty-five days after the Great Resynchronization.
(Five months and eleven days since the Arrival.)
None of the crew of the "Sky Walker" even remembered the old name of this starship.
The Acclamator II-class assault cruiser had served the Galactic Empire during the Galactic Civil War. Despite its venerable age, the starship had diligently worked for the benefit of its owners for many years.
But unlike most of its brethren that had survived into this era, this Acclamator had been used by the Imperials as a prison starship.
Its final voyage in that capacity took place about eight months after the Battle of Yavin. The ship was transporting loyalist prisoners from the planet Jabim to a world called Callist VI. That prison planet, located far in the Deep Core, was used as a penitentiary.
Back then, the Rebel Alliance helped the ship change its owner.
Luke Skywalker personally led the capture of the ship and the liberation of the prisoners. It was because of his selfless bravery that the freed captives changed the ship's name to the current one. And they followed the young Jedi into the ranks of the rebels.
After the establishment of the New Republic, the "Sky Walker" returned to its old profession. But now it was a prison transport of the New Republic. Imperials, if they were on board at all, were exclusively in the role of prisoners whom the crew intended to deliver to the Bakura system.
There, the New Republic leadership decided to use the old Imperial prison to hold the most dangerous prisoners who had not turned away from Imperial sentiments, had not accepted the New Republic's amnesty, and were considered potentially dangerous to the young democratic state.
However, most of the prisoners on board had long since become disillusioned with the Empire, but were not broken enough to switch allegiance to the galactic democracy.
Such prisoners were considered the most dangerous, because if they were freed, they would be unlikely to fight against their former Imperial masters, yet they would also not show aggression toward the New Republic.
The leadership of the young state still clung to the notion that someday this category of prisoners would become reasonable and agree to fight on the side of good.
And now the "Sky Walker" was preparing to exit hyperspace in order to rid itself of its pro-Imperial contingent.
The crew would have a chance to rest during the prisoner processing period, and then they would take a return course to the prison planet to pick up a new batch of Imperials.
In anticipation of rest, the crew had let their guard down.
Therefore, the sudden exit from hyperspace did not alarm them enough to take all necessary precautions.
From the bridge, the view opened onto the prison station at Bakura, swarming with landing craft. Nearby were several Acclamators, from whose depths transport ships kept flying out, shuttling between the prison station and the attacking ships.
An experienced eye could spot the mangled hulks of patrol ships from the Bakurian defense forces, drifting around the station. The starships were clearly in a non-combat-capable state. The scorched and mutilated hulls of the Bakurians, ravaged by turbolaser fire and ship-killer torpedoes, clearly indicated a brutal battle that the system's defenders had endured.
And a few seconds later, the culprits of it all came into view.
A Victory-class Star Destroyer, supported by an even older Venator-class Star Destroyer.
Slightly further away sat an Imperial-class Star Destroyer, another Victory, and about ten CR-75 type transport ships, well-known to those who had supported democracy since the days of the Alliance to Restore the Republic.
All these ships were transmitting transponder signals identifying them as ships from the New Republic fleet, but judging by the fact that they weren't even trying to intervene in what was happening, the crews on board these starships had clearly switched sides or were no longer able to control their ships.
The commander of the "Sky Walker" attempted to turn around to leave the dangerous system, but a powerful ion charge struck the ship, depriving it of that opportunity.
Then emergency airlocks began to be opened with plasma cutters by the Dominion's space infantry.
The Star Destroyer "Crusader" and its commander, Captain I-Gor, continued their crusade through the southern reaches of the galaxy, freeing Imperial prisoners who could easily swell the ranks of the Dominion's regular fleet.
After all, the Dominion was not the Empire. And it was an enemy of the New Republic.
When choosing targets for liberating prisoners, Grand Admiral Thrawn took into account the Republicans' own comments in documents obtained as a result of the "slicer" attack on Coruscant.
* * *
It was rather strange to return after so many years to a planet that had been a battlefield for one of the bloodiest battles of the early Clone Wars.
Ahsoka, focusing on piloting the Eta-2 Actis light interceptor gifted to her for personal use, mentally channeled the flows of the Force to set the right mood for the coming battle.
Yes, in the current era, the Actis was not the most modern machine — after all, it was over thirty years old. But the Togruta liked the interceptor. Perhaps because she had never gotten the chance to fly this very machine during her service in the Jedi Order — she had been expelled before she could "try out the new model."
And now…
As far as she knew, the Dominion had somehow acquired samples of Clone Wars-era technology, which were being rapidly modernized to at least vaguely correspond to the current realities of space combat.
This was clearly evident in her interceptor. Which, by the way, was one of the last in its series until Kuat Drive Yards ceased production of the model. Moreover, from indirect clues and additional equipment, one could even assert that this machine had previously belonged to a Jedi.
And now it belonged to Ahsoka. After modifications carried out by both the Dominion's engineers and herself, the interceptor had become a truly formidable machine. Even considering its venerable age.
Speed comparable to a TIE Interceptor, four laser cannons migrated from the same source. Ion engines with variable thrust vectoring, a new reactor. The base model of the Eta-2 never included a hyperdrive — even now, the girl reached her destination using a ring accelerator. The base model also lacked deflector shields.
On the modernized Eta-2 "Actis-Dominion" (yes-yes-yes, it sounds silly, but someone among those overseeing the modernization of old technology thought that appending the state's name to new versions of machines would reflect their essence), a hyperdrive still wasn't added. But the shields…
Shields were present, but Ahsoka made a command decision to remove this inefficient system, which drained huge amounts of energy from the reactor, yet in practice only provided protection against one or two shots. And what good would that do?
Absolutely nothing — this machine was designed for hit-and-run strikes and maneuverability as a combat style, not for tanking enemy small craft fire with its hull.
Therefore, after thinking it over a bit when she first saw the "gift," Ahsoka ordered the hyperdrive and a pair of ion cannons — which, along with a pair of light laser cannons, made up the interceptor's entire armament — to be dismantled. What could you do — the machine was built specifically for combating droid starfighters. And there is no better weapon against them than ion cannons.
