Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 99-100 - Prelude to War (Third Update)

Wozed Sector.

The Kolumex Galaxy.

Commander Dimura's eyes gleamed with the shrewdness of business success, and he immediately activated the communicator.

"This is Dimura. Emergency contact with the headquarters of the Lorona Corporation. Highest authority code 'Thunderstorm.' Requesting immediate activation of all available FSCVs. Coordinates: Kolumex system. Highest priority military contract. Settlement from the Confederate Second Fleet's wartime reserve vault."

Without waiting for a response, Rein turned to Diedrich and said calmly, "Diedrich, immediately issue Emergency Mobilization Order No. 117 to the Kolmmex Planetary Defense Command, the System Traffic Control Center, and all civilian tugboat/cargo ship operators in port. Requisition all ships equipped with industrial-grade (CL-5B or higher) tractor beams, regardless of model or affiliation. Those who refuse requisition will be treated as wartime insubordination."

“…Understood.” Diedrich paused for a moment, then gave the order to the communications officer.

The holographic star map was magnified, focusing on the gas giant planet with its enormous rings.

Raine's fingers traced precisely across several densely packed areas inside the halo, rich in a mixture of giant ice and rock.

“Dimura, your FSCV target area is these coordinates. I need an asteroid body of sufficient size and mass, with a minimum diameter of two kilometers, to be towed into a Kolumex planetary synchronous orbit, directly in front of the defensive turret array, forming a multi-layered barrier.”

"Okay, leave it to us!"

In the time that followed, the airspace surrounding the Kolumex system transformed into a raging industrial inferno.

Three massive FSCVs, like interstellar behemoths, roared as they charged into the halo.

Their powerful traction beams, like invisible giant hands, brutally seized ice rocks that had been dormant for hundreds of millions of years.

Ice crystals and rock fragments shattered and flew off under immense stress, forming brief but dangerous vortexes of stardust in the starlight.

Hundreds of requisitioned tugboats and armed cargo ships, under the "supervision" of Marine Corps boarding teams, busied themselves like worker bees.

They either work together to drag smaller pieces or deploy temporary electromagnetic interference nets and sensor decoys around the FSCV operating area in an attempt to cover up this massive project.

The communication channels were filled with warnings of tractor beam overload, engine overheating, and blunt, concise commands.

Time passes minute by minute.

The first, the second... rough and grotesque asteroids were laboriously dragged into their designated orbits.

Their location is not perfect, and their distribution is somewhat sparse, but they have already taken shape, like a deadly barrier of rubble scattered in the high orbit of the planet Kolumex.

The fire control radar of the defensive emplacements began to incorporate these newly emerged giant "meteorites" into the fire distribution system.

Just as the forty-second asteroid entered the Gamma-9 grid, the FSCV's tractor beam melted due to overload, causing a semi-towed asteroid to tumble out of control and nearly collide with a friendly ship...

A piercing alarm, signifying the highest level of hyperspace intrusion, abruptly ripped through the fleet's communication channels.

"Oh shit."

Rear Admiral Diderich Greshad of the Commonwealth Joint Defense Fleet muttered a curse in a voice only he could hear as the piercing alarm suddenly blared across his flagship, the Krumprinz.

The half-eaten sandwich in his hand was unconsciously crushed into a wet, sticky mess in his clenched fist.

The remaining side dishes lay forlornly on the plate.

On the bridge, some of the younger crew members seemed somewhat bewildered at the first sound of the alarm, staring blankly at the flashing red lights as if it were the first time they had ever heard a combat alarm. Of course not.

The "Crumplinz" is a veteran of countless battles; this is by no means its first battle, nor will it be its last.

But this was the first time that the enemy's red dots on the tactical scan screen exploded with each sensor refresh, growing densely packed like a deadly virus multiplying endlessly.

Diedrich forced himself to keep breathing slowly and deeply, repeating it in his mind over and over again.

This is the moment that has been anticipated and rehearsed countless times.

This was precisely the moment when the Kolmex planetary defense turrets had not yet fully adjusted their firing angles.

This is the moment when the Republic's fleet is stepping into their carefully laid death trap!

If all the previous preparations still carried the illusion of an exercise, then at this moment, the iron fist of war has solidly smashed down in front of us.

A surge of heat, a mixture of tension and excitement, rushed to his head.

"Hmm?" He uttered a short, authoritative nasal sound. The sound wasn't loud, but it was like a whip lashing across the bridge.

In an instant, all the crew members who had been sitting still seemed to be electrified, and they sprang up from their seats, although they were inevitably flustered and stumbled as they rushed to their respective combat posts.

He left the dining table and walked steadily to the integrated control panel next to the bulkhead. Without hesitation, he forcefully slammed down the conspicuous red button: "This is Rear Admiral Diderich Greshad! I hereby declare, in my capacity as the highest-ranking commander of the fleet, that the Kolmex system is immediately placed under the highest red alert! All civilian and non-combat vessels at hyperspace route nodes must be immediately cleared! Any ships that have not yet entered the final approach route must immediately move to the pre-designated emergency evacuation docking point! Repeat, highest red alert!"

Releasing the communication button, Diedrich cleared his throat, switched to the ship's broadcast channel, and approached the microphone again: "To all crew members of the 'Krumplinz,' I am your captain, Diedrich Greshad. The moment we have been waiting for has finally arrived... Prepare for the longest and most intense battle of your lives!"

The rear admiral took a deep breath, letting the sharp, piercing alarm, the chaotic, rapid footsteps, the incessant commands from the bulkhead communicators, the intermittent, low rumble of the sub-light-speed engines warming up, and the metallic scraping sounds of the turrets undergoing combat attitude calibration...

He was completely enveloped by the prelude to all war symphonies.

He felt as if he were inside the steel shell of a legendary knight who had awakened from an ancient tomb and was once again donning armor to fight for his king.

This is the first time in thousands of years that war has truly reached the doorstep of Kolmmex, and Kolmmex has long been sharpening its claws, eager to respond with the most intense artillery fire!
He picked up a napkin, slowly wiped the sandwich crumbs off his hands, straightened his uniform, and strode steadily toward the flagship's command center, the bridge.

The "Crumplinz" itself is like a living antique work of art.

Its design is inspired by the legendary Xolochi Dreadnoughts, and its entire body is covered with gleaming chrome alloy mirror armor.

The ship has a sleek, elongated hull with smooth lines, resembling a multi-oared warship from the ancient ocean. A massive armor plate connected by sliding load-bearing beams covers the majestic hull, which is 1,200 meters long.

This is a tribute to the distant past, to an era when energy shield technology was still in its infancy and armor thickness determined survivability.

When its deflector shields are fully deployed and form a unique outward tilt, the Krumprinz resembles a raptor spreading its wings in the starlight.

As long as she maintains direct visual contact with the star and draws upon its immense energy, no warship can match her in terms of pure speed and instantaneous maneuverability.

When the shield retracts and becomes perfectly flush with the smooth surface of the ship's hull, the fangs hidden beneath are truly revealed.

Rows of deadly proton torpedo tubes, arrays of concussion missiles, and powerful pulse cannons can unleash unparalleled devastating side-mounted firepower in an instant.

(End of this chapter)