Chapter 27 - Slaughter. Part two

As promised :) enjoy reading. And don't forget about comments. Also I don't know what "collections" and "power stones" do so I'll ask only for comments.

The commander of the New Republic Star Destroyer Liberty, leading the escort of the transport convoy, Captain Sair Yonka thought for a moment that fate had rewarded him for his patient attitude towards the eternally disgruntled and overly prim Bothans, into whose space he and his strike force were sent to strengthen sectoral fleet. But the Star Destroyer was supposed to head to Sluis Van in order to undergo scheduled repairs and modernization of systems, and then join the forces escorting transport starships.

For two weeks he had to stoically patrol the systems of Bothan Space, like some lieutenant who had gotten into trouble on an old lifeboat with a pair of turbolasers. Yonka did not consider himself a conflicted person. On the contrary, he is very complacent and open to constructive dialogue. In the end, it was "constructive dialogue- (and a considerable amount of credits) shortly before the Battle of Thyferra that first convinced Sair to leave the fleet of Ysanne Isard, and only then, in the midst of the battle, to decide to help Wedge Antilles in a shootout with the super star destroyer Lusankya, at that time, the last remaining starship loyal to the Snow Queen.

After defeating Isard, he no longer had any doubts about continuing to serve the New Republic. The ship, which was seriously damaged during the Battle of Thyferra, was restored at the shipyards of Sluis Van, using some of the equipment and military equipment salvaged from the Virulance, another Star Destroyer, now called the Errant Venture, and owned by the smuggler and information trader Booster Terriku.

The same Booster Terrik, who a few days ago informed the fleet command on Bothavui about the place and time of the appearance of the Invids pirate squadron. Ruthless pirates with an Imperial II-class Star Destroyer at the core of their fleet, terrorizing the worlds of the Mid Rim.

Even Admiral Ackbar, head of the New Republic Defense Fleet, could not resist the opportunity to destroy this ship, as well as to get rid of the enemy threat once and for all. Sair did not know how many nerve cells the Mon Calamari lost while negotiating with the Bothans to send two battleships at once to destroy the Invids. But he understood why the choice fell on him in the first place.

Although its crew are currently citizens of the New Republic, they have been trained to Imperial standards. And they were considered one of the best. Therefore, despite the fact that Leonia Tavira, who heads the pirate group, has her own Star Destroyer, the same "two- as Yonka's "Freedom-, in a direct confrontation, Sair's crew will definitely emerge victorious. And the accompanying Mon Calamari star cruiser MC80 Freedom, although inferior to the Imperial ones in terms of the number of weapons, is excellently protected and capable of withstanding a blow. His participation in the operation will make it possible to deal with the Invids much faster. Whatever forces they have - two first-class battleships and nine squadrons of small aircraft on board them: six on a Star Destroyer and half as many on a Mon Calamari cruiser will decisively put an end to the battle.

However, according to General Cracken, Booster Terrik will also be in the Rugosa system. And not alone - with numerous allies from among the Outer Rim smugglers. As surprising as it may be, according to Cracken, the goals of the criminal elements that Sair once succeeded in eliminating in the service of the Empire and the New Republic coincided. The "Invids- or Imperials were involved in the kidnapping of his daughter, who also at one time was noted in the confrontation between the New Republic and Ysanna Isard.

Captain Yonka was excellent at calculating the chances of a particular battle. Having read the Cracken's brief report about the kidnapping of Mrs. Terrik-Horn, about the transmitted coordinates of the location of her ship, about the hijacker Niles Ferrier, who was rumored to be working for the Empire, the captain had no doubt that Booster Terrik was being lured into a trap. With rumors that the Empire is seeking to acquire as many ships as possible through acquisition or capture, it is no wonder that they are trying to get their hands on the Errant Venture. This means that if Ferrier really works for the Empire, then the standard tactics of capturing a ship assume at least equal forces for such a confrontation. The Empire has few interdictor cruisers such as Interdictor-class star destroyers or Immobilizer 418-class interdictor cruisers. Considering that the Remnants are in a state of local truce with the New Empire after the destruction of the state of the warlord Zsinj and Ysanne Isard, it is extremely unlikely that the meeting place will have more than one or two Star Destroyers and one ship equipped with gravitational anomaly generators - one is quite enough for in order to keep the Star Destroyer from escaping.

General Cracken, still conducting an investigation in the Sluissi sector, came up with an excellent plan on the spot. And it was adjusted taking into account Terrik's latest data that the Invids were not involved in the abduction of his daughter. But they will definitely arrive in the Rugosa system in order to settle accounts with those who tried to pit them against Booster Terrik.

After Princess Leia Organa Solo learned that a separate group of Imperials was acting against the New Republic, the picture began to more or less take shape. There is a squadron that includes at least four star destroyers and about ten ships ranging from frigates to medium strike-class cruisers. Considering that the remaining Remnants do not take any action against Coruscant, do not show hostility, and do not support a separate group, their forces are the maximum that the Yonka starships can meet. And it seems that even four Star Destroyers on the side of the Empire are enough to destroy Sair's group, but not everything is so simple.

It was not for nothing that the operation was developed by General Cracken and Admiral Ackbar in such a short time. Intelligence and naval high command working in unison is a truly scary thing. And effective.

So, the first part of the operation was that Terrik and his allies were sent after the Pulsar Skate, and most likely his daughter was also there, no matter how Niles Ferrier stated otherwise. It's too much of a clumsy trap, but where does the Empire get its tactical geniuses these days? Even victory in the Dafilvean sector is nothing more than luck. If the Imperials could simply strike and destroy sectoral groups of the New Republic, they would continue these attacks. But, most likely, they were simply lucky to attack a weakened New Republic squadron, and now they are trying to replenish their fleet. That's why "Errant Venture- is luring.

