A half-dozen Keldabe-II-class battleships formed a broad front, covering their positions in the upper and lower echelons and on the flanks with Crusader II-class corvettes.
It seemed there was nothing extraordinary about this formation.
A classic order of echeloned closed defense, taught as basics at the Imperial Naval Academy.
The formation was self-sufficient and designed so that smaller ships could shield the larger ones from fighter attacks.
I myself had arranged ships in such a formation more than once.
The problem was that against the forces I had brought, this order was utterly useless.
Chimaera, Motivator, Death's Head, Krüger, Point of No Return, and Twilight.
Six Imperial-class Star Destroyers supported by three more Interdictor-class Star Destroyers: Eternal Wrath, Sentinel, and Constrainer.
This was nearly double the firepower superiority on this sector of the front.
And the enemy didn't even know everything.
Because on our side, eighteen more corvets—Raiders and the same Crusader IIs—were also participating.
We outnumbered the enemy in firepower and numbers.
The chosen containment formation was irrational.
In the current battle, outnumbered, the only chance for success was a breakthrough by the Zann Consortium forces.
To conduct an attack like Ackbar's Slash.
But not a blind defense.
In conditions of communication shortages and the need to protect cargo ships, the most wrong thing to do was to go on the defensive.
Any tactics textbook would point out that they simply needed to transition to a "dogfight" to deprive us of the ability to concentrate turbolaser fire on several ships out of the total number.
Which we were doing right now.
"Sir, the Interdictors report that all three ships have deployed gravity wells and are firing on target number five," the voice came over the comm.
Thus, three destroyers were concentrating fire on one Keldabe-II.
For the six remaining major ships of our strike group, four second-model Keldabes were frankly not a serious opponent.
And the enemy couldn't fail to understand that.
So the question arose—why this suicidal formation, in which we would clearly win even if we didn't move from our position and continued firing from nearly maximum range?
"Sir, all starships have engaged the enemy," Captain Tschel reported to me.
"Thank you, Captain," I replied quietly. "I know that."
Here, on the bridge in front of the central viewport of the command deck, the entire picture of the unfolding battle was visible to me.
The distance between our and the enemy's squadrons was seventy units.
Too far for proton torpedo launches and within the maximum range of shipboard turbolaser strikes.
My ships were arranged in three blocking "bowl" formations.
In the center—Star Destroyers with activated gravity well generators.
Our three Interdictors were in the operational rear under the protection of six Crusader II-class corvets and positioned two units farther back from the main strike force.
For target engagement, this squadron, located at the projection center of our formations, had selected the central Keldabe.
To the left and right of the blockers were two squadrons of three destroyers each.
In the first: Chimaera, Death's Head, and Point of No Return under the command of the first. We were shelling two enemy battleships to the left (from our perspective) of the Interdictors' target.
In the second: Krüger, Motivator, and Twilight.
Captain Krüger was ironing similar targets on the right. But he preferred to take out one Keldabe-II first, ignoring the second.
Maintaining distance and position in space, we had no need to fear that the enemy would rush forward and start draining our deflector energy.
But the Zann Consortium side clearly wasn't complete amateurs.
Why hold one position, perfectly understanding that we had greater broadside weight, superiority in ships, fighters, and certainly wouldn't let the transport ships in the rear of the combat squadron escape?
So, the enemy intended to hold us back for a reason.
And I saw only one reason why they were behaving this way: taking hits, dooming the fleet to brutal beating.
Meanwhile, the hundred Star Galleons languishing in the enemy's rear line began maneuvers that unequivocally indicated they intended to flee as far from us as possible.
Well.
This was calculated and predictable.
"Captain Tschel," I addressed the commander of the Chimaera. "The enemy is beginning a divergence maneuver. Inform Major Bren and the commanders of the other destroyers that Scimitar squadrons should be ready to dash to the rear of the Keldabes and the rest of the Zann Consortium ships."
"Yes, sir," the young Star Destroyer commander replied.
After issuing all necessary orders, Tschel asked me more quietly:
"Grand Admiral, do you think the enemy intends to withdraw their squadrons to the far side of the planet and escape the system along another vector, opposite to our entry?"
"No, Captain," I replied. "The enemy is luring us under fire from their armed forces. Rightly assuming that we will chase their transports leaving the system."
"But isn't that the case?" Tschel clarified. "The transports clearly carry something valuable, since the enemy is sacrificing ships to cover their withdrawal."
"That's the plan of the enemy fleet commander," I explained. "They know we came to Smarck for a reason. And they're playing on our desire to seize their secrets."
"Sir, but if we don't do something more substantial now to stop the transports, they'll get away!"
