Chapter 27
Rebel Alliance High Command Headquarters, Mon Cala:
Fat across the galaxy Senator Mon Mothma, the leader of the Rebel Alliance contemplated the reports on her desk. Before she could decide which one to pick up, her aide Hendri Underholt walked in. It was time for her morning report.
"Hello Hendri, I trust you slept well."
"Better than I did on Yavin IV, Senator." She replied. It was a sentiment that she shared. That world had done a good job of hiding the then much smaller organization from the Empire when it needed to the most. But the old Massasi Temple used as a base had been cramped, and the temperature was often uncomfortably hot. The facilities Mon Cala had offered were much superior, with the High Command Headquarters being housed in a state-of-the-art governor's palace that had once provided over one of the few land-based cities on the ocean planet.
"What do you have to report this morning?"
"The Imperial forces at Vadjds I counter-attacked our forces thereafter we captured that system. We managed to defeat them, but at the loss of a Star Cruiser and several frigates and corvettes. However, the attack diverted resources from the Imperial shipyards at Rotunda VI and a Starfighter attack destroyed part of the shipyard as well as some of the ships in it. The Empire also left its supply depot at Ghais II lightly guarded, allowing a commando team to capture several loaded super freighters and cause a lot of damage to the depot."
Hendri paused for a moment before continuing. "Admiral Juno Eclipse has reported that Hdkesi III is more heavily fortified than she expected, and says that she will be launching additional hit and run attacks to soften the system's defenses."
"Eclipse will get the job done, she's one of our best," Mothma replied. "What else?"
"On the ground Imperial forces have dug in on Kestrel VI, and General Pitt Onoran is not sure if he can break their defenses without heavy casualties. With the planet's orbit and airspace contested, he's sent a commando force led by Major Lockmacha to harass the Imperial lines. We also have managed to finally defeat the remaining Imperial forces on Isad II, and have captured tens of thousands of prisoners and enough equipment to support an entire corps."
"Good, anything else?" Mothma asked.
"Not much else when it comes to combat, but some good news on the production front. The Mon Cala Shipyards will have a dozen new Star Cruisers done with space trials in a week and ready for commissioning. They have several more that are just finishing fitting out." Hendri said before continuing. "Sullust reports its first Liberator Class Heavy Star Cruisers will be deployed in a few days, and a new complex of mega factories just being opened will increase their starfighters production by 30 percent. Lothal reports they have an excess of recently graduated pilot cadets and are requesting if they can be sent somewhere else until their freighter production increases to match their graduation rate."
"I didn't know the Ghost Crew's recruitment tours had been that successful." Remarked Mothma.
"They have been able to get half of their entire population serving in either the Alliance Military or in support services such as production. The Empire left a lot of infrastructure for large-scale mobilization there." Hendri replied. "We have some important news from our allies though. I'm sure you remember Earth, Senator."
"Yes, I do. A fascinating place that has had unprecedented success against the Empire despite having almost no contact with the outside galaxy." She replied.
"We have word from our liaison there that their forces have taken Garnizon IV, the sector capital of the Zoloch Sector. They should have the rest of the sector under their control within a week."
"That was unexpectedly fast," Mothma said. "I knew they were skilled in combat, but they started this offensive only a few weeks ago if my memory serves me."
"Correct, they had a good deal of help from a local Separatist Holdout. They're called the Free Confederacy, and they were a lot larger than both we and the Empire initially thought. But from what it sounds like Earth has been dealing the majority of the damage." Hendri said.
"Who was leading the invasion of that sector?" Mothma asked.
"Admiral Johnson, he was one of the few officers you met when you went to Earth," Hendri replied.
"I remember him, he seemed to be quite a capable officer," Mothma said. "He was quite young though. Wouldn't they have someone more experienced?"
"When the Empire came the second time an orbital bombardment killed almost all of their command staff," Hendri said. "He is perhaps the most experienced command officer in the fleet at this point. And taking an Imperial sector is not an easy feat, ma is."
"I know that Hendri, we've invaded many of them by now." They both chuckled. "I'll record a message of congratulations to Earth, and send it to both Johnson, their command, and their political leadership. If there is nothing else that you have to report, you are relieved."
"That's all I have ma am, but I'm sure there will be more developments as time goes on."
1 Week later
Ghralia VI, Ghralia Sector
Admiral Kumara Picot stood on the bridge of his Star Destroyer, th Temperance as it emerged from Hyperspace over Ghralia VI of the Ghralia Sector.
Moff Vincent Kleen, the leader of the sector, had known he was coming. He had been invited, and hopefully, he would help him take back the sector.
It was an option he had initially not wanted to undertake, but one that soon became a necessity. With the fall of Garnizon, Imperial resistance within the sector has rapidly collapsed. Within a week, all of the planets in the sector had fallen to either Earth or the Free Confederacy. They had had no real chance of holding on, with few ships left.
So he had retreated what remained of his sector fleet to Ghralia. He had two wounded Star Destroyers, two Vindicator Cruisers, three Nebulon B frigates, two Arqeutens light cruisers, and a dozen corvettes and systems patrol craft. Four systems patrol craft were tucked into the hangers of both Star Destroyers, the rest had been scuttled or launched in desperate but suicidal attacks against Earth. They lacked hyperdrives, so there was nothing else that could be done for them.
This small fleet was what remained of a once-powerful sector force of two dozen Star Destroyers and hundreds of smaller ships. Besides the warships, there were several transports and support vessels, and civilian freighters loaded with evacuees and the families of the ship's crews. Some corporate assets from Kurt Drive Yards and Blastec had made it out as well, including a few frigates and corvettes from their security division.
