17 The Fires of Ryloth [Continued 3]

Part 5

Conference Room Alpha, Republic Cruiser Requiem, Task Force "Retribution" flagship, Dark Space, 5 Light Years from Ryloth

"The Fleet is present and accounted for, sir." reported Commodore Pellaeon. "Data links are established."

"Thank you, Gilad."

He gave me a thoughtful nod. I could see him wondering why I had the Fleet drop out of Hyperspace short of our intended target. While his face was presenting me a dispassionate professional mask, I could see it in his eyes. He was pondering over various reasons that would force me to alter the plan in the last minute.

Of course, he had no way to know that the main reason was very simple. Palpatine was briefed on the original plan, so I had no intention of following it.

One after another, the fleet's Captains appeared around the table. To my left were the ethereal images of Skywalker and Yularen. To the right, on the other side of the physically present Pellaeon was the ghostly figure of Obi-Wan, who was in charge of our ground component.

Two third of the officers gathered for this unscheduled meeting wore the same dark faces.

"What is the emergency?" asked Anakin.

"You'll see. You all know the plan to liberate Ryloth by heart." I declared to the assembled men and women.

They all nodded at me, giving me a long suffered looks, before nodding.

"Well, you can forget all about it. I have reasons to believe that it was leaked to the Seps long before we left for our little excursion." I told them.

Stunned silence reigned for the next few seconds. Then more than a few of my officers who didn't wear Jango Fett's face started shouting over each other.

"Preposterous!" the voice of Captain Krello Lombar rose over the rest.

"Silence!" I barked after listening to them for few seconds.

The sharp tone of my voice made them take notice and they soon subdued.

I glared at Captain Lombar. Figures. He was one of the political appointments within the Navy, whose main call to fame was his close friendship with the Ryloth senator, who in turn was a close friend and supporter of Palpatine. Just to make my life more difficult, said Senator was on visit to Kuat during the attacks on Coruscant, so I couldn't just fire Lombar.

I ignored him for the moment and gazed at the rest of my problem children. Luckily only he was the only one of them commanding a capital ship. The rest of his type were suck on a dozen light cruisers.

During the short time we had to plan Operation "Retribution", the folks that would make trouble had made themselves known. At least most of them. I had suspicion about few more Captains, but nothing concrete. It was not like I could choose the members of the Fleet in this case.

Unfortunately that had left me with a small nucleus of officers in command positions who had gotten their rank thanks only to their political connections, and so far had evaded being sent to the front where their dubious competence could be tested.

With this being the Republic Navy, I couldn't just dismiss them without cause, though if they fucked up sufficiently in the coming battle, their sorry asses were mine. On the other hand, if at least one or two of those turned out to be competent, then I could put them to good use.

"As we speak, the five CR90 we have in the Fleet, which are in scout configuration, are making a recon sweep of Ryloth and the CIS fleet blockading the planet. We'll receive their preliminary report in few minutes." I declared.

"You know something." stated Kenobi, who had silently observed the short spectacle.

I smiled at him.

"I suspect." I said. "You all saw the Intel we have about the present enemy forces. One Luckrehulk command ship, a Luckrehulk battleship, twelve Munificents as well as two or three Luckrehulk freighters. That and three to four thousand fighters, which would be the real threat. Our forces should be able to deal with that suffering light casualties."

"We all know that! What's your point general? Our fleet is an overkill against such an enemy!" sneered Lombar.

He was becoming an irritant. Too bad that he still hadn't crossed the line and went into insubordination so I could be finally rid of him.

"What I expect is a significantly larger enemy force. That's why I did my best to gather such a powerful fleet for our excursion. It is the same Force damned reason we are cooling our heels light years from our target while the Corvettes are scouting the opposition! And that is why I am allowing you to shut up, before you cross the line from arrogant idiotism straight into insubordination, Captain Lombar!" I spoke with enough sarcasm to blister the paint from the walls.

"You expect a trap," declared Yularen.