She wondered if Kuat Drive Yards and their subsidiaries, and other manufacturers of the equipment now at the Dominion's disposal, would complain to Thrawn about how easily he was modifying their machines, their trademarks, and essentially passing off others' developments as his own?
Then again, the people on Kuat, Froz, and other shipbuilding worlds weren't fools — they wouldn't publicize such trivialities. Thrawn owned Imperial property and was free to do whatever he wanted with it. But if he started manufacturing these machines — then yes, there could be problems.
But as far as Ahsoka understood, Thrawn wasn't putting old equipment into service out of the goodness of his heart. He was unlikely to produce upgraded versions of these machines — as long as spare parts existed, they remained combat-capable, and when those ran out, he'd have to buy from Kuat's stockpiles. That would be unwise, especially when you owned the production facilities for the TIE series, which was the standard equipment of the regular fleet.
Most likely, Thrawn needed the old and captured machines to equip planetary defense forces and raiders from the "wolf packs," so as not to advertise the shortage of TIEs for supplying all branches of his armed forces.
The timer on the instrument panel was counting down the last seconds.
The girl glanced at the astromech dome visible through the side of the cockpit.
Once painted entirely black, the R2-series droid had also been provided by the Dominion. Ahsoka had cleaned up that mess, repainting her partner in gray-blue shades, making him look like R2-D2. Not that she had any particular affection for her former teacher's astromech, but she didn't like the gloomy "standard" color schemes.
Hence, the gray interceptor was now yellow-gray.
The instrument panel displayed the number "zero," and the astromech brought the machine into realspace.
Eta-2 "Actis-Dominion" light interceptor.
The streaks of light routinely collapsed into points of stars, and the girl sighed, realizing she was at the edge of the battlefield.
The eight-kilometer wedge of the "Crimson Dawn" contrasted sharply with the dirty-brown disk of Hypori's dark side, against which the battle was unfolding.
Planet Hypori.
Located in the Ferra sector, within the boundaries of the Outer Rim, this planet had a breathable oxygen-containing atmosphere, small oceans, and rocky landscapes rich in minerals. However, there was no native population here to speak of, so anyone with sufficient forces and connections could seize the planet and build whatever they wished on it.
As long as they had the strength to hold it.
In the last decades of the Republic's existence, Hypori belonged to the Techno Union. This organization, almost thirty years ago, had become one of the founders of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and the droids and war machines produced here were supplied to armies waging conquest against the Galactic Republic in every corner of this part of the universe.
Ahsoka, having detached from the acceleration ring, transmitted her call signs to the squadron's flagship. After receiving a response and understanding that she would no longer be a target for Dominion pilots, the girl squared her shoulders.
Many years ago, soldiers of the Zann Consortium had landed on this planet, targeting one of the few surviving droidica factories. And despite the supposed destruction of that organization, they had survived.
They went deep underground, continuing to saturate markets with illegal weapon modifications and pursuing their policies based on the power of corruption, racketeering, kidnapping, and slavery. But now they were deeply entrenched and "off the radar."
Ahsoka had fought against them, but the efforts of one individual, even a Jedi, would not yield the necessary results without reliable strength behind them.
Now Ahsoka had that strength.
The Dominion and Grand Admiral Thrawn.
It was thanks to them and their money that she had been able to buy thousands of her fellow species, and tens of thousands of other sentients, in Hutt Space — individuals who could have fallen into the hands of various scoundrels.
Now, under the protection of Dominion escort frigates, they were traveling in a huge convoy of transports to their new homeland.
And Ahsoka herself had finally found a way to deal with the Consortium.
Once and for all.
* * *
It had to be admitted, the enemy truly did have forces, and formidable ones at that.
Twenty-two frigates. The Consortium used both Interceptor IV-class and Vengeance-class vessels.
Interceptor IV-class frigate.
While the first was a significantly modernized and armed ship — with just two turbolaser batteries and a minimum of three missile and torpedo launchers — originating from the Corellian Action-type freighter, beloved by smugglers for its spacious hold and relative affordability, the second ship…
The Vengeance was a full-fledged combat starship, designed by Mandalorians and possessing many "surprises" in its arsenal.
Eric had encountered similar starships from the Consortium side before, and it had to be said, they were not the easiest opponents. Especially when equipped with cloaking fields.
Vengeance-class frigate.
But these two types of starships were not the only ones protecting Hypori from invasion.
Eric, from the enemy's disposition, had immediately understood that they were not expecting an attack — at least not one involving a fast star dreadnought and twenty Corellian corvettes.
It would have been possible, of course, to bring both operational-tactical formations now under his command here as well, but they had other targets — Saleucami and Shola. And, judging by reports from the "Overlord" and the "Imperative," enemy starships covering those planets had already moved to assist in the defense of Saleucami.
The large enemy forces were not due to the Consortium fearing an invasion. No, looking at the hundreds of transport ships in orbit of the planet, it became clear — a large shipment of goods was being moved from the surface. And this was surely intended for the same sort of scum and criminals that the Consortium's own fighters were.
"Sir," the watch officer appeared beside him. "We've received an encrypted message from the surface. An agent with call sign Bravo-II indicates that the second-model droidica factory is currently vulnerable to a ground attack. The enemy does not intend to defend it due to the enterprise's poor strategic location. Personnel evacuation and factory mining are underway. They are requesting assistance with a landing force."
Shohashi, without taking his eyes off the battle, ran his thumb over Irina's portrait. With a characteristic click, the archaic chronometer closed and went into his tunic pocket.
"Inform Bravo-II that a landing is impossible under current conditions," Eric said. "There are enough Dominion fighters on the planet — let them solve the preservation problem until we destroy the enemy fleet."
"Yes, sir!" the watch officer reported and immediately rushed away.
The commodore cast a glance at the tactical screen.
