The ship that the Fourth Squad of Assault Commandos had been tasked with capturing outwardly resembled the traditional Imperial and Dominion fleet Imperial-class Star Destroyers.
However, it surpassed them in size, yet at the same time had a number of differences.
The key one was the absence of lower hangar bays, and consequently, no air wing.
Like other no-hangar models of Star Destroyers, such as the Tector-class and Procursator-class, this starship could rely solely on its armament in battle.
Yes, there were several dozen docking and emergency airlocks on board, used for loading and unloading equipment and transporting personnel.
But the ship had no starfighter complement.
Nor an embarked contingent.
Or ground vehicles.
Therefore, it needed escort ships for defense.
A Raider-class corvette was approaching the frozen giant, which had been hit by ion cannons.
Sergeant TNX-0297, along with his troops, as well as the stormtroopers and support droids, had already prepared their weapons and equipment for combat.
They, along with four other special forces squads, had the task of capturing this ship without waiting for the crew to die.
It was too valuable a prize to allow nearly fifty thousand crew members to take measures to restart and repair the damaged systems.
The first special forces squad and their reinforcements would capture the main reactor and the ship's power systems.
As on the Imperial-class destroyers, the main power plant — a solar ionization reactor — was located in the lower part of the ship. But it had additional protection, armor plating, not to mention being larger, due to the need to generate more power to supply all the systems of the giant.
The second squad would take the engine room.
The machine room, powering the seven massive engines, was also a point of interest for the boarding party, since the ship could also be controlled from there, not to mention the hyperdrive.
The third and fifth squads would take the batteries and artillery control stations.
The main armament consisted of twelve six-gun heavy turbolaser turrets, located dorsally on the upper surface of the starship's hull. There were also linearly elevated turrets, ion cannons, medium turbolasers in broadside batteries, and much more.
Because of its firepower and size, the ship had the informal military designation of "heavy Star Destroyer."
The Fourth Squad was tasked with capturing the superstructure.
And that was exactly what TNX-0297 was looking at now.
It appeared much sleeker than on the Imperial-class in any of its modifications.
But at the same time, it was better protected than the Imperial-class, thanks to a special layout and armor arrangement.
TNX-0297 had never been on board a ship of this type, though he was well aware, thanks to the memories of Colonel Selid, that such starships were produced in small series.
They had undergone combat trials on the fringes of the galaxy, embodying the concept of a starship designed exclusively for destroying other ships.
The versatility of the Imperial-class and even the Victory-class was inapplicable here.
But after the trials, these starships (for the most part) were sent to storage in the Deep Core.
However, at least one had ended up with the New Republic.
"Prepare for docking," the ship's commander reported. "Ten seconds. No enemy detected."
"Copy," TNX-0297 replied, staring unblinkingly at the creeping gray armor of the ship he had never been on.
But his donor — Colonel Selid — had served on one for a time.
That was why his latest clones, currently operating in the regular forces of the Dominion, had been thrown into the assault on this ship.
Even without using their own experience, they "knew" every single turn and corridor on this giant.
"The other groups are attacking simultaneously with us," the man in uniform continued, looking with some wariness at the Assault Commando clad in black armor.
"Copy."
"Good luck to you," the corvette commander said, sounding uncertain.
"Copy," the sergeant replied, heading toward the docking bay.
Unlike the attack on ships with minimal crews that hadn't been hit by ion cannons, the assault on an Allegiance-class battlecruiser required completely different methods and tactics.
Allegiance-class Battlecruiser (Art by Ansel Hsiao)
Given the non-functional life support system and the oxygen deficit on the ship, which had been completely powered down for half an hour, advancing with Stormtrooper Corps forces was impractical.
Equally problematic would be the lack of artificial gravity, but judging by the scans, it seemed to be working — the sensors registered the startup of two backup power sources.
Therefore, the enemy was already looking for ways to revive the ship.
Considering that an enemy fleet had arrived in the system, they needed to act quickly and without the slightest delay.
As always, droids would go first — there were three times as many among the forces attached to the Assault Commandos as the special forces troops had taken for capturing undermanned starships.
The droidekas would bear the brunt of the tasks to destroy the crew of the Allegiance-class battlecruiser.
