Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 169-171 - Operation Starlight (Seeking monthly votes)

“We must take down the Hyperspace Communications Syndicate,” Ryan emphasized immediately, his tone resolute. “They control the Confederation Shadow Communications Network and the core nodes of the Confederation Holographic Network in Murkana and Andor, which are independent star systems.”

I predict that trade alliances, guilds, and retail federations will tend to wait and see, ultimately choosing the stronger and more stable side.

“The de facto controller and major shareholder of the Hyperspace Communications Syndicate is Senator Po Nudo from Ando, ​​although he vehemently denies any direct connection to the organization,” Carly noted, glancing at Trench. “This means…”

"Bo Nudo and I are not from Ando Main Planet, Rear Admiral!" Admiral Trench slammed his metal scepter on the ground, making a jarring metallic clang, his tone clearly displeased. "We don't even belong to the same Ando subspecies! I come from Ando II, a colony planet in the Ando system!"

Carly immediately put her foot down, raised her hands in a gesture of surrender, but a mischievous smile played on her lips: "Hey, I wasn't implying anything... I didn't say anything, did I?"

“I believe we have the ability to persuade Congressman Nudo to recognize the situation,” General Tann said casually, defusing the brief tension. “If words fail, an elite assault robot squad is more than enough to quickly take control of Murkana’s communications hub. Moreover, after Kulivar’s withdrawal, Murkana has become the new headquarters of the Corporate Alliance.”

The subtext is self-evident.

While the Hyperspace Communications Syndicate is a behemoth, it still appears weak and powerless in the face of the corporate alliance, a consortium of numerous giants.

When faced with the choice of leaving Dooku's camp or being forcibly "integrated" into the business landscape of the corporate alliance, the answer is obvious.

“I will personally discuss this matter with the Alliance Council,” the Hatch admiral replied in a deep voice.

“Very good,” the Supreme Commander said, his finger sliding across the holographic control panel, instantly adding a new layer of information to the star map.

The map is densely marked with the deployment locations of robot forces throughout the galaxy and the real-time number of active units.

That number... is so enormous it's terrifying, enough to make any opponent tremble with fear.

"Although the Militia Act significantly reduced the proportion of robot troops in the armed forces and instead supported the recruitment of citizen soldiers, robot units still constitute the absolute main body of our army's combat order of battle."

More importantly, the main control command chain for all robots manufactured remains firmly in the hands of Count Dooku's administrative office.

“I doubt Dooku would hand over the code even if we ‘politely asked,’” Ryan muttered. “Could we develop a system that overrides the instructions?”

“We can modify the underlying protocols of our robots to make them ignore instructions from the executive office,” Carly explained, gesturing with her finger as if drawing code. “We can implant a fail-safe procedure, equipping each officer with command authority with a unique overriding command key, so they can regain control of their robot if necessary. But the risk is that officers might forget their keys, lose them, or be killed by their own out-of-control robots before they can activate the overriding command.”

“The vast majority of our combat robot production lines belong to Bactoid Combat Automation, right?” Rein seemed to be talking to himself, his mind racing. “Couldn’t the Technology Alliance just disable the old master control code and then redesign a completely new core command system that is not controlled by Dooku?”

"The key problem is that the core control program was outsourced," Admiral Trench gave a disheartening answer.

"Who was it outsourced to?" Renn pressed, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

"Gionos Industries".

Grass!
Renn cursed inwardly. Geonosis Industries was not a normal corporate entity at all.

It is essentially the official window through which the Stargarsin Hive on the planet Geonosis conducts trade with the galactic civilizations.

In other words, its behavior is not driven by profits, political pressure, or the will of shareholders.

Any major decisions relating to the Geonosis industry must be approved by the Grand Duke of Geonosis, Bogle the Younger.

So why did Bogle follow Count Dooku so devotedly?
What is the core motivation of a highly intelligent insect creature?
Is it some kind of ancient covenant?

A deep-seated hatred for the Republic?
Or did Dooku promise the Geonosisians what they had always dreamed of?

“This is truly a…” Renn clicked his tongue, unable to find a word strong enough to describe the predicament, “…a huge obstacle.”

"Prioritize the research and deployment of the overlay command key system; the Geonosis issue will be addressed later," General Tann pondered briefly before making a decisive decision. "Now, I issue you the formal operational order."

Regardless of how abrupt the topic shift was, Ryan had no idea that he would receive a completely different set of orders at this moment.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise: "Aren't we supposed to be involved in the counter-offensive along the Rimma trade route?"

“That’s the mission of the Fourth Fleet. The Twenty-Eighth Mobile Fleet has other plans,” Tann said slowly, as if explaining to someone who was slow to react.

Renn nodded slowly.

Judging from Carly's languid expression that seemed to say "You just found out?", it seemed that he was the only one kept in the dark, which made him feel a little annoyed at being excluded from the inner circle.

He always liked to be in control of the overall situation and understand the movements of all the pieces.

"So, this is related to the fact that the memorandum stated the Second Fleet's operational area was near Pelemia, but I was inexplicably deployed to the southern edge of the galaxy?"

“Exactly,” Trench replied, his voice tinged with impatience.

He skillfully manipulated the holographic projection using his multiple limbs, and two thick, chilling red arrows instantly appeared on the star map, like two blood-dripping daggers, viciously stabbing towards the heart of the Republic's core world from different directions. "This is the top-secret operation, 'Operation Starburst'."

You may have noticed, or you may not, but the 19th and 28th Mobile Fleets are the only two fleets in the Confederate armed forces to have this special status.

Your mission is not to conquer territory, but to carry out a top-secret rescue operation.

"To rescue Admiral Dua Ningo and his fleet from the Republic's encirclement."

(End of this chapter)