The Interdictor-class Star Destroyer named "Eternal Wrath," quite stoutly, with the support of its own fighters and a dozen Corellian corvettes, held off attacks from six Crusader-class corvettes.
Of course, these were no longer the same Crusaders that the Imperials and the Rebel Alliance had dealt with many years ago. No, these were Crusader II-class vessels, one of which had fallen into Dominion hands thanks to intelligence efforts and was recognized as a far more serious and armed analogue of a support ship compared to Corellian corvettes.
As far as Shohashi knew, at present, the Dominion's military-industrial complex was taking the trophy apart screw by screw, intending to study it and use reverse engineering to recreate this type of ship for their own needs.
A worthwhile endeavor.
Because Eric had seen with his own eyes how these ships excellently performed their duties in intercepting missiles that the "Crimson Dawn" was literally pouring into the enemy formation.
Yes, not all could be intercepted, but the laser anti-air defense system and rapid-fire laser cannons took out two-thirds of the missiles launched from the Dominion star dreadnought.
Crusader II-class corvette.
The missile and cannon fire of the "Crimson Dawn," concentrated in the forward hemisphere, relentlessly pounded the Vengeance-class frigates, preventing them from advancing past the middle security perimeter.
Like a number of other starships in the service of the Zann Consortium, the Vengeances had an unpleasant feature employed by their thoroughly zombified crews.
Namely — self-destruction.
A truly useful feature when your ship is threatened with capture. And truly terrifying when several such Vengeances, under cloaking, approach your starship's engines or detonate near the main reactor.
Vengeances and Aggressor-class Star Destroyers frequently used such "tricks." Though Aggressors were not as often equipped with cloaking fields. As far as Shohashi remembered, only the flagship of Tyber Zann himself, the "Merciless," possessed such qualities, but it had not been sighted in this battle.
However, that changed little in reality.
Self-destruction of an enemy starship near the critical nodes of your own ship was an unpleasant and dangerous thing.
Therefore, Eric relentlessly shot down the first, having oriented half of his fighter wing to destroy the second.
There weren't that many Aggressors — only five.
But these ships, decidedly weak in line combat under the classical view of battle as a confrontation of broadside artillery, had one extremely unpleasant feature.
Two truly monstrous cannons were mounted at the bow of this type of destroyer.
The first struck with an ion charge of immense power, capable of stripping the shields of practically any class of vessel.
The second fired a spiral-shaped plasma bolt that dealt enormous damage to the target.
Aggressor-class Star Destroyer delivers a plasma strike.
They were also armed with turbolaser batteries in the broadside planes, similar to the placement of guns on Mon Calamari star cruisers. However, after the main cannons were destroyed, the ship is almost helpless against ordinary large ships, having only one turbolaser battery on each flank.
For this very reason, the Empire at one point did not even consider this type of ship for its fleet. The ion-plasma twin mount required an enormous energy expenditure, and there simply was not enough reserve for the other broadside artillery that Imperial warlords wanted on the ship. The placement of the solar ionization reactor on the ship also practically did not solve the problem, since in the narrow hull of this type of ship it became an obvious target, not even saved by the thick hull armor.
The technology of multiple reactors placed inside the starship, proposed by the project's designers, as well as reducing crew by increasing autonomy, also found no response.
It was for this very reason that Eric tried to neutralize all possible advantages of the enemy ships, using accumulated knowledge and experience to destroy them.
Thus, the Aggressors are vulnerable to air attacks — that is why they are attacked by interceptors and bombers. Yes, the latter suffer losses, but there is a war on, and the mission must be completed. To ease the mission, the gunners and launcher operators of the Crimson Dawn encouraged their pilots with several salvos at enemy ships of this type. Usually, after each one, the number of Aggressors decreased by one. In fact, only one remains now, but bombers are coming into its stern... Launch proton torpedoes. That's it, the enemy has no more destroyers left, we can switch to the small fry.
The Vengeance-class ships have decent artillery for destroying medium and small enemy ships, so Eric made their rapid-fire guns focus on destroying the missiles launched by the Crimson Dawn, while the turbolasers of the fast dreadnought shattered ships deprived of deflectors into pieces.
The Interceptor IV is a complete misunderstanding, which can only be used in battle in case of serious problems with one's head or a shortage of more powerful ships. They are incapable of withstanding artillery fire or fending off air attacks. That is precisely why the combined action of the broadside ion artillery of the Crimson Dawn and several squadrons bore fruit. Even if these ships are not of great military significance, they are perfectly suited as transports for evacuating the equipment the Grand Admiral needs. Because the cargo ships of the Zann Consortium are already packed to the brim with products that will undoubtedly be needed. And so several CR90-type corvettes carefully suppressed enemy actions with their guns.
A significant portion of the Crimson Dawn's air force and most of the escort corvettes acted exclusively against the enemy's air force.
And here, precisely, there were certain problems.
The Star Vipers in service were renowned not only for having excellent characteristics as a heavy fighter, but also for their habit of releasing buzz droids into space. But the Dominion pilots were facing not just Star Vipers, but their second generation — Mark II. This model of Star Viper had less firepower than its predecessor. The heavy laser cannons were replaced by lighter lasers and heavier protection, which reduced the fighter's threat and maneuverability, but at the same time increased its defense. The proton torpedo launchers of the original model were removed and replaced with ion cannons. However, the increased versatility of the ion cannons made them popular among pirate groups and other criminal forces, including the Zann Consortium.
Star Viper Mark II starfighter.
Four low-power laser cannons and two ion cannons. No buzz droids.
Well, it seems that the enemy, having gone underground, has been unable to resume production of these cunning droids. Or perhaps this particular group simply does not have such machines. Either way, no one will give the enemy any leeway because of this fact.
Meanwhile, the TIE Interceptors, using their superiority in speed and maneuverability, were exterminating the new versions of the Vipers. Yes, they suffered losses, but they would have been incomparably greater if they had faced the first models of these fighter types.
