Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 104-105 - The Second Client (Fourth Update, 3.8k words)

(The title of the previous chapter was wrong; I was confused while writing this. It has been corrected!)
Raine gripped the armrests of the command chair tightly, subtly adjusting the deployment.

He accelerated the "White Hand Fleet," an elite force that outpaced the flagship "Repel," which was the core of the fleet.

His aim was to place the "Repulsion" in a relatively rearward, central position within the fleet, rather than at the forefront.

“…Target locked!” Godell’s voice rang out with a hint of electronic excitement. “Predictive model is being transmitted!”

Raine immediately turned his attention to the main tactical star map.

On the star map, two arc-shaped prediction lines flashing with dazzling red light were clearly marked, indicating the most likely jump landing point of the Republic's "Consignor-class" interstellar dreadnought.

The problem is that there are two prediction lines.

They each point to the widening gap between the Republic's three main battle formations.

Looking back now, the Republic's intentions were quite clear.

The Republic likely intended to lure the Confederate fleet into these gaps, then have the "Contractor-class" Star Dreadnoughts jump directly over them, replicating the tactics used in the Battle of Salvara to annihilate the Confederate battle squadrons.

So here comes the core question.

From which gap will the Dreadnoughts jump out?
Rein's fingers flew across the console, bringing up detailed data on the Republic's various fleets for analysis.

In the center is the "Long Spear Fleet", on the right is the "Steel Blade Fleet", and on the left is the "White Breastplate Fleet".

After suffering heavy losses in the Battle of Centares and the initial blows of the war, the Longpole Fleet was reduced to only about three hundred warships with full combat capability, based on engine signals.

The "Steel Blade Fleet" still has 900 ships, while the "White Breastplate Fleet" has about 700 ships left.

Therefore, it appears that the "Steel Blade Fleet" suffered relatively minor damage in the previous "asteroid shell" attack.

A sudden realization dawned on Renn, and he understood the other party's scheme.

"Attention all units,"

He spoke in a calm and steady voice, and Godell immediately began recording and broadcasting.

Raine's voice carried.

"Less than thirteen minutes remain until contact with the enemy's main force. Execute Maneuver Plan No. 17 immediately!"

"I want to see a perfect 'Improved Combat Order No. 3,' with the 'White Hand Fleet' at the tactical pinnacle, executing the exercise plan strictly!"

The massive Confederate fleet, like a war machine awakened, began to move slowly but steadily.

The ships in the rear row maneuvered extensively to the left, temporarily escaping the direct observation range of the Republic Fleet.

In ten minutes, the original "Hydra Formation" quickly transformed into a classic diagonal formation.

The intention of this formation is very clear: to concentrate forces and directly penetrate the weak points of the Republic's fleet defenses, completely cutting off the "Steel Blade Fleet" from the other Republic's formations!
On the right flank of the Confederate Army, directly opposite the Republic's "White Breastplate Fleet," the Combined Defense Fleet and the Nadolin Combat Squadron stood ready, prepared for a brutal battle.

The battle erupted the instant Renne blinked!

The shipborne automatic targeting system instantly locked onto the target and opened fire.

The two fleets are approaching and intersecting at an astonishing relative speed of nearly 60,000 kilometers per second!
The hull of the "Repel" began to shake violently.

Despite being located in the relatively dense central area of ​​the fleet, the shields of the "Repulsion" still withstood sporadic artillery fire.

The Republic's turbo laser cannons roared in panic.

When the Confederate fleet pierced the wedge-shaped area between the two Republic fleets like a dagger, the vast majority of the Republic's artillery fire landed behind the Confederate fleet's stern.

The Confederation's sudden and rapid offensive surprised even themselves, let alone the Republic.

The enemy's fire control computer is frantically recalculating the aiming parameters.

In contrast, the Confederate fleet was almost always successful.

Enemy warships were close at hand. The Confederacy launched a barrage of missiles that rained down on the already weakened Republic shields. Deadly particle and ion beams precisely destroyed the Republic warships that did not have time to concentrate their shield energy in front of them.

