Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 106-107 - Stalemate (Second Update)

"Dive! All personnel, dive to evade!"

As the "Repulsion" was struck hard by a barrage of furious turbo-laser cannon fire from the "Contractor-class" dreadnought, Rein shouted into the communicator.

The entire "white-handed fleet" responded immediately upon receiving the order.

The ships suddenly turned, their hulls rotating ninety degrees to the south.

Just like the tactics used in the Battle of Centares.

At the same time, the ship pushed its engine power to the limit, attempting to escape the devastating range of the "Consignor-class" interstellar dreadnought as quickly as possible.

Unlike the smaller Star Destroyers, the Core Glory's naval firepower is equally fierce and deadly, and Raine's flagship is suffering terrible damage.

In the first three minutes alone, the signals of ten warships completely disappeared from the tactical star map.

Ten minutes later, the number increased by sixteen more ships.

Twice the number of warships would lose their combat capability.

Their stern shields collapsed completely under the increasing gunfire, followed by the engine rooms being torn apart and destroyed.

These powerless warships could only drift along the edge of the battlefield by inertia, and the new round of pursuit fire from the "Steel Blade Fleet" would almost certainly engulf them completely.

Just then, the "Judgment" along with 31 other warships that were still capable of fighting suddenly tilted upwards, completed a tactical roll, and pointed its guns at the unsuspecting Republic fleet that was focused on pursuit, unleashing three deadly broadside salvos in succession!

"Sir?" Godell's electronic eye turned to Rein, awaiting instructions.

In these fifteen minutes.

Raine's "white-handed fleet" has lost nearly half of its fighting strength.

Those warships that could not escape had chosen their final mission.

To buy time by holding off the enemy.

Raine quickly checked the status of the "Clem Fleet" and found that although the damage they had suffered was not more severe than that of the "White Hand Fleet," it was not much worse.

While the White Hand Fleet was trapped below the Core Glory, the Clem Fleet was caught in the crosshairs of the Long Spear Fleet as it forced its way through the T-shaped formation.

Now, the "Clem Fleet" is caught between an unshakeable steel behemoth and a vengeful fleet, and is in grave danger.

Rein silently prayed for them in his heart, then turned all his attention back to the life and death of his own fleet.

"Reputation calling, sir!" came the voice of the communications robot, Godell.

Almost simultaneously, another message came in: "Sir! This is 'Zenith-II'! The 'cylindrical' propulsion formations 75 to 89 are still fully loaded and ready to go! And after we opened the firing arc, they now have a clear firing angle!"

But in the chaos and slaughter just now, Renn had completely forgotten about this crucial reserve force.

Without hesitation, he immediately issued the order.

"Order them to open fire! Immediately!"

The "Repel" communication array was powered at full capacity, and its powerful signal penetrated the multiple layers of electronic jamming set up by the Republic, delivering the command instantly.

Almost at the same moment the order was given, the pursuit of the "Steel Blade Fleet" suddenly stalled. The ships hurriedly turned to avoid it, scrambling to hide behind the massive hull of the "Consignor-class" dreadnought for protection.

However, the "Core Glory" itself has lost this barrier.

Boom, boom, boom.

Although sound cannot travel in a vacuum, Renn seemed to be able to "feel" the huge energy fluctuations generated when those "cylinders" were launched.

The immense energy released by the gravity projector swept across the area like an invisible tsunami, violently impacting and shaking every warship in the nearby airspace.

The Core Glory withstood the first and second rounds of bombardment from the "cylinders" thanks to its temporarily deployed kinetic shield.

However, under the third salvo, the powerful tearing force of the "shells" completely shattered this layer of defense.

At this moment, a race against time to the death is unfolding.

On one side, the "Consignor-class" interstellar dreadnought is desperately transferring energy to the bow shield generator.

On the other side, the "cylindrical" propulsion formation is racing against time to try to sink the "Core Glory" before the shield is rebuilt.

However, during this process, Raine discovered that asteroids, launched like shrapnel, were simply futilely sinking deep into the massive hull of the dreadnought. At this relatively close distance, the asteroids simply did not have enough time to accelerate to a speed sufficient to cause decisive damage.