But besides the Star Vipers, the enemy also had Skipray-class gunboats. And although they were too small to be based on board a large spaceship, the Imperials classified them as gunboats due to their large crew.
The GAT-12s were used by the enemy as bombers, operating in squadrons and effecting breakthroughs of the middle perimeter.
Eric referred to the data he had studied in preparation for the current battle. The most popular variant in the GAT series used by the enemy, the GAT-12h, had a standard crew consisting of a pilot, a co-pilot/sensor operator, and two gunnery officers; however, the ship could be operated by just one person. The machine was standardly equipped with a class two hyperdrive and a limited navigation computer capable of storing four coordinates for a hyperjump, and had a supply of consumables sufficient for a month of independent operation. Two sensor pylons were mounted on the short wings on each side of the cockpit. Two forward-swept stabilizers branched off from a rotating node at the aft of the ship and housed two ion cannons. In flight, the stabilizers were held vertically, with the ion cannons deployed above and below the rest of the fuselage; the fins rotated horizontally for landing, placing them on either side of the ship in a more traditional winged configuration. A third ion cannon was located in the bow of the ship, and on the starboard and port sides were a shaped-charge rocket launcher and a proton torpedo launcher. In the rear of the fuselage, a twin laser cannon was mounted in a turret, capable of covering the ship from the stern and firing into the upper hemisphere. Although the ship was designed as a space vessel, it actually performed better in atmospheric flight, with a claimed maximum speed of 1200 kilometers per hour; and its aerodynamic frame provided better maneuvering characteristics in atmosphere than most airspeeders. Its maneuverability was not as outstanding outside of atmosphere, and the ship often relied on quick first strikes or coordination with other ships in space combat. The same happened this time, but the experienced clone pilots reliably blocked the possibility of a first strike and now moved on to slaughtering the enemy's air force.
Skipray GAT-12 gunship.
The battle was going according to plan, but at the same time, Eric felt some unease regarding the enemy flagship.
The Keldabe-class battleship, designated in the Dominion as the Keldabe-II.
Keldabe-II-class battleship.
Compared to its predecessor, developed by Mandal Motors, the Keldabe-II had a more streamlined hull shape, more armor, and more turbolaser weaponry. Its predecessor, although considered by most Imperial warlords as merely a nominal alternative to Imperial Star Destroyers and Mon Calamari cruisers, relied much more on its defense than on its armament. In reality, however, the truth is far harsher and more prosaic than the fantasies of military theorists and analysts. The predecessor was inferior in the number of weapons to most ships of its class, but could still pose a serious threat in open battle to many line ships of its time. Moreover, both Star Destroyers and Mon Calamari star cruisers could suffer from the cannons of the Mandalorian battleship. The first version of this type of starship was well protected and had good survivability.
The main caliber of the Keldabe-class battleship was a mass driver — a launcher that fired missiles or heavy inert projectiles at the enemy. If necessary, the militants of the Zann Consortium did not hesitate to even fire a suitably sized asteroid. The mass driver, like all weapons of this type, was enormous, taking up a lot of space in the central and forward parts of the ship. Most of the space was given to the barrel, which was long enough to accelerate the projectile to enormous speeds. The mass driver was aimed only by turning the entire hull of the battleship. And that was the first drawback of this design. Judging by the fact that the only Keldabe-II on the battlefield had not yet used this capability, and also had not demonstrated a huge muzzle opening in the bow of the ship, the enemy in the updated version of the destroyer had decided to abandon such impractical weaponry.
Yes, kinetic weapons had their advantages. The mass driver, not being an energy weapon, ignored the target ship's defensive shield, directly hitting the hull. However, it could only ignore deflectors that protected the ship from energy weapons. Particle shields had to be breached in the traditional way. The Mandalorians, when developing this type of ship, took advantage of the galaxy's traditional ignorance. After all, mass drivers had long been considered an anachronism and were practically unused, which meant that few combat ships had a particle shield powerful enough to withstand a slug. A kinetic projectile at such speeds could not be intercepted by suppressive fire or confused by jamming. However, for a prolonged battle, the enemy needed a supply of ammunition onboard their own ship, which further reduced the useful internal space. Most likely, this is precisely why the enemy switched to turbolasers in the second model.
Which is quite good: the Crimson Dawn single-handedly took on the entire enemy fleet and could perfectly well hold back even the Keldabe-II. But the latter carefully stayed out of the thick of battle, going around the fast dreadnought on the left flank. The enemy fleet commander undoubtedly wanted to come alongside the dreadnought and use the second exclusive installation with which the Keldabe had once surprised the Imperials and the rebels. On board the first series ship, there was unique equipment that allowed siphoning the shields of an enemy vessel, channeling the received energy to power its own onboard systems: particularly deflectors and weapons. Furthermore, during the process of draining energy from the enemy's deflectors, the shield sector of the enemy ship was weakened, increasing the chance of it being penetrated by the Keldabe's turbolasers and ion cannons.
One would think such weaponry could yield good dividends in battle — and it did, when the Zann Consortium first became an enemy on the battlefield. But over time, the peculiarity of these weapons was figured out by Imperial engineers. And it was used to destroy the Consortium last time. The technique of siphoning shield energy is not flawless. For one, it has an extremely short range — about a kilometer. Which in space combat is almost synonymous with the expression point-blank. Furthermore, it operated for a short time due to the risk of overloading the working systems. And it required a long recharge time, which was primarily needed to cool down the shield-siphoning system. Given the incomparably small number of this type of ship among the criminals, compared to the thousands of Star Destroyers in the Imperial fleet and the hundreds of star cruisers in the Rebel Alliance, the tactic was inherently losing. Star cruisers could not be deprived of protection due to their SEAL shield-sustaining system. And the Empire's Star Destroyers were themselves sturdy enough even without shields to withstand the turbolaser fire of a weaker enemy in terms of artillery. Using their maneuverability and overwhelming firepower, Star Destroyers, even without half their deflectors, always managed to deliver a sufficiently powerful counterstrike to the Keldabe. Not to mention that the siphon required the target ship to remain stationary. And the Keldabe could not ensure that, as a result its attack failed. Because of these shortcomings, the Empire, even having acquired some of these ships as trophies, did not equip its own starships with it. It was not possible to improve this technology, like the mass driver. It was not suitable for standard Star Destroyers, and installing such equipment on the Executors was considered almost sacrilege.
