Aayla Secura, one of the most respected and capable Jedi Generals in the Republic, stood on the bridge of her Venator-class Star Destroyer, doing everything in her power to coordinate her forces' defensive actions. She no longer harbored any illusions about defeating the Separatist fleet—now her greatest hope was simply keeping as many of her warriors alive as possible.
"Commander Bly, what's the status report on our other vessels?" she called out while deflecting blaster bolts with her lightsaber.
"The Intrepid has been destroyed, General," Bly reported with grim professionalism, his voice heavy with the weight of lost comrades.
"Have you located any escape pods?" Aayla asked with genuine concern for the survivors.
"Not yet, sir."
"If you can establish contact with any remaining ships, order them to abandon vessel if necessary. Don't let them make unnecessary sacrifices trying to save damaged hulls. In my judgment, the lives of our soldiers are infinitely more valuable than any starship."
"Understood, General," Bly replied with obvious respect, his voice resonating with admiration for the compassionate Twi'lek Jedi who commanded their loyalty not through fear, but through genuine care.
As Bly moved to carry out her orders, Aayla called out to the rest of her bridge crew: "Everyone, give me comprehensive status reports!"
"We're barely maintaining our position, General," one of the navigation officers reported with obvious stress. "Shield energy is depleting rapidly, and more than half of our turbolaser batteries have been destroyed."
"Half our starfighter squadron has been eliminated," another clone added with barely controlled grief.
Aayla clenched her fists in frustration. She despised hearing casualty reports about her clones because the 327th Star Corps had demonstrated unwavering loyalty to her since the war began. What she didn't fully realize was that the clones of the 327th followed her not just due to military discipline, but because they were inspired by her compassion and wisdom. True leadership was always reciprocal.
Commander Bly was an exceptional officer with sharp tactical instincts and battlefield awareness, and Aayla frequently consulted with him on battle plans and strategic decisions.
But now, all they could do was hold their defensive positions and pray for rescue.
"Hurry, Anakin," Aayla whispered to herself. "You're our only hope."
Meanwhile, Anakin, Steve, and Admiral Yularen had rapidly developed a comprehensive tactical plan.
"We need a coordinated two-pronged assault," Yularen explained while gesturing across the holographic battlefield display. "Based on the damage assessment of General Secura's fleet, it's only a matter of time before the Separatists achieve complete destruction."
"They appear to be executing a classic pincer movement, slowly encircling Aayla's forces," Steve analyzed with his military expertise. "If we launch a sudden strike against their rear formations, we can throw their entire battle plan into chaos."
"That tactical disruption will create the opening we need to deploy LAAT gunships and starfighter support directly to Aayla's fleet," Anakin added with growing confidence.
"Rex, prepare all gunships and fighter squadrons for immediate deployment," Anakin commanded.
The Republic fleet was moments away from dropping out of hyperspace and entering the active combat zone. Steve quickly departed to locate his three teammates and coordinate their pre-battle preparations.
"We're about to enter the battle zone," Steve announced to his team. "Sam, Rhodey—you two will operate independently in aerial combat. Scott, you're with me for the boarding action."
The four Avengers sprinted toward the hangar bay and observed rows of LAAT/i gunships, Y-wing bombers, and V-19 Torrent fighters with their engines already warming up. Anakin, Captain Rex, Steve, and his three teammates boarded one of the lead gunships.
Sam checked his energy weapons and secured the breathing apparatus the clones had provided, while Rhodey ran final diagnostics on his armor's weapon systems.
Soon, the Star Destroyer dropped out of hyperspace into the planet's upper atmosphere and immediately engaged enemy forces.
Gunships, bombers, and fighters launched from the Star Destroyer's hangar bays in coordinated waves, while interceptor squadrons began engaging Separatist starfighters in fierce dogfights.
The battle erupted with devastating intensity across multiple vectors.
A squadron of V-19 Torrent fighters utilized Rhodey's Four Finger formation and successfully eliminated an entire wing of Vulture droids, losing only one fighter in the process—a tactical victory that significantly boosted Republic fleet morale.
"General Secura, do you copy? Reinforcements have arrived," Anakin transmitted through his wrist communicator.
"Your timing is perfect, Skywalker," came Aayla's relieved voice through the communication channel.
She quickly briefed them on her situation: "Our deflector shields have been breached and life support systems are failing in multiple sections."
