Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 244, Page 236 - Deciphering!

Sarapin Galaxy, Sarapin orbit.

Click. Click.

Carly Trilm held the interplanetary path navigator up to the light and examined it from every angle.

She wasn't quite sure what was wrong with the thing, and even suspected that it might have been implanted with some kind of dormant virus.

But its performance was not quite right.

What kind of latent viruses can be activated when a device is completely offline and not connected to any host?
What's more, after it had already been discontinued?
Was it to prevent the Confederate fleet from reverse-engineering the Republic's military technology?

But for a regular interplanetary path navigation device, it seems unnecessary to go to such lengths.

In fact, the Confederation was already ahead of the Republic in terms of communication technology—

Although the Republic had an advantage in weaponry and starship technology, the Confederation's automation systems, communication protocols, and most electronic devices were more advanced.

“Tex, is the isolation pod ready?” Carly called out to TX-103.

The so-called "isolation cabin" is actually a digital isolation space that is completely cut off from all critical systems and external networks.

This is the standard procedure for training new types of artificial intelligence.

Especially in the absence of hard-coded restrictions, this is to prevent runaway AI from infecting all connected devices with its invisible "tentacles".

“It takes time to create a sufficiently large independent database,” Tex replied, sounding like he was busy with other things.

"Can't we just use the library that 'Processor Number One' used before?"

"That library has been reassigned."

Before Carly could respond, the communication notification sound next to the seat suddenly went off.

She muttered a curse under her breath, glanced quickly at the timer, and got up to walk towards the observation window.

The Salvara Combat Squadron, the unit that participated in the battles of Centares and Kolumex, is returning from the attack on the Sarapin orbital relay station.

Sarapin itself is a volcanic planet with extremely active geothermal activity. The Old Republic wisely developed it comprehensively, making it a major energy source for the entire galactic core region...

The price is that one planet will have to bear up to 80% of the core world's energy imports.

In the early stages of the war, Cypheren Tann's initial action was to launch an overwhelming military assault on Sarapin, completely destroying the foundation of the core world's power grid, causing power outages on tens of thousands of planets for hours or even days, until backup energy sources barely filled the gap.

It can be said that the Republic learned its lesson and hastily promoted the diversification of its energy supply.

However, Carly speculates that, given the significant upgrades to the Sarapin defense system in recent years, it still holds an important position in the energy system.

However, Carly does not intend to challenge the planetary defense system.

She was neither the famous Pantola nor the size of the Confederate Second Fleet.

The 19th Mobile Combat Fleet, which she commanded, was designed specifically for attacking shipping lanes and transport ships; its energy was meaningless if it could not be delivered to the users.

Energy must be transported in some way... and the satellite debris floating around Sarapin is proof of that.

"Mission accomplished, Commander," reported the captain of the heavy cruiser USS Salissa.

The dreadnought produced by Rendelli glided past Carly's flagship with its navigation lights flashing in greeting.

"The extent of the damage?"

"The shields are sufficient; the ships built by Rendelli are very sturdy."

This is a lie.

Carly knew this because there was a large, conspicuous charred patch on the port side of the "Salisa," directly above a gun emplacement—

This is definitely not damage caused by shield overload.

Overheating of the shields usually only melts the ship's radiators, causing the so-called "post-war glow," but this scar is clearly left by a direct hit from the turbo laser cannon.

They will not retreat easily unless their hull is breached.

Carly concluded that the Salvara people had nothing left to lose.

Most of the fleets in the Peremian Alliance shared a similar mindset.

They were all exiled legions fighting in foreign lands.

Once given a target, they would relentlessly pursue it like her personal hounds. "Ready to go, Tex, turn around! We're heading back to Recopia."

"Yes, yes!"

The Serenno Star changed course, ignited its sublight engines, and spewed out a dazzling blue exhaust plume from its afterburners, heading toward the nearest hyperspace exit.

Along the way, they saw the wreckage of Sarapin's weakly defended fleet floating silently, these fragments that would drift toward outer planets over the next few decades.

