Chapter 4 - First combat and escalation
=place: Terra; 2212, 22 BBY=
Only 2 days after the Battle of the Karazak system, the Republic declared war on the Terran Federation, to which the Terran Federation issued its own declaration almost immediately, and clashes began almost immediately with multiple groups of Republic ships. However, the SDF and Terrans had an unspoken rule that they bypassed each other and simply did not fight each other. But that option couldn't last forever.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I need an immediate plan." - the president said to the assembled military officers and war cabin - "It is clear that the Republic is too numerically superior to us to defeat them conventionally, so the only thing left for us to do is knock them out of rhythm and force them to stop fighting. How much can be done in this case?"
"If I can." - began the finance minister - "Our financial resources, reserves and current technology will allow us to raise military spending to 15% of GDP and maintain this level for 10 years without a loss to our economy, but only if we keep the fighting away from our colonies, and secure the routes with all our partners, which hardly seems possible, given that the vast majority of them are Republican and the CIS is too far from our borders, so I would say that it would be better to keep spending at 8% of GDP, which will allow us last 5-7 years."
"Let me interrupt." - said the foreign minister - |Just a few hours ago, we were able to contact them and confirm that they haven't only escaped but also that 7 sectors are planning to secede and take our side in this war. They are Rseik, Tamarin, Khuiumin, Quence, Pramic, Svivren and Sujimis"
"Considering how the Republic treats them compared to us, I'm not surprised." - said the president - "How long can we stand with these sectors?"
"Most of our trade is in these sectors, but they will be on the front lines, so I would say we can spend 12% of GDP over a period of 3-6 years depending on the number of losses on the front lines." - said the finance minister.
"With such funding, we can easily increase our armed forces up to 10 times and effectively operate and supply them." - Grissom said - "The problem is our production rate. When it comes to tanks, planes or even the new MS, increasing production in the already existing factories and switching many civilian factories to the production of war materials should allow us to quickly deploy the necessary amount of equipment. But when it comes to ships, even if we increase our production to the maximum, we will need at least a few months to deliver the next batch of ships. Another problem is the lack of instructors. We just don't have the capacity to train that many troops in such a short time."
"We can hire the Mandalorians to help with the training." - said General Williams - "This has proven to be extremely effective in the Karazak campaign and the cost is relatively cheap."
"We can also temporarily spare our navy by using the new Longswords." - Dresher said - "Our new FTL fighters, the FF-S3 Saberfish, have already started testing and will be ready for mass production within a week. Pilots are the problem. We have a lot of people who practiced on simulators, but I don't know if it's enough. For now, we should focus on hit-and-run attacks outside of the sectors that just joined us with Longswords and Saberfish. We have already planned strikes against 18 separate targets."
"I see." - said the president - "How was my meeting with Count Dooku?"
"It's already settled." - said the foreign minister - "We will take Ark Royal with an escort of 8 frigates. This will be enough for our defense, although, in the event of such an encounter, we can escape with our Worm-Drives."
"Very good." - the president said - "Admiral Dresher, start your attacks on Republic targets. Admiral Grissom, oversee the defense of our planets and the production of ships and fighters. General Williams, secure training contracts with the Mandalorians and production of IFVs and other ground equipment. Don't attack PDF targets and other planetary governments, only Republic property. That's all."
=location: Suarbi system=
Admiral Zudenn Nebar of the Republic Navy watched his fleet from the bridge of the new Venator-class Star Destroyer and his personal flagship, the Vixen. His task was simple, to gather a powerful fleet and attack the Terran Federation. The Suarbi system was one of the few systems known to have hyperlanes to Terran Federation territory, and even then, it only connected to some free system with no rare colony. There he had to take a completely different course and only then ended up in a colony that the Terrans called Tarthis.
His fleet was more than large for the task. His personal Venator, 12 dreadnought-class, 22 Arquitens-class, and 8 acclamator-class, transporting 128,000 clone troopers and support personnel along with all their weaponry. More than enough forces to conquer whatever these Outer Rim barbarians can bring.
