Ok so going to confess here, my knowledge of planet names in the Lothel sector and the galaxy as a whole is non-existent. So I may be using names from other fandoms or making new ones up. Sorry.

Victor's temporary office, UNSV Spirit of Freedom

August 22nd, 2966

"Come in." Victor said as the sliding door to his office opened up. A member of the Sprit's SOBT element entered and stood before his desk.

"Captain Edward Buck, 3rd Shock troops Battalion, 105th SOBT Division. Started out as a marine before going into SOBTs. Fought against the Hissma Remnant and Khanate forces during the Khanate Wars. An impressive record here captain." Victor read off a datapad. "Just one odd thing I noticed. At the end of the Khanate wars, you were approached by SOCOM with an offer to join the Crusader Corps. Yet you declined. Why is that?"

Buck stood up straight. "Truthfully sir, I'm no Crusader material. A crusader also has to deal with too much red tape for me. I prefer shooting my enemies rather than black ops."

Victor nodded. "Fair point. Politics suck as a crusader. Rest assured, no red tape here. If there's a problem, talk to me and I will see what I can do."

"Thank you sir." Buck smiled. "My boys and girls are itching for some action. What's our mission?"

"Well." Victor stood up. "Officially, we are still choosing our first course of action. Unofficially? It's a smash and grab. Just being sure, your company has been briefed on our objective?"

"Hit the Empire, gather information, take equipment and rescue people. Fast and violent." Buck smirked.

"Exactly. And that's why we keep SOBT around. Very good at their jobs, sometimes better than us Crusaders. Since you're here, I'll give you the brief."

A hologram appeared in front of Buck of a planet. "This is Sargasso, a tropical world in the Lothal sector. Smack dab in the middle of nowhere and at the very edge of known space. Not a bad vacation spot, if it weren't for the imperial presence."

"Sargosso is home to an Imperial Army Depot. There are plans to expand its operations soon but for now, it's just a company of army troopers with maybe 200 support personnel. A light cruiser and two frigates in orbit with a dozen ties on patrol. We are going to raid it and take anything that can be dragged in our Mistayas."

"Spirit is going to take down the naval units and her airwing is going to deal with the Ties. Once that's done, we're landing with the Hellivator. Your company is to kill any Imps in our way." Victor explained. "Spirit will provide missile cover and her Warthogs will be on station. But this will be an infantry battle with Hawk Drones in support. Think your company will be ready Captain?"

"Oh hell yes sir." Buck gave an eager smile.

"Then brief your team. I sent more information to your Wristcom. Time we teach the Empire a thing or two about war." Victor replied.

Sargosso, Lothal Sector

August 23rd, 2966

Captain Orlac Stebald of the Arquitens light cruiser Atenia was bored. He, like many eager captains of the Imperial navy, craved for some action against pirates or rebel scum. But no, he had to play his part in doing boring guard duty.

Or at least that was the case before now.

"Captain? We picked up a ship in Sector 94." the Atenia's sensor officer reported.

"What! Where did it come from? Is it pirates?" Orlac asked.

"Uh no sir. Sensors can't get a positive lock. It's- SIR! We have a capital ship class vessel out there! 200 Klicks out! At least a kilometre long!"

"Capital ship? Are you sure it isn't ours? Pirates don't have access to capital ships." Orlac frowned.

The sensor officer tried to speak but then for a faint second, there was a rumble and then the whole light cruiser violently exploded.

From the outside, the escort frigates were horrified to watch as their command vessel violently exploded when a 40 ton Tungsten shell filled with Deuterium Gauss round slammed into the poor ship. The poor cruiser took a shell meant to knock out battleships.

The frigates didn't get a chance to react as the UNSV Spirit of Freedom jumped right in front of the patrol fleet and unleashed a withering barrage of gamma pulse beams and swarmer missiles, cutting apart the Gozanti Frigates. They didn't even get the chance to launch their ties.

"Pathetic." Limburn snorted. "Helsmen, go to bearing 278, head for the planet. Tell our Sober boys they are cleared for action."

"Aye ma'am. Setting course on bearing 278." the 1.2 kilometre long warship lumbered forward and accelerated towards the planet.

