Alright, everybody. Back with another chapter.
Let's get to it.
Guest: For a short time, the Alliance did use reprogrammed Separatist droids. They still use B1 droids in some areas, but have mostly moved on to other droid designs, and they don't really use droids as soldiers. Mainly, droids are used to man the ships of the Starfleet.
Guest DCDGojira: Vader is going to be surprised. And yes, I plan on upgrading terran walkers before the next story.
Chapter 48- Battle of Long Island
Kelly covers her face as the group of four M1s fire their main guns, destroying a pair of AT-STs advancing towards the city.
The Empire had decided to land its forces destined for New York on Long Island, and they were advancing towards New York City along Long Island. However, American commanders had known that an assault on New York City was highly likely, and that a likely path of advance would be along Long Island. And they had positioned the bulk of their forces to block such an advance.
The city was being defended by the reactivated 4th Armored Division, units of the 10th Mountain Division, and the New York National Guard's 42nd Infantry Division, as well as the 1st Terran Clone Division It was also heavily defended by civilian defenders. Armed civilians across the country had organized themselves into units to help defend their homes. They had even given themselves designations based on their state, such as the Virginia 1st Civilian Infantry Division or the Wyoming 3rd Civilian Cavalry Regiment.
Two of these civilian units, the 1st New York Civilian Infantry Division and the 7th New York Civilian Infantry Regiment. Between the Army units and civilian units, a total of 100,000 defenders as well as uncounted individuals armed civilians were defending New York City.
The Imperial forces landed on Long Island had been probing the city's defenses, but had quickly realized that the defenders were dug in deep. American tanks and walkers had laid waste to incoming Imperial troops, while close air support aircraft had been taking care of most of the Empire's walkers.
Luke runs up beside Kelly. Kelly turns to him asks, "Any word on the New Jersey and Wisconsin?"
In the preparation for the Empire's attack, the four Iowa class battleships had been reactivated, just as they had when the Separatists attacked Earth. In addition, America's other four museum battleships, Texas, Massachusetts, Alabama, and North Carolina had all had their guns restored to combat readiness in case they were needed. New Jersey and Wisconsin had been stationed on the East Coast, and had been sent north when it became clear that the Empire was landing forces in New York.
"They're closing in. Recent report says they're only about half an hour from gun range," Luke says.
"Good. Once they get here, we can have some really heavy firepower on our side," Kelly says.
The two flinch as the tanks fire another volley. Then, a laser bolt from an advancing AT-AT flies over their heads, exploding behind them.
Right then, Waxer walks up beside them, carrying his carbine. "My brothers are holding the northern flank," Waxer says, referring to the 1st Clone Division.
"Good," Kelly says. She looks back at the stormtrooper's lines in the distance before looking back at Luke and Waxer and saying, "How about we show these stormtroopers what it means to mess with the Terran Alliance?"
Waxer smiles as he cocks his M4. "Right behind you," he says confidently.
Kelly reaches down and removes her lightsaber from her belt. Luke pulls out his lightsaber too, and two of them ignite their sabers simultaneously. Kelly raises her saber and shouts, "With me, men!" She then charges down the street, lightsaber held aloft, Luke and Waxer charging right behind her. Seeing and hearing her, 50 men of the 42nd jump up from their cover and charge after her, shouting.
As they charge down the street, as soon as they get with range, Waxer raises his M4 and opens fire on the stormtroopers ahead. Seeing him open fire, the soldiers following them also start firing at the stormtroopers. Several dozen stormtroopers are killed as the American troops fire.
The stormtroopers start firing at them, killing two of the American troops. Kelly and Luke twirl their lightsabers, blocking incoming laser bolts, as Waxer and American troops duck for cover.