And at the same time, Eric, having taken control of the Crimson Dawn, did not agree to attack the Zann Consortium for nothing. Access to Imperial research on the siphon or mass driver is impossible for objective reasons. But at the same time, having captured a trophy, one can always study the equipment using Dominion specialists. Given the desire of the shipbuilder Ryan Zion to automate most systems on almost every Dominion ship, there is a good chance that the Crimson Dawn could become a carrier for such artillery. It is large enough to control a captured enemy battleship with its tractor beams by its own mass. And reducing the crew would free up internal space for installing a mass driver and storing a suitable amount of ammunition.
Eric watched as a squadron of interceptors attacked the Keldabe-II on his orders. The ship met the Dominion machines with dense suppressive fire from laser anti-air defenses, similar to those mounted on the Crusader IIs. Consequently, the shipbuilders of the Zann Consortium had learned from their mistakes, strengthening the ship's armament with defensive cannons. Like its predecessor, this ship carried only three squadrons of starfighters, but because they were Star Vipers Mark II, they did not play a significant role in the confrontation.
Shohashi drummed his fingers on the pommel of his cane. The enemy frigates were destroyed, having failed to harm his flagship. The Eternal Wrath was calmly fighting off the Crusader IIs swarming it, having caught two of them with tractor beams and mercilessly shooting them with ion cannons. So the clone of Captain Stormaer, commanding this starship, had also decided to get trophies.
This is good. The Crusader II is a good trophy. Much better than the CR90. But the commodore was not going to condemn the decision of the Grand Admiral, who had flooded the fleet with these vessels. Thrawn did what he had to do — he got the ships that the fleet so needed. It was not his fault that there were better starships — at the start of the campaign, he took what he could.
"Hard to port," Eric ordered, seeing that his chosen target was beginning to maneuver.
The Keldabe-II clearly understood that the outcome of the fight was not in its favor. And therefore made the only correct decision — to flee. And there was only one way out — past the Eternal Wrath.
The glow of the engines intensified at the starship's stern — the enemy flagship was increasing speed.
Well, a correct decision, but it will not help him.
"Maximum acceleration," Eric ordered. "We're going to intercept."
The reactors of the Crimson Dawn increased their energy output to maximum, so the fast dreadnought banked into a turn, sweeping the few surviving Interceptor IVs with turbolaser, ion, and missile fire, smearing them across the vacuum in a thin layer. The eight-kilometer giant, moving at an angle that ensured its approach to the enemy flagship, reoriented the fire of its broadside artillery onto the enemy ship. The laser anti-air systems worked conscientiously, carefully shooting down anti-ship missiles, but no matter how skilled the anti-air gunners of the Consortium were, they could not shoot them all down. That is precisely why the deflector shield of the Keldabe-II was now blossoming with explosions not only on its surface, but also beneath it.
Eric pondered the reason why there was not a dozen ships of this class in the system, as intelligence had suggested, but only one starship. But he could not find a sufficiently motivated answer. The only assumption — the Zann Consortium had evacuated its base from here. Probably on the transport ships there was not only product, but also equipment. Perhaps the evacuation target was not only the droid factory — that is why Bravo-II could not report this to the flagship.
Well...
"To the escort corvettes," Eric opened a communication channel. "Take all measures to contain the enemy transports in the system. Do not open fire to destroy the ships — disable them."
For the practically unarmed transports, the laser and turbolaser cannons onboard the corvettes will be enough to stop their escape. Support from five squadrons of TIE Interceptors will also not be superfluous.
Meanwhile, the battle was transitioning into a classic exchange of blows in parallel formations.
The Keldabe-II bravely endured the blows of the Crimson Dawn's broadside artillery, snapping back in return. According to Eric's estimates, the strength of the enemy's shields remained at the previous level, that is, this ship has protection equivalent to that of an Imperial II-class Star Destroyer. And the armament is corresponding. Including defensive coverage.
A rather good and balanced starship. Equip it with the SEAL system and the Imperial type of air power, which the Zann Consortium has clearly moved away from, and it would be an excellent raider. The Keldabe-II and the Crusader II are excellent examples of technology that the Dominion should borrow from the enemy. Clearly no match for the Trios, but as an alternative for protecting the Dominion's own borders, instead of the hopelessly obsolescing Mon Calamari star cruisers — why not?
It is worth talking about this with Thrawn when the mission to destroy the Zann Consortium's squadron at Hypori is over.
And meanwhile, the starships continued to close in.
There were just under fifty units left to the Eternal Wrath, and the turbolaser cannons of the criminal ship were already working hard on its deflectors. The Interdictor paid no attention to them, using SEAL to replenish lost protection and continuing to busily shoot down the enemy corvettes with ion cannons. The turbolasers also participated in this process, but more to drive the annoying little ships away from the destroyer itself and not interfere with the accumulation of trophies.
Another missile strike from the Crimson Dawn, though weakened by the laser anti-air forces, struck the stern of the Keldabe-II, thereby destroying the left half of its engine cluster. The enemy was unprepared for this, so the change in thrust vector caused the Zann Consortium ship to yaw toward the starboard side of the Crimson Dawn.
"Hard to starboard!" Eric ordered.
Here was a convenient moment to test his conjectures.
The distance between the two starships had inexorably shrunk to an acceptable range, so Shohashi commanded: "Use the starboard tractor beams! Grab it so its bow faces away from us!"
The invisible grapples, like ancient boarding ropes and hooks, bit into the sides of the damaged starship, pulling it as close as possible to the gunners of the Crimson Dawn.
