Asajj Ventress felt her right eye twitch.
Then her left.
Then her right again.
"This isn't even funny," the cherished thought flashed through her mind.
She cast a suspicious glance at Counter-Admiral Shohashi.
But the commander of the 'Crimson Star' remained in a state of spiritual tranquility, unshaken even by a supernova explosion.
"Is this some kind of joke?" Ventress finally asked, breaking eye contact with the boy standing before her.
"Not at all," Shohashi replied calmly.
"This is..." the Dathomirian witch struggled to find suitable words. "Some kind of absurdity."
"On the contrary," Shohashi stated calmly, taking a cup of kaff from the coffee table and taking a sip with pleasure. "You came to me for help and advice. I did everything to ensure you got what you wanted."
"In what way, forgive me?" Ventress began to feel a boiling sensation inside.
"As far as I know, you want something from Grand Admiral Thrawn," Shohashi demonstrated his knowledge. "And you asked me how to do it. The answer is one—return a favor to Thrawn."
"What does this brat have to do with it?" Ventress pointed at the boy standing before her.
Dark-haired, lean, with sharp facial features.
He scowled, looking at her from under his brows, and anger was boiling inside him—she could feel the rivers of the Force flowing from him.
Yes, good potential, but nothing more.
A kind of diamond that she had to cut.
She!
"I don't need students," she declared. "I'll talk to Thrawn."
"All fleets are in radio silence," Shohashi stated. "The 'Chimera'—including. We have general combat alert, if you haven't forgotten."
"I haven't forgotten," Ventress gritted through her teeth, looking again at the boy standing before her. "Who is he, anyway?"
"My name is Kip Durron," the young man himself replied instead of Shohashi. "No need to talk about me as if I were on the other side of the galaxy. I'm here and I can hear you, by the way."
"Well, aren't you clever," Ventress chuckled, stepping closer to him and grabbing him by the chin, lifting his head so he looked her in the eyes.
The boy was almost a head shorter than her now, but he looked only about seventeen—in eight years, when his body reached its peak development and growth, he would be almost as tall as her.
Her nails scratched his skin mercilessly, but the boy didn't even flinch, not reacting in any way to her dismissive expression and the features twisted into a contemptuous grimace.
"So, I have to train you to be able to be part of the strike group that will finish off Palpatine," she said, examining the boy as meticulously as she did when choosing from Savage Opress's Night Brothers. "Well, kid, let's consider you my student—if you survive the process, of course. Since I have no other option—we'll dance to the tune the Grand Admiral sets for us."
Durron grabbed her wrist with a quick and strong movement, and removed it from his face.
In an instant, the witch found herself looking into the face of a small beast.
From which a rather good rancor could grow—if stimulated correctly.
It was enough that when he grabbed her hand (Ventress didn't react, wanting to observe the development of events), the witch felt that for his build, the boy was strong enough.
He was probably tougher than he looked.
"I don't inspire trust or respect in you either, Lady," he said. "I'm here to learn something more, something combat-oriented, deadly, not the philosophical ramblings that the Jensaarai defenders taught me. I owe the Grand Admiral—he saved my brother. And I will learn from you, if that is his will. And I will follow the course he wants from me. Do you understand?"
"Youthful maximalism and nascent ambitions," Ventress chuckled. "So, our dear Grand Admiral has hooked you too?"
"He helped me," Durron stated. "Pulled me out of the Kessel mines. Saved my brother. You want to kill Palpatine—so do I."
"And why?"
"My family died because of his Empire, I ended up in Kessel, and my brother—on Carida," Kip explained. "If it weren't for the Dominion—I would have rotted there for several years."
"You'll be washing yourself in blood for another as long during training," Ventress admitted. "It won't be easy."
"I already know some things," the boy stated. "I was trained—both at Kessel and in the Dominion. Teach me to fight, Lady Ventress. I want to be in that strike team with you."
"Oh, really?" the woman chuckled.
For a moment, she thought about explaining to the boy who they would be fighting against.
And that, at best, by the end of the battle, most of those who would oppose Palpatine would die.
And then she thought of something else.
The boy was good—the Force was strong in him.
He had talent.
Of course, Thrawn doesn't say exactly when he intends to attack Palpatine (if it happens at all), but they have some time to prepare the boy.
You can't make a good fighter and Force user out of him in a couple of months—that requires years of practice and training.
The Jensaarai that Thrawn trains in his Dominion are unlikely to survive a confrontation with Palpatine's Dark Side elite, let alone Darth Sidious himself.
But a decent adept, which she herself was during the Clone Wars, can be made out of Durron.
Why not?
Such a person could always be thrown into an attack from another flank or used to distract Palpatine, so she could strike herself...
Selfish?
Yes.
Does she feel remorse about it?
Not at all.
She is an adept of the Dark Side of the Force, no matter how much she tried to instill other knowledge from the Jedi, or comprehend their philosophy.
