A/N: Here's another chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter 21
Battle of Mustafar Part 1
Ahsoka Tano strood onto the bridge of the Resolute, Anakin Skywalker's flagship. Another recent graduate of Starfleet Combat extension courses, Ashoka graduated at the top of her class. She came to attention behind Skywalker, snapped a salute and said "Ahsoka Tano reporting for duty sir."
Skywalker turned, returned the salute then spoke. "Welcome aboard Mrs. Tano. I understand you graduated at the top of your class. An impressive accomplishment." he said
"Thank you sir." she replied
"You'll be commanding the fighter wing during attack on Mustafar. I'll be heading to the surface to hopefully engage General Grievous. General Kenobi and Captain Keller will command the capital ships. According to the latest intelligence, the enemy fleet at Mustafar numbers around three thousand ships. Lucky for us, they're mostly Munificent-class frigates and Recusant destroyers. There are only a few hundred Trade Federation ships and less than twenty Providence-class ships." Skywalker said. He then handed her a PADD. "This is a list of all the starfighter squadrons assigned to our fleet. Including Federation squadrons. There is also a list of capital ships assigned as well as the general battle plan. Familiarize yourself with it. Then report to the hangar in twelve hours. It'll take us that long to reach Mustafar." he said
"Yes sir." she replied. Then executed a perfect about-face and marched off the bridge.
In her quarters she read the PADD. She was surprised to find her old friend Barriss Offee was assigned to the Federation flagship for this mission, the U.S.S. Agamemnon. She would be serving on the bridge as communications officer. Then she read the rosters for the fighter squadrons. There were dozens of them. Mostly clone squadrons but with the war winding down, the Republic had started recruiting its own citizens. The thought of having a Clone Army didn't sit well with her, although she admitted that the Republic had needed it to combat the Separatists.
The Allied fleet destined for Mustafar numbered nearly four thousand ships, most of them Federation ships. Two thousand were cruiser-level and above. A mix of Galaxy, Cheyenne, New Orleans, Springfield, Ambassador, Challenger, Excelsior and Nebula-classes, among others. Another thousand were escorts and destroyers like Mirandas, Soyuz', Centaurs, Merceds, Novas and Niagras. There were even a few older and newer ships including some Constellation and Defiant class ships. The Republic had assigned a thousand ships to this armada as well. Five hundred Venator-class Star Destroyers were joined by two hundred and fifty Acclamator-class Assault ships, three hundred Consular-class frigates and another two hundred and fifty Arquitens-class light cruisers, along with a few dozen slightly aged Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers. All these ships versus twenty-five hundred Munificent-class frigates, three hundred Recusant-class destroyers, one hundred eighty-five Trade Federation ships and fifteen Providence-class cruisers.
The Federation could take this fleet by itself. She thought to herself.
Anakin Skywalker sat on the command chair of the Resolute, when a clone crewmen approached him. "Sir, communication from the U.S.S. Agamemnon." he said
Skywalker nodded and tapped a control on his chair then stood. A hologram wavered into existence and Captain Keller stood before him. "Captain, what can I do for you?" Skywalker asked
"General Skywalker, I've just received word from Generals Secura, Kang, Yoda and Captain Picard. The fleets have liberated Felucia and Ryloth." said Keller
"That's good news." Skywalker replied
"They're waiting for us at the rendezvous coordinates for the final assault on Geonosis. However, I've recently read a report detailing a new tactic that was devised by a Starfleet Lieutenant at Felucia. Although we outnumber them, destroying an enemy ship simply takes too long for the numbers we face. So instead of destroying a ship conventionally, and by that I mean shooting it until it comes apart. We simply beat down the shields, then transport explosives, photon torpedoes to be exact onto the enemy ships, blowing them up from the inside. This new strategy saved time and ammunition and probably lives and ships too." Keller said
"Definitely more efficient than blasting a ship to pieces, we can use our starfighters to keep the shields from regenerating. A recent intelligence operation obtained the schematics for every ship used by the Confederacy. Included in the schematics are the locations for the shield generators. We use larger ships to beat down the shields, then starfighters to target the generators, that way they don't regenerate before we can transport a bomb aboard." Skywalker said.
"Sounds like a plan. I'll issue the appropriate orders to my ships." Keller replied
"I'll brief the starfighter commanders as well. In the meantime I suggest we get underway." said Skywalker
"Agreed." said Keller, then the hologram shimmered off.
Skywalker turned to his ship commander, "Cody, get us into hyperspace on course for Mustafar."
"Yes sir."
With that, a fleet of a little over four thousand ships jumped to hyperspace bound for Mustafar.
Twelve hours later, the fleet dropped out of hyperspace. Captain Keller sat in his command chair. "Lieutenant Adams, open a channel to the fleet." he ordered.
"Channel open." she replied.
