Maul was thinking . His plans were working better than he thought they would. He knew he wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer but he wasn't as dumb as people thought. He seemed to be getting an almost unending stream of criminals to sign up so he must be doing something right. They weren't the best troops in the galaxy, he knew that. However the were very expendable. He instituted the 25% rule. In the first battle he picked the four best fighters he could find and made them his generals. In every battle since he picked four more. They weren't picked mostly for their shooting ability but for their cunning, he knew enough about war to know that. After each battle they would pick 25% of their men for training. Those who made it got 3 months training, the top 25% of them got another 3 months, which went two more deep which meant around the top 0.4% had a whole year's training by the Mandalorians. That would make them slightly better than regular troops as there were some things they didn't need to be taught going in like shooting and how to clean a rifle. The newbies and the 75% that didn't make the cut were to be sent in the first wave. The 21% that had 3 months training would be the second wave while the rest would be placed where the generals thought it was the most likely for them to break through. They would be thrown at the weakest point of the lines at their officer's discretion. He even was able to entice some Republic officers to defect to his side for very high pay, of course. They commanded 30 times or more money than the fodder troops but well worth the expense. They were excellent advisers.
Behind the lines he was raising armies in the conquered territories. They would start with a year's training. Ordinary citizens should be able to learn discipline easier than a bunch of criminals. The better ones would be given more training than that. The least gifted would serve as garrisons on other planets while the rest would serve as regulars. They were less expendable than the criminal scum and get more support. The first wave which was to be entirely made up of criminals as noted above would only get light vehicles for support such as speeders and light hovercraft with some air cover. The second wave made up of the more elite criminals and regulars would have more light vehicles than the first wave plus tanks, they would also provide artillery cover for the first and second wave. They would also get more air cover and bomber support as well. But this was in the future , the first group of criminals being trained weren't even halfway through their training. The first of the regular citizens were just in the process of being recruited.
He thought about Ione. She seemed awfully subservient for a witch. No doubt his great charm and good looks were responsible. The good thing about it was that everyone knew he was in charge. No one could doubt that he and he alone was the one in power. She was so taken in by him that he could do anything he wanted with her and so he did so. He smiled at the thought in remembrance.
Count Dooku was thinking himself. Maul was giving him more trouble than he thought possible. He seemed to have an endless supply of criminal goons. He was surprised at this. He didn't think he had the ability to raise that many troops. He must have underestimated Maul. Still the true power in the Mandalorian Empire was Ione. He was sure of it. She was the true power behind the throne. She was flattering his ego and must be pulling his strings behind closed doors. He had a number of spies infiltrating Maul's Army. He instructed them to keep their distance and just make observations. What they observed was interesting, the vast majority of ideas that Maul came up with didn't surprise her. One of them did however. The idea of siphoning off the best of the criminals for training seemed to genuinely surprise her. It was a good idea at that. Let the enemy wear themselves out against the fodder troops and then when the regulars hit they would be tired and running out of power packs. The regulars would no doubt be hitting the weak points of the line which the fodder troops identified or made. This took more brains than Dooku thought he had. For the first time he wondered how much he was underestimating Maul.
One thing he knew and that was Maul was completely without capital ships. There was no sign whatsoever of them. Not unexpected when you are just using pirates for your ships. Some heavy ships should give him a headache. He hated to do this but he decided to divert 5 cruisers going to the front line to attack Maul's forces. Better to smash him now before he could retool his spacedocks to make capital ships. It would take several years to do that but he could make frigates before that and that would complicate things. Enough of them could close in and destroy cruisers when there were enough of them. He would send the order right away.
