A/N: My chapters seem to be getting longer and longer. Anyway thanks for all the reviews and enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 17
Clones and Klingons
General Kang and his battle group of twenty Klingon warships dropped out of hyperspace near New Holstice. There was small skirmish occurring between Republic and CIS warships. General Kang instructed his ships to land their troops as soon as possible then assist the Republic. Fifteen minutes later the skirmish was over.
General Kang appeared in red light near the Republic Command center. He was approached by a pair of clones. "Are you General Kang?" one of them asked.
"Yes." he replied
"Come with us. We're to escort you to General Secura." said the clone
"Very well."
In the distance he could see his troops setting up a perimeter and reinforcing areas where the clones were weak. Already his engineers were setting up turrets to help hold the area. Kang was soon led to a Command Center where Secura and her Clone Commander 'Bly' were speaking. "General Secura, I am General Kang, Klingon Defense Force." he said
"Aalya Secura. This is Commander 'Bly'. We've been expecting you. Your troops are a great help to us. But we have a situation." she said moving to a holotable depicting the planet and friendly and enemy positions. She pointed to one area. "We are here. That skirmish we fought in orbit was a distraction. The CIS landed a force of Mandalorians not far from here. I'm already getting reports from scout units that indicate they're on their way here."
"What is the size and disposition of the enemy forces?" asked Kang
"Several thousand men. Speeder bikes and assorted armored vehicles. But no air support." replied Bly.
If memory serves these 'Mandalorians' are a warrior culture like Klingons. They will make honorable opponents. Kang thought
"Ahhhh! It will be a glorious battle." replied Kang
Before anyone could reply a clone trooper manning the sensors reported. "Generals, Commander, the Mandalorian force is breaking up. It looks like they're going to surround us."
"That's bad tactics. We outnumber and outgun them. It would have been better if they had concentrated their forces in one place, they could break through." said Bly
"Yes sir, but the ones that are breaking off are almost entirely speeders and a few armored infantry carriers." replied the Clone
Kang frowned, there was something familiar about the tactics. "A cavalry raid!" he said
Secura and Bly gave him a blank look. "What's a cavalry raid?" asked Secura
"An ancient Earth tactic. Soldiers on horseback, tall four-legged creatures, would ride through enemy camps and cause havoc. Sometimes the enemy would kill themselves because they thought the enemy was in the camp. I suspect the Mandalorians are trying to do the same. They're trying to distract us from the main assault." replied Kang
"What do you suggest?" asked Bly
"Send two platoons in the direction of the raiders. Have them form an infantry block." the General went into further detail when the Jedi and the Clones gave him uncertain looks. "Another ancient earth tactic. Older even than the cavalry raid. The Roman Empire on Earth employed heavy troops in this fashion." said the General he began tapping on holotable.
The planet was replaced by a simple field. On it were clone troopers in a parade formation. "This formation was known as a Phalanx. It was nearly unbreakable and proved effective against infantry until the advent of artillery." Kang said. He tapped the table again and the battle began. It showed the enemy attacking with speeders and light armored infantry. The clone block held against the speeders and the infantry assault. When one side took casualties the block shifted to present more firepower and to reset the formation. Secura looked at Bly. "It's a sound tactic. Unorthodox by our standards but could work." he said
"Very well. Deploy two platoons on a southern perimeter. Have them fall into this formation and instruct them how to use it." Secura said
It took fifteen minutes to get the clones into the block and instruct them how to use the formation to their advantage. They were assigned some air support in the form of a single gunship. It would help against the light armored vehicles. It was another thirty minutes before the Mandalorians attacked. The main force was infantry with a scattering of heavy and light vehicles. There was even a platoon of super battle droids. "Take out the battle droids before they break our lines!" yelled a Klingon lieutenant. His subordinate quickly hefted a repeating disruptor cannon and fired. The rapid pulses of disruptor energy blasted away at droid and Mandalorian alike. The clones continued returning fire along with the rest of the Klingons.
The Mandalorians did manage to make it to the Republic lines but were unprepared for the Klingon warriors who would meet them with bat'leths. They fought nonetheless and fought hard. There were casualties on both sides. But eventually the Mandalorians retreated.
Later that night, Kang, Secura, Bly and some clones and Klingons celebrated. "My friends! songs will be sung of this day!" yelled Kang.
In another part of the Galaxy, Anakin Skywalker stood on the bridge of his ship the Resolute. The fleet had already dropped out of hyperspace. A mixture of Federation and Republic ships, he faced a large CIS blockade. At least a dozen Trade Federation battleships, twenty-five Munificent-class frigates along with a Recusant-class destroyer and a Providence-class cruiser. Skywalker looked at his clone officer. "Open a channel to the Agamemnon." he said.
"Agamemnon here."
"Captain, we might need to call those reinforcements in." said Skywalker
"I agree, our orders are to put troops on the ground first, then break the blockade."