TNX-0297 approached the transfer lock, at the right edge of which his deputy, TNX-0333, was already standing.
The flamethrower operator had already prepared his weapon.
As soon as the metal doors slid apart, 0333 thrust his weapon around the corner.
Squeezing the free travel of the flamethrower's trigger, he sent a jet of searing flame forward down the corridor, from which shots from the defenders' small arms poured out.
The screams of the burned and ignited beings caused the defenders to cease fire.
When the man-made flame died down, TNX-0297 peeked around the corner.
He was neither frightened nor repulsed by the picture of the smoke-blackened corridor, along which fire-engulfed beings rushed about in a vain attempt to extinguish themselves and each other.
The sergeant watched how gravity affected objects.
Judging by the fact that the heavy containers forming the barricade hadn't budged when one of the burning Republicans slammed into them, the gravity was at standard levels.
"Droids — forward," he commanded.
Clattering their frames, the droidekas rushed into the opened passage, transforming into high-speed scouts who also served as infiltrators.
TNX-0297 watched as more and more droidekas slipped past him.
Dozens, hundreds of machines, in their wheeled forms, sped into the black corridor.
Somewhere, battles were already raging, and the distant sounds of heavy droideka weapons could be heard.
Finally, the second hundred machines finished their raid, giving way to B-2 series droids.
Clanking with their metal feet, the new battle machines advanced in neat boxes, splitting into squads at every intersection and expanding the area of territory under the control of the Dominion fighters.
And then, alongside them, came the stormtroopers and Assault Commandos, aiming to clear individual compartments.
As soon as the thousand B-2s finished their advance, freeing up the filled corridors and compartments of the Raider-class corvette, the B-1s would move in.
The task of these simple and relatively cheap droids was to replace the crew for restoring systems and controlling the battlecruiser, at least until a human crew could be ferried in from Acclamator-class or Star Galleon-class ships.
TNX-0297 led the vanguard of B-2s.
The Assault Commandos led their forces toward the assault on the bridge.
Scanners indicated that the starship was slowly but surely coming back to life.
The other commandos were already engaged in fierce and bloody battles in their respective areas of responsibility.
The Republican specialists and officers were putting up brave but ineffective resistance.
They surely understood they couldn't stop the capture of the ship and were buying time, hoping that help would be sent to them from the arriving ships of the Fourth Fleet.
But that wouldn't happen.
The regular fleet wouldn't allow a single ship of Imperial design to remain in enemy hands.
They would either be destroyed or captured.
TNX-0297 didn't know this for certain; he could only assume based on the orders he had.
As soon as they turned the corner, small arms fire hit the droids.
A couple of B-2s crashed down, shot by the numerous defenders who had somehow managed to destroy two droidekas.
The machines that had been moving down this corridor now lay as scorched and shrapnel-pitted heaps of metal on the deck plates.
Some Republicans were using the remains of the droids as cover, using their armor to deflect shots.
"Missiles," TNX-0297 ordered.
The twin blasters built into the right upper manipulators of the B-2s never stopped firing as some droids raised their left "limbs."
Crimson charges erupted from the medium-sized barrels, and the missile launchers mounted in the manipulators of the modified B-2s sent explosive ordnance at the enemy.
A series of explosions — powerful enough to scatter both the resistance squad and their improvised cover, but low-yield enough not to destroy the bulkheads — swept through the far end of the corridor, burying the defenders' hopes of holding back the attacking squad.
TNX-0297 mechanically noted the effectiveness of the modified B-2s, designated B-2-NA, which were participating in full-scale combat operations for the first time.
This was no longer a test — it was a combat evaluation of this droid type, which had first appeared during the Clone Wars and had proven itself admirably on the battlefield.
To support the Assault Commando advance, one B-2-NA had been added to each B-2 droid squad, and their firepower was impressive.
The squad reached another corridor, where TNX-0333 incinerated the enemy with his flamethrower, and the droids, in a monotonous march, trampled over the charred remains.
The Assault Commandos surged forward, and their drive knew no mercy.
Shooting down any armed enemy, tearing them apart with high-explosive fragmentation grenades, or burning entire compartments with the roaring flame of the flamethrower, the Fourth Squad of Assault Commandos continued carrying out their combat mission.
