Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 52 - Hell Difficulty (Two Chapters Combined)

As soon as the number "Standard Day 01" on the timer stabilized, the low hum in the operations room seemed to rise a notch.

The "ARENA" system is fully activated, and the markers on the star map are no longer just static symbols; they have all come to life.

In the simulation, the fleets began to perform simulations according to preset procedures and the commander's will.

Commander Trilm stood before the star map, his gaze sweeping across the ever-changing star field like that of a hawk, capturing a fleeting opportunity within seconds.

"Launch a surprise attack on Tarsene."

Commander Trilm's voice rang out in the silence of the tactical briefing room, clear and decisive.

This order was not impulsive, but a decision made based on the initial situation provided by the "Arena" and the gaps in the enemy fleet's deployment.

Raine's fingers traced the massive holographic star map floating in front of him, precisely drawing a boundary in the Tarseine region.

The star chart emitted a soft hum, and the markers lit up.

Sixteen pale blue markers, representing their own fleets, slowly slid into the projection area of ​​the Tarsene system.

Around the command post, thirty-two pairs of eyes were fixed on the shimmering light.

The air seemed to freeze; the officers held their breath, their muscles tensing involuntarily.

Immediately afterwards, a blinding red light suddenly burst forth from the southwestern quadrant of the star chart.

A torrent of crimson markers erupted from the virtual dimension representing hyperspace, instantly engulfing the area.

The resolution of the holographic star map was insufficient to display a single ship; the scene resembled a surging, ominous wave of blood sweeping in.

This was unexpected, yet perfectly logical.

"Make contact with the enemy fleet."

Trilm's report was delivered in an unusually calm tone.

This report was like an invisible starting pistol, signaling the official start of the simulated war.

On the main star map, those blue markers immediately burst forth with astonishing energy, maneuvering at high speed and rushing toward their respective predetermined interception points.

The raiding squad that Trilm sent to Tarsen quickly dispersed.

This was not a rout, but a conscious effort to shrink the formation and close the distance with the enemy ships in order to scan and identify as many enemy unit types and sizes as possible.

At the same time, this also means that this squad is destined to be sacrificed.

However, this is a price that must be paid after careful consideration in order to obtain crucial intelligence.

Ryan stroked his chin, his eyes fixed on the star map.

Data began to stream across the tactical information console screen like a waterfall.

The "ARENA" system's database was operating at high speed, retrieving the latest intelligence from the "Blue Spear" command in the Ysel sector and simulating the composition of the enemy forces accordingly.

However, information about the "Flaming Claws," "Steel Blades," and "White Breastplate" fleets is incomplete, and the gaps can only be filled by Arena through extensive speculation.

Even so, this was the best information they could obtain.

"The raiding fleet units have been destroyed."

The smooth, monotonous electronic synthesized sound of the Arena echoed in the briefing room.

"My fleet is gone."

Trilm muttered to himself, his fingers moving rapidly to bring up a holographic image of the Salvara Galaxy.

She suppressed the sudden stinging pain and kept her voice steady: "According to the plan, I will first conduct a delaying operation, and then retreat to the Abean system."

“My ships are in position,” Vinok’s voice rang out. He pointed to the floating dot on the star map that represented Ringo Venda and said quickly, “Lure the enemy ships over. My fleet will follow their jump trajectory.”

"Indussan, fell."

Suddenly, the cold announcement from the Arena came on.

The Republic Army's offensive was too fierce.

Raine remained unmoved. In this simulated battle, he was only responsible for overall command, while the individual commanders were left to their own command on their respective battlefields.

I just felt inexplicably heavy-hearted.

"'Flaming Claws'... the force identified as the 'Burning Comet' fleet (BCC) is approaching at high speed from the direction of Fanta," Staff Officer Schiff reported quickly, his tone urgent. "'Havoc' squadron is still putting up a fierce resistance in the Vijong sector, hindering the advance of enemy forces."

"Hold on! My reinforcement fleet is on its way to Vijong!" Captain Hathor responded immediately, quickly bringing up the real-time position screen of his fleet.

"Attention, Renn!" Trilm's voice suddenly rose, tinged with suppressed anger. "An elite task force of the Coruscant Strike Force (CSC) is breaking through the regular route and heading straight for Metalon! Their speed is far beyond expectations!"

