Jedi Temple
Ossus.
Free Worlds League.
323ABY
February 2nd
Diana Senn looked up with a smile as Lucas Horn slipped into her small office, “Jedi Horn, how was your trip in?”
“Smooth” Lucas answered as he dropped into the chair Diana indicated, “Better than my arrival at Rhommamool and Osarian. With the war going on, the Osarian’s have chosen the distraction to try and clamp down on the miners rights again, not that they had many to begin with”
“I had heard” Diana gave a sympathetic smile, “Did you have any luck?”
“With the dispute? None” Lucas shrugged, “But with what I was sent there for? I found something”
“I’m listening” Diana sat up straighter, “Is it something we can use?”
“Not yet?” Lucas shook his head, “But it’s a start. Gives me some interesting leads. I want to head out tomorrow to Furillo to check one of them out?”
Diana frowned, “Furillo fell to the Free Worlds League last week. The whole planet is locked tight whilst they chase down the remnants of the Republics Seventh Legion. What do you expect to find there? What can you find there?”
“Hopefully the next chain in the credit trail I found the origins of on Rhommamool” Lucas answered, “A large payment made into four separate accounts within hours of the Sarna disaster”
“A coincidence?” Dianna raised an eyebrow.
“Not when the transfers were made under a Jedi security waiver” Lucas shook his head.
Diana’s knuckles turned white as she gripped the edge of the desk, “Jedi funds were used?” She asked with obvious effort in keeping her anger in check.
Lucas frowned, “That’s the thing. From what I can tell so far, none of the money came from the Order treasury. Instead it came from a variety of accounts on The Sprawl, Malastare, Rodia, Furillo and New Avalon”
“So, why Furillio?” Diana asked, “Despite it’s strategic value to the Republic and Free Worlds League, it’s hardly cosmopolitan”
“True” Lucas Conceded, “But it’s also one of the links in the Galactic Banks network. The Sprawl is another one, though unofficial for obvious reasons. The other worlds are either too distant or the scrutiny will be far to high for me to dig up anything in the next decade”
Diana nodded in agreement, “Yes, time may be a factor” She paused in thought for a moment, “Go to Furillo. I will try to get a message to Connor Solo and have him head to The Sprawl to investigate that avenue”
Lucas frowned, “Can he be trusted, he’s not seemed to be in the best state of mind?”
“He’s the only other person I can send without alerting Tiepolo’s suspicions” Diana pointed out, “The last contact I had with him stated he was heading into the Oberon Confederation”
Lucas nodded, “You have a point I guess. What is the situation in the Confederation? Last I heard they were on the verge of Civil War”
“It’s already started” Dinna answered, “When Baron Terah declared that the Council had been murdered by Outer Rim federation assassins and that Helene Marshall has been captured, he also announced that he was taking control of the Confederation in the short time” She reached in a desk drawer and pulled out a datapad, “A short time later, Helene Marshall made a holonet transmission revealing that Terah himself was behind the murder of the Council and the attempted murder of herself” She sighed as she scrolled through the information on the pad, “Despite his actions being revealed, nearly half of the Confederation has thrown in with him. The first shots were fired four days ago in a battle over Lok between Terah’s rebels and the Loyalists currently led by Tal Rar”
Lucas frowned, “Where is Helene Marshall now?”
“Unknown” Diana said, “Though indications are she fled somewhere in the Confederation with Terah’s daughter Galatea”
“Terah’s daughter isn’t loyal to him?” Lucas was surprised.
“From what we can gather, Galatea has never followed her father on his course of profit above all and they’ve clashed on several occasions” Diana shrugged, “There’s also a possibility that he was behind an accident that nearly killed her some months ago”
“Interesting” Lucas frowned, “Was it the assassination attempts that drew Connor to the Oberon Confederation? Last time I spoke to him, he was chasing leads on Tiepolo”
“It’s possible” Diana answered, “But what Tiepolo’s possible connections to Terah might be, I have no idea” She sighed, “And I don’t relish finding out”
———————————————————
Grant Class Heavy Cruiser ‘Bismarck’
Bogdan System.
Skye Alliance Occupied Territory
323ABY
February 20th.
Col Levin absently tapped his fingers on his desk as he mentally rehearsed the conversation he was soon to have. He knew it was overdue, should have been handled nearly a month ago. But he’d held off, hoping it wouldn’t be necessary.
But it was. And whatever happened in the next few minutes could utterly and irreparably break a career.
The door chime rang out, “Enter” He called out.
The door hissed open and Alexandria Tarn stepped woodenly into the room and snapped a salute. As she did so Col noted that the red and blue streaks in Alex’s hair had been joined by green and purple streaks. He idly thought about how she looked like she was developing a rainbow in her hair but kept silent on that.
“At ease Captain” Col returned the salute and indicated the chair opposite his own, “Now Captain, I’m going to be blunt. What the hell has happened to you?”
“Sir?” Alex frowned, her entire body seemingly tensing in a defensive manner. Her eyes flicked to look at him directly, then refocused on a point on the bulkhead behind him.
“Since Calla IV, you’ve been distant and distracted” Col scowled, “You’re still fulfilling your duties, but it’s like you’re just going through the motions. Almost as if you’ve died and your body hasn’t caught up. What happened?”
“Nothing happened, sir” Alex said in an almost monotonous tone, “A building collapsed, I got caught in it. That’s it”
Col slapped his hand down hard on the desk, eliciting a startled flinch from Alex as it echoed whip like around the cabin. It had the desired effect, her attention was focused on him.
“That’s poodoo and you know it” Col snapped, “Clearly something very upsetting happened to you in that fight and it’s clearly causing you serious distress” He indicated her hair, “You’ve dyed your hair again. Last time it was when you learned about Natasha Loran’s possible involvement in the attack on us and I’m guessing something similar is the reason for the new colours”
Alex’s face coloured with some emotion -was it anger or shame- but her face remained expressionless. Almost expressionless, the corner of her eye twitched ever so slightly.
“My report explains everything that happened…” She said, her voice wavering.
“Your report is incomplete” Col shook his head, and tapped some commands into the terminal on his desk, pulling up a copy of Alex’s after action report, “You claim that during the engagement, whilst were on a rooftop directing fire, you spotted a trio of battlesuits and moved to engage them?”
“That’s right, sir” Alex managed with some difficulty.
Col nodded, “Despite being outnumbered, you then fired on this trio having identified one of them as potentially being the leader of Republic force”
“Yes, Sir” Alex swallowed, “At the very least, I was buying Robert Craon time to redeploy the squad against a flanking attack”
“During the ensuing combat” Col continued, “You dispatched two of the battlesuits -both Linebackers- but the building collapsed under you, leaving you trapped?”
Alex just nodded.
Col looked her in the eye, “You were out of contact for seventeen minutes before your squad pushed forwards and found you” He shut down the terminal, “Alex, I think something happened in those seventeen minutes. Now, I’m asking you, not as your commanding officer, but as a friend, what the hell happened?”
Alex looked away, “The Saracen, the one that was supposed to be the commander of the Republic forces? It was Ash”
“Natasha Loran was there” Col frowned, “You spoke with her?”
“Of a sort” Alex sighed and she seemed to sag in her seat as her expression crumpled into one of intense sadness.
Col stared at her as he realized the meaning of that factoid. Alexandria Tarn had encountered and spoken with Natasha Loran, her former lover and now enemy officer. They’d been out of touch and out of sight for potentially quarter of an hour. The sheer implications of that -real or not- were a potential nightmare for him.