The path of the Dark Side is betrayal.
"Remember, kid," she said. "No one's going to spare you. If you don't want to die in the first few battles, absorb the lessons I teach you as fast as Tatooine sand absorbs moisture. Do you understand me?"
"I know my goal and I strive for it," Durron replied. "You won't have to repeat yourself to me twice, teacher."
"Call me that again and I'll break your spine," Ventress promised. "Just because I'm passing on some of my knowledge to you doesn't mean I'm your teacher. You're not grown enough for me to consider you worthy of all my knowledge."
"I will grow," Durron said confidently. "See if you have enough knowledge to satisfy my thirst for power."
"Mr. Durron has backbone," Shohashi commented, finishing his kaf. "I like it."
"I wish both of you would break your necks," Ventress thought.
"Well, now let's move on to the second part of our plan," the counter-admiral announced, indicating seats on the sofas on either side of his position to those present. "Have a seat. Mr. Durron, I want to see the information chip you delivered for me."
The boy, like the witch, took their assigned seats.
After that, Kip handed over the data storage device.
Shohashi connected it to a portable holoprojector that stood in the middle of the coffee table.
A map of the galaxy appeared before everyone present.
More precisely, its northern extremities, with the journey beginning in the Bosph sector and ending in the area designated as the Chiloon Rift.
Along this path were barely visible dotted lines, thick blue lines connecting bright, pale dots.
When each of them was enlarged, pictures of constellations visible from one angle or another appeared.
"It's like someone was looking out of a cockpit at the surrounding space," Ventress commented.
"That's exactly what it is," Shohashi replied. "These are the memories of a person who made this journey several years ago. As you can see," he pointed to the dotted lines, which were the majority on the indicated path, "ninety-eight percent of the route is uncalculated and is only hypothetical, based on computer calculations. Your task," he looked at Durron and Ventress, "is to plot a course for the 'Red Star'."
"Based on another person's memories?" Ventress clarified, raising her eyebrows in surprise.
"Is this a problem for such powerful beings?" Shahashi clarified. "Or is the Force unable to achieve such a feat."
"I've never done this before," Durron admitted.
"That's the point, kid," Ventress declared, looking at Shohashi. "Thrawn decided to turn us into explorer Jedi who, in the Old Republic, used the Force to plot courses for starships in deep space?"
"Grand Admiral Thrawn does not disclose his plans," Shohashi replied calmly. "This is part of our common combat mission, General Ventress. And I believe only the two of you can handle it."
"I suppose there are no other Jensaarai nearby," Ventress smiled thinly.
"In the Bosph sector, certainly not," the commander of the 'Red Star' squadron replied.
Ventress looked at her newfound apprentice, mentally applauding Thrawn.
She wanted his permission to participate in the assassination of Palpatine.
He had foisted on her a kid he wanted her to train.
And they were assigned the task of plotting a hyperspace route through the fringes of the galaxy, where gravitational distortions, anomalies, black holes, radiation, and various types of emissions could disable the equipment of any research ship.
"I hope this assignment will be counted as my advance payment for participating in Palpatine's assassination," she said.
"Otherwise, they wouldn't have assigned it to you, Lady Ventress," Durron suggested. "They're testing our resilience. We have to succeed in this task."
"Who wouldn't doubt that," Ventress thought irritably.
"Alright," she said. "Prepare a ship for me. We'll leave as soon as we're ready."
"Don't rush," Shohashi advised. "I'll need you soon."
"For what purpose?" Durron inquired.
"The observation station at our base on Jandolhun registered the approach of an enemy fleet," Shohashi explained, looking at Ventress. "I hope you don't want to miss a bloody battle, General?" Perhaps your former master will be there.
Ventress smiled predatorily.
"You know how to show a lady attention, Counter-Admiral," she said in a syrupy tone. "Now you don't even hide the ysalamiri in your apartments when we meet."
"I prefer to consider you a loyal comrade and subordinate, General," Shohashi replied dryly. "I hope we've passed the 'uncontrollable ally' stage."
Ventress thought she should make one thing clear to the counter-admiral: she knew perfectly well that he was indulging Thrawn in exploiting her.
He shouldn't get too big for his boots and think he could put her in the same box as his other grunts.
"You don't know Dathomirian witches well, Counter-Admiral," she said with the same smile she used when going into battle with Jedi. "We are uncontrollable weapons. And besides, we are women, and you always have to be on your guard with us."
"That possibility has been calculated," Shohashi nodded, pointing to the MagnaGuards standing in the shadows. "Just give me a reason to get rid of you, and I'll do it without hesitation."
Ventress looked him in the eye with a good-natured smile.
Yes, he was no fool either – he kept his finger on the pulse.
That was good.
She didn't like working alongside a slug who had become complacent; on the contrary, it made her want to get rid of such a "commander."
Shohashi was a good man – he maintained his standards.
"Don't be careless, Counter-Admiral," she advised. "A witch cannot be tamed."