Confirmations came in about the capture of the reactor compartment and the battles beginning for the auxiliary reactors.
The engine room was under Dominion control, and a real massacre had broken out on the battery decks.
A significant part of the crew had fortified themselves there, and the Third and Fifth Squads needed support.
TNX-0297 ordered half of his droidekas sent there.
The ship's bridge met the Assault Commandos with blast-proof bulkheads sealed shut.
Power had been restored to this part of the ship, so they needed to act quickly.
An offer to surrender, made over the intercom, was refused by the bridge crew.
But no one was going to plead with them.
The sergeant pointed to the information input panel for the squad's technician.
The commando, pulling out specialized equipment, began reprogramming.
Breaking through the security systems and unlocking the door was possible, but it took a lot of time — time in which the enemy could gain control of several systems, given the operation of secondary power sources.
And therefore, various scenarios were possible — none of which fit within the parameters of the order given to the Assault Commandos.
Power was available here, so the compartment's safety systems were definitely working.
As was the central computer.
The life support system was clearly shut down, since the reactor was under Assault Commando control.
Therefore, with power and a connection to the central computer, the latter was monitoring all sensors inside the compartment.
If an oxygen shortage occurred inside the compartment, the automatics would open the doors on their own, overriding the manual lock, to prevent the crew from suffocating.
After all, there was air in the corridors.
They just needed to make the sensors stop seeing the real oxygen level readings inside the bridge.
By this point, high-temperature shaped charges had already burned holes in the thick armor of the bulkhead, necessary to complete the process of smoking out the enemy.
Small holes, neat in appearance, about the width of a stormtrooper's hand in diameter.
Only two — and that was all that was needed.
"TNX-0333, need the flamethrower," the sergeant said, but his deputy was already where he needed to be.
The flamethrower operator, thrusting the nozzle of his monstrous weapon through, pulled the trigger.
Despite the thickness of the bulkhead, TNX-0297 could hear the roar of the flame. This was due to the acoustics created by the second hole.
Into that hole, TNX-0297 inserted activated smoke grenades, one after another.
"Critical value," the technician warned.
And the next second, just as TNX-0333 managed to pull the nozzle of his flamethrower out of the hole, the massive doors slid open.
Burning Republicans, trying to beat out the flames, threw themselves at the stormtroopers, rushing about the open space in panic and hysteria.
The burning beings were cut down by the fire of the Fourth Squad Assault Commandos.
The blasters of TNX-0297 and his troops didn't miss, killing everyone who ran out of the smoke-filled room.
No mercy, no prisoners — they were all burning, and not everyone could extinguish the flame generated by the incendiary mixture.
It took several minutes for the bridge crew to be completely eliminated.
The sergeant and his troops spread out across the bridge, paying no attention to the soot-blackened ceiling, which had been the target of the flame jet.
Having turned practically into a fiery geyser, TNX-0333's weapon had splashed drops of burning mixture onto everyone within reach.
And judging by the soot stains on the transparisteel of the main viewport, the flamethrower jet had covered the entire length of the bridge.
This was also indicated by small puddles of fire on the deck plating, which the Assault Commandos immediately began extinguishing with coolant, which was always carried by troops serving in the same unit as a flamethrower operator.
The bridge equipment had suffered damage, but no critical damage.
Melted spots, scorched panels, cracked monitors, melted plastic from keyboards...
Nothing that could affect the control of the starship.
"Fourth Squad of Assault Commandos speaking," TNX-0297 opened a communication channel with the other squad leaders. "The bridge is under our complete control."
Confirmations of the achievements planned by command from the other squads indicated that the work had been done exactly as originally required.
"Raider-Four, this is the commander of Fourth Squad of Assault Commandos, Sergeant TNX-0297," the specified clone of Colonel Selid contacted the commander of the corvette that had brought them here. "Inform the Grand Admiral that the Allegiance-class battlecruiser is completely under our control."
"Copy, Sergeant," the commander of Raider-Four replied. "B-1s are already deploying to their stations. Do you require assistance in restoring system functionality and reactor restart?"
"Not needed," TNX-0297 refused.
Such a valuable prize shouldn't be repaired on the spot with improvised means and non-specialist personnel.