“Alex” He said carefully, “Let me see if I understand this. You made contact -intended or not- with a known enemy agent during a combat situation. You conversed with her in a non-sanctioned cross faction meeting” He rubbed his eyes, “Do you have any idea how bad that looks for you?”
“Nothing happened” Alex shook her head, “She made it very clear what our status was” She swiped at her tears with the back of one hand, then smiled bitterly, “There won’t be any collaboration, if that’s what worries you”
“You think that’d matter to a tribunal?” Col snapped, electing a wince from her, “You think that’ll matter to the ISF? Somehow, I don’t think your family name would protect you from an ISF investigation. They’ll dig into every aspect of your life, unearth your every secret and then they’ll start on this entire unit”
“Ash threatened to kill me” Alex stammered, “I’m not sure I really care what the ISF can do”
“She threatened to kill you?” Col frowned, “A direct threat or something to just keep you from chasing after her?”
“What’s the difference?” Alex tearfully asked, “She doesn’t want me any more”
“Sounds more like she’s protecting you” Col ventured.
Alex’s expression hardened, “How can you know? You weren’t there? You don’t know her?”
“Maybe not” Col shrugged, “But I know people and it sounds to me like she’s trying to stop you pursuing her and putting one of you at the risk of death. Imagine how she feels each time she might engage a Skye trooper in a Warg battlesuit. She must have a lingering fear that the next one she takes down might be you”
She hates me” Alex shook her head, “She thinks I stood by and let Keyes kick her out of the Nagelring and out of the Alliance, that I abandoned her”
“She hates you in your mind” Col said, “Yet, she spared you, didn’t lead Republic troops to you, even though you’d have been a prize hostage because of who you are and simply warned you off chasing her. I think she still cares for you in some way”
“You could have fooled me” Alex snapped, “You weren’t there. You didn’t see her shooting at me”
“No, I didn’t” Col agreed, “All I have is your explanation of what happened and I can give you my opinion”
“Maybe” Alex shrugged, then sighed, “So, since I can’t change things. What happens to me now?”
Col looked at her thoughtfully, “For now nothing. You speak of this to no one and if anyone asks, give the story that you originally reported”
“And if someone finds out?” Alex asked warily.
“We’ll deal with that when it happens” Col nodded, “But, one last question?”
“Sir?”
“If you were in a combat situation and ran into her again, what would you do?” Col asked carefully.
“I don’t know, Sir” Alex said tearfully, “I really don’t know”
———————————————
Imperial Palace
Coruscant
New Republic
323ABY
March 1st
Ran Gavin nodded to the two guards at the entrance to the Chief-of-State’s quarters as he passed through the double doors. Neither of the guards; a Bothan and a Rodian, responded to his nod other than a slight tensing of their posture.
Inside the chambers, he found Riesk Fel’lya, his daughters Asyr and Liska and Natasha Loran waiting. The two Bothan females and Ash, looked tense, but somewhat calm. However, Riesk was looking as haggard as ever. His fur greying more than ever before and his robes looked like he’d taken to sleeping in them for days on end.
The toll of having his nation conquered piecemeal was wearing him down and with talk of a vote of no confidence in the Senate, his position was beginning to look shaky.
Ran had done the sums though. Riesk’s opponents lacked the necessary support to carry a no-confidence vote. But on the other hand, if the Skye invasion continued at it’s current pace, there wouldn’t need to be much of a majority needed to unseat Fel’lya.
The Bothan’s position had also been made shaky with several of his strongest supporters being left powerless following the loss of key worlds such as Kuat, Rendili, Bilbringi and Corulag.
The erosion of his support, the shrinking of his nation and the stresses of the war had worn down hard on Riesk. These days he seemed crushed by an almost endless weariness, punctuated by screaming, rage filled tantrums and bouts of paranoia.
Seeing him enter the chamber, Fel’lya seemed to gather some strength, straightening up as he rose from his seat.
“Ah, Major Gavin” Fel’lya smiled, “Glad you were able to join us at last”
“Apologies for the delay, Sir” Ran nodded, “I was waiting on a few last reports before I came up”
“Good, good” Fel’lya settled back into his seat, “First, tell me about what you recovered from Calla IV. Is it everything we hoped for?”
“It’s looking like it” Ran nodded and pulled out his datapad and pulled up the relevant files, “The scientists were working on a new armour laminate that seems to strengthen the armour up to 150% of normal”
“With armour like that, our forces could stand up against the Skye forces and start pushing them back” Ash nodded, “Why haven’t they used it on their own forces?”
Ran shrugged, “Apparently the laminate breaks down in a vacuum, so it’s useless for anything other than battlesuits and mobile armour. They were apparently delaying implementing it until they could use it on all their assets” He glanced at the pad, “Plus, the laminate requires large amounts of Decathlium, which is plentiful here in the Republic, but scarce in the Alliance”
Fel’lya gave a feral grin and seemed somewhat energized, “How soon could we begin using this, laminate, on our forces?”
Ran frowned, “Our lab guys estimate it’ll take around three weeks to complete the actual formula. Two weeks to gather the Decathlium and create the laminate. After that, it’s up in the air about how long to get it to all our units. But we’ll be able to start in five weeks minimum”
“Excellent” Fel’lya nodded, “We’ll have the my personal body guard unit receive this new armour first. And then spread it throughout our armed forces. With the fruits of his own research, we shall drive Harrison Tarn and his armies back” The Bothan sat back and the good cheer once again left his expression, “Now Major, I received some disturbing news this morning”
“Sir?” Ran frowned.
“A message from Colonel Stragos. He’s moving his remaining regiments from their garrison words to Alsakan. I permitted no such order. I checked and I found out the orders went out under your name”
“Good, Good” Ran nodded with a smile.
“Good?” Ash frowned, “Alsakan is a hideously bad place to deploy a crack mercenary unit like Stragos Strikers. Are you mad? Stripping them from the border weakens us”
Ran shook his head, “I’m not mad. I merely avoided a catastrophe” He glanced at Ash, “What happened to Stragos’ Second Regiment and the bulk of his fleet?”
Ash frowned, “Utterly destroyed at Kattada and Hok”
Ran nodded with a smile, “Exactly no quarter given because of the Strikers raids in the Alliance six years back. Stragos embarrassed Harrison Tarn back then and Harrison returned the favour in his second wave. How do you think that makes Stragos feel?”
It was the Chief-of-State who caught on, “Angry. He’s anxious to prove he’s top dog again. He wants revenge”
“Spot on, Sir”Ran nodded, “We’ve always granted Stragos garrison duty on worlds that didn’t need protecting, because it put him in reach of worlds that did. Inefficient perhaps, but it works to keep a top flight merc unit fighting for us at reduced rates” He grinned, “Well, this little action is on Stragos’ own tab. He wanted to hurt the Skye Alliance and was going to do something whether he had orders or not. I recognised this and cut him marching orders”
Fel’lya half closed his eyes thoughtfully, then nodded, “I see your wisdom. You guided a flood you knew would happened regardless. Still, I would debate posting him to Alsakan. That world may produce some of the finest ales in the Republic, but it has little strategic value”
“I agree” Ran grinned, “Stragos Strikers are really on Borleias”
His words shocked everyone in the room to silence. With another smile he nodded to the unanswered question that hung in the room.
“Yes, Stragos and I worked out a code. He is on Borleias, but his message says he is on Alsakan. That is where Tarn’s spies will believe them to be. From Borleias, Stragos can hit any world Tarn hits in the next wave”
Asyr frowned at him, “Do you believe there to be a spy in our midst?”