“They want to encircle Ringo Venda.” Captain Chom’s voice was heavy, expressing everyone’s concerns. “The CSC knows very well that Ringo Venda is the logistical lifeline of this star system. If they want to advance further, they need to take over this logistical hub.”

Ok?
What are you doing?
This unexpected scene was completely beyond our expectations.

The commander battled an intelligent robot (AI), and the defeat was too swift.

"Where is our main battleship group?!" Renn suddenly turned to the star map control console, his voice urgent, his finger scribbling across the star map. "That's... fifty or sixty ships!"

"Salvara has fallen."

At that moment, the Arena's voice rang out again, announcing the fall of yet another sector.

“Commander, my fleet is equipped with secondary hyperspace drives. No matter how fast we accelerate, we cannot reach Ringo Venda on schedule.” Captain Krett frowned, his eyes fixed on the star map, watching the ship move as slowly as a snail. “Our previous assessment was that the CSC would only split its forces after completely controlling the Centares sector. We did not expect that after taking Salvara, their offensive would be so swift and decisive.”

"...Cancel Metalon's original defense plan." Renn took a deep breath, his chest heaving violently, then his eyes sharpened and became resolute: "Order the garrison fleet to immediately abandon the system and retreat at full speed to Ringo Venda!"

He paused for a moment, then said definitively, "I will requisition all armed ships of the Planetary Security Forces (PSF) within the Metalon system, regardless of their level, and incorporate them all into the evacuation sequence!"

"You're essentially handing over the entire Metalon system."

"A staff officer said in a low voice, his tone complicated."

Ryan's shoulders shrugged helplessly.

Less than two hours into the war, they lost a crucial forging planet.

The situation changed so quickly that he was caught off guard.

This was the first difficult decision.

He also understood that this would not be the last one.

"What do you want me to do?" Renn looked at him seriously, his tone firm and unyielding. "We'll concentrate all our forces in Ringo Venda, build a defensive line, and teach the reckless Coruscant Strike Force a lesson! Then, we'll evacuate with all the ships that are still operational in the Ringo Venda system!"

Then, the cold, electronic announcement rang out again, mercilessly:

"Casfield has fallen."

Gala has fallen.

"Gromas has fallen." "Yoseron has fallen."

As Raine listened to these sounds, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and then suddenly opened them again.

These repeated announcements of the fall of the city are indeed annoying.

On the holographic star map, the blue dot representing the Ringo Vinda galaxy is under unprecedented pressure.

Blinding scarlet lights surged in from multiple directions.

The remnants of the defeated enemy forces in Tarsené, the main force of the Coruscant Strike Force (CSC) that broke through the Wozid Line, and the vanguard of the Burning Comet Fleet (BCC) advancing from the direction of Agornal.

They relentlessly advanced towards Ringo Venda, shattering the blue arc that symbolized the defensive perimeter.

Commander Raine stood before the star map. "Vinok! Report the status of the Foundry Core shield!"

Vinok's voice came through the communicator: "Shield generator overload! Southern Sector Array malfunction! The 'Bronze Python' is using its hull to withstand the orbital bombardment! We can't hold out much longer!"

Hathor! Where is your interceptor fleet?

"We're locked in combat with the CSC's assault ship group! There are just too many of them! The Lexington... signal lost!" Hathor's voice was filled with frustration, accompanied by the roar of weapons firing.

The cold, electronic tone of "ARENA" is like a death knell.

"Warning: The Ringo Venda orbital defense platforms 'Sentinel 3' and 'Sentinel 7' have been destroyed, and the galactic gravitational field is experiencing unstable fluctuations."

Raine stared intently at the star map, his fingers swiping rapidly across the control panel, trying to mobilize a mobile force for a counter-offensive to delay the enemy's encirclement.

However, there are very few markings representing the reserves; most are displayed in yellow to indicate combat or damage, or in gray to indicate severe damage.

"Kret! Can your support arc still advance?"

"Advance?" Captain Kret, a Nemoidean, gleamed with anxiety in his compound eyes. "Commander Bontri! My fleet is under heavy flank attack from the 'Steel Blade' fleet! We're barely holding on! The secondary hyperspace drive needs cooling; we can't maneuver quickly!"

“Schiff! Where are the troops from Kolumex?” Renn turned to the other side.

Holgo Schiff's hologram shook violently, as if his bridge had been hit directly. "'Havoc' Squadron... more than half lost! BCC bombers have breached our air defenses! We're pinned to the Kolmex jump point! No escape!"

