**Chapter 576**
**Scene 1**
**Dagon POV**
**Olympus Mons Bridge – Felucia Orbit**
The *Olympus Mons* surged forward like a spear through the heart of the enemy fleet.
I stood at the center of the bridge, my Krayt Dragon armor humming with restrained power, the dragon emblem on my chest plate seeming to breathe in time with the ship's reactors. Around us, the CIS formation was collapsing under the weight of our coordinated assault, but the heavier ships — the 700-meter Dreadnought-class heavy cruisers and the 1,200-meter Dauntless-class vessels — were throwing everything they had at us in a desperate bid to stop our advance.
The ship shuddered as dozens of turbolaser bolts and heavy cannon fire slammed into the kyber-reinforced shields. The beskar and doonium hull plating glowed faintly under the strain, but the shields held at eighty percent and dropping only slowly. It was expected at this close range. The *Olympus Mons* had already proven itself at Belderone, taking the brunt of the *Malevolence II*'s final barrage and surviving. The lessons of Orron III and Quell had been baked into every upgrade.
"Maintain engines forward," I commanded. "All batteries, fire at will. Target their command ships and heavy cruisers first."
The *Olympus Mons*' main guns — kyber matrix-linked railguns firing beams of electromagnetic plasma — roared to life. The brilliant violet-white lances tore through the enemy ships' armor like it was butter. A Dauntless-class heavy cruiser tried to swing its broadside toward us, but the plasma beams punched straight through its midsection, detonating its reactor in a spectacular explosion that consumed two nearby Munificent frigates in the blast wave.
"Another Dauntless down!" Stella called from weapons control, her voice fierce with satisfaction.
The bridge crew cheered as the *Olympus Mons* continued its rampage, engines pushing it deeper into the enemy lines. Dreadnought-class cruisers tried to swarm us, their lighter armor and older weapons no match for the modified Arquitens at point-blank range. One after another, they broke apart under sustained fire, their hulls splitting open and spilling debris and droids into the void.
Through the Force bond, I felt the girls' focus and exhilaration. Ahsoka coordinated fighter screens from her station. Shin maintained shield integrity with calm precision. Zule's fiery aggression flowed through targeting solutions. The others added their strength, keeping the ship's systems running at peak efficiency even under heavy fire.
We were nearly at the center of the blockade now. The planetary shield below shimmered blue, a defiant wall protecting Felucia's surface. But we were breaking through.
**Scene 2**
**Zule POV**
**Olympus Mons Bridge**
"Enemy Providence approaching on the left!" a clone officer shouted.
Zule's eyes narrowed as she watched the tactical display. The massive Providence-class carrier was trying to close range, its forward heavy cannons blazing in a desperate attempt to damage the *Olympus Mons*.
"Put three missiles in that sucker," Dagon commanded, his voice calm and authoritative, "then redirect the F-SPAR cannon against the closest Lucrehulk."
The ship shuddered as the missiles launched. The Providence tried to evade, but it was too late. Three high-yield warheads slammed into its port side, ripping open its hull in a series of violent explosions. The carrier listed heavily, secondary blasts tearing through its hangars and reactor sections before it finally broke apart in a brilliant fireball.
The F-SPAR cannon fired next — a searing lance of kyber-enhanced energy that speared straight through the shields of a nearby Lucrehulk-class battleship. The massive spherical vessel exploded from the inside out, its core breaching in a cataclysmic blast that consumed two escorting Recusants in the shockwave.
"Dagon, scans are shaky and I can't see anything," Zule complained, her hands flying over the sensor console. "We're in the middle of the enemy fleet and so many Vultures keep ramming!"
"Don't worry," Dagon replied, his hand briefly brushing hers through the bond, sending a wave of calm. "We're nearly at the border. Fire broadside!"
The *Olympus Mons* unleashed a full broadside. Another Recusant-class heavy destroyer fell apart under the concentrated fire, its hull splitting open as turbolaser bolts and plasma beams tore through its armor. Debris scattered in all directions as the ship died.
Zule allowed herself a fierce smile. The enemy was breaking. Vulture droids continued their suicidal ramming runs, but the point-defense lasers and the girls' coordinated efforts kept most of them at bay. Through the bond, she felt Dagon's unyielding focus — the same focus that had carried them through Belderone, Quell, and every battle before.
They were winning.
**Scene 3**
**Shu Mai POV**
**Felucia Command Center**
Shu Mai paced the command center deep within Felucia's fungal jungle, her Gossam features twisted with frustration. The tactical droid stood motionless at the main console, its photoreceptors glowing as it processed incoming data.
"The enemy fleet is small but at this range our ships' cannons are weak," the droid reported. "Our fighters and bombers need escort, otherwise the enemy's superior anti-air frigates destroy them and prevent their effectiveness. Also, the unusual ship bearing the name *Olympus Mons* carries technology similar to the 12th Sector's previous vessel, the *Terminus*, which is effectively destroying our capital ships."
Shu Mai stopped pacing, her eyes narrowing. "Why have I not been evacuated yet?"
"The planetary shield is still up, therefore we cannot send any ship or surface fighters or defense cannons to support the fleet," the tactical droid replied mechanically.
"Deactivate the shield and ready my ship," Shu Mai ordered sharply. "I am leaving."
"Yes, Commander," the droid acknowledged.
Shu Mai turned on her heel and strode out of the command center without another word. The droid remained, its programming already shifting to the contingency protocols. The poisoned well was ready. If the Republic took Felucia, they would inherit a dying world.
The Gossam Presidente boarded her private shuttle moments later, the vessel lifting off as the planetary shield flickered and began to drop. Shu Mai did not look back.