Ran pursed his lips for a moment before speaking, “I’m not certain, but I think we are dealing with a traitor”
“Why?” Ash asked. Her tone telling him that the same thought had been nibbling away at her.
“Two things” Ran nodded, “First, the speed with which Harrison capitalized on the failure of Operation Riposte. He knew exactly which worlds had been left unprotected to pull those units together for the strikes and knew the best time to hit them” He frowned, “Second. It was what Miles Fel-Tarn said before he died. The part about having been betrayed by Harrison too. We discounted it due to Miles feeding us false information. But I was able to contact some of our agents on Ord Mantell and learned that Miles was only undervaluing his own Republic March forces. He was accurately reporting the information on Harrison’s forces as he received it. Miles wasn’t aware the information was doctored, but Harrison must have someone in the NRI to ensure that any good information would be discounted, whilst our reliance on Miles crippled us”
“Who? Who do you suspect?” Liska Fel’lya growled from where she lounged in her seat.
Ran hesitated before answering, he’d had little interaction with Liska, but from what little he had, he’d gathered that she didn’t like him. Whether it was merely because of his relationship with her sister or something else, he didn’t know. Though she had made it clear that she didn’t approve of her sisters ‘cross-species dalliance’
“It would be easier, Lady Fel’lya, to tell you who I do not suspect” Ran said carefully, “To say that I trust everyone in this room implicitly and no one else”
“Even Intelligence Director Tym Lit?” Asyr frowned.
Ran hesitated, and it was Ash who answered, cutting in quickly, “Nobody trusts a Director of Intelligence, that’s how they got to be in that position. They get there by being sneakier and nastier than everyone else”
“True” Ran nodded, “But while I don’t trust Director Jit, I am certain he’s not our traitor”
“What steps have you taken to find our traitor?” Riesk asked.
“I’ve been cross checking files and reports, but as Major Loran will support, there’s a lot to sort through and we’ve both been busy with the strike on Calla IV and sorting what we grabbed”
Fel’lya nodded, “And you both have other important duties” He looked to his daughters, “Liska, you are intelligence trained, can you do this task for me. Find this traitor and take him or her alive? I want Tarn’s entire network on Coruscant”
“It will be done father” Liska nodded with a feral grin.
“Good” Fel’lya smiled, then turned to Ash, “Major Loran, you have that report I requested on this war?”
“Yes, Sir” Ash nodded.
Ran frowned at her, “What report?”
Ash shrugged, “The Chief-of-State requested I preparing a report detailing errors made and where the Alliance has taken advantage”
“I did” Fel’lya nodded, “Please begin Major”
Ash took a deep breath before she began speaking,”Well, the first error was dispatching so much of the Third and Ninth Fleets along with four full regiments to help deal with the Sarna disaster. Morally, we had to do it, but it left a large portion of our forces badly out of position”
“Next we relied too much on Duke Miles reports and the intelligence he passed on. While I’m starting to suspect he did so in good faith, that reliance allowed our other intelligence gathering sources to go unheeded. We placed to much priority on the Dukes information”
Ran held a hand up, “So, you’re also certain Miles passed the information on in good faith? He wasn’t working with Harrison after all”
Ash shook her head, “Like you said, we thought that at first, but I also called up our agents in the Republic March. They report that the information Miles passed on was exact when compared to the information he received, excepting the under reporting of his own forces. Miles was playing his own game with us, but he was unwillingly dancing to Harrison’s tune”
Asyr Fel’lya nodded in understanding, “Harrison learned -or suspected- that Miles was working with us and used that against us. He allowed us to think his forces were deploying for another series of war games and Miles blindly passed on the data that kept up that fiction”
Ash scowled, “We’d been anticipating a strike from the Balmorra finger, and deployed our forces to hold the border there. Instead, with his first wave, Harrison bypassed the border worlds and seized the next line of worlds and then with our supply lines compromised swept back and trapped our forces between the original strike forces and other forces striking from the finger”
Fel’lya sighed, “In that light, executing Miles may have been a bit hasty” The Bothan smoothed his fur, “With his death, the previously neutral Republic March forces have joined with the rest of Tarn’s forces in revenge for the Duke”
“That being said” Ash pointed out, “Miles was a fool and his stupidity cost us a lot of troops and ships with Operation Riposte”
“Regardless, as long as the Republic March forces remained neutral, we were able to focus against only the forces Harrison controlled directly” Ran grimaced, “Now, we have to spread our already limited forces to defend against the late Dukes forces as well, many of which are determined to exact revenge”
“Which brings up a question” Liska Fel’lya spoke up, a hint of challenge in her voice,“Why are our forces spread so thin? Our military and navy has long been comparable to the Skye Forces. Why is it that our worlds are falling and we struggle to fight back”
“Not a simple question to answer, but I shall try to cover all the answers, Lady Fel’lya” Ran said carefully, catching a glimpse of a supportive nod from Asyr, “As was earlier mentioned, the relief efforts at Sarna tied up both the Third and Ninth fleets as well as a significant amount of troops and left them out of position when the war started. Since many of those forces were part of our reserves, it left our border forces unsupported in some cases” He paused to allow his words to sink in, “We’re also fighting a three front war between us and the Skye Alliance, the Free Worlds League and the Oberon Confederation, we’re fighting on too many fronts”
“What would you suggest?” Riesk asked.
Ran chewed his lip in thought, “Oberon may soon have it’s own problems if the civil war there continues to build. A large number of their forces have declared neutrality until a clear winner emerges, they aren’t giving up the worlds they have taken, but they won’t push further without support. I recommend we take the opportunity to redeploy our forces to defend the neighboring systems and start making overtures to Baron Terah, even provide funding for his war. He’ll be indebted for our support and might even give us leverage to get those worlds back through other means”
“He’ll hand them back to us?” Ash asked sardonically, “Assuming he defeats the loyalists, of course”
“Who knows?” Ran shrugged, “At the very least, it’ll put a hold on the conflict there and in the short term, allow us to bring some of the strategic reserves in that region to other fronts as well as fortify Bothan space against the Free Worlds League encroachment”
Riesk nodded with satisfaction, “It all sounds very reasonable to me. Very well, I trust you can deal with the orders to be sent out?”
“Yes, sir” Ran smiled, “I just need your signature on the forms for accounts”
“You’ll have it” Riesk nodded, “Any other suggestions?”
Ash cut in, “The Corellian System. We pull out and refocus on keeping the League forces penetrating any further”
“Surrender Corellia?” Riesk was stunned, “What of the shipyards? What of Centerpoint?”
Ash shook her head, “The shipyards are wrecked, it’ll be months before the League can get them functional again. Maybe a year before they can produce anything bigger than a light frigate. As for Centerpoint, our techs never figured it out, and we’ve been sat on it for over two centuries. We’ll order our crews to sabotage as much as they can as they pull out. By the time they get things repaired, we’ll be back in”
“But giving up Corellia” Riesk was frowning.
“That whole system is just a meat grinder” Ash sighed, “It’s chewing up everything we throw in and it’s doing the same to the League forces. Nobody is making any gains, and we’re just wasting forces” She frowned, “We’ve already lost the best part of a fleet group and seven full regiments”
“Then they’ll have been lost for nothing” Liska pointed out.
“They are already being lost for nothing” Asyr turned to her sister, “Ships and troops are being wasted for little gain. Those assets could have been used to fortify the borders or drive back the League and Skye forces and even cut off the Corellian system completely”
Liska conceded the point, but said no more.
