Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 109-110 - First-hand Information

The hyperspace navigation nodes in the Kolmex system will likely be unusable for the next few weeks or even months.

Looking out the porthole at the devastated battlefield, Renn silently made his calculations.

The sheer amount of debris floating within the galaxy is so vast that it could probably serve as raw materials to build a "Death Star"-sized combat space station from scratch.

At this moment, the salvage fleets with official licenses, like creatures that have smelled blood, swarmed towards this huge metal graveyard.

Of course, their salvage authority is limited to the wreckage of ships belonging to the Republic.

In addition, they also have an extra task.

Search for possible survivors, i.e., prisoners of war.

After all, if such dirty and tiring work can be outsourced, why get your hands dirty?
Despite possessing faster-than-light communication technology, the fog of war remains thick.

Ubiquitous communication jamming, intense electronic warfare, and various battlefield noises severely disrupted information transmission.

It took the Confederate fleet several hours to painstakingly reassess the battlefield situation and relay the relatively accurate information to all units.

The "Repel" was slowly cruising above the massive, battered hull of the "Core Glory".

The ship's high-precision holographic cameras meticulously record every detail of the damage to the giant ship and transmit the real-time footage to the media center on the planet Kolumex.

Rennes could imagine the explosive headlines rolling across the news channels right now.

Breaking News! Great Victory at Kolmogoks! Republic General Captured!

That's right.

General Serbon, the governor of the 12th Military District of the Republic, was captured deep inside the combat intelligence center of the "Core Glory," a "Contractor-class" interstellar dreadnought.

These behemoths were not only used as warships, but also as mobile command fortresses.

Perhaps it is precisely because of its suffocating size that it is impossible to imagine the possibility of failure.

If the Confederation hadn't brought out its "super weapon," perhaps the Republic wouldn't have lost this time.

At this moment, the "Core Glory" still barely maintains the outline of the ship. The bridge has completely disappeared, and the entire top looks like a large chunk has been eaten away by a giant beast, making it look extremely abrupt.

However, its sister ship, the Founders Legacy, was not so lucky.

The giant ship that once caused the Confederacy so much trouble in Centares is now gone.

The energy released when the asteroid “Victoria Louise” struck was comparable to that of a thermonuclear bomb.

The impact could have triggered a devastating core meltdown or a chain reaction of explosions in the ship's fuel/ammunition depots.

Whatever the specific reason, the "Founder's Legacy" and everything within a twenty-mile radius around it have now turned into cosmic dust and dissipated into the cold void.

All this firsthand footage and information is being transmitted in real time to the keen-nosed news clubs on the planet Kolumex.

From here, the news will spread like wildfire to the vicinity of the Peremian route, and then sweep across the entire galaxy.

The intelligence networks of Murkana News Agency and Shadow News Network must have already caught wind of this, and the Independent System Confederation Council on Laxus II planet must have known about it immediately.

In the crucial hours following the end of the battle, all sorts of speculations and analyses were flying around.

Whoever speaks first can shape the public's perception of this battle to the greatest extent possible, according to their own wishes.

The Republic's "Consignor-class" dreadnoughts, the Confederacy's "Conqueror-class" heavy cruisers, and the mysterious "Cylinder" projectiles.

And three admirals, Tornice, Trench, and Tann, appeared simultaneously on the same galactic battlefield!
And the two generals, Diedrich and Rennes?
The media has hundreds of eye-catching angles to choose from.

Meanwhile, Ryan and his team, who were at the source of the information, held a significant advantage.

Although Count Dooku controls the Murcana News Agency and the Shadow News Network, even these two giants still need to obtain first-hand battle reports from Kolumex.

So, who is providing information to Kolumex?

It was them.

For at least the first few months, they could dominate the narrative tone of the Battle of Kolmogoth.

The News Club is known for its pursuit of the most explosive exclusive scoops.

They crave content that generates the highest viewership and traffic. They crave dramatic conflict and stories of heroes and villains.

All the dry tactical data, casualty statistics, and fleet order can be left for later military commentators to savor.

In the initial deluge of news, what's needed is a core narrative that can instantly grab attention.

Therefore, Raine wondered why the headline had to be "Republican General Captured!" instead of the more Confederate heroism-focused "General Severn Tann Saves the Day!"