"Major General," the tactical robot suddenly reminded him, "are you going to test the interplanetary path navigation system now?"

“Now…?” Carly glanced at the observation window. “…There’s really no reason to wait any longer.”

She was about to throw the once-useless cube to the robot when she suddenly realized it might have a greater use.

So she strode forward and personally placed the navigator into Tex's metal palm.

The robot carefully inspected the equipment with its light-emitting sensors, then walked to the nearest control panel. After confirming that there were no critical operations, it pushed aside the other robots that were working and connected the navigator to the terminal.

"Are you sure the system is isolated?" Carly suddenly became a little nervous. "I don't want to destroy my flagship."

"Confirmed." The robot answered while ruthlessly accessing the navigator's data files—

In an instant, the control panel screen seemed to be awakened by some mysterious force.

Thousands upon thousands of lines of encrypted data poured out like a torrent, including sound, holographic images, and transmission signals... as if the entire galaxy's information was flooding into this small display screen.

Each message begins with the same prefix: [UILRB MCMH]
“They’re all coming from the same source,” Carly whispered. “Can we decode them? We just need to understand the meaning of this word?”

“I don’t think that’s a word.” Tex’s fingers flew across the console, trying to prevent the data stream from overwhelming the isolated database. “All the information is encoded into blocks of five characters each.”

"If it has nine letters—"

"Second Auxiliary Squadron Lost Contact!" a robot suddenly shouted an alarm. "Last signal was... 'Enemy ship encountered'."

"Task Force 198 has lost contact!"

"The 91st Reconnaissance Division has lost signal!"

"The relay frigate 'Lopina' is not responding!"

“The Second Auxiliary Squadron?” Carly’s eyes widened. “They’re in Recopia! Tex!”

Recopia is only one hyperspace jump away from here!
"An emergency jump to the Seyuggi system is being planned." Tex had jumped away from the console, leaving the B1 combat robot staring blankly at the still-flowing waterfall of data on the screen.

"Task Force 1911 has lost contact!"

"They're simultaneously wiping us out!" If Carly had previously hoped the attack would end peacefully, her illusions were now completely shattered. "The Republic saw through our intentions?"

“Very likely, sir.” As Tex responded, the Salvara Combat Squadron was already rushing toward the exit as if on fire. “They have likely analyzed our attack patterns and anticipated our tactics.”

“Send a message to all remaining relay frigates in the intelligence department.” Carly gritted her teeth. “We’ll proceed as planned and change the attack mode.”

"Should we recommend shifting operations to the southern part of the core area?"

"Jumping from an airspace without a fleet into an area with one?" Carly asked sarcastically. "No need to overreact. Let's switch to a new mode first. Even if the Grand Republic Army is monitoring us, it will take several weeks to gather enough data to identify new patterns. Then we can switch again. Sooner or later, an intelligence ship will find the 'Bastion Fleet'."

Tex nodded slowly. "As you wish, once we confirm that the interstellar path navigator poses no threat, we will begin the decryption process."

“Assuming the prefix stands for Coruscant,” Carly shrugged. “Currently, only Ryan Bontri has access to ‘Processor Number One,’ and I suppose that’s the ‘gift’ he sent.”

“If ‘Processor Number One’ can truly intercept Coruscant’s communications,” Tex pondered, “then…”

“Don’t think too far ahead. This thing can only give us limited advantages.” Carly looked at the Salvara Combat Squadron’s synchronized navigation equipment and prepared for a mass jump. “It’s enough for us to survive and figure out Coruscant’s reaction. The fleet pursuing us won’t contact Coruscant at the slightest movement. This kind of data is more valuable to the Independent Star Station.”

She suddenly had an idea.

"By the way, there's one more thing."

"Please speak, Major General."

"We should not linger at the rendezvous point in Seyugi."

"What is the overdrive distance setting?"

“Five hundred parsecs,” Carly said quickly. “Change our destination. We’re going to meet the Nemodias and head to Katonemodia.”

(End of this chapter)