Faced with the Confederate assault, the Republic fleet not only did not slow down, but accelerated again!
On the surface, it appears they intend to forcefully break through the Confederate lines and then encircle them.

However, the Confederacy used a diagonal formation, and the original five-layered formation had now been strengthened to nearly ten layers.

The Republic Fleet quickly realized that venturing into such a formation would be tantamount to suicide.

As several reckless Star Destroyers charging at the forefront were concentrated fire by the Confederacy, turning into dazzling yet deadly fireballs in space, the Confederacy, relying on its numerical superiority, began to forcefully push back the invading Republic fleet.

The "White Hand Fleet" successfully broke into the gap between the "Steel Blade Fleet" and the "Long Spear Fleet".

The warships roared, unleashing a barrage of fire to both sides simultaneously, the battle plan being executed as efficiently as a production line.

At the same time, the "Sol Fleet" and the "Clem Fleet" also engaged in fierce fighting with the main vanguard of the "Long Spear Fleet".

At the last moment, they feigned a turn to evade, and then launched two deadly salvos of proton torpedoes!

Further back, a swarm of Confederate light attack robots, having been urgently replenished, lay poised like a chilling metallic cloud, ready to pounce on their prey.

……

On the other side of the battlefield, the changes were so subtle that they were almost imperceptible on a macroscopic star map.

The combined defense fleet and the Nadolin task force are engaged in a thrilling cat-and-mouse game with the "White Breastplate Fleet".

Despite being outnumbered, they relied on the superior maneuverability of their Tionys warships to launch swift attacks, seize opportunities to fire fiercely, and sometimes quickly maneuver and retreat.

Their tactical objective was clear: to lure the enraged "White Breastplate Fleet" into making wrong decisions, causing the formation to become more chaotic, and gradually lead it into the deadly range of the 90 "Cylinder" propulsion formation and the poised "Victoria Louise" asteroid.

They undertake the most dangerous missions because they need to prove their loyalty and worth through their actions.

Greshad couldn't refuse the mission, otherwise it would cause discontent within the fleet. But to Rein's surprise, Greshad himself seemed quite willing to shoulder this double-edged sword.

"The 'Flame Messenger' has sent a communication requesting Brigadier General Bontri to take the call," the communications robot reported.

"They're here!" Renn's spirits lifted, his voice tinged with excitement. "A little earlier than expected, but just in time! Did they bring the minelayer I requested?"

“Yes, sir,” the robot responded quickly, “sixteen specialized minelayers have arrived.”

“Very good, very good.” Ryan nodded, his tone strangely calm even amidst the intense battle information surrounding him. “Order them to stand by for now, awaiting my instructions… Contact General Trench immediately, where is he now?”

"Cruiser 'Dawn' reports: Admiral Trench is en route from the Alcan region." Godell paused, then retrieved another piece of information: "Admiral Tonis has just arrived in the Beldrone system."

Not bad!
A sense of satisfaction welled up in Renn's heart, as everything was progressing smoothly according to plan.

"Come on, Republic, play your trump card quickly so we can move on to the next step!"

The "White Hand Fleet" finally succeeded in penetrating the Republic Fleet's last line of defense.

The view ahead suddenly opened up, with the Nyarikan Nebula's dazzling yet hazy light in the distance.

Near the nebula, the wreckage of the recently destroyed Republic fleet floats.

These twisted metal behemoths rolled silently in the void, their postures conveying a sense of defeated humiliation.

Raine simultaneously monitored the overall status of the Confederate fleet and the movements of the "Iron Blade Fleet," drawing upon all his experience and intuition as a commander to keenly detect any unusual actions by the enemy and precisely grasp the timing for issuing the next crucial order.

"Execute Operation Fifteen immediately!" Rein's voice was solemn and brooked no argument.

The massive "White Hand Fleet" moved at the order and once again made a large-scale turn.

Approximately seven hundred warships simultaneously turned to port.

