TH-07 stood on the bridge of his flagship as it flew through hyperspace.
The forces allocated for this operation had been calculated by the tactician himself. There was an abundance of new ships and droids, and he had been provided with every necessary resource. Zero-Seven once again went over the roster, which included two squadrons.
The first item on the first squadron's list was his flagship — a Recusant-class light destroyer, number RK-00016. The ship's design had been developed by loyal CIS Quarren from the secret Isolation League using stolen Mon Calamari technology. The project had been conceived long before the conflict began, but the command had not considered it expedient to employ such combat ships, believing the existing fleet to be sufficient. The war, however, had made its own adjustments — after the appearance of the Republic's Acclamators, it was decided to accelerate the production of new modifications. The very next day after Geonosis, the first ships of the series were laid down at the shipyards of the Commercial Guild and the Techno Union, and by the end of the second week, the first two dozen Destroyers had rolled off the slipways.
The Recusant was the first CIS ship conceived and designed as a purely military vessel. With a length of 1,187 meters, a width of 157 meters, and a height of 163 meters, the ship was serviced by only twenty thousand droids and a crew of three hundred organics. However, there were none on the TX-07 — this was one of the essential conditions for the successful completion of the operation.
The ship's armament was impressive: one prow heavy turbolaser cannon, four heavy turbolaser cannons, six heavy turbolaser turrets, five medium-power turbolaser cannons, thirty dual laser cannons, twelve dual light laser cannons, and sixty light rapid-fire laser cannons. In terms of firepower, the Recusant was on par with the Republic's new ship, the Acclamator-class military assault ship. In addition, the ship's hangars housed five hundred Vulture fighter droids. Forty thousand deactivated droids made up the landing force. A large control and communications station provided direct data exchange at distances of up to one hundred light-years, and when using repeaters, that range increased several times.
The second ship type consisted of twelve frigates named Munificent. These were versatile ships designed and built before the war. The frigate had been used by the Banking Clan as an armored and well-armed transport to protect and move credits, as well as precious metals and stones. In addition, excellent communication systems ensured superiority in information exchange. The firepower of the Munificent was more than enough to scare off even the most daring and persistent pirates.
With a length of 825 meters, the frigate was operated by a crew of two hundred droids who controlled the ship and its numerous weapon systems, which — in addition to the standard heavy turbolasers and numerous light rapid-fire guns of the Banking Clan — included two heavy ion cannons. Despite its modest size compared to the Lucrehulk, the Munificent could carry up to 150,000 droids when its holds were fully loaded. The air group was relatively small — twelve landing shuttles occupied most of the hangar space, leaving little room for fighters. However, this was not a problem.
The third entry on the list was four LH-3210 Lucrehulk-class core ship. Converted from Trade Federation container vessels, these three-kilometer-long "battleships" carried 1,500 fighter droids in their vast holds. Numerous landing barges were ready to deploy an army of 150,000 droids, supported by more than 7,000 armored vehicles. Each ship was armed with forty-two quad-barreled turbolaser turrets.
The last item on the list consisted of twelve Techno Union Hardkell-class interstellar transports, which carried Separatist equipment in their holds: NR-N99 Persuader-class droid enforcer, spider droids of all models, IG-227 Hailfire Tanks, and other combat vehicles, including anti-aircraft artillery systems. The transports were practically unarmed, each equipped with only six laser cannons.
The second squadron was somewhat smaller and was scheduled to arrive thirty-five minutes later. Six Munificent-class frigates and one Lucrehulk guarded thirty-two Techno Union transports carrying equipment, droids, materials for constructing a stronghold, and weapons for new allies.
One of the droids reported:
"Approaching our destination. Estimated time of arrival: three minutes."
"Prepare to exit hyperspace," commanded TH-07. "There may be Republic ships in the system! After that, all vessels are to form an SD-209 defensive formation, and transports are to descend to the planet's surface."
Although all commands were transmitted through internal systems, Zero-Seven preferred to repeat orders vocally through a vocabulator. It wasn't necessary, but most droids attempted to use acoustic communication even though it slowed their reaction time. TX-07 could not explain the reason for this phenomenon, even after using his full computing capacity — yet there was something... inexplicably appealing about it.
The stars flowing endlessly around the ship slowed their motion.
"Hyperjump complete!" reported the ship's commander.
The Separatist fleet emerged from hyperspace into the planet's orbit.
"Contact the local leader. Have them prepare to receive troops and supplies."
