| Предыдущая глава |
↓ Содержание ↓
↑ Свернуть ↑
| Следующая глава |
As a bonus, I have a pair of Consular corvettes, modernized at the Rotana factories. I saw them briefly and it seemed like a pretty good machine, but a corvette is a corvette, it"s just over a hundred meters long and its guns are far from intimidating calibers. They're no match for the frigate "Shchedrost," which is, I think, over eight hundred meters long, let alone the three-kilometer-long "Baryshnik" frigates. In other words, my corvettes are just cover from enemy fighters, something like destroyers/hunters. I don't argue that this is an extremely necessary and useful thing given the overwhelming superiority of light forces among the Separatists, but it is no help in serious conflicts.
According to the data crystal transmitted by the clone consultant, which I managed to glance at during the flight on board, the ground forces at my disposal consist of forty LAAT gunboats, twelve of which are transport-cargo ships designed to carry AT-TE tanks. I have exactly forty-eight of them, in two variants-one with a kinetic cannon and one with a main-caliber laser cannon. The most delicious part was represented by thirty-six SPHA installations, which I was delighted to receive as if they were my own, as they had really impressed me with their firepower on Geonosis. There were also two hundred motorspeeders and one hundred twenty AT-RT light walkers.
As for the infantry, I have four clone regiments under my command — nine thousand two hundred and sixteen clones (!), plus the support and auxiliary units of the legion: an engineering battalion, a repair battalion, a medical battalion, a tank regiment with walkers, and support services for this entire army. Plus about four dozen people on corvettes. And finally, forty-seven V-19 fighters, designed in the general scheme of preparing equipment for the clone army.
In total, there are approximately seventeen thousand clones, including the ship crews. I have more than enough forces to conquer some planet in the Outer Rim. Let's hope there won't be too many droids and the first battle will go smoothly.
* * *
When I climbed onto the bridge, I found a meeting of the commanders there.
"Attention!" one of them commanded.
In front of me stood multiple copies of Jango Fett in armor with insignia (note to learn insignia) and a Zabrak in a grayish uniform similar to those seen on naval officers in the cartoon series.
"At ease," I commanded. Well, I'm not a complete moron; I at least understand some aspects of army life, even if only from movies. "Let's get acquainted. I am General Mikore Vikt, Jedi Knight, and this" a nod "is Ahsoka Tano, my Padawan."
"I am Ntor Ragnos, captain of the TR-678," the Zabrak introduced himself.
"Commander Blam, 1st Regiment, Thirteenth Legion."
"Commander Enok, 2nd Regiment, Thirteenth Legion."
"Commander H, 3rd Regiment, Thirteenth Legion."
"Commander Zylo, 4th Regiment, Thirteenth Legion."
"Commander Tern, 13th Legion walker tank regiment."
"Commander Erd, heavy fire support," the clones murmured, standing at attention. They also informed me of my legion number. Thirteen, huh...
"Excellent. Do you know the essence of the task?"
"Yes, sir."
"When will loading be complete?"
"In two hours, General."
"Where are the corvettes?"
"They're waiting for us in orbit, sir."
"Wonderful. So, before we get into the details of the operation, I'd like to clarify a few things. First of all, I'm interested in what you were taught on Kamino, and what kind of tactical tasks the fighters are most skilled at. Tactical and technical characteristics of the assigned equipment, its strengths and weaknesses from your point of view. The capabilities of our ships, and so on. Who will start?"
Judging by the clones' faces and the echoes of their emotions in the Force, they had little expected such an approach. The captain was more reserved. Ahsoka took everything that was happening for granted.
"May I?" also noticing the confusion of his colleagues, the Zabrak decided.
I nodded.
"Then I'll start with this ship. The large landing ship "Approver." Armed with twelve quadruple-barreled light turbolasers and twenty-four light laser cannons. In addition, there are four missile and torpedo launchers. The total ammunition load is sixteen proton torpedoes and the same number of anti-ship missiles. It carries an additional eighty small aircraft on board, of which forty-seven are currently V-19 light short-range fighters..."
