More than ten minutes after the distressed mining ship self-destructed, a warship roughly four hundred meters long dropped out of hyperspace into this devastated stretch of space.
The ship resembled an insect, with a compact structure and smooth lines.
As the ship arrived at the explosion site, the mining vessel had been almost completely obliterated, leaving fine debris scattered everywhere. The Aquitenes-class light cruiser had also suffered severe damage—half its hull had been blasted to pieces, while the other half drifted silently through space.
Mutilated corpses and fragments of ships of all sizes were scattered throughout the surrounding void, making the scene resemble hell itself.
The ship immediately deployed dozens of insect-shaped fighters, which began searching the vast area for survivors.
There were indeed survivors. Some Clone Troopers had been hurled into space by the mining ship's self-destruction and survived thanks to the excellent performance of their combat armor. But they could not escape disaster now, and every one of them was killed by the fighters.
At the same time, the fighters retrieved every robot wreckage they could find. Mechanical arms were mounted beneath these insect-shaped fighters like insect legs, making it clear that they handled transport duties in addition to combat.
One fighter followed a signal to a region far from the battlefield, where it found an escape pod drifting through space.
The insect-like fighter's compound-eye-like sensors flashed. It made a sharp turn of more than 140 degrees in midair and flew over with unimaginable maneuverability and agility. Its six mechanical legs seized the escape pod, and it looked inside through the viewport.
A robot wreckage had been tossed inside the pod. The fighter immediately lowered its head and used the laser cannon mounted there at minimum power to begin cutting through the escape pod's hatch.
A human arm