Ten years and twenty-second day after the Battle of Yavin…
Or the forty-fifth year and twenty-second day after the Great Resynchronization.
(Seven months and seventh day since the arrival).
Even on the hologram, it was clear that the fur of this particular representative of the Bothan species was standing on end, no matter how hard its owner tried to present himself in the best light.
"Admiral!" the voice of the head of state Fey'lya carried many intonations. Argentis had no doubt that if he were a member of the Falleen species, the space around him would be filled with pheromones equivalent to fear and anxiety. "The New Republic hopes in you and your command talent! You and your fleet are the last hope of the entire democratic world that we will be able to defend our capital."
Duplex, commander of the remnants of the First Fleet of the New Republic Defense Force, sighed quietly.
"Sir," he addressed the head of state unobtrusively. "I have repeated this to you more than once, and I can repeat it as many times again. Coruscant is lost and doomed."
"Bothan analysts, having studied the intelligence information, indicate that Grand Moff Kaine lost two dozen Star Destroyers and nearly half a hundred smaller ships to break through our defensive formations," the Bothan stubbornly stuck to his biased opinion. "There are chances for a successful counterattack."
"Really?" Argentis smiled unobtrusively. "Then why do I not see among my officers the Bothan analysts you mentioned?"
The Bothan's fur rippled in waves.
"Do not forget yourself, Admiral," Fey'lya said harshly and bitterly. "Just as easily as you received your post, you can acquire a new place of service."
"In that case, I am sure that in the New Republic there will be a large number of officers wishing to lead the First Fleet for a counterstrike on Coruscant," Argentis stated in a calm tone. "I have no doubt whatsoever, and I am convinced to the depths of my soul that among our Military Command there are dozens of admirals and generals who will handle the operation to relieve our garrison better than I."
The blow hit its mark.
The Bothan bared his teeth predatorily, and his eyes began to burn the talkative Zeltron with flames of hatred.
Admiral Duplex knew where to strike.
After Fey'lya's victory in the elections for head of state, a significant portion of renowned commanders, both in the fleet and the army, resigned.
This was connected to the fact that Supreme Commander General Bel Iblis, who supported the defeated Mon Mothma, also left his post in protest (and effectively set an example for his ardent supporters), though the official reason was not precisely known.
But the fact remains—the chain of command of the New Republic Defense Force fell apart.
The Battle of Sluis Van, the defeat at Sullust (as well as all previous ones), the secession of the Sluissi from the state, Mon Mothma's public support for the actions of Bel Iblis, Leia Organa Solo, Han Solo, and Lando Calrissian in using control codes for "mole miners" to counter the capture of New Republic military ships (which resulted in their destruction)—all this, and much more besides, defeat after defeat, led to the loss of faith by New Republic citizens in their own government.
Spontaneous protests arose throughout the galaxy, sectors and star systems broke diplomatic and even trade relations with the New Republic and seceded from it.
Thrawn's death, of course, largely predetermined the desertion of many territories, but the way Fey'lya used all of Mon Mothma's unpopular decisions for his victory led to the actual schism of the state.
A significant portion of military recruits did not like the dirty truth that surfaced about Rogue Squadron.
Horn's desertion, his collaboration with the enemy, the cover-up of existing Fleet problems, even the surfaced attempts by the Coruscant's provisional government to physically eliminate Thrawn by hiring assassins, unpopular filtration actions for those returned from captivity—that informational case, combined with hundreds of others, was played out by the Bothans during the election campaign of their kin Fey'lya.
Many heroes of the Rebellion, including those already mentioned, spoke from the position of "necessary evil," which had to be committed to counter Grand Admiral Thrawn and preserve the New Republic.
The justification of their actions sounded pathetic, implausible, and therefore put them at odds with the newly minted and numerically superior Republic military.
Especially those hundreds of thousands of former prisoners of war who languished in Dominion captivity because Mon Mothma and her supporters were unwilling to free their own fighters.
And even when it happened, instead of directing them to man the understaffed or under-repair starships, they were placed in filtration camps, where they remained until Head of State Fey'lya ordered their release and return to the Armed Forces.
Who knows, if these prisoners had been returned immediately when the opportunity arose, would the confrontation with the Dominion have unfolded more successfully than it was demonstrated by Mon Mothma's trusted associates—Admiral Ackbar and General Bel Iblis.