"Yes, they'll reach the far side of Smarck," I agreed. "Annoying that we can't stop them, isn't it?"
Tschel looked at me grimly, not even feigning understanding on his face.
Well, frankness is a virtue.
"Contact Thunderflare, Captain," I ordered. "Tell them to be ready to move to position on the far side of the orbit. As soon as they receive the order—let them immediately block the jump vector out of the system on the other side of Smarck's orbit."
"Yes, sir!" Tschel replied joyfully, passing the order to the crew.
When he looked at me again, bewilderment settled on his face at what he had just relayed.
"Grand Admiral, sir, but Thunderflare's crew is just cadets. Unlikely they can stop all the Star Galleons."
"The enemy won't let us stop them," I stated. "I'm sure the Zann Consortium would prefer to destroy their cargoes rather than let them fall into our hands."
"Then... Sir, I don't understand."
"You don't need to yet, Captain," I sighed. "Relay the order to Twilight and Point of No Return. Let them advance to fifty units from the enemy ships. Synchronize the dash of our Scimitars to the rear of the Zann Consortium starships with that moment. Interceptors maintain defensive order around the Star Destroyers."
"Yes, sir," the commander of the flagship Star Destroyer said, completely confused. "And what are the targets for the proton torpedoes of Twilight and Point of No Return?"
"Vectors two-five and ten-five," I said. "Wide spread. Five salvos across each of the three echelons relative to the enemy ships' position."
"But that's beyond the enemy's formation!" the Chimaera's commander exclaimed.
"Exactly right, Captain Tschel," I agreed. "If you'd been attentive, you'd have noticed the reasons why the enemy is acting in such a compact formation."
The Chimaera's commander frowned, relaying the order to subordinates, then began peering intently at the enemy formation in orbit.
For several seconds, nothing happened, then the wrinkles on his face smoothed out. And his eyes widened.
"Oh, wow!" he exhaled.
It sounded like air escaping from a balloon.
***
At the head of an armada of similar fast bombers, the new Scimitar-01 easily emerged from the jump behind the enemy ships.
"Deflectors activated," Alex reported. "I see several StarVipers heading our way."
"Acknowledged," Tomax stabilized the ship's course nose toward the unfolding battlefield among the starships.
Somewhere in the center of the cluster floated the Zann Consortium's flagship Keldabe-II, surrounded by support ships: StarVipers, Skiprays, a couple of Crusaders.
Yes, Alex was right—enemy fighters were rushing toward them.
And they'd have to counter them exclusively with Scimitars.
Not the best matchup.
But what purpose would sending fast bombers here serve if not to attack the enemy's line ships?
However, no target orders had come.
Instead, Tomax saw Twilight and Point of No Return launching salvo after salvo of proton torpedoes from their launchers.
Ships modernized by the New Republic at Hast shipyards, as before, carried six ship-class proton torpedo launchers each.
And these were far from the torpedoes arming a Scimitar or the vaunted Republican X-wing.
Ship torpedoes were the size of an X-wing themselves.
One such could knock down any standard combat ship's shields.
Two—to cripple some part of a starship and send it into long repair at the yards.
Three—guaranteed through-and-through hull breaches, decompression with subsequent hull deformation.
Each of the two destroyers spewed six torpedoes into space with small intervals.
In three echelons—parallel to the Keldabes, above and below them.
But the bombardment was along the flanks of the enemy starships, not harming them, which didn't fit into a logical structure.
Why thrash expensive ship torpedoes into interplanetary void?
Even the Crusaders couldn't intercept that many munitions, so...
"Damn it!" Alex couldn't hold back when the blackness of space rippled, and mass-driver cannons on the hulls of huge space constructs struck the proton torpedoes. "What the hell is that?"
Tomax didn't have time to answer.
Though he wanted to.
"Yatagan Leader, this is Chimaera OCC," the helmet headphones came alive with the dispatcher's voice. "Your target is to strike the generators powering the main weapon of the identified enemy objects. Secondary target—hangars and deflector generators of the station. Use the massed salvos of Twilight and Point of No Return for cover."
"OCC, understood," Tomax said dryly, adjusting course and relaying targeting to his squadron. "Alex, lock all proton missiles on the new targets."
"What the hell is that, Tomax? They just appeared out of nowhere in orbit!!!"
"Cloaking field," Tomax explained, seeing the onboard computer's calculation complete on the screen. "Previously, the Zann Consortium used them exclusively on starships. Looks like they've upgraded their war machine."
"That thing doesn't look like a starship," Alex said doubtfully as the Scimitar jumped.
"Of course not," Major Bren agreed, returning the craft to real vacuum space. "It's a space station. And it's not alone here, in Smarck's orbit."