The Allegiance would be towed to a holding location, removed from the field of the developing battle.
For now...
The sergeant looked around, noting the arrival of additional squads of stormtroopers and droids.
"Continue the cleanup," he ordered his subordinates.
The Republicans had owned this starship for a very long time — and could have found a few places to hide.
The Assault Commandos would smoke them out.
"TNX-0333, we'll need your spare flamethrower," the commander of the Fourth Squad ordered.
Without a word, the flamethrower operator began extracting components for the spare weapon from his backpack, assembling them together.
Today, the crew of this battlecruiser was going to have an excessively colorful and fiery day.
* * *
"General Solo!" Bel Iblis's voice came through the intercom in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. "My immense gratitude for your courage in delivering the reinforcements! Now everything will be different..."
"What could possibly be worse?" Lando grumbled, glaring bullishly at how the Xg-1 assault gunboats were literally mowing down the New Republic's starfighters with a fan of homing missiles.
It didn't even look like a battle anymore — it was more like an execution of cattle that, out of their own stupidity, were charging headfirst into the pen at a meatpacking plant.
"Always glad to help, General," Han replied, steering the corvette into the upper echelon, which offered a view of what was happening in orbit.
"Great Force," Leia exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hand.
"I'd put it more strongly," Solo said, gloomier than a storm cloud, reaching for the comm panel. "General Iblis, where did the fleet go?"
"You need answers too?" Calrissian asked in surprise. "It's as clear as day here."
"Lost in battle," Han's countryman replied.
"And the orbital docks?" Solo pressed.
"Most likely, they've left the system, along with part of the captured Imperial-design ships from our fleet," the Supreme Commander's voice held not a trace of optimism. "Thrawn used my own tactics against me..."
"Oh, he's a master at that," Lando continued to burn with his words.
"We underestimated the number of Venators with ion cannons on board, as well as their rate of fire," Bel Iblis admitted.
"So basically, we've now lost the fleet of Imperial-design starships because it got shot up by ion cannons?" Leia clarified.
"By cannons," Bel Iblis corrected. "He has ten of them. And all different types. We're currently deploying forces to destroy them."
"But what about the crews?" Leia asked. "They're without working systems, oxygen..."
"Imperial ships have a better chance of restarting at least auxiliary systems," Bel Iblis explained. "I understand your concern and have already ordered part of the Fourth Fleet's ships to go and evacuate crews from those starships we can't return to combat readiness in the near future."
"All that's clear," Solo said. "But... what's the attack plan?"
"I'm afraid I can't tell you that," the Corellian stated. "You've done a lot, but it's best you don't interfere in the battle with a freighter for now. Once we deal with the Venators, you'll lead one of the fronts, General Solo. End transmission."
And the cockpit of the Falcon fell silent.
Though, not for long.
"Han, your beloved 'Senator Iblis' has lost his mind, hasn't he?" Calrissian asked. "Did he just sideline you?"
"No," Solo shook his head. "It's a hint that I need to take care of secondary targets."
"What secondary targets?" Lando asked.
"How did you figure that out?" Leia echoed him.
"He's a Corellian — I'm a Corellian," Han shrugged. "That's obvious. Garm decided to focus the Dominion and Thrawn's attention on the fact that he wants to disable the Venators. And he'll also try to pull the crews off the ships. We need to handle the second objective, since the first one is a decoy."
"That's pretty convoluted," Leia muttered.
"Actually, it's all logical," Calrissian declared. "The Imperials love to monitor frequencies, and their codebreakers crack our codes out of boredom. That's exactly why Bel Iblis used this method to pass information to Han."
"Exactly," the Corellian agreed. "From what I can tell, Garm is trying to figure out how to attack Thrawn, who's split off from us using our own ships that he blasted with ion cannons. If I understood correctly, Bel Iblis plans to drop the crews from some of the 'Imperial ships,' then use them as cover for the Fourth Fleet's attacking starships."
"How did you even understand that?" Leia was stunned.
"I'd do it myself," Han shrugged, watching the dogfight between Dominion and Republic pilots. "Our guys are pulling back."
"The attack is stalling," Lando confirmed.