The Core Glory, with its overwhelmingly large size and heavy armor, managed to withstand all the attacks.

Even so, Raine was certain that a violent explosion had occurred inside the dreadnought after yet another precise bombardment.

Some of the heavy armor plates were even briefly lifted and deformed by the internal impact.

An internal explosion of this magnitude would be enough to completely vaporize a "Jeffer-class" Star Destroyer.

However, the robust internal bulkheads of the Core Glory ultimately prevented the explosion from spreading.

Rein had to admit that the steel behemoths built by Quarter Dynamics Shipyard did indeed possess an unimaginably robust structure.

"All units, return to your designated combat positions," Raine ordered decisively, suppressing his frustration. "We will regroup and launch a tactical flanking maneuver... Godell, can we redeploy 'Victoria Louise'?"

Victoria Louise!
This is their only "dreadnought killer".

But now two Republic Dreadnoughts have appeared on the battlefield, and they only have this one trump card.

The situation was extremely unfavorable for them.

However, if the "Core Glory" can be dealt with first, the "White Hand Fleet" and the "Clem Fleet" will be able to deal with the heavily damaged "Iron Blade Fleet" and flank the "Long Spear Fleet" and the "White Breastplate Fleet".

"Cylindrical Propulsion Group 90 is currently targeting the Founder Legacy," Goldell reported quickly. "Adjusting the launch position to align with the Core Glory will take at least half an hour, not to mention recalculating the complex firing parameters... The Core Glory must be positioned above our entire front line to fire, and if the Victoria Louise were to disintegrate during movement or launch, the consequences would be catastrophic."

“Then abandon this plan.” Renn rejected it in a low voice, and after a moment of contemplation, added, “Contact the ‘Flame Messenger’ immediately!”

"Yes, yes!"

Soon, communication from the 'Flame Messenger' was established.

"Sir!"

With a long-lost tone, Xiaota said joyfully, "We're here!"

"Little Tower!" Renn's tense voice relaxed a bit, but without much small talk, he asked directly, "How's the interception setup going?"

"Sir, deployment is underway and should be completed in thirty minutes!"

“Very good, proceed as planned. Immediately notify the ‘Cramprinz’ upon completion of deployment!” Rein said, then turned to Godell: “Transmit the intelligence on the ‘Consignor-class’ Starship ‘Founder’s Legacy’ to the ‘Flame Messenger’!”

Little Tower: "Yes, yes!"

Godell: "Yes, sir!"

After ending the communication, Raine's expression remained solemn. He forced himself to focus his attention on the "White Hand Fleet First Task Force," which was reorganizing and forming a tight oval defensive formation below the "Iron Blade Fleet."

The "Steel Blade Fleet" attempted a probing attack with long-range missiles, but the "Judgment" and several other severely damaged and maneuverable warships took the initiative to assume the role of a temporary point defense barrier.

Their ion thrusters are under repair, leaving them stuck between the Rennes fleet and the enemy, relying on their remaining weapon systems to intercept incoming missiles.

The only thing preventing the "Iron Blade Fleet" from completely destroying these "living targets" is the potential threat posed by the Confederate "cylinder" projectiles.

The battlefield has reached a stalemate.

Every second of delay meant that the "Sol Fleet" and the "Clem Fleet" would suffer for another second in their predicament of overwhelming firepower.

Ryan's mind raced as he racked his brains for a way to break the deadlock and turn the tide of the battle.

Now, he has a clear time window.

Action must be taken before "Cylinder" No. 89 fires.

Meanwhile, the Core Glory was turning very slowly toward its starboard side.

This action serves two purposes.

First, it brings the "cylindrical" formations that could threaten it within the range of its powerful side-mounted firepower.

Secondly, it reduces the heavy pressure on the bow shield generator.

"New thruster signal detected!" the sensor robot suddenly reported loudly. "They're located directly above the 'Core Glory'! They've just completed a jump! They're transmitting identification data... Initial assessment: a Star Destroyer-class warship, sir!"

(End of this chapter)