"Enough!" Eric ordered, content with what he had at the moment.
If the enemy detonated the reactors at this range, the damage would be minimal. And the range was such that the enemy crew could not use the siphon.
The crew of the Crimson Dawn executed their commander's order perfectly. Now the Keldabe-II was held by the starboard side and stern, and even if it did have a mass driver weapon, it could not cause any harm to the fast star dreadnought.
The Dominion starship concentrated all its fury on the captive. Attempts to break free from the invisible captivity did not lead to obvious success, and so the Keldabe-II was simply forced to endure the missile and cannon strikes. Anti-ship missiles broke through the anti-air systems and deflectors, damaging the starship as much as possible. The overwhelming artillery of the Crimson Dawn broke through the shields in several sectors, and now white-blue beams of ion energy pierced through the breaches, silencing the enemy's firing points. After two minutes, quantity turned into quality. The deflector protecting the bridge finally gave way, opening the most desired target to the gunners of the fast dreadnought. After two broadside salvos from the ion cannons, any signs of energy on board the Keldabe-II disappeared.
The Crusader IIs that had rushed to its aid, abandoning the Eternal Wrath, came under crossfire from ion, turbolaser, and missile artillery. Given that the commander of the Interdictor-class destroyer had captured three corvettes, and the Crimson Dawn itself had disabled a fair amount of enemy equipment, wasting further time to capture ships was deemed by Commodore Shohashi to be inconsistent with the current objectives of the Crimson Dawn squadron.
The self-sacrificing attack of seven Crusader II-class corvettes on the Dominion fast dreadnought choked at the very beginning. Leaving the crew of the Eternal Wrath to deal with the torn hulks, most of which were still repairable, the Crimson Dawn, towing its prize on an invisible tow, allowing the enemy soldiers to get a good breath of vacuum and suffocate with the life support system not working, headed toward Hypori, where a battle was raging between the corvettes of the Dominion and the Zann Consortium.
Ten minutes later, the Crimson Dawn, with fire from its guns and air raids, put an end to this battle.
One Keldabe II and ten Crusader II-class corvettes — not a bad "catch" from a single battle.
"We're beginning the boarding of the transports," Shohashi ordered in a calm tone, watching as the enemy corvettes, immobilized by the dreadnought's ion cannons, were being pulled toward the giant by tractor beams.
"Inform Bravo-II that the landing force is coming. Notify Lady Ventress and Lady Tano that they are landing on the surface at the head of the ground contingent."
"Understood, sir!"
"And connect me with the Judicator and the Imperious," Eric ordered.
Before reporting to the Grand Admiral, he wanted to know the status of the other two parts of the attack on the Zann Consortium.
* * *
After finishing his report, the hologram of Commodore Shohashi looked at me, awaiting further orders.
But there's no need to rush on that.
"So it turns out the enemy used Shola for mining," I concluded.
"Yes, sir," Shohashi replied. "Several fake companies were operating, funneling money from resource sales to private enterprises into criminals' accounts. Before the formation led by the Imperious landed the assault troops, the enemy evacuated the base. Scout groups that were investigating the Consortium's palace had to flee to avoid bombs detonating inside the building."
"The enemy was covering their tracks," I stated the obvious.
"And destroyed the mines," Shohashi added. "The local population is trying to dig for survivors, but with the equipment they have, there's no chance."
An unspoken hint, clear without words.
"Are we able to help?" I clarified.
"Yes, sir," Shohashi said without going into detail. "But the planet's government representatives are not discussing joining the Dominion. However, they are grateful that our actions drove off the Zann Consortium's militants."
Well, no, it's not that simple. According to information obtained from the Vulture by Sergius, on Shola they were manufacturing Vultures and brainwashing them. The explosion was probably arranged for that — to cover their tracks, possibly to destroy the equipment and training program.
"Offer assistance to the locals," I ordered. "Also ask them for permission to survey the ruins and facilities of the Zann Consortium. Announce a reward for any information or technologies found by locals that are handed over to our forces."
"Understood, sir," Shohashi replied.
"Did Captain Brandei handle the attack on Saleucami?" I clarified.
"The enemy left this planet just as they did on Shola," Shohashi said. "Small rearguard forces were destroyed. Several fighter pilots were captured. From them we learned that the enemy was mining the planet and also engaged in racketeering. In addition, the Zann Consortium was excavating a Morgukai cloning center that was located on the planet during the Clone Wars."
Now that's unpleasant news.
"Did they succeed?" I clarified.
"No, sir," Shohashi answered. "The Jedi and the Grand Army of the Republic destroyed the cloning centers by flooding them with magma. The enemy wasted their time on excavations. However, I must report that they shipped out millions of tons of minerals, including rare earth elements. Considering what they delivered to Shola, that's enough to build a fleet if they have the necessary infrastructure."
I'm more than certain that's exactly what they've been doing first and foremost. And they have the necessary facilities. But not on Hypori, Saleucami, or Shola. Not here at all, but much closer to the eastern borders of the galaxy.
"Is Saleucami ready to join the Dominion?" I clarified.
"Negotiations are underway," Shohashi said. "But Brandei is confident that the locals will be quite satisfied with the position of a neutral world."
Which is logical. In the past, Saleucami was a major trading center in the Outer Rim and existed perfectly fine without any external oversight. The locals are willing to risk their safety in exchange for freedom.
Well, that's their choice. I already have enough enclaves outside the Core to impose my opinion on another world. Besides, unlike remote Shola and Hypori, Saleucami is well-known and difficult to defend due to its location near major regional hyperspace routes. Defending it would require turning it into another fortress world, and there's no time for that. Or extra money.
"In that case, our work on Saleucami is done," I said. "Leave scout droids on Shola, in case they refuse to join the Dominion, and on Saleucami as well. I want to know if enemy ships reappear there."
"Understood, Grand Admiral."
"Hypori," I indicated my next interest.