But it was Fey'lya who did it, whom political circles considered a self-absorbed power-seeker who would inevitably "bring the New Republic to dissolution."
This is what the steps of the "Alliance heroes" led to, while the notorious Bothan, though not with the most popular methods, saved the state from schism and civil war.
The confrontation of political elites was gaining momentum and became truly threatening for the young state, since Fey'lya, practically immediately after his election victory, nearly ordered the arrest of everyone his colleagues listed as "traitors."
This greatly displeased all those who understood that the Bothans were simply clearing command positions, which their own appointees would soon occupy.
The situation "smelled of ryll."
Argentis did not know exactly how, but everything was resolved peacefully.
Mon Mothma's supporters left the New Republic, forming the Alliance in the northwest of the galaxy, with the Mon Calamari sector as its core.
A significant portion of military veterans, most of whom began their service as rebel insurgents, followed them.
The Bothans calmly released all who wished.
And even the accession of the Hapes Consortium to the Alliance did not play a big role.
Politicians supporting Fey'lya dismissed the Hapans, commenting on it no differently than: "The New Republic got no great benefit from them anyway. The Hapans were with us because their prince is still in love with Princess Leia, and there was never any real cooperation."
Judging by everything, the division occurred definitively and on mutually beneficial terms, since it is hard to imagine how the new Republic government turned a blind eye to dozens of warships with crews simply leaving their posts and joining the Alliance.
Malicious tongues (and, most likely, Alliance propaganda or Dominion revenge) claimed that crew desertions with their starships were so massive that the Second Fleet went over to the Alliance in full strength.
In reality, it was not like that at all.
Simply, as always happens in such cases, propagandists mixed dozens of facts into one.
From what Argentis knew, the Second Fleet did indeed plan to desert in favor of the Alliance. And they expressed their desire based on Fey'lya's wish to deal with the "Mon Mothma faction."
Judging by everything, the notorious treaties led to Mon Mothma and her supporters leaving unhindered, taking with them only some ships—the latest deliveries from the Mon Calamari sector, for which the New Republic had not yet even paid.
In exchange, Fey'lya received a though impoverished but literally eating from his hand society of the New Republic.
And the Defense Forces, having lost all renowned commanders but confident in their superiority over the enemy.
And the transfer of new MC80b star cruisers from the Mon Calamari in the previous weeks practically compensated for the losses from Grand Admiral Thrawn's actions, only fueling revanchist sentiments.
Why did Admiral Duplex not follow the Rebellion heroes and join the Alliance?
Because he was thoroughly disappointed in them.
Listening to their exploits from the outside, one admires the heroism and consequences of the actions.
But once involved in the events, one begins to understand that everything is not at all as Republican propaganda, promoted by Mon Mothma for the entire galaxy, painted it.
Zeltrons were not vindictive, but Argentis could not forgive Bel Iblis and Han Solo their recklessness, which cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of Republican servicemen.
Half a million of the best sentients in the Fourth Fleet ceased to exist in an instant.
Only because the operation command never bothered to understand—Grand Admiral Thrawn's plans NEVER have just one layer.
And the obvious solution to the problem is not at all obvious.
The most obvious solution is a trap.
Argentis did not flatter himself with the thought that he had "outcalculated" the late Dominion warlord.
But he gave due to his ingenuity and cunning.
And he did not consider it beneath him to use the lessons learned independently and apply them against the enemies of the New Republic.
Admiral Duplex considered the division of democratic elites wrong.
Yes, he did not like the current government.
Yes, he had many complaints against the Bothans.
But he took the Oath and did not intend to betray it.
And it was not even that he was the commander of the best of the New Republic's fleets (or rather, its remnants) and received this position on the decision of the head of state, who was as sympathetic to him as a pomaded rancor.
There are simply such concepts as "honor" and "conscience."
And to run from the state with tail tucked only because unpleasant persons stood at the head of the New Republic…
That is selfish.
And it directly demonstrates the attitude of the "Alliance heroes" to the democracy they so praise.
Instead of political struggle and acknowledgment of errors for their subsequent elimination—flight and actual sabotage with a call to the New Republic military to abandon their service.
This duplicity played the key role in the choice Argentis made for him.
Fey'lya displayed an indescribable play of emotions on his face, after which he pulled himself together.
"Much depends on your mission, Admiral," he repeated. "Both your fitness for the position and…"
"Reputation of the head of state," the Zeltron added to himself, trying to maintain seriousness on his face.
