Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 46 - Generous-class Communications Ship

Ringo-Venda Galaxy, Ringo-Venda Orbit.

Yoseil Sector.

Trying to get a few ships from the Confederate Navy is like trying to fit six cats into a bag—almost impossible, unless you have catnip.

“Listen,” Ryan’s voice was particularly clear in the empty conference room: “You know who my patron is. After this war, she’ll definitely need ships—to replace, repair, or modify. With a little persuasion, she can get it done right here.”

He emphasized the word "here," his gaze sweeping across the bustling railroad shipyard scene outside the window.

The "catnip" mentioned here clearly refers to money or influence.

A large number of credits, and General Tann's significant influence in the Confederate leadership.

Ringo Venda’s rail shipyard is enormous, consisting of multiple ring structures connected to a central command tower, with countless berths and dry docks clinging to it like barnacles.

While it may not be as legendary as the Quat Engineering Dock, it serves the dual function of a supply and distribution center.

Huge storage modules are stacked around the structure, and transport barges shuttle between them like worker bees.

It is close to the Peremian trade ridge, but not entirely on that route.

This means that capturing it would require precise calculations and a large military force, making it extremely troublesome.

But once captured, it can cut off the flow of supplies throughout the entire war zone.

All the major separatist-backed starship manufacturers have leased the dock here and signed a dense array of cooperation agreements with the Ringo Venda government.

You can think of these manufacturers as franchisors, and the entire rail station as a huge, efficient franchisor.

All the "cats" are already in the bag; now Ryan just needs to deal with this bag of "cats".

The prerequisite is to persuade the manager, Isquik Tolstoy, to loosen the bag.

Isquik Tors, a Kuarun man with grey-green skin and several long, thin tentacles hanging from his jaw.

He thoughtfully stroked the tip of one of the tentacles, his rough fingertips caressing the smooth keratin layer.

“The Pantora people themselves are our patrons…that’s very appealing.” His voice was low, with a hint of cautious consideration.

Perhaps it's because Rennes hasn't been involved in social circles for too long.

He was always fighting on the front lines, moving between the smoke of battle and the bridge of the ship.

They missed the farce sparked by the term "Pantora".

General Tann's race, the Qis, has always been a closely guarded secret. Even the person who keeps this secret is very mysterious, and the files are encrypted at an absurdly high level.

In short, a certain audacious officer, during an informal briefing, jokingly called her "Pantora" because of her sapphire-colored skin.

The nickname quietly spread within the small circle.

Later, a careless staff officer accidentally revealed the code name while answering a reporter's question at a press conference, and now the whole galaxy knows about it.

Those who followed the war, and even some military enthusiasts, now know that Confederate General Tann was known as "the Pantora".

I personally think this codename is quite interesting.

However, he was certain that the general, known for his ruthless methods, would not think so.

“Hmm… alright,” Tors finally said, stopping stroking his tentacles and curling them slightly, making a decision. “I think the board will be happy… provided you keep your promise.”

“This will definitely be a mutually beneficial, long-term, and stable partnership,” Raine agreed, a subtle smile playing on his lips. “Now, let’s talk about what I’m really concerned about, my ships…” “Ringo Venda Shipyard currently has eight ‘Generosity-class’ interplanetary frigates ready for delivery,” the Quarenman said, pulling out a hovering data panel that glowed blue and luring Raine onto a low, wheeled railcar.

The transport vehicle started smoothly and glided along the alloy tracks that circled the huge dry dock. He continued, "They are all from the latest batch, and two of them are still undergoing final system testing and sea trials."

The transport vehicle started smoothly and drove along the passageway toward the huge viewing window.

At that moment, an encrypted data packet was instantly synchronized to the personal tablet computer on Renn's wrist.

The screen lights up, displaying frigate 1027RV, frigate 1028RV... all the way up to 1034RV.

Ryan scrolled quickly down the list, his fingertips tracing the cold screen.

He noticed that they hadn't even been assigned official transponder identification codes yet, and the status bar uniformly displayed "Undergoing factory acceptance".

Thors wasn't lying; these ships were indeed brand new, fresh off the assembly line, and you could smell the synthetic lubricant and metal polish.

The transport vehicle drove close to the huge viewing window, outside which lay the deep expanse of space and the bright lights of the dock.

Several sleek, gleaming frigates were quietly moored in the dry dock.

In contrast, the "Repulse" and "Reputation" under Rein's command are like seasoned veterans.

Despite its illustrious combat record and outstanding achievements, the internal systems and hull structure are severely outdated, and the reactor efficiency and firepower projection capabilities are far inferior to those of newer ships.

That being said, Rennes currently has no plans to change its flagship.

Regarding the "knockback number".

He had poured so much heart, sweat, and emotion into that pile of Durasteel hulls that he couldn't possibly replace it for a shiny new toy that hadn't been tested in actual combat.

Of course, it took a lot of time and credits to convert the "Repulsion" from an old frigate into a C3 frigate.

When the "Repulse" left the Lax Star Base, its internal piping had been completely refurbished, making it almost like a brand new warship.

“I’m wondering if a lot of intelligence equipment has been removed from these ships to save costs?” Ryan asked, shifting his gaze from his ship back to the specifications on his tablet.

On the parameter table, the positions of the Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) and Signal Intelligence (SIGINT) suites are marked "Standard Civilian Grade" or simply left blank.

That's true according to the specifications, but he still wanted confirmation from the chief engineer.

“I didn’t expect a frontline commander like you to care about backend hardware,” engineer Tors said with some surprise, glancing at Rein with his narrow eyes. “But you’re right, most of the space has been upgraded with newer sensor suites and fire control systems, after all, they are gunboats designed for the front lines.”

He pointed to the prominent weapons systems section of the specifications sheet.

Raine tapped the hard edge of the tablet with his fingernail, making a soft tapping sound: "How many of these older models do you have? The original kind, built exactly to the specifications of the Interstellar Banking Corporation (IGBC) when they left the factory."

Isquik Tors narrowed his eyes, his grey-green eyelids almost covering his pupils, and the tentacles on his face rustled uneasily.

“Those… sir, those ships don’t have any turrets, they don’t even have self-defense weapons, they’re just communications ships, and their basic shields are very weak.”

His tone was full of vigilance.

He sensed something unusual and felt that Ryan was up to something unconventional.

To be honest, that's true.

What Ryan needs now is "ears", not "fists".

(End of this chapter)