"Obey orders, General," Shohashi reminded her. "And there will be no more problems."
"That remains to be seen," Ventress said, openly enjoying the banter.
"Can I go now?" Durron asked. "I'm literally sick of all this barracks-style flirting..."
Shohashi's face instantly turned to stone.
Ventress didn't even bother to look at her apprentice.
She simply blasted him with a Force Lightning, throwing him off the sofa towards the exit of the apartment.
"Lesson one, kid," she said. "Shut your mouth until you're asked."
Durron, struggling to his feet, was filled with rage and trembled with overflowing anger.
Combined with the muscle contractions from the tiny electrical flashes coursing through him, it looked almost comical.
"I'll remember this, Lady Ventress," he promised.
His eyes held a thirst for murder and revenge for the utter insult he had suffered.
Asajj broke into a smile and struck him with another Lightning.
It seemed she was starting to enjoy the training process.
The boy was overestimating his ability to absorb the material.
Why had he opened his mouth when she hadn't asked him anything?
***
Even through thousands of light-years, despite interference and the quality of the connection, Jade could be glad that emotions appeared on the usually impassive face of the Grand Admiral.
Yes, it was an expression that could be characterized and described by the phrase: "What, again?"
But it was still an emotion.
From the Grand Admiral.
Well, it was nice to know that you could stir even someone considered the epitome of Imperial stuffiness and composure.
"I'm listening," the Grand Admiral's voice could freeze Tatooine solid to its core.
"On Etti IV, as on other planets in the Corporate Sector, a state of high combat readiness has been declared," Mara recounted, glancing behind her. "The 'boys in brown' are everywhere. Zann's residence is cordoned off by three rings, and you can only get through by becoming invisible."
"So, you don't have such talents in your arsenal?" Thrawn clarified.
"Clever," Mara assessed.
"A funny joke," she smiled unnaturally, so that the Grand Admiral understood her attitude...
"That's a direct question," he clarified.
"Oh," Mara faltered. "No, I wasn't trained for that. I'm afraid I won't be able to penetrate the beast's lair after all."
"Is the security that insurmountable?" Thrawn inquired.
"Yes, someone has thoroughly re-educated them," Mara nodded. "My forged documents didn't work at the first cordon. The enemy has changed the access parameters. And everything we knew about them at the moment is useless. I don't know how, but they managed to keep the existence of a backup system of passwords and recalls secret. Which they are now using."
"Is that so," Thrawn narrowed his eyes. "Local security?"
"And here's the most interesting part," Mara looked at the corpses of local security forces lying at her feet. "The 'boys in brown' are predominantly humans. But now the patrols consist of soldiers entirely in heavy and medium closed armor. Several of them visited my backup 'rendezvous'."
"Interrogated?" Thrawn clarified.
"That's why I say it's a small problem," Mara reminded him. "These are Zann Consortium militants. Outright bandits who have been tasked with guarding all spaceports while transport shuttles depart from Etti IV's warehouses. All space surveillance is under enemy control. The flight of any transports, except cargo ships, is prohibited. They are shot down without even an attempt to land them. Something is happening in orbit, and they don't want the locals to see it."
"What are they transporting?" Thrawn asked.
And thereby slightly confused her.
"Ammunition, provisions, military equipment," she strained her memory. "Separate loads are for militants – the 'boys in brown' are literally bursting with happiness that they're going into battle."
"Informative," Thrawn chuckled. "What measures is the enemy taking to ensure the secrecy of their actions in orbit?"
"To do this, they are conducting thorough searches of everyone who arrived on the planet in the last few days. Not to mention that all starships in the spaceports, all flyers and aerospeeders in parking lots and at citizens' homes are de-energized by chips."
"So, after the commander of the Picket Fleet returned to Etti IV from the Bosph sector," Thrawn understood.
"Exactly, sir," Mara agreed. "I'm afraid they finally realized our buzz droid had latched onto her ship. And they figured out what was going on."
"Yes, the increased security measures speak for themselves," Thrawn agreed. "We must assume that the operation to eliminate Tyber Zann has failed."
"Actually, I don't think so," Mara said. "I'm only giving you this information so you know the enemy is preparing troops. From what I saw when I approached Etti IV, there are about twenty Victory-class Star Destroyers in orbit. According to information from the shadow channels of the HoloNet, this is the situation throughout the Corporate Sector."
"They are mobilizing their defenses," Thrawn understood. "They are attacking, but at the same time preparing to withstand the blow."
"I think we can change a few addresses and identities and try to infiltrate the residence differently," Mara hinted.
"There's no need," Thrawn cut her off. "We have learned that Palpatine's spies may be embedded in the Zann Consortium. We have already eliminated at least one in the Bosph sector. But his teacher, the commander of the operation, escaped. Given the increased security measures, your capture is a matter of time. I'm sure Palpatine's agents know exactly what the Emperor's Hand looks like."
Mara shivered.