Thrawn was smiling, so far everything was going as planned. He had his men infiltrate Maul's organization as "advisers" for a hefty salary. He was uninterested in what Maul was paying them as he said they could soak Maul for everything they could get and keep it as bonus pay on top of their ordinary salary. This would prevent them from being tempted to defect for real. Why really defect when you could keep the bribe and get Republic pay on top of it? He was a bit more clever than Thrawn thought at first. He was no genius to be certain but not entirely without wit. His men said he could keep up with the basics. He was becoming a bit more clever with his flanking maneuvers. They were still a bit close in but he was improving. His men were beginning to shore up his defenses. There were signs Maul was drawing Dooku's attention at last. As a bonus the violent thugs that were getting out of prison he sent Maul's way helped thin out the criminal element in the Republic. The crime rate was falling on some of the smaller planets as their criminal element was sent off to die.
Sitting at the command center Maul watches the first wave attack. For the most part the attack is disorganized and chaotic. That was fine with him. The only thing the first wave was supposed to accomplish was wear out its opponent before the better troops arrive. He noted a few groups here and there that had more order and discipline. He noted the group and if they survived that would become part of the 25%. A group of speeders he had under his command looked like it was doing better than the others. Instead of plowing into the groups as if they were tanks they were skirmishing on the fringes. A group of Weequay seemed to be acting as a unit . He took notice at that as well. The enemy's left flank was wavering . He ordered some speeder bikes to flank that location and had his artillery zero in on the flank. The flank collapsed at once and speeders hit their rear as well. To his disappointment the enemy commander was able to make a new line and had his troops fall back to it.
Al Shad was in the fight of his life. The enemy was pretty undisciplined but there were so many of them. They just kept coming. They were dying by the scores and then by hundreds at this location but still they kept coming. He ordered his men to plug a hole in the line. Blaster fire was coming from everywhere. The enemy was losing 2 or 3 men for everyone they dished out but since they outnumbered him at least four to one it didn't matter to them. A group of speeders were coming at them but they were coming instupid. Unless a man used the speed advantage properly a man on a speeder was just a bigger target. They were higher up and the people driving them too cocky to pay attention and so it proved . Six speeders came and six got shot to pieces for their trouble.
Maul not the idiots on the speeders, of course. There was no missing the bozos. Maul was unconcerned and in fact was more upset about the loss of the speeders more than the loss of the men. The men proved themselves expendable. The line was starting to waver and it was now time to unleash the Mandalorians . He would lead the attack himself. They would soon learn the terror of facing a Sith Lord.
The Mandalorians fell on the like a pack of wolves on a bunch of rabbits. As there were no Jedi, no elite troops or much of anything else Maul met no one who could match his skills or even come close . Man after man fell to his blade. The Mandalorians were well armored and well armed. Their armor absorbed most of the blaster fire. Once in a while one of them would fall after a number of blaster bolts weakened enough of their armor for the shots to get through. Those deaths he didn't laugh off. They were his elite troops and not easy to replace. Still they did what he asked of them . The broke through the line and routed the enemy. This was the main army of this lightly settled planet . He was sure it would fall by the next day.
In the nearby system of Alpus III battle was raging in space. Dooku's cruisers entered the system and were engaging the space dock. It was more heavily armed and armored than they were led to believe and there were two battle stations behind it that intelligence missed. There was a deadly conflict going on between the two sides. The stations had better protection and weaponry while the cruisers had mobility. It was a long and bloody battle, hundreds of fighters from both sides were being blown into space dust while huge holes were being shot into the space station and cruisers. Both were losing weapons and power and shields.
Suddenly five frigates dropped out of hyperspace behind the cruisers. The cruisers were thrown into confusions. The frigates would have been no match for the cruisers at the beginning of the battle but now they were badly damaged while the frigates were fresh. The frigates also launched their fighters on the cruisers depleted forces. Dooku's fighters were completely wiped out by their opponents as they were getting hit from all sides. They were being hit by the station's anti-fighter blasters, by the frigates' anti-fighter blasters and by both sets of fighters. The frigates then closed in on the doomed cruisers and blew them to atoms.
Count Dooku was in shock after he heard the news. Five cruisers of the Confederacy destroyed by fringe scum? Impossible! However it was also true. Maul must be better armed than he thought. Also the advisers he bribed must be very good. He would know better next time . He would send a fleet of 20 next time. That should be more than a match for Maul's forces.