TH-07 stood on the bridge of his flagship as it flew through hyperspace.
The forces allocated for this operation had been calculated by the tactician himself. There was an abundance of new ships and droids, and he had been provided with every necessary resource. Zero-Seven once again went over the roster, which included two squadrons.
The first item on the first squadron's list was his flagship — a Recusant-class light destroyer, number RK-00016. The ship's design had been developed by loyal CIS Quarren from the secret Isolation League using stolen Mon Calamari technology. The project had been conceived long before the conflict began, but the command had not considered it expedient to employ such combat ships, believing the existing fleet to be sufficient. The war, however, had made its own adjustments — after the appearance of the Republic's Acclamators, it was decided to accelerate the production of new modifications. The very next day after Geonosis, the first ships of the series were laid down at the shipyards of the Commercial Guild and the Techno Union, and by the end of the second week, the first two dozen Destroyers had rolled off the slipways.
The Recusant was the first CIS ship conceived and designed as a purely military vessel. With a length of 1,187 meters, a width of 157 meters, and a height of 163 meters, the ship was serviced by only twenty thousand droids and a crew of three hundred organics. However, there were none on the TX-07 — this was one of the essential conditions for the successful completion of the operation.
The ship's armament was impressive: one prow heavy turbolaser cannon, four heavy turbolaser cannons, six heavy turbolaser turrets, five medium-power turbolaser cannons, thirty dual laser cannons, twelve dual light laser cannons, and sixty light rapid-fire laser cannons. In terms of firepower, the Recusant was on par with the Republic's new ship, the Acclamator-class military assault ship. In addition, the ship's hangars housed five hundred Vulture fighter droids. Forty thousand deactivated droids made up the landing force. A large control and communications station provided direct data exchange at distances of up to one hundred light-years, and when using repeaters, that range increased several times.
The second ship type consisted of twelve frigates named Munificent. These were versatile ships designed and built before the war. The frigate had been used by the Banking Clan as an armored and well-armed transport to protect and move credits, as well as precious metals and stones. In addition, excellent communication systems ensured superiority in information exchange. The firepower of the Munificent was more than enough to scare off even the most daring and persistent pirates.
With a length of 825 meters, the frigate was operated by a crew of two hundred droids who controlled the ship and its numerous weapon systems, which — in addition to the standard heavy turbolasers and numerous light rapid-fire guns of the Banking Clan — included two heavy ion cannons. Despite its modest size compared to the Lucrehulk, the Munificent could carry up to 150,000 droids when its holds were fully loaded. The air group was relatively small — twelve landing shuttles occupied most of the hangar space, leaving little room for fighters. However, this was not a problem.
The third entry on the list was four LH-3210 Lucrehulk-class core ship. Converted from Trade Federation container vessels, these three-kilometer-long "battleships" carried 1,500 fighter droids in their vast holds. Numerous landing barges were ready to deploy an army of 150,000 droids, supported by more than 7,000 armored vehicles. Each ship was armed with forty-two quad-barreled turbolaser turrets.
The last item on the list consisted of twelve Techno Union Hardkell-class interstellar transports, which carried Separatist equipment in their holds: NR-N99 Persuader-class droid enforcer, spider droids of all models, IG-227 Hailfire Tanks, and other combat vehicles, including anti-aircraft artillery systems. The transports were practically unarmed, each equipped with only six laser cannons.
The second squadron was somewhat smaller and was scheduled to arrive thirty-five minutes later. Six Munificent-class frigates and one Lucrehulk guarded thirty-two Techno Union transports carrying equipment, droids, materials for constructing a stronghold, and weapons for new allies.
One of the droids reported:
"Approaching our destination. Estimated time of arrival: three minutes."
"Prepare to exit hyperspace," commanded TH-07. "There may be Republic ships in the system! After that, all vessels are to form an SD-209 defensive formation, and transports are to descend to the planet's surface."
Although all commands were transmitted through internal systems, Zero-Seven preferred to repeat orders vocally through a vocabulator. It wasn't necessary, but most droids attempted to use acoustic communication even though it slowed their reaction time. TX-07 could not explain the reason for this phenomenon, even after using his full computing capacity — yet there was something... inexplicably appealing about it.
