Aboard the Kestrel, in orbit of Bothawui-4
"Medical team to bay S5. I say again, medical team to bay S5." The voice of Kestrel's Space Boss called over Kelia's headset.
The Bothan grit her teeth as she watched a shot up ARC-170 perform an emergency landing on the flight deck. What should have been a blue milk run had turned into a disaster as the evacuation force was swarmed by a hundred or so droid fighters. At least twenty fighters and five gunships from the Kestrel had been shot down so far, and the Separatist fleet had yet to even arrive in force.
I hope to haran Rim Defender can extract them after this debacle. I can't lose any more gunships…
She warily strode up and down the length of the command catwalk, blond fur swirling warily. The swarm of droid fighters that descended upon Ashnenvisk didn't sit well with her, especially since it seemed like the droids had received new orders despite the Pra'aki's destruction.
Kelia's eyes widened in sudden realization just as Yap shouted up to her.
"Captain! Rim Defender reports suffering heavy engine damage from HMP gunships, they're going down!"
On screen the Acclamator listed hard to port, turning away from the outskirts of Ashnenvisk as it glided closer and closer to the ground till it made impact, kicking up a white and brown mixture of mud and snow.
"Picking up multiple Separatist signatures on sensors!" another voice shouted from the crew pits. "Usual Munificent and Recusant spread, at least a dozen Lucrehulks, two Bulwarks, multiple Providences, and something larger towards the back…"
Through the starboard viewports, dozens of dark-colored craft could be seen in the distance traversing from Zone Five to Zone Six of the Fervse'dra Belt.
"Judicator to all Republic vessels," Ozzel said through the comm, voice filled with regret, "We are out of time. The Separatist fleet is approaching rapidly through Zone Six, as anticipated. The space mines won't hold them for long…"
For a wild moment, Kelia anticipated Ozzel's next orders would be a chaotic retreat, abandoning Jural and the rest of her away team, those of her pilots that ejected or survived crashing, the entire crew of the Rim Defender, and all of the Republic-aligned civilians on the surface. But Ozzel continued.
"Liberty, Wanderer, and Bastatha, proceed to Zone One to secure our way out. Majestic, Defiant, relocate to the Polar conflict area and clear out any remaining Separatist craft. The rest of the planetary taskforce, refocus on Drev'starn, the defenses are down, now is our opportunity. All other ships are to form up on me, Cresh formation. We are going to delay the Separatists at Zone Five for as long as we can."
Exhaling, she snapped about on her heel and swept her hand out. "Fall into formation! Ready additional fighters and bombers! Main guns and torpedo bays stand by for orders! Get me two full companies outfitted with winter gear in the event we need to deploy to the surface!"
"Aye sir!"
There was a pause as she considered her recent losses before adding, "and someone tell Chief Yi'nel to get the remaining reserve gunships and fighters uncrated and ready for action ASAP!"
One of the non-Clone crew looked up at her. "Aye ma'am, relaying now."
Turning back to the viewports, Kelia bared her teeth as she felt the ship rumble under her feet.
"Captain, we're getting a system-wide broadcast on a civilian frequency."
"Put it through," Kelia ordered.
An unfamiliar Bothan voice growled from the intercom, first in Bothese and then in Basic.
"Erz pa aktisk Hawtisk Sekretar tag, Yerfil Dal'wyn. Ag-erz korn tawask vavath, odvol ag-kontakta pan Hawtisk Sekretar Draeks Rul'yrk usmu sa korm faynalisk vasht. Kita li wu zharn Separatist' watulin, pomonta ar korn Wayi 'Sherforsh. Mid korm agkatraw, obzega ko zharn agkadashagunter usmu. Erz nu kor Bothawui korn ofnisk owodzhad.
"This is acting First Secretary Yerfil Dal'wyn. It has been two hours since First Secretary Draeks Rul'yrk last contacted us. You might see the Separatist fleet entering into orbit. With regret, I am announcing our surrender. Bothawui is now an open world."
