Chapter 1
= place: Milda, Hotel 'On the Wave'; December 4, 2180; 11 ABY=
"Our luck." - a young black-haired man who looked about 20 years old began to complain.
"What's up, brother?" - said a woman, also at the age of 20, but with red hair - "You wanted some big action."
"But not on our vacation." - the man said as he began to put on his armor - "You know Anderson allowed us to do this only because our class had the best record in the history of N grades, over 60% of people passed, and all of them were given a vacation here for the state money."
"For you, it's 'Admiral Anderson'." - the woman said as she began to dress the upper breastplate of the armor, which had a clearly visible red N4 symbol on the chest.
"How're your preparations for the fight going." - the young girl said. She was an Ichling, and the most characteristic was her short purple hair that protruded from her helmet. She also wore black armor with the N4 mark, although of course scaled down to fit her size. Her lightsaber was at her waist, and she was floating on the anti-gravity board.
"We'll be ready soon. I just take my sniper rifle." - the man said.
"And I am my beloved shotgun." - the woman said.
"Really Jane. Did you call the shotgun 'beloved'?" - the man said sarcastically.
"Unlike you, I work over my gun myself, and I don't let it hit me by some unknown gunsmiths, John." - Jane said.
"Are the siblings ready yet?" - another young woman with long black hair asked, already in her N4 armor.
"Ready Ash." - Jane said.
"Come on, Kaidan and the rest are probably already waiting for us outside the Hotel." - John said, rifle on his back and submachine gun at his belt. The group quickly exited the door and found another 16 N soldiers, equipped with armor and weapons, ready to go through the real battle.
"I can see our team of nobles has finally decided to wake up." - the man in the center said.
"Seriously Kaidan, you still don't get bored with this." - John said. Although the statement was quite close to the truth. John and Jane, former children of Admiral Shepard, Ashley was the granddaughter of General Williams, and Shinmyoumaru Sukuna was the niece of Commander Suzik. They were all related to high-ranking military commanders in the System Alliance.
"We already get orders from command." - said Kaidan, this time seriously - "We are to divide into teams of 4 and take a position in the nearest defense line."
"That doesn't sound like the best use of Special Forces." - John said.
"They've just spotted the first wave, some 300 fighters and two hundred shuttles coming from our side. There is no time to properly deploy forces and evacuate, so the command is taking what's at hand. Only the fighters and turrets managed to organize themselves properly." - Kaidan explained.
"We're on assignment, get in the Kaidan car." - one of the N4 soldiers shouted as a police aerial car approached.
"John, this car will take us to the position." - Jane said as she nearly got in, with Ash and Shimmy already in the vehicle.
When John turned and went to the car, he whined to Kaidan - "Remember Anderson's words, a soldier cannot call himself a soldier..."
"...until he survived his first real fight." - Kaidan finished, then got into the vehicle and they headed towards each other.
= location: Milda, Eastern Quarter airspace; December 4, 2180; 11 ABY=
"It's all pilots, the Imperials in TIE / IN Interceptors are approaching." - said the squadron commander of 64 fighters and 8 corvettes over the communicator to the rest of the pilots - "These specific models have shields, so it will be hard, but we've been training for it for a long time, so I trust you will succeed. Even you cadets."
"This is where we start." - Jeff "Joker" Moreau said to himself as he sat comfortably in his fighter pilot's seat. Once upon a time his illness called Vrolik's syndrome would break his legs at the slightest trouble. But with the help of Caamasi and Ichlings' medicine, he is like a completely healthy person and can show his pilot skills effectively.
"Enemy fighters within missile range, send the first series." - said the commander calmly. The corvettes fired 6 proton warhead missiles, and each fighter added two of its own, a total of 176 missiles flew straight into the Imperial formation. Some of them were shot down, had some technical problem, or missed their target for some other reason, but over a hundred fighters were shot down long before they were within 'knife fighting' distance.
"Form up to A-wing slash." - said the commander. In the blink of an eye, 16 fighters formed behind the corvettes to keep their signature as little visible as possible. The remaining 48 fighters split into 2 equal groups and positioned themselves on the corvettes' wings.
As they neared the fight, the corvettes fired another volley of rockets at the last minute, eliminating 40 more fighters. Then the last-minute corvettes turned, and the Empire fighters followed. SA fighters seized the opportunity and attacked the shuttles directly, each firing their other two missiles which made good hits before attacking the shuttles with laser cannons.
"It's been the 3rd kill for me today, Miki." - Joker said.
"You have more kills just because you're the commander and I'm a wingman." - said the pilot known as Miki. At this moment, the Joker fired a series of lasers from his fighter, hitting the cockpit of the Imperial Shuttle and destroying it.
"I didn't hear you because of my 4th kill." - Joker said.