"I don't see Thrawn planning to attack either," Leia stated. "His starships are pulling back..."
"They're not his starships," Han said, his voice dropping. "The Grand Admiral is starting to 'dismantle the wall' made from our own destroyers that were hit by ion cannons."
Calrissian swore under his breath.
"We need to think of something fast," Leia declared. "Otherwise, Thrawn will just clean out the starships one by one, and then simply leave the system. Not to mention he could easily try to restore our Imperial-design starships and use them against us!"
"Sometimes I start to think we're not fighting a humanoid, but an artificial intelligence that really hates sentient beings," Calrissian offered. "But what I can't figure out is what it actually wants."
Lando's answer was silence.
None of them knew.
"We need to contact the Sluissi," Han declared firmly. "They're bound to have ships we can use to speed up the evacuation. I've got an idea..."
"What idea?" Leia perked up.
"Oh, a real sweet one," Han shook his head. "Trust me, you won't like it. And Fey'lya will eat me alive for this. Unwashed, unshaven, and stinking to high heaven."
"You sure know how to cheer a person up," Leia forced a smile.
* * *
"Sir, new data on the prizes," Gilad said, handing the Grand Admiral yet another datapad with fresh operational information.
"Escort carriers, heavy cruisers, destroyers..." Thrawn listed the categories of captured starships currently being towed toward the heavy cruisers to be fitted with transfer crews and given whatever emergency repairs were possible before being sent to the rear. "Good work, Vice Admiral. Almost finished."
"Just over fifty destroyers," the Chimaera's commander confirmed. "The enemy has begun evacuating crews from the starships closest to the New Republic Fourth Fleet's emergence point from hyperspace."
"Predictable," Thrawn said. "Order our interdictor cruisers and Interdictor-class Star Destroyers to collapse their gravity well generators as soon as they complete their final task. They'll be leaving in the next, third group, escorting our latest trophy acquisitions. In other words — five minutes' notice, then withdrawal via the primary route as soon as we've collected all remaining destroyers and returned them to their rightful owners. That is, the Dominion."
"As planned," Gilad nodded, taking the datapad back.
"Also add to this convoy any starships that have already completed their objectives or are non-combat capable but able to make a jump into hyperspace," Thrawn said, his tone even, laced with command. "This wave will be the largest, so it needs a proportionally stronger escort."
"Yes, sir," Gilad acknowledged.
"You're finishing up," Luke Skywalker's voice reached Pellaeon's ears.
"Just a small batch of our ships remains, after which we will leave the Sluis Van system," the Grand Admiral confirmed.
"Just like that?" Wedge Antilles said doubtfully.
"Of course, they won't let us leave without a fight," the Grand Admiral said, as if thinking aloud. "General Bel Iblis is already preparing a counterattack, having correctly judged that a fighter strike wouldn't achieve any significant result."
"And how do you intend to counter his plans?" Irenez asked, not hiding her contempt and distrust.
"'Counter'?" the Grand Admiral asked in surprise. "How interestingly you pronounce the word 'destroy'..."
Gilad glanced at the young Jedi standing not far from Thrawn, then at the pair of Corellians — the general and the agent — noting the grim resolve that had settled on their faces.
But he had no time to dwell on such trifles now — it was time to contact the second part of the fleet and move to the finale of the current campaign.
It was time for the last participants in the operation to seize Imperial assets from the New Republic to appear.
* * *
It took an enormous amount of time and patience to fight through the Sluis Van defense command and civilian traffic controllers before Han finally got what he wanted.
The Sluissi (not without a fair bit of swearing at each member of that "little" communication chain) finally obeyed the order and dispatched their available rescue ships, tugs, and any shuttle with even modest capacity along the outer edge of the perimeter.
All these ships were now supposed to take part in evacuating crews from several starships, after which Han would probably be committing a felony.
"Probably" because he didn't know exactly how the New Republic tribunal would classify his actions later.
The Falcon hung in the upper echelon, well away from the New Republic's Star Cruisers, in that patch of space where it made the least convenient target.
With its power sources off, making it a minimally visible target for enemy gunners who were firing nonstop at the Fourth Fleet's starships, the old freighter served as an observer with a perfect view of the entire battlefield.
