Chapter 8: Decisive Action.
Fredrick stared at the map of the target area, a bulge where his forces were concentrated in the enemy lines. The red colored hologram displaying all available intelligence on the enemy's entrenchments and his movements. This would be the test bed and baptism of fire for the newly modified MTT conversions which were on their way to it to break through the enemy defenses, and armed with a quad mounted light turbo laser and various other weapons installed to help it with assault purposes.
"How many droids do we have at our disposal B7782?"
"We have twelve thousand, six hundred and fifty six B1 battle droids under my command five thousand six hundred and twenty seven B2 super battle droids, eight hundred destroyer droids, along with nine hundred and eighty three OOM series droids serving as low level commanders, pilots and engineers. We can bolster our forces in three stellar cycles due to the return of transport traffic from our orbital reserves, alongside the added capacity of our factories. However I would avoid using them incautiously as our orbital reserve was diminished due to the loss of four frigates and the Secession."
"Our armor assets?"
"For armor we have three hundred and sixty Armored Assault Tanks, along with sixty three MTT, six hundred forty five Persuaders and two hundred Hailfire droids along with the incoming Heavy Assault Tanks of which we have fifty."
"Excellent, now what intelligence do we have on the enemy forces?"
"We do not know their true number but I would estimate it at least thirty thousand soldiers holding this area. Our sensors indicate that their bunkers vary in size from simple Heavy Bolter nests to large fortresses sporting a variety of weapons."
"What can we expect for a strategic reserve?"
"We can expect one hundred and fifty thousand droids for the entire continent as one of the surviving frigates disgorged its entire complement of droids, but those forces are still arriving and due to the orbital conflict we have lost a vast number of droids and war materials, those lost ships, especially the Secession was a crippling blow to our primary reserve assets. However more ready to be deployed from the other frigates, but we are starting to experience depletion in some of our orbital assets"
Fredrick pondered what the droid had said, he had been asleep for two days as his medical droids repaired his leg, replacing it with a cyborg implant interfacing directly with his armor.
Artillery was gathering in batteries behind him, HAGs were preparing their turbo lasers too bombard the enemy forces, Hailfire tanks were ready to engage enemy hard points from the front lines, working as heavy tank destroyers and precision bombardment weapons. They would be essential to supporting the armored assaults against Imperial Las cannon and battle cannon armed bunkers. So far the aerial assets of HMPs proved powerful enough to defeat any Imperial ground based assault. But there was the matter of the super tank, a Baneblade.
It had been shown to shrug off the weapons of the AATs and several direct missile strike from a nearby Hailfire tank, so its armor was significantly stronger than even that found on AT-TE walkers. If it was present and Fredrick had a feeling it would be, he would need to swarm it with the new HATs. The quad light turbo lasers would undoubtable have an effect on the tank, even if they had to attack it from multiple directions.
The orbital assets would be brought in to provide fire support and aerial supremacy over the defenders. Hyena bombers were being arranged in squadrons to hit the stronger enemy bunkers and and large troop concentrations.
"Commander Fredrick," asked B7782, "what are your orders regarding the B3 Ultra battle droids aboard the Star Hammer and battleship Confederate?"
"Deploy them on to our location, we'll need them ready to offer their fire support to our ground formations and as shock troopers to break holes in enemy trench and gun lines."
"I'll send a transmission to HK-217 for them."
Fredrick straightened up from the table and moved to a computer terminal to access the database of designs aboard the Star Hammer. Crab droids, advanced dwarf spider droids, sonic cannons, dual purpose mass drivers, and a massive assortment of other weapons and droids floated past his eyes.
"I want flame thrower B2s and B2-HA designs." Fredrick told the computer.
They appeared on the screen and their statistical performance appeared next to them.
Selecting the flame thrower variant he examined the possible upgrades that could be made.
"What is the main failing in combat record of Flamethrower B2s?"
A holovid appeared replacing the diagrams. It was footage from the photoreceptors of the B2 in question.
It was running along a trench with eighteen battle droids running along behind it. As the B2 turned a corner and ran into a bunker, it raised its flamethrower. The bark of heavy bolters and las cannons could be heard firing in the back ground.
