Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.
Let's get to it.
Guest: No, the tenth discovered world won't join the Alliance.
MockEmbers: I'll try and find you the other titles.
CT7567Rules: I do not live in Colorado, But yes, I have been on the Durango/Silverton railroad. That was a blast.
GuestDCDGojira: I'll try and show Terran discovery of other planets.
Chapter 45- Bracing
(March 7, 2016, Langley Air Force Base)
Kelly looks out at the runway as the F-22s of the 1st Fighter Wing come in one by one for their landing, having just completed an extensive air combat exercise with some fighters from the Terran Starfleet. Air Forces all over the world have ramped up their war games the last couple of weeks.
Ever since the announcement went out over the Earth that the Empire was planning for an all out invasion, the people of Earth have been preparing for the inevitable invasion. Citizens all over the world have armed themselves if they can and begun preparing stashes of emergency supplies. A number of civilians in a number of countries have built bomb shelters in their basements. At the same time, factories across the world have been pumping out weapons and military supplies as fast as they can. Many automobile factories have shifted their assembly lines to producing military vehicles. Aircraft manufacturers have dedicated themselves to building military aircraft. A lot of other companies have converted their factories into weapons factories. Many civilians have also gotten to work to setting up defenses in and around their cities.
The Terran Alliance Armed Forces have been training for the incoming invasion intensely. Military personnel have only received the necessary amount of rest to be able to operate, and have spent of every remaining minute of every day in various training exercises. A number of cities were put on complete lockdown so that army divisions could conduct urban warfare exercises. Vast sections of airspace have been shut down at times to enable Air Forces and pilots of the Starfleet to conduct air combat exercises. The Starfleet had even restored the weapons on the old battleship TAS Volgograd to working capacity in case the Imperials attempted an attack on Volgograd.
The Terran Jedi Order had also been preparing extensively. Every member of the Order over the age of 14 had been put through extensive combat training in a number of environments. Members of the Order had been deployed all over the world so they could respond to any Imperial landings quickly.
Kelly watches as the F-22s taxi over towards their designated parking stalls on the flightline. As she watches them, Luke walks up beside her.
"Do you think Earth is ready for this?" Luke asks.
"Honey, I've lived here all my life. Trust me when I say that the Empire has no idea what they're getting into. We have weapons and technology that the Empire has no idea they exist, and have made no preparations for," Kelly says.
Luke smiles. Kelly has such extreme confidence in almost every situation. It's just one of the many things he likes about his new wife.
Right then, his commlink goes off. Luke pulls it out and activates revealing, and Ahsoka pops up.
"Luke. We need you to come back to the Temple. We have a few things we need to discuss," Ahsoka says.
"Alright. We're on our way," Luke responds. He then turns to Kelly and says, "Ready to go?"
"Yeah, let's go," Kelly says. They walk hand in hand over to an LAAT parked nearby that brought them to Langley. After boarding, the pilot lifts the gunship off the ground and heads off towards the Temple.
(Naval Station Norfolk)
In the main meeting room of the Admiralty, Thrawn and several of the other Admirals are examining the various displays in the room, showing the position of Terran ships around Earth.
Thrawn had pulled almost all of the Starfleet back to defend Terra. He had left a small fleet behind the defend Naboo, and three Star Destroyers to defend the Andromeda Galaxy end of the wormhole, just to prevent the Empire from thinking anything is wrong. Every other ship, except for a Baltimore class Star Destroyer and the seven Imperial warships that have defected to the Terran Alliance left to guard the Star Forge, had been pulled back to defend Terra.
The newly enlarged Home Fleet is now massive. A total of 362 warships. They were also joined by 15 Mon Calamari cruisers from the Rebel fleet. The rest of the Rebel fleet is stationed in another system nearby to protect them from the brunt of the coming battle. In total, there are 377 ships placed to protect Earth. However, some admirals are worried that may not be enough to defend against the Imperial fleet. Intelligence reports are suggesting a fleet around 700 warships is what is on its way.
Most of the Admiralty has been in favor of stationing the entire Home Fleet in a protective shield around Earth. However, Thrawn is of a much different opinion.
"Has the fleet divided?" Thrawn asks.