He'd managed to talk via laser comms at close range, eliminating the danger of the enemy "listening in" on their comm channels, with Bel Iblis and reach a common understanding of the situation.
Now the remaining transport ships, which were no longer fit for use as ersatz carriers or landing craft, were being used to evacuate crews from disabled starships.
But that wasn't happening with all of them.
His fellow Corellian had creatively reworked Han's idea, rightly reasoning that transport starships were best suited for the scheme, not combat ships stripped of personnel.
Using those as fire ships would be too wasteful.
But on the other hand, transports could easily play that role.
All that was needed — a couple of astromechs to control such a starship, who could set a course and push the ship's engines to their limits for the fastest possible approach to the enemy.
"I doubt Thrawn could have predicted an attack on his fleet by transports and cargo containers," his wife giggled almost childishly. "I can't imagine how that even came to you."
"I just figured that if the Grand Admiral doesn't mind throwing junk at us, why can't we do the same?" the Corellian asked a purely rhetorical question. "Right now the main thing is to save the people from the Star Destroyers while the Fourth Fleet's Star Cruisers are exchanging fire with the remnants of the Grand Admiral's fleet."
"Do you think we'll have to sacrifice the immobilized destroyers too?" Lando asked.
"I'd rather not," Han admitted. "Every last one of them is polished and repaired. Imagine what happens if Thrawn captures them, crews them, and turns them against us?"
"Or gives them to Palpatine in exchange for being left alone," Leia added grimly.
"It doesn't matter what he does with them," Han admitted. "What matters is that no matter what happens to the ships he's captured, it'll only hurt us more. Look," he pointed toward the Dominion fleet. "With the starships he's already taken from us here and on Sullust, he'll have almost a superior sector force. For defending the sectors he has — it's more than enough."
"And that's considering an Imperial sector group only had about two dozen Imperator-class ships, and the Grand Admiral has already captured almost a hundred," Lando noted.
"That's why he's not sparing his heavy cruisers," Solo concluded. "He found the 'Katana Fleet,' repaired it, brought it to combat readiness, and practically destroyed it in the battle for Sluis Van. But for every heavy cruiser he lost, he got two or three better-class, newer-built starships. In my book — that guy knows how to trade bad cards for a favorable hand."
"And our inability to outthink him just shows we're no more than extras in his performance," Lando said grimly.
"I don't like any of this," Leia complained, watching the intense exchanges between both fleets' ships, which were firing at each other with truly surgical precision, positioning themselves to use the hulls of disabled Star Destroyers as cover, while Dominion ships kept trying to pull them away from the line of contact with tractor beams.
But each time they were driven off by fire from the Fourth Fleet's starships and fighters that swarmed the Star Cruisers to prevent the enemy's unknown-design bombers from using their accelerators for a swift, catastrophic strike on New Republic vessels.
"We just need a little more time, and as soon as our guys on the destroyers are out of danger — like the threat of suffocation — we'll launch the transport fire ships first, then the Fourth Fleet will go on the attack," Han Solo said, nervously eyeing the Dominion ships in the conditional "second line."
"You look tense," Leia observed.
"I am," Han didn't deny it. "See those interdictor cruisers and interdictor destroyers over there?"
"Yes," Leia replied. "Some of them are our ships, holding position near Thrawn's cargo starships..."
"No, I mean the ones that were originally Dominion-flagged," Han clarified. "The ones holding us in the artificial gravity field."
"Any idea why they're still doing that?" Lando asked, perking up at the interesting discussion topic.
"Yeah," Han nodded. "Those guys are being used to keep enemy ships from escaping into hyperspace. But nobody's planning to run. Iblis won't abandon fifty Star Destroyers to Thrawn and won't pull the Fourth Fleet out of here. Thrawn himself doesn't seem to be planning to leave either, so..."
Leia saw her husband's expression change.
And Lando turned so pale his dark skin pigment seemed to vanish from the universe.
"You don't think..." he started.
"Little one talked about refitted destroyers!" Han yelled, running his hands over the control panel, powering it up. "And these are all purely standard ships!"
"Oh, the Force!" Leia's eyes widened in horror as the meaning of her husband's words dawned on her.