"Sir." - said one of the clone officers on the bridge - "We're detecting a Hyperspace entrance from Terran territory. I count 60 ships the size of strike vessels ."
"Send our fighters to counter them." - said Zudenn confidently, after all, what can 60 fighters do to his fleet?
The clones, trained from birth, collected over 120 V-19 Torrents in minutes and set out to intercept the incoming Longswords. Unfortunately, Swordfish was still in production, so they had to fly unescorted, which greatly limited them. But having a huge space for missiles, it was decided to simply throw a large number of anti-fighter missiles there. As soon as the Republic fighters were in range, they fired 2/3 of their stock of anti-fighter rounds at these targets.
Normally in space, these missiles aren't used in such large numbers for logistical and technological reasons. Maintaining a continuous supply of guided missiles is very difficult, if not impossible. At the same time, shields and various protection systems against such projectiles made it almost impossible to hit them.
But the Terrans had other ideas. Thanks to Shem-ha technology, it was relatively easy to produce these missiles in huge quantities even on a small ship. In addition, their shells were of extremely high quality, thanks to which they were guaranteed hit rates of up to 20%, despite all anti-missiles protection. Combine with the Longswords' large hangar and each fighter fires 24 missiles.
Even the clone pilots couldn't resist such a wave and were shot down. Admiral Nebar stared out the window in disbelief as the officer reported the loss of all his fighters just dispatched.
"Gather the rest of the fighters we have left and send them into battle. All ships must immediately form a defense around the flagship. I want every gun in this fleet aimed at those strike vessels IMMEDIATELY."
The prepared squadrons began to take off, and the ships began to create defensive parameters around the flagship. Had this raid been treated this way at the outset, it might have done something to eliminate the assault, but the Longswords were already within range of the first ships escorting the flagship. Each fired 12 missiles at the ships making up the defenses, 720 in total, most of which hit the 2 Arquitens-class.
Both frigates[1] tried to shoot down these missiles, but there were simply too many of them. Though their defensive fire destroyed one Longsword, the Arquitens-class themselves were reduced to mere space junk. The hits destroyed their entire upper armor, bridge, engines and even penetrated the reactor of one of them, causing a total explosion that scattered debris on the path between the bombers and their target.
Quick communication led to the Longswords splitting into two groups, attacking from above and below the wreck. Since the Venator's main hangar was in its upper part, it was from there that the fighters flew in and quickly fired their own missiles at the Longswords.
The longswords of this group took cover and fired anti-ship missiles at long range, 60 each, then began a quick retreat. At this range, point defenses and fighters managed to destroy most of them, and the rest hit too dispersed to breach the shields.
However, the group flying under the rubble hit the lower hangar, where there were far fewer fighters, so they flew closer, despite the fighter fire that shot down 4 Longswords before the anti-fighter missiles destroyed this Republic squadron. Vixen's defensive fire then took another Longsword. The remaining 24 Terran bombers of this group fired any remaining missiles at Vixen.
Venator took many hits, but ultimately she was more of a carrier than a battleship, so her shields quickly failed. Subsequently, the hull was pierced multiple times in several places. But the most important hit was the Hangar, where the loaded fighters were destroyed and set off secondary explosions, destroying the bottom of the ship. And the shells kept coming, destroying hull after shell, piercing the Venator through and through, causing the main hangar to explode.
Admiral Zudenn Nebara's flagship finally gave up and began to disintegrate. However, the admiral himself survived on the bridge, which remained relatively intact. He cursed those Terrans for the destruction they had inflicted on him. As soon as he got on another ship, he called in anti-weed support from any capable Republic ships in the region. He, a Coruscant nobleman, won't let this defeat go unpunished.
=location: Kal'Shebbol system=
"This is outrageous and crazy." - shouted an angry Flit Asuno, leader of the SDF of the Kathol sector - "We are to hand over 2 cruisers, 14 frigates, and 40 corvettes to support the offensive against the Terran Federation. After all, we can barely deal with the pirates with the fleet we have."