On the planet's surface, the garrison were confused as to why their comms stopped working.

They got their answer when a massive warship appeared in the sky above them.

Meanwhile on the UNSV Spirit of Freedom's drop bays, dozens of SOBTs are hustling around and getting into their drop bays.

Field Marshal Ross walks next to Captain Buck. "Captain, this is your show. I'll be dropping in with the marines and you sure as hell don't want the marines to get any glory do you?"

"No Field Marshal, we got this!" Buck replied before climbing into his pod.

"Then good luck and safe trip down!" The belly doors open and reveal a rather beautiful planet that had yet been tarnished by the Empire. And the imperial base on it. Victor walked out

"Troopers, today we will be making history!" Buck yelled into his comms. "The marines will be going down in their air-conditioned and armoured Mistayas. Not us! How will we go in?"

"Feet first into hell!" The response came and the drop pods were released as over 200 hundred drop pods were launched out from the Spirit.

On the ground, Imperial army troopers watched in fascination and shock as hundreds of black objects were launched from the belly of the beast. The garrison attempted to turn what defence turrets they had on the sky only for massive explosions to erupt where defence turrets and power plants stand as missiles rained down onto the small depot.

SOBT drop pods crashed into the base below, stunning Imperial troopers. And then the hatches flung open, revealing their deadly cargo of SOBTs.

Out came troopers in SOBT BDUs. With grey visors, black armour with ammunition and other supplies strapped to their chest, an energy shield, and exosuits, the SOBT leapt out guns blazing. (Thing of the ODSTs from Halo but their BDUs are rated for Space warfare so no ungloved hands, a bit bulkier, have shields, and have an exosuit that augments strength and speed).

Buck's own pod smashed right into the ground in front of a squad of Imperial army troopers. His pod's front hatch was propelled forwards by shaped charges and the hatch crashed down onto the unfortunate Army troopers.

Buck whips out his M5A3 Carbine, an upgraded variant of the M5 battle rifles using coils instead of magnetic rails, allowing for a more durable and deadly weapon. The veteran SOBT let loose a barrage of 9.5 by 57mm rounds into the disoriented Imperial troopers, ridling their bodies with bullets.

A blaster shot hit Buck's shields and he dived for cover behind some crates and returned fire at some Imperial who had hastily managed to rally together. Buck pulled out a Frag grenade and threw it at the Imperial squad, who were subsequently turned into paste.

The depot was turned into a warzone and the Imperials were losing badly. And eventually, the gunfire stopped.

"This is Alpha Company Actual to all elements. Status report." Buck said into his comms. Several other SOBTs began rallying around Buck as they regrouped from

"(Comms) Able platoon here. We secured our zone."

"(Comms) Baker platoon here, our LZ is secure."

"(Comms) Charlie platoon here, we are mopping up the last of the resistance at the administration buildings.

"(Comms) Delta Platoon here. Entrances secured. No one is getting in or out."

"(Comms) Echo Platoon here. Alpha Actual, we have secured the communications hub and something of interest here."

"Understood, collect anything of use that you can carry. If not, wait for the techs to hack into it." Buck ordered.

"(Comms) Yes sir."

"All Alpha Company elements, depot is secure. Collect prisoners and wait for the marines to get here. The Field Marshal is going to be happy." Buck smiled.

2 Hours later. UNSV Spirit of Freedom

The mission went smoothly. No casualties, no wounded, no one dead, at least on the Solarians side. And they managed to collect a healthy amount of weapons and imperial gear before scuttling the base. The UNSV Spirit of Freedom was on her way back to the New Truk Atoll to drop off the equipment and prisoners.

But at the moment, the ship's commanding officers were gathered in for a meeting.

Buck, Victor, and Sophia were all present, but a fourth person joined them. This was Colonel Mikhail Alexandi of the United Nations Marine Corps. They were also joined by Barrett and Chester.

"We recovered 200 tons of weapons, equipment, shields, armour, etc. UNIS is going to have a field day digging through all that crap." Barrett reported.