Kelly continues blocking incoming laser bolts. Then, she sees an AT-AT appear in the distance, lumbering towards the American lines. Kelly is about to call for close air support when, out of nowhere, a group of civilians that are part of the 1st Civilian Division seemingly melt out of the surrounding buildings. While some hold off nearby stormtroopers with gunfire, others hurry up to one of the front two legs. Using hand held torches, they melt small holes in the gears in the ankle of the leg, before others attach explosive charges to the ankle and fit them into the holes. The civilians then dash away, having lost only a few of their number, before the explosives go off and destroy the ankle, separating the foot from the rest of the leg. As the At-AT tries to take another step, it stumbles and collapses forward.
Kelly smiles. "You never make New Yorkers mad," she says.
"Captain! More of the tanks have arrived and they're ready for action," Waxer calls out.
"Good!" Kelly yells back. Glancing behind her, she sees three more M1s pulling up behind the others. Seconds later, they fire their first volley, sending shells into stormtroopers about a mile behind the Imperial lines.
"Press the attack!" Kelly yells as she starts running down the street again, blocking incoming fire. Troops charge after her, and one of the tanks advances down the street as well to better support the advancing troops.
Kelly's radio barks to life. "Ground forces, we have inbound close air support. Mark your positions with smoke," a controller on a patrolling Air Force Sentry calls out.
Kelly ducks behind some fallen debris. She looks at Waxer, who is kneeling next to her. "Smoke marker," she says. Waxer nods and pulls out a smoke grenade, tossing it a few feet away. They then hunker down and wait.
Within moments, they hear that wonderful shrieking noise. Looking up, they see a flight of A-10s diving to attack. They can see several other flights of A-10s in the surrounding sky, diving to support other portions of the American lines.
Two A-10s head line up on a pair of AT-STs in the distance. Both of them lock them up with AGM-65 Maverick missiles, each Warthog firing a single missile. The missiles smash through the thin armor of the walkers and blow them apart.
As the first two Warthogs pull out of their dives, the other two Warthogs dive for runs on the stormtroopers. The two Warthogs fly in one after the other, each Warthog dropping a pair of Rockeye cluster bombs. The bomblets spread out, exploding one after other, and consuming hundreds of stormtroopers in several hundred small explosions.
"Charge!" Kelly yells. The American troops bellow war cries as they charge after her to take advantage of the breach created by the A-10s.
(Eastern Long Island)
From a set up forward operating post, Darth Vader examines reports from the troops on the front lines. The battle is turning far worse than expected. The city had more troops in it than initially expected, and the Empire hadn't even counted on running into thousands of armed, angry civilians. Imperial forces have hardly gained any ground, and have been taking very heavy losses.
Vader had called to the fleet for air support to help make up for the Americans' extreme advantage in air support, but so far the response had been minimal. Most of the fleet's TIEs were occupied in orbit fighting the Home Fleet, and only a few TIE fighters had been able to get down to the surface. They were currently being beaten off by F-22s of the 1st Fighter Wing patrolling over the East Coast.
"Order more walkers to advance on the American forces, and commit eight thousand more stormtroopers to the advance. We must breach their lines and capture the city," Vader orders.
Imperial officers relay Vader's orders. Within moments, eight AT-ATs and ten AT-ST begin marching towards the American lines. Vader watches them go as stormtroopers assembled around the command post prepare to advance on the American lines.
Suddenly, Vader hears a screeching noise he hasn't heard in decades. Walking to a window, he looks out and sees eight A-10s flying right towards the walkers. As he watches, one flight of A-10s flies in, strafing their cannons, and destroy seven AT-STs and one AT-AT. Then, the second flight launches a large volley of Maverick missiles that destroy four more AT-ATs. The Warthogs then zoom away before Imperial forces can fire back at them.
Vader bristles with anger. "Bring those fighters down!" he orders. Moments later, a pair of TIE fighters that had gotten through the F-22 screen fly overhead in pursuit of the A-10s. However, before they get within range for their laser cannons, a pair of F-16s appear out of nowhere and blow them out of the sky with Sidewinders.