Han was already turning the Falcon, roaring into the comm microphone, demanding to be connected to Bel Iblis immediately, but all comm frequencies were filled with nothing but jamming noise, and the scanners were glitching from the Dominion's ion cannon barrage so badly they could barely make anything out...
The Corellian was already calculating the approach vector to Admiral Duplex's flagship, where his fellow countryman was located, when the freighter turned its nose toward the Fourth Fleet's ships...
"This is just outright mockery!" Lando shouted as the Millennium Falcon's cockpit was eclipsed by the shadow of a Star Destroyer, on the underside of which the Dominion's golden "gears" gleamed.
The freighter shuddered so violently that the three people aboard were nearly thrown from their seats — the Millennium Falcon's deflectors had just absorbed the full fury of the Dominion gunners.
Han threw the freighter into a dive, dodging a second shot, so the turbolaser beam only glanced off the protective field.
Through the engine's roar, he heard Lando untangling himself from his harness and, bracing himself against the corridor walls, hurrying to the part of the ship where he could reach the Falcon's laser cannons.
"I'll help Lando," Leia declared. "I'll go find a more convenient gun..."
"The top one," Han cut her off, using the tone he reserved for his wife to demonstrate one truth: arguing with him was pointless.
But the former princess decided to dig in her heels this time:
"We're running away from them belly-up," she said. "The Force will help me at the bottom turret..."
"Do as I say!" Solo barked, not taking his eyes off the ship's controls. "Because..."
He wanted to explain to his wife that while the ship was on Sluis Van, he'd upgraded it again, installing extra deflectors on the upper hemisphere, and she'd be safer there than at the bottom cannon.
"I'm already at the 'bottom' mount!" came Lando's voice, knowing full well about his friend's work on the ship and immediately making the right call.
For which, extra thanks.
And a drink — if they survived.
Leia pursed her lips (she picked a fine time to sulk!) and silently headed for the exit from the cockpit.
Han, no longer restraining his colorful Corellian vocabulary, cursed the Dominion, the Republic, the Sluissi, the Emperor's black bones, and even his cousin — Thrackan Sal-Solo — for good measure.
The emotional release helped him fight the control systems, pulling the Falcon out from under the destroyer's fire and its fighter wing, which didn't keep him waiting.
Punctuality, damn it, always spot on!
The speaker on the secure comm channel crackled to life.
"Attention, all New Republic fleet units!" Garm Bel Iblis commanded in a booming voice. "We have no fewer than two dozen Dominion Star Destroyers in our rear. Continue rescue operations! Begin defensive action!"
"Garm!" Han slammed a button on the panel. "What the hell is going on? Where did these destroyers come from?"
The Corellian's hands flew across the console; he didn't have enough eyes for all the instruments, and on top of that, something exploded in the corridor with a deafening crack.
"Another ambush by Thrawn," Bel Iblis growled. "He was waiting for our fleet and has now deployed his main forces! We're under a full-scale attack on our cruisers from both fronts!"
But Han could already see that for himself.
Enemy Venators were firing precision shots at the maneuvering Star Cruisers of the Fourth Fleet.
Fighters, bombers, gunships, Corellian corvettes, and Raider-class ships charged through the "barrier" of disabled Star Destroyers.
Simultaneously, the Dominion destroyers, pinching the Republic starships from behind, were blasting them with impunity, taking advantage of the fact that a significant number of commanders outside the enemy's engagement zone had followed protocol and not kept their deflector shields active.
And now the fleet was paying for that negligence.
Though, in truth, it was no one's fault — those were the military regulations and directives from the Old Republic, adopted first by the Galactic Empire, then the Alliance to Restore the Republic, and now the New Republic Defense Forces.
A vicious practice in its purest form.
"Thrawn has sealed off our retreat from the system with his destroyers, and his interdictors and mine-layers are blocking our withdrawal from our current position," Bel Iblis reported his assessment of the situation.
His voice was surprisingly calm.
"What are your orders, General?" Han asked.
"We need to relieve the pressure on at least one front," his fellow Corellian declared. "We can see that Thrawn, under the cover of the attack from the planet's side, is starting to pull the disabled destroyers toward himself. That has to be stopped."
"We disrupt his advance on one front to deal with the new destroyers," Han grasped the essence of what was said.