Its flame thrower arm engaged blasting the bunker door with flames, and screams could be heard inside.
"Once the flames subside, occupy the bunker." The B2 said gesturing with its flamethrower arm. It stepped aside and the B1s moved in to take positions to enter the bunker.
One was carrying a repeating blaster on its back and one behind it was carrying the tripod.
They set it up in the firing aperture and another battle droid crewed the heavy bolter. Turning both weapons on the trenches they began to suppress the PDF troopers. The B2 turned away and began moving down the trench line, sending gouts of fire down particularly stubborn lines of resistance.
The Droid paused and pivoted, facing it was twenty PDF soldiers who raised their Las guns and one raised a flamer.
Raising its flame thrower arm it attempted to fire, and only a small burst came out, falling short of them by a good twelve feet. The B2 paused glanced down at the arm, and charged. B2s had proven themselves fearsome in melee combat before against unequipped humans so this one reacted accordingly.
The PDF fired their las rifles and the man wielding the flamer bathed the droid in flames. It's photoreceptor unable to locate its targets and failed its arms attempting to strike the PDF troopers and kill one through brute strength. The B2 went down in a torrent of las fire as the squad opened fire upon it.
The screen went blank as it connection to the central control computer was interrupted.
"So a lack of secondary weapons and insufficient fuel tank supply."
The computer gave a beep of binary that his suit displayed as a yes.
"Excellent, show me the current production specifications of the B2 flame thrower variant."
The screen displayed a blue print of the B2, a computer model and various values.
"So the current fuel tank allows for eighteen bursts, upgrade it to twenty four and add the standard Tri-Shot system to its normal arm."
The computer made a beep, and the necessary modifications were made to the design, the power pack for the Tri-Shot and the enlarged fuel packs.
The message that in two days of production that this design would begin as the new standard flashed across the screen.
Fredrick nodded and pressed the button that brought him back to a strategic map of the continent. His forces were displayed in red and the enemy as grey. The computer itself was red with a black outline.
Two massive blobs were displayed one moving towards his position, the other roughly thirty six miles from him, the defensive line of the Imperials and the massive number of reinforcements from the frigate.
"Have the artillery commence fire upon the enemy positions until the main body of reinforcements have arrived."
HAGs began turning their turbolaser cannons on the Imperial PDF and Guard positions. Each shot shook the air around Fredrick.
"Order the Star Hammer to fire upon them, I want as much fire directed into the enemy positions as possible."
The computer beeped and the words theater shield active flashed across it.
This was the start of a massive bombardment hundreds of HAGs launching their ordinance into the air.
Five days later…
An Imperial Guardsmen leaned on the wall of his bunker. The hastily prepared defenses of the capital were just starting to become fully fortified. Massive bastions were being raised, thick defensive walls as the planetary governor Zukoff was preparing to hunker down for the long haul. These metal monsters had made alarming progress across the planet according to a few news organizations.
The bombardment by the droids had lasted for several days straight, the green bolts of fire streaming down from the sky as if the stars themselves had chosen to rain down upon his regiment. A baneblade the command tank of one of the regiments was present in this section of the defenses and he had been told that with it here, the droids wouldn't get anywhere close to it.
That's when it started. He looked down at his canteen, he heard the water splash around inside it. The sound of engines could be heard, hundreds he thought.
The sound of clanking feet began to register in his ears, thousands of them.
"They're coming, brace yourselves."
The three other guardsmen nodded and two placed their las guns in the firing slit of the bunker, the other one got ammo for the heavy bolter ready.
That was when one of the droid tanks appeared over the hill, its treads moving at high speed.
"Hold your fire those are for the auto cannons!"
Than another poked over the hill, and another, than one of the rounded tanks that seemed to float over the ground went over the hill. A las cannon fired and the tank slowed, it had struck part of the lower disk and apparently hadn't done sufficient damage to destroy the tank.
It fired its main cannon and a chunk of earth went flying up besides his bunker. He and his men were unharmed but the same could not be said of those stationed in the trenches. An arm went flying by the firing slit of the bunker.