Riesk nodded, this time somewhat reluctantly, “I am loathe to surrender Corellia, but the logic is undeniable. We are wasting too much too try and hold those worlds. It will be done” He looked at Ran, “Can you send out the orders, Major?”
“I can, sir” Ran nodded.
“Good” Fel’lya settled back into his chair, “Once your new armour is ready we will start our fight back and hand Harrison Tarn a much deserved defeat. The first of many”
Hood IV.
Circinus March/Skye Alliance
323ABY
March 4th
Yorinaga Tortorelli felt the cool air on his exposed skin as he clambered clear of his Orca battlesuit. Dropping the short distance to the floor he accepted a jumpsuit from a tech and pulled it on over the shorts and t-shirt he wore in the heavy armour.
Seeing Tomaz Devlin’s approach, Yorinaga knew what his XO had to report before he’d even spoken, “The Genyosha were never here, were they?”
Devlin shook his head, “Not in the last ten years. Our agent spotted a Genyosha flag some civilian had as a souvenir and decided it was proof of their presence” He shook his head in disgust, “We come here and find only a militia battalion and a company of the Tenth Skye Rangers”
Do we even know were Varik has his unit?” Yorinaga sighed.
Devlin hesitated, “Algot” He winced.
“What?” Yorinaga stared at him incredulously.
“Almost at the same time that we were making planet-fall here, they were hitting our home base” Devlin winced as he made the report, “Command reports our base has been completely destroyed”
Stunned, Yorinaga slumped against a loading gantry as he tried to get his head around the absurdity of the situation, “We came here believing we’d find the Genyosha. Meanwhile, they are busy hitting our base, no doubt expecting to find us there. How did they reach Algot undetected?”
“They appear to have taken a route through the Free Worlds League and slipped into the Federation near Rhen Vhar” Devlin replied.
“The transit time?” Yorinaga frowned, “They were already in transit when we launched this mission. We missed each other by a matter of days” He let out a moan of frustration mixed with anger, “There is nothing else for us here. Let us return to Algot and see what message Morgan Varik has left us”
Devlin tilted his head in question, “Message? What makes you believe he has left a message?”
“I would do so in his place” Yorinaga nodded, “He too will be tired of this fumbling in the dark. He will want to settle this once and for all too”
———————————————–
The Sprawl.
Mandalorian Space
323ABY
March 8th.
Galatea Trah gritted her teeth as the shuttle gave another lurch, “I’m pretty sure it’s not supposed to do that in hyperpsace”
Connor Solo looked over his shoulder from where he sat in the pilots seat, “Really, you think?” He asked sarcastically, “We’re lucky we made it this far” His tone softened, “At least you were able to fix the hyperdrive when it did fail”
“I didn’t ‘fix’ it” Galatea grimaced, “I jury-rigged it. I didn’t have the parts for full repairs so I had to improvise”
“At least you able to do that much” Dan Halcyon said from the co-pilots seat, “Being stuck in the middle of an empty system is not how I was wanting to spend my life”
Helene Marshall spoke up from where she sat in the other passenger seat next to Galatea, “What happens if the hyperdrive fails this time?” The on-the-run leader of the Oberon Confederation sounded terrified.
“Well” Galatea winced, “We’ll either just be dropped back into realspace or we’ll end up spread across the three nearest sectors”
Helene simply moaned in despair and gripped the arms of her seat tighter.
“We’ll make it” Dan said reassuringly, “Thirty seconds to reversion” He looked at Galatea, “Never been to the Sprawl before, have you Galatea?”
“You know I’ve never left the Tatooine system before” Galatea scowled.
“Then you’re in for a treat” Dan grinned, then winced as a tremor hit the ship, “Assuming we get there”
“We’ll get there” Galatea said, “But we won’t be making another jump after this one”
“Here we go” Connor muttered and pulled back the hyperdrive lever.
Through the viewports, the swirling whirlpool of hyperpsace collapsed into stars, but within moments a loud explosion shook the shuttle and Galatea knew the hyperdrive had finally given up. But she barely noticed, as ahead of them, filling the view through the shuttle viewports was the Sprawl.
“Sithspit” She whispered.
It was an incredible sight, over a thousand ships by her estimates, all mated together to form a massive structure. From the smallest freighter to the largest battleship, they comprised an incredible permanent space colony. Almost randomly laid out, every ship was connected to the next by a bewildering array of access tubes, conduits, pipes, cables and support beams.
“Nebulon-B’s, Cameron class Destroyers, Executor Class Super Star Destroyer, Horus Cruisers, Shadow Frigates, Carrack Cruisers, Acclamators, Imperator Star Destroyers, Potemkin Class, Saracen Class” She began reeling off the ones she recognized, many of which she’d only read about in the history holos, “This is incredible. How did they do it? Where did they find the ships? Some of them haven’t been built for centuries”
“Mostly scrapyards and decommissioning yards” Connor answered, “Some of them were refugee ships that came here under their own power. Others were towed here” He shrugged, “As for the how? Ingenuity and determination”
“I’ve never seen anything like it” Galtea shook her head, “I mean, the TEC yards are huge, but they aren’t like this. They were carefully planned and built over time. This, this is something else”
“So, we’re here” Helene Marshall cut in, “And unless I’m mistaken about that noise a moment ago, we have no more hyperdrive, so what now?”
“We lie low and plan what to do next” Dan nodded.
“We’re going to need a place to stash the shuttle, maybe even just sell it for scrap, that’ll give us some credits” Connor said, “Find a place to rest and refresh” He turned and looked at Galatea and Helene, “And we’ll need disguises”
“I know just the place” Dan smiled
——————————————–
Algot.
Circinus Fderation.
323ABY.
March 10th.
Yorinaga grimaced as he looked around the ruins of what had been his units headquarters. The Genyosha had been through in it’s destruction. Not a single one of the main buildings had been left standing, though a few of the smaller storage units were left intact.
Next to him, Tomaz Devlin wrinkled his nose in irritation, “The local militia posed no threat to them and refused to engage them, so the Genyosha had four full hours to do what they wanted to do before the company from the Second Legion of Vega arrived to oppose them” He indicated a number of burning wrecks to the east, “The Genyosha decimated them with no apparent casualties suffered”
“I would not have expected anything less” Yorinaga nodded, “Tell me, what do you see here?”
“Ruins” Devlin frowned, “But the debris piles are too neat. To deliberate” He looked sidelong at Yorinaga, “A message?”
Yorinaga nodded, “And Morgan Varik chose not to kill to make his message, other than the Second Legion. Before they started the destruction, they ordered all personnel out of the buildings and even allowed for everyones personal effects to be relocated to the outbuildings”
“So, what is the message?” Devlin asked.
“He is offering a confrontation” Yorinaga nodded, “The debris pattern from the command centre is laid out in a very specific pattern, do you see it?”
Devlin scowled, then nodded, “Like a star chart of the border worlds” He frowned, “Which makes the large pile over there” He indicated a pile of rubble that had been a gymnasium, “Korriban?”
“Yes” Yorinaga answered, “Back to the scene of our last battle” He frowned, “The smaller piles seem to represent moons. Their particular locations will give us date for when the Genyosha will be on Korriban”
“I will make a recording and have it analyzed” Devlin smiled grimly.
“And then we shall take the fight to the Genyosha” Yourinaga nodded.
—————————————————–
Imperial Palace
Coruscant
New Republic
323ABY
M arch 15th
Ran was still rubbing the crud from his eyes as he entered the Advisory Council Chambers with Asyr close behind him. He was astounded by the activity they found, every member of the council was there, along with a veritable army of aides and clerks.