They have complete battle records and fleet logs as evidence, and no one within the "Joint Defense Fleet" would deny that it was this Pantora general who was the first to arrive at the battlefield and turned the tide of battle.

Raine didn't know whether it was a coincidence of fate or Tann's ingenious scheme.

However, the arrival of the Confederate First and Fourth Fleets shortly after her announcement of "reinforcements have arrived" will undoubtedly bring Tann a huge boost to her reputation.

"The 'Carrion Spike' has docked with the port airlock of our ship," Godell's voice carried a distinct electronic fatigue, clearly indicating that the computing load was nearing its limit. "The 'Flame Messenger' reports that a shuttle is departing from that ship and heading towards us."

“Very good. Guide it to the docking bay near the bridge. Once Commander Xiaota arrives, you can log off and rest,” Raine replied, then turned to another robot, “Hal, contact…”

“Sir…” Hal’s voice was energetic, a stark contrast to Godell’s: “What are your specific instructions?”

The uniquely designed robot tilted its cute-looking head and noticed that Raine was looking at it strangely.

“You…” Renn suddenly thought of a question. He had never seen this rabbit-shaped robot charge before. He subconsciously licked his dry lips. “When do you usually… replenish your energy?”

Hal paused noticeably, then slowly raised a slender metal finger, mimicking a human, and gently placed it against his non-existent lips, saying in a deliberately mysterious tone, "Sir, please don't pry into a robot's little secrets about energy replenishment."

Just then, the holographic communication station in the center of the bridge started flashing, and an encrypted message came in.

Renn immediately accessed the documents.

"Ren?"

The holographic image showed the figure of Senator Mina.

She seemed to be looking down at the receiver in front of her, her voice low and urgent, "Is the battle over? What's the situation? Tell me quickly!"

Ryan could hear faint footsteps and indistinct conversations coming from her background.

He immediately realized that she was in the parliament building.

Did the parliament convene an emergency meeting because of the situation in Kolmogoks?
At this delicate juncture, unexpected consequences may arise.

“We won,” Ryan replied succinctly.

In the video, Mina instantly seemed to have a huge weight lifted off her shoulders, and her whole body relaxed. "The Republic has deployed two 'Consignor-class' interstellar dreadnoughts."

Her beautiful brows furrowed immediately. "Those flashy, impractical mobile fortresses—aren't they still in the testing phase?"

“It is clear that the Republic has completed its combat conversion and put it into actual combat.” Raine’s tone became heavy. “The specific casualty figures are still being tallied, Mina. The preliminary estimate is that we have lost nearly two million crew members. To be frank, we cannot withstand a second attack by the Republic on the same scale.”

Mina was a smart woman and immediately grasped the deeper meaning in Ryan's words, "You mean... the next vote on that crucial proposal... can't fail again."

The Republic's losses were undoubtedly far greater, but Renn's task at this moment was to cultivate a particular sense of urgency.

He wasn't lying; the Confederate fleet had indeed suffered heavy losses this time and was unlikely to withstand another attack of the same intensity.

But the key point is that Raine is very certain that the Republic is not capable of launching an attack of this scale in the short term.

Their two main fleet groups were almost completely wiped out in this battle.

The remaining mobile forces will inevitably be urgently redeployed to the central star system for defense.

Therefore, the crucial proposal concerning the fate of the Confederation must be pushed through during this brief window of opportunity before the war situation becomes completely clear!

“That’s right.” Renn nodded firmly. “Have any of your council colleagues received specific battle reports about this fight?”

Mina quickly glanced around and lowered her voice to reply, "No... I think I'm the first to receive detailed information."

“Then you will become the first person in the council to know the whole story.” Despite knowing the privacy of holographic communication, Raine subconsciously lowered his voice. “It was General Pantola who led reinforcements to arrive in time and turned the tide of the battle when our defenses were on the verge of collapse. Of the two Republic dreadnoughts, one was captured by us and the other was completely destroyed. More importantly, General Serbon of the Republic’s Twelfth Military District is now our prisoner!”

Mina's eyes widened in shock, as if she had witnessed something unbelievable. "General Pantora, she actually did it..."

(End of this chapter)