Even if the enemy has four star destroyers and up to fifteen medium-class ships at once, the fleet that Booster Terrik brought with him, as well as the Invids he lured to Rugosa, will be enough to cause significant, if not fatal harm to an isolated imperial group. Despite the presence of heavy ships both Booster and Leonia Tavira, in a battle with the Imperials, they would certainly suffer heavy losses - for such a risk Booster Terrik demanded a decent amount from the New Republic. First of all, the ships of Leonia Tavira must be damaged - and they, in turn, will cause serious damage to the ships of the Empire. If she was really involved, Syre had some doubts about this, but he kept them to himself.

After Terrik and Tavira got involved in the battle and caused damage to the enemy ships, no matter whose they were, after ten minutes of battle, the second phase began.

Not knowing about the double day of the operation, the Invids, whether they destroy the enemy or simply suffer, will be attacked from the rear by the arriving Yonka group. And with the support of Booster Terrik and his smugglers, the pirates will finally be either destroyed or captured.

The plan is not the most perfect, one might even say it is risky. However, a comprehensive analysis proved that it was viable and the risk was in fact minimal. It was a pity there was no time to re-equip Terrik's starship with standard weapons, but Sair understood perfectly well that the Cracken would rather resign than agree to such a thing. Because Booster will definitely never return what he receives. And they didn't have enough time for such repair work.

Cracken did not directly talk about this, but he hinted that, even if it wanted to, the New Republic could not attract significant forces to participate in the operation. Leonia Tavira had a truly superhuman sensitivity to danger to her flagship. Almost no New Republic operation aimed at destroying its ship and its pirates was crowned with worthy success. And with the destruction of the fleet in the Dafilvean sector at the hands of the Empire, and the plunder of numerous supply convoys throughout the Middle and Outer Rim, the New Republic needs victory. It is unlikely to be deafening, but it will reassure senators who are increasingly declaring that the fleet is doing nothing to eliminate the dangers, but is only wasting the money allocated for it in endless escorts and repairs.

In any case, if too noticeable forces are allocated to hunt the Invids, Tavira may find out about this and then the plan will fail. Therefore, there are only two of them - a Star Destroyer and a Mon Calamari cruiser. But this will be enough.

To cover the operation, they were sent ostensibly to deliver military cargo of ship weapons and ammunition from the warehouses of the fleet based in Bothawui to Sluis Van. The Mon Calamari star cruiser was officially considered a disarmed transport ship (weapons had been returned to it only a few hours ago during a short stop at small shipyards on the planet Arbra) and was escorted by a destroyer under the command of Yonka. Such a convoy would not have caused much concern for the Invids, since, firstly, given the size of their fleet, they were clearly losing in a direct clash, and secondly, their route took them away from the intended ambush site.

Still, he didn't really like the operation. Even though there was a squadron on Naboo consisting of six Mon Calamari star cruisers and three dozen starships of a lower class, ready to arrive at the battle site in about forty minutes from the moment Terrik and Tavira began their battle with an unknown enemy. Sires literally only needs to send a distress signal and six MC80s, taking advantage of the first-class hyperdrives installed on them, will come to the rescue.

And yet, no matter how much Captain Jonke wanted to put an end to the pirate raids, he frankly did not like the lack of information. As is the speed of planning the operation. Too many questions.

Sair considered several options for the development of events.

The first is that everything is really as Cracken and Booster present it. In fact, the Imperials, for whom Ferrier is supposed to be working, lure Booster into an ambush. In this case, it will be a big surprise for them that, firstly, Terrik will bring an entire fleet with him. And secondly, he will also have a powerful squadron of Invids on his tail. Then, indeed, both the destruction or damage to the Imperials and the destruction of the "Invids- themselves can burn out. Given the arrival of the Yonka starships and the losses of the pirates during the battle with the Imperials, the forces loyal to the New Republic will greatly prevail over the pirate fleet. The outcome is predetermined.

Second, in fact, the Invids themselves are involved in the abduction of Mirax Terrik-Horn, and they are actually luring Booster into a trap and intend to take the Errant Venture away from him. Then the appearance of Yonka will only equalize the chances. Probably the Cracken, telling him about the readiness of the fleet on Naboo, meant something like this.

In any case, no matter how the battle unfolded before his arrival, Captain Yonka did not intend to take excessive risks. The crew, who have been through so much with him, do not deserve the fate of dying in a battle in which there is no chance of survival.

And now, immediately after completing the jump into the Rugosa system, Captain Yonka, as befits the commander of a warship, stood on the bridge of his destroyer. He looked at his reflection on the transparisteel. Not as high quality as if he watched it in the mirror, but still.

Sair saw his own distorted reflection: a tall, middle-aged man, not muscular, not thin — the kind people call "lean.- His black hair was already streaked with gray, and his blue eyes were in perfect harmony with his attractive facial features, which ensured his undoubted success with women. Just like envy in men. As did the jealousy of the husbands of those women who admired him.

He looked straight ahead... and saw a lot. Thanks to the fact that the Imperial ships turned on identification transponders so that the onboard computers identified targets using the "friend or foe" recognition system, he could understand with extreme accuracy who was now in front of him. The majority of pirates did not possess such tact, but their starships were identified by New Republic intelligence based on the characteristic features of engine emissions. Here names are no longer needed - the main thing is to understand what forces this or that ship belongs to.

Yonka saw an Imperial II-class Star Destroyer rushing towards his ships. Its identifier has already been determined - "Invidious-. Leonia Tavira's flagship. The ship fled from the bacchanalia unfolding behind it, firing back from the Interdictor on its right and setting small ships against the battered Victory I. The Star Destroyer has been identified as the Steel Aurora. An Imperial ship, and Sair knew neither its captain nor its crew. The disfigured Neutron Star-class cruiser appeared to have only broken engines and multiple damage. His artillery snapped sluggishly, but it was clear from the ship that he had gotten it very well.

The stern of the pirate flagship was covered by the obsolete Venator, an aircraft carrier and flagship of one of the groups with which Leonia was allied.

