01.25 : The Light Begins to Dim

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[Ailon Nova Guard Cruiser Indomitable Will, Outer Hyper Limit, Arkanis System, Regency Worlds, Corellian Run Hyperlane]

Vladimir Yanthis of Ailon, Marshall of the Ailon Nova Guard, and now General of the Galactic Republic, swore as his light cruiser shuddered under the turbolaser fire of the filth traitors of the Arkanis Regency. It had been a complete surprise as the Regency World's military sallied out from their base above their Throneworld against his flotilla as word of Christophsis being abandoned reached their ears with his force arrival to link up with wretched Jedi Rahm Kota and his fleet.

Using his and his allies' sector defence plans against them as saw the forces from said main operation's forces now jump in to the assigned location; triggering the activation to ready status of the hyperspace mines they'd managed to lay before events turned against them. He thumbed on the communications channel immediately to General Geen's Flagship.

"This is Indomitable Will to Selfless; the Arkanis Regency has betrayed us. Engage all non-Republic Forces with all available weapons. Request immediate jump out of all our forces when viable....heavy jamming in system"

Yes they now heavily outnumbered the Regency forces....he could already see the panic erupting on the tactical display...but the Separatist forces wouldn't be far behind mostly and then they'd be in trouble. Normally he'd prefer to stand and fight, prove their natural superiority and martial skills, but that would be foolish when the rest of their force were at Ryloth. Likely under attack as well judging by the numbers of Regency Military in system versus what they knew was the strength of their mobile forces. If so, they were in for a surprise, but his Fleet element had been badly battered even if he'd avoided losing any of his warships as yet.

"Force dammit...All Units form up Fire Plan Beta-Nine, Venators to deploy fighters....Acclamators and all other transports to jump out as per Plan-Iota-Four, we will follow once they are clear. Be ready for rapid recall of star-fighters!"

Yanthis motioned to Captain Ubacth to do as the Senior General ordered even as he replied "Understood Sector General"

For now at least they advanced, the Regency ambushers suddenly faced with the combined firepower of three Venator-class heavies and five Acclamators alongside the large force of escorts. Jedi General Kota's battered forces were falling back alongside General Geen's arriving forces just as he himself was doing; watching as the heavier of the Regency cruisers crumbled under the combined assault. The smaller ships and fighters broke away, falling back towards the safety of their homeworld as the Regency formation rapidly came apart in the face of a large fighting force.

"Hyperspace emergence!" his sensor officer shouted out "...Munificent-class, looks like hit the mines in the....more emergences! Munificents and Lucrehulks!"

He nodded "Send bombers after them now before they manage to get their drives and systems back up and running! Inform The Selfless we are doing so!"

Hyperlanes were an amazing thing, but did cause issues if you knew where an enemy was going as utilising hyperdrive outside of those routes was ridiculously slow at times. They'd activated the mines, but they'd bitten off more than they could chew he could see....once the enemy managed to get back operational when the effects of the mines ended. Modern Republic Y-wings and a force of aging but heavily armoured Avari Crusaders raced towards them to do just that.

So now all he could do was watch as they powered away from the enemy formations, the Acclamators and transports burning hard at the van of their formation to reach the temporary 'new' hyperlimit. Vengeance would be his when he got free from this failed trap he thought staring coldly at the tactical plot as damage was inflicted on the struggling Separatist forces. They were almost clear, and once they'd stopped this offensive he'd be returning to this system....and make them regret it...

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[Republic Aegis Guard Venator-class Star Destroyer The Necromancer, In Orbit Ryloth, 14th Sector Army]

"What?" was first response to the challenge issued by the small task-force of....the Arkanis Regency Worlds?....ships that entered the system. It was rather confusing actually as the dozen odd escort level vessels formed up around two light cruisers essentially demanded our surrender and that these worlds, and its peoples, under the rule of the Regency Worlds now. In the name of peace, and other inane things that I decided to cut off as motioned at my bridge crew to bring our flagship to life rather than looking like the damaged hulk it had for months now.