"I'll coordinate evacuation procedures using our gunship squadrons," Anakin assured her.
"I appreciate the support, Skywalker, but you're going to encounter serious resistance. My ship has been boarded by super battle droids throughout multiple decks."
"That's precisely why we brought additional firepower," Anakin replied, gesturing toward Steve. "We have a comprehensive plan."
Steve nodded and activated his comm unit: "Rhodey, Sam—you're cleared for engagement."
War Machine and Falcon leaped from their gunship and immediately engaged the aerial super battle droids, their advanced weapons and tactical coordination systematically dismantling enemy formations.
"I definitely need to requisition armor like that," Hevy muttered with obvious admiration, while Echo, Fives, and Cutup nodded in enthusiastic agreement.
Sam maneuvered effortlessly through swarms of battle droids, grabbing two units mid-flight, spinning them rapidly through the air, then hurling both super battle droids into enemy formations like explosive projectiles, causing devastating chain reactions.
Simultaneously, Rhodey's armor operated at maximum combat efficiency—his shoulder-mounted machine guns swept left and right through droid formations while micro-missiles continuously targeted Vulture droids with deadly precision.
Meanwhile, Steve and Scott approached Aayla's Star Destroyer aboard their LAAT gunship. As they drew closer to the damaged vessel, their transport shook more violently as super battle droids and Vulture fighters detected their approach and began concentrated fire to prevent any rescue operations.
Anakin observed the tactical situation and noted numerous droids had successfully breached Aayla's ship.
"The droids have boarded Aayla's vessel!" Anakin shouted over the combat noise.
"Master, what's the plan?" Ahsoka asked while preparing for action.
"This."
With characteristic impulsiveness, Anakin leaped from the attack gunship and landed directly on top of a super battle droid. He then used other droids as stepping stones, eventually reaching the massive breach in Aayla's Star Destroyer's rear hull section.
When approaching another super battle droid, Steve hurled his vibranium shield with perfect precision, striking the droid's torso section. Scott had already shrunk to microscopic size and positioned himself on Steve's shoulder.
The shield-struck droid began spinning erratically through the air. The moment it approached their gunship, Steve leaped onto the disoriented machine. Then, under the amazed stares of clone troopers and Ahsoka, he rode the droid directly through the hull breach into Aayla's ship.
"By the Force, these guys are absolutely insane!" Hevy exclaimed with obvious admiration.
"I always thought General Skywalker was reckless enough," Rex muttered to himself in disbelief.
"I suppose that's why they work so well together," Ahsoka observed dryly.
Anakin, who had entered first, found himself in a corridor engaged in lightsaber combat with multiple battle droids.
Hearing a metallic impact behind him, he turned to see Steve deflecting his shield off a wall at a calculated angle, creating a ricochet pattern that sliced through several droids like a spinning blade before bouncing back precisely into his waiting hand.
Anakin and Steve exchanged appreciative grins and stood side by side as the remaining super battle droids focused their attention on this new threat.
Suddenly, several droids in the forward ranks began convulsing violently before collapsing to the deck. Scott materialized briefly, delivered a devastating kick to the nearest droid, then immediately shrank and vanished again.
Outside, as the gunships approached the damaged Star Destroyer, Ahsoka, Rex, and Domino Squad leaped through the hull breach while other gunships began providing covering fire against super battle droids clinging to the ship's exterior hull.
Meanwhile, Republic starfighter squadrons, coordinating with Sam and Rhodey, drew most enemy attention away from the rescue operation, allowing additional gunships to penetrate the hangar bay of Aayla's Star Destroyer and reinforce the 327th Star Corps.
Inside the ship, Steve, Anakin, and Scott, joined by Rex, Domino Squad, and Ahsoka, advanced through the corridors until they encountered Aayla Secura fighting alongside Commander Bly and several other clone troopers.
"Good to see you, Skywalker, Ahsoka, Captain Rogers, Mr. Lang," Aayla greeted them while parrying droid blaster fire.
"Likewise, Aayla," Steve replied with a warm smile despite the combat situation.
"Skywalker, please tell me you didn't just charge in here without any kind of extraction plan," Aayla said with playful sarcasm, knowing Anakin's reputation for improvisation.
Anakin smiled with genuine confidence and replied, "As we speak, my fighters and gunships are coordinating full evacuation procedures, and I've arranged for a frigate to rendezvous with us in the lower hangar bay."
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