Talk later—time to bomb.
***
Ahead loomed a monstrous offspring of the Zann Consortium's shipyards.
A space station surpassing a pair of Star Destroyers in size, studded with endless turbolasers, mass-drivers, ion cannons...
Overgrown with dozens of modules and work platforms that from afar looked like scavengers clinging to a beached whale, this construct easily destroyed the first salvo of Twilight's torpedoes.
And its twin from the other flank symmetrically annihilated the first six missiles from Point of No Return.
From Captain Tschel's appearance, one could conclude that his pulse and breathing had quickened; it seemed his temperature was even rising.
"Well," I said. "Now the intrigue of the Zann Consortium fleet commander is unraveled."
"It was believed that all of them were destroyed during the rout of the Consortium," Tschel almost whispered. "Just like their ships did to our Cardans or Republican orbital stations."
"Smarck wasn't listed among the targets struck by the Galactic Empire or the Rebel Alliance," I said. "Possibly, these two survived."
"Or the Zann Consortium started building new ones," the Chimaera's captain squeezed out.
"Unlikely," I objected. "Before us is a fifth-level space station of the Zann Consortium, equivalent in power and defensibility to similar Cardan or Rebel Alliance stations. Building one such station takes a long time and costs no small amount. The Galactic Empire's fifth-level Cardans cost over two billion credits each."
"But they could perform repairs and maintenance on Imperial Star Destroyers," Tschel reminded. "I read about them. That sum includes not only station construction but also equipping the orbital dock, hangars, building escort ships...."
"Yes," I agreed. "That's precisely why the Empire found it more profitable to refuse purchases from Kuat Drive Yards of new Cardans after the Zann Consortium easily sabotaged or destroyed them. The Battle of Kuat showed that even three such stations couldn't stop an invasion fleet or even delay it. To somehow turn the battle, they had to commit the Star Super Destroyer Annihilator, which ingloriously perished under strikes from Zann Consortium ships due to inability to maneuver in such a cluster of starships. The New Republic has a much more prosaic justification for why they ceased funding the modular stations project similar to Cardans. They simply lack the money to build high-level stations. And first- to third-level stations, whether ours, Republican, or Consortium ones, pose no great threat to a well-equipped enemy fleet."
The Cardan-class space station.
"Sir!" the watch chief ran up to us. "From Point of No Return and Twilight, they report that the enemy stations are charging energy for a strike on those destroyers."
"Thank you, Lieutenant," I said. "We see that perfectly. Return to your post and relay to the indicated destroyers to increase to cruising speed, keep maneuvering engines ready, and their crews prepared for hazardous maneuvering."
The puzzled watch chief looked at me, at Tschel in bewilderment, but obeyed the order, though waves of irritated incomprehension emanated from him even without the Force.
I couldn't blame him for panic.
There was indeed danger to the two Star Destroyers equipped with ship proton torpedo launchers.
And not danger of damage, but of complete and nearly instantaneous destruction.
Both stations threatening Twilight and Point of No Return were also armed with ion, mass-driver cannons, and other light defenses that could have been heavily modernized compared to their original specs laid down by Mandal Motors designers—or whoever the Zann Consortium stole the technology from.
But there was something more dangerous than even the galaxy-wide banned ion weapons alongside disintegrators.
Zann Consortium space stations of third level and above were standardly armed with a main weapon—a plasma cannon capable of delivering lethal strikes to any sluggish starship like a Star Destroyer or similar in size.
Exactly such plasma guns were on Consortium Aggressor-class Star Destroyers and used in pairs with massive ion cannons.
To date, we had no chance to capture and study this type of armament.
The opportunity unexpectedly presented itself in the current battle.
It's a pity I hadn't anticipated the presence of this weapon on Smarck before we advanced here.
Possibly, I could have brought a couple of Sunburn project Venators and disabled the stations before they were ready to fire.
But no, to be frank—even when I received reconnaissance data from drones launched by Captain Pryl from Thunderflare, I didn't even think of such a possibility.
And only the strange "crowdedness" of the enemy ships led me to think that the withdrawal of the Star Galleons aimed to lure us closer to the enemy position.
Where there would be no room to maneuver and avoid strikes from the cloaked stations.
A simple plan to destroy a numerically superior fleet.
Approximately like the penultimate defense line of Tangeen and some other systems with cloaked Golan IIIs.
However, credit where due to the Zann Consortium forces commander—his idea was far more destructive in essence.
That's why I want a sample plasma cannon for study.
Work on the proton beam cannon is ongoing, but progress is minimal.