So the old psychopath wasn't as much of a psychopath as they thought.
"In that case, I should lie low," Mara said.
"You should retreat," Thrawn ordered. "Leave the planet and the sector."
"My ship is under enemy guard," Mara reminded him. "Rescuing it could cause a lot of noise. And breaking through the destroyers with the 'Flame' will be..."
The young woman fell silent, meeting Grand Admiral Thrawn's gaze.
"Understood," her mouth became as dry as the Dune Sea of Tatooine. "The 'Flame' remains on the surface of Etti IV."
Her throat tightened as if in a vise.
She had to leave her ship?!
Why did it always happen like this?!
As soon as you get attached to something, and bam – you have to say goodbye to your beloved starship and your life on it?!
"I'm sorry, Mara, but the value of the 'Flame' is less than the value of your life," Thrawn continued. "You will get your ship back when the Zann Consortium is destroyed. For now, you should leave the planet. Use the cargo shuttles – they will take you to the ships preparing to attack the Dominion."
"Um..." Jade frowned. "Do you think Zann will throw 'Victories-!' into the attack? Even half a thousand won't be enough against our defenses. Probably," she added.
"There's no point in loading more 'Victories'," Thrawn enlightened her. "There are second-line invasion ships in orbit – transports and support ships that will follow the breakthrough forces already concentrated at our borders. The presence of 'Victories' in orbit is a diversion."
"Understood," Mara inhaled loudly through her nose.
Well, she had tried her best.
To decapitate the criminal group during their illegal activities – to demoralize them.
And it would be easier to destroy them.
Now, with the news of increased security and the imposition of a curfew on the sector's planets, with the appearance of gifted individuals in Zann's service, and with Palpatine's agents, the operation had become an order of magnitude more complicated.
But Mara still didn't consider it impossible.
However, Thrawn wanted her to infiltrate the support ships.
The second-line starships...
She wondered why?
"What will my assignment be?" she asked.
"I want to know the location of their operational base," Thrawn explained. "Find it for me."
"I'll do my best, sir," Jade assured him.
When the Grand Admiral's hologram dissolved, and she shattered the communicator of the Hand into a myriad of pieces with the Force, she looked at the rented cottage on the outskirts of the capital.
From here to the first cordon was about fifty kilometers.
Patrols, both on foot and on speeder bikes, observer droids, combat droids, signal traps...
She could break through them.
She could reach the residence.
She could kill Zann and decapitate his organization.
But she could also get caught.
With the new intel, the danger level increased manifold.
Well, this wasn't a failure.
It was an unfortunate oversight.
Which the local Dominion intelligence would rectify when the time came.
And now she had to change her objective.
And leave the 'Flame' here.
And eventually, the enemy would realize that this ship belonged to a special services agent.
They would dig into its systems.
Take it apart.
Perhaps (and most obviously) leave a few dozen unpleasant "surprises."
You could say her ship would be "dishonored."
And, knowing how Thrawn loved to leave behind many extra devices on captured ships, it would be dangerous to use the 'Flame'.
Mara stepped over the corpse of one of the enemy fighters, whose neck she had snapped, like the others, without using a lightsaber – so as not to be partially identified by such a weapon.
She took a small backpack with the items she truly needed for the mission – all other luggage delivered to the rented house was just a pretense.
Then, with a heavy heart, she outlined an escape plan from the dwelling.
And even figured out how she would get aboard the necessary ship.
After all, transports were loaded at the same spaceport where her 'Flame' was docked.
Her ship, her home, her property, which she could no longer trust as before.
And she couldn't take it with her either – although the ship was barely noticeable, it was only on scanners.
Visual contact would be enough to destroy the 'Flame'.
The ship was lost to her anyway.
And no matter what Thrawn said, there was no point in saving the starship.
And to be honest, it wasn't built for her, but for Palpatine's assassin.
And it had many hidden functions that you wouldn't discover unless you looked deep beneath the decorative plating.
For example, the "decoy" function and remote control of the starship.
Or a few gadgets to ensure the ship never fell into enemy hands and was never studied by anyone.
All of this would be useful for escaping the planet.
And the ship...
If she stayed alive, she would have many other ships ahead of her.
Should she send Thrawn an invoice?
Mara shook her head negatively.
No, thank you, no bad ideas.
She had enough of her own.
She didn't need the Chiss to start offering her a Super Star Destroyer again, like last time.
So he gathered starships filling the sector, and now he didn't know who to give this headache to.
No, Grand Admiral Thrawn, we don't need handouts.
Let your own head ache.
Mara would find herself another starship.
Better than the 'Flame'.
She would build it for herself.
And never abandon it.
***
His name was Jerid Sykes-12, and he was the twelfth clone of the original combat wing commander of the Zann Consortium.
Like the other clones of this man, he was devoted to the organization and was currently relishing the moments of the upcoming operation, leading his fleet into battle.
