Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 91 - The Client-Class Super Star Destroyer

The "Beautiful Queen," trailing billowing smoke and sparks from its wrecked hull, slowly passed in front of the "Repel" and retreated towards Centares.

Raine could clearly see that the middle of the warship was severely dented and twisted by the explosion, forming a terrifying V-shape, like a fish whose spine had been broken by a tremendous force, struggling painfully forward in the void.

However, not all damaged warships had the luck to "retreat".

Many shipwrecks floated among the battle column.

They were completely crippled, losing their power and weapons, and drifted with the fleet solely due to inertia.

Air, debris, ice crystals, and tiny life pods continued to leak from the ruptured bulkhead.

Around these wrecks, brave rescue teams are risking their lives, racing against time to try to save survivors and the wounded trapped in the steel tombs.

This is an extremely dangerous task.

In the chaos of a battlefield, it is difficult to quickly distinguish whether a warship is engaged in combat or has been destroyed.

After all, even a dead ship, as long as it is not completely destroyed, will drift at the same speed as the rest of the fleet.

Most of the time, you can only judge by whether the engine is working.

However, once the main battleships in the battle line reach their predetermined speed, they usually shut down their energy-intensive main sublight engines and instead use auxiliary engines and attitude thrusters for maneuvering.

At a great distance, the only way to be absolutely certain that an enemy ship has lost its fighting capability is to see it completely disintegrate.

And this is precisely the tragedy that is unfolding at this moment.

The Republic's fire control system locked its cold sensors onto the floating wreckage, and deadly artillery fire poured down relentlessly.

Sometimes, the barrage of artillery fire could even affect GR-75 medium transport ships or similar small boats that were carrying out rescue missions nearby.

On other occasions, friendly ships still engaged in combat nearby would identify the trajectory of artillery fire aimed at the rescue zone and issue urgent warnings.

But most of the time, each warship is struggling for its own survival and has no time to spare for anything else.

"Don't meddle in other people's business unless the shells are flying towards us."

This is a common but helpless mentality on the battlefield.

There was nothing that Renn could do about it.

However, for others, the rage in his heart was enough to set the stars ablaze...

"Where have all our so-called allies gone?!" he roared angrily into the communication channel, his voice filled with cold sarcasm towards the word "allies."

"There has been no response from Kolumex." Godell's voice carried a hint of unease.

Before the words were even finished, a powerful shockwave came from the port side of the "Repeller"!
A friendly ship on the battle line was struck by a torpedo fired at close range by an extremely audacious, almost insane Republic Carrack-class light cruiser, and instantly turned into an expanding fireball!
The shockwave from the explosion violently struck the shields of the "Repulsion," causing the ship to shake violently, and Godell was even thrown against the bulkhead.

If the shields hadn't absorbed most of the energy and debris in time, they would already be riddled with holes.

"Contact them again!" Renn's adrenaline surged; he was oblivious to the near-miss he'd just experienced, his voice hoarse with rage. "This time, I want a clear answer! Immediately!"

"Sir, this might violate the 'No Communications Act'..."

“Execute the order, Godell!” Ryan said firmly.

Godel quickly entered the highest priority communication address.

After a suffocating five minutes of silence, the communication was finally connected.

Before the image had even fully stabilized, Ryan's furious roar burst forth: "Where are our reinforcements?! Are you blind or deaf? Didn't you receive all the distress signals we sent out?!"

On the other end of the screen is a male human officer.

Although Renn had some idea of ​​what was going on, Diedrich Greshad gave him a striking resemblance to Simon Greshad, despite their different appearances.

Diedrich also possessed that calculating bureaucratic air, but his voice was harsher and more forceful, and his crisp uniform exuded an unquestionable sense of authority.

At least Simon Greshard didn't lie, which is something to be somewhat affirmed.

"I need an explanation!" Ryan pressed on.

Diedrich Greshad rubbed his temples wearily. "I deeply regret, Brigadier General. I did my best to mobilize our fastest warships, but... we failed to obtain the necessary support."

“Support?” Renn’s anger almost burned through the screen.

“The Joint Defense Fleet is a democratic organization, sir. Strictly speaking, we are a civilian cooperation,” Diedrich tried to brush it off with bureaucratic jargon. “Believe me, Kolumex is well aware that it will be the Republic’s next target, but the representatives of other sectors… they are unwilling to take the risk. Merchant ships that escaped from Centares brought battle reports, and the situation… is very pessimistic. We cannot sacrifice precious lives and ships in vain for a cause that is doomed to fail.”