This ship had already lost its shields, and its port side and rear hemisphere were being treated with the energy and excitement of the turbolasers of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer. "Two". And the Freedom on-board computer has already determined the identifier of this ship.

"Chimera". It was commanded by Captain Gilad Pellaeon. To be honest, he is a commander who does not grab stars from the sky, but is a smart, efficient servant who went through the Clone Wars and wasthereduring the Battle of Endor, who saw the defeat of the Empire, which became the beginning of the end. This ship left behind the stern one immobilized Corellian corvette CR90 and a couple more of the same type, exchanging fire with each other. Judging by the identifiers, the imperial corvette emerged victorious from the battle.

Behind the Chimera hung the pirate Acclamator and another Interdictor, identified as the Sentinel, with their hulls worn together. A distant acquaintance - they sometimes crossed paths while patrolling the Outer Rim. And this ship is not happy now - the pirates have either damaged or destroyed its reactor. Otherwise they wouldn't be able to be so close to each other. The blue turbolaser bolts of the ATS shredded the side and part of the Sentinel's superstructure, and the latter, deprived of its power plant, could only spat pathetically from the pirate fighters scurrying around - the Acclamator was out of the range of the Interdictor's turbolasers. Oh, and here is the Sentinel's reactor - it looks like it was shot off to avoid a trermonuclear explosion. Hmm... So, if you carefully remove the "Acclamator-, then the reactor can be screwed into place using improvised means - if you show ingenuity. Well, provided that the belly of the ship is not an open wound with crushed communications. In the latter case, the Sentinel will not fly anywhere without a tug.

On the right, deprived of weapons and tower artillery, smoked from the battle, the Errant Venture tried to maneuver. Only memories remain of its former coloring. They didn't shoot him very intensively, "Victory I- - "Crusader-, already the third "Interdictor-, was beaten. And the medium cruiser "Strike- and the patrol cruiser "Tartan- are hardly capable of further existence.

The appearance of two New Republic ships did not go unnoticed. The two Interdictors, located on the flanks, slightly adjusted their courses and almost immediately their invisible cones of artificial gravity covered the space in which both the Yonka ships and the fleeing "Ossultant" found themselves. A desperate attempt to capture them - the ships, not deprived of speed, had no trouble getting out of the artificial gravity zone. If the Sentinel were in service, yes, another gravitational cone launched through the center would form a huge space.

Yonka could not help but appreciate the idea of ​​the Imperials - to create a zone of artificial gravity in which the pirate starships found themselves. Judging by the disposition, the Imperials themselves were positioned in a semicircle and arranged a "kill zone- for the attackers - almost a textbook tactic. However, it did not involve the use of interdictor cruisers. Well, it looks like Pellaeon has come up with something new. And apparently, it was Gilad who commanded this formation.

As far as he knew the commander of the Chimera, he could hardly lead such a group of ships. Not because Yonka somehow treated him with contempt, no. Pellaeon is respected. But he is not a leader, not a strategist. He doesn't go beyond standard tactics - he lacks imagination. But there are an overwhelming majority of such commanders in the Empire.

So Pellaeon may have been involved in this trap, but it is extremely unlikely that he planned an attack on the Dafilvean sector. It turns out that this is another group of Imperials? Or did the Remnants decide to deal with the pirates on their own?

Yet the disposition was not one that required him to immediately report to Naboo to request reinforcements.

"Inerdictors-, yes, are good in defense, but they are pretty battered from the battle. The "sentinel- is not an enemy at all - it will be extremely easy to finish off or capture him. He didn't care about the small ships of the Imperials and pirates - they might be enough for a couple of minutes of battle. "Victory- is generally in poor condition. Yonka admitted that the proton torpedoes of these star destroyers were, in principle, capable of not only causing him serious trouble, but also destroying his starships. However, judging by the fact that the Imperials kept their launch silos closed, they had already fired and their torpedo magazines were empty. And in an artillery duel, even a couple of "victories- are no match for his "two-. "Strike- and "Tartan- are not residents; in general, they should be removed from their crews. A couple of armed freighters are nothing more than a training target. The Venator is about to slow down and give up - pirates don't like to die. And they are not destined to escape from the Chimera. The "Acclamator-, having grappled with the "Sentinel-, will spend about twenty minutes to safely disperse. If he tries to do it quickly, half of the upper deck will be torn off and he will be turned inside out due to decompression.

"Neutron star-... yes, it's slowly tossing and turning, crawling - a couple of engines are still alive there. But even in better years, this ship is not a contender.

The analysis was completed quite quickly.

Two fully operational New Republic ships arrived just in time. The only enemies worth it are the Chimera and the Invidious. But they are far from ideal. The first retained eighty percent of the artillery, the second less than forty.

The remaining starships are not opponents to the Yonka ships, even if they unite all together. Although no, there is no point in flaunting. Together they are capable of thoroughly battering both New Republic starships. But it will be about twenty minutes before they can get within shooting range. But the pirates and the imperials will not agree.

Yes, there were still pirate and imperial fighters left. There are quite a few of them—two, two and a half hundred. But they are so busy destroying each other that they now pose no danger to Sires' ships. And when they come to their senses, it will be too late. Too late.

His own pilots were extremely good, and his gunners groaned from frequent drills, but they had no equal. Actually, Yonka could cope with his opponents alone - they had perfectly stretched their formation, were exhausted and were not capable of organized resistance for a number of reasons. But such a battle can drag on, which means that the Chimera can at any moment command its Interdictors to turn off the gravitational projectors and try to hide, realizing that they will now begin to be killed.

This means that first of all you should get rid of the imperial and pirate flagship - they are the most combat-ready and can escape. Even if the barriers and "victories- escape, it's not scary. It will take months for the Empire to repair them. But "Sentinel-, "Acclamator-, "Strike-, "Tartan-, and "Venator- are clearly not going anywhere. The latter had just received a full broadside from the Chimera in the stern, twitched and, apparently, was moving by inertia. But no - the imperial flagship glared at him with tractor beams and retreated, extinguishing the speed of its captive. Well, that's it, now the fun begins - the Imperials will either shoot the immobilized ship or try to capture it. But most likely, they will abandon you and try to escape, saving themselves.