The lecture turned out to be thorough. In particular, I soon learned that corvettes were truly practically unsuitable for squadron combat-four light turbolaser cannons and six medium laser cannons, albeit rapid-fire ones, made them dangerous only to enemy mosquito forces. But, as it turned out, it was a pretty decent supply ship, with a cargo capacity of six thousand metric tons. By comparison, the Approver had eleven thousand two hundred and fifty metric tons, and their dimensions were six times the size. But they had no hangars, so all our light forces were concentrated solely on the flagship, which wasn't a good thing-they'd knock it down, and there would be no chance of retreating with even a fraction of the MLA intact, even if both corvettes didn't suffer a scratch, but there was nothing I could do about it anyway.
The clone troopers' technology also became clearer. While they were talking about the ships, the guys managed to gather their thoughts and dump so many details on me that I could barely digest them. The Django copies had no practical experience beyond the training grounds, but all six were straight-A students, which, incidentally, earned them special mentions from their mentors, and so they were knowledgeable about the subject. But as far as I understood it...
Here I had to first put everything in my head and think hard, but, in any case, I didn"t plan on inventing battle strategies on my own yet. I will act according to the ancient principle: a task is defined, subordinates, from junior to senior, speak out, argue, make suggestions, and I choose from the proposed options. I hope I will be enough to choose something that makes the most sense...
Stop, a thought flashed. Something needs to be done, and right now.
"Captain, what do you say the name of the ship is?"
"TR-678, sir," the Zabrak repeated.
"This is not right. The ship must have a name."
"Hmm. What should we call it? Enterprise? Moscow? Nogibator? Pink Hutt? A vague name flashed through my head. Oh yeah. That would definitely do."
"Captain, do I have the right to change the ship's name?" I manage to clarify at the last moment before I start acting arbitrarily.
The officer thought for a moment, but after a few seconds he nodded.
"I believe so, sir. There is nothing in the instructions I received to contradict this."
"Then, from now on, it bears the name "Marat""I think the name of the heroic battleship will be just right.
"Yes, sir," the captain's voice gleamed with surprise. "And... what is 'Marat'?"
"Yes, in ancient times there was such a ship... a very long time ago it participated in the defense of one planet, preventing enemy landing craft from approaching it. Even after he lost his engine and half his hull as a result of a raid by a large number of bombers, he continued to fight, and ultimately the enemies failed to capture that planet," I gave a free retelling of the events of the defense of Leningrad.
"Sounds good," the Zabrak shrugged in surprise. "I haven't heard that story, General."
"Much has been forgotten over time, Captain. So much that was necessary and useful" I'm drawn back to philosophy again...
* * *
Having completed loading, we quickly ascended into orbit, from where we made a hyperspace jump. Having confirmed with the captain that the flight would take almost a day, I decided to address a few questions. First and foremost, I spoke with the Togruta.
"Well, Ahsoka, admit it, are you brain-boiling?"
"How do they remember all this?! It's just creepy!" the slightly dejected girl responded emotionally.
"Never mind, soon you too will know everything. Well, if, of course, you want to become a good officer. Okay, let's go find our cabins, and then you can tell me what you can do..."
Half an hour later, having safely found our cabins exactly where the captain had said, we settled in with me.
"So, student, tell me, I fold my arms across my chest, looking at the girl."
"Well..." the Togruta hesitated. "What should I say?"
"For starters, what form of combat do you use, what Force techniques do you master, what sweets do you like?"
"Sweets?" Tano squinted one eye in amazement.
"Well, I'm your teacher," I smile, "which means I should know your tastes and food preferences. But that's secondary for now; tell me about the techniques first."
"Well..." the little one hesitated again. "I taught Ataru and Master Yoda himself praised me, I also have a good push, it seems pretty good, and... And what can you do, Master?" And with those honest, honest eyes, she looked at me like, "Blink-blink," like, "answered." Eh... And Ataru... Her fourth form, quite aggressive, focused on maneuverability and speed, good in duels, but poor at parrying shots. In general, it"s just in her character.
"I know how to meditate," I smile. And I was telling the pure truth! "But let's see what you're capable of," I said, taking out my two training swords and tossing one to Ahsoka. She picked it up. "There's not much space here, of course, but there's no need to destroy everything, just show me your fighting technique."
"Okay-y-y," the Togruta activated the blade and, biting her lip, bent down slightly, taking an attack position.
I lowered the handle, which was still not turned on, and stood in a meditation pose, tuning into the flow of the Force. There was no way I could screw up now, and since Shii Cho versus Ataru was a sad thing, I needed to use my main trump card — the ability to concentrate on foresight, even though the Balance Corps was strong in this.
