"What are you all standing there for?!"
The sudden shout echoed like thunder, shaking everyone in the control room.
The supervisor leaped to his feet, his face pale with fury. He swept a furious gaze across the workers still in shock.
His gaze was sharp, almost piercing, and his hands trembled as they gripped the edge of the console. Sweat beaded on his forehead, veins bulging, showing just how agitated and terrified he was.
"Sound the alarm! Prepare for combat! Notify all pilots and gunners to bring down those enemy ships above!"
The supervisor bellowed, his voice high-pitched with urgency.
"Yes!"
The staff snapped out of their stupor and quickly followed orders. Their fingers flew across their consoles, executing protocols. A series of alarms were broadcast to various combat units.
Red lights began flashing in the control room, and the blaring sirens reverberated throughout the space station, like a death knell.
"Alert! Alert! Unknown forces are conducting an airdrop invasion! All defense units, immediately go into combat mode! Repeat, all defense units, immediately go into combat mode!"
The broadcast system quickly transmitted the emergency warning, and Imperial soldiers and combat personnel scrambled to their posts.
In the hangar, the black-armored pilots swiftly boarded their TIE fighters. The doors slammed shut with a mechanical noise, the engines roared, and the thrusters shot out hot blue flames. Dozens of fighters swiftly emerged, heading straight for the unidentified ships hovering above the space station.
In the turret control area, gunners scrambled to adjust targeting parameters, trying to lock onto the incoming airdrop pods and transport ships.
But it was too late. The airdrop pods and transport ships had already moved out of range, and within moments, they would reach the base on the planet's surface.
Even though the gunners quickly regained their composure, fear still gripped their hearts like a snake, tightening around each person's chest.
In the control room, including the supervisor, everyone was on edge. Sweat dripped down their foreheads, and their faces were even paler than before—they knew the situation was dire.
The moment Krennic's shuttle passed through the gate, unknown forces' airdrop pods and transport ships followed closely behind, and even unidentified ships appeared above the space station.
This series of unexpected events, each one enough to get them in trouble, was happening all at once?!
What a grave dereliction of duty!
At that moment, no one dared to imagine Krennic's fury if he found out about this, nor did anyone dare think about how harsh the Empire's upper echelons would be in their punishment.
All they could do was try their best to salvage the situation, minimize the damage, and maybe, just maybe, they could survive this.
However, just as they were rapidly operating their instruments, trying to send instructions and alerts to Scarif's defense forces—
Ri~——whoosh——whoosh——!!
Suddenly, the three unidentified ships above the space station, or rather, two Paris-class frigates and one Diana-class stealth ship, tore through the dark space, like harbingers of death. They unleashed a thunderous barrage of fire at the Star Destroyers, which were already in a state of confusion.
The Paris-class ships unlocked their main gun systems in full. The huge electromagnetic cannon at the front of the ship was fully charged, releasing a devastating blast of energy.
The entire ship's body seemed to glow faintly blue-white, as if the current flow had overloaded the system, sparking like the fire of a star in the void.
Meanwhile, the Diana-class stealth ship, though not equipped with a large-caliber electromagnetic cannon, launched its missile silos. Dozens of tactical plasma and metal-hydrogen missiles were quickly ignited, leaving a trail of scorching tail flames that marked deadly paths toward their targets.
Boom! Boom!!
Above Scarif, it seemed as if the explosion had consumed all the energy. The massive Star Destroyer, previously hovering in low orbit, was now caught in the blasts.
Its shields shattered under the assault of the electromagnetic cannon, like fragile glass.
Two tungsten-steel projectiles, each over seven tons and accelerated to 0.4% light speed, pierced the shields with unstoppable force, smashing into the Star Destroyer's hull one after the other.
The first hit the shield generator area, shattering the core facilities of the shield array with incredible speed and force.
As it passed, the thick armor layer tore apart like paper, collapsing inward. The metal plates buckled under the impact, and inside, scattered pipes and exploding gases could be seen.
The second shot was even deadlier.
It precisely struck the center of the Star Destroyer, tearing open a massive gap in the armor.
The missile continued its course, relentlessly crushing everything in its path, tearing through the ship's walls, corridors, and equipment, and even ripping apart several layers of deck, leaving a terrifying wound across the entire ship.
Inside the ship, as Imperial Navy soldiers and officers rushed to activate the defense systems, they were met with a sudden explosion shockwave and the cold, suffocating vacuum of space.
After the initial successful electromagnetic cannon strikes, the tactical missiles came next like the true arrival of death.
They struck critical areas—bridges, energy supply zones, weapons control centers, engine rooms—every vital target was locked on and hit simultaneously by multiple missiles.
The plasma missiles detonated on the ship's surface, releasing high-energy plasma, which spread in fiery arcs along the torn armor seams. Within seconds, the interior of the ship caught fire, setting off a chain reaction.
The metal-hydrogen missiles created even more powerful shockwaves, tearing apart the internal structures. The collapsing debris was hurled into space, scattering across the sky like shattered meteors, crashing into the shield that enveloped the entire planet.
At that moment, Scarif's outer atmosphere was eerily quiet.
Inside the control room, everyone stood frozen, watching the spectacle unfold before them. Through the large observation windows, they witnessed a shocking scene—
The massive Star Destroyer, once towering and imposing, had now turned into a burning wreck.
The scattered flames flickered in the cold silence of space, like a grand, silent firework display slowly blooming and fading before their eyes.
"By the Emperor..."
One worker couldn't help but mutter, his eyes filled with disbelief and terror.