"Judging by the trend, the enemy intended to evacuate all their positions from this part of the galaxy," Shohashi explained. "They gathered and prepared to transport all the Separatist equipment on the planet, except for the factory producing second-series droidekas. They were about to blow it up, but the detonations were prevented by reconnaissance forces. At the moment, Lady Tano and Lady Ventress are conducting an offensive to fully capture the factory for the Dominion, while Bravo-II and Noghri teams are defending inside. In addition to several enemy ships, their transport fleet has also been captured. And everywhere the picture is the same: resources, minerals, machine parts, and production lines in a disassembled state. Several thousand ready-made droidekas. Furthermore, during the boarding of the enemy flagship, we determined that the Zann Consortium, like us, uses droidekas for boarding and counter-boarding operations."
Quite pragmatic and logical. Nothing less was expected from such a good tactician and strategist as Tyber Zann.
"Continue the operation to capture the droid factory on Hypori," I ordered. "Ship it to the Dominion — everything there is ready for production to resume. Transfer the ready droidekas to regular fleet ships for the third phase of Operation Crimson Dawn."
"Yes, sir," Shohashi echoed. "I have a number of proposals. May I send them to you now?"
Very little time remained before the start of the Mustafar operation, but Shohashi was unlikely to have prepared a tome of several thousand pages.
"I await your report, Commodore," I ordered, turning off the holoprojector.
My gaze darted to the hologram hanging in the middle of the cabin.
Mustafar... The site of the next strike, where we'll arrive in a few hours. On Coruscant, a new day is just beginning...
"Master," Rukh's voice came through the comlink. "The Hand is here to see you."
In a Noghri's delivery, that title sounds rather unpleasant.
And it just doesn't sound right to the ear either.
For the umpteenth time, I thought about coming up with something less cliché for Lady Jade, yet still reflecting the specifics of her work.
"Show her in," I ordered, extinguishing the hologram and increasing the lighting in the quarters.
The red-haired beast didn't keep herself waiting long.
"You killed hundreds of thousands of civilians!" she began, barely crossing the threshold.
"And a good evening to you too, Mara," I said calmly, pointing to a chair. "Have a seat."
Malice swirled in Jade's eyes.
"Grand Admiral, seriously?" she asked caustically. "You struck Coruscant! The New Republic is barely managing to count the dead and provide aid to the wounded! You promised to attack only military targets!"
I leaned back in my chair and calmly looked at the girl barely containing her anger.
The gray shadow of Rukh and the figure of Grodin Tierce were invisibly present behind her, ready to intervene at any moment.
"What exactly are you talking about?" I clarified, without changing my polite tone with the raging operative.
The girl was trembling from the emotions overwhelming her.
"Coruscant, Thrawn," she growled; her voice sounded hoarse, as if she had already been screaming somewhere. Or sobbing uncontrollably. "You attacked a civilian target! Hundreds of thousands dead! How are you any better than Palpatine's thugs or Palpatine himself?! The fires on the planet have been burning for a day already!"
Judging by her tone, she was ready to kill me here and now. And after that — burn me and scatter the ashes to the wind. Preferably to a stellar wind.
No wonder they took away her lightsaber before she entered.
And once again, thanks to the engineers for the stationary ysalamiri cages. I'm sure in such a situation the girl wouldn't have hesitated to use something from the arsenal of the Dark Side of the Force.
"First of all — lower your tone, Lady," I said calmly. "You are not in a position to yell at me like a guilty spouse. That's number one. Second," I pointed to the chair against the opposite wall. "Sit down!"
The girl opened her mouth to reply, but a businesslike cough from Tierce brought the beast to her senses.
She dropped into the chair, leaned forward, and began burning me with her gaze.
"Now let's get to the details," I said. "Remind me, what am I being accused of?"
"Planetary bombardment!" the girl exploded. "You blocked Coruscant with invisible asteroids, and then, as soon as the shield was lowered, they all crashed onto the planet's surface! Hundreds of asteroids!"
"One hundred and three, to be precise," I countered calmly. "Each three meters in size with a rhydonium filling. The explosive volume is equivalent to the warhead of an anti-ship missile. Lethal radius — one hundred and fifty standard meters."
"And you're bragging about it?" Mara continued to rage. "You took an entire planet hostage! For a day now, the population of Coruscant has been evacuating! Sentients are fleeing the planet and don't know where to go if there's another attack!"
"Therefore, the result that was planned has been achieved," I said, maintaining my composure. "That's all."
The girl gasped, like a balloon that had been deflated. She shook her head.
Disappointment mixed with horror flashed in her eyes.
A sense of doom...
"You seem to have said that I bombarded Coruscant," I continued, crossing my arms. "I don't recall anything like that in my career."
"The asteroids..." the girl whispered.
"Ah, yes," I nodded. "I recall. I believe I used thirty-three forty-meter asteroids to destroy the core of the New Republic Defense Force's First Fleet at Coruscant, and about one and a half thousand smaller asteroids to destroy a dozen New Republic squadrons. I also used three large asteroids and a hundred three-meter ones to blockade Coruscant. One of the asteroids was intentionally directed at the orbital mirror, so the enemy would see what they were dealing with and not deactivate the planetary shield until the threat was neutralized. By my calculations, that should have taken them a month."
"During which time a hunger riot would have started on Coruscant!" the girl said angrily.
"And for what reason?" I clarified.
"Because there wasn't enough food for everyone!"
"And that's my fault?" I inquired.
"Whose else?" Mara was taken aback. "With your attacks on the fringes, you provoked migration to Coruscant as the most protected world in the galaxy. There wasn't enough supplies for everyone, so..."
"Stop," I asked. The girl obediently fell silent. "Excellent. Without the New Republic propaganda pouring from your lips like a poisoned stream of abuse, you seem like a perfectly sane sentient. Now, to the facts."
Mara snorted indignantly.
"The New Republic's attack on the Ciutric Hegemony led to pirates seizing control over some of the systems," I said. "Thousands of civilians and soldiers died while they were driving the criminals out of the captured systems."