In the center of the room, Ash and Riesk Fel’lya were stood examining the holographic display that showed the Republics borders with the Skye Alliance.
Blue dots picked out Republic held worlds, whilst red denoted worlds taken by the Alliance or the Free Worlds League. A new series of red had appeared since his last viewing of the map, yet it took a few seconds for that fact to register.
“A sixth wave?” He gasped, “Tarn has launched a sixth wave?”
Ash looked up and nodded, “They’ve hit Jagga-Two, Ord Mirit, Menkab, Matsu, Herzberg and Coventry”
“What do we have defending those worlds?” Riesk asked.
“Jagga-Two, Matsu and Coventry had just begun calling up reserve militia, but only Coventry had completed the call up before the assaults hit” Ash pulled up the data, “All three battalions of Sungs Crusaders were on Ord Mirit, but Tarn dropped a full regiment on them. Herzberg and Menkab were the only ones with any fleet assets and the Alliance hit them with full fleet groups, then dropped Regimental combat Teams on the ground forces”
Ran frowned, “I thought we were shifting additional forces into that region?”
“We were” Ash sighed, “But when the Free Worlds League struck towards Duro and Teyr, we had to redeploy those assets to hold them back”
Ash suddenly paled as another world started flashing red, “Not possible, they can’t have, can they?”
Asyr stepped forwards and pulled up the data on the screens, “Confirmed. Enough transports for two full RCT’s and a full fleet group”
“They’ve done it, they’ve actually done it” Ran whispered.
“Yes” The Chief-of-State let out a deep laugh, “They’ve struck at Borleias”
“Sir” Ran looked to the Bothan, “This is their deepest, boldest strike yet”
“Have you forgotten, Major?” Riesk laughed, “You yourself deployed Colonel Stragos and his Strikers to Borleias. You anticipated a stike and now Stragos will throw the invaders aback and with our forces strengthened by your new armor, we will begin to push them back”
The Bothan smiled cruelly, “The beginning of the end of House Tarn and the Skye Alliance begins now”
————————————————-
Borleias.
Contested Space, New Republic.
323ABY
March 15th.
Captain Alanna Damu gritted her teeth and braced herself in her command chair an instant before the salvo of missiles hammered into her Titan tanks hull. Blinking back the ringing concussion from the blasts, she noted on her displays that the portside armor had some minor damage, but no penetration.
More disconcerting was the sucking swamp that her Company had been air-dropped into. It reduced her tanks to a sluggish crawl and made them sitting ducks.
“Get a trace on those missiles” She shouted to the Zabrak on sensors, then switched her comms on, “This is Spectre One, We have enemy fire on our position, form up on my position and somebody find me a way clear of these swamps”
“Roger that, Captain” Rex Archibault’s voice cut in, “I reckon old Heart-Of-Stone just stuck his finger on the map to plunk us down here. Yuck, a swamp!”
Alanna smiled at Rex’s nickname for the Fifth Mantell Fusiliers ‘Combat commander. On paper, the late Duke Miles’ 80 year old Aunt Tamara was the units commander, but actual day-to-day operation was handled by General Gordon Heartstone, one of Miles’ most fanatical cronies. Though a capable commander, his attitude and manners did little to endear him to his officers.
“Rex knows he’ll get a reprimand when they review the battlelogs” Alanna thought, “But he’s too valuable to boot. He’ll get a black-mark that’ll stop him getting promoted, which is fine by him, he doesn’t want anything higher than Major” She smiled, “Couldn’t find a better second-in-command in the whole army”
She checked her screens, “Rex, send someone to recon that hill to the east, looks like it could be a way clear of this swamp”
“Will do” Rex answered, “Spectre Three, go park yourself on that hill”
A few seconds later, one of her Talon Class Hovertanks -unimpeded by the swamp, broke for the hill.
“Heads up” Her sensor operator called, “We have company from the west!”
“Third Company” She called, sparing a glance at the incoming signals, “We have incoming to the west, looks like hostile forces”
The half dozen little hovercraft burst into view, laser cannons blazing and sending flights of missiles arcing onto her units tanks.
Her people returned fire, but the hovercraft used their swifter speed and maneuverability to evade much of the incoming fire, though she saw two disappear in flames. In return, three of the swift craft slipped behind the struggling Forex class light tank commanded by Sires Jubal, their lasers punching through the weaker rear armour into the tanks engines. The Forex seemed to swell outwards as it’s engines blew, touching off the missile reloads in sympathetic detonation. As the tank blew itself apart, the three little hovercraft broke away.
One didn’t get far, her own tanks cannon scoring a direct hit as the gunner picked his shots carefully. The surviving hovercraft fled from sight unharmed despite the fire directed from her Company.
“Rex” She called, “Deploy some of our fast hover tanks as out runners in case they come back. These guys were too good to be militia. I’m checking in with command. I want air cover”
She hit the switch to change channels, expecting hear the bored voice of the operator in the Regiments invasion command center. Instead, her ears filled with the sounds of excited voices and background noise.
“We’re taking heavy fire from Boomslang Ridge” She heard a voice report, “I need air support”
“Negative, Deuce Battalion” Control responded, “Support assets are only allocated on the request of a commanding officer. My screen shows you’re only a Captain. Where is Colonel Harkness?”
Irritation shot through the field commanders voice, “Colonel Harkness bought it when he rolled his tank into an ambush. They had inferno rockets and they roasted him alive”
Alanna shuddered,. Inferno rockets were little more than napalm projectiles that covered an enemy unit in flames that burned like hell itself. In the tight, confined interior of a tank, that extra heat was deadly.
“In case you didn’t understand that, Control” The Captain continued, “I’m the only command level officer left in Deuce Battalion, I guess that brevets me to Colonel, wouldn’t you say? Now how about giving me that air support?”
Nervousness shot through the controllers voice, “I guess it would, Colonel Moutrie, but I still can’t give you any air cover” Her voice sank, “We don’t have any left”
Alanna broke into the channel before Colonel Moutrie could curse the controller, “Colonel, Captain Damu, First Battalion, Third Company. We’re north of your position, what’s your opposition?”
Moutrie’s voice lost it’s edge, “Battlesuits and heavy tanks in the foothills. They are dug in and we can’t shift them. Can you swing over?”
Alanna pulled up her tactical maps of the area, but before she could answer, a bright flash eclipsed Spectre Three and then the Talon came tumbling down the hill spilling fragments and debris.
“Sithspit, Colonel, we’ve just been hit by something” She hesitated, waited for Moutries reply, “Colonel Moutrie? Colonel?”
Rex’s voice broke in, “Cannon reported heavy tanks before he was hit. Identified them as being part of Strago’s Strikers. We’ve got real opposition here, what do we do?”
The panic is Rex’s voice allowed Alanna to get a hold of her own, “Pull back south” She ordered, swallowing past the lump in her throat, “Into the jungle”
Doubt bled into Rex’s words, “Cap, that’ll move us away from the rest of our forces?”
Alanna grimaced, “Lieutenant, in case you’ve not noticed, we’ve hit heavy opposition on what was supposed to be a milk run. We expected militia and got experienced and trained mercs who have a serious vendetta with us. Our air support has been swatted down and Second Battalion is being chewed apart over on Boomslang Ridge. We’re talking a major snafu here. Some malfing idiot has stuck our heads in the Rancor’s mouth and I’m not sticking around to play the game”
Rex’s voice came back determined and full of fire, “What’s the plan?”