The victories achieved by the Zann Consortium in the past were glorious, but what would happen today would overshadow most of them.
After the operation against the Dominion was completed, much would happen in the galaxy.
Nothing would remain the same.
There would be new enemies, open confrontation with whom would bring many new battles.
And with each new battle, the previous ones would become a pale shadow compared to what the Zann Consortium intended to do with its enemies in the future.
As always, the attacks would be swift, crushing, leaving no strength for resistance.
First the Dominion, then Imperial Space, then – the Pentastar Alignment, smaller Imperial Remnants...
Agents would emerge from the shadows and lay their destabilized regions at the organization's feet.
While the Empire was bogged down in war in the east, their worlds were weakened.
This meant it was an opportunity to strike them with much stronger opponents, to avenge the humiliation that the Zann Consortium had suffered in the past at the hands of the Empire and the Rebel Alliance.
Sykes-12 himself did not participate in battles until the Consortium's collapse a few years earlier.
He was created, like his other cloning brothers, about a year ago, when the Empire's tendency towards strengthening became apparent.
The return of Grand Admiral Thrawn two years ago from whatever hole in the galaxy he had been in forced the Zann Consortium to act more energetically, to rapidly increase its armed potential...
This led to another crisis that almost cost the organization its existence again, but problems only temper.
Soon everything would return to normal, and the Zann Consortium would control the galaxy.
For the first time, all worlds would unite under the rule not of democrats, nor tyrants, nor kings or Sith, but under a powerful criminal organization.
The attack tactic was incredibly simple.
Sykes-12's squadron of ships, like other strike groups, would use the scouted paths leading to the very heart of the Dominion's metropolis.
Like surgeons, they would isolate sector after sector, after which they would establish control over the supply routes.
The second wave of reinforcements would deliver their infantry units to the planets – both the useless, in general, units of the Corporate Sector Security Service, and assault squads, packed with second-model droidekas, like those produced on Hypori.
As always before a Zann Consortium attack, a crushing force would descend upon the unsuspecting and almost defenseless inner worlds of the Dominion.
The plan was elegant in its simplicity.
Each sector would be subjected to strikes.
Shipyards, production facilities, shipyards would be attacked and captured, and ground bases and troop concentrations would be subjected to orbital bombardment.
Defense Force ships could only surrender while the Dominion's regular fleet starships eagerly attacked pirate groups in the remote Karthakk sector in the east of the galaxy.
Of course, they would have to fight multiple opponents – including the 'Red Star' squadron, which destroyed the Picket Fleet formations in the Bosph sector.
Sykes-12 felt adrenaline boiling within him from the upcoming battle.
It wasn't just the Dominion that knew how to use scout droids.
And it wasn't just the Alliance that knew how to set traps.
Now the 'Butcher of Atoan' was fully confident that his battered squadron was in complete safety, hiding after the military insult inflicted on the Zann Consortium.
And all of them would be destroyed in one fell swoop by the syndicate's large forces.
Sykes-12 had enough strength to disable the notorious fast dreadnought 'Crimson Dawn', already famous as a fleet destroyer.
Once it was at the disposal of the Zann Consortium, it would be very difficult for those who opposed the organization.
Sykes-12 had long been observing Eric Shohashi's actions, analyzing his opponent.
A ruthless and educated commander, the scourge of the Outer Rim, mercilessly exterminating everything in his path.
A loyal soldier, such as are rarely found in the Outer Rim of the galaxy – after all, the fringes of the galaxy had long been merely a place of exile for those who had displeased the Empire.
Well, today he would have an excellent opportunity to test his abilities against a powerful opponent.
"Admiral, ten minutes left until the planet Jandolhun," reported the navigator on the other side of the bridge.
Despite the fact that the 'Merciless' – Tyber Zann's flagship, an Aggressor-class Star Destroyer – was destroyed in the last battle of the previous Consortium, Sykes-12 made every effort to make his flagship look exactly the same.
As well as other clones of Admiral Sykes.
A tribute to the power of the Zann Consortium, which they had lost once, but would undoubtedly restore again.
Sykes-12's Aggressor-class Star Destroyer.
"Prepare to open the main communication channel," commanded Sykes-12, impatiently awaiting the moment when the fleet would emerge from hyperspace, and he could begin giving it orders.
Orders that would wash away the shame of the defeat suffered by the Picket Fleet in the Bosph sector.
"It will be done, Admiral."
A smile flickered across Sykes-12's thin, cracked lips.
He felt the familiar vibration of deceleration beginning, and the image in the panoramic window beyond the combat bridge transformed from the whitish haze of hyperspace into the real cosmic darkness.
They had arrived at the far reaches of the Jandolhun system, where the enemy's Picket Fleet starships were located.
There was minimal stellar gravity in this region, but only a few light-minutes from the world itself.
Here, obviously, the enemy had placed their sector operational base, and besides combat spacecraft, there must be many transports with valuable property.
