Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 94 - The Mask
The pacifists only have two paths to choose from.

We can either fight this issue to the bitter end and insist on voting against it.

They can either compromise by offering an alternative candidate that they can accept.

Provided the candidate is not as extreme and controversial as Grievous, other factions in Parliament are likely to go along with it, seeing it as their only chance to secure unanimous approval and elect a supreme commander.

This would be a huge victory in terms of public opinion, creating a strong impression that "the separatist camp has finally united."

Of course, all of this is predicated on the "peace faction" being willing to compromise.

They preferred to uphold their proud stance of "anti-war and anti-authoritarianism," symbolically cast a vote against it in the next election, and then watch Grievous take office.

Or are they willing to seize this political opportunity, at the cost of sacrificing some principles and stances, in exchange for regaining influence and a voice in parliament?

This is a controversial choice for them.

“Go talk to Avi Singh,” Raine said in a low voice, offering her his advice: “He voted against it just like you did last time. More importantly, he’s very influential among moderate members of parliament. If you can get his support, and add that to the coalition’s votes, your ‘peace’ voice in parliament will actually double.”

He paused for a moment, then added, "This is your last chance to take the initiative, rather than passively accepting Dooku's arrangements."

He will agree.

Politicians have excellent memories, especially when they owe favors.

“Believe me,” Ryan said, throwing out his last card, his voice deliberately heavy, “we must not hand over the army to a politician’s puppet, Mina… consider it a debt of trust you owe me for the warning I gave you last time.”

Even Ryan himself felt that what he said was a bit too much.

Where is Mina on the other end of the communication line?

She suddenly covered her face with both hands, her knuckles turning white from the force, and closed her eyes tightly, as if this could shut out his voice and the suffocating political reality.

Silence spread through the communication channel, so heavy that you could almost hear her suppressed breathing.

Ryan waited patiently, those few minutes feeling like an eternity.

Finally, her voice came through her fingers, tinged with a resigned weariness: "...I will discuss this with my faction..."

Ryan's heart skipped a beat; he awaited what would happen next.

"...Give me a name, a name that you can accept."

That's it now.

For a moment, Renn's mind went blank.

Once he gave that name, he was essentially putting his own name into Count Dooku's sights.

This is no longer just the first step in taking down Dooku; it has reached the point where "the arrow is on the bowstring and must be released."

For months, every piece he had carefully placed, every seemingly insignificant arrangement and probe, had now come together to form a net that no one could ignore, with its target the very core of the Confederation's power.

The best way to persuade someone to stand on your side is not to ask them directly, but to guide them to reach that conclusion themselves.

People can use clothing to imply authority, a slightly hunched back to appear approachable, and the exhaustion of staying up all night to garner sympathy...

Emotional blackmail is especially effective.

If someone's death could be used to evoke guilt?

Then use it without hesitation.

However, emotional blackmail is most deadly when it is disguised as "sincerity".

The emotions churning within him—guilt, anger, fear…

How much of it is true?

How much of it is performance?

Even he himself is starting to lose his sense of direction.

But he knew some of it was true, otherwise those screaming warships, corpses frozen in space, and stars stained red by gunfire wouldn't haunt his dreams every night.

If he has to go to hell because of this, he accepts it. At least now, he knows he did what he had to do.

Mina Bontri's hologram is still silently waiting for that name.

He told her.

……

Time passed slowly, and although reluctant, Renn put on the mask and went to find the rights representative of the community organization.

Only the heavy footsteps of Raine echoed in the corridor.

Beside him, Diederich Greshad strode along with him effortlessly.

This deliberate attempt at "closeness" only made Renn more irritable.

Hal followed not far behind him, his small fingers deftly playing with a small holographic projector, the projected light dots dancing between his fingers.

His companionship had become a habit, and Ryan knew that no matter what the situation, he could at least trust Hal.

The corridor leading to the conference room seemed endless. The cold metal walls reflected the pale light from the overhead lights, and the shadows cast by each corner made him subconsciously tense up, as if an assassin might pounce out of the darkness at any moment.

That's wishful thinking.

He forced himself to relax.

But if even someone like Carly Trilm could be Dooku's pawn, who knows how far that old fox has already gone.

He even had a vague suspicion that the Community Organization wanted to hedge its bets, and their inaction was a result of Dooku's intervention.