Well, given the fact that Booster Terrik's starship is not in distress, and the Imperials do not have enough forces to destroy it, then we can tackle the Chimera, as the most combat-ready of the two flagships.

"Inform the Mon Curren to attack the Invidious,- Sair ordered. The commander of the star cruiser is experienced and intelligent. At one time, this ship was the flagship of General Han Solo during the hunt for the warlord Zsinj. And he acted very successfully. Actually, this is probably why Cracken and Ackbar selected them for this mission. "And we'll take care of our old acquaintances.-

At such moments you regret that you no longer have a legion of naval stormtroopers on board, but only a regiment of space marines of the New Republic. These guys will have to storm a lot of spaceships today...

However, it will be possible to call a fleet from Naboo for boarding. Let them get some too.

"Tell the Mon Carren - let them come in from the starboard side of their target - we'll come in from the left, help them slow down Tavira, and then switch to the Chimera,- Yonka considered an addition to his plan. The imperial flagship had already begun landing troops - shuttles and boarding sloops began pouring out of the main hangar. It looks like they have decided to take over the Venator and Acclamator.

- Sir! - the senior mate called out to him. - The orders have been transmitted, but... We are being called.

- From Mon Curren? - he asked.

- No, sir. They want to talk to us from the Chimera.

"I hope Pellaeon wants to surrender,- Yonka mentally hoped. He didn't want to destroy old acquaintances, even casual ones. At least today, when the Imperials actually helped them reduce the number of both pirates and smugglers.

***

- Major Himron reports that the Acclamator's control room has been captured, - Pellaeon said, having received a report from the watchman. — The "Sentinel- sent boarding parties to them to the best of his ability. Lieutenant Jade had just completed boarding the Venator's bridge. I ordered that reinforcements be sent to them from among the contingent stationed on the Chimera.

- The right thing to do, captain,- I said, looking at the chronometer. Two minutes. Pretty fast. — Did the "diggers- work, as in the exercises?

- Yes, sir,- the captain's voice sounds tired. C'baoth's Battle Meditation is, without a doubt, an interesting and useful thing, but after prolonged use, people feel drained. Attention becomes dull and apathy sets in. I have a theory that this Jedi skill is not only capable of boosting the skills of sentient beings, but also their physical capabilities, mobilizing the resources of organisms for a certain period of time. And when the action ends, consequences come.

- Ask the Sentinel about the damage and the possibilities of returning the reactor to its place,- I ordered. - When we're done, there shouldn't be a single intact ship left here, just wrecks.

- Sir,- Pellaeon looked at me. - There's actually a Mon Calamari star cruiser and a Republican star destroyer there.- And they enter into battle.

-With "Invidious,- I clarified. - They don't care about us yet we have about a minute and a half left.Start pumping up the deflectors using the additional reactor, but don't transfer energy to the projectors - the enemy doesn't need to know that we still have protection. Contact the group of ships next to the Crusader and find out if they can organize a landing on board the Errant Venture on their own. What about the Steel Aurora group?

— Captain Kalian disabled one of the CR90 corvettes and shot the carakka. They hold the other two ships in tractor beams and allow Captain Vane's ships to begin boarding. The Steel Aurora is seriously damaged and is fighting off fighters. The artillery was almost knocked out, there were serious holes in the hull, only half of the air wing remained. They are assisted by pilots and gunners from the minelayer cruiser. The situation is similar on the part of the "Crusader-.

— How are things going with our corvette? - I asked. Pellaeon glanced at the tactical monitor and replied:

— Their reactor was broken, they shut it down. They grappled with a pirate ship and fought on its decks.

- Send one landing ship to help them,- I ordered, looking at the chronometer. Only a minute and a half left. - Yes, by the way. How is our dear master doing there?

- Unconscious,- said Pellaeon. - The doctors say it's like he was knocked out by a stunner.

- Either Leonia Tavira's allies did their work, or C'baoth overexerted himself,- I concluded. - Well, useful information.

- Sir,- Pellaeon said after ten minutes of silence. - The Rebels silenced the turret artillery and two of the Invidious's three engines. We're about to get a beating...

- Order the interdictors, one by one, to move deeper into the formation and move the zone of the gravitational anomaly to the area where the pirates' flagship is located,- I ordered. — The updated vector should buy us time. And now... Connect me with Captain Yonka's ship. We need to bide our time.

Pellaeon gave me a searching look. Then, with a sigh, he gave orders to the communications section.

- Captain Pellaeon,- a small hologram of a Republican officer appeared in front of me. - Oh...

- Almost guessed right, Captain Yonka,- I said. - Captain Pellaeon is currently busy with his duties. I hope that while you are on the combat course, we will have time to talk?

- Of course,- the slight amazement that appeared on the face of the commander of the Republican star destroyer gave way to calm. Yes, he could hardly expect that a representative of a non-human race would talk to him from aboard the imperial flagship. Considering the policy of the Empire. — With whom do I have the honor to negotiate the surrender?

- Grand Admiral Thrawn,- I introduced myself. A slight smile flashed on Yonka's face. Yes of course. After all, Imperial commanders have a habit of assigning themselves the highest command rank simply because they can. - So, under what conditions are you ready to hand over your starships to me?

The Republican did not respond. He blinked. Again. He looked around, obviously checking tactical information. Well, yes, his confusion can be understood - the commander of a flotilla, hardly capable of coping with even one battleship, offers to surrender. Him, who owns an intact and fully combat-ready Star Destroyer II. There's probably a little catharsis in his head right now, and that's exactly what I need.