By now more tanks were cresting the hill and moving towards the defensive lines. Several of the large four legged droids were appearing over the hill, and behind them what could only be described as a solid wall of metal.
Thousands of droids began pouring over the hill, a numberless horde.
He squeezed the trigger and the heavy bolter starting blasting into the droid ranks. Joining it was the cracks of las guns and the bark of auto cannons. Several of the first tanks over the hill had been quickly destroyed but that did little to halt to oncoming tide. The droids kept coming, the front ranks already within twenty meters and grenades were going off. Artillery shells were exploding in the enemy ranks, and while they were devastating it wasn't enough, more simply rushed in to fill the gaps.
"Keep firing, we need to hold the line!"
A rocket struck the ground next to them and a wall of dirt shot up into the air.
A blaster fire from the droids was like a wall streaming into the defenses, and they were gaining ground. The hum of aircraft engines could be heard and droid gunships shot past overheard, firing their laser cannons and rockets into the bunkers.
The heavy bolter had stopped firing thanks to it running out of ammunition.
"Get me another belt this one's dry!"
He looked back the view port and saw one of the massive brown tanks moving towards them. This one was different from the normal ones as mounted on its front was a gigantic quad gun. It was barreling straight towards them, its armored hull simply shrugging off las cannon strikes and its massive quad cannons started firing.
"Evacuate the bunker, that thing is going to crush us."
The smaller laser cannons mounted on all the MTT variants fired into the bunker, blasting a large hole in and destroying both the heavy bolter and the one guardsmen who reacted too slowly and was incinerated from the blast.
The guardsmen dived into a trench as the massive tank plowed through the bunker, its massive cannons thundered and an explosion rippled through the air.
They saw a squad of PDF cowering further along the trench as the tank passed by. It seemed an eternity but when they popped back over the trench they saw the droid infantry advancing, alongside small and medium sized walkers.
"Fire!" he shouted and picked up a las gun, taking aim and firing at one of the Super Battle Droids. Second Line positions had taken to firing at the droids, and a counter attack was being launched, he could tell as a Leman Russ Punisher rumbled forward followed by a pair of standard Leman Russ firing all their weapons, and the sudden whirling of the auto-cannon. It tore through even the though the thick armor plating of the B2 super battle droids and halted for several seconds, which the droids used to surge forward to take cover in the trenches.
One of the larger walkers turned its cannons on the Punisher its laser cannon tearing a path through the ground as it's continues arc sliced through a nearby trench. A group of battle droids had scrambled into the trench and steadily the rest of the army moved forward.
The three tanks that had come up to fight off the massive assault we too far outnumbered and soon the droids would break through.
A full Leman Russ company appeared, firing into the horde of droid tanks and infantry pouring forth. One of the massive droid tanks turned towards them, and one of them, a Leman Russ Execution turned to face the massive tank. Its plasma cannon was charging and the rest moved to cover it. One of the Leman Russ battle tanks exploded as a Hailfire droid missile struck it.
Several Persuader tanks had penetrated the front line and droids were jumping off the out trigger tracks and onto the defenders.
A Super Battle Droid jumping brought the guardsman back to the situation at hand.
It faced him, taller and broader than the regular battle droids, he had been informed by the Lieutenants in a mass briefing that these droids were very formidable in close combat and at range, but the most disturbing fact was their durability, they had been known to fight with their entire lower torso missing and could be brutal if you got caught in their hands.
He stabbed it with his bayonet aiming for the face plate. It glanced off its armor plating and the droid grabbed his rifle pulling it from his grasp.
The droid kicked him in the chest, knocking him to ground. Its cold eyes if they could be called that, were looking for any addition weapons.
The sound of a chain sword behind them, distracted the droid as it turned to face what it thought was the largest threat. The discharge of a Hell gun, marked the coring of the Super Battle Droid as it fell on top of the guardsmen.
"Quickly get up, you want to live?"
The guardsman looked up at his saviors, a group of Kill Squad storm troopers loomed over him. One was carrying a plasma gun.