"The Eggheads will have fun, but what's important down in the base?" Mikhail asked. Like Buck, Mikhail was a marine, but unlike Captain Buck who went into SOBTs, Mikhail remained in the regular marine corps and rose to the rank of Colonel. Like Buck, he was aggressive and enjoyed being on the offensive. He was also a descendant of the old Russian colony of New Volgograd.

"Right, back to business. Barrett discovered some people who may be of help to us. Rebels of the Empire." Sophia explained.

A hologram at the table they were sitting at appeared. "We have information on a group of Rebels operating in this sector. More specifically two of them." Barrett explained. "The first one is the one we currently have no information on, only that they operate a number of CR-90 Corvettes and fighter craft. The second group of interest is more unique. You are all familiar with the Jedi right?" Everyone nodded.

"Well, the second rebel group has one jedi knight and one padawan. The group is based on an up-gunned freighter called the Ghost and are the most prominent rebel faction in the Lothal sector. They would make pretty good allies if we can."

"Do we have profiles on these rebels?" Mikhail asked.

"Yup. The rebel group, as we will refer to as the Ghost crew, is comprised of 6 members. First one is Hera Syndulla, daughter of war hero Cham Syndulla of the Clone Wars. A master at piloting and the captain of the Ghost."

"Second is Kanan Jarrus. Not much in the Imperial files but we do know he is a veteran of the Clone Wars as well. Officially the leader of the Ghost crew and a decent shot with the ship's cannons and a pistol. He's the Jedi knight"

"Third,, we have Sabine Wren. She's what the galaxy calls a Mandalorian and an expert in explosives. She is also a fan of art and painting. Also a technician and a love for weapons. Used to be a member of the Imperial Academy on Mandalore but left for reason that we don't know."

"Fourth, we have a lasat named Zeb Orrelios. A former member of the Lasat Royal Guard, they did a pretty good job at holding back the Empire until the bucketheads resorted to using Ion Disruptors. Close quarters combatant and loyal to the crew."

"Finally, we have Ezra Bridger. Son of two rebel sympathisers, Ephraim and Mira Bridgers. The newest member of the Ghosts, very good at stealing crap, getting away from danger, and also force sensitive. Young but learning fast." Barrett finished off.

"They would be a good crew to ally with. Say, what happened to Bridger's parents?" Victor asked.

"Imprisoned. Held on Lothal itself. Why?" Barrett questioned.

"Well simple. We need to attract the attention of the Ghost crew, rescuing the senior Bridgers would be a start." Sophia threw her piece in. "Which facility is they being held in?"

"Lothal, in one of the planet's Tie fighter construction plants. Thinking about sneaking in for a snatch and grab?" Barrett question.

"Hell yes, would do more damage than raiding that Depot," Edward smirked.

"Da, Taking out the Tie Fighter Plant would give us additional information that we wouldn't get from the supply depot. Considering that Imperial firewalls are weak, it's pretty doable." Mikhail added. "But this will be a big job for Sober Troops. My marines are ready to take the facility as well."

"I would recommend taking on a dozen new Mistayas Dropships if we are to attempt a rescue effort. Our current dropship wing is insufficient for either a mass planetary landing or a full-on rescue effort of several dozen people." Chester replied.

"Chester is right. Our current six will only transport two companies. I'll put in a requisition for a few Crees as well." Sophia nodded. "Now for an after actions report. Buck, what's your opinion on the Imperials?"

"Weak as hell, I've seen National and Planetary Guard units trained better. We didn't run into any storm troopers but from what I saw, their army has terrible discipline, not really on high alert, and their equipment is not the greatest." Buck shrugged. "Less than five minutes and we secured the depot."

"Cyber security is also trash. I've seen better from the Great Khan. Another thing to add, if we raid the Tie Fighter plant, we should try and access their communications grid for up to real time intel." Barrett added.

"Right then. Barrett, find us information for the schematics for this Tie fighter plant. Mikhail, Edward, get your troopers ready for a raid." Victor said, getting up.

Time to punch the Empire in the nose again.

UNSV Spirit of Freedom (CIC)

August 28th, 2966

The UNSV Spirit of Freedom had jumped into the system containing Lothal and began conducting passive scans.

"Admiral? Got something for you." Barrett said.

"What is it Barrett?" Sophia asked.

