Chapter 21 - Storm of Blood and Steel [Continued 2] (1/2)

Part 3

Republic Cruiser Requiem, Task Force ”Retribution” Flagship

”Skywalker! Guide the SAR bird to Ahsoka and then get your ȧss back to the Requiem. We still have clankers to deal with.” I snapped into my comm.

Ever since the threat of the massive Vulture wave had passed, he had been frantically calling for someone to rescue the kid. It was getting irritating, and even besides that the moment I noticed that she was shot down I had sent a shuttle to retrieve landing in the Requiem, I took the scenic route so to speak, noting the state of my capital ships.

It was a bloody disaster. I didn't really believe that the damn Vultures would be a major threat if it wasn't for those never sufficiently damned exposed bridges! I was wrong. Two thirds of my fleet was stripped off its heavy guns, and had its armor either weakened or shattered. How the hell the damn fighters had managed to blow up the Onderon, I'll never know.

I thought about my remaining forces. There were at least a few escorts that would do what I ordered them to do without screwing it up. And the Requiem, while missing a third of her weapons was still combat capable. Further, I had one intact Dreadnought as well as Conviction and Coruscant's Pride, which were virtually untouched aside from the total loss of their bridges and command staff.

That left those two Venators in interesting positions. They no longer had nav computers or central control, but still could fight... if not all that well. There was no one left to coordinate their weapons. But if their engineering received coordinates from another ship, they could still jump...

Before reaching the CIC I ordered recall for what remained of ”Hammer.”I went next to Pellaeon, who was examining the fleets status report. After the Relentless lost its bridge, command of the fleet had went to the Commodore, at least until Yularen, who had thankfully survived, could make his way here.”

We took a hammering, sir.” stated Gilad.

”That we did.” I said studying the fleet's status for a few seconds I had a very rough plan in place.

”I want the three Guardian equipped Acclamators as well as escorts to jump at maximum missile range of those two battleships. Their targets are the remaining Vultures. Our surviving Torrents will support them. Once what's left of our bombers rearm aboard of this ship, we'll execute a tactical jump and cover them while they attack the battleships. When the heavy guns of those behemoths are gone, they will be easy to take down.”

”Sir! General Kenobi hailing us.” Spoke the lieutenant manning the comm station.

”Patch him through.” Answered Pellaeon.

The image on one of the screens, which was showing a camera feed, was replaced by Obi-Wan and Cody, who had mostly recovered from the crash. My fellow general's face was grim.

”I'm glad to see you made it. We watched the live feed of the battle.” he shook his head in exasperation. ”What ȧssistance can we provide?”I glanced at the sensor readouts of the remaining CIS space forces.

”We can use the Negotiator when taking out those battlewagons. You have seventy two bombers, right?”

”That's right. Also forty two Torrents and the rest of the ground units of the 221st. ”

”I can definitely use that. Besides, we might need your boys for those six freighters. While lightly armed and shielded, they may have locals on board.” I smart thing to do would have been to get those big fat targets out of the battlezone.

”Here is what we are going to do...”

Assault Ship Dauntless, approaching CIS blockade of Ryloth

Admiral Yularen, who had insisted on taking command over the force which would deal with the remaining Vultures, had taken his flag to the Dauntless.

Meanwhile, the main body of the fleet with more than half of the remaining escorts was under the command of General Veil and Commodore Pellaeon, who were coordinating battlefield the last half hour, the mostly intact Venators had taken pounding, while they dueled with the two battleships. That at least had proved to all that the remaining CIS forces were under the command of droids, not particularly bright ones too.

Any commander worth his salt, would have concentrated on the disabled republic cruisers, denying their further use to the enemy. It wasn't like the three Venators still retaining most of their heavy weapons could deplete the massive shields of the battleships any time was a mistake the Separatists would regret.

The Dauntless, Warspite and Honor, bracketed by their escorts, which consisted by the light ships with the best captains and crew, executed a tactical jump a short distance outside of effective missile range of the remaining escorts tightened their formation around their charges, and the Republic ship moved slowly forward.

”Open fire.” ordered Yularen.

By the time the order came, the Guardian systems had scanned the enemy fleet, shared data and ȧssigned targets for their weapons. Missiles jumped from their VLS launchers and raced towards their prey.

At the same time, the surviving and rearmed Torrents, which were reconstituted in makeshift squadrons after the brutal mauling they suffered during the previous engagements of the battle, emerged out of hyperspace behind the Republic flotilla attacking the Vultures.

An organic commander, might have decided that cutting out his losses and getting away might be the prudent thing to do. Especially when he figured out that his remaining fighters were going to be droids in charge of the CIS fleet's remnants had other ideas. Their orders were to defeat the Republic fleet. So that was what they were going to do. Or at least try. The Vultures were ordered to soften up the attacking force, while the battleships maneuvered to get better firing angles at the new contacts which were well into their engagement envelopes.

Before the V-19's engaged within gun range, the Vultures were cut almost in half, demonstrating for all to see the great disadvantage the Droid had. It was their glaring lack of longer ranged weaponry than their built in laser cannons. The missile strike sent by the Republic small craft shattered what was left by the enemy squadrons, before the Torrents looped to the side, leaving the tattered remnants of the once two thousand strong force to smash against the fire of eleven Carrack's and the AA guns of the Acclamators.

Before the surviving Vultures could ram the three Assault Ships, the V-19s fell over them like a hammer, sending a second salvo at their tails. This time the enemy craft had not build in enough speed to escape the Torrents engagement envelope before striking the fleet.

Only eleven Droid fighters were lucky enough to kamikaze the Republic ships, none of which hit a critical location. The Acclamators could manage well enough without couple of heavy guns and few missing AA emplacements, especially now, when the CIS fighter force was gone.

”The Battle for Ryloth (its space component) will enter the history as the point when both Starfighter and bomber doctrines had to change. The widespread use of the Guardian system by the Republic and the Defense Net introduced by the Confederation of Independent systems two months later (which was based on stolen Guardian plans) would change the face of Naval warfare during the next year of the conflict know as the Clone Wars...”

Extract from ”Naval Warfare History Volume XXVIII”, published by the Axxanis military academy

=RK=

Red Squadron, 71st Bomber Wing, CIS blockade over Ryloth

Lieutenant FLK-256, who was usually called Falk, pushed a level and his Y-Wing jumped out of hyperspace. He glanced at his sensors readouts, confirming that his craft was at the correct coordinates, and that the surviving bombers from ”Hammer” flight were around him.

”Lets do it once again boys.” He said in his comm unit.

In the next moment Falk forced his bird's engines, and the Y-Wing flew forward, accelerating towards its target. The battleship grew closer, its lighter guns opening fire at the scratch force heading its way.

The forty one bombers, all that survived the initial anti-shipping strike, hurled themselves at the of the Lieutenant's craft were obliterated by laser cannons while closing to the huge Luckrehulk. The rest of his scratch force darted near the behemoth's hull, sending proton torpedoes and energy blasts at vulnerable areas.