The supervisor slumped in his chair, his face drained of color, lips trembling. Sweat poured down his forehead.
He knew they were done for.
Though the Empire had many Star Destroyers and losing one wouldn't be a huge deal, in the current Empire system, they, the "lowly" workers, would be the scapegoats for the high-ranking officials.
No matter how hard they tried to save the situation, they couldn't avoid the inevitable outcome—heads would roll.
And at the bottom of all this was the influential Krennic.
Meanwhile, the Paris-class and Diana-class ships showed no sign of stopping.
After successfully destroying one Star Destroyer according to their plan, the mixed fleet of Scourged Children and the Investigation Department quickly adjusted their deployment and launched the second wave of their offensive.
Following tactical orders, a Thunderstrike Assault Shuttle was immediately ejected. Its crimson armor glowed with a faint shield aura, resembling a sword pointed directly at the enemy ships, carrying eighteen members of the Scourged Children's 1st Division, 2nd Assault Platoon, toward another Star Destroyer attempting to turn its bow.
Behind it, a White-legged Sparrow VI fighter (two-seater version) swiftly took off from the Paris-class hangar, followed by six drones that launched from the hangar's ejection tracks, forming a protective escort formation.
This small air squadron sped across the battlefield, their thrusters emitting short blue-white ion trails, making them look like a shooting star carving through the empty space of the universe.
But their movements did not go unnoticed by Scarif or the Imperial Star Destroyers' defense systems.
As the Thunderstrike Assault Shuttle closed in on its target, a swarm of TIE fighters came crashing in, forming an interception net.
But just as the TIE fighters accelerated toward their target, the defensive fire arrays from the Lydia-class and Diana-class ships locked onto the incoming TIE fighters.
Ri~whoosh whoosh whoosh——!!
The rotating Gauss autocannons with onboard AI precision-targeted the incoming TIE fighters, and their barrels flashed with blue light.
The three ships' close-in defense cannons fired simultaneously, unleashing thousands—tens of thousands—of spiked projectiles, creating an unavoidable barrage in the dark expanse of space.
Even though space is devoid of sound, each trajectory left a brief glowing trail, forming a deadly net of fire.
The TIE fighters were helpless against the oncoming barrage and were swiftly pierced through.
Boom! Boom!!
One by one, the TIE fighters disintegrated under the hail of fire, their shattered engines spewing unstable ion flames before exploding in the high-temperature environment, creating a series of expanding flashes.
The wreckage of the fighters scattered, breaking into numerous gleaming metal fragments, slowly drifting through the weak gravity of space.
The intense anti-air firepower left the TIE fighter squad in complete disarray.
Seizing this opportunity, the Thunderstrike Assault Shuttle, White-legged Sparrow, and the six attack drones quickly adjusted their course, moving in a serpentine pattern through the enemy's defenses toward the Star Destroyer.
At the same time, the Thunderstrike Assault Shuttle's thermal cannon began charging, its dark barrel glowing red as it built up the energy needed for the imminent shot.
The shuttle's propulsion system activated additional energy reserves to ensure the blast would be as powerful as possible, creating a breach for the upcoming boarding operation.
Outside, the six drones, carrying plasma bombs, adjusted their flight mode and sped up to make a high-speed assault.
After helping the Thunderstrike and White-legged Sparrow break through the Empire's light defense fire, they used the Paris-class and Diana-class ships' long-range cover to deftly maneuver through the TIE fighter swarm, breaking off from the formation and charging toward the Star Destroyer's right flank.
At the perfect bombing range, the six attack planes simultaneously opened their bomb bays, releasing dozens of plasma bombs that rained down on the Star Destroyer's right side.
Boom! Boom!!
Suddenly, an intense blue light exploded in the dark universe.
The plasma bombs detonated upon impact, unleashing high-energy plasma that shook the ship's shields.
The magnetic containment field of the bombs vibrated upon contact with the ship's shields, creating expanding plasma fireballs.
Within seconds, the Star Destroyer's outer shields flickered violently, as if the entire ship was trapped in an uncontrollable energy storm.
The high-temperature plasma corroded the shields, causing the energy waves to quickly drop to critical levels. The protective barrier around the right flank broke open, leaving a fragile gap.
Ri~whoosh—!!!
The moment of opportunity had arrived. The Thunderstrike Assault Shuttle's thermal cannon reached full charge and unleashed a brilliant orange-red beam of light, like a flaming sword cutting through the darkness, straight toward the gap in the Star Destroyer's shields.
The high-speed particle beam slammed into the Star Destroyer's armor, causing a fierce metal storm.
The alloy armor on the side quickly melted and vaporized, and the top layers of the ship were turned into molten metal, creating a massive breach large enough for the shuttle to penetrate.
The Thunderstrike pilot, also a Scourged Child, didn't hesitate and surged forward into the gap at high speed, drilling straight into the heart of the Star Destroyer.
The two pilots of the White-legged Sparrow VI watched in awe as the shuttle's trajectory was like a missile, accurately piercing the enemy ship.
As the ship's hull broke through, wreckage and scorching gases spread into a fire ring in the vacuum of space, the lingering plasma arcs spreading along the ship's structure.
Seeing that the Thunderstrike Assault Shuttle had successfully completed the initial breach, the two pilots took action, guiding the White-legged Sparrow VI and six attack drones into the battlefield, joining the destruction of the Star Destroyer.
At this point, the Scarif space domain was engulfed in a fierce battle between ships and fighters.
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