The entire formation first dispersed like flower petals, then reassembled with astonishing efficiency, forming a huge, purposeful "hand" that began to forcibly isolate the "Steel Blade Fleet" from their allied forces in the Republic.

Generous-class cruisers and Disobedient-class light destroyers, along with other destroyer types, swooped down from above.

The densely packed turrets at the bow of the warships formed sharp spearheads, fiercely driving scattered enemy ships away from the main force.

The larger battleships and heavy cruisers moved closer together, forming a moving phalanx composed of pure metallic mass and enormous momentum.

They relentlessly crushed and smashed through any dispowered Republic Star Destroyers, pushing and driving the remaining "Steel Blade Fleet" outwards.

The "Steel Blade Fleet" was helplessly sliding backward into the wreckage area that was expanding due to the battle, instantly becoming prey surrounded on three sides.

The inherent maneuverability shortcomings of the Republic's Star Destroyers, particularly their poor turning and reversing capabilities, were fully exposed at this time.

At this moment, they were trapped in a quagmire, surrounded by enemies on three sides, and in an extremely dangerous situation.

Upon discovering that their allies were in dire straits, the right flank of the "Long Spear Fleet" attempted to break away from the main battlefield and charge towards the rearguard of the "White Hand Fleet" in an effort to provide a rescue.

However, the "Clem Fleet" under the command of Carly Trilm reacted extremely quickly, precisely cutting into the newly formed wedge-shaped gap and cleanly severing the "Long Spear Fleet's" T-shaped horizontal line with a straight course.

At extremely close range, they unleashed a deadly barrage of torpedoes, the violent explosions instantly illuminating the airspace.

This wasn't the first time Carly had come to Ryan's aid at a crucial moment, and considering the complex and delicate relationship between the two, Ryan felt that this probably wouldn't be the last.

Renn shifted his focus from local victories to assess the overall situation on the battlefield.

Actually, there was no need to look. Apart from the "White Breastplate Fleet" slowing its advance noticeably and hesitating as it approached the edge of the "cylinder's" kill zone, the Republic Fleet showed obvious signs of collapse on all other battle lines.

Just when Raine concluded that the "Consignor-class" interstellar dreadnought would not appear, or that the best opportunity had already been missed, the Republic finally played their last trump card.

The background noise of the universe seemed to be instantly turned down.

An invisible shockwave swept past, and Renn even felt a slight tingling sensation on the surface of his skin.

That was the Kronau radiation that leaked out when the dimensional barrier was forcibly torn apart.

With a silent yet awe-inspiring burst of energy, the colossal ship "Founder's Legacy" leaped into the gap between the "Long Spear Fleet" and the "White Breastplate Fleet," just as Raine had predicted!

Its massive bow turret, as large as a mountain peak, began charging the instant it completed the jump, gleaming with a destructive light.

However, that's not all.

Just then, a huge shadow suddenly loomed over the bridge windows of the "Repulsion".

Ryan frowned instinctively and looked around in confusion.

The starlight should have been directed towards the stern of their ship, so where did this shadow come from?

He glanced at the nearby tactical star map with a puzzled look, and a cold, numbing sensation instantly rose from the bottom of his heart.

He couldn't see the thruster signal cone that indicated the "Repulse's" own position!

In fact, the signal cones of all the warships in the entire "White Hand Fleet" disappeared.

They... seemed to have been completely covered and swallowed up by an unimaginably huge signal source?!
A completely new and suffocating identification signal forced its way onto all sensor readings.

"Core Glory".

Ryan suddenly looked up at the main observation window.

The sky outside the window, which should have been a dazzling starry sky, was now nothing but an endless, despairing dark metal barrier.

“Uh, sir?” Godell’s voice was hesitant like never before. His electronic eyes turned to Rein. “The sensors show… there’s a Star Dreadnought… right above us, very close.”

The slight sense of pleasure that Renne felt from the tactical success was instantly shattered by the cold, hard reality and thrown into the gutter.

Fuck!
Fuck!
"All fleet! Emergency evasive maneuver!!!" Raine's scream echoed across the bridge.

(End of this chapter)