Since the combat ships of the Zann Consortium were largely built from old Imperial projects, developed but rejected by the foolish Imperial war machine, the unification of Imperial technologies was more than justified.
The Zann Consortium was building the largest military fleet, on par with what the Empire had at the zenith of its glory.
Yes, it would take decades, perhaps even years, but to control the entire galaxy and destroy all Imperials, Rebels, Republicans, Neutrals, Hutts, and Renegades, large forces would be needed.
Part of them the syndicate would build itself.
Part – they would take from the Dominion.
Another portion of the armed forces would be transferred by puppets along with their territories.
However, the situation in orbit around Jandolhun seemed extraordinary to Sykes-12.
Instead of seeing the planet of the same name, with captured Dominion starships and ships undergoing repairs, helpless and at his mercy, Sykes-12 discovered the 'Crimson Dawn' squadron before him.
The Dominion fleet, which had lined up around his starships, ready for battle.
He thought, "This is impossible!"
Then he shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Shields to full power!" – but the enemy had already opened fire.
***
The battle had not yet begun, but Counter-Admiral Shohashi's eyes were glued to the panoramic monitors on the bridge of the 'Crimson Dawn'.
The Jandolhun early warning system, taken from the New Republic, and Grand Admiral Thrawn's last order warned that the enemy was advancing towards the borders of the Dominion metropolis.
And the commanders of the operational formations had long since prepared defensive positions to meet the enemy.
The squadron that attacked the 'Red Star' operational base included ten Aggressor-class Star Destroyers and three dozen Vengeance-class frigates.
They were supported by four dozen Interceptor IV-class frigates, performing the functions of military transport starships with missile and energy weapons.
Given the size of the holds of the Action IV freighters, from which these frigates were created, it was not surprising that they were here.
They likely carried military personnel and equipment for initial planetary operations, as well as for capturing enemy starships.
A more than significant force to subdue a little-known remote sector and deal with the 'Red Star' forces.
Especially considering that the 'Aggressors' were equipped with ion-plasma cannons, which would play their role in neutralizing the squadron's starships.
On the Dominion's side, Eric deployed all available warships in the sector: the 'Crimson Dawn' and nine 'Imperial' 'ones': 'Imperious', 'Black Star', 'Arbiter', 'Tyrant', 'Tyranny', 'Titan', 'Executor', 'Thunderflare'.
They were divided into squads of three destroyers, under the command of 'twos': 'Liquidator', 'Red Dragon', and 'Eviscerator'.
And now these three battle groups held the enemy's flanks and rear in a semicircle, leaving the 'Crimson Dawn' at the front, accompanied by the Star Destroyer formerly known as 'Emperor's Will'.
Now known as 'Mercy', this ship – the only 'three' in the entire squadron – prepared for battle beneath the flagship, launching missiles at the enemy.
Spinning in place like a "top," the 'Victory', like the 'Crimson Dawn' itself, fired dozens of anti-ship missiles towards the enemy ships, which, having endured the full force of the first missile-torpedo strike from all sides, faltered, breaking their formation.
The enemy, rushing in all directions and launching their meager air force, also collided with two dozen CR90 Corellian corvettes.
A pair of such ships protected the lower hemispheres of the 'Imperials' and strengthened their anti-fighter defenses.
Normally, Crusader II-class corvettes should have been in their place, and CR90s were supposed to be transferred to local Defense Forces for patrol, but the former did not arrive from their mission along with the military transport starships, and Shohashi requisitioned the latter.
At the moment, he needed to withstand the enemy's first strike and destroy the group to prevent the capture of the recently liberated sector.
Moreover, he needed to buy time for the military transports to lay minefields on other routes further from the Corporate Sector and complete the organization of observation posts along the entire perimeter of the Dominion's borders.
The enemy starships clearly intended to capture his trophies from the previous battle, but here too they were met with a small "surprise."
Yes, Eric left these starships in orbit around his operational base as a trap, knowing perfectly well that the strategists of the Zann Consortium learned perfectly from others' mistakes and successful tactics.
The New Republic used tracking devices on starships before the Battle of Sluis Van.
The Dominion itself uses this tactic and has used it.
And before them – the Empire.
Thrawn confirmed that the starships captured from the Consortium at Smarck had tracking devices.
Which was not the case with the ships he boarded as a result of the battle at Hypori.
Everything has an explanation, and it was conveyed to the squadron commanders by the Grand Admiral.
Now that the trap had finally worked here, it would clearly work elsewhere too.
Much had to be done to ensure that the Zann Consortium finally stuck its head into the laser guillotine that would sever that limb.
Eric allowed this fleet into the Bosph sector.
He knew perfectly well the route – the shortest known to smugglers – by which the criminals would attack his base, where he had gathered trophy starships.
And now one of the auxiliary ship detachments was closing this breach behind the enemy's backs, mining the hyperspace route by which they had come here and further.
Battles in other parts of the Dominion did not particularly concern Eric.