"Get up Guardsman, find the rest of squad and pull back to the second line, the droids have overran the entire line and we need to retreat, MOVE!"
One looked over the trench and saw something.
"DESTROYER DROIDS IMBOUND! Take cover!"
The PDF soldiers at the other end of the trench broke and ran, two foolishly trying to run out of the trenches attempting to run across the flat ground. They were mowed down in a hail of blaster fire. The Leman Russ tanks had taken have their number in casualties and were pulling out.
"Where's the Baneblade? It was supposed to cover the retreat, now we're trapped."
"Forward my soldiers in the name of the Confederacy, charge!"
The face of the Kill Squad soldier went pale.
"He's here."
The sound of thousands of metal feet surging forward drowned out even the bark of the heavy bolters and the blasts of auto cannons, other the battle cannons of the Leman Russ and Earth Shaker detonations could be heard over it.
They ran down a trench line that brought them back to the second line of defenses, the sound of droids pouring in from behind them was terrifying as was the screams of those who got caught.
The Kill Squad lead the way running back as they could the relative protection of the second line. It was at the mouth of a mountain range that offered protection of the flanks. The pass was the only way the droids could go if they wanted to pierce the defenses.
One of the bunkers that protected their retreat through the large escape trenches was blown to pieces by a hit from a turbo laser blast. A group of three flamethrower Super Battle Droids pursued them, one was significantly closer than the others and raised its flamethrower.
He felt the heat before the flames hit him, searing the flesh on the rear of his legs, than up his back. He collapsed and was trampled by the unfeeling metal feet of the droids as they chased the rest of his squad back to the second line of defense.
Yet somehow in this Emperor forsaken war he managed to roll over onto his back, looking up. He saw a black Super Battle Droid looming over him, its red face plate reflecting his eyes back at him.
It pointed its right arm at his head, and on which a dual laser cannon was mounted. The flash of it firing was the last thing he saw.
"The first line of defense has fallen and in our assault groups we have taken only forty percent casualties. Have another Munificent drop its load at the staging point, and send in another flight of gunships, soon this planet will be ours."
He opened a panel on his arm and pressed a small red button. His personal AAT had been called and he would now act a focal point for the Central Control Computer to operate around, as his tank had a relay embedded in the turret roof that the droids used as a bench mark for their progress, another smaller and more localized version had been implanted in a new backpack module.
A group of B3 Ultra Battle Droids were rushing a bunker and the heavy bolter mounted in it simply exploded on the outside of their armor. One of them raised a flamethrower and burned it out. These were the largest battle droids ever built and it was a pleasure to watch them punch through enemy defenses like battering rams.
The battle droids were setting up repeating blasters to cover their advance. A few were hiding behind the wrecked hulks of destroyed tanks from both sides or pouring through trenches to overwhelm the defenders, the extra one hundred and fifty thousand droids had vastly tipped the scales in their favor.
His AAT pulled up to the trench and several B2s jumped off charging down the trench. The top hatch popped open as he clambered aboard. Seating himself in the commander's chair he fired the main gun, using bunker buster rounds.
They impacted one of the larger bunkers but failed to do any more than superficial damage, these were better left to the large quad turbo lasers of the HATs.
A Leman Russ battle tank surged forward towards his tank. Its three hull mounted bolters opened fire on droids, several B1 battle droids exploding in a flurry of parts and shrapnel. An odd form of dual barrel bolter was mounted on the cupola and the commander had popped out of the tank and was firing at the droids around Fredrick's tank.
The sound of something massive moving forward drowned out the sound of the Leman Russ and the explosion of a massive cannon firing, tearing a nearby AAT to pieces sounded.
The tank appeared from behind one of the larger bunkers, rolling out of a small trench in the ground to conceal its massive size behind. It fired at another AAT destroying the tank with a single shot. Two small turrets armed with Las cannons fired at a Persuader and tore it to pieces.
"BANEBLADE! They brought it into action I want an artillery and air strike on the area one hundred meters in front of my AAT!"
The massive baneblade moved forward, its hull covered in weapons. One of the small turrets turned to aim at a charging Persuader and fired. The tank skidded to a halt as the las cannon tore through the central tread .