"It looks like the Ghost Crew caused some trouble. Listen to this." A recording began playing.

"(Recording) We have been called criminals, but we are not. We are rebels, fighting for the people, fighting for you. I'm not that old, but I remember a time when things were better on Lothal. Maybe not great, but never like this. See what the Empire has done to your lives, your families, and your freedom? It's only gonna get worse…unless we stand up and fight back. It won't be easy. There will be loss and sacrifice. But we can't back down just because we're afraid. That's when we need to stand the tallest. That's what my parents taught me. That's what my new family helped me remember. Stand up together. Because that's when we're strongest—as one."

"That was Ezra Bridger, the newest member of the Ghost crew. It seems like they attacked a communications hub to ruin the Empire's day. Imperial transmissions have gone haywire and their communications grid is down." Barrett reported.

"Brave kids, I'll give them that. Status on the Empire's fleet?" Sophia asked.

"Only 3 star destroyers in orbit. Looks like someone named Grand Moff Tarkin took his ship, the Sovereign, and a number to a planet called Mustafar. The fleet's weaken." Barrett said.

"Then that's our cue. Launch our Mistaya dropships, Cree transports, and a Jackal escort. Let's get our marines dirtside." Sophia ordered.

The second battle between the United Nations Allied Forces and the Galactic Empire was about to begin.

Commonwealth Wiki…F-45 Jackal

For over 200 years, the F-45 Jackal air and space superiority aerospace fighter has been the standard multirole fighter craft of the United Nations Allied Force. Built by Hindustan-Dassault Aerospace Industries and Northrop Grumman Interstellar Incorporated, she is everything a pilot would want, fast, agile, well armed, stealthy, and well shielded. Despite these many factors, Jackals are shockingly reliable and easy to maintain. It's for this reason that despite the introduction of the F-61 Trident fighters as their replacements, the Jackal still serves the UNAF proudly against it's foes.

The F-45 Jackals are built by Hindustan-Dassault Aerospace Industries (a company with ties to old French and Indian aircraft manufacturing companies) and Northrop Grumman Interstellar Incorporated. Jackals measured at 62 ft. (19 metres) long and 10 ft. (3 metres) high. It is capable of VTOL, and its variable-geometry wings and tail control surfaces can extend or retract based on the aerospacecraft's need, whether in atmospheric flight, achieving orbit, or in space flight. The Jackal also possesses an autopilot but is best piloted by a crew of two. In space, the Jackal can use its Impulse RCS (reaction control system) thrusters to strafe in any direction, thanks to the lack of air resistance in a vacuum. Powered by one micro Zero-point reactor and propelled with 4 impulse engines, this would make the Jackal one of the fast craft in the Andromeda galaxy. Her defensive systems include 1 small hyper shield capable of absorbing kinetic and various ECM suites and laser defences. To top this all of, the Jackal is covered in a sensor absorbent material that makes it difficult to track the space craft.

Jackals are armed with a variety of weapons, depending on the variant being used. The C variant, commonly used by the navy, is armed with two 30mm rotary Gauss cannons that can tear apart unshielded or shielded targets with a short burst. Older models carried a high-velocity anti-armour 40mm Gauss cannon but the varients used by the UNSV Spirit of Freedom carried two Gamma Pulse Laser cannons that can tear through even battleship-grade armour (pulse lasers and missiles are the reason why space fighters are still a thing). Topping off are 8 hardpoints for various kinds of missiles, with the option to add another 10 under the wings (though this negates the Jackal's stealth). This missile arsenal includes micro missile pods, dumb-fired rocket pods, full-on AAMs (aerospace to aerospace missiles), anti-ship rockets, plasma torpedos, and so on.

Jackals can be seen as a futuristic F-35 Lighting of J-20 stealth craft. Sleek, sneaky, deadly, and dangerous, it can be found in service in both the United Nations Space Navy, Army Aerospace Force, Coast Guard, and planetary guard units. Many of the UNSA's allies operate Jackals as well. Though planned to be replaced by the F-61 Trident, the Jackal's service was extended to serve against the Galactic Empire. By the end of the 2960s and into the 2970s, there will be many new Jackal Aces flying for the United Nations Solar Alliance.