“Pull into the jungle” Alanna answered, the image of Colonel Harkness dying in flames rose to mind. We torch the jungle and try to stay ahead of the flames. With luck that’ll flush out the enemy and let us break free” She scowled, “And if we survive that, we go after the idiot who got us in this mess”
———————————————-
Jedi Council Chambers.
Ossus.
Skye Alliance.
323ABY.
March 18th.
Diana Senn forced her fists to unclench as she watched the Rodian, Master Griv Lohn stood and walked to the center of the chamber. Despite her attempts to keep her emotions in check, she was irritated by the smug satisfaction that rode off of Master Lohn in waves.
“I believe we all know why Master Lohn has called this emergency session of the Council” Grandmaster Julian Tiepolo sighed wearily, “You have a motion to make, Master Lohn?”
“I do” Griv Lohn nodded, “Forces of the Skye Alliance landed on Borleias, Seventy percent of the world has already been taken despite the efforts of Stragos’ Strikers and complete conquest is expected within the next day” The Rodian straightened his shoulders, “I move that we -via our alliance with Visage Enterprises- place the Skye Alliance under a complete and total holonet interdiction. This is to include agents both inside the New Republic and within other nations”
The Grandmaster looked around the room at the other members of the Jedi Council, “Is there any discussion?”
Conrad Skywalker shook his head, “It would be a mistake to interdict so soon. The Alliance took a terrible beating on Borleias, an entire regiment destroyed in a single day. That news has not yet filtered back throughout the Alliance. It could be enough to kill support for the invasion. More so, the faked footage we have of Alliance forces destroying a substation was recorded in an area where they have not reached yet. We need that evidence to look authentic to justify the interdiction”
“And in the meantime, the Alliance gobbles up more worlds whilst the people examine their conscience” Lohn shot back, “We must interdict”
Diana opened her mouth to answer, but a cold feeling settle into her gut as a thought surfaced in her mind, “Why does Harrison Tarn pursue this war?” She asked the others.
The diminutive little Chadra-Fan, Ched shrugged, “I am not fool enough to be taken in by Tarn’s speeches about the threat the New Republic poses to the Skye Alliance. He has to be aware that both nations are evenly matched, but any aggressive action by the Republic would have left them open to strikes from the Oberon Confederation and the Free Worlds League” He wrinkled his snout, “He wants to rule the galaxy. He has married into one such new government via his son and now he conquers another”
Tai, the Nagai Master shook her head, “I believe you are incorrect, Master. Quite simply, I believe the Prince has launched this war to capture major portions of the Republics industry. Kuat and Bilbringi, both major shipyards are now in his hands. We know the Alliance has long pushed the forefront of technological development, but he needs the industries to help move them from the labs to the real world”
“That has been my thought too” Kharys the S’kytri smiled, “With his sons marriage to Hanna Leong and with the agreements made with Jesmin Akdool and other Captain Generals over the years, the economies of both the League and the Alliance have been linked. Capturing major portions of the Republic’s industry will benefit and enrich both nations”
The Mon Calamarian, Rekara shook her bulbous head, “If that is true, why has he struck deep and taken Borleias? There hasn’t been an industry on that world since the Galactic Civil War centuries ago. Apart from a few enclaves of settlers, there is nothing of interest there”
“It’s the location” Master Lohn cut in, “Borleias is a gateway to Coruscant. Harrison intends to strike at the New Republic’s capital and destroy the Republic”
“He doesn’t have the forces to do so” Diana shook her head, “He would have to pull all his forces together to have a chance and that would leave the Alliance incredibly vulnerable. His goal isn’t Coruscant”
“Then why, Master Senn?” The Grandmaster asked coldly, “Why has Tarn launched this war? Enlighten us”
With a smile, Diana stood, “Let us first look at history. When Katrina Tarn abdicated, Harrison was forced into a political conflict with Miles Fel-Tarn over who would succeed her. Both had solid claims, Harrison through birth and Miles through Marriage. Harrison won, but did all he could to break Miles. Bringing Miles’ son Draco to Skye and depriving Miles of his sons loyalty was another nail in the Dukes coffin. When the ISF determined Miles was feeding information to Riesk Fel’lya, he laid a trap that allowed Miles to destroy himself”
She opened her hands, “And what of Harrison’s hatred for Riesk Fel’lya? In 302ABY, Riesk tried to place a double for Harrison on Skye’s throne. That plot failed and no doubt led to the attempted assassinations against the Tarn Royal family three years later that killed Harrison’s wife and the mother of his children” She shrugged, “Harrison vowed revenge then”
Master Lohn waved a dismissive hand, “You aren’t possibly suggesting that Harrison launched this war on a vendetta? Preposterous!”
“Is it?” Diana asked glancing around the room at the other seated Masters, “Take another example. The Fifth Mantell Fusiliers. It’s commander General Gordon Heartstone was a staunch ally of Duke Miles and hostile to Harrison. So, what did the Prince do? He landed the unit on a world defended by Stragos’ Strikers. Four other Regiments hit Borleias, but they all landed in areas defended by militia. The Fusiliers were the only ones to be landed -on the Prince’s own order- anywhere near the Strikers” She frowned, “More so, the Prince expressly forbade Heartstone from engaging in ‘personal heroics’. An admonishment that drove Heartstone to push his troops in and land a full day ahead of the other Alliance units. Harrison Tarn destroyed the Fifth Mantell Fusiliers, the Republic March will back his calls to avenge them and the Fusiliers will pose no more threat to him”
Tiepolo nodded in understanding, “His strike so close to Coruscant is another cut at Fel’lya, as was Operation Ambush and taking his key worlds of Kuat, Bilbringi and Arkania”
Lak Resh shok her head, “Nobody, none of us even, could have predicted a man igniting a war to salve his own ego” The Shistavanean growled, “We must interdict, but how will anything other than direct intervention by the Order stop the Alliance? The initial orders for the invasion went out by means other than the holonet, possibly carried by couriers. Even now, few orders are transmitted via the holonet”
Lohn spoke up, “At the very least interdiction will slow order transfers. Tarn will be forced to rely on more and more courier ships, even to the point of diverting freighters. This could cause issues with the ferrying of goods between worlds. Deny a mining colony of foodstuffs and production stops. If those foodstuffs are plentiful on a world not a system away, then resistance could begin. Rumors of civil unrest could be enough to halt Harrison’s war machine”
Rekara nodded, “An interdiction could also slow up the fund transfers to the loyalists in the Oberon Confederation from the Alliance. Harrison has been supporting the loyalist forces against Baron Terah’s coup. Terah is friendly to the Republic, if he takes full control of the Confederation, it could give Fel’lya a powerful new ally”
“We are agreed then” Diana sighed, giving a nod to Master Lohn, “An interdiction of the Skye Alliance?”
Tiepolo nodded, “On our request. Tonight at midnight, Visage Enterprises will shut down all holonet communications within the Skye Alliance”
————————————————
Skye Royal Palace.
Nashira.
Skye, Skye Alliance.
323ABY
March 19th.
“Opinions?” Harrison Tarn asked as the message from Jedi Order Grandmaster Julian Tiepolo faded out. He turned to the other occupants of the room.
“Of course we didn’t hit that substation they’re claiming we did” Field Marshell Yvonne Tarn scowled, “The markings and insignia are correct for the Fifth Mantell Fusiliers, but that particular unit was half a continent away burning down a forest” She smirked, “I daresay had our forces destroyed that station, there wouldn’t have been any survivors to record anything”
Subhash Indrahar tapped the fingers of his good hand rhythmically on the arm of his wheelchair, “So, why have they and Visage Enterprises chosen to interdict us?”