"This is Captain John Keller of the starship Agamemnon. All ships assume attack formation Echo-3. Cruiser and Galaxy wings drop to three-quarters impulse, you too Ensign. Launch fighters, load tricobalt torpedoes. Federation attack fighters, tactical pattern Omega, concentrate fire on the shield generators and then split off into squadrons and head back here. Try to lure as many enemy fighters as you can. We're going to try and thin them out before attacking the main fleet." He said
A moment later Barriss Offee, serving as communications officer reported. "Cruiser and Galaxy wings at three-quarters impulse, attack fighters in Omega formation. Republic fighters launching." she said.
"Attack fighters, full impulse, fire at will." ordered Keller.
Hundreds upon hundreds of refitted Peregrine-class couriers and shuttles swooped in on the Confederacy fleet. Pulse and beam phasers, micro photon torpedoes pounded the shields of the leading Munificent frigates. Anti-starfighter quad-lasers opened up, destroying a few, but the Federation ships kept coming. Droid Vulture and Tri-fighters pursued the first wave back to the fleet.
And were summarily destroyed by a few volleys of tri-cobalt torpedoes.
A second wave was sent in and this time more enemy fighters chased them back to the Allied fleet. Tri-cobalt torpedoes were launched and destroyed the majority of the enemy fighters but a few got through. However, those didn't last long either as Republic starfighters and point-defense phasers destroyed the last of them. A third wave brought even more fighters along with a dozen Munificent frigates. Again the fighters were destroyed by tri-cobalt explosions but the frigates survived only to be met with withering salvos of phaser and torpedo fire, destroyed in minutes.
Keller then stood, "All ships, all fighters, remember the plan. Don't blast ships to pieces, just batter down the shields so we can transport explosives aboard. Now, all ships, full impulse, fire at will!"
Three thousand Federation ships surged forward. Phasers and torpedoes met with turbolasers and proton torpedoes. Vulture and Tri-fighter droids mixed it up with Federation Peregrine and Republic ARC-170s. The Agamemnon swooped in on a Munificent, two Excelsiors and an Ambassador flanking it and hitting it from multiple angles. Ahsoka Tano's fighter squadron then targeted the shield generators with precisely placed salvos of proton torpedoes or lasers. Adams reported that the shields were down permanently and the fighters moved away after a torpedo was transported aboard. The explosion ripped through the power generator and destroyed it causing a cascade effect in the ship's power system. The enemy ships was ripped apart, debris flew everywhere and posed a danger to the smaller fighters. Most of the hull fragments however, simply bounced off the larger ship's shields. All around them, the leading Munificents were exploding.
As the Agamenon flew through the battle with two Excelsiors flanking it. The ship began to take fire. Keller looked at his tactical display. "The Venture is supposed to be protecting our starboard flank he's in too tight. Ensign, tell fighter squadrons six, seven and eight to regroup and-"
"Sir, I can't get through to anybody communications are down!" said Barriss.
Ensign Williams checked his console. "They're jamming our signal by generating a rotating EM pulse."
"Can you clear it?" asked Keller.
"I'm trying." he replied, he then moved to Barriss Offee's station while another ensign took the helm. He quickly cleared the jamming, then moved back to the helm.
In the meantime the ship had attacked another quartet of Munifients. Disabling the shields on two and transporting explosives aboard. The other two quickly followed.
While the Federation ships surged ahead. Skywalker used the Force to help calculate a hyperspace jump of less than a second. He was sending some ships to flank the enemy fleet when the comm sounded. "Sir, communications from the Agamemnon."
"Put it through."
"Skywalker, I noticed you've got some ships on the flanks."
"Yes, would you mind sending some starfighters and destroyer units to provide cover?" asked Skywalker
"Not a problem. I'm sending them now."
In the distance he could see several ships jumping to warp in the middle of the fleet, then dropping out of warp less than a second later at new coordinates. Peregrine fighters and ARC-170s soon joined them. Those ships joined Republic Star Destroyers in beating down the shields of the flanking ships, mostly Recusant-class destroyers. Turbolasers from Republic ships beat down the shields and photon torpedoes, both fired and transported, ripped into the hull of the enemy ships.
An hour of intense fighting and the loss of his shields, forced Captain Keller to withdraw his own ship to recharge his shields and effect repairs, while the rest of his forces continued to fight. Skywalker continued to provide updates and issued orders. The Allied forces destruction of the enemy fleet at Mustafar, while efficient, still resulted in casualties. Hundreds of ships floated everywhere, holes punched in the hulls. Several drifted into enemy ships and exacted revenge. The enemy fleet had been halved. Keller contacted Skywalker.
"They're putting up one heck of a fight." he said
"Indeed. Makes me wonder if they're protecting something. In the meantime we've cleared enough space to land our forces. They have factories all over the planet. But we can't destroy them from above. Volcanic ash is scattering our sensors." Skywalker replied.
