"For all of their advanced technology the Separatists have a fatal flaw: empathy." - Words Of A Republic Admiral At A Strategic Meeting 1 Month Post-First Battle Of Geonosis
CISS Odyssey, Orbit Of Tanalorr, Bolthole Shipyards, 1 Month And Two Days Since The Battle Of Geonosis
"Helm, signal the Fleet to form up outside the Abyss, and set a course for System P3X-671-A4."
"Yes Sir."
I looked out the holoport of the Odyssey's new bridge, which was deep within the hull under over 30 meters of armour, to see thousands of Munificent Artillery Cruisers, Kalivar Corvettes, Type 2 Providence Battlecarriers, Mark 2 Lucrehulk Heavy Battlecarriers, Type 2 Recusant Dreadnoughts, Allocator Class Heavy Cruisers, Ixym Class Assault Frigates, and Shadowblade Stealth Corvettes arrayed around us. Beside us were the other two Recusant Heavy Dreadnoughts of the 51st Fleet, Daedalus and Prometheus. In the distance, thousands of every class present were going through their final trials before being sent to the frontlines, while thousands more were coming in from the front to be refitted with the new technologies Sonja and her team had created here.
As we moved, hundreds of thousands of Mark 3 Vultures, Valkyrie VF-1 Variable Starfighters, and Tri-Droids swarmed around us like the universes angriest hornets nest, and this was just our standard CAP. There were still a lot more of the things in the hangers ready for launch at a moments notice. Not to mention the missiles in both our own shipboard tubes and the Pods we were currently towing.
Seriously, those Missile Pods are kinda terrifying. I don't know exactly which of the eggheads on Admiral Hemphill's team had the idea of taking the new Mark 20 Archer Missiles, which are 12 meters long and 6 meters wide, stuffing six smaller Missiles and two ECW-equipped Decoys into them, then stuffing fourteen of those things into a Missile Pod which can be towed by anything from a Fighter to a Battlecarrier, but nobody could deny the advantages they gave us on the modern battlefield. Not after we tested those things in the Koboh Abyss.
Once a certain distance from the target, this can depend on their defences and the likelihood of interception, though when on the offensive a good distance to split off from is usually 6-8 Million kilometers, the Missiles will eject the decoys and other warheads before locking in their final approach vectors and accelerating to terminal velocity, which is typically around 90% of the speed of light. Since they're smaller than most starships and don't have to carry life support systems their Ion Drives can push them to greater speeds than a starfighter.
This is due to the Missiles using their maneuvering thrusters and the inertia from their original 50PSL speed imparted by the Grav-Launcher to get as close to the enemy as possible before lighting their own drives. This design change was made under the consideration of going on the offensive and increasing our combat range up to around 20-40 Light Minutes.
The Archers were also redesigned to receive targeting data from the Apollo Missiles, which forgo the additional missiles for more advanced data transfer and communication systems allowing it to greatly expand on the Control Links for each individual ship by rerouting up to 600 Archer Missiles through the Apollo Missile. If destroyed, the others will either return to the control of their original vessel or simply continue on according to the latest telemetry they received. Given they were travelling at up to 90% of the speed of light, than that meant we had to be as precise as possible. By rerouting through the Apollo Missile, a CISN Starship can greatly expand the size of their Missile Salvos. The Apollo Missiles are also equipped with a highly advanced ECM Suite allowing it to mess with enemy sensors and convince hostile Defensive Missiles to miss, home in on the decoys, or go for the ships that launched them.
Once close enough to the enemy ship, the Apollo, which retains the primary warhead, accelerates along with the others to terminal velocity. As such, each Missile Pod had a total of sixteen Missiles per Pod, and after launching a salvo was forced to rely on its Defence Shields until its internal Molecular Furnace could construct another fifteen Missiles twenty seconds later, at which point it could launch a new salvo.
It was one of many new technologies which would give us an edge in this war, which included stuff like our new Mark 3 Deflector Shields, an upgrade of the Mark 2 the Odyssey and the Daedalus had been equipped with a month ago. Emitted from the Alpha and Beta Nodes, which were significantly more efficient than previous designs and allowed us to block both energy and kinetic weapons simultaneously. Alpha Nodes are the primary generators projecting the shields in a bubble around the ship, with three on the dorsal side and three on the ventral. Beta Nodes are the secondaries, with two Betas for each Alpha. Working in concert, the shields are far more resistant to enemy fire and easy to modify when encountering new weapons, particles, or phenomena.