"Uh... teacher?"
"Attack me."
"But you're not ready!"
"Attack."
Ahsoka struck from the side with lightning speed. Activating my lightsaber, I blocked her blow, albeit with difficulty, before smoothly shifting forward, shifting my weight onto my sword...
During the short battle, I found out... Well, I found out, I became convinced that my Padawan is quite an expressive person, easily succumbing to excitement. Just like in the cartoon. Oh yeah, and it just popped into my head that the Togrutas are descended from the Predators.
"That"s enough," I say after stopping the fight. "Sit down, we need to talk."
Tano obediently sat down next to me.
"Ahsoka, you're a great swordsman, but... you're too emotional," I tried to explain, not seeing much understanding on the girl's face. "Understand, in battle you will have to command people, maybe not right away, but you are my padawan, and since I am a general, you will have to at least take the position of adjutant, just for the sake of order. And to command you need to keep a clear mind. If you lose your temper and run at the droids with a sword, thereby forcing your people, for example, to leave their comfortable defensive positions, trying to cover you, then you will let down the people you command. Don't forget — where you pass with ease, simple intelligent beings who do not possess the Force will perish."
"But... How to fight then?"
"There are different ways, but the main one is this:" I gently flick my finger on her forehead and watch how the girl"s blue eyes comically gather in a bunch, trying to look up through her concentratedly frowning eyebrows. "Brains, Ahsoka, brains! A Jedi isn't a dumb droid wielding a lightsaber. You have precognition, telekinesis, a sense of danger and the right course of action, you just need to use it. Well, just imagine what would happen if you were put behind a rapid-fire blaster" I'd happily say "machine gun," but there's simply no such word here.
"What?"
"Not a single miss, that's what. Where an ordinary intelligent being would hit ten times out of a hundred shots and divide them among the defeated enemies, a Jedi would put all one hundred on target, each one hitting a separate enemy, and at a vital point. Get it?" I gesture with my hand and try to wiggle my eyebrows expressively, like Jack Sparrow. But I failed-I had neither the eyebrows nor any particular artistic flair.
Tano was initially stunned by this sight, then she grunted and quickly buried her mouth in her hands. The Togruta's shoulders began shaking vigorously, accompanied by stifled giggles. And yes, she was seriously trying to control herself. It was even somewhat unexpected... As for the lecture, to be honest, I wasn"t sure of its effectiveness, since I hadn"t tried it myself, and my predecessor didn"t remember anything even close, but purely theoretically, it"s more than possible. If some masters can deflect dozens of shots per second, then following the Force's cues, reversing a machine gun's barrel should be even more feasible. Anyway, I'll have to test it out when I get a chance.
"S-sorry, Teacher, I..."
"Wait, I'm not finished yet. Besides, don't neglect to always learn — even from clones. They were trained by the best specialists in the galaxy, especially special forces groups. By the way..." I glanced at her. "We didn't have time to pick out armor in the Temple, of course, and here, I'm afraid, you won't find anything that fits you, but you still need to stop by the quartermaster's, at least to try on the blaster."
"To mow down droids without missing?" the girl said, showing understanding.
"That too, but in general, something remote must be had first and foremost against enemy fighters. The Neimoidians' "Baryshnik" — a huge donut three kilometers long — can accommodate up to one and a half thousand "Vultures", and if this crowd swarms our positions, it will be quite a mess for everyone. In short, it's better to be able to shoot down a flying bastard with a blaster than to powerlessly clutch a sword and only curse at it as it circles overhead."
"Uh-huh..." the Togruta nodded thoughtfully.
"And so," I handed her a belt with several pockets. "Here's some dry rations, a canteen of water, and a comlink to contact me. Be careful not to lose it. Now let's go, we only have a day, and we still need to plan the operation and get some sleep..."
* * *
The alarm beep instantly woke me up. Less than an hour remained until arrival. Oh-oh-oh.
Having quickly washed up and had a snack, I headed to the bridge, picking up a yawning Tano along the way.
"General," the captain greeted me.
I nodded and glanced around. The clone crew was busy, instruments and holographic panels were glowing everywhere, and, by the way, there were no "glassed-in verandas" overlooking open space on the bridge-armored walls-that was the harsh reality of my flagship's conning tower. And that's a good thing!
| Предыдущая глава |
↓ Содержание ↓
↑ Свернуть ↑
| Следующая глава |