He was fighting for the Bosph sector, destined to become a springboard for operations against the Corporate Sector, to hold out with maximum effectiveness for the Dominion.
Not a single enemy starship would leave here.
Two Interdictor-class Star Destroyers and three Immobilizer 418-class minesweeper cruisers, operating from behind the combat groups' "spines," would ensure this, completely blocking the possibility of escape into hyperspace.
The course by which the Zann Consortium militants would arrive in the sector for the swift destruction of the operational base was known to Eric in advance.
As was the battleground prepared.
Most likely, the "Zannites" did not even notice that they had emerged from hyperspace several hundred thousand kilometers earlier than their navigators had predicted – the hyperspace trawl trap had worked.
And now, the enemy starships, in their entirety, were churning through the prepared minefield, littered with buzz droids.
And five Venator-class Star Destroyers were firing their main caliber ion cannons, burning the cloaking fields of the Aggressors and Vengeances, no matter how they tried to use them.
Active maneuvering in the minefield, if it resulted in a ship not detonating on the barriers, inevitably led to a buzz droid latching onto its hull, transmitting telemetry and the starship's position to the squadron command – and the Venators hit without missing.
"Imperial" and CR90s were disabling the "Interceptor IVs" with massive laser-ion-turbolaser volleys, while "Mercy," "Crimson Dawn," and "Dragons" were engaging the still-cloaked "Aggressors" and "Vengeances."
The plan was good, but the enemy was also prepared.
"Sir, 'Tyranny' and 'The Destroyer' have sustained serious damage," reported the watch officer.
Erik had seen it himself.
When the enemy realized they were trapped, they managed to strike before the Dominion forces could begin their slaughter.
Two destroyers had taken twin ion-plasma shots from the "Aggressors," and now, unprotected, partially powered, and with damaged hulls, they were clearly no longer combat-capable units.
The commanders were not to blame for failing to protect the starships from a weapon as slow-acting as the main caliber of the "Aggressors" no.
The starships that fired on them had approached close enough to the targets to have such an advantage.
Unfortunately, losses in war, even with the best plans, happen and quite often.
Both destroyers would require extensive repairs, so the best option now was to preserve them in principle.
"Use tractor beams to tow the starships to the rear of the combat groups," Erik ordered. "Compensate for the gaps in the combat line by maneuvering other destroyers. Inform the launch operators and gunners that we still have a huge number of targets, so..."
His words were interrupted by a bright flash that appeared where the star destroyer "The Killer" had been.
"Report!" Erik barked, clenching the pommel of his cane so hard that the facets of the diamond dug into his leather-wrapped palm, drawing blood.
"'The Killer' was destroyed by three Vengeance-class frigates," reported the watch officer. "The main reactor went critical, the superstructure was destroyed, and the engines were disabled. The first officer ordered the reactor jettisoned to save the ship and attempt to tow it with the maneuvering thrusters."
"Did we track those ships?" asked Shohashi.
"No, sir, apparently they managed to avoid contact with our buzz droids."
Bad.
"Maintain a full count of all detected enemy targets!" Erik commanded. "How many 'Aggressors' remain intact?"
"Eight have been destroyed either by artillery fire or self-destructed after being immobilized," the watch officer reported.
"Do they explode after being hit by the 'Dragon' ion cannons?" Erik couldn't believe his ears.
"Yes, sir," the watch officer confirmed. "It appears there is a backup self-destruct system."
Well...
This was unpleasant, but it had to be admitted that the same thing was happening as in the Karthakk sector, according to Captain Vivant's report.
The enemy was using all their forces and capabilities to destroy their ships and prevent their capture.
Which was quite logical — in the past, "Aggressors" could not mass-deploy cloaking systems.
Only, according to rumors, Zann's flagship — "Merciless" — had cloaking among starships of this type.
But it seemed the enemy had also modernized here.
Which was not surprising, considering how much stygium they had mined from Maramere in the past.
On the tactical display, the markers of the "Zann Consortium" ships began to flash, emerging from cloaking.
Their target was the damaged starships in the two closest combat groups.
On Shohashi's order, the remaining starships opened fire on the enemy, increasing the number of destroyed enemy starships.
But the statistics were moving too slowly.
Now, nine out of ten enemy star destroyers were destroyed — and now he could see with his own eyes that two shots from the main "Dragon" gun were not a panacea for the subsequent capture of an "Aggressor"-class star destroyer.
Only one ship of this type remained — an obvious flagship, styled after the "Merciless" destroyed by the Empire.
"The nearest 'Dragon' is to continuously fire on the enemy flagship with its ion cannon," ordered Shohashi, looking at the tactical screen reflecting the battle's progress.
Of the forty-eight "Interceptor IVs," only half were still combat-capable units at this point.
The rest either had mine or ion-turbolaser damage and had ceased their maneuvers, firing in place as best they could.
It seemed their crews had already understood that they were not going to be destroyed, and therefore were trying to use this dubious advantage to their own ends.