An Alpha Node is shaped like a disc 2 meters across, and a Beta is 1 meter. Despite this small size, they are capable of giving Starfighters shields at least equivalent to a standard Republic Corvette, with Heavy Dreadnought shields being closer in strength to standard Planetary Defence Shields or greater, depending on how the crew chooses to modify their vessel. I'm sure you could probably adjust them to hug the hull, but none of us saw much of a reason to do so right now.
I thought back to the report I'd received from Supreme Commander Taan. Several outposts along the borders of Wild Space and the Unknown Regions had gone mysteriously silent. If it was a Republic force sneaking around to attack our rear than we needed to intercept them ASAP. Most of the Navy was either on the front or being rotated back for retrofit, and the reserve fleets are needed to guard everywhere else in our space, so the 50,000 warships of the 51st Fleet are the only ships currently available. Something about this whole situation was strangely familiar, but I just couldn't place it.
The Fleet proceeded to the tunnel through the Abyss, held open by the Arrays, and as they flew through it I couldn't help but be fascinated by the way the light reflected off of our hulls. Then a deep rumbling echoed as something hit us.
"Report."
Allison, who'd taken Aveers place permanently, ran her hands over her console. "A piece of Koboh Matter hit our shields, Sir. Damage was minimal, only .002. They've already recharged, Sir."
Allana rose an eyebrow. "A month ago, a hit like that would've gone right through the shields and started eating away at our hull."
Several people shuddered as we all mulled over the thought. As the ships emerged on the other side like a swarm of apex predators, the rest formed up in a sphere around the Heavy Dreadnoughts. "Transfer power to the Warp Drive and start calibrating the emitters to enlarge the field to the point it takes the entire Fleet with us, have Daedalus ready to power the next Jump, then it'll be Prometheus's turn, and then ours again."
A moment later power could be heard thrumming throughout the ship as the power for almost everything except life support, basic navigational shields, and our Point-Defence Weapons was transferred to the Warp Drive. "Ready, Sir."
"Engage."
Outside, energy crackled through space as a sphere formed around not just the Odyssey, but the entire Fleet. Completely translucent at first, the energy quickly changed color to a brilliant bluish-green as it enveloped the 51st Fleet, shrank down to the size of a baseball, and shot off into the void of space. Once it faded, the Daedalus transferred all power and carried the Fleet into the second Jump of the journey while Odysseys Drive recharged, then the Prometheus did her part, and finally it was Odysseys turn again. This would continue until we reached the AO as time was of the essence.
RSS Resolute, Same Time
As the ship emerged from Hyperspace with the rest of the 20th Fleet, which was occasionally referred to as the Open Circle Fleet, to reorient for another Hyper-Jump, Anakin couldn't help but wonder who or what could've destroyed their outposts. The Resolute was accompanied by thousands of other vessels, including Venator Class Carriers like itself, Arquitens Class Light Cruisers, CR-70 Charger Corvettes, Pelta Class Frigates, Dominatus Class Star Destroyers, Victory Class Star Destroyers, Tector Class Star Destroyers, and 20 Secutor Class Dreadnoughts. Most of them were the only ones of their class in service as most of the others had been destroyed during the Separatists raid on Kuat.
While the Victorys had been built by Rendili, even they had been raided by the CIS, though the damage to their yards was significantly less extensive than anywhere else. There was something off about it, but they were the ones concentrating on countering the Separatists extensive Missile Salvoes so Anakin chose to put it to the back of his mind. All in all, his Fleet consisted of 20,000 warships scrounged up from anywhere they could get them. He prayed it would be enough against whoever or whatever destroyed their outposts.
A hand rested on his shoulder and his eyes looked aside to meet his girlfriend's. The two exchanged a look, and he relaxed slightly. Tallisibeth watched her pseudo adoptive parents and smiled.
Admiral Yularen stepped up, and the two older Jedi separated slightly. "General, a C-70 just dropped out of Hyperspace. Jedi Master Pong Krell is asking to come aboard."
Anakin frowned. Though he'd never personally met the Besalisk, he had certainly heard of him several times over the years. Mostly when Obi Wan, Luminara, and several other Jedi, even Master Windu, were debating getting drunk to erase him from their collective memories. Utilizing a pair of double-bladed Lightsabers, the man was unusually aggressive and callous, even for a Jedi. It was, to put it simply, bizarre.
"Very well, I'll meet him in the hanger."