Yvonne looked at the spymaster, “The Jedi Order is a pacifistic order who see conflict as a last resort. They may see it as a way of stopping the war”
The woman next to Indrahar shook her head, “If that were true. They’d have interdicted the Free Worlds League too. This is targeted at us”
Indrahar smiled easily, “That’s why I think it’s something else, Marshall Pedroza” He looked to her, “To your knowledge have we done anything that would interfere with the Order or with Visage Enterprises operation of the holonet?”
Marshall Kate Pedroza smiled like a child caught stealing candy, “Nothing that would result in interdiction. As per protocol, holonet facilities were cordoned off when we took worlds and anyone wanting access investigated, but we have done nothing beyond that”
Harrison nodded, “The Circinnus Federation did the same thing when they made their own strikes into the Alliance. Civilian authorities were prevented from using the stations to warn our incoming troops” He frowned, “Is this the Order’s opening gambit in some scheme of theirs? They may simply see this as a way of slowing our efforts against the Republic. But it matters little, as of now we are without holonet communications”
He pointed to a black box sat on the table. A rectangle little bigger than a droid power cell, it had two slots in the top, a number of buttons and power sockets on one side, “Marshall Pedroza, Colonel Fav’ik. This is a device known as a Black Box for obvious reasons. It is the source of the faxes you’ve been receiving over the course of the war. It will help us circumvent the most bothersome aspects of the interdiction”
Both Pedroza and Fav’ik looked closely at the machine as Harrison continued speaking, “I cannot tell you exactly what it is or how it works, I don’t know the details myself, but what I can tell you that they allow us to send long distance messages without the use of the holonet. It’s a little slower than holonet communications, but we can actually send them faster on long distances as Visage tends to batch messages for transmission”
“What sort of speed are we talking?” Fav’ik, the Iridonian asked.
“We’ve clocked messages at about an hour per fifty light years travelled. The big problem is that only simple messages can be sent. Text and crude graphics go out fine, but more complicated things like video and audio get garbled during transmission”He took a deep breath, “Both of you have received faxes from these boxes. The ISF set up the network for carrying the faxes, but we’re now moving the boxes out of the shadows and into your headquarters. The device is still Codeworded top Secret, but you’ll now have direct access with the interdiction in place”
“It is imperative that the secret of these boxes not get out. If you are in danger of being overrun, orders are to destroy the boxes rather than allow the possibility of one being captured”
He turned to Indrahar, “How badly does the Interdiction affect our intelligence activities?”
The old man, crippled by age frowned, “It hurts us badly. Our active agents are known to the Jedi and Visage due to their using the holonet to send messages out. That flow of information has been stopped. We can activate sleeper agents by jumping into a system and sending out a signal and can monitor public braodcasts to give us some information, but it will be dicey”
Yvonne reached over and patted Indrahar’s wrist, “What about our agents in the NRI? Can they send messages out to agents that will tip us off to developments?”
“They could” Indrahar nodded, “And it’s something I’d expect from our more inventive operatives. At the moment, the best we can hope for is a rerouting of information on Coruscant so that Fel’lya makes mistakes. If anything major comes up, I’m confident that our agent will find a way to slip a warning past his superiors to us” He frowned deeply, “What worries me, is that the interdiction also cuts off the funds and data we’ve been providing the loyalists in the Oberon Confederation. With the two sides evenly matched in the civil war there, our support has been the only thing helping General Sung keep Baron Terah’s forces from breaking out of the rebel held sectors. If Terah seizes the entirety of the Confederation, then he could theoretically ally with the Republic. That frees up both the Republic and Taurian forces to be redirected at the Free Worlds League”
Yvonne turned thoughtful for a few seconds, then running a hand through her grey hair, pulled up her datapad and began calling up information on it, “My Prince. We have Admiral T’vor’s Eighth Fleet group held in reserve. Potentially, we could loan them to the League, allow Akdool to free up forces to hold off threats of a Taurian strike. In return, we should be able to courier the funds to the League itself, and Akdool could transmit them to the Confederation. She could even use T’vor’s forces to push for Kothlis, encourage Fel’lya to pull forces back to protect his homeworld”
Harrisn regarded the woman who was forty years his senior, “Whoever said that ‘just because there’s snow on the roof doesn’t mean there isn’t a fire burning inside’ was obviously thinking of you, Yvonne. You and Subhash” He thought, Then added aloud, “It has merit. Not a perfect solution, but we can make it work. Communicate the plans and make the arrangements immediately please”
“It will be done” Yvonne nodded, then frowned, “I do think we should requisition extra ships as couriers. It will be clumsy, but I think it’s important to maintain communications between family and our soldiers. It will be good for morale”
Hanse thought for a moment. If he pulled ships from the commercial sector, it would impact trade. They could probably maintain the supply in essentials, but shipments of luxury goods would have to be cut back. Some people will hate that, but they’d hate not hearing from loved ones more. The first breeds discontent, the latter breeds fear and resentment”
He looked to his intelligence chief, “Subhash?”
“We can make it work” Indrahar nodded without hesitation. I can have the outline of minimal maintenance network together within twenty-four hours. We should be able to maintain trade in all, but the most expensive luxury goods. With Yvonne’s help, we should be able to work out a system for carrying military correspondences on commercial shipping”
Marshall Pedroza spoke up, “I second the Field Marshall’s suggestion. Troops live and die on mail from home. I’ve had entire battalions volunteer for carrying mail out to the front”
“Very well” Harrison smiled, “Yvonne, Subhash, get your heads together and hammer this out. Tell Ways and Means to put focus on shipping essentials, but to cram in luxury goods where there’s space. Emphasis on foodstuffs, clothing, entertainment products and things like that. Stuff people buy to make themselves happy. But I don’t want a single aircar being brought in when the space could have been used for luxury goods for many people”
“It will be done, My Prince” Subhash nodded.
“Now for the hardest part of this meeting” Harrison thought, then slowly looked each person present in the eye, “You have by now, all heard of the disastrous landing on Borleias by the Fifth Mantell Fusiliers. They landed on an area heavily defended by Stragos’ Strikers and were cut up very badly. You may also have heard that Stragos captured General Heartstone and has ransomed him. I have refused”
He carefully watched Marshall Pedroza and Colonel Fav’rik for reactions, but both kept their emotions hidden, “The Fifth Mantell Fusiliers presented me with a serious problem. I had evidence implicating the units general staff in a plot against me. I had hoped after Duke Miles Fel-Tarn’s death that all three of the Fusilier regiments would return to the fold, but the Fifth would not toe the line. General Heartstone demanded -not requested, demanded- a combat assignment that would allow him to avenge the Duke”
The Prince narrowed his eyes, “I learned of a movement within the Republic March to make Heartstone a warlord. Disguised as a patriotic movement, it was nothing short of treason. I could not discharge Heartstone as he would have bolted and taken most of his troops with him. Left with no choice, I gave him the combat assignment he wanted”
Harrison gestured at Indrahar, “We learned after the Borleias assault had been launched that Stragos’ Strikers was on world. We thought they were elsewhere. Had Heartstone followed the original plan he would not have landed directly on the Stragos’ Strikers position. Instead, he was looking too far ahead and his glorious return to the Republic March and had his ships take a shorter route to the Pyria system. As a result, he arrived on planet two days ahead of any reinforcements”
Harrison sighed deeply, “The Strikers were firmly dug in and threw everything they had at the Fusiliers. We recovered less than a battalion of armour and only half of it was operational. Losses of infantry and support was worse. For all intents and purposes, the Fifth Mantell Fusiliers are gone”
Silence descended on the room as everyone present considered the carnage that could destroy a Regimental Combat Team. “Learn a lesson from the fate of the Fusiliers, ladies and gentleman. I cannot afford to have the Alliance divided against itself. There will be enough glory for all of us when this war is over, but until then we must stand side by side or our enemies will exploit our weaknesses and destroy us. With the interdiction, we’re half blind, but we’re not finished unless others contemplate treason”
He smiled humourlessly, “In short, I reward those who serve me well and destroy those who will not. We fight for the Skye Alliance and anyone who wants to fight for himself should remember the lesson of the Fifth Mantell Fusiliers”
———————————-
Towne.
