"Weapon charging detected! Behind us!!!" The radar operator's terrified shout was followed by deathly silence across the bridge of Tarkin's Will.
Two seconds later, everything erupted into chaos.
"Concentrate Deflector Shield energy toward the rear! Begin evasive maneuvers immediately!" the captain barked in exasperation.
"How could they be behind us?!" Wilhuff Tarkin roared, bringing up the holographic star map. "Behind us is..."
His expression immediately turned incomparably grave.
On the holographic star map, behind their battle formation... was Onderon's third moon, Dagori Satellite. It was the smallest of Onderon's four moons, with a diameter of only around 700 kilometers. Because of its small size, it was not even a regular sphere.
"The enemy is on Dagori Satellite!!" Tarkin snapped. "Scan it immediately!! Find them!"
"They've fired!! Brace for impact!!" the radar operator shouted.
The next second, eight beams shot out from the direction of Dagori Satellite! They then exploded amid the Republic fleet in an instant!
Sensor readings showed that they were not beams at all, but eight fusion plasma spheres traveling at extreme speed.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!! Tarkin's Will was struck by five of the plasma spheres, and violent explosions burst against the Deflector Shield at the rear of the warship! Even the supposedly impregnable Deflector Shield of a Consul-class Star Destroyer was instantly breached!
The plasma spheres continued onward and struck the rear engines directly!
The violent blasts shook the entire warship fiercely, sending nearly everyone sprawling in a heap.
Only the several black-clad guards beside Tarkin moved with astonishing speed. Seemingly unaffected by the tremors equivalent to an eight-magnitude earthquake, they grabbed Tarkin and rushed toward the escape pods reserved for senior officers. Without another word, they shoved him inside and slapped the red button.
The escape pod launched instantly.
Of the eight immensely powerful plasma spheres,