**Chapter 834: Inferno Over Neimoidia**
**Scene 1: Hyperspace Entering Neimoidia Orbit – Alpha-class Xg-1 Star Wing, Echo Five**
ARC Jedi Clone Tempest checked his systems one final time. Everything was okay. Right—nothing wrong with double-checking. The Force had been unknown to this clone before he entered the Ascension program. Now it felt like every day he would have a major exam to do. Similar to Kamino, right? As an ARC trooper: study this, remember those formations, and so on.
"Time to jump in 5 seconds," said the computer voice.
An enemy Lucrehulk-class battleship appeared as the Xg-1 Star Wing dropped out of hyperspace. Tempest accelerated hard, fired three dozen concussion missiles, then switched to blasters as he dove under the 3-kilometer donut for cover. The massive Trade Federation battleship loomed like a half-moon of death, its hangar bays already spilling Vultures in response to the sudden intrusion.
"Echo Five, engaging," Tempest commed, voice calm despite the adrenaline surging through his enhanced body. The Star Wing's tri-wing design cut through the void with lethal grace, its warhead launchers cycling rapidly. Missiles slammed into the Lucrehulk's underside, tearing open armor plates and igniting secondary explosions along its spine.
A swarm of Vultures broke from the hangar, but Tempest was already inside their turning radius. His dual laser cannons and ion cannons raked across the droid fighters, sending three spiraling away in flames. "Echo Squadron, form on me. We're punching a hole for the main wave."
The rest of his squad—other ARC Jedi clones in upgraded Star Wings—fell in behind him, their combined fire carving a path through the initial droid screen. The Lucrehulk's point-defense turrets opened up, but the Star Wing's maneuverability made it a nightmare target. Tempest rolled hard, skimming along the battleship's curved hull, dropping proton torpedoes directly into exposed hangar bays.
Explosions bloomed behind him as the torpedoes detonated inside the ship. "Direct hits. Keep pushing—don't let them reorganize!"
The opening moves of Operation Firestorm had begun.
**Scene 2: The Swarm**
The image was the same across the entire battlefront.
Hundreds of TIEs, Skelters, Y-wings, ARC-170s, X-wings, and bombers deployed in a massive swarm, descending on the Neimoidian defensive fleet like a storm of steel and fire. Republic starfighters filled the void, their engines glowing bright as they weaved through the enemy formation with deadly precision.
CIS anti-air weapons, using their own version of the Guardian system called Umbrella, lit up the sky with emerald and crimson fire. But they suffered a fatal flaw. TIE Silencers and T-70 Advanced fighters, linked up with three dozen IG-55 surveillance vessels positioned a system away, launched powerful jamming signals that scrambled the enemy targeting networks. Umbrella's coordinated defense collapsed into chaos—turrets firing blindly, missiles losing lock, entire batteries falling silent as electronic warfare overwhelmed them.
"Blue Leader, this is Echo Five," Tempest commed, his Star Wing streaking past a burning Munificent. "Their AA is down—push the bombers through!"
Y-wings and ARC-170s dove in behind the fighter screen, unleashing torrents of proton torpedoes and heavy laser fire into the exposed flanks of Lucrehulk battleships. One massive donut-shaped vessel took multiple hits to its central core, breaking apart in a brilliant fireball that lit up the void.
"Keep the pressure on!" Anakin's voice cut across the fleet comms from the *Devastation*. "Don't give them time to recover!"
TIE Defenders danced through the chaos, their ion cannons disabling entire squadrons of Vultures before they could fully launch. Skelters provided close escort, their rapid-fire lasers shredding anything that got too close to the heavier bombers. The Republic starfighter screen dominated the immediate battlespace, turning what should have been a meat grinder into a slaughter.
On the *Devastation* bridge, tactical displays showed the enemy fleet fracturing under the coordinated assault. The first wave had already crippled dozens of capital ships. The second wave—larger and coming from multiple vectors—was poised to deliver the killing blow.
**Scene 3: Tactical Oversight**
Glancing at the tactical table, Zhestyanich turned to Adjutant Stargeizer.
"Sir, I recommend redeploying five interceptor squadrons to square S-0-13-9. There's a seventy-three percent chance of a sharp increase in enemy air power in that area. A bomber breakthrough to Giant One is possible."
"Accepted," the midshipman made a note on the datapad and immediately headed to the communications operators.
The tactical droid, in turn, stared again at the battle hologram.
The plan to attack Neimoidia, devised in part with his participation, was 91.3 percent successful. The air attack was 90 percent effective. The Separatists lost approximately 30 percent of their fleet in the first five minutes of the battle. Then, after the arrival of the Mern-13 fleet, another 39 percent of the enemy ships were destroyed in the next five minutes. The torpedo salvos of the Triumphs were a major asset. According to the data he had received, Tinker knew that the new shipbuilding program envisioned the construction of specialized attack ships with missile and torpedo armament. Judging by the statistics, such ships would be very effective in situations where significant damage must be inflicted in a short period of time. However, it was not worth focusing on them: the tactical droid could immediately calculate up to forty countermeasures to such attacks.
Why don't enemy commanders do the same? After all, most of them are identical to him. But experience played a role here. Tin Man—as General Dagon, his master, called him—had been activated for over a year, and during that time he had processed a vast amount of tactical and strategic information. A valuable source of information, he participated in numerous simulations playing the role of the CIS commander in virtual battles against organic officers. Essentially, he had already developed an artificial personality for a couple of months. In accordance with security protocol, he approached Dagon about this, but he merely waved it off. "Oh well." The droid himself accepted this as a given, especially since he noticed no noticeable differences from his previous functioning. And he continued to perform his duties, which ranged from advising officers, planning operations, or accompanying the General.
Was this strange? After all, he was a combat unit of the enemy army, and now, in essence, he was fighting against it. However, this didn't conflict with his new protocol, which prescribed loyalty to one person. And since Dagon encouraged his activities in every possible way, the droid simply couldn't call himself a traitor.
"So, how are things here?" Anakin's voice interrupted the droid's thoughts.
Zhestyanich turned around and saluted.
"Everything is fine, sir. Phase seventeen is in progress, with a time remaining of two hours give or take five minutes. Dropships have arrived in-system. We expect the destruction of the last twenty-six enemy ships."
Anakin nodded, eyes scanning the tactical display. "Keep the pressure on. We break their back here, and the rest of the Outer Rim falls into line."
The droid's photoreceptors glowed with quiet satisfaction. The plan was unfolding exactly as calculated. Neimoidia's defenses were crumbling, and the Republic fleet was poised to deliver the finishing blow.
Operation Firestorm was living up to its name.