The stars flowing endlessly around the ship slowed their motion.
"Hyperjump complete!" reported the ship's commander.
The Separatist fleet emerged from hyperspace into the planet's orbit.
"Contact the local leader. Have them prepare to receive troops and supplies."
"Commander we are being contacted" reported one of the command droids.
"-Begin scanning and deploy fighters in defensive formation" the tactical droid issued but scans came up negative.
Then a transmission cut through.
"This is Jedi Grand Master Yoda," came a voice—clearly not Yoda. "At this point in the Clone Wars I have destroyed over 100,000 B1 battle droids. I order you to stand down to be peacefully reprogrammed and help end this meaningless conflict."
No response from TH-07.
Jedi deception probability: 96.4%.
Voiceprint mismatch: 100%.
Engagement protocol initiated.
Dagon's Strike
My fighter surged forward, ion fusion engine humming with kyber-enhanced resonance.
The Recusant was the keystone. On par with an Acclamator. Future Venator-class equivalent in firepower. Hard to kill.
But not invincible.
The prow heavy turbolaser.
That was the weakness. Destroy the mounting—destabilize internal feed to the ammunition core—temporary disablement.
I accelerated straight at the bow.
Main blaster opened fire.
A precise burst into the connection spine.
The prow cannon detonated in a violent flash, a shockwave rippling down the destroyer's elongated hull.
The ship shuddered.
I rolled along its flank, rotary cannons blazing, carving through multiple turbolaser emplacements. Small fires blossomed along the superstructure.
Two missiles next—engine compartment.
Direct hits on the central tri-engine housing.
The Recusant dipped, temporarily losing vector stability before its internal droid brain struggled to compensate.
Five hundred Vulture droids launched.
They swarmed.
I reached through the Force.
A simple trick—premature activation.
Missiles armed early.
Detonations erupted among their own ranks. Nearly three hundred destroyed in chain explosions. The rest scattered, formation broken.
Next target—Munificent frigate guarding the destroyer.
A rhydonium/proton fusion torpedo into its engine cluster.
Three of seven engines erupted. The frigate listed, struggling to maintain alignment.
Opposite side—second Munificent. Two missiles. Ion cannon disabled. Main turbolaser offline.
Three frigates above the destroyer. Three below.
Effective formation.
They couldn't outmatch us in skill or armor.
But they could outgun. And outnumber.
The Recusant began repositioning.
Time to end it.
I activated the hyper booster.
Instant acceleration—space blurred.
Spinning, guns blazing, I drove toward the bridge tower.
Three missiles fired.
Direct impact.
The bridge exploded in a sphere of fire.
"So much for tactical advantage."
TH-07's Final Calculation
TH-07 processed catastrophic command loss. Bridge destruction. Primary coordination node compromised.
Before core disruption cascaded, he transmitted one final fleetwide directive:
"Master Yoda leading attack. All ships engage with maximum force."
Then impact alarms screamed.
The crippled Recusant dipped downward—colliding into a lower Munificent frigate. The two ships tangled in fire and debris, tearing at each other as gravity pulled them into descending arcs.
Escalation
The remaining fleet did not falter.
Hundreds of Vultures poured from Lucrehulks.
I boosted again.
Hardkell transports—same structural flaw as Geonosis.
Center mass between booster assemblies.
Direct strike.
Explosion.
Second transport—same fate. Fireball.
Lucrehulk next.
I flew directly into its hangar cavity, weaving between launch scaffolds.
Three charges into structural nodes.
Internal detonation.
The core ship erupted from within, venting flame through its circular superstructure.
Fragments of debris spiraled into orbit.
And that's when Dittmar arrived.
Sartorius Dittmar
Republic hyperspace signatures tore open space.
Dittmar's squadron emerged—warships gleaming under starlight.
He had come seeking glory.
Instead, he entered chaos.
Burning Recusant wreckage. Crippled frigates. Fighter swarms clashing in all directions. Lucrehulk exploding from the inside.
For a moment, even Sartorius Dittmar was speechless.
The battle for Togoria had only just begun.