With C'baoth's help, we may have been able to survive this confrontation. Most likely, even without him, the result of the battle between our ship and the «Freedom» Yonka could have been reduced to a combat draw. But with an exhausted crew, significant damage and broken artillery, my words seem like a farce to him.

Yes, it took me a few minutes after the appearance of these spaceships to understand that not all was lost. If there had been more of them from the very beginning, then yes, we should have retreated, leaving behind everything that we could not take with us. And so... If reinforcements have not arrived to them in a few minutes, then it means he simply does not have them. Or, more likely, it's on its way. Unless, of course, Yonka and his spaceships ended up here by chance, having received information about a cluster of ships. We did not receive any signals from his starships, and in this pair the flagship is clearly the destroyer, as the most armed. Therefore, even if there is help, it will not arrive in the near future.

Rugosa was chosen for the ambush for a reason - there is only one known way here. And there are no patrols here. The convoys are passing far from here - intelligence has reliably clarified this. Consequently, chance or coincidence is dismissed.

Discarding the option of the random appearance of Republicans here, we consider as the most obvious one that Yonka and his wingman arrived on a tip. And it certainly wasn't Tavira who did this - otherwise her spaceship wouldn't be being beaten like a rabid dog in the alley now. Consequently, Yonka is in touch with Booster Terrik, or someone from his gang. And if so... Two-level trap. Exactly the same as the one I played here myself.

The first starships engage us in battle, receive damage, we lose combat effectiveness, and then a cleanup team arrives. And now, she is in front of us in all her glory and intends to complete what Terrik and Tavira could not.

Well, it's time to play the card with confidence in your abilities until the very end. It's a pity, of course, that it was impossible to bring all ten of our Star Destroyers here. But sending spare parts with personnel without escort and security across half the galaxy - from Tangren to the location of the Katana Fleet - would be the height of stupidity. At least for the reason that everyone uses hyperspace routes in this galaxy, including our opponents. And they also have minelayer cruisers. Organizing an ambush is not the biggest problem if you know or assume that hostile elements will move through this point in space. And a convoy that includes two star destroyers (not counting «star galleons») has a greater chance of fighting off the enemy than a caravan that does not have such "escorts.- No, if I had known in advance that Terrik would also bring Invids to the meeting - yes, I would have taken a couple more destroyers. But, unfortunately, I happened to learn about this news almost at the target itself. It's good that there were ships nearby and there was an opportunity to at least try to organize a trap. If there was a clear superiority over us, they would break through in battle and plan another ambush.

- Are you kidding me, Grand Admiral Thrawn?- - Captain Yonka asked. - Your ships are seriously damaged, your artillery is partially ineffective, and your formation is disrupted. Before any of your starships can approach us and cause significant harm, we will destroy you. It is you, not me, who needs to talk about surrender.

A minute passed.

- On the contrary, captain,- I said in a calm tone. - By surrendering your ship and ordering a star cruiser to do the same, you will save tens of thousands of lives of your subordinates and comrades.- Nobody wants unnecessary sacrifices. I give you my word - in captivity you will be treated as prisoners of war should be.

- The Empire does not suffer from humanitarianism towards its opponents,- Yonka snapped.

- This personal offer applies only to you, as a former imperial commander with a certain authority,- I said. - If you make the right decision, you definitely won't go wrong.- I am confident that Admiral Ackbar will not consider you a coward when he is informed of your decision to save lives rather than engage in battle with an enemy outnumbering you.

- Numbers do not always decide the outcome of a battle, Grand Admiral Thrawn,- his voice no longer contained the confusion that was originally there. This man calculated his options for victory and made a decision. - You spoke of unnecessary casualties, Grand Admiral.- Before it's too late, follow your own advice.

After looking at the chronometer, I returned my gaze to the hologram.

— Is this your last word, Captain Yonka? - I clarified. - Do you intend to continue the battle?

It is a pity that the code for secret access to the central computer of imperial-built ships received from Mara Jade cannot be used remotely. Whether it was originally intended or not, the ships responded to the sequence only when data was directly entered from the terminal keyboard. What a shame - everything could have ended much earlier and with much less losses.

-Yes,- «Freedom» took up a position to open fire on the "Chimera- from the corner where we had the most damage. "X-wings" and "wishbones" were already emerging from the enemy's hangar, and along with them interceptors - A-wings. - Your battered fleet has nothing to oppose my unit.As I already said, the quantitative superiority of significantly damaged ships is not capable of changing the outcome of the battle.

-You just don't see the whole situation, captain,- Ysalamiri, who was dozing on my legs, turned over on her back, exposing her soft belly for scratching. - When I spoke about the quantitative superiority of my fleet, I did not mean what you thought.

- Then what kind of starships were we talking about? - Yonka grinned.

Several kilometers behind the stern of the Mon Calamari star cruiser, two metal wedges, topped with characteristic superstructures, materialized.

- About these. - Was all I had time to say before the Stormhawk commander deployed standard attack protocol, which included communications jamming systems.

Looking at Pellaeon, standing a couple of steps to the right of my chair, he ordered:

- For battle, captain. Ask the artillerymen not to blow up our future trophies. Scimitar Squadron should take care of the communication systems of both ships.

The combat alarm siren wailed. The Chimera bristled with a deflector field as its guns spat out the first volley of green turbolaser bolts and blue ion cannon bolts.

The second act of the show began, entitled «Ambush in the Rugosa System.»

***

Captain Von Schneider watched the battle on a holographic display. Despite the fact that his Nemesis's neighboring Stormhawk had jammed its communications systems, this was not a problem in understanding the current situation.

Those who are incapable of independent action do not become commanders of Star Destroyers.

- Helmsman, course three point nine,- he ordered. - Let's go to the Chimera. Raise aircraft and prepare to repel an attack. I hope Astorias figures it out...