Despair, like a cold vine, coils around everyone's heart.

The air in the command center seemed to have been sucked out, leaving only the screeching of overloaded equipment and heavy breathing.

"Concentrate all remaining firepower! Target: CSC flagship!"

In a desperate move, Raine gave orders to attempt to decapitate the enemy's command center and create chaos.

On the star map, several surviving Confederate cruisers and frigates, led by the remnants of the Vinok Rapid Reaction Force, struggled to adjust their course and launched an attack on the heavily guarded crimson behemoth.

Dense laser fire and ion beams streaked across the dark void, creating violent energy ripples on the cruiser's powerful deflector shields.

"Target hit! But the shield wasn't penetrated! The enemy frigate group has launched a counterattack!"

The Arena broadcasts were devoid of emotion.

In an instant, the charging blue lights were covered by a dense network of scarlet fire.

The markings representing the Vinok flagship flashed violently, then turned into a dark gray representing the meltdown of the power core, before finally going out.

Immediately afterwards, the markers of the other ships that participated in the charge also dimmed one by one and disappeared into the background of the star map.

"Vinnock!"

"Venok Fleet signal lost."

Arena's voice confirmed coldly.

Having lost its last striking force, Ringo Venda's defense system completely collapsed.

The fleets of CSC and BCC closed tightly like two red-hot iron pincers.

The defense platforms in orbit were successively reduced to space dust under the saturation bombardment.

Huge fireballs and columns of smoke rose from the core area of ​​the foundry on the ground, clearly visible even in the holographic projection.

The last major shield generator that maintained the galaxy's defenses overloaded and exploded, the resulting energy pulse briefly illuminating the star map.

Ryan swayed as he braced himself against the edge of the control panel, his knuckles turning white from the strain.

He watched as the blue dot representing Ringo Venda on the star map was completely swallowed and covered by a surging, ominous wave of blood.

The icon representing the galaxy's sovereignty and logistical lifeline instantly turned into a glaring crimson.

"Lingo Wenda has fallen."

The cold, synthesized voice of Arena rang out again, announcing the fall of this crucial logistical hub.

Inside the command center, the air was so heavy it felt like you could wring water out of it.

Renn took a deep breath. "Regroup at coordinates 65231, 22592."

His voice carried an unquestionable command tone, and his sharp gaze swept over Captain Chom. "Chom, you'd better get our fuel ready. We can't let Simmelth fall... at least not now."

"Copy that, Commander."

Captain Chom's hands flew across the holographic control panel, simultaneously coordinating the real-time paths and loading status of the six supply ships, with holographic windows switching rapidly in front of him.

“Commander Schiff,” Chom continued without looking up, “the emergency supply point for ‘Havoc’ Squadron is located in the Jorios system… the coordinates have been synchronized.”

“Jorios—damn it!” Holgo Schiff slammed his fist on the edge of the control panel, his knuckles turning white. He quickly wiped the sweat beading on his forehead with his sleeve. “Hasor! Change the plan immediately! Abandon the ambush at Quill and retreat to Kolumex!”

His voice was hoarse with urgency, and he turned to Vinok, "Vinok, Kolumex needs reinforcements! Immediately!"

"Stegion has fallen."

"Wobani has fallen."

The Arena broadcast coldly overlapped Schiff's plea for help.

"clear."

Vinok's voice remained calm, but his fingers slid rapidly across the rapid reaction force deployment interface, with fleet markers frantically adjusting deployments around the icon representing the foundry.

"Bronze Serpent, the enemy's main force has broken through the western flank defenses. I suggest we immediately abandon our current position and retreat to the Anzat sector. Repeat, retreat to Anzat." After giving the order, he immediately looked up at Rein and Krett, "Bountri, Krett, can you spare some ships to support Kolumex?"

Captain Krett slowly and slightly shook his long, thin head. “Venok, you’re positioned too far forward. Reinforcing you would expose our flanks, and I can’t risk my fleet for that.”

"You damned bug—!" Captain Schiff roared, unable to contain his rage.

"Calm down, Schiff!" Ryan immediately spoke, his voice low but penetrating. He quickly selected two markers on the star map. "Take the 'Flame Messenger' and the 'Beauty Queen'. These two high-speed destroyers can cover your retreat. Objective: Retreat to the rear of Captain Clayt's support arc. Salukamai, please confirm!"

"Roger that, Brigadier General Bontri!"

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(End of this chapter)