Since the Dominion star destroyers and their ion cannons were busy engaging the "Vengeances," which, though shieldless, were heavily armored, there was no way to silence the "Interceptors."
"Reorient our air support and corvettes to suppress the 'Consortium' Interceptor firing points," Erik ordered. "Destroyers, continue destroying the Vengeance-class frigates."
The latter, like the "Aggressors," had not only cloaking fields but also self-destruct systems, which they were trying to use to their maximum advantage.
Two-thirds of the thirty enemy ships had already been destroyed, and Erik could clearly see that the remaining ones, moving in a tight formation and firing on the interceptors, thus clearing their path, were heading for the "Crimson Dawn."
He hesitated to give the order, seeing that the three trailing enemy starships had been disabled by ion volleys from four "Dragons."
Yes, there had been one miss, but it didn't affect the overall situation.
"Dragons, switch to firing on the already disabled 'Vengeances'," he ordered. "Destroyers — fire to destroy the active enemy ships."
The remaining "Interceptors" didn't particularly bother him — they were weak ships that could only confront corvettes, and even then, the corvettes outnumbered them by the time of the attack.
With the "Vengeances," it was different.
They wouldn't last in an open battle against a fast dreadnought — it was already evident how their hulls were torn to shreds, the remnants of their armor covered in soot and grime, and air was gushing from the breaches.
The enemy, unable to report their dire situation to other "Zann Consortium" units due to jamming of long-range communications, was resorting to self-destruction in hopes of not exploding, but at least heavily damaging the "Crimson Dawn" and thus taking it out of action for extended periods.
This plan by the "Zann Consortium" commanders went against Shohashi's own plans, so he ordered them destroyed.
If they were lucky and the constant ion bombardment from the "Dragons" deprived the enemy of the ability to detonate the immobilized "Aggressor" and three "Vengeances," then he would have trophies, studying which, Dominion engineers could learn and gain insight into the extent of the "Zann Consortium" starship modernization.
As for the rest...
"Destroy the enemy," Erik repeated the order.
The "Crimson Dawn" took several direct hits from the "Vengeances'" turbolasers and mass driver cannons, but this did not affect the overall combat capability of the star destroyer.
The former did not penetrate the deflector shield, and the latter did not have sufficient power to inflict significant damage to the armor.
The gunners and launch operators of the "Crimson Dawn" were tearing the enemy to shreds.
One of the enemy frigates exploded when a successful anti-ship missile salvo from "Mercy" penetrated the hull and blew apart the active core of the hyperdrive's nuclear reactor, but other frigates heading for the "Crimson Dawn" managed to avoid significant damage.
Until now.
The turbolasers of the fast star dreadnought concentrated their fire on the forward hemisphere.
Missile tubes launched anti-ship torpedoes, and even laser cannons struck the enemy.
One by one, like overripe fruit, the "Vengeances" detonated as the combined might of the dreadnought descended upon them.
Five explosions — and only one ship remained alive out of half a dozen starships.
It drifted inertly, signaling with all its might that it intended to surrender and requesting a prize crew be sent aboard.
"I am the frigate commander and am ready to surrender personally to Rear Admiral Shohashi," the unknown "Vengeance" commander said plaintively. "I will be a valuable prisoner and can reveal a considerable number of secrets of the Corporate Sector and my direct employers! Please, send a team quickly, because the militants are trying to seize the bridge!"
Erik calmly listened to the unknown's tearful story, then looked at the chief gunner.
His order was short and perfectly clear.
"Destroy."
He, like other commanders, was familiar with Captain Vivant's report regarding the trap that the "Zann Consortium" ship crews were preparing at the last moment.
There were no captured fighters from this organization.
But they could be captured when they had not yet decided to take their captors to the grave with them.
A salvo from the forward turbolasers and anti-ship missiles reduced the starship to ruins, which detonated in the end.
Erik turned his attention to the tactical monitor.
The corvettes and star destroyers shifted their focus to destroying or capturing the remaining "Interceptor IVs."
The "Dragons" were diligently bombarding the immobilized ships, not allowing their crews to even hypothetically activate any electronics.
Four star destroyers were seriously damaged and needed at least medium repairs.
Half of the corvettes were destroyed or out of control.
"Prepare the assault shuttles," he ordered. "Provide them with assault droids to capture the active zones on the ships. After that, deploy the assault troops. General Ventress will handle the capture of the formation's flagship. Deactivate the minefields in the system. Collect any remaining intact or unactivated buzz droids and send repair crews to the damaged destroyers."
He had suffered significant losses, and the "Red Star" would be unable to operate at full strength for some time.
However, the mission was accomplished.
Erik Shohashi had taken the first blow from the "Zann Consortium" and emerged victorious from this confrontation.
Now it was up to the other Dominion commanders.
***
Read the story months ahead of the public release — early chapters are available on my Patreon: Granulan