"I understand. In that case I think a straight attack at one point should break through." replied Skywalker
"Frontal assault? That means big casualties."
"Not if your ships follow mine. If you position your ships right behind mine. Our own ships will shield yours from enemy detection."
"Alright where do you suggest we attack?" asked Keller
Skywalker looked at a tactical plot map, showing the positions of all enemy ships. He pointed to one ship surrounded by frigates. "Here. We attack the Command ship. If we can take it out on the way in, the enemy fleet will be less effective."
"I agree."
"Commander, order all ships full speed ahead." said Skywalker to his clone officer.
On the Agamemnon Keller open a channel to his ships. "All ships this is Captain Keller of the Agamemnon, get in formation behind the star destroyers and maintain five hundred kilometers from the stern. The plan is for them to fight their way through the blockade and then for us to attack from behind while the Republic lands troops. They will withdraw while we provide cover fire. Helm, you know what to do."
The Federation ships slipped in behind the wake of the star destroyers engines. There were three star destroyers in the task force each with its own group of Federation ships. Keller and his ships were behind the Resolute, while two other captains led their ships behind the other two.
Skywalker's ships opened fire on the lead enemy ship. A Munificent-class frigate. Three separate sets of turbolaser fire ripped into the shields, draining them quickly and then impacting the hull. Another couple of salvos later the frigate exploded. Then the Providence class cruiser surged forward with three Trade Federation ships and the Recusant. "Hold course and continue firing." said Skywalker
Turbolasers flashed through space impacting shields and hull plating. Eventually one of Skywalker's cruisers took a hit and began to slow down. The Federation ships behind it slipped out from underneath the cruiser and began to attack the CIS forces. "Skywalker to Agamemnon, our secret is out. Commence your attack."
"Acknowledged. All ships break formation attack pattern Delta, full impulse, engage."
At once the force of three Republic star destroyers morphed into a force of forty Federation ships. Two groups of thirteen ships attack the CIS forces on the flank while the Resolute and it's forces attacked the flagship.
Whorm Loathsom stood up on his flagships. "Where did those ships come from?" he asked
His tactical droid replied "They appear to have been hiding behind the star destroyers. Their small size was obscured by our sensors and we did not detect them."
"Order all ships to converge on my position." Loathsome replied. His ship rocked violently. "What was that?"
"Multiple photon torpedo detonations against the shields. The enemy is firing again." replied his droid
On the Agamemnon, Keller studied the tactical display. His forces were giving a good account of themselves with only one or two casualties so far. Then he noticed a report on the enemy flagship. "All ships, the enemy flagship's shields are fluctuating, press the attack." he said
The Federation group swung back around and targeted a third salvo of torpedoes and phasers. The shields eventually collapsed and fire rained down on the hull, but it held. Meanwhile the two remaining Republic ships had deployed their troops to the capital city of Christophsis and were withdrawing. "Keller to Skywalker."
"Skywalker here."
"Recommend we regroup behind the moon."
"Agreed I've gone to ground with my troops, my clone captain will coordinate with you. What about that cruiser that was damaged?" he asked
"A group of Federation ships is towing it out of the battle area. This is a fighting retreat now. We didn't destroy the flagship, but we put a good sized dent in it." Keller replied, then as if to punctuate his words one more photon torpedo ripped into the forward hull of the enemy ship. He also saw another couple of frigates explode. "We'll be back shortly."
"Understood, Skywalker out."
The remaining Allied ships regrouped behind the moon. Most of the Federation ships sustained moderate damage. Three ships sustained extreme damage, one even had a nacelle shot of. Those ships were attached magnetically to one of the star destroyers and it made the jump to hyperspace. With luck, it could drop those ships off at Corellia for repairs and be back in time to hit the blockade again. Keller opened a channel to newly-promoted Captain Riker, who was working with Obi-wan Kenobi. "Captain Riker, we've successfully deployed Republic troops on the surface of Christophsis. But we were unable to break the blockade."
"Casualties?" he asked
"Four ships destroyed, most others with moderate damage. Three of ours were disabled and are being towed back to Corellia for repairs by one of the Republic cruisers. We also had a cruiser disabled and my forces towed it behind the moon. An engineering team was dispatched and at last report the vessel was nearly repaired."
"Good work Captain, my ships are en route to join you. ETA five minutes. Captain Picard and General Yoda will follow up with a more direct attack. Their ETA is fifteen minutes." replied Riker
"Understood, Keller out. All ships, reinforcements will arrive in approximately five minutes, I want every ship to be ready to go by that time. Assume attack formation Beta while we're waiting."
Five minutes later Captain Riker and his fleet along with two more Venators and a collection of Acclamator assault ships and counselor cruisers led by Obi-Wan Kenobi. These new ships joined the forces of Captain Keller and started toward the planet again.