"They've gotten even better," Vader mutters to himself.
(Western Long Island)
Kelly blocks an incoming laser bolt before leaping forward and cutting down a stormtrooper. More laser fire streaks around her, and she blocks every incoming bolt.
She hears the chopping of helicopter rotors from behind her. Glancing behind her, she sees a trio of Army AH-64 attack helicopters flying towards her. Within seconds, they fly overhead, heading right for the main Imperial lines.
The Apaches quickly get within range. One of the choppers fires its 30mm cannon, sending massive glowing tracer rounds tearing through Imperial artillery pieces. The other two helicopters begin firing Hydra 70 rockets into the ranks of the stormtroopers. The 9 pound warheads of the rockets detonate one after the other, tearing through stormtroopers and blasting them to pieces. Dozens of stormtroopers are killed.
Several Imperial artillery pieces try to fire back, but the first Apache turns to them and fires Hellfire missiles, blowing them apart.
Then, an AT-AT approaching the American lines fires its laser cannons at the three helicopters. Their massive laser bolts blow the tail off the first helicopter, and it spins down to the ground, crashing in the middle of a group of stormtroopers and exploding. The other two helicopters turn to escape.
The AT-AT turns its laser cannons on the American lines. However, after only firing a few volleys, the American M1s turn their main guns on the AT-ATs and fire a volley of HEAT rounds. The AT-AT is hit by seven rounds, causing heavy damage. The AT-AT turns it laser cannons towards the tanks and starts firing. It succeeds in destroying one of the tanks before the tanks fire another volley, hitting the AT-AT with eight more HEAT rounds, shredding the heavily damaged walker.
Kelly looks over at Waxer. "Any word on the battleships?" she asks.
"They're only a few minutes from range. The air units are in position and will be making their runs in the next two minutes," Waxer responds.
"Perfect. Once those birds hit 'em, they'll be sitting ducks," Kelly says. She pauses, then says to Waxer, "We need to call up the tanks and backup troops. Let 'em know it's almost time for the push." Waxer nods in agreement, already pulling out his radio to send the order.
(Eastern Long Island)
"Sir, troops on the front lines report the loss of three more AT-ATs," an Imperial officer says to Vader.
Vader clenches his fist. "Is there any chance of getting further bomber support?" he asks.
"Negative, sir. They're still too urgently needed in orbit. The Terran defense fleet is putting up a much fiercer fight then we expected. It could be at least an hour before they could get bombers down here," one of the officers says.
Vader curses in his mind. He turns to his officers and asks, "Have we located any weak spots in their lines?" he asks.
"No, sir. Our stormtroopers have reported consistently strong defenses across the entire line of advance. Even the areas guarded primarily by their civilians are holding steady. We have not been able to gain any ground," the officer responds.
"Have there been any reports from other landing forces across this continent?" Vader asks.
"Very few, sir. But the few we have received have said they are facing similar resistance, if not even more," the officer says.
"Can we get fire support from our ships?" Vader asks.
"No, sir. Too few ships are even available, and it seems like the Terrans have shield generators generating an energy shield around this city and many others. The shields don't prevent physical entry, but they can deflect almost any level of turbolaser fire," the officer says.
"They're better prepared than we ever thought," Vader says.
Suddenly, the command post begins to rumble and shake. At the same time, Vader can hear a roar starting to grow louder and louder.
"What is that?" he demands.
"Our scanners are showing multiple incoming contacts," an officer calls out.
Less than half a mile away, a formation of 12 F-15E Strike Eagles flying out of Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base is streaking in towards the Imperial command post. The few TIE fighters patrolling overhead haven't even spotted them yet. However, given that the Strike Eagles are flying just 100 feet above the water, and are painted with a camouflage pattern on the top of their fuselage to help them blend into the water below them, the TIEs would have trouble spotting them.