"I know it's hard and I don't agree with attacking the Terrans either, but what are we going to do?" - said the leader of the Kathol sector, Twi'lek Gozpisun Derilan - "If we refuse them, the Republic will consider it treason and attack us. We don't have the strength to repel such an invasion."
"We can always ask the Terran Federation for help." - Flit said - "They have a large fleet, and I can send aid in exchange for our support in this war."
"You want to fight on Terra's side. are you crazy? They don't stand a chance!" - Gozpisun said.
"Actually, the Republic is starting to make enemies left and right." - Flit said confidently - "If all goes well, we should rally up to half the galaxy against them."
"May I remind you that the Republic has an army of droids and clones at its disposal, along with a navy larger than any in the history of the galaxy? Plus they have these ugly Jedi."
"That's the problem!" - Flit suddenly interrupted Gozpisun - "The Republic is becoming more and more authoritarian with more and more power in the hands of the chancellor and an ever-expanding army. When leaving the Republic meant succumbing to famine and other shortages because of sanctions. But now we have an alternative. It's now or never."
Gozpisun hesitated at this. He wanted the best for the sector and to keep his family alive and intact. If he opposes the Republic, he'll be the first target, and later the entire sector would be occupied. But if he doesn't, the increasingly authoritarian Republic might get rid of him anyway and hurt the sector even more than the corporations.
"You have three days, Asuna." - said Gozpisun - "In three days our deadline for the delivery of ships ends. If you manage to get a Terran Federation fleet over this planet for our defense in that time, I'll agree to your plan. If not, we side with the Republic."
"Yes, sir. I won't disappoint you." - Asuno replied, rising to attention and saluting.
To this, Gozpisun simply said - "Do not fail me, but our people."
After that, Gozpisun got up and left the commander's office.
=location: Pyria system=
The commander of the PDF fleet in the Pyria system, Commander Gec Gol, was lounging in the command chair on his Dreadnought-class heavy cruiser. He's already gone through most of the reports on subsequent military deliveries through his system, and besides, it's a Core system. Separatists, Terrans or other terrorists would never breakthrough here.
"Sir." - said one of his officers - "I'm detecting many signatures coming from Hyperspace."
"Another merchant fleet or from Kuat?" - Gec asked wearily. He already feels the mountain of paperwork he will face.
"Unknown, sir." - said the officer - "It comes from an unknown corner."
"You mean, First Contract?" - asked the now slightly curious Gec.
"Probably, sir." - the officer replied - "Shall we try to establish a connection?"
"Of course." - Geck said. He just got a chance to write a new chapter in the history of the galaxy. It will certainly be more interesting than another wave of paperwork.
Within seconds, the first contact packet was sent and the protocol droid was summoned to the bridge. Then seconds waited, which slowly turned into minutes as the fleet kept closing in.
After a quarter of an hour, Gec finally asked - "Are you sure they got the first contact package?"
"Yes, sir." - replied the officer.
"Sir, the unknown fleet is about to enter the weapons range and they've dispatched fighters. 300 and counting!" - said another, now somewhat worried officer.
"Have the ships gather in a defensive formation at our location." - Commander Gol said - "Activate shields and send in fighters."
"The Unknown Fleet Opened Fire!" - the officer shouted. Seconds later, the heavy cruiser fell under the fire of the entire fleet. According to information from many escapees, an unknown force split up and destroyed any ships in the system, after which they proceeded to land on the planet.
It took the paralyzed Republic command all day to send reinforcements, but the unknown fleet was already gone. On the planet itself, not a single working Hyperdrive ship has been found, and tens of millions have been kidnapped with billions killed by energy weapons and poisonous gases. The Senate will immediately pass a bill to strengthen the navy and army.
[1] According to the Anaxes War College System, the Arquitens-class is a frigate.