"What's the connection between the New Republic's attack on the Hegemony and the pirates taking control of the systems?" the girl asked in surprise.
"Direct cause and effect," I declared. "Having no legal grounds to invade a neutral state, the New Republic attacked the worlds of the Hegemony. Prince-Admiral Krennel's mistakes led to pirates being brought in to repel the attack, and they seized control. I had to get rid of them. Remember this point — government error. Next, the New Republic placed a bounty on my head," I looked at Rukh. "How many hunters responded?"
"Forty-seven," he replied.
"And only thanks to the Noghri am I still alive," judging by her expression, Mara still didn't understand. "Did I turn to Boba Fett for a reciprocal 'favor' to Mon Mothma?"
"No, probably not," the girl said.
"Exactly," I confirmed. "I did everything to convince these sentients that I bore them no ill will. I directly warned them about the danger of Palpatine's return. And they didn't send a single ship to the Deep Core for reconnaissance. Instead, they organized a manhunt against me using the Bothans and Admiral Ackbar. In my opinion — a poor way to show gratitude."
Jade remained silent.
"I'm tired of coddling them," confusion appeared on the girl's face. "A one-sided game is not the kind of sport that interests me. If the government of Coruscant cannot feed the population that has grown due to migrants — that's not my problem. If they don't understand that Coruscant is a symbol of power over the galaxy and that with Palpatine's first strike it will be captured, regardless of any losses on either side — that, again, is not my problem. If the government of Coruscant didn't think to deactivate the shield segmentally and instead lowered it entirely — that's their fault. And the fact that they deactivated the inner shield and couldn't reactivate it due to power issues — also their fault. These are government mistakes, not my villainous scheme."
"Bel Iblis said in his interview that structurally, no other way to deactivate the planetary shield is provided," Mara said. She looked at me and explained:
"I literally watched his speech ten minutes ago."
"Indeed," I smiled. "And did Bel Iblis inform the public that several years ago, when the planet was ruled by Ysanne Isard, the planetary shields were deactivated segmentally without any issues, and with both shields active, there were no problems with the planet's power supply? In just two and a half years of owning Coruscant, the New Republic has rendered its backup defense system unusable, allowing leaks or unregistered connections, as a result of which they could not use the inner shield without risking causing discontent among the population, which they are neither able to protect nor control their legal behavior. If the New Republic is incapable of managing its territory, its defense, and caring for the population of its planets — that's not my problem. No one asked them to lower the shield. No one asked them to take Talon Karrde at his word that there were only thirty-six asteroids." The girl cast an exhausted look at me.
It seemed her furious charge had run out.
Good, if so.
"The trap was designed for the military," I said. "It's not my fault that even after a year and a half of fighting against me, they still haven't learned to use the gray matter inside their skulls."
"Civilians died," Mara said plaintively.
"Yes," I agreed. "Yet another proof that the New Republic doesn't care about its citizens. When you lower the shield and suspect that invisible explosive-laden rocks might fall from above, you don't usually suggest that civilians hide in bomb shelters. No, you use the planet's garrison and forcibly evacuate everyone to safe places. Leia Organa Solo made sure her children survived the asteroid fall. But somehow she forgot about the thousands of other children she didn't send to the same bomb shelter."
"Are you saying there's no blood on your hands from these unfortunate ones who died from the bombardments, from collapsing buildings, from avalanches on the Manarai Mountains?" Mara asked weakly.
"Who is to blame when a weapon forged by a blacksmith kills a civilian?" I inquired. "The weaponsmith who made it, or the one who used it directly against unarmed residents?"
"That's a poor comparison," Mara grimaced.
"Then consider this: the state that, instead of accepting a peace offer on achievable terms, continues a pointless war against a qualitatively superior enemy is the true culprit behind civilian casualties, not the one who launched camouflaged asteroids into orbit of a planet that has a deflector shield," I said calmly. "Nothing stopped the New Republic from deactivating one segment of the shield, parking freighters underneath, and thereby detonating some asteroids in the air and shooting down the debris with turbolasers. In fact, that's what I assumed, but it seems I overestimated the New Republic Unified Command."
"And that's your excuse?" Mara asked, smiling bitterly.
"I have nothing to apologize for," I said equally emotionlessly. "The Dominion does not wage war against the New Republic or other opponents without ensuring the safety of its own citizens. If the Republicans lack the intelligence to understand the basic truths of the rules of war, then I hope that at least the forced evacuation of Coruscant will be the reason Palpatine cannot carry out a massacre there during his conquest."
"I understand," Mara Jade said after a few minutes of silence. Rising, she gave me a brief nod. "Forgive my behavior. It won't happen again."
The girl headed for the exit but was stopped by me.
"One last thing, Hand," I said. The girl turned to face me. Our eyes met. "If your inner conviction tells you not to continue your service, do it immediately after arriving at Mustafar. And don't stand in my way."
The girl's right eyelid twitched.
"I realize I was wrong," she declared in a whisper. "I remain loyal to you."
Well, the occasion called for a "dressing down."
"In that case, Hand, make sure that in our next interaction, the pronoun 'you' is used in addressing me only in two cases and after they have occurred," the girl's right eyebrow shot up. Well, thank you, chief medical officer, wonderful woman, for such a fine joke. If only you knew under what conditions I would use it... "First — you have saved my life or prevented the Dominion from destruction. Second — there will be a minister present ready to unite us in marriage. In all other cases, your fate will be unenviable. There will be no more warnings."
Mara smiled crookedly but quickly hid the smirk.
"I understand, Grand Admiral," she said quietly. "The warning is received."
"You are dismissed," I ordered.
When the door closed behind the Hand, I glanced at Rukh and Tierce.
"Arrange surveillance on her," I ordered. "If she intends to betray me, I need to know as soon as possible."
Both bodyguards nodded silently and went to work.
I, taking a deep breath, opened Commodore Shohashi's report.