"Yes, Thrawn," Admiral Marom says.
"Excellent. Send Admiral Gortney's force to this system," Thrawn says, pointing to one of the nearest star systems to Earth, "And send Admiral Tyson and Dhowan's forces to these two systems," pointing to two more nearby systems.
He then turns to Admiral Shengli. "Is Outpost X-Ray operational?" he asks.
"Yes, Thrawn. We just received word from the commanding officer that repairs to their system have been completed and they are ready for action," Shengli says.
"Good. General Raymond has informed me that Cheyenne Mountain is prepared for operations. I received intelligence from Chief Brennan only an hour ago suggesting that the Imperial fleet is on the move. We are awaiting confirmation from Rear Admiral Noonan of a sighting of the Imperial fleet," Thrawn says.
Thrawn is quiet for a moment, then says, "The Empire is not yet aware of the size of our fleet, nor that I am aiding you. Once their fleet arrives, our trap will close, and we will tear their fleet apart piece by piece."
(Andromeda Galaxy, Wormhole, March 8, 2016)
On board the Star Destroyer TAS Sydney, Rear Admiral Noonan is anxiously watching out of the viewport. It's been almost three weeks since his small force of 3 London class Star Destroyers took up station outside the Andromeda Galaxy end of the wormhole connecting the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way.
Noonan understands the importance of his assignment. Without a proper warning of the arrival of the Imperial fleet, it will make it much harder for the Terran Alliance to properly respond to the Imperial invasion. However, after 3 weeks on station, and increasing intelligence that the Imperial fleet is coming, it's getting more and more anxious for everyone on board the three Star Destroyers. Even though their orders are to retreat after putting up a very brief fight, they are all very nervous.
"Any word on the progress of the Imperial fleet?" Noonan asks as he turns to the Sydney's captain.
"No, sir," the Torfan captain responds.
Noonan slowly nods before looking out of the viewport again. Then, all of sudden, alarms begin to blare. A moment later, one of the bridge officers yells, "Admiral! Multiple Imperial contacts dropping out of hyperspace! I can't even count them all!"
"Ready all weapons and prepare for jump to hyperspace!" Noonan orders.
Bridge officers on all three ships race to program the navicomputers with the coordinates for the hyperspace jump as the gunners prepare to open fire.
Noonan watches out of the viewport. Then, suddenly, dozens of Imperial ships begin to drop out of hyperspace.
"Open fire!" Noonan orders. Moments later, all three Star Destroyers open fire on the incoming Imperial fleet.
Turbolaser bolts streak out and begin impacting the Imperial ships. Their shields deflect away most of the damage, leaving them pretty much unfazed. The Imperial crews quickly train their own weapons batteries and open fire.
Thousands of turbolaser bolts begin flying around the three Terran ships and hammering away at their shields. Noonan grits his teeth, waiting.
Then, one of the bridge officers calls out, "Admiral, shields at 50%!"
"Turn to starboard and make the jump to hyperspace!" Noonan orders.
The order is relayed, and all three Star Destroyers turn to starboard before making the jump to hyperspace one after the other.
Aboard the Executor, Vader watches as the three Star Destroyers retreat into hyperspace. "A shame," he says. After several seconds of silence, he orders, "Begin moving the fleet."
Over the next few hours, the 788 ships of the Imperial fleet move through the wormhole, making the journey to the Milky Way. Once the last of the ships has assembled on the Milky Way side of the wormhole, they set off towards Earth.
However, they don't yet know that their arrival is now known by everyone in the Terran Alliance.
(Naval Station Norfolk)
Thrawn looks at the many displays surrounding him. They had received Read Admiral Noonan's report about the arrival of the Imperial fleet at the wormhole just an hour ago. By now, most of the fleet will have passed through the wormhole.
As Thrawn looks at the report Noonan sent on the fleet composition, and the expected progress of the Imperial fleet, he allows a small grin to cross his face. "You have no idea what you are getting into, Lord Vader. Your arrogance will be the architect of your own destruction."
And, I'll end there. I didn't want to make this too long, as it didn't need to be.
So, the attack on Earth will begin next chapter. It'll last for several chapters. I hope you're excited for it. Until it's up, please leave a review, and stay tuned!