HoloNet News — A Galaxy Divided

HoloNet News — A Galaxy Divided, released on October 2, 2008, is the first installment in an online HoloNet News podcast series written to accompany the development of The Clone Wars television series. It featured an in-universe round-table discussion hosted by Lyrax Pentigure discussing the new Confederate superweapon that had recently destroyed a number of Galactic Republic task forces. This was then interrupted by a press release regarding another attack and the Republic's response.
==Transcript==
Norman:
Republic HoloNet News presents: A Galaxy Divided. The Galactic Senate is once more extending session hours as they debate renewed security efforts in the face of an unknown Separatist menace. The mysterious superweapon wielded by General Grievous and his droid forces has wiped out another Republic Task Force in the Colonies region, leaving no survivors. Senator Orn Free Taa of Ryloth.
Orn Free Taa:
Make no mistake fellow delegates. We are being hunted as prey and we need to take this fight back to Dooku and arm the chancellor with the weapons and measures he needs to keep our worlds safe.
Norman:
While the senate session continues, A Galaxy Divided takes you to the discussion table with host Lyrax Pentagure.
Lyrax Pentagure:
Thank you, Norman. Joining me to discuss the mysterious Separatist weapon is a panel of science and technology experts from throughout the Core. We have professor Nasdra Magrody of the Magrody Institute of Programmable Intelligence.
Nasdra Magrody:
Good evening.
Lyrax Pentagure:
Umak Leth of the Ministry of Science.
Umak Leth:
Evening.
Lyrax Pentagure:
And from the Techno Union Research and Development Wing, Bunt Dantor.
Bunt Dantor:
Commence readings.
Lyrax Pentagure:
Gentlebeings, I ask you: In your learned opinions are we, in fact, all doomed?
(Crowd sounds astonished)
Nasdra Magrody:
No... no, not at all. Apart from your sensationalizing of these strikes, they must really be looked at in comparison to the entire backdrop of this war.
Bunt Dantor:
Yes, consider the scale.
Nasdra Magrody:
While the loss of material is extremely taxing, as well as the many navy crewers who have lost their lives...
Lyrax Pentagure:
Not to mention our clone troops.
Nasdra Magrody:
As I said: material, yes. We are only ultimately looking at about a dozen or so strikes assuming, of course, the military is being upfront and open about these losses.
Umak Leth:
If I may interject. While I don't disagree with my esteemed colleague, it's the stealthy nature of the attacks that is of more relevance and more disconcerting than it's destructive potential.
Lyrax Pentagure:
Minister Leth, please continue.
Umak Leth:
No survivors. No sensor records. No deep space scans turn up any tangible clues as to what sort of weapon could be causing this.
Lyrax Pentagure:
Well in that case, can you conjecture, perhaps, what we may be looking at here?
Nasdra Magrody:
It's not really the place of science to postulate wildly in the face of scant evidence.
Lyrax Pentagure:
Please.
Umak Leth:
It is... well it.. it is doubtlessly a cloaked ship with cloaked projectile weaponry.
Nasdra Magrody (interrupting simultaneously):
Oh that's n... that's that's ridiculous.. absolutely rid.. I.. I do not..
Bunt (interrupting simultaneously):
That does not compute. I d... I do not think that is a possibility.
Umak Leth (Interrupting):
It is possible that the... It is po... It is possible that the base vessel itself, capital scale, uses, perhaps, a Hibridium-based large [?] ...
Nasdra Magrody (interrupting):
Oh please Leth, that's not possible, that is not ...
Umak Leth:
while it's ordinance relies on smaller Stygium-generated cloaking envelopes in order to have scaleable cloaking solutions and....
Nasdra Magrody (interrupting):
Impractical and unimaginative.
Bunt Dantor:
Energy yield calculations would require 17.56 gigajoules of output per [?]...
Nasdra Magrody (interrupting):
One might as well posit so fantastical notion as the deployment of armed deep-space Neebrays, Space Slugs, or other vacuum leviathans that can avoid combat-calibrated sensor packages.
Lyrax Pentagure:
Would such a thing be possible?
Nasdra Magrody:
Well ancient Arkanian records have pointed to a fascinating case...
Bunt Dantor (interrupting):
The obvious solution is a form of mobile space-based ion cannon platform with secondary conventional weaponry that then takes advantage of the vulnerability of unshielded vessels.
Umak Leth:
An ionic cannon capable of surprising and wiping out entire capital ship taskforces would require a ship of unreasonable proportions, something on the magnitude of at least 8 kilometers in length.
Nasdra Magrody:
12.
Bunt Dantor:
17.
Lyrax Pentagure:
So you are saying that this is a possibility.
Umak Leth:
A Jenth-class hypermatter core could handle such power requirements.
Nasdra Magrody:
Really an applied hyper-matter solution could, conceivably, develop into a focused laser pulse that could scorch an entire planet's crust.
(Crowd gasps)
(Umak Leth coughs suggestively.)
Nasdra Magrody:
But I do not think that this is the case here...
(Nasdra Magrody laughs nervously.)
Norman:
We interrupt this program with a breaking news alert.
Ultana Anya:
Good evening, this is Ultana Anya at the Coruscant news desk. Representatives from the Republic star fleet are making a statement regarding what appears to be the latest Separatist superweapon strike. We take you now to that holofeed already in progress.
Unidentified Admiral:
Gentlebeings, thank you for gathering here on such short notice. I am here to update you on the recent incident in the Phu system. We are still analyzing the data from the attack, but we can confirm that General Ares Nune's taskforce did encounter enemy forces on patrol. In this case, we were able to recover a partial extract from the lead ship's mission recorder.
(Transmission plays. Alarms blare.)
Commander Kite:
Red alert. Full countermeasures suite. Rotate away from enemy vessel. Give me an IFF read. The Malevolence? Target Malevolence. We're...
(Explosion)
Commander Kite:
Ion Pulse! Our shields are down. System failure cascade. Commander Kite, all hands to escape pods. Abandon Ship! Abandon Ship! Abandon Ship!
(Transmission trails off.)
Unidentified Admiral:
The supreme chancellor...
(Reporters interrupting)
Reporter:
Admiral please, just one question. Admiral, what are you not telling us?
Unidentified Admiral:
The supreme chancellor and his advisory committee have committed more vessels to advanced scouting duty with General Plo Koon leading the Triumphant on patrol near the area where Nune's task force was last spotted. Briefings will resume once we have cleared and declassified information to share. That is all.
(Reporters shouting)
Ultana Anya:
HNN will continue to follow this story as it develops.
Norman:
Tune in next time as HoloNet News presents: A Galaxy Divided.
-End Transcript
==Cast==
*Kevin Yost—Narrator (Norman)
*David W. Collins—Orn Free Taa, Nasdra Magrody, Umak Leth, Bunt Dantor, Radio Recording Officer
*Tom Bible—Lyrax Pentigure
*Meg Crowel—Ultana Anya
*Brooks Brown—Unidentified Republic admiral
==Appearances==
==Behind the scenes==
During the debate segment, the scientists discuss the size required for the ship to wield a powerful weapon, with each participant giving a different estimate. This is a reference to the long-lasting "Super Star Destroyer-size" fan discussions.
==Notes and references==
==External links==
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Category:HoloNet News issues