Although he longed to leave Kolumex directly with the Allied fleet and let those two-faced guys taste the bitterness of being crushed by the "Longspear Fleet".

But the cold reality is right in front of us.

They still need the strength of a joint defense fleet.

Some say that unreliable allies are worse than enemies, but that's not true.

Even if the community organizations are hedging their bets, it at least shows that some of their forces are on the side of the alliance.

In fact, this wavering is precisely the organization's way of surviving.

In the political arena, there are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.

But this did not stop Renn from wanting to punch Diedrich Greshad in the face, which was pretending to be calm.

The Joint Defense Fleet is essentially a civilian agency, with a structure and operational capacity nearly identical to that of a space police force. Ironically, it is a microcosm of the current chaotic state of the entire separatist military system.

They are relatively efficient in managing hyperspace route nodes and patrolling common organizational star systems, but when it comes to fleet operations that require a high degree of coordination, the bureaucratic constraints become apparent.

Unlike the Alliance, the various individuals within the Alliance, despite their diverse backgrounds, are all willing to obey the commands of senior officers.

The Joint Defense Fleet, however, lacks this efficient execution capability.

They are deeply troubled by the conflicts of interest and parochialism among the various star systems, making it difficult for them to act in unison under the unified will of a higher level.

Just attending their meeting and demanding an explanation for their failure to save Centares was enough to make Renn want to kill.

In short, representatives from the Meridian Sector and the former Meridian Sector advocated for providing direct and all-out support to Centares.

Representatives from the Auriel and Beldrone sectors, however, insisted that it was a foolish act of suicide.

Of course, in hindsight, their decision was not wrong.

Even if reinforcements arrive, it won't be enough to change the course of the battle; they'll just become easy prey for that "Consignor-class Starship Dreadnought."

"What was the attitude of the Wozid Sector back then?" Raine broke the suffocating silence between the two, his voice sounding somewhat abrupt in the empty corridor.

Diedrich chewed a refreshing type of gum slowly, and after a few seconds replied, "Personally, I'm in favor of providing support, but the other captains... have differing opinions. Nearly half of our sector's armed forces are trapped on the Vorzid, and our decision-making... is at a standstill."

"Aren't you a high-ranking commander of the Kolmmex forces?" Renn questioned, his tone carrying a barely perceptible sharpness.

"Aren't you also a high-ranking officer in the Alliance?" Diederich retorted calmly, his eyes completely unwavering. "From a purely military perspective, the most rational choice when facing a powerful enemy with overwhelming numerical superiority is to retreat immediately and preserve our strength."

No matter how much Ryan gritted his teeth inwardly, he had to admit that the other party's logic was sound.

The alliance and the joint defense fleet are too similar in some ways, with internal constraints and a difficulty in forming a unified will.

This made him very unhappy.

“Sometimes…” Diedrich stopped mid-sentence, his gaze fixed on the closed conference room door at the end of the corridor, “…some things are indeed beyond the scope of an individual’s ability.”

Ryan wouldn't be so easily fooled by such a vague excuse.

“If that’s the case,” Raine’s voice sounded casual, but his gaze was sharp as a knife, “then why didn’t you tell us clearly when we were struggling to hold on that the decision-making was deadlocked? Your silence made us mistakenly believe that reinforcements were on their way, giving the Centares people false hope! They need an explanation now, and the Joint Defense Fleet must prove its worth.”

“I understand.” Diedrich’s voice softened. He stopped in front of the door and finally looked directly at Renn. “Please don’t let my good-for-nothing cousin’s actions make you prejudiced against everyone in the Joint Defense Fleet… I assure you, in the coming days, we will prove our worth with our actions.”

“You haven’t answered my question directly,” Ryan pressed, “Why choose silence?”

The instant Diedrich pressed the door open button, a fleeting, almost imperceptible shadow crossed his face, so quickly it was almost an illusion.

"I do not know about this."

The door slid open silently to both sides, revealing a small, tastefully furnished conference room inside.

In the center is a smooth, round table.

Ryan anticipated that Simon Greshard would attend remotely via hologram, but he didn't expect that Carly Trilm, Vinok, and Rael Hathor would also be there!
Without looking at them, Ryan lowered his voice and asked Hal, "Did you see them?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Hal nimbly leaped onto an empty chair, adjusted his posture, and then casually tossed the holographic projector in his hand precisely to the center of the table.