"Yeee, rig- Watch out!" - Miki shouted as he suddenly broke away from the attack on the next shuttle, just like the Joker. Just in time as 3 TIE/IN Interceptor fighters attacked them from behind. Almost instinctively, they both made the same turn and destroyed 2 with the last one escaping to the friendly lines.
"Praise Battle Meditation and my 5th kill today, just minutes from the start of the fight. I guess that makes me the fastest ace in history." - The happy Joker said.
"More are coming." - Miki said.
"Hurry up and run away from them." - Joker said.
"There is no space!" - Miki shouted. Then the Joker noticed that he had separated from him and Miki flew into the group of shuttles.
"Hold on, I'm on my way." - The Joker said as his fighter turned around.
"They have a target lock me!" - Miki shouted more and more panicked.
"Calm down and use countermeasures." - Joker said.
"They are too many- AGH!" - Mickey shouted and suddenly only shunts started to fly through the communicator, and the Joker noticed how his fighters exploded after being hit by lasers.
"MIKI!" - the Joker shouted deeply. It was then that Empire's fighters and shuttles began to retreat.
"To all pilots. Empire is withdrawing. Retreat to base and await further orders. " said the commander. All pilots obeyed orders immediately.
This fight was costly for the SA. Despite shooting down 230 fighters and 80 shuttles, they lost 26 fighters, 2 corvettes and 3 more damaged. But while the SA lost about 1/3 of the planet's air force, Empire could probably still have deployed at least 10 times as many fighters as there were in this wave.
= site: Milda orbit, Eclipse III; December 4, 2180; 11 ABY=
"What does it mean our attack failed !?" - furious Admiral Vom shouted.
"Our attack was eliminated by their missile defenses, but the enemy lost half his strength, so-" - the officer began to explain.
"Don't try to justify yourself." - exclaimed Vom in nervousness - "We will shoot the Eclipse III weapon at the planet and destroy it, then show it as an example, what will happen if you oppose Empire."
"We can't!" - one of the younger officers shouted at the meeting. Everyone looked at him, and the young officer took pressure.
"What's your name and why do you think this is a bad idea?" - Vom said with venom in his voice.
"I'm captain of the Rad Nulkess, and destroying the planet won't help us." - he began to explain, his voice confident, although you could see drops of sweat on his head - "We have obtained information from prisoners that they will use these devices for FTL travel. They work similarly to the Interdictor-class Star Destroyer, and in the event of destruction, they will destroy the entire system. Additionally, we don't have the resources like fuel, ammunition, food, and pure water to campaign into unknown regions, and Byss has been destroyed. The only infrastructure and source of food is the planet below us."
"How do you think we can get this food?" one of the officers asked - "The prisoners have revealed that this planet is almost a resort and doesn't appear to be self-sufficient."
"But it is habitable, so you can grow edible plants on it. In addition, the planet probably also has maps and information about this government. If we occupy it, we should know their location and fleet disposition."
"He is right." - one of the senior admirals said - "We can take the people of the planet as slaves and make them grow fruit and vegetables and a possible source of bargaining with the new government."
"Agree." - Vom said - "I want our army and vehicles on the ground in one planet cycle. You, Nulkess, are to take your ship and some escorts, then begin searching for supplies and other ships in the system. Lodeh, Okken and Borkar, you will take a few ships for each and block these relays from possible escape from the system."
"Yes sir." - the group of officers replied and the meeting ended.
Captain Rad Nulkess has returned to his ship, Imperial II-class Star Destroyer, Iron Security. He was greeted on the spot by the commander of the 15349 stormtrooper legion stationed on his ship, Renza Vonke.
"I know the meeting was stressful." - Renza said.
"Is it that obvious?" - Rad asked.
"We have known each other for 6 years. I thought you got used to it already."
"Right." - said Rad as they entered the turbo-lift - "Admiral Vom wanted to destroy the planet, and I opposed him."
"And are you still alive?" - Renza asked.
"Are you really going to make fun of my chances of dying?" - Rad asked.
"Someone has to cheer you up before you go back to your thoughts about what it would be like if Grand Admiral Thrawn hadn't been murdered in the Battle of Bilbringi." - Renza said.
"I can't help it." said Rad, as the elevator stopped and the door showing the bridge opened - "He was what the Galactic Empire should be. The true embodiment of Empire's ideals, even more so than Emperor Palpatine himself. Underneath him, there was a feeling that no matter what, he would always find a way out. True God of War. And not that Vom who thinks that if he breaks down the only source of supply and infrastructure we have access to in the near future is a good idea."
"Captain, all ships are reporting readiness." - First mate Kandivar Shierbosse said.
"Okay." - Rad said - "We'll start searching the system from the asteroid belt. All ships are to move in pairs and constantly report their finds every 1 hour. Fighters are to be kept in reserve for now."