"Yes," Bel Iblis replied. "Admiral Duplex will handle the engagement with the newly arrived starships. You, Han, will have to command our fire ships. Make Thrawn regret his decision."
Oh, and he'd been hoping they could save those little ships.
"Do I have permission to spit in Fey'lya's face if they put me on trial for what I'm about to do?" Han inquired.
Not to actually get permission.
Just a Corellian way to relieve and hide tension — turn it into a joke.
"We'll do it together," Bel Iblis promised. "But Thrawn must not get those ships. Get to it, Han. I still need to figure out what those new fighters Thrawn's reinforcements are using actually are."
"New fighters?" Solo groaned. "He's got something else besides the Xg-1s and those elusive bombers?"
"Some kind of truncated cones with the aerodynamics of bricks," General Iblis explained (without explaining anything at all). "There are no 'uglies' like that in any warship database in the entire galaxy."
Han felt his mouth go dry.
Truncated cones!
"Sir," he addressed the Supreme Commander, "are you sure those are fighters?"
"Truncated cones?" Lando's voice came through on the channel. "With circumferential plasma cutters on the front?"
"Yes, that seems to be it," Bel Iblis muttered. "Yes, confirmed — they have a plasma ring on the front. Some kind of weapon we don't know about. Extremely ineffective against our aviation, I must say."
"Forget the weapon!" Calrissian yelled, and the roar of a laser turret firing came from his end. "That's equipment for cutting metal, rock, and anything with solid density!"
"Lando, you're not thinking..." Han started.
No, it couldn't be. Even Grand Admiral Thrawn, known for his military ingenuity, wasn't that insane to deploy into battle...
"They're plasma drills, Han!" Calrissian shouted. "The ones he stole from me on Nkllon! They're not fighters! He took almost a hundred units — working and non-working — from my 'Nomad City.'"
"And we thought he was going to mine ore," Han Solo said distantly.
"Mr. Calrissian, are you sure those are your 'diggers'?" Bel Iblis clarified.
"They match the description! If you want, I can describe them in detail..."
"Not necessary," Bel Iblis said dryly. "I suspect Thrawn didn't just rob you."
"What do you mean?" Han was stunned.
"Our ships aren't being attacked by a hundred 'diggers,'" his countryman replied. "There are at least three times that many here."
* * *
"All ships of Task Force 'Alpha' engage," Commodore Mor ordered, taking off his regulation cap and wiping the sweat from his face. "Full power to the batteries. Bombers to finish off damaged ships. Interceptors from the fourth and fifth squadrons from all destroyers in the task force — organize defense of the carrier vessels. The rest — remain on escort for the drills."
The task force commander, whose rank now actually matched his duties, stood at the bridge's main viewport.
He watched for a time as the Star Cruisers of the New Republic Defense Forces' Fourth Fleet clumsily tried to re-form to meet the enemy.
Caught off guard, they acted disjointedly, contradictorily, only worsening their position.
He received confirmation that his orders were being carried out, then turned to the hologram of Grand Admiral Thrawn:
"All ships of Task Force 'Alpha' have entered combat operations, Supreme Commander. The Millennium Falcon has been detected and fired upon."
Thrawn gave a barely perceptible nod.
The Grand Admiral seemed not to be listening, looking at his subordinate but with his mind somewhere far away.
"Do not waste too much time on that starship," he said. "The task force's objective is the Mon Calamari cruisers, not that freighter. Remind the boarding party coordinators not to spend too much time choosing targets for the plasma drills. The overall score matters, not individual ones."
"Yes, sir," Alexander squared his shoulders, allowing himself a smile. "Today, the Star Cruisers of the New Republic's Fourth Fleet will cease to exist."
Thrawn's face remained an impassive mask.
"Proceed in strict accordance with the plan, Commodore," he said. "I have already taken care of the rest."
When the Grand Admiral's hologram vanished, Alexander allowed himself a wider smile.
Well, then, the time to test his tactical calculations, which the Grand Admiral had set aside, had finally come.
And he would start, perhaps, with that pair of Star Cruisers that were so briskly firing on his Star Destroyer.
For the servicemen of the New Republic, the time of suffering had come.