"Go to hell! Where were you all this time?!" Renn roared. "Antmeridian is just a hundred parsecs north of Centares! They..."

“We cannot sacrifice ourselves for a cause doomed to fail, sir,” Diderich said firmly. “The Community has survived the political vortex of the galaxy to this day not through pointless sacrifices and foolish impulses. Antmeridian and Budbock have already withdrawn their forces to the Kolumex defense zone. I strongly suggest, Brigadier General, that you preserve your existing forces as much as possible and withdraw to us immediately. We can establish a truly solid defensive line in Kolumex…” “Enough!” Renn interrupted him rudely. “Fine! Who else can we count on besides you?! Are there any other possible reinforcements?!”

Diedrich paused, seemingly considering his words, or perhaps performing a thoughtful gesture.

"……No."

"roll!"

Ryan cut off the communication, feeling even more frustrated than before.

Partly because it was finally confirmed that there would be no reinforcements, and partly because... Greshad's damn bureaucratic logic was actually correct in the face of cold reality.

Balancing military needs with political considerations has always been extremely difficult.

It's time to order a retreat.

They had already devised a detailed evacuation plan, which the Centares referred to as a "last resort."

Is now the "last resort" moment?

maybe.

But will the Salvara, the Brix, the Wobanians… accept the order to retreat?

The Centares people absolutely will not!
At this critical juncture, we must not allow the crew to mutiny.

Should we wait until the fleet suffers even greater losses before retreating?
But that in itself contradicts the purpose of retreating to preserve strength.

Just when Rennes was caught in a dilemma, the Republic "helped" him make a decision in the cruelest and most unexpected way.

"Sir!" a tactical robot suddenly issued a piercing alarm, "An unusually large mass signal has been detected escaping from hyperspace! Location: Directly ahead of the White Hand Fleet!"

In an instant, it was as if the sound of the entire universe had been cut off by an invisible hand.

Immediately afterwards, an indescribable, terrifying flash of light, powerful enough to burn the retina, erupted!
The void seemed to be torn apart by a giant hand, revealing an indescribable chaotic scene behind it.

The rift closed instantly, leaving behind a massive, suffocating engine signal that abruptly appeared on the battle situation map. Its size made all the surrounding lights representing warships appear as tiny as dust.

That's the only warning.

The next second, the dozens of lights representing the Salvara combat squadron... went out instantly.

The entire spearhead of the Allied fleet's charge was thus completely wiped out from space.

Thirty to forty capital ships, along with nearly three hundred thousand vibrant lives on board, were reduced to elementary particles and vanished in a fraction of a second.

The Salvara warriors who fought on the front lines from the very beginning of the war.

Their final brilliance seemed to be nothing more than dust casually brushed away by the behemoth of destruction.

The holographic image clearly and brutally recorded this terrifying scene.

A super star destroyer.

It is at least eight kilometers long, like a Titan from mythology, burning with vengeful fury.

It is not the famous "Executor," and it lacks that iconic, city-like, stacked superstructure.

Unlike the sleek, deadly dagger-like appearance of the "Executor," it appears more heavy and menacing, exuding a sense of oppressive power.

This is an unstoppable embodiment of destruction, born solely to crush all obstacles; its very existence casts an absolute shadow of death into the void.

“Querying enemy ship database... Match result: Mandator-class star dreadnought,” Godell’s voice trembled uncontrollably, “register call sign, ‘Founder’s Legacy’.”

This name means nothing to Rennes.

But the fact that the Republic dared to give such a pure machine of destruction such a grand, almost sacred name can only mean that they had absolute confidence in its crushing power.

The Founders Legacy coldly fired its main guns again.

The thick turbine laser beams, powerful enough to pierce through the planet's crust, lashed out like the Grim Reaper's whip at the remaining warships of the Alliance fleet!
The separatist warships caught fire, exploded, and disintegrated under the irresistible energy bombardment, paying a tragic final price for their beliefs.

The "Clem" fleet made a desperate maneuver to turn around at the last minute, bringing all the weapons on its sides that were still capable of firing.

Torpedoes, missiles, laser cannons...

It poured down wildly towards that enormous thing!

The "Contractor-class" energy shield, thick enough to inspire despair, flickered and fluctuated violently under the fierce barrage of fire, but only moments later, it responded with an even more ferocious and denser barrage of destructive fire!

(End of this chapter)