Chapter 345
**Dagon POV**
Zule lost consciousness first.
Her knees buckled, and I caught her through the Force before she could fall, gently lowering her to the deck. Ahsoka followed seconds later, her smaller frame trembling as the strain of maintaining such a massive shield bubble overwhelmed her. The pain from both of them hit me like a physical blow, but I kept it quiet, channeling it into the kyber matrix instead of letting it distract the meld.
Thirty seconds. That was good enough for a Force bubble this size.
Now it was me alone.
"Ragnos — turn left and accelerate!"
The *Terminus* surged forward, engines roaring as it aimed straight for the *Malice*. The massive Dreadnought loomed ahead like a wall of steel and turbolasers. I could feel the kyber reactor straining, feeding every ounce of power into the forward super cannon and the remaining shield bubble.
We were going to ram it.
Then a massive Recusant-class dreadnought suddenly dropped out of hyperspace directly in our path, sacrificing itself to protect the *Malice*.
The collision was violent.
"Damn!" Ragnos screamed angrily as the *Terminus* slammed into the Recusant. The impact threw crew members across the bridge. Alarms blared.
"Ragnos — damage report!"
"No major damage, sir, but we got knocked off course! The enemy ship is turning, avoiding the ramming!"
"Damn it. Charge the F-Spar. We still got one shot."
The *Terminus* shuddered as it realigned. The *Malice* was already bringing its thousand heavy turbolasers to bear, pouring red fire into our formation. I could feel the strain on the fleet's shields even without the meld.
"What happened?" I growled, eyes locked on the tactical display.
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**Scene 2**
"Sir. The last ships have taken up battle formation." The OOM droid raised its hand to its head in a crisp military salute — a meaningless gesture, but… those were the rules.
TX-01 nodded silently and stepped away from the bridge's observation glazing, heading toward the tactical table located deep in the cockpit. A hologram of a vast number of ships glowed above the table. Three hundred combat units — the fist with which he was supposed to attack Coruscant.
From the very beginning of preparations for this operation, the droid had been told it was a diversionary strike with no particular tactical or strategic value. It was simply intended to be a show of force. However, Zero-One, after calculating all options, had concluded he was being deliberately misled to maintain the operation's secrecy. So he had decided to take the initiative and devised a far more effective and efficient plan — one that envisioned not only an attack on the Republic fleet guarding Coruscant but a full-scale invasion.
Fortunately, he had all the necessary resources.
A strike force of eight Recusant-class dreadnoughts, fourteen Providence-class, and forty Munificent-class would provide cover for the landing force, which included sixty Lucrehulks carrying over thirty million battle droids. The remaining ships — four Recusant-class dreadnoughts, forty Recusant-class destroyers, twenty Lucrehulks, and a hundred Munificents — would pin down the Republic fleet in a grueling, exhausting battle.
And then — then they would win.
"Signal, sir."
"Begin hyperspace jump to system TY-87657."
TX-01 froze in the cockpit of his command ship. The squadron was about to navigate a convoluted route through deserted systems, only to suddenly descend upon an unsuspecting enemy.
Well… now he was rerouted to Dentaal to assist Selena in the rescue of General Grievous.
So much for the plan.
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**Scene 3 – Tarkin POV**
Another Munificent exploded near the *Sovereign*. Its heavy cannons continued firing even as the ship broke apart.
Tarkin was not having a good day.
First the appearance of the massive CIS vessels, then the desperate attempts to destroy the *Malevolence*, then another appeared with thirty Providences, forcing them to protect the convoy while General Marek handled the Dreadnought. Now a massive fleet of over three hundred CIS ships had arrived.
Luckily, these Valiant-class and Resurgent-class ships were proving their worth. Enemy vessels exploded left and right, and swarms of TIE fighters tore through Vulture droids.
"Sir, we are taking heavy damage. Another Lancer lost."
"Intensify bridge shields."
The bridge shook again. Despite the amount of firepower they were putting out, they were outnumbered.
"Grace, keep the Fourth Fleet covered," Tarkin ordered. "We cannot lose the convoy."
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**Scene 4 – Brom Titus POV**
"Target that Providence. Missiles at the bridge."
Another explosion lit up the void.
Brom Titus stood on the bridge of the *Necrosword*, watching the chaos unfold. Another battle. Join the Republic, they said. From fighting pirates to full fleet battles.
"Sir, the *Finalizer* requests support. We are attempting to reach General Dagon. He might need help."
Titus nodded grimly.
"Bring us about. All power to forward batteries. We're going in."
The *Necrosword* surged forward, adding its fire to the desperate defense.
The battle raged on — the *Terminus* charging through the chaos, the *Malice* pouring fire, and now TX-01's massive reinforcement fleet dropping into the system.
Dagon Marek was alone in the center of it all, facing two colossal Dreadnoughts and hundreds of enemy ships.
But he wasn't done yet.
Chapter 345 ends.