"The Bothan vessels are breaking formation," Yap announced, "Descending into a lower orbit."
"They've made their choice," Kelia sighed. "At least now we should be able to rescue our people from Drev'starn. If it's an open city, the air defenses—"
"That worm!" Nezir shrieked, both interrupting Kelia and reminding her once again that the Minister of Defense was still on her ship. "Everyone knows that Honorary First Secretary is merely a title!"
"Madam Secretary," Kelia growled incredulously, "we are about to engage the Separatists in a delaying action. Your presence and the presence of your children on this ship could jeopardize—"
"Oh, the Republic doesn't have to worry about that!" Nezir spat. "I am returning to the surface to take back control of the government."
"Very well then, I shall have your children sent back to the hangar—" Kelia stopped talking abruptly, completely flummoxed.
Having abandoned any pretense of politeness, Nezir Mi'trek turned away from Kelia and stormed off the bridge.
"Yap, tell security to return Minister Nezir Mi'trek's children and guards to her shuttle," Kelia muttered softly.
"Yes sir," Yap replied, relaying the orders from his station.
Through the viewports the scenery was shifting. The Kestrel had turned almost a hundred and eighty degrees port and was now facing away from Bothawui-4—into the gap of the asteroid field. It was one of the rearmost ships in formation, alongside the Ember.
The maneuvering thrusters fired in the opposite direction, stabilizing the Kestrel in position.
"Nezir Mi'trek's ship is away," Yap announced. Through the viewports on the starboard side, the Minister of Defense's shuttle could be seen quickly zooming away from the asteroid belt, back towards Bothawui.
"The fleet's getting a clearer view of the enemy formation," announced Lieutenant Tormale, a non-Clone human. "The ship at the rear it's—It's a Subjugator-class!"
Kelia took a sharp inhale.
Two and a half years earlier, a lone Subjugator-class commanded by General Grievous had destroyed entire fleets of Republic ships, leaving no survivors of its attacks aside from three Clones and General Plo Koon. The vessel was only destroyed after being boarded by Kenobi and Skywalker and sabotaged. Nothing outside of the Republic's Praetor and Mandator-class ships could stand against it head to head.
"Helm, break formation! Take us… Belay that…" Kelia stepped closer to the viewports, squinting at the vessel in the distance. It was easy to tell even at this distance it was facing them head-on given she was staring down a gaping 'maw' filled with toothlike banks of turbolaser batteries, not trying to put its broadside towards them.
"Why hasn't it fired on us with its mega ion cannons?" Yap asked. "We're sitting ducks."
"It's at the rear of the formation. They'd cripple every last one of their ships between it and us if they were to fire." Sweep pointed out to his brother.
Kelia narrowed her eyes, the fur on the back of her neck rippling uneasily as she listened to the Clones chatter. It's not broadsiding and it's not in the vanguard… What's going on here?
"Receiving a fleetwide message from the Judicator."
"Put it through," Kelia said, turning around to face the crew-pits.
"Admiral Ozzel to all vessels, as you have no doubt picked up scanners, we are facing an unexpected obstacle. A Subjugator-class vessel has emerged at the rear of the Separatist fleet—unlike the Malevolence, however, this one seems to lack any mega-ion-cannons, and I have given the order to hold formation. We will see what this vessel has in store for us when it enters firing range, Ozzel out."
o.o.o.o.o
Admiral Scirocco
Aboard the Spyglass, Bothawui Asteroid Field
On the bridge connecting the two hemispheres of the oddly-shaped DH-Omni Support Vessel the fleet's second ST-series tactical droid stared through the viewports. Every twenty or thirty seconds, a metallic groan would emanate through the hull as yet another asteroid bounced off the particle shields and strained the projectors.
The way the battle was going, it would take hours for General Vartell's main Separatist task force to enter Bothawui orbit. While the Separatist fleet outnumbered the Republic fleet, the Republic fleet commander had assembled a group of Venators and escorts in a predictable, but very difficult to break through formation.
