In the vacuum of space, Rhodes received Anakin's urgent withdrawal order just as he approached one of the Lucrehulk battleship's primary weapon emplacements.
"All bomber elements, eliminate that turbolaser battery, then we execute immediate tactical withdrawal," Rhodes commanded his squadron.
The Y-wing bombers unleashed a concentrated barrage of proton torpedoes that successfully destroyed the battleship's heavy turbolaser cannons in brilliant explosions.
"Outstanding work, Shadow Squadron," Rhodes praised his pilots, just as several Munificent-class frigates emerged from hyperspace to reinforce the Separatist position.
Shadow Squadron quickly dispersed and headed toward their designated defensive perimeter, with droid starfighters immediately launching pursuit operations.
Suddenly, Rhodes witnessed a massive explosion erupting from the rear section of the Lucrehulk battleship they had been targeting, and the enormous vessel began listing heavily to port as secondary explosions rippled along its hull.
Aboard the Resolute, Steve and Anakin exchanged satisfied grins—at least one Lucrehulk battleship had been eliminated before the Separatist reinforcements could fully deploy.
"Ahsoka, what's your position?" Anakin asked with obvious concern when he noticed she hadn't returned to the defensive formation.
"Master, we're trapped and in immediate danger of being shot down," Ahsoka admitted with obvious strain, desperately maneuvering to avoid the concentrated fire from another Lucrehulk-class battleship.
Anakin clenched his fists with frustration at his apprentice's predicament, but Steve immediately took decisive action.
"Sam, Rhodes, are you monitoring this situation?" Steve asked through the tactical communication network.
Sam replied with determination: "Hold tight, Ahsoka. We're en route to your position immediately."
He quickly issued tactical assignments: "All Torrent V-19s, form up on my lead. Rhodes, you take rear guard and cover our approach."
Sam led a dozen V-19 Torrent fighters toward Ahsoka's beleaguered squadron, which was frantically engaging and evading the concentrated fire from CIS starfighters and frigate formations.
At that critical moment, Obi-Wan and Aayla Secura's fleet also dropped out of hyperspace. Anakin watched with tremendous relief as the newly arrived Republic task force immediately began engaging the blockade with coordinated firepower.
Captain Mar Tuuk was now genuinely concerned as several Munificent-class frigates began sustaining heavy structural damage, while his remaining four Lucrehulk battleships opened fire on the new Republic threats. Another battleship also began taking concentrated fire from multiple attack vectors.
In terms of raw firepower, both fleets were relatively evenly matched. However, Captain Mar Tuuk understood from extensive combat experience that while the Republic typically deployed fewer vessels than the CIS, their superior firepower and tactical coordination more than compensated for numerical disadvantages. Throughout months of continuous warfare, Republic fleets had consistently demonstrated smaller numbers but superior combat effectiveness, while the CIS relied primarily on overwhelming numerical superiority.
With the arrival of two additional Republic fleets, the battle had escalated to maximum intensity.
Ahsoka had now linked up with Sam and Rhodes' combined squadron as they engaged the command ship of a Lucrehulk-class battleship.
However, the battleship's deflector shields proved impenetrable to conventional fighter weapons, and several starfighters from Ahsoka's squadron were destroyed during their assault attempts.
Sam coordinated his Y-wing bombers in launching proton torpedoes and deploying ion bombs. The shield strength was rapidly diminishing, but several additional Republic starfighters were shot down during the prolonged engagement.
The tactical situation deteriorated when Rhodes found himself completely surrounded by Vulture droids on all attack vectors. As he flew directly over the Lucrehulk battleship's main hangar bay, he suddenly conceived a desperate strategy.
"FRIDAY, can you calculate a flight path directly to the ship's central reactor core?" Rhodes asked his AI assistant.
"Calculating optimal route immediately, Boss."
"Rhodes," Sam interjected with obvious alarm, "please tell me you're not planning what I think you're planning."
"I'm afraid that's exactly what I'm doing," Rhodes replied with characteristic determination.
"What are you two discussing?" Ahsoka asked through the communication channel.
"Ahsoka, prepare for immediate bombing runs on my signal," Rhodes said confidently, repositioning his fighter and flying directly toward the hangar bay with the entire swarm of Vulture droids in pursuit. His starfighter took multiple direct hits from the pursuing droid fighters.
"Damn it," Rhodes muttered as his fighter's systems failed. He immediately ejected from the cockpit and activated his armor systems, floating in space as he deployed a guided explosive device on his damaged fighter. He pivoted and used his armor's enhanced strength to kick the fighter wreckage directly into the approaching formation of Separatist starfighters, then turned and flew directly into the Lucrehulk battleship's hangar bay.