Morgoth lived up to the expectations of the commander of the Nemesis. The second Star Destroyer made a slight turn, with its starboard side dousing the Insultant with fire from turbolasers and ion cannons, which by this moment was not responding at all - the diligent gunners of the Mon Calamari cruiser brought its artillery to silence, busy knocking out the destroyer's engine, entering with stern

The Stormhawk, describing an arc, fired with its starboard side, first at the pirate Star Destroyer, then switched to the MC80, which was trying to remove the stern. What happened was what happened, but the hurricane shelling that Captain Astorias' gunners developed was clearly not designed to leave the enemy without problems. Although the deflectors did not collapse, they sank by several percent. And the rebel squadrons, rushing about in the ocean of turbolaser fire, hastily abandoned their pirate targets, moving forward to intercept the TIE fighters and interceptors pouring out of the main hangar.

- The port side turrets and batteries should fire at the MC80 as it moves, - apparently, the Republican star destroyer, advancing towards the Chimera, also took the Insultant under crossfire. The tactics are standard, but the disposition allows it.

The turrets on the starboard side of the Nemesis, following the captain's orders, struck the stern of the Republican destroyer.

- Turbo lasers switch to medium power,- Von Schneider ordered. - From such a distance, we won't be able to penetrate their shields with a couple of volleys, but we can force them to pay attention to us — yes. - Let Yonka think about what is more important to him - his own engines or the desire to quickly knock down the shields from the Chimera.

It was impossible not to identify the identity of the former comrade. Here even a blind man would receive his sight.

But Schneider did not care about the imperial captain's previous achievements. For him, he is nothing more than another enemy - just like his crew. Who are still flying on an Imperial Star Destroyer only due to a misunderstanding.

Concentrated fire from the left side of the Nemesis brought down the deflectors in the area of ​​the right "wing" of the Mon Calamari star cruiser, which led to the detonation of one of the artillery blisters. A tiny explosion silenced an entire battery. The Stormhawk, seeing the turn of its enemy, began to describe its coordinates in order to face the cruiser and take full advantage of the wedge-shaped shape of the imperial ship, allowing it to bring down fire on the enemy from both heavy-caliber turret guns and nine medium turbolasers. And at the same time, the starboard side of the ship continued to mock the unprotected stern of the Invidious. The blue lightning that ran through the main engine became evidence of the agony of the propulsion unit of the pirate star destroyer. Now, until the energy-conducting tires are replaced on it, it is just a target. And the pirate fighters realized this, along with the evacuation shuttles that fell from the bowels of the ship, rapidly setting off towards the boundaries of the gravitational domes. Looks like the rats have decided to jump ship. Unfortunately for them, the aviators from the Storm Hawk had completely different plans for them. The escape failed as soon as it began.

Meanwhile, Yonka had a hard time.

To save his engines and avoid becoming like the Invidious, he had to turn the ship ninety degrees to the left so that he could fire his starboard guns on the Chimera and his port guns on the approaching Nemesis. At the same time, the ship clearly intended to make a turn and try to escape, taking advantage of the fact that its engines were intact.

- Guns at maximum power,- ordered Captain Schneider. - Ion cannons - hit the bridge. Deprive him of central control! The order for the bomber squadron is to move into the Freedom's stern in a wide arc and fire at the nozzles with cumulative missiles. Escort - one squadron of interceptors. Upon completion of the task, proceed to the destruction of the tower artillery. To the rest of the fighters and interceptors, keep the Liberty SFU away from my ship. It was still not enough to get a proton "gift-.

- Is this reasonable, sir? — the officer responsible for coordinating the flights spoke up. - It would be more effective to destroy its engines with proton torpedoes and...

Schneider rolled his eyes so that the officers could not see.

The youth! How can you not understand the basics?!

- This ship,- he pointed his finger towards the Freedom, turning to the pits,- is a fully combat-ready twos.- It does not have specialized anti-fighter artillery, therefore, they will try to fight back either with fire from turbolasers with reduced artillery power but a high rate of fire, or they will set their SFUs on the bombers. In any case, we scatter Yonka's attention and artillery, but increase our own pressure. Destroying the nozzles means immobilizing the ship until mid-term repairs. No one will show it to us here. But damaged nozzles are still capable of providing acceleration for a jump. Yonka may have already understood, but he will never admit it - his ship has been sailing under the New Republic identifier for the last day.

***

The blow was so strong that Captain Kalian could barely stand on his feet.

Sirens howled: as if hit by a giant forge hammer, the Steel Aurora shuddered, and the waves that spread throughout the hull almost shook the ship out of its hull, crushing the armor like paper. Somewhere in the belly of the twos explosions rolled in a chain, twisting the ship from the inside.

There was a ringing in his head, but the commander of the Steel Aurora was clearly sure that he had left his comlink in the cabin. Which means...

- Damage report! - he shouted. But despite the volume of his voice, the sounds of his own speech reached him as if through cotton wool. Contusion.

- The Venator launched a proton torpedo at us! — a junior officer appeared nearby. — Sir, the reactor armor is broken, radiation and fuel are leaking. We're losing air on the lower decks! Cooling systems fail and...

Hutt pirate!

After all, they almost managed to get out of the battle without catastrophic damage! And now - without a reactor, with a broken belly, and practically without cover, they are surrounded by enemy fighters. Well, the DP20 corvette is still intact. Beaten, but safe.

- Notify the corvette - let them move to our bottom! - he shouted. Or whispered? With a hazy look, the commander of the doomed and dying starship assessed the distance to the nearest starships. Bantha shit. Far from our own. But to the enemy... - All energy to the engines! Apply a third of the power to the marching ones - we are moving towards «Invidious»!

- Then life support will fail!- - the assistant objected to him. - Sir, emergency power...

Pulling the officer towards him by the scruff of the neck, Kalian shook him, grabbing him by the chest.

- Do as I ordered! — he growled in the face of his subordinate. - One or two more hits - and we will evaporate! Let's go to "Invidious"! Distribute weapons and armor from the arsenal to the crew!

- Sir, there are seven times more of them there! — the subordinate rolled his eyes.

