Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 85 - Nomination
Renn's lips twitched slightly.

Ames' counterattack was quite powerful, hitting the core of the current chaotic command system.

He glanced at Trench's interview footage, and the general seemed to nod slightly in agreement with Ames's remarks.

Protesting Dooku's subsequent nomination in this way was indeed a bold and wise decision.

The Hafa representative turned around abruptly, his face showing undisguised astonishment.

To his surprise, the members of the Peremian Alliance seemed to have received a signal and began to stand up and applaud Ames's speech.

Baker Lois had to admit that, whether it was Bontley's strategy or Ames's own wisdom, the counterattack was indeed brilliant.

Representative Voye Attel appeared restless.

She was clearly aware that Trench had appeared in the media, and most likely to support Ames's views.

It was an open secret that this war-loving congressman was employed by the Corporate Alliance, and General Trench also worked for the Corporate Alliance, making the connection of interests self-evident.

She stood up hastily, her movements tinged with panic.

“Member of the council of Vasian, please come forward and speak.”

Congressman Attel practically jogged down to the debate table, and before he could even stand properly, he eagerly began to speak: "In that case, let's vote for General Trench to take the position!"

She tried to turn the tide, turning to the speaker's platform, "Mr. Speaker, who exactly is the candidate nominated by the head of state?"

“The nominations will only be announced after this debate concludes,” Baker said, blinking his milky-white eyes in a calm tone. “Following this, a vote must be held to confirm them. According to the regulations of the Independent Galaxy Confederation, a verbal vote is required to proceed to the next step.”

The speaker paused for a few seconds, continuing to observe whether anyone raised any objections.

Seeing that no one objected, he continued, "All members of parliament who agree to continue the agenda, please say 'yes'."

The vast majority of voices immediately shouted "Agreed".

The control panel in front of him instantly began counting the number of people, and the numbers jumped rapidly.

"If you have any objections, please say 'I object'."

Only a few weak and discordant voices of "opposition" were heard.

Although the outcome was a foregone conclusion, the lawmakers waited with varying degrees of patience and anxiety for the speaker to finish tallying the results.

"The vote is in favor," Baker officially announced.

He took a small data chip from his assistant and deliberately inserted it into the slot on the control panel. "The candidate for executive nomination is... General Grievous. His personal file has been transferred to your control panels."

The name didn't cause much of a stir, which was expected.

The Confederate generals were numerous, but not all of them are widely known.

But when Baker began reading the summary of the documents, he himself, like the other members of parliament, was confused and at a loss.

Who is this person?

Suddenly, a life-size holographic image of a general was projected from the table in front of a member of parliament, and the entire council chamber fell into a deathly silence.

After a while, everyone came to their senses. First, there was a collective hissing sound as they gasped for air, and then someone coughed violently as if they had choked.

The records show that Grievous is a cyborg.

But what appeared before her eyes was a towering mechanical skeleton composed of precision servo joints, robust hydraulic devices, and heavy armor plates, with sharp metal claws gleaming coldly at the ends of its limbs.

The only thing that could be barely identified as a "biological" feature was a pair of narrow eyes, gleaming with a non-human yellow light, like those of a feline beast, coldly scanning the entire scene behind the skull-like metal mask.

coming.

Renn sat up straight, his gaze fixed on the terrifying mechanical construct in the projection.

Griffiths!

The inhuman appearance and chilling killing intent could be felt even through the screen.

“General Grievous,” Baker raised his voice, introducing the disturbing figure to the entire council, “is from the planet Kali, where he was once its leader. During the Hook Wars, the Galactic Republic Senate ignored the Kali’s pleas and sided with the Yamri, resulting in the enslavement of his people and the depletion of his home planet’s resources. After a long and brutal battle, he survived a vile assassination attempt, but his body suffered devastating damage, which is why he is in his current form.”

At first glance, he is frightening, but upon closer inspection, he is a tragic figure.

Baker quickly consulted information about the Kali people and confirmed his suspicions.

Griffith's current mechanical body structure still vaguely resembles the original strong and robust physique of his people.

The Kali people are said to be a race from the outer ring known for their bravery and respect for honor.

“Based on this,” Baker continued, trying to draw the senator’s attention back to competence, “General Grievous has sworn allegiance to the cause of separatism, and our head of state, Count Dooku, considers him a highly capable and courageous officer who has won crucial victories for the Confederacy in battles such as Christophersis, Mongaza, Lanik, and Zhar.”