Turbo laser rounds began impacting around the Baneblade which pushed forward ignoring them.
"Kill that tank!" Fredrick shouted into a comm link.
A squadron of tanks emerged from behind the Bane Blade, these were larger than the Leman Russ tanks but not as large as the Bane Blade.
The hum of engines caused Fredrick to look up, approaching from overhead was a full flight wing of HMPs at least sixty of them.
Several of them started firing concussion missiles into the enemy positions and in turn enemy auto cannons elevated and began firing at them.
Twelve of them swooped down and dropped off roughly one hundred and twenty Super Battle droids.
"That is the power of air support!"
The problem of the Heavy tanks returned to the forefront of his mind when the Bane Blade began bearing down on his tank.
"Load armor piercing!"
He took control of the gun and aim it for the right tread.
"Fire the warhead launchers!"
Six rockets shot out through the bottom ring of the tank and then the cannon fired. Several shots went wide but the cannon struck true, hitting the Bane Blade's tread and stopping it. Its main cannon fired and a shell passed within feet of his tank impacting the ground. The AAT rocked from the blast and Fredrick was thrown into the side of turret and as he pushed himself back into the commander's seat he saw the two smaller turrets flanking the main one turning towards him.
"Back the tank up, we need to get away from that monster!"
The sound of a turbo laser discharging turned Fredrick's attention away from the Bane Blade to a charging HAT. Its repeating blasters were firing at the PDF and Imperial guard troops as the tank surged forward. Its quad turbo laser fired again, hitting the Baneblade in the side and destroying and stripping the sponson from it. The Bane blade rocked on its chassis and turned its turret to face this new threat.
One of the smaller heavy tanks turned to intercept, this one mounting a Demolisher cannon in its hull and several Heavy Bolters in its casemate. It fired its demolisher cannon into the HAT and a massive explosion blasted on the particle shields, the tank lurched to its several feet to the right and it continued forward. It shield was taking hits from battle cannons and auto cannons attempting to slow the charging hulk. A pair of HMPs fired concussion missiles into the massive tank but its thick armor shrugged them off and Auto cannon fire from positions on the slopes of the mountains began to engage them. One crashed straight into a Persuader, downed by the storm of fire the Imperials unleashed.
The HAT halted and fired its turbo laser again into the side of the Bane Blade, this time penetrating into the tank's main compartment and an explosion tore the turret off its ring. A group of armored soldiers were charging the side of the HAT. Three were holding a charge in their hands and two others were holding melta guns. The repeating blasters were strafing them but the soldiers pushed forward. A few B2s were standing in their path and one them wielding a chainsword cut them down. Two more of the soldiers were carrying what appeared to be more powerful variation of las guns and were laying down suppressive fire for the others, destroying even the potent Super Battle Droids with single shots.
"Stop those soldiers, we need to protect that HAT!" He shouted down to the droid pilots.
The tank rotated to face the soldiers and its anti-personnel blasters started firing. They struck a soldier several times, his armor surprisingly standing up to them for several seconds before he dropped.
A anti infantry shell was fired from the main cannon and it sent a few sprawling but the continued forward. The soldiers wielding the Meltas fired into the hull, their energy weapons bypassing the particle shielding and striking the hull directly. The repeating blasters focused on the soldiers with the melta guns allowing the ones carrying the melta bombs to get close enough to toss them onto the tank's side.
One of them shouted something to the rest and they retreated to a shell crater. As they ran the bombs exploded blasting off chunks of armor and destroying the reactor that powered the tank's vast array of weapons causing it to deactivate and sink to the ground.
The HMPs preformed an assault run on the enemy positions blasting apart several defensive positions but several crashed to the ground as PDF flak guns downed them.
Tens of thousands of battle droids were now throwing themselves against the Imperial defenses and slowly they pushed the enemy into the mountains surrounding the capital. Droid tanks and walkers poured forth pulverizing PDF and Imperial guard defenses in the first layers of defense but they still held at the pass between the two mountain ranges that guarded the flanks of the capital from assault. Soon that meat grinder would have to be assaulted.