General Loathsome was still on the bridge of his flagship when the tactical droid spoke up. "Sir, more enemy ships coming in." it said in it's flat monotone voice.
"How many and what type?" Loathsome asked
"Several dozen Federation ships and at least five venators with assorted assault ships and light cruisers." it replied
"Order the fleet to close formation, we'll have to concentrate our forces in order to hold this world."
Riker stood on the bridge of his brand new Galaxy-class U.S.S. Titan. "All ships attack pattern Omega, concentrate fire on the flagship. General Kenobi, be prepared to land your troops on the surface. Federation reinforcements will follow shortly after."
"Understood Captain Riker." Kenobi replied
The battle once again began with a large volley of photon torpedos. CIS point defense systems were good by not that good. Several frigates exploded and two Trade Federation ships lost shields. Turbolasers from General Kenobi's ships also fired destroying the Recusant and ripping hull plates out of the flagship. The Titan swooped in on the flagship firing phasers and torpedoes the whole way. A phaser beam ripped into the bridge and vaporized General Loathsome. When the Titan finished its run a barrage of torpedoes from the aft launchers hit the reactor of the CIS flagship. It exploded taking several enemy fighters with it.
Captain Keller on the Agamemnon held on to his chair as several droid fighters swarmed his ship. "Lt. Adams set ventral phasers for point defense, those fighters are getting annoying and fire another tricobalt warhead let's try to thin out the crowd." he said
The dorsal phasers continued to fire normally but from the ventral surface several shots flashed out in quick succession, vaporizing several dozen droids. A tricobalt torpedo was fired and it detonated near a Trade Federation battleship that had lost shields in the first volley. While cobalt devices are almost completely useless against shielded targets, they were devastating against unshielded ones. The tricobalt torpedo detonated near the battleship's reactor causing it to overload and destroy the ship.
While this was happening a group of cruisers swarmed a trio of frigates firing phasers and torpedoes continuously. A Springfield class launched a rapid-fire volley of torpedoes blowing a large hole in all three frigates. A phaser strike from an Excelsior gutted the reactor of another frigate destroying it, while an Ambassador-class fired a long burst of phaser fire into the dorsal hull of yet another frigate, burning a deep line in the hull. The Republic ships under Kenobi were giving a good account of themselves, destroying three more Trade Federation battleships and four Munificent frigates.
Fifteen minutes into the fight as promised, Captain Picard and General Yoda arrived with reinforcements. This particular group was larger than normal with nearly one hundred Federation ships and half-a-dozen star destroyers. As Picard and Yoda's forces came in, Kenobi's group deployed another section of gunships filled with clone troops and headed for the planet's surface.
On the ground Anakin stood by a line of clone troopers facing a massive droid army. "Open fire." he said calmly. Then as blaster fire crisscrossed in blue and red, green laser fire joined from above as several gunships strafed the droid forces. A gunship landed behind Skywalker's lines and Kenobi jumped out followed by Commander Cody. "Alright men, reinforcements have arrived, regroup and counterattack." said Skywalker.
With his orders, the clone forces joined and pressed forward. The droids without orders from above, continued their last orders, which were to attack.
Needless to say the droids were wiped out.
Several transporter beams appeared with Starfleet MACOs arriving to reinforce the clones. Though they weren't needed any longer, the Republic allowed the MACOs to conduct cleanup operations, clearing the majority of the capital city and most of the planet. Three weeks later the cleanup was complete and the MACOs were replaced by medical personnel and engineers who helped the Christophins rebuild their planet.
Yoda met with Picard in his ready room. "Going well the war is." he said
"Yes, we're advancing on almost all fronts." replied Picard
"A great battle I sense coming soon. Return I will to Coruscant. Meditate on this I must." said Yoda
"Any indication where this battle will occur?" asked Picard
"Hmmmmm, difficult to see." said Yoda
The comm beeped. "Captain Picard to the bridge." said Data, the new first officer
Picard stood and walked out onto the bridge, Yoda followed him. "Report Mr. Data."
"Sir, we've just received an Omega signal from our forces at Coruscant, the CIS have arrived with a large fleet and are conducting an invasion." said Data
"Go at once we must." said Yoda.
"It will take approximately three hours to arrive at Coruscant." said Data
"Alert the fleet Mr. Data and start the calculations for the jump to lightspeed." said Picard
"Desparate the CIS is, to launch an attack on Coruscant." said Yoda
"They probably intend to hold the planet or someone in particular hostage somehow." replied Picard
"Hmmmmmm...In great danger the new Chancellor is." Yoda whispered
"Sir, calculations are complete and the fleet is in formation." said Data
"Very well, make the jump Commander."
With that the fleet surrounding Christophsis jumped to hyperspace. Three separate task forces coming together to form the largest fleet assembled during the war next to the Fondor assault fleet.