"… the faith of Republican citizens in the greatness of our armed forces," like all politicians, Fey'lya covered his interests with the "needs and aspirations of the people," on whom, for the most part, he did not care.
As long as the people's interests did not intersect with his own.
"And the lives of thousands of our fighters from the Coruscant garrison," Argentis added calmly.
"Yes," Fey'lya added hastily. "And that too. I wish you luck and success in the mission. Your new flagship will prove itself in this battle, I have no doubt that we finally have in our hands a weapon capable of fighting Imperial Star Destroyers on equal terms."
"The battle will show how much the words of the Rendilians match the deed," the admiral replied diplomatically.
The hologram of the head of state disappeared, and the Zeltron was finally able to relax.
His new flagship was named "Reptavian" and was the freshest combat ship to enter service with the New Republic Defense Force this year.
Fey'lya solemnly handed it over to Duplex after the Rendilians completed construction and testing of the starship several weeks ago, simultaneously announcing the admiral's promotion to commander of the First Fleet of the New Republic Defense Force.
It was all done with pomp, as if honoring heroes.
No, Fey'lya, of course, clothed his words in sweet speeches pleasing to any type of auditory organs about how only one admiral in the New Republic managed to inflict any serious damage on Grand Admiral Thrawn's forces.
Sentients in the know understood the price of those words—a decicred.
Argentis, no matter how hard he tried, could not jump higher than his head.
He had no clean victories over the Imperials and Dominionites in the previous campaign.
But the mere fact that the trap at Brentaal IV worked and the Imperial Remnant fleet suffered significant losses, and during the Battle of Sluis Van he managed to destroy Dominion Star Destroyers without any crazy initiatives like mass ramming with by no means cheap and valuable transport ships, strangely enough, distinguished Admiral Duplex from the general mass of remaining Oath-loyal Republican commanders.
Well… Fey'lya knew how to ignite hearts with fiery and accusatory speeches about patriotism.
Of course, it was a complete coincidence that the new ship was handed over to the fleet with pomp precisely when questions began to arise about where the "Lusankya" had gone and why nothing was heard about it.
And it was not at all surprising that in the "Holonet" those angry messages about the irritating uncertainty of the fate of the Executor-class Star Super Dreadnought were no longer visible.
The Bothans knew how to work in the field of destroying informational triggers when too much depended on their work.
For example—their own political dividends.
The first of its kind "Reptavian" belonged to the class of Republic-class Star Destroyers.
And at the moment, it was one of the largest combat starships that had ever been in service with either the Rebel Alliance or the New Republic.
Reaching a length of one thousand two hundred fifty meters, the starship was the brainchild of the talented Rendilian engineer Walex Blissex, known for creating a significant portion of the Old Republic's star fleet.
The Victory-class Star Destroyers developed under his participation appeared at the end of the Clone Wars and literally turned the course of the entire war, winning almost every battle in which they participated.
The newest Star Destroyer surpassed the "Victory" in size but was inferior in dimensions to the "Imperials." Precisely for this reason, many commanders considered the technical specification imperfect, believing that starships of such sizes were not able to fight Imperial-class Star Destroyers on equal terms, the backbone of the Empire and Imperial Remnants fleets.
However, the Rendilians disagreed with this.
Admiral Duplex thoroughly studied the starship after acceptance, transferring to it the entire surviving crew from his flagship at Sluis Van, reinforcing it with parts of crews from Fourth Fleet starships that survived that battle.
And he did this not just so.
And, even understanding that the "Republic" was a desperate gesture by the Rendilians to prove themselves in shipbuilding, their challenge to the Kuat Drive Yards and Mon Calamari, an attempt to carve out their niche, displacing from the budget trough the Kuat who demanded huge sums for their work or the defected Mon Calamari, the admiral would do it again.
He understood the political background of this step.
In conditions of budget deficit and growing suspicions of feigned loyalty, the Rendilians sought to create a ship that would become the backbone of the New Republic fleet, pushing Mon Calamari ships, currently occupying that niche, to the back burner.
Thus, they would not only demonstrate their favor to the Republic and personally to Head of State Fey'lya, who put more effort into preserving the industry and military machine of the New Republic than his predecessors, but could also earn properly, considering that at the moment only they could produce such a ship type as the Republic-class Star Destroyer.
And, so far, of course, only on paper, but Argentis had no doubt that the Rendilians had succeeded in what they planned.