"He just—" Ahsoka began with amazement.
Before she could complete her thought, Sam asked urgently: "Are you operational, Rhodes?"
"Fully functional," Rhodes confirmed as he landed in the hangar bay and immediately unleashed his integrated weapons arsenal upon all the unprepared battle droids.
Taking cover, Rhodes observed the wreckage from his sabotaged fighter crash directly into the hangar, destroying multiple droid starfighters and control stations while causing widespread panic among the mechanical crew.
"Be prepared for immediate extraction once I complete the primary mission."
Rhodes activated his repulsors and flew at maximum velocity deeper into the battleship, conducting rapid reconnaissance as he advanced toward the reactor core.
On the ship's bridge, Captain Mar Tuuk received alarming reports that the vessel's interior was under direct assault.
"What is the meaning of this report?!" Mar Tuuk shouted with confusion and rage.
"It appears we have an intruder aboard, sir," one of the tactical droids reported, displaying security footage of Rhodes flying through the ship's corridors at incredible speed.
Mar Tuuk stared at the display in complete bewilderment, uncertain what he was witnessing.
Aboard the Resolute, Steve contacted his fellow Avenger: "What's your status in there, Rhodes?"
"All systems green, Cap," Rhodes replied while destroying a Vulture droid with his repulsors.
At this point, he had reached the ship's central core and muttered to himself: "Where exactly is this vessel's primary reactor?"
On the bridge of the Lucrehulk battleship, Mar Tuuk was horrified as he studied the security footage. After analyzing the ship's internal layout, he quickly realized where the Republic intruder was heading and shouted desperately: "Stop him before he destroys us all!"
Rhodes flew unimpeded through the ship's interior, knowing he had only one opportunity for success. He had no choice but to deploy his most powerful ordnance. Raising his arm-mounted weapons system, he targeted the battleship's reactor core with high-yield micro-missiles and fired directly at the critical target.
Rhodes immediately engaged maximum thrust to escape the impending explosion, transmitting over communications: "Sam, rendezvous at the secondary hangar bay for immediate extraction."
He concentrated on navigating through cascading debris as explosions behind him grew progressively more violent. Finally, riding the shock wave of the massive explosion, he escaped into open space.
"Rhodes!" Sam called urgently over the comm channel. "Watch your six o'clock!"
Rhodes turned to see the Lucrehulk battleship beginning to break apart in a chain reaction of secondary explosions.
"That was Tony's greatest fear after the Battle of New York," Rhodes observed as he watched the massive vessel's destruction.
"Yes, significant enough to drive him to create Ultron," Sam replied grimly.
The Jedi Knights all displayed confused expressions, wondering who or what this Ultron entity might be. When Rhodes mentioned Ultron, they noticed that Steve's expression became particularly grim and troubled.
Meanwhile, Captain Mar Tuuk, who had been maintaining barely controlled panic, demanded urgently: "What is the current status of this vessel?"
"Our deflector shields and primary engines are offline," his command droid reported with mechanical precision.
During this engagement, Ahsoka's Blue Squadron was systematically destroying large formations of Vulture droids and Hyena-class bombers.
The CIS blockade was gradually being dismantled by the sustained assault of the combined Republic fleet.
"Ahsoka," Anakin transmitted through the communication network, "if you eliminate that command ship, their remaining forces will lose coordination."
The damaged Lucrehulk battleship was finally destroyed when Blue Squadron's fighters launched a massive concentration of ion torpedoes directly at its bridge section.
Captain Mar Tuuk struggled to maintain his footing as his command ship disintegrated around him: "I must evacuate this position immediately."
Aboard the Resolute, Anakin watched with tremendous pride as the Lucrehulk battleship began breaking apart in a spectacular explosion—this final decisive attack had been executed by his apprentice Ahsoka.
"It appears we can conclude this engagement before Master Windu's fleet arrives," Steve observed, his tactical awareness remaining constantly alert.
"This is Blue Squadron Leader," Ahsoka's exhausted voice transmitted over the communication system. "All squadrons, return to base."
Within the hangar bays, the various fighter squadrons began landing operations. They were enthusiastically cheered by clone troopers, all of whom congratulated the pilots on their successful mission.
"General Skywalker," Admiral Yularen's voice came through the bridge communicator. "Master Windu is approaching with his task force."
"Acknowledged, Admiral," Anakin responded, turning to address Steve. "From one battle directly to the next. Now it's time to initiate Phase Two of the liberation."
Steve simply nodded and stood to follow Anakin, fully understanding that the campaign to liberate Ryloth had only just begun.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Support me at p@treon.com/goldengaruda and check out more chapter of this or more early access chapter of my other fanfic translation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~