In the cockpits, the pilots lock their AGM-65 Maverick missiles onto the small fleet of shuttles and landing craft parked near the command post. The lead pilot, an experienced veteran of both the war in Bosnia and the War on Terror, calls out on his radio, "All pilots, prepare to launch on my mark."
Within a few seconds, he calls out, "3, 2, 1, mark." All 12 pilots in the formation begin to launch their Mavericks. Within 20 seconds, the entire flight has launched their missiles. The 12 Strike Eagles each snap into a hard right turn to escape.
The missiles streak towards their targets. Flying over the command post, they dive down, slamming into the landing craft and destroying them one after the other. As the final missile finds its target, it leaves the Imperial forces with just a few landing craft left. Not near enough to even hope of evacuating even most of their ground forces.
In the command post, Vader watches as the transports and landing craft explode. In his mind, he wonders what the point of the American attacking the transports is, except perhaps it's them trying to slow down any Imperial reinforcement effort.
Suddenly, an officer calls out, "Lord Vader, Terran ships approaching on the water!" Vader turns and sees that the officer is standing by a window, holding a pair of binocks.
Vader walks over to the officer, grabbing the binocks and lifting them to his mask. Zooming in, he sees a small group of eight ships. He can see four destroyers, two ships he recognizes as Ticonderoga class cruisers, and in the middle of the ships, two Iowa class battleships. From their numbers painted on their bows, he can identify them as the Wisconsin and New Jersey.
Vader instantly recognizes the Americans' plan. Destroy the transport craft so the Empire can't get their forces away while holding them off on the ground, then send in the two battleships to wreak havoc. Vader also remembers the story from the Battle of Vladivostok. He remembers hearing how the New Jersey took a direct hit to her side from a proton torpedo and escaped with really just a scorch mark. And right now, he can see several F-14s circling overhead. Between them and the two Ticonderogas, he knows they will be well protected from attack by the air, and the Empire has nothing on the ground right now that can harm the two battleships.
On board the battleships, their crews have been at their battlestations for hours. Shells are loaded in all guns, and they are waiting for orders to fire.
On board the New Jersey, Rear Admiral Sean Buck stares out at Long Island. "We're in postion. All ships, fire," he orders.
The two battleships and their escorts have closed to 15 miles from the Imperial camp. In the gun plots of the two battleships, the gunners make the alterations to the training and elevation of the guns. Once the guns have been properly trained, they report it to the main gunners. Immediately, the gunners pull the triggers. On each battleship, sheets of flame explode from the massive 16 inch guns, hurling the 1,900 pound high explosive shells towards the Imperial forces.
After just 30 seconds in flight, eighteen high explosive 16 inch shells crash down on the Imperial forces. The shells explode in massive explosions, killing several hundred stormtroopers and other Imperial personnel.
As the explosions tear through the Imperial personnel, the six escorting cruisers and destroyers begin firing their 5 inch guns, as well as the battleships. Inside the main turrets of the battleships, young crewmen race to reload the guns with high explosive rounds. As soon as the guns are reloaded, the battleships continue firing, shifting to a firing pattern of firing one gun of every five seconds, nine guns firing in rotation. With this pattern, it takes 45 seconds to get through all nine guns.
On Long Island, Imperial forces are in chaos. With the shells raining down around them, they scamble for any kind of cover they can find, but quickly begin to recognize that there is no cover from the marauding fire of 16 inch guns.
(Western Long Island)
Kelly blocks the incoming blaster bolt. She reaches down to pick up a grenade from a fallen American soldier, pulls the pin, and throws it as hard as she can. The grenade lands among several stormtroopers before exploding, killing them all.
"Kelly!"
Kelly takes cover and turns to the sound of the voice. Right then, Luke drops down next to her. "I just heard from Rear Admiral Buck. The Strike Eagles destroyed the transports, and the battleships have closed to gun range and started the bombardment."
"Excellent. Now's the time," Kelly says. She then pulls out her radio and says into it, "This is Kelly Adams. The Iowa and New Jersey have begun the bombardment, and the Imperial transport craft have been destroyed. It's time to begin the attack!"