- Get out, puppy! "Kalian pushed the frail subordinate aside and staggered to the ship's communications panel. He repeated his order for the reactor and engine rooms.

- Listen in the compartments,- he said hoarsely, coughing. — «Aurora» received serious damage. The reactor is breached and we are forced to stop it. While there is energy, we are moving towards the enemy star destroyer. Everyone arm yourself and prepare for boarding. The landing units should move in the first wave. Capture the bridge, the reactor room... ha-kha-kha! — a clearly visible taste of burnt insulation appeared on the bridge. - Seize the engine room and gun deck too. To the crew... a-kha-kha-kha! - Having gone into a coughing fit, the young captain felt his throat sore. And he noticed the splashes of blood flying out of his mouth. — The crew should take measures to capture and hold the key compartments of the... ha ha... destroyer! The reactor... ha-kha... must be shutted down as soon as the temperature of the coolers reaches a critical level!

"Victory" slowly, like a proud queen, moved forward, straight towards the three ships, only one of which belonged to the Empire at the moment.

The «Stormhawk» - not sparing the tibanna, beat up the starboard side of the MC80, which had lost its shields, and it, having received several torpedoes in the stern and bridge area, only froze in one place and frantically snapped to the best of its strength and remaining capabilities.

Glancing at the imperial ship, Kalian turned his head towards his own bridge.

Despite their relative youth, the conning tower guard dismantled personal weapons without panic, hanging light armor over their jackets. A crazy thought flashed through - it was not for nothing that he ordered to turn one of the storage rooms into an arsenal for the watch. You didn't have to run through a bunch of decks and you could save time...

The young captain had no doubt that his spaceship was living its last minutes. Even if the reactor is shut down and the emergency parties, who at the first manifestation of the problem have already put on spacesuits and are carrying out repair work, most likely the Steel Aurora will die. Whoever is running the Venator now, at least one proton torpedo launcher is under enemy control. Whether or not they have time to fire again is a lottery.

Even bigger, compared to now being thrown out in escape capsules, with pirate pilots scurrying around, desperately looking for a way to screw up more. They already lost the battle, and without hyperdrives they won't get far. Their destroyer was virtually immobilized; even an attempt was made to evacuate it. This means that at least a few of the opponents have escaped, it will be a little easier. Perhaps the Storm Hawk or the nearest minelayer will notice that the crew of the Steel Aurora has rushed into a suicide mission and will provide at least a little support, but...

If the communication system were working, he would report the ship's position to the commander and request assistance. But interference prevented the use of communication systems. And looking for a less polluted frequency while sitting on an unstable reactor is suicide.

It would be easier to rush into the attack - after all, and they have more than two regiments of space marines on the Aurora. Eh, if only there were more of them, I wouldn't have to think about fighting thirty thousand pirates aboard the Insulting One.

Eh, why do the Imperials have such a bloated crew? No, like on the Victory - five thousand two hundred crew members and two thousand forty soldiers. Or on the same MC80 - five four hundred intelligent... on board... And a little more than a thousand soldiers...

Kalian turned to the transparistal of the porthole, assessing the disposition.

The Mon Calamari cruiser is on the left side and slightly above, the "Ossultant- is on the right and below. The distance to the first is less than to the second and...

- Helmsman! - Kalian yelled, still not understanding the low volume of his voice. — Turn left thirty degrees. Full speed ahead to MC80. Release emergency sources to deflectors.

Looking at the members of the watch frozen in surprise, the captain smiled.

- It's too early for us to die today,- he smiled, seeing the assistant, whom he had recently yelled at, handing him a cuirass and a blaster. - Everyone aboard the ships and lifeboats! We're flying to visit the Mon Calamari!

***

Actually, no one doubted this, but I once again stated the fact that Sair Yonka knows his business well in the matter of personnel training. Bursts of energy from the turbolaser batteries shook the Chimera's bow, which was already stripped of its shields. The evaporating armor spread like drops of metal in the vacuum, along with the wreckage and bodies of the crew members who died from decompression.

Gilad didn't have much hope that the bow of his ship would look anything other than a charred and broken shapeless lump. The Sith would take this Yonku! The Sith would have taken C'baoth, who decided to take a nap at the wrong time!

More than a dozen ion cannons on the Chimera's left side fired simultaneously. From the outside, this salvo seemed to be a wave of blue-white energy, subsiding from one Star Destroyer and rushing towards its sistership.

"Freedom", whose deflectors absorbed this destructive energy, seemed to shudder, pleasing the eye with the silenced starboard batteries.

- Captain, we have lost fifteen percent of the power of the remaining batteries!

— There are no more shields on the port side!

One report is "more joyful- than the other.

- Turn starboard towards the Liberty,- he commanded, glancing at the Grand Admiral sitting in the chair.

The Chiss, like a statue, did not take his eyes off the unfolding picture of the battle between the air groups of the Empire and the rebels. The rather bloodless Chimera squadrons retreated and were replaced by the Nemesis pilots, eagerly taking up the baton of hunting for the enemy's X-wings.

Among the flashes of dying SFUs, the explosion on the roof of the Freedom control room seemed something insignificant. But the fiery inferno unfolding near its engines is more worthwhile.

— We register the destruction of the shield projectors on the Freedom!

— The nozzles of the Freedom engines are damaged! A seventy percent drop in speed!

The Republic Star Destroyer immediately snarled with all its guns. The naked eye could see the flashes of destroyed TIE bombers moving away after a successful raid. Some were lucky - they either dodged or the turbolaser bolts missed them.

— "Stormhawk" disables the jammer! - Lieutenant Tschel said.

Pellaeon swore. Okay, «Freedom» got it, but there's also the Mon Calamari star cruiser! He also has communication systems - and, to the envy of many, of excellent quality!

- Don't worry, captain,- the Grand Admiral's voice reached him. — The Stormhawk bombers have already worked on the control room and communication systems of the MC80.