I simply nodded.

"This entire operation is suspect," I grimaced. "The Separatists would have realized from the beginning that such a large operation couldn't be missed, and we would be required to take action. They would have to be stupid not to see it, and considering that we can't afford to believe that they are, the only other conclusion is that they are setting up a trap. The question is do they have the forces on hand to make it an effective one."

A light started blinking on the console built in the table in front of Pellaeon's seat. He pressed few buttons, stared at the screen for few moments and winced, before being able to school his face back to his usual mask of professionalism.

"Sir, the scouts preliminary report just came in." he said calmly.

"By all means, Commodore, enlighten us."

"Long range scans detect one Luckrehulk command ship, two Luckrehulk Battleships, two freighters of the same class and twenty plus Munificents."

Grim silence fell over the room.

"If they don't have reinforcements waiting in space, we all know what the worst case scenario is." I stated.

"Yeah. If those freighters are in fact battleships with full fighter compliment, we'll have serious problems," said Anakin.

"That, with the second battleship could give them up to four thousand five hundred additional fighters!" exclaimed Captain Lombar who had become white as a sheet.

"Add another thousand or so Vultures with the rest of the frigates." interjected Skywalker.

"Its unlikely, that the separatists had so much vultures to spare." one of his "friends" disagreed.

"Nine to ten thousand enemy fighters as a ball-pack figure." muttered Kenobi.

"If the fleet is hit by all of them at once..." someone muttered.

"Don't forget that they can have more fighters based on the planet." Kenobi decided to add his two cents.

"That's not something we are going to allow." I spoke loudly. "Luckily for us, the Vulture droids do not have hyperdrives." I smiled at the officers under my command. "General Kenobi, when the main fleet start its assault on Ryloth, I want the assault ships under your command to jump on a random destination in Dark Space within five light years of our target and wait for the signal. Just in case the CIS has an informant in the fleet and additional forces they can send against your ships. This is what we are going to do..."

=RK=

Luckrehulk Command Ship Procurer, CIS Blockade over Ryloth

Captain Mar Tuuk was leaning forward in his command chair. Thanks to his data goggles, Wat Tambor, whose hologram was projected in front of him, could not see his narrowed eyes.

"Captain, are you ready?" asked the Foreman of the Techno Union.

"The reinforcements arrived a few hours ago. Our trap is set. I have over twelve thousand fighters waiting for the Republic fleet." answered Tuuk. "We know their forces, we know their plans. When they arrive, I'll have an unpleasant surprise for our uninvited guests." he smiled.

"I am counting on you, Captain. The Republic must not retake this planet! Even if they do, we must bleed them dry first!"

"I'll see to it," said Tuuk, before his nominal superior cut the connection. "Not that any of us has much choice after what those kriffing insane fools did on Coruscant!" the Neimoidian hissed quietly.

Once the news about what really happened on Coruscant circulated through the ranks, it became painfully obvious to all of them that they no longer had any choice except for victory or death. He doubted that the Republic would be in any mood for mercy, so he would grant them none.

If only those accursed imbeciles hadn't used bio-weapons, or at least had managed to be competent enough to just kill off the Senate rather than play stupid games, then the situation would be different. However that was not to be.

He sighed. The war was already changing, and at least some elements of the CIS with it. While he personally didn't care for the rampant enslaving of the locals, Tuuk wasn't blind for the opportunity it represented.

The Republic had to attack, and now, thanks to agents in their government, he knew what his enemy was bringing to the unavoidable battle.

The Captain was confident in his abilities and forces. Mar knew that against almost any Republic commander, he would be victorious, given the advantages he had. Yet, he felt a pang of anticipation.

The Confederation didn't have any records on this new Republic general, besides his recent actions. As such, they had no idea what he would be like in a fleet engagement.

This coming battle was going to be interesting.