The passages through the asteroid field were only wide enough for smaller craft to turn back—a capital ship the size of a Lucrehulk or Subjugator-class could only move forward or backwards. Going under or over the field would either reduce their firepower dramatically or expose the vulnerable and poorly armored bellies of the Recusants and Munificents to the bulk of Republic fire.
Vartell had preferred to remedy this predicament by sending the rear of the fleet, which still had some room to maneuver, back through a second passage. However, Scirocco thought that going back and re-entering the asteroid field through another passage would take far too long. It would also allow the Republic enough time to regroup in front of the next passage the Separatists tried to penetrate.
With the two super tactical droids in disagreement on fleet tactics, Scirocco reasoned that his programming for space combat put him in charge of the operation, despite the fact Vartell was aboard the larger ship. Vartell conceded the point, but warned Scirocco that the plan had better work.
And now, deep within the asteroid belt itself, Scirocco was leading Separatist task-force Aurek Three to break through the Republic lines and cause a distraction: one a large but fairly compact DH-Omni class support vessel, five nimble Recusant-class light destroyers, two Munificent-class frigates, and two large but thin Providence-class cruisers through an asteroid field.
No fighters had been launched, for risk of losing them to collisions, and their deflector shields were shunted nearly one hundred percent to their bows.
Several shock-ball sized asteroids bounced off the main viewport's particle shields.
"It's a good thing we don't need air," a pilot droid muttered, sitting at the helm.
Scirocco's processors whirred for a millisecond. He knew exactly what the B1 thought might happen. "By my calculations, the risk of hull damage to this ship is negligible so long as our shields hold."
In the face of a larger asteroid the size of a small moon, the Spyglass gently ascended, the pinnacle of the moon poking up into the empty space between the two hemispheres.
"We are less than five minutes from the inner edge of the asteroid field," Scirocco said, standing up and walking over to the communications station. "Are you picking up any transmissions?"
While the Spyglass was designed as a transport craft originally, capable of deploying hundreds of thousands of droids onto a planet's surface in hours and supplying them with ammunition, power cells, and parts, it was also one of the most advanced electronic warfare ships in the galaxy after being retrofitted as an experiment. Scirocco doubted that its antennae could intercept any transmissions from here, but it was worth a try.
"I am not picking up anything," said TX-13 in a bored voice. He was an older T-series tactical droid who had been relegated to signals intelligence.
Earlier in the war, his line had occupied the main command roles now occupied by newer ST-series super tactical droids like Admiral Scirocco and General Vartell.
Scirocco had himself once been a T-series unit- before being deemed worth the exorbitant cost of upgrading and reprogramming by his patrons in House Naliju of Serenno thanks to years of experience built up in service to the House's naval flotilla and later the CIS Navy.
There was a certain bitterness from those who had been 'left behind' by the newer line, one Scirocco always refused to let get in the way of his operations.
"Notify me immediately if you intercept something," Scirocco ordered, tapping his wide metallic finger onto TX-13's chest.
TX-13 stared back, looking as unamused as his unmoving metal face could manage before acknowledging. "By your command."
Scirocco returned to the Captain's seat, patiently waiting for Bothawui and its moons to be visible through the viewports. The pitch-black asteroid field was still so dense that no end was in sight.
"Wait, I am picking up something… Decrypting"
Scirocco swiveled in place, staring expectantly at TX-13. "Let's hear it."
Mechanical static noises rustled through the loud speaker as TX-13 decrypted the transmission.
Tilting his head impatiently, Scirocco counted the seconds before the typical whistling screech echoed through the room, marking the moment a subspace transmission's encryption had been broken.
To his surprise, a furious animalistic howl blasted from the speakers overhead.
"Wuahh oh mahan Shyren ah-ah?!"
"That's Shyriiwook!" Scirocco yelled, unable to conceal his astonishment. "Where is it coming from?"