In addition to the fact that the crew of the new destroyer consisted of only eight and a half thousand sentients, which was almost four and a half times less than the similar requirements for the "Imperial" crew, the "Republic" surpassed the "Imperial-I" by twenty percent in firepower.
Yes, it was weak for a one-on-one battle with the Imperial-II, but at the same time it cost twice as little, and was significantly more effective than the Mon Calamari and Mon Mothma-lobbied star cruisers.
The armament consisted of forty twin turbolaser cannons, half of which were placed in the bow, and the rest (in equal proportion—along the sides).
Forty heavy turbolaser cannons, ten guns each, protected ships from each direction—bow, stern, and both sides.
Twenty ion cannons were placed on the same principle, but already five guns per direction.
Ten tractor beam projectors also played no small role in battle.
As did the three thousand two hundred soldiers that this starship could transport in its deck barracks.
But today those bunks were empty.
The Republic-class Star Destroyer.
The "Reptavian" was not delivering reinforcements to ground forces on the battlefield—it intended to evacuate them from there. And so, along with half a hundred star cruisers, a large number of transport starships moved toward Coruscant, whose task was to descend to the surface at evacuation points during the battle, pick up the remnants of New Republic fighters, and then, under the cover of the star fleet, retreat to the rendezvous point, where from the holds of overcrowded transports, part of the rescued would already be transferred to combat starships to avoid straining the life support systems on the starships.
Yes, the ship is not without its flaws.
The first of them, and the most significant in the opinion of Admiral Duplex, was the absence of anti-aircraft armament. Laser rapid-fires could significantly better ensure the ship's safety than the air wing.
Which also had complaints.
Due to the desire to increase firepower, the developers had to halve the hangar, the hold space from the original project.
Now the "Republic" could boast of only thirty-six fighters and bombers on board.
Exactly the same number were carried in the hangars of Mon Calamari star cruisers, but at the same time they did not have such stunning armament.
The production and design work on the new ship was completed in an accelerated manner immediately after Rendili was thrown out of the Imperial sphere of influence by Thrawn.
The Republic, not least thanks to the efforts of then-advisor Fey'lya, accepted Rendili and Bestine IV into its composition.
Almost immediately after that, rumors began that these two planets were "Jedi plants." This was based on the fact that it was Rendili that supplied Thrawn with modernization kits, thanks to which his Dreadnought-class heavy cruisers became significantly more combat-capable than expected.
From Bestine IV, a significant number of technical specialists who once worked for the Empire moved to the Dominion and now labored for the enemy. However, despite the loss of a significant portion of engineering personnel, the oceanic shipyards on the planet made considerable efforts to help democracy in the fight against the imperialists of Orinda, the Pentastar Alignment, and other Remnants, as well as the militarists of the Dominion (of course, if they dare to venture beyond their sectors, where they shamefully fled as soon as Thrawn died).
It was on this planet that the "Republican Engineering Corporation," founded practically immediately after the creation of the New Republic, was located, whose headquarters on Coruscant was now abandoned, and all necessary transferred to production sites on Bestine. By rumors, many projects for the future New Republic fleet were developed there, but so far there are no opportunities for producing large ships—the fastest construction of fighters is a priority.
At the moment, Rendili and Bestine were a shipbuilding cluster that ensures the fastest repair of Republican starships, not to mention the nonstop production of small flying craft.
Argentis had no doubt that if the "Reptavian" proved itself properly in this confrontation in orbit of Coruscant, then Rendili and Bestine would organize mass production of these ships.
Possibly, Sullust, currently taking a wait-and-see position but not having left the New Republic, unlike the Sluissi, would join them as well.
Argentis knew that if not for the Imperial offensive, Fey'lya would have begun implementing a large-scale program to rearm the Republican fleet, which desperately needed it.
The state needs exclusively combat starships in the Armed Forces composition, not morally outdated repurposed Mon Calamari transports.
The MC80 series did much for the victory of democracy, but after Dac's secession from the New Republic, it is senseless to continue relying on these outdated starships.
They no longer meet the requirements of the times, and purchasing spare parts from the Mon Calamari will cost a fortune.
Admiral Duplex intended to test this "Reptavian" in battle with a strong numerically superior enemy.
But if Grand Admiral Thrawn taught the Republican military anything, it was that the holds of main class ships should always be full of "surprises."
And today Grand Moff Kaine would experience on himself what it was like to be the attacked at Coruscant.
***
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