“Why would Lord Dooku nominate such a… obscure general?” Senator Toni Ames was the first to question, her voice filled with suspicion. “I propose postponing the vote until the parliamentary committee can summon him for a detailed hearing!” “We have no reason to doubt Lord Dooku’s judgment, Senator!” Senator Hafa immediately retorted, her voice drowning out Ames. “Quite the opposite! The Lord’s choice of an unknown general, rather than one of those already established figures, demonstrates his prudent and selfless consideration! The records clearly show that General Grievous fought against a powerful enemy with inferior forces on Christophersis, even successfully defeating several Jedi Knights! There is no doubt that our head of state recognizes him as a capable and experienced rising star, fully worthy of our trust and support!”

Thunderous cheers and applause erupted in the council chamber.

The lawmakers waved their fists and gestures excitedly, and the deafening applause completely drowned out any attempts to voice dissent.

Representative Halifax stood up straight, a victor's radiance on his face, seemingly basking in the surging wave of support.

Raine looked at the almost frenzied atmosphere in the council hall, and then at Griffith's chilling holographic image.

He turned off the footage of Trench's interview, leaving only the main view of the parliament hall.

Count Dooku's prestige and the panic created by the war faction easily suppressed Senator Ames's reasonable questions.

Will Grievous, this cold war machine, become the Confederacy's sword or a mere tool of destruction in Count Dooku's hands?

Ryan leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

He knew that from this moment on, the war would officially begin.

Baker Lauis calmly considered that the debate over the position of supreme commander had never progressed to such a deep level.

Previous attempts were always nipped in the bud by the peace faction for various reasons.

But now, with the Republic's army pressing in and Count Dooku's prestige at its zenith, the final confirmation of this controversial nomination is almost a foregone conclusion.

Baker Lauis held in high esteem the achievements of Count Doocu.

It was this respect, coupled with his utter weariness of the long-standing disappointing performance of the separatist parliament, that prompted him to submit the Separatist Declaration to the separatist parliament.

However, even with this respect, the blind loyalty he was witnessing still made him feel uneasy.

A blue-skinned humanoid creature stood up.

He is Representative Kelchi Kushi, from Kaikai Star, and is a recognized neutral representative in the parliament, known for his calm demeanor and mild speech.

"Please, representatives from Kaikai Star, come forward and speak!"

Baker's voice rang out through the loudspeaker, and the noisy discussions in the council chamber gradually subsided.

Representative Kushi waited patiently until the last whispers had completely disappeared before speaking in a hoarse voice: "Speaker, colleagues, please allow me to speak frankly."

Without looking at the crowd's reactions, he continued, "We may trust Count Dooku's judgment, but it would be irresponsible of us to extend that trust unreservedly to General Grievous."

General Grievous's service record...forgive my frankness, it's rather unremarkable, lacking any truly impressive achievements. We know almost nothing about his character or personality, and as for his actual abilities..."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the room, and said firmly, "It is still up for discussion!"

"He has won against Christopher West!"

Someone in the audience raised their voice in rebuttal.

"It was General Tann who secured the victory at Christophersis!" Councilor Kushi immediately raised his voice in response, though his tone remained restrained. "General Grievous only entered the battle after she had cleared the main force of the Republic fleet from orbit! The enemy she faced was a motley crew trapped on the ground, demoralized and lacking supplies! As for Mongaza and Lanik... those were merely follow-up operations to clear the battlefield!"

These achievements are insufficient to prove his ability to command the entire army and turn the tide! I hereby second Congressman Desix's previous proposal that a special parliamentary committee must be established to conduct a comprehensive review of this general and reach an objective conclusion before…”

Before Representative Kushi had even finished speaking, the council chamber erupted in chaos.

The clamor of shouts and heated arguments rose and fell.

The lawmakers rose from their seats, waving their arms excitedly, accusing and refuting each other.

Some people loudly support Ames and Kush's views, arguing that censorship is essential.

Others strongly demanded an immediate decision, arguing that there should be no further delay.

Many war-loving members of parliament even pointed the finger at the Pelmian Alliance, accusing them of incompetence that led to the Republic's army's relentless advance.

As Raine watched the war faction senator's accusations against the Alliance on the screen, a cold smile crept onto his lips.

These accusations precisely expose their ignorance and shortsightedness.

He noticed that most of the coalition members remained expressionless when faced with accusations, with only a few showing a barely perceptible hint of anger in their eyes.

This unexpected turn of events left Congressman Voye Attel, standing at the debate table, looking livid and deeply frustrated.

Representative Atel had hoped that the war faction would form an alliance with the coalition.

However, her own faction is tearing this potential alliance apart...

(End of this chapter)