Skye Alliance/Circinus Federation Border.
Circinus March.
323ABY.
March 30th.
Patrick Tarn-Varik winced only slightly as the laser fire passed close by him, his sidestep having taken him out of the line-of-fire. His return fire was more accurate, the laser fire from his heavy blaster carving through the chest armour of the Golem Battlesuit to the soft flesh beneath.
The Golem sagged for a moment as the man inside briefly registered the hit, then like a puppet with it’s strings cut, it flopped backwards to the ground, it’s weight causing the sands to shift and allowing it to slid down the dune on a mini avalanche.
Fighting to keep his feet below him, he spun around and targeted the second Golem that emerged over the dune to his left. Before he could fire, the Golem was hit by a burst of laser fire and a salvo of missiles from behind him. Spinning away in a series of explosions, the Golem dropped back out of sight.
Continuing his turn, he saw the Wolfhound Battlesuit of Meg Lang and the Commando battlesuit of the Chiss Voss.
“Glad to see you guys” Patrick said dryly, “What kept you?”
“This bloody sand” Meg snorted, “You can’t get your footing. Plus side,, their tanks are struggling. Deserts is not suited for Heavy Tanks” Her Wolfhound suit tilted it’s canine shaped helmet in amusement.
“I concur” Voss replied. An exile from the Chiss Ascendancy, Voss was a recent addition to the Genyosha, but had excelled himself well in the Commando battlesuit.
Patrick nodded. The Genyosha had arrived on Towne to fend off an incursion of Circinus forces and had caught the invaders napping. Morgan Tarn-Varik had led the main force of the Genyosha -including the units tanks- to oppose the main Cirinus landings near Port Royale, the planets capital. Meanwhile, Patrick had led a small force to deal with a Circinus strike team that had threatened the solar power plants here in the desert.
“This is Strike One” Patrick activated his comms,”Two Golems accounted for over here. Anyone spotted the other four”
“This is Two” The voice of Taru, the Nagai replied, “Took down three here” Then he added softly, “Strike Four is gone”
Patrick swallowed. He’d liked the young Charo, Ruskan, “Five, are you out there?”
“Five here” Cat Wilson’s deep voice answered, “Nailed the last one a few yards from the plant. No sweat”
“Good” Patrick nodded, then switched channels, “Control, We’re all clear at the power plant. Any new signals?”
“Negative Colonel” The voice of the officer at Command replied, using Patrick’s new rank, “Circinus forces are already pulling back. Transport is already en-route to pick you up”
“Copy, Control” Patrick smiled, “We’ll be ready”
————————————————
A few hours later, Patrick was out of his battlesuit and clad in off duty uniform sought out his father in the command decks on the Chieftain. He found the older mercenary Colonel in his office pouring over reports.
Morgan smiled when he saw his son, “Patrick, well done on stopping the strike against the solar plants. They obviously hoped we’d be preoccupied with their main attack force at Port Royale”
Patrick nodded and settled in the chair opposite his father, “Even though, you could only spare my squad to protect the solar plants, the advantage of surprise worked in our favour. They were clearly expecting nothing heavier than light infantry and plant security”
“Like with the main attack” Morgan frowned, “They clearly weren’t expecting to run into us on planet. In fact, according to the prisoners we took, as far as they were aware, we were still on Elom”
“Is their intel really that bad?” Patrick asked.
“Maybe, the Circinus Federation has always struggled in intelligence gathering, but I don’t believe even the Circinus Intelligence Ministry could be that wrong. Since she took control of the C.I.M, Aisling Conner has built it into something that actually functions, their discovery of Hanna Leong’s presence at Styx for example”
“True” Patrick Conceded, “Then how did they miss that we were on Towne, we didn’t exactly make a secret of the move?”
“Could have just been that they hadn’t notified the Circinus Dragoons that we were here” Morgan shrugged.”Heck, the interdiction may have even slowed down the efforts of the Circinus Agents to get messages out”
“Possible” Patrick nodded, “So, where next?”
“Korriban” Morgan sai, “We have a encounter planned and I mean to keep it. I want us there by the end of April. That will give us two weeks to get prepared before Yorinaga and his Circinus Strikers arrive”
Patrick stared at his father for a few moments, “Then you still mean to go through with this?”
“I do” Morgan nodded curtly.
“Even with what it could mean?” Patrick asked sadly.
“I don’t look forward to it” Morgan shook his head, “I dread it. But I know it has to happen. Yorinaga will not give up his desire. I must confront him. It must be settled”
“You might be killed” Patrick protested.
“If it comes to that, I will at least be gratified that the Genyoha will be in your safe hands” Morgan smiled sadly.
—————————————————
Dac Governement Hall.
Mon Calamari.
Free Worlds League.
323ABY
April 2nd
Jesmin Akdool, Captain-General of the Free Worlds League gave her best approximation of a smile to her guest, “Wellcome, Duke Leong. I trust your travels were productive?”
“Yes and no” Duke Sebastian Leong, leader of the Corelliia-in-Exile faction replied, “The Corellian system is back in our hands, but it’s going to take a long time before the shipyards are going to be any use”
“That bad, is it?” Akdool nodded, “I’d seen the reports of the Republic Second Fleet turning their weapons against the shipyard facilities as they pulled out”
Leong nodded, “At least they had the grace to have the facilities evacuated. As it was the damage is not critical, but it will be months before they are operational again”
“Did I hear correctly that Aldo Rimmer was making himself visible out there?” Akdool asked.
“He was” Leong scowled in distaste, “All, but trying to claim the credit for Corellia’s liberation from the Republic. Seemed to think that because we launched from his holdings, he has some claim over Corellia”
“He’s spent years trying to win Corellia -in-Exile to his power base” Akdool nodded her head, “Just because he was left out of the loop in things, doesn’t mean he’s going to give up”
Leong ran a hand over his bald head, “Well, the Duke of Gyndine can go take a flying leap” Leong snorted, “Corellia-in-Exile…”
“You have to change that name” Akdool pointed out with a laugh.
“True” Leong joined in the humour, “But Corellia will not be indebted to a jumped up little noble who knows how to spend a bribe. Our loyalty is -as it has always been- to the League as a whole” His voice took on a dangerous edge, “There is also the little matter of his involvement in the hijacking of the Silver Eagle and the endangerment of Hanna”
“There’s no doubt about his involvement” Akdool replied, “But like you, I know he was involved. I feel it. It would have benefited him far too much for him not to have been involved”
“If I had even the slightest evidence, my hands would already be around Rimmer’s throat” Leong said coldly,
“Fortunately for him, but unfortunate for us, we don’t yet have the evidence” Akdool nodded, “We will have it eventually. I promise you that”
“Until then” Leong smiled, “We’ll keep him on a very short leash. Aldo Rimmer won’t be able to break wind without me knowing of it”
Fractured Galaxy 