= place: Milda, the first line of defense; December 5, 2180; 11 ABY=
The previous day, Empire's attack had failed. So now they had started landing huge numbers of troops, vehicles under much more fighter cover than before, although they hadn't made any attempts to attack yet, that was about to change, everyone knew that.
But Captain Zaeed Massani didn't care, holding his 'Nuke Launcher' and faithful 'M-8 Avanger' on his back. He was commissioned to command the defense of the island of 'Caravela' which was the first line of defense with three dozen GARDIAN turrets and nearly 5,000 troops and the Colonial Guard. Command quickly organizes defenses, giving each member of the military personnel an immediate call to duty, calmly doubling the number of personnel on the planet, and with additional volunteers, maybe that number will rise to 150,000. Though equipping and training them is another matter.
"Captain, they are coming!" - the young officer shouted, pointing at half a hundred fighters and bombers.
"Easy, soldier, these numbers will bearly scratch us. These toys will most likely take care of them before they even have a chance to shoot us." - Massani said, pointing to the square at the GARDIAN tower behind him. At the same moment, Nimal began to turn and quickly fired a shot. Immediately behind it, the others also began firing Empire fighters, rapidly reducing their numbers. About half were shot down before they could reach their destination, and most of those shot down were bombers. However, the remaining TIEs started firing at the turrets, whose relatively weak shields fell quickly and some 1/3 were destroyed or disabled before the rest of the fighters were shot down.
"The real attack is about to come. Everyone to their positions." - Massani shouted, and everyone immediately began to prepare. The signal of the attack thundered over their heads, and civilians who hadn't managed to flee to the 2nd lines of defense began to hide in buildings and grab anything that might help them defend themselves. Pre-prepared barricades of civilian vehicles and anything else that was digestible were in place, set up, manned by defenders, and ready for whatever Empire might throw at them. Paradoxically, what made the planet a great resort was also the reason why the planet was very easy to defend against ground attacks.
The archipelago of islands was extremely difficult to conquer thanks to the very depth of the water. The attacking forces first had to cross bridges that could be blown up, travel a long distance under fire, or have a vehicle that is at least 10 meters high in order not to sink. Unfortunately, Empire had a large number of such vehicles.
Just 2 minutes after the raid ended, more than 80 different Empire vehicles could be seen moving towards their position. He recognized several AT-AT, XR-85 and HAVw A6 Juggernaut there. All high enough to cross the water between the islands. The troops quickly opened fire, but the armor of these vehicles proved too heavy to be damaged by the M-99 Knispel and the M-100 Grenade Launcher. Then the vehicles began to respond with fire, destroying several buildings where SA soldiers were hiding.
"I'm sick of this." - Massani said.
"Sir?" - the same young officer as before, looked at his commander when he started to come out from between the buildings and prepare his M-920 Cain to fire. He quickly selected the closest AT-AT to target and fired straight at his head. The camel-shaped vehicle lost its head completely after the hit, and the rest of its body fell into the water, sinking the crew. But before he could reload, one of the Empire vehicle turrets aimed and hit Massani, causing him to pass out.
= location: Midway base; December 6, 2180; 11 ABY=
"Doctor, he is waking up." - said the nurse who was with Massani. The man was sore and have bandaged all around his body.
"What happened?" - Massani asked confused.
"You got hit from a tank, it happened." - the old woman said. Massani quickly judged by his dress that he was a doctor - "But at least your stupidity paid off because the rest of them fought like lions and pushed Empire away. After using a large number of cars on the automation, filled with explosives."
"Good to hear that, Mrs..."
"Karin Chakwas."
"Mrs. Karin. But as on other fronts."
"Worse. Empire has gained footholds in several islands, and only armored support has kept them from completely breaking through the first line of defense. Half of the GARDIAN turrets were also destroyed, and we have already lost nearly 10,000 wounded, killed and missing, including 160 armored vehicles. The command saves the airmen for the worst, so they should still hold on, but keeping the front line will soon become impossible. This is just to slow down Empire's evacuation to the second line of defense, where newly armed volunteers and called-up soldiers put up better defenses."
"The fact that we had no chance of winning was known from the beginning." - Massani said, trying to prop himself up - "The real question is if we can hold on until reinforcements arrive."
=location: Lietuva system, SSV Normandy deck; December 6, 2180; 11 ABY=
"Stealth systems on, Admiral." - one of the officers on board the ship said.
"Good, we can now start collecting data on the fleet and the state of the ground battle." - Admiral Anderson said. Despite Empire keeping an eye on the relays, the Normandy had enough time to enter the system, activate the stealth device, and take off a good chunk of it before the Empire fleet could reach the turbolasers range. After that, it was a leisurely ride and an assessment of the situation, then quickly fleeing the system. Breaking the Empire's blockades with Normandy shouldn't be difficult.