The order is relayed back to the central command post in Manhattan, and relayed back out to the field commanders.
Near the frontlines, soldiers begin to hear rumbling. Glancing behind them, they see the first of a wave of M1 tanks, numbering a total of 300 tanks, beginning their charge towards Imperial lines. Following behind them are 600 Humvees armed with machine guns on their tops, and 50 AW-1 walkers.
The vehicles charge past the American lines, crashing right through Imperial lines, firing relentlessly. The tanks fire their main guns at any target they can find as their machine gunners gun down any stormtrooper that attempts to get too close. As the tanks charge through the Imperial lines, the Humvees follow close behind, firing away with their machine guns at any stormtrooper in reach. At the same time, the AW-1 Leviathans begin firing their heavy laser cannons at any Imperial forces they can get a clear shot at.
Imperial forces quickly begin to crumble under the withering assault. Stormtroopers try to gather any sense of awareness and cohesion they can, but are pushed back and slaughtered. Many begin to surrender, while others try desperately to retreat.
(Eastern Long Island)
"Lord Vader, our forces are reporting a massive push by the Terrans. They report nearly one thousand vehicles and walkers attacking them, and a massive push by ground troops! They are being slaughtered!" one of the officers says.
Vader looks out of the window, watching as another few shells from the battleships land a few hundred yards away. Then, he says, "Load all troops possible left onto the remaining transports and launch."
"Lord Vader! We don't have enough transports!" one of the officers says.
Vader turns to the officer, reaching out with the Force to begin choking him. The officer gasps for air as Vader says, "You heard my orders. Follow them." He then releases the officer.
The officers quickly issues Vader's orders. Stormtroopers quickly begin boarding the transport craft, and each one takes off as soon they're fully loaded.
However, with only four transports left, they fill up quickly. As the last one is almost filled, one of the officers says, "Lord Vader! The last transport is almost full. We must leave now."
Vader turns silently and walks out of the command post. He and the officers board the shuttle, which quickly lifts off and follows the other three as they fly away from Long Island.
In his shuttle, Vader orders, "Set course for Washington D.C. It is time to take their leader."
The four shuttles head south to join the forces already assaulting the capital, leaving behind almost 50,000 stormtroopers trapped on Long Island to die.
(Manhattan)
In the command center in Manhattan, the general commanding the defense of New York City, Major General Darryl Williams, is looking over recon reports when one of his aides comes up to him.
"General, we've received a report from Rear Admiral Buck. The last few intact Imperial shuttles have taken what troops they can and fled from Long Island. They believe that Darth Vader was on them. We've detected no more landing craft incoming. It seems as though the Empire has left there forces on Long Island to die," the major says.
"Good. Order all forces to continue their attack. Any stormtroopers that won't surrender, annihilate them," Williams says.
For the half hour, the two battleships and their escorts continue their bombardment as ground forces press their attack, wiping out most of the stormtroopers. Finally, recognizing that they stand no chance against the overwhelming firepower being deployed against them, the surviving 17,000 stormtroopers surrender to the American forces.
Even as the battle is winding down on Long Island, another battle is ramping up in DC.
And, I'll end the chapter there. Hope you liked this one.
I hope you liked how I had civilians organizing and fighting alongside the Army. I think, in the event that the United States did come under such an attack in real life, that civilians would fight just as heavily as soldiers. I think me doing this illustrates a point made by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto in WWII when he said, "If you attempt to invade the United States, there will be a rifle behind every blade of grass."
I also hope you like how I brought back the New Jersey and Wisconsin. Even with advances in firepower in this universe, nothing beats the fire support of 16 inch guns.
So, next chapter is going to cover the battle in Washington DC, and, I will tell you now, will also cover the next rematch between Hall and Vader. I hope you're excited for it. Until it's up, please leave a review and stay tuned.