Oh, and connect me with the idiot speaking in the name of his Empress "Right, you, Admiral Numbskull or whatever the hell your name is; you have two minutes to drop your deflectors, power down your weapons and abandon ship before I blow the lot of them away"

I cut him off again as I could see the shook rippling through his bridge as The Necromancer powered up along with the three nearby escorts "Yes, this Star Destroyer is fully operational, and you, White Suited Sleemo, are about to experience very bad things for betraying our trust. Surrender now and I shall be merciful, don't and you won't leave this system alive"

"Sir...he's cut the transmission..." my new Executive Officer Ardal, de-facto Captain of this reworked Star Destroyer reported the obvious and then less obvious "...and their powering weapons, fighers being deployed...looks like they're attempting to reverse course and burn for the hyperlane"

"Well, they aren't going to make it. Implement Raise the Dead"

"Aye-Aye General, implementing as ordered"

This was....not quite a disaster, but certainly a blow to our defensive plans as I was forced to reveal my trump cards to what amounted to a raiding force. Thankfully I'd let them penetrate fairly close to the planet when they'd appeared and now they had a distance to run as the rest of my fleet appeared in numbers to easily overwhelm them. It was a distance they weren't going to make as the codes were sent out from my damaged Venator-class to the asteroid belt, and half-wrecked Lucrehulk we'd towed there as 'debris' weeks ago. Ardal confirmed moments later what I'd hoped to see.

"Activation complete General"

I nodded one had resting on my helmet as I sat in full armour on my command chair as several hundred Scarab droid-fighters appeared as tiny icons along with the sudden powering up of the wrecked remains of that Lucrehulk battleship "Signal the enemy flagship. Surrender, Abandon ship, or Die"

"No response General....they are increasing speed"

"Okay, send in the droid fighters and bombers. Kill'em all, have them suicide bridges and engines if we have too" I replied calmly, seconds later watching as the swarm of droid fighters surged towards the enemy raiding force. It was incredibly frustrating as the forces designed to take out a Lucrehulk was wasted against a bunch of corvettes and light cruisers.

What's worse I'd, and the others, had somehow complete missed these idiocy planning treason against us and the Republic as a whole. About the only bright side of that was that the Regency World had apparently completely bought our official line of being severely weakened by the recent conflicts and being cut off from the Republic. Perhaps that was why they'd done it in the first place?

'Doesn't matter, seems our enemies, our true ones, were one step ahead of us despite all my efforts' I mentally growled irritated that the Sith, the true hidden ones, had managed to pull this upon us. Greater preparations would be needed, better security of course...or this would get so much worse as I watched the swarms surge into the enemy formation. Seconds ticked by, then long minutes, as icons disappeared be they droid-fighters or enemy ships....and then our Sector Army's Acclamators jumped in system....

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[Republic Aegis Guard Frigate Bright Eagle, Ryloth System, 14th Sector Army]

Jurdan Ironhill stood watching the holographic display as the Fleet, and it was a true Fleet now, formed up with the Venators forming a wedge, with the Acclamator-class The Majestic just behind as the others descended to the planet to disgorge their troopers so they could return to orbit and rejoin the coming fight. Out beyond them, at the hyper-limit the Confederate Fleet had likewise appeared, disgorging vast quantities of droid-fighters from their Lucrehulks and Providences. Munificents, originals filled with droids unlike his reworked Revenant-class Bright Eagle...

But from the planet below, and the fleet around him, their own Republic star-fighters and droid-fighter wings were forming up. Even the recalled Scarab droid-fighters recovered from destruction of the traitorous, and stupid, Arkanisites had been reformed. Though the wrecked Lucrehulk had been shutdown to avoid detection as active for the moment, floating amongst the asteroid belt and taking minor impacts; it's small restored hidden store of droid-fighters aboard just in case. He took a calming breath, then ordered for the TIE squadrons to be launched as the signal to advance slowly towards the enemy arrived from Sector General.

"From Flag; Enemy are launching a large number of assault shuttles with their fighters Sir"

He nodded as he heard the words of his communications officer, then verified moments later by his new twi'lek sensor officer "Understood, advise ship security teams that we may face boarding attempts. Signal to close defence squadrons to prioritise destroying those suicide sleds"

"Sir"

It wasn't a great idea, but the Separatists had droids to spare apparently along with shuttles and the likely targets would be the Venators as the fleets advanced towards each other, turbolasers erupting as their gunners brought them to bear. Jurdan was...mildly concerned, there were now thousands of fighters and bombers streaking towards each other and the Separatists had a powerful fleet to match; four Lucrehulks, two Providences, and fourteen Munificents in support.

Their own forces against them were much more numerous, outnumbering five to one in hull numbers, but of that only the Venators and Acclamators were in the range of the six heavier battleships...and then only barely with the Venators. But the Separatist figher advantage had vanished as hundreds of recently built Twi'lek star-fighters, albeit flown by droids, rose up to reinforce his Vultures, TIEs, Scarabs, and Z-95's, followed by a few hundred more flown by organic pilots...

....then droid-fighters began to die as they came into range of the linked and extensive lighter anti-fighter batteries of the Republic Fleet...