=RK=

Republic Cruiser Requiem, Task Force "Retribution" Flagship, twelve light seconds from Ryloth

The whirlwind of the Hyperspace was replaced with star filled void as the main body of the Fleet jumped back to real space and started accelerating towards Ryloth at a calm pace of five hundred gravities.

Eight Venators and seven Dreadnought Heavy cruisers formed three vertical lines, with the leviathan form of the prototype Imperator-I Star Destroyer Executrix in the center. All around them, the escorts, led by the three Flak modified Acclamators Dauntless, Honor and Warspite, were reforming into defensive formations around the capital ships. Those were twenty seven Carrack light cruisers, all of which were in their anti fighter variant, which were joined by twenty three Arquitens Light Cruisers and twenty seven CR90 Corvettes.

"Launch all fighters." I ordered.

While that was being done, I stared at the holographic display showing the disposition of the fleet and that of the enemy. Normally I would have left a ten to twenty percent fighter reserve, but we were too heavily outnumbered for that. Especially when I was keeping the two Acclamator carriers as well as the Escort Carriers which were just a bunch of converted freighters, and their escorts as reserve.

The armored decks covering the hangars of the Venators slid open and they started disgorging their brood. Part of me wanted to jump in my new fighter and head out with the pilots, but as a Commander of Operation "Retribution", that was not my place.

I wondered how many of the Jedi Generals would have sortied with the fighters if they were in my shoes. It would have been a damn foolish thing to do.

At least this early in the battle. Once the reserves were committed and every fighter out there counted that might change, but for now, my place was on the bridge commanding. Besides, the pilots were in good hands.

"This is General Skywalker. All Wings, form on me. Check your course and stay out of the firing lanes of the big guns."

"This is Blue Leader, affirmative." answered Ahsoka, who had her first independent command in this battle.

Moment later, the holoscreen to my right lit up with green dots showing the fighter Wings which had confirmed their readiness.

Few more seconds passed before the powerful sensors of the fleet could partially burn through the enemy ECM.

One Droid Command ship, three confirmed battleships, six possible freighters and thirty plus frigates. That and more than ten thousand fighters swarming out of their motherships. Our capital ships had near parity in firepower, which meant that a long range duel would see both forces decimated. That was something that the Separatists could afford if it meant the destruction of a fleet like mine in exchange.

My other alternative was to close in, where my light ships could add their guns to the equation, but that would bring us in the range of the enemy fighters and their capital ships lighter guns. It would be a double edged sword. Plus, I was sure that the enemy commander was keeping a reserve too.

Plan A was simple. Draw out the enemy fighters and annihilate them, then deal with their battle line. Of course, if their commander decided to send in his reserve early, that would give me other tactical options.

One thousand four hundred and thirty eight V-19 Torrent Starfighters as well as two Jedi piloted Delta 7 would soon meet nearly ten times their number.

Our Starfighters punched out until two third of them were at medium range from the fleet, forming a screen against the expected onslaught. The rest stayed behind, forming a CAS (Close Space Patrol).

An imaginary line was crossed when the main body of the fleet passed the ten light second mark from our targets.

"Sir, we are in range," informed me Piett, who was monitoring one of the navigation consoles over the shoulder of its clone operator.

"All capital ship, execute fire plan Alpha." I ordered calmly.

Few seconds passed until the order made it through the chain of command and targets were assigned through Requiems data net.

The Venators were divided in pairs, each of which had a separate Munificent as its intended victim and the Dreadnoughts divided in two groups tracking separate targets. The Executrix targeted two of the enemy craft by itself.

A second passed.

Then a light shudder ran through the deck of the Requiem. Twelve, dual turbolaser turrets spoke as one. Azure bolts of scarcely comprehensible power, flew at the distant CIS formation. The rest of the Venators, Dreadnoughts and the Executrix followed suit seconds later.

At the same time, our escorts started executing erratic maneuvers, making them much harder targets.

The heavy guns of the enemy battleships and frigates answered with a crimson barrage of their own. It was time to start paying the butchers bill.

