Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 103-104 - The Hydra Tactics (Third Update)
On the Confederate radar screens, the trajectories of those asteroids were captured, streaking past like shimmering ghosts.

Large asteroids collide with each other during their flight, breaking into smaller fragments.

Those tiny particles, some even finer than dust, appear and disappear on the sensor, making them almost impossible to detect.

A vague sense of unease crept into Renn's mind.

They seem to have... broken an unwritten rule of space warfare.

As this tactic becomes a reality, the future of naval warfare may be completely overturned.

The engagement distance will increase exponentially.

Ten years from now, the design philosophy and combat methods of capital ships may be completely different.

This battle will likely drive naval designers and weapons developers from all sides to frantic rushes back to their drawing boards.

Twenty years from now, perhaps fleets won't even need to be in the same star system; they can determine the victor across the vast void.

This idea filled Ryan with a strange sense of dread.

He wanted to ask himself that question.

What did I do?
But he was actually very clear about what he had done.

This is like opening a door.

Whether people in the future will choose to go through this door is another story.

Raine rubbed his eyes, which were stinging from the glaring screen, and tried to concentrate as he listened to the robot crew report on the battlefield situation.

Although he forced himself to focus on the big picture, the intense flash of light made him wonder if he should get a new pair of glasses.

On the other side, the Republic's fleet was not unresponsive; they were putting up a fierce counterattack.

The three fleets, which were originally closely linked, began to split into three independent formations, with smaller units within each formation trying to widen the distance between them.

“Goldell…” Renn drawled out the word, then raised his voice.

"I understand, sir!" The robot's response was sharp, and seemed to contain a hint of annoyance.

They must calculate the hyperspace jump vector of the Republic's "Commissioner-class" interstellar dreadnought as soon as possible; this is crucial for implementing the next step of their plan.

These interstellar dreadnoughts are enormous and possess formidable deterrent power.

Its mere presence is enough to intimidate an entire fleet.

However, the drawback of this interstellar dreadnought is its extremely slow speed.

While some future super star destroyers may be even larger, the development of sublight propulsion technology seems to be lagging behind the expansion of ship size.

The speed of this "Consignor-class" vessel is probably similar to that of some bulky cargo ships.

This does not mean that it is safe to pilot it to an ideal combat position.

Given the opponent's astonishing accuracy in the previous battle at Centares, Raine suspected that the Jedi were manipulating things behind the scenes.

Godell had almost locked onto his target, but with the Republic fleet's formation shifting, he would likely need to start calculating again.

Just then, the proximity sensor on the "Repel" suddenly emitted a piercing alarm scream!

This was the only warning Renn received.

Immediately afterwards, a cruiser escorting the "Repel" was completely destroyed right before his eyes by some unseen attack!
The cruiser absorbed most of the shockwave and debris from the explosion, inadvertently acting as a shield for the HMS Repulse.

The cruiser's hull was instantly torn open with a massive gash, twisting and collapsing as gases violently erupted from within. Then, in a silent, violent explosion, the entire warship disintegrated completely, turning into cosmic dust.

The shield readings on "Repel" were flashing wildly, indicating that a large number of high-speed debris, possibly mixed with frozen human tissue remains, were violently impacting the shield.

Renn was both shocked and furious, his face instantly turning red: "What happened?! What on earth happened?!"

"Cylinder 74 has suffered a serious malfunction! The tractor beam is overloaded and out of control, sir!" the communications robot reported loudly. "Fortunately, the bulk carrier 'Hart Wind' reacted quickly enough to reverse the projection direction in time, offsetting most of the out-of-control energy and controlling the damage! All six ships in that cylinder formation are wiped out! Preliminary statistics... 661 dead! Damage reports for the other ships are still being compiled!"

Ah!
This was expected!

This was the first thought that flashed through Renn's mind.

It was precisely because of the contingency plan and rapid response that only a little over 600 people died, instead of 6,000!

Using a hastily assembled gravity mass projector paired with a civilian-grade traction beam emitter is inherently unsafe, let alone for such a large-scale operation.

Statistically speaking, it's incredibly lucky that it only exploded once out of more than seventy launches, right in front of our own people.

The next thought that flashed through his mind.

This accident dealt a heavy blow to morale.

"Oh shit!"

Renn cursed fiercely.

They also had a contingency plan: they had to act immediately, using an offensive to divert the fleet's attention and boost morale!

"Immediately withdraw all remaining cylindrical formations!" Raine decisively ordered, his voice brooking no argument. "Issue orders to all units of the 'White Hand Fleet': maximum speed, advance immediately! We must be at the forefront!"

“The order has been issued—” Goldell repeated, pausing at the last sentence, “Sir, should we also convey the message, ‘We must be at the forefront’?”

"Pass it on! Not a single word off!" Ryan replied, then muttered under his breath, "Although I fucking don't want to do this..."

The engines of the "Repel" roared wildly, and the powerful thrust pressed Raine into his seat.

The interstellar frigate seemed to tremble with excitement beneath his feet, yearning to charge back into battle!

Renn somewhat missed this feeling.

Perhaps this is just an illusion caused by a highly tense fight-or-flight reaction?

But in any case, this feeling made him feel braver than he actually was, and that was enough.

Rear Admiral Greshard's battlecruiser HMS Kronprinz was not to be outdone, and began to accelerate closely behind HMS Repulse.

The powerful Nadolin combat squadron followed closely behind.

If there is any alien warship that perfectly embodies the concept of "elegant destroyer," it must be the "Crumplinz."

Its gleaming mirror-like armor plates rippled and undulated under the light of its engines, like the oars of an ancient ocean warship striking invisible waves—a mesmerizing sight.

If you look closely, you can even see the outline of the powerful pulse cannon barrel hidden beneath the armor plates.

Compared to modern mainstream turbo laser cannons, these weapons are more like an alternative path to destruction.

The battle for Hydra has begun.

The massive fleet of two thousand Confederate warships, their hulls reflecting a cold, hard metallic sheen and their weapon arrays flashing with a dangerous light, began to accelerate forward as if propelled by an invisible force.

The entire fleet was filled with a passionate atmosphere of honor, even at the cost of death.

(End of this chapter)