The instrument activated automatically, projecting complex star charts and fleet deployment data streams.

Hal nimbly leaped back to Renn's side, his electronic eyes flashing faintly as he whispered in an encrypted channel only the two of them could hear: "Analyzing target Diedrich's body language, he became defensive when pressed for the reason for his 'silence.' He's either hiding something or lying."

Ryan nodded slightly and turned his attention to the conference room.

Hathor was speaking in hushed tones to a holographic image of Simon Greshard, who wore his usual enigmatic smile.

Vinok, standing next to him, looked unusually tired, his forehead resting on the cold table, as if he didn't even have the strength to lift his head.

Carly Trillm, her sharp eyes fixed on Ryan as if he were her prey.

Ryan walked around the table without making a sound, found an empty seat, and tried his best to control his facial expression, not revealing any emotion.

“So,” he said bluntly, his voice calm yet carrying an invisible pressure, “what exactly is the official ‘explanation’ given to our Centares garrison?”

Vinok suddenly raised his head, his deep-set eyes like two black holes, filled with bloodshot veins and a lingering weariness that seemed contagious.

"The 'Flaming Claws' fleet and the 'Open Ring' fleet are tying down our main force on the flanks, and a powerful Republic task force is watching Namjorios like a vulture, eyeing the movements of Wozid and Kolumex. And... Himercia is also under heavy attack from Obi-Wan Kenobi... In short, the decision-makers of the Combined Defense Fleet... have believed in these reasons."

His voice was hoarse, carrying a deep sense of helplessness.

Renn's nerves tightened instantly: "The Himrsia people..."

“They’re in dire straits themselves and can’t go anywhere,” Diderich Greshad said meaningfully, having already found a comfortable seat. “They won’t alienate the Alliance. Himercia is one of the core industrial forging worlds in this star system, with an incredibly strong planetary shield. The Republic won’t be able to take down this tough nut in less than a few months. That’s enough time for us to gather our strength in Kolumex and launch a brilliant counterattack to drive them back completely!”

“You sound quite confident?” Renn sat down opposite Diedrich, scrutinizing him.

"All mobile warships within a 3,000-parity range are rushing towards Kolumex at full speed!" Diedrich straightened his back, his tone tinged with excitement. "The latest report from the Space Control Center shows that 1,500 warships have already assembled in orbit, and the number is still increasing! If the Republic had acted any slower, we could have even assembled 2,000 warships! This would have been the largest single fleet formation in history!"

“Don’t be too optimistic,” Rael Hathor said, frowning as he poured cold water on our hopes. “Don’t forget that Quarter Power Dock still has three ‘Consignor-class Star Dreadnoughts’ in its hands. One ‘Consignor-class’ almost wiped us out in Centares. Even if Quarter leaves one behind to guard our base, we’ll still have to face at least two of these monsters!”

"The Confederate First Fleet of the Southern Theater is rushing back to reinforce!" Diedrich responded. "Furthermore, Admiral Trench is urgently assembling the Confederate Fourth Fleet in Laxus! We will be fully prepared!"

Fourth Fleet?

A thought struck Renn.

This was absolutely new information; he had no prior knowledge of it.

He wasn't sure if this was a compromise Dooku made to appease the ambitious Trench, or a new fleet hastily approved by the Senate to bolster military strength while the nomination of the Supreme Commander was temporarily put on hold.

But what truly lifted his spirits was the news that "the First Fleet is returning to provide support."

This means... General Tann is very likely to return!

　I have to go to work, and I've been on business trips lately, so there's really nothing I can do. I haven't been able to set a time to write my status updates lately; I'm always interrupted after writing for a few tens of minutes. When I'm reading them myself, my emotions aren't consistent either. There are definitely problems with this part. As a beginner, I still need to learn how to control the writing style of online novels. I'll finish this one no matter how well or poorly it turns out.

　　Thank you all for your support.

　　It was originally a climax, a tragic and dramatic plot twist, but I added too much emotional stuff when I wrote it, which is my problem.

　　Having written this far and read the comments, I now understand the problem.

　　Progress is being made in accordance with the outline.

　　The highlights were not highlighted.

　　I have let down the readers who have supported me all this way.

　　There's not much to say, I'll try my best to finish it. If I can't write it well, it's because I'm bad at it.

　　Finally, thank you all!
　　I'll try to update as much as possible today!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)