After grabbing a bite in the nearest canteen, Ahsoka and I headed to the training hall to warm up. We spent the next couple of hours practicing with our swords. Ahsoka was slowly catching up to me in skill. Well — of course; she had much more time!
After training, we went to the hangar to inspect the vehicles we would fly into battle. After winding through the corridors, we reached the central hangar. In one corner two Delta-7s sat side by side.
Technicians were finishing servicing the craft. What could I say? They were wedge-shaped, about seven meters long and four meters wide, maybe even smaller. One was painted in the standard Jedi color — red. The second was a cheerful yellow. Next to each fighter stood an R-3-series astromech droid, red and yellow respectively.
Ahsoka instantly clambered into the red machine.
"Teacher, I'll fly this one, right?" she asked, eyes sparkling. What could I say?
"Yes, Snips — this one's yours. I'll take the yellow one."
I stepped closer and ran my hand over the fighter's hull. The R-3 beside it beeped.
"Sorry, Yellow — I don't know binary."
"Be-bep-beu-beep?" it replied, twisted his "head" around.
"Well, that's just the way it is, yeah." I spread my arms.
"Beep-beep?" the droid asked again, its photoreceptors fixed on me.
"Don't look at me like that!"
Ahsoka burst out laughing as she watched the little circus unfold.
Then the dispatcher's voice rang across the hangar:
"All pilots, take your places in your combat vehicles — I repeat, all pilots, take your places in your combat vehicles! Five minutes to readiness!"
***
TH-07 surveyed the panorama of battle beyond the command-bridge viewports. Everything had gone perfectly and strictly according to plan. After completing the ET-27E and WQ-239W maneuvers, the ships in his squadron had virtually annihilated the enemy fleet. Although the Republic vessels still fought, their fate was sealed.
"One minute until the arrival of the second squadron," one of the B-1s reported.
A second operator's voice overlaid the first: "Unknown ships have emerged from hyperspace. One moment…" The droid pressed a few keys on the interactive display. "Confirmed: they are Republic ships."
The crew turned to Zero-Seven, awaiting orders.
"Proceed according to protocol D-3912. The arriving ships are to execute command Q-3234," the tactical droid ordered.
***
"Five minutes until we exit hyperspace," one of the operators reported.
Rinaun nodded without speaking. The operation had been mounted in haste, with no real preparation or reconnaissance, but the situation demanded decisive action — and they would pay the price for it.
Fortunately, since the blockade of Donovia in the Inala system had been lifted, the commander's squadron had been partially replenished, although its numbers left much to be desired. Six Acclamator-type ships formed the strike core of the squadron, plus Mikore Vikt's vessel. More than six hundred fighters provided air support. Ten light cruisers — four Consular corvettes and six brand-new Peltas, two of which had been converted into space defense ships with recently arrived modules — attempted to blunt the enemy's overwhelming superiority in small craft.
These Peltas weren't as fast as the Consular corvettes, but their design made them more survivable, and the modular layout left room for modification. As a result, the two modified Peltas lost the ability to carry cargo because of the added reactors, and their troop capacity was reduced fourfold. In compensation, along with ten light turbolasers and fifteen light laser cannons, four additional batteries were installed, each consisting of four quadruple light laser cannons. That allowed them to unleash a fierce wall of fire against nimble Separatist fighters.
"One minute to launch!" came the call.
"Full combat readiness!"
The operator began the countdown...
The moment the battle imagery filled Rinaun's display, he knew things were dire. He pressed a button on the console and hailed Mikore Vikt.
"General! Bring out the fighters — cover us as closely as you can. We're going to try to rescue the remnants of Ditmar's squadron!"
"Remnants?! Banto poodo!" the general exclaimed — he couldn't have put it better himself.
"Exactly! There's no time to plan — the enemy is literally wiping out Ditmar's Acclamators! He's not answering calls!"
At that point a clone operator barked: "Attention! A second enemy squadron has emerged from hyperspace!"
Rinaun glanced at the monitor. The fresh reinforcements had wiped out any chance of a clean victory — there were simply too many adversaries. He snapped onto the comlink:
"General, enemy reinforcements have arrived. We don't stand a chance — they outnumber us. The only thing we can do is try to save the remnants of Ditmar's squadron! Also, there's a ship of unknown class in the CIS formation!"
"Understood! I'm taking command of the fighters — let's go!" the Jedi replied.
Rinaun focused and issued orders crisply:
"All ships, form an A-7 formation! Frigates TP-4561 and TP-4625, cover the fleet from the rear hemisphere! The rest, attack from the flanks! We strike to give our ships a chance to retreat — then withdraw immediately!"
The ships began to form a wedge and set course for the enemy squadron. A few seconds later, Rinaun's ships opened fire...