"Very well. Deploy your forces as you see fit. My ship will join you as soon as we complete repairs." Keller said, then cut the channel. "Speaking of repairs, Lt. Adams how are we doing?" he asked
"Better than a few minutes ago sir. Emergency force fields are holding the few hull breaches we have and shields have been mostly regenerated. We've nearly exhausted our compliment of photon torpedoes but we still have phasers." she replied
"Alright, we'll target a weakened ship with the last of our torpedoes. Set all phasers to point-defense mode." Keller replied
"Aye sir."
"Sickbay, this is the Captain, casualty report?" said Keller
"We've lost a few Captain, but we're getting overwhelmed in sickbay. I've set up triage in the cargo bays and some of the hallways." Ehalzi Zhan, the ship's CMO responded.
"Understood, Doctor. I'll see if I can spare some people."
"Ensign Offee, how are you doing?" Keller asked
"Fine sir."
"You have medical experience, yes?" asked Keller
"Yes sir."
"Get down to Sickbay and give the Doctor a hand." he said
"Aye sir." she replied, quickly vacating her station to another officer and getting into a turbolift at the back of the bridge.
A few minutes later the Agamemnon and a few other ships entered the still furious battle. It swooped in on a Munificent with weak shields. The Agamemnon's remaining torpedoes brought the shields completely down while a nearby New Orleans-class frigate transported a torpedo aboard. The enemy frigate exploded. Leaving nothing but hot debris where once stood a proud ship of the CIS fleet.
Then a Republic Star Destroyer exploded. A green beam of pure energy lanced up from the planet, struck it's shields, then punched through and detonated the reactor. The comm came alive with wild reports.
"Lt. Adams, what was that!?" asked Keller
"It's appears to be some kind of superlaser sir. It cut through Republic ship's shields like they weren't there." she replied.
"Contact Skywalker, tell him to withdraw the Republic elements of the fleet." Keller ordered
"Yes sir...Republic ships jumping to hyperspace. Another shot sir! This one took out some of our ships as well as an Acclamator that didn't make it to hyperspace." reported Adams
"Order the fleet to withdraw. I want to know where those shots came from. I'll be in my ready room...speaking with Admiral Nechayev and Captain Picard." Keller said, walking from his command chair to his ready room. "Computer open a secure channel to Captain Picard and Admiral Nechayev. Scramble frequency Kilo-1." Keller ordered as he sat down at his desk.
The laptop popped on. Picard and Nechayev were on split screens. "Captain, Admiral, I've hit a snag in the Mustafar system."
"What kind of snag?" asked Nechayev.
"A superlaser kind of snag."
"A superlaser?" asked Nechayev.
"Yes ma'am. One with enough raw power to shoot down a Venator-class Star Destroyer with a single shot. A second shot took out dozens of my own ships. We've withdrawn from orbit, pending analysis. I'm hoping we can pinpoint the sources of the superlasers and destroy them from orbit. Needless to say, this might set us back a few days." Keller said
"Captain, do you need reinforcements? We can have extra ships there in a few hours." asked Picard.
"Not at this time Captain. We've destroyed a little more than half the enemy fleet. They have about twelve hundred ships left. We still have thirty-nine hundred. As I said, I'm hoping to be able to destroy it from orbit, or failing that, send shuttles down to destroy them with commando strikes. What I want to know is how intelligence never saw this? It's one thing to miss fleet movements but a weapon of this scale..." said Keller
"We'll look into it. In the meantime, do what you feel is necessary. I'll have reinforcements standing by incase you do need them." said Nechayev.
"Thank you ma'am." Keller said as the channel closed.
"Bridge to Captain Keller."
"Go ahead."
"We've finished our analysis sir." said Adams over the comm.
"On my way." said Keller, getting up from his desk and walking out onto the bridge. "Report."
"Captain, I believe I've pinpointed the sources of the superlasers. Unfortunately, we can't destroy them from orbit. But we can get shuttles in with commando teams and destroy them that way."
"We'll have to provide cover for the shuttles though. That laser could take them all out in one shot." replied Keller
"Not if we use the ARC-170s sir. They have a hyperdrive and can provide the shuttles with the needed cover. I've calculated the firing arcs for the weapon sir. If the shuttles can get in under the enemy fleet, with an enemy ship directly behind them. Then the CIS probably won't fire their laser for fear of hitting their own ship. We could also disperse the formation and increase the chances of some of them getting through." said Adams.
"Not a bad idea. Get some MACOs to the shuttlebay and order some other ships to do the same. I want to land at least a few battalions on that planet. Their main objective will be the superlasers but if we leave them there, they can sabotage command and control and destroy droid factories." said Keller
"That'll be hundreds of shuttles sir."
"I know. Which is why the Republic will fly cover for us. Open a channel to Skywalker." said Keller
Skywalker quickly appeared on the screen. "General, I have a plan to take out those superlasers...