***
CIS warships hovered in orbit around the blue-green planet, arrayed in three tiers, one above the other. In the center of the middle line was a ship of unfamiliar design; to its right and left stood three Munificent-class frigates, with three more above and three below. Four Lucrehulks, positioned behind the battle formations, occupied a staggered line. Meanwhile, the Techno Union transports descended toward the surface of Togoria.
"Attack the enemy ships!" Ditmar shouted, gesturing toward the Confederation fleet displayed on the tactical screens. "Release the fighters! Close in, break through their defenses, fire a torpedo salvo — then crush and scatter them! Pursue them until they're completely destroyed!"
Six Acclamators, aligned in formation, accelerated and headed straight for the enemy fleet. Torrent starfighters poured from their hangars. The corvettes, using the assault ships as cover, gained speed and, engaging afterburners, surged toward the enemy ships. The Acclamators' turbolasers spat their first bursts of energy at the CIS vessels.
The enemy ships returned fire. Red bolts from their turbolasers crossed paths with the blue and green streaks from the Republic side, while rapid-fire guns poured streams of deadly plasma into space.
One corvette that had broken through to the enemy formation lost its shields but managed to evade heavy artillery fire; the crew exhaled in relief. Yet moments later, struck by an ion cannon, the corvette spun out of control and careened toward the Lucrehulks, where it was obliterated by a salvo from their turbolaser turrets.
Republic fighters moved to intercept enemy Vultures — but none appeared. Instead, the V-19s were destroyed one after another by concentrated anti-aircraft fire.
The duel between the big ships was swift and brutal. Exploiting their numerical advantage, the Federation frigates concentrated the fire of several vessels on a single Acclamator-class ship. Heavy turbolasers overwhelmed its shields, after which the remaining frigates' guns finished the job.
The bridge shook under multiple impacts. How can this be—why?! Ditmar thought feverishly, unable to comprehend it. Where had these tactics come from, this precision, this coordination...
"Commander, your orders?" the clone captain shouted over the roar.
"Continue the fight!" Dittmar screamed, nearly hysterical. "Fire all guns! Destroy every last one of those tin cans!"
The Separatist flagship advanced, and simultaneously, the ships of the upper and lower lines began flanking maneuvers. The Lucrehulks launched thousands of fighters, joined by squadrons from the frigates and the CIS flagship. The Consulars, displaying remarkable agility, weaved through streams of enemy fire, returning shots from their few weapons — but their luck could not last forever.
First, one was struck by a burst from rapid-fire guns; another exploded after a heavy blaster bolt pierced the hull and detonated its reactor compartment. A third was literally torn apart by missiles from dozens of Vultures… The surviving ships tried in vain to break away, but hundreds of fighter droids swarmed over them, granting no respite.
Losing their shields — some even taking direct hull hits — the Acclamators closed in to torpedo range. Twenty-four deadly proton torpedoes streaked toward the enemy fleet, but most were intercepted before reaching their targets. Only one managed to seriously damage a frigate, forcing it to veer off course and withdraw from battle.
Meanwhile, the CIS flagship thrust itself between two Republic ships, firing from all batteries. Hundreds of Vultures attacked the defenseless ships from the stern, where there were no defensive gun. The Munificent frigates closed in from behind, surrounding the Republic vessels. One after another, the Acclamators suffered catastrophic damage. Plates of armor tore away; streams of air and technical fluids gushed from ruptures, igniting into raging fires. Explosions and detonations rocked the ships. One of them froze for a second, and then a powerful explosion ripped through the ship's hull - the main reactor suffered multiple damage, overheated and went into meltdown.
"We've lost the 504, Commander!" one of the operators cried.
Ditmar stared at the disintegrating ship, transfixed. We've lost… It's time to save our own skin!!
"Attention! All ships—pull ba...!
A massive explosion ripped through the bridge — two direct hits from the frigates' heavy turbolasers vaporized the entire command deck, killing three dozen beings instantly.
The ship itself, now adrift and uncontrollable, did not last long. Concentrated fire from the two pursuing Munificent frigates finally ended the short life of the Republic flagship.
The remaining ships faltered at the sight of their flagship's destruction. Yet the clones, disciplined to the last, continued executing their final orders.
Turbolasers flared once more, hurling plasma bolts toward the enemy. Torpedo tubes reloaded; this time the salvo found its mark. At such close range, it was impossible to miss. Three CIS frigates vanished in tremendous plasma eruptions. The surviving Republic fighters, pulling back and regrouping, now pounced on the droid swarms, which had been forced to retreat to their carriers to replenish their solid fuel cells.