In fact, there won't be any until we get the scientific team that developed the Death Star Prototype inside the Maw Cluster.
Equipping cloaked asteroids and planetary orbital defense stations with planetary turbolasers and ion cannons like V-150 and V-180 is inefficient.
For the same reasons that third- to fifth-level Consortium stations, Aggressor-class Star Destroyers, are vulnerable at the moment of preparing a main weapon shot.
"Sir, the intensity of the enemy's energy armament and shield power has dropped to ten percent," Tschel reported.
I watched as white-blue-violet fire bloomed in the heart of the Zann Consortium station, ready to burst out and strike our starships.
Then, as plasma swirls broke from the muzzles of the space stations' main guns, numerous explosion spheres bloomed on the stations.
"Major Bren reports that all Scimitars have struck their assigned targets!" Tschel said with elation.
"Excellent," I said, watching intently as plasma "braids" moved toward the two Star Destroyers, capable of literally frying a ship with one hit. "Relay to Constrainer and Sentinel to adjust their gravity wells for implementing the Tantale attack plan. All interceptors—return to hangars for rotation."
After the station attack, ninety-seven percent of the Scimitars returned to their basing ships for rotation.
Their withdrawal from the target posed no major problems—because the first reason for the ineffectiveness and impracticality of such weapons as the plasma cannon, as well as the question: "What to do?", stood squarely.
Powering such a weapon required a colossal amount of energy.
Even a solar ionization reactor, if connected to such equipment, would expend a significant portion of its resources to form a shell of suitable power.
We encountered a similar problem in the Sunburn project, where continuous firing of ion cannons literally left the Venator defenseless.
Our Golans, equipped with the same ion cannons or planetary turbolasers, couldn't boast energy efficiency: the station's reactors sufficed, as with the Sunburn prototypes, for one shot.
After which the object was left without serious protection.
The same was observed on Aggressors and Zann Consortium stations—they drained nearly all available energy for a shot, leaving the ship or space object defenseless.
And the effectiveness of this weapon was debatable anyway.
At long ranges, dodging a plasma "braid" was quite easy—which our Twilight and Point of No Return demonstrated, shifting off the line of fire.
"Sir, the Interdictors have redirected their gravity wells," Tschel reported.
"Excellent," I replied. "Inform Krüger that our squadrons are transitioning to attack on the stations and flanking fire on the enemy. The Eternal Wrath commander continues to hold the enemy starships and assumes command of the blocking Star Destroyer squadron. Calculate the jump for Chimaera and Death's Head to the nearest station. Notify Point of No Return that they are free to attack the nearest Keldabe with all weapons."
Hyperspace unfolded before the Chimaera's bow, instantly contracting to points.
Microjump—and now my destroyers had flanked the enemy's line and light ships, positioning between them and the Zann Consortium space station.
"Begin boarding party deployment to the station," I ordered. "Launch fighters—use strike gunboats against enemy fighters. Interceptors—dogfight. Scimitars—disable hyperdrives and command posts of enemy Keldabes."
Thus, the Zann Consortium fleet commander had lost the opportunity to inflict colossal damage on my ships.
His scheme with plasma cannons and ambush had failed.
The retreating Star Galleons would be intercepted by Captain Pryl and her Thunderflare.
However, I'm sure the Zann Consortium transports will still destroy them so they don't fall to us.
All that's left is to destroy or capture the enemy starships, their space stations, and the surface laboratory.
What could go wrong?
My attention was drawn to an explosion where Krüger and Motivator were supposed to attack the station.
"Sir, Motivator is seriously damaged and beginning uncontrolled atmospheric entry!" the watch reported. "The commander has ordered the crew to abandon the starship. Captain Krüger is using remaining tractor beams and emergency maneuvering engines to hold the hull in orbit as long as possible. Twilight has microjumped and is assisting, but there's no prospect of saving the ship. Projected impact zone—five kilometers from the enemy base on the surface."
"The shockwave will be devastating," Tschel said, watching the explosion-warped triangle falling from orbit.
"It won't," I said, looking at the Motivator, of which at best half remained: from the keel beam to the right side. "The structural frame is destroyed, and this ship was never known for great strength even after repairs. It will disintegrate in the atmosphere or be torn apart by tractor beams."
"Sir, we should pull Chimaera farther from our station to avoid a second self-detonation," Tschel warned me.
Instead of looking at the flagship Star Destroyer's commander, I stared at the tactical monitor.
"No need, Captain," I said, pointing to the triangle positioned on the opposite side of the station from us. "Death's Head has already disabled the station's auxiliary reactors with ion cannon fire. Support Captain Demmings' initiatives with our batteries: ease the boarding teams' work."