- Yes, sir,- said Pellaeon. - As you say.

- Medium forward,- Thrawn ordered. — Bring us closer to the left side of the Liberty. There is actually nothing left to shoot there. Tell the stormtroopers to prepare for boarding. Don't feel sorry for those who resist —we offered them a choice.

***

Captain Sair Yonka with difficulty peeled himself off the deck and rose to his feet. His head felt so heavy that it was surprising how he managed to do it at all. With a reflexive movement, he wiped drops of sweat from his face and looked at his fingers - why was the sweat red?

A moment later he realized that there was blood on his hands.

Not just him, but the entire crew.

Looking around, he looked at the bridge behind him. But only the crackle of sparkling wiring and the fumes of burning insulation and equipment greeted him.

Not a living soul in sight.

- Someone! - he shouted into the smoky twilight of the captain's bridge. - Report the situation!

Nobody answered him. It seemed that someone flashed in the smoke, but the obsession immediately disappeared.

Sair, on stiff legs, took a step towards the pits. Another one.

His legs gave way and he collapsed onto the deck again. His chest hit the cut painfully, and his eyes caught a picture of the destroyed equipment and the tortured bodies of the officers on watch. Someone's severed hand caught my eye, clutching a regulator in its fingers. The glazed eyes of the senior artilleryman - and a piece of metal in his neck, from under which the last blood poured out in weak tremors.

Sair blinked and realized that the artilleryman was dead.

Pushing off from the deck, he tried to crawl on his hands and knees along the central platform, but a new blow literally swept him away, throwing him into the second pit.

With a distinct crunch, the leg on which he fell broke. Not his leg. The limb belonged to the tractor beam operator - a young guy, an ensign, who had joined the fleet a little less than a week ago, half of whose skull seemed to have been cut off with a knife. Dead eyes looked straight ahead - at the commander who did not heed the voice of reason and got involved in a battle in which he was not destined to win.

The Grand Admiral played on his ambition, knowing full well what his fleet looked like from the outside. No one could resist such a temptation - to finish off the wounded animals themselves. This is how fighter pilots get carried away in the hunt for a downed target, not noticing how new opponents are approaching them from the stern. From those very seconds, the life of a gambling pilot is calculated in the moments necessary for the laser beam to overcome the distance separating the hunter and his prey.

Today Captain Yonka was supposed to act as a hunter.

But he became a victim.

Sair, raising himself on his hands, crawled over the bodies to the end of the pit, intending to get out onto the deck and get to the communication equipment. You need to contact Thrawn, surrender, buy time for the star cruisers to arrive and deal with the Imperials. Sacrifice yourself, but put an end to this bloodshed.

Suddenly and quite clearly, Sair realized that he knew who was responsible for the pogrom committed in the Dafilvean sector.

Grand Admiral. A humanoid with a blue face and red eyes. A creature that could not be allowed into the Imperial Navy by definition.

Whether he is a "masked- commander or not, this no longer matters. The New Republic has a very serious and extremely significant enemy, who, like a skilled puppet master, knows how to provoke the enemy to do what only he needs.

The New Republic must know! Must, even if...

A series of explosions swept through the conning tower. With a disgusting squeal, the fastenings of the facing tiles on the ceiling burst, and they fell down with a roar.

Syre screamed as the sharpened iron pierced his back and pinned him to his corpse. Having poked his face into the still warm body, the commander of the Freedom clearly realized that his first mate was also dead. A piece of the monitor entered his eye and reached his brain. A second later, the remainder of the ceiling structure collapsed onto the Star Destroyer commander's back, crushing the man's bones and mutilating part of the chief mate's head.

Yonka remembered his name. Lieutenant Issen. During the battle against the Lusankya, this young ensign reported to him the damage the Star Destroyer had sustained from a single blast from the Super Star Destroyer. Then he also lost his senior assistant - the explosion of the monitor tore off his head.

Then he also got involved in the battle without thinking. I decided that it would be better this way. And lost half the crew.

He felt blood on his lips. It looks like the casing has pierced something important inside it. If so, he doesn't have much time left.

The captain looked again at his subordinate's remaining eye. He looked at him with condemnation and contempt.

Sair Yonka, commander of the Star Destroyer Freedom, the terror of the Outer Rim pirates, a man who always calculated risks and sought to avoid them, risked taking part in an adventure for the second time in the last year.

On Thyferra, he and the Freedom were saved only by a miracle - the hopelessness of the situation in which the guys from the Rogue Squadron put the Lusankya. But today they were not there. Syre knew how eager Wedge Antilles was to fight this battle, for Mirax Terrik-Horn was his childhood friend. Yonka recalled how, during a briefing, pilot Corran Horn threatened to desert and go rescue his wife on his own. He remembered the assurances of Ackbar and Cracken that he, Sair Yonka, the commander of the best star destroyer in the entire fleet, would cope with the task. I remembered the Cracken's persuasion, explaining that there was no time to send Rogue Squadron, how many questions this move would take, how important the work in the Sluissi sector was...

Sair remembered all this. As well as the fact that he promised his crew not to let the Empire get to them. They left Isard to stop carrying out criminal orders. They joined the New Republic because they had no other choice. They believed that they were on the right side.

Captain Yonka suddenly realized that he did not regret his choice.

He did what he thought was right - both when he accepted Antilles's offer, leaving Isard, and now, when he went into battle. Military happiness is changeable - and everyone who goes to serve knows that one day his life could end exactly like this - on the bridge of a star ship that was ambushed, littered with the corpses of young men and women who had never seen life.

Sir Yonka felt his vision begin to blur. The spasm in the chest caused him to cough up blood clots. A moment later - again.

The body ceased to feel, filling with lead and losing its warmth with every second, turning into a cooling piece of disfigured meat.

A new explosion that shook the Freedom's wheelhouse buried the famous captain. And with it, the New Republic's hopes of victory in this conflict.