Enough firepower to decimate continents splashed over straining shields, blinding sensors and scorching hull on the few places where it achieved partial bleed through the defensive fields.

Once they entered optimal range, the Venators shuddered harder as their capital launchers started to unleash their payloads.

Heavy proton torpedoes sped towards their distant targets, guided by both the sensors of the ships that launched them and their internal seekers.

The first casualty of the Battle For Ryloth was a frigate which was under long range assault by Resolute and Defender. Her shields failed under the relentless onslaught. Turbolaser shots rained over her superstructure, vaporizing armor and opening compartments to space. The starboard side disappeared under a jagged line of explosions, which shattered the ship.

The next to fall was a second CIS frigate, which was claimed by the Executrix. The prototype's heavy Ion cannons of the Star Destroyer battered down her shield with ease, leaving the warship easy pray for the six dual heavy turbolasers targeting her. A single salvo struck the center of the ship and blew her in two amidst a colossal explosion.

Then was the Separatists turn to claim their pond of flesh. The Dreadnought Onderon was battered by six enemy ships which soon stripped down her shields. Their heavy cannons blew its weapons blisters one after another, until a rampant chain reaction ran through her brutalized power grid. Her reactors scrammed in a desperate attempt to save the ship and she fell out of formation as a toothles wreck.

An unlucky Carrack cruiser followed suit when she found herself in the way of a battleship barrage aimed at the Redeemer. The small warship was hit by six heavy turbolaser bolts and was torn apart from enough firepower to vaporize a lesser ship. Few of her crew survived in relatively intact compartments, thanks to the highly modular nature of the ship.

=RK=

Anakin hated waiting. Especially while the battle was just starting to rage around him. Both Fleets were throwing at each other enough firepower to devastate a planet, and that was only the beginning. He knew that not only this battle, but the war itself would become much worse.

"General Skywalker, execute Mirror Image." he heard Veil's calm voice over the comm.

"Affirmative. All Mirage elements, form on me. We are going in." Anakin ordered.

Ahsoka and her Blue squadron fell in formation to his right. He was about to lead a force of two hundred and fifty fighters against the swarm of Vultures near the Separatists blockade, in order to encourage them to attack. It was going to be ugly.

"Master, is this one of those suicide missions you are famous about?" asked Ahsoka over a private channel.

Skywalker snorted at his apprentice's question.

"Nah, nothing to worry about, Snips. We've faced worse odds!" he said without thinking things through.

After a moment of silence Ahsoka asked: "When?"

=RK=

Republic Order of Battle for Operation "Retribution":

Imperial-I Star Destroyer Executrix (prototype); It carries only Starfighters and few shuttles; No other craft or any ground forces besides ship security detachment (3000 clone troopers); 300 V-19 Starfighters;

7 Dreadnaught Heavy cruisers;

Venator Star Destroyers:

Requiem – Flagship; Victory; Onderon; Resolute; Defender; Redeemer; Conviction and Coruscant's Pride;

8 Venators in total;

1088 V-19 Torrent Starfighters; 448 Y-Wing Bombers;

Acclamators SA:

Dauntless, Honor, Warspite – all three are Flak Modified (have half of their main armaments replaced with anti-fighter laser turrets); Leveler and Victorious: carrier refits (120 fighters and 36 bombers;);

240 V-19 Torrent Starfighters; 72 Y-Wing Bombers;

Light Cruisers:

Carrack-Class CL (32);

Arquitens-class CL (23)

Frigates:

Consular (Medical) (21)

Carriers:

Escort carriers : PLC 27 (Class A bulk freighter), – 3 converted into escort carriers; 200 V-19 Torrent Starfighter carried by each;

600 V-19 Torrent Starfighters in total;

Corvettes:

CR90:Various configurations; (37)

Total small craft strength:

V-19 Starfighters 2238; Y-Wing Bombers: 520

General Delkatar Veil's reserve:

Leveler, Victorious, 3 PLC 27 Carriers escorted by 6 Carrack CL, 10 CR90