His reluctance to seek assistance from other moffs had been because none cared selflessly for his sector. All were beholden to their self-interests, and they would act on those self-interests as any good moff would. Picot could not really blame them, as he had done the same exact thing many times over. These people would not help him for free.
They would definitely help him but at not an insignificant cost. He would likely be forced to give up some of his territories or give economic or military concessions to the Moff's who helped him.
"Sir, we have reports from the flight control of the orbital station. They are giving our ships permission to dock, and Moff Kleen is requesting your presence at his estate." The comms officer said. "Should I order a shuttle prepped?"
"Yes, go ahead." He replied. "Coordinate with helm control on where this ship is supposed to go." Picot turned to the ship's captain, Harold Qetia. "You have the bridge."
20 minutes later he was being escorted into Moff Kleen's luxurious estate by two stormtroopers. The admiral was soon shown to a balcony with an impressive background. The Lachesis Mountains could be seen in the distance, and a waterfall was clearly visible much closer to him and the Moff who was sitting casually in an easy chair.
Kleen stood up as he heard his visitor enter, and saluted Picot, who returned the gesture.
"It's good to see you, Admiral, though I wish it were to be under other circumstances." He said, shaking his hand.
"I concur." He replied. "And in some ways, I wish Moff Flag was still around. We both had our differences, but he was far better at navigating politics than I.
"I have several guests who are waiting as well," Kleen said, producing a holoprojector. In a matter of moments, both Moff Jareen of the Sundre Sector and Moff Kralen of the Query sector appeared. Picot noticed that Moff Illustrious was not present, which was odd considering that she was normally very active in intersecting politics and an important figure of leadership. Kleen later said that she had planned to attend, but there was a last-minute emergency that prevented her from doing so.
All four major officials exchanged greetings, and after some very brief small talk everyone got down to business.
"I have exactly two damaged Star Destroyers, two heavy cruisers, three Nebulon B frigates, two Arqeutens light cruisers, and a dozen corvettes and systems patrol craft. There is no way that I will be able to take on Earth or the Free Confederacy without help." Picot said.
"That's very clear," Kleen said. "We are willing to help provide you with the ships you need to start taking ground back, and we can reinforcements from ships coming off the production lines and ones that are being brought out of the reserves. They will undoubtedly be green crews, but they should learn rapidly due to the combat we are facing."
"What is the disposition of Earth's forces that we will be facing?" Moff Jareen said.
"We believed that their strength was about 300 combat vessels with an unknown pool of reserves. No one except them has any idea how long the production of their ships will take, but they built over 200 ships in one year. However, they have only about a dozen large capital ships, battleships and captured Star Destroyers, and a couple of dozen large cruisers. If we were facing them alone, I would say that we would have an unequivocal advantage in terms of large capital ships depending on the forces we assembled for that task." Picot paused for a moment. "But we also have the Free Confederacy. They have somewhere in the range of 200 ships, though a greater proportion of heavy assets than Earth does. Especially when you consider lighter heavy ships, such as Municificant Star Frigates and Recusant Light Destroyers. This is bad enough, but they have access to the sector's industrial base, little of which was destroyed or damaged by our retreating forces. They also captured a number of ships, including on and a number of heavy logistical assets such as fully laden field secured transports. If we give them long it will become harder and harder to snuff them and their move out."
"It will take some time before we can build up our forces sufficient to go on the offensive against Earth, however." Kleen said." However, I've already spoken to Kuat Drive Yards and they assure me that they will be able to give you four additional Star Destroyers and a number of escorts within two months. It will still take quite a lot of time to train the crews, but I feel that we can have a large force ready to strike in 3 months.``
"How many ships are you each willing to commit to this counterattack?" Picot asked.
"Each of us is willing to bring six-star destroyers and a number of escorts. "Kraken said." All of those forces will be close to equivalent to what your sector forces strength was before the first expedition to Earth. However, each of us will be controlling our own forces that we contribute to this fleet. They will roughly be equal in size once your reinforcers arrive."
"Assaulting them will be challenging though. Even with this large force we will still be outnumbered and outgunned." Jaren said. "How do we make sure the offensive does not run out of steam too quickly?"
"I believe I have an answer," Picot said, producing a small datapad from his uniform pocket. It displayed a map of hyperspace lanes of the Zoloch Sector as well as a few other nearby ones, but there were a few things that seemed off about it. For one there was a long hyperspace lane that stretched from deep in the Ghralia sector to Garnizon II, along with a few other routes that were not on any military or civilian charts.
"These lanes were plotted by the Separatists covertly during the clone wars as a way to get into the republic, specifically the Ghralia sector unopposed. If we use its opposite purpose, we could manage to man a strike force at Garnizon II, causing confusion deep behind enemy lines." Picot said.
"Impressive." Moff Kleen said. "That will help us a lot by allowing us to strike at a target they will not expect. We can sow chaos and confusion behind their lines, which means we can take out some of their ships with impunity."
"I am all in favor of using the route." Moff Jarreen said.
"I agree." Moff Kralen said. "It will make our task a lot easier." He then paused before resuming.
"What about ground troops?" He said. "We are going to need quite a lot of those if we want to destroy Earth and the Free Confederacy's planetside assets."
"Indeed, but most of the work will be done by blockading them on the planet and forcing them to surrender as they run out of food, water, and ammunition," Kleen said. "None of their modern weapons will work well if they are not supplied."
"What's to stop them from becoming a ground insurgency?" Picot asked.
"That will be merely a minor problem by the time we destroy their supply lines," Kleen replied. "It will be only a matter of time before they collapse in onto themselves."