Note: If I can't think of a chapter name I just name it after the band or song I was listening to while editing there's no grand meaning behind the name I was just listening to seether.
Seether
Beskad had Warlock squadron running drills non stop for four days leading up to their deployment. They sprinted through the sim room. Training droids unloading practice rounds on them. Swiftly Te'Anila laid down cover fire as Martial flanked left and got himself behind cover rose and fired. Te'Anila then advanced as Martial suppressed the enemy. Jaster switched to sniper augmentation taking out a droid in an mg position. Beskad throughout a grenade it irritated. Te'Anila then took out his rocket launcher, fired and cleared the last of the enemies.
"Good job," Beskad said, the squad moving fluidly and in proper coordination, "We seem about ready for the real deal."
"Right what is the upcoming op anyhow sir?" Martial asked.
The entrance swooshed open as Dral entered the room he was clad in full armor clutching a datapad. He looked up at the Warlocks who all instantly saluted and stood at perfect attention with the CO present.
"You're about to find out. Report to the hanger for a full platoon briefing."
They did so. In the hangar they could see a republic corvette being prepped by technicians and fueled to take the platoon to their mission. Beskad knew the mission and helped develop the plan. But Dral'Alor would be the one to debrief everyone having confirmed the details with the General. The full platoon stood present. Every clad in full armor.
"Six months ago there was a military coup on the planet Askaria. CIS backed, intelligence believes they're going to use the planet's PDF to launch attacks throughout the expansion region," Dral'Alor said, "So they are sending us to kriff them up before the little bastards get the chance." He paused about to get into the relevant tactical details, "The planet's been in a fifteen year long civil war. We're going to help these rebels oust their Di'kut Dictator and give them their bloody freedom. Some skirt boys inserted early got us a base and everything. All we have to do is get our boots planet side and shoot some people." Dral pauses letting that sink in, "They already got a plan too. Now the enemy, they're no battle droids. Well trained, experienced, equipped and disciplined watch yourselves they'll kill you given the chance. O and did I mention they have their special forces."
"This sounds wonderful," Jaster said quite sarcastically, "Wets that know what they're doing. It's Jabiim all over again."
"Great." Beskad growled, "Jabiim but this time close enough to kiss triple zero once they're done."
As the words left his mouth he noticed Martial straightened up. Jabbiim had been tough. It was the battle they lost their original team sniper.
"Corporal?" Beskad asked, "You good?"
Martial thought about Jabiim. The campaign was more intense than Geonosis. More people were killed in action even if more clones were killed on Geonosis. He remembered the fire fights the nationalists and nimbus commando were fierce and highly competent. That happened in the outer rim and it gave the republic plenty of breathing space to recover after the loss. The same couldn't be said about a world in the expansion reason. They lost those forces and could launch direct assault on Coruscant almost immediately. He thought mostly about Zel, the war was close to her and she didn't know it.
"I'm good Sarge," Martial lied, "Second Jabiim doesn't sound too fun."
"I hear that." Jaster said, "My old squad was there too. Barely escaped with our lives."
"I only heard about Jabbiim." Te'Anila said, "Only bad things."
"Then you know if the LT is comparing what we're about to get into, to that….."
"The enemy's just as skilled. The situation's not the same." Beskad snapped, "Focus on the briefing."
"The northern army who we'll fight alongside are a professionalized force. They're regulars, we're going to serve them as irregulars. Meaning we'll move in advance and hit the enemy in the rear as the arc troopers lead the regulars to take territory. We'll kriff up supplies, communications, patrols, and high value personnel. We'll be equipped with rocket launchers and enough supplies for a year. But we're not going to be deployed for a year. General wants the regime toppled in three months. Now if there's no questions, get aboard the corvette so we can move out."
"Yes sir." The commandos all replied before moving out.
Beskad led his squadron towards the entrance of the C9 Corvette, he could see the bright lights shining from its entrance. He found it poetic that the entrance to another warzone was brighter than the peaceful planet they were leaving behind.
Sylor Ashon kept a calm demeanor as the junta gathered in his personal mansion for a strategic meeting he had called. The man had recently been appointed Premier of the Askarian Central Guard. In essence he held senior authority over all military,intelligence, and law enforcement on the planet. In truth he didn't delude himself the power could be snatched from underneath if he other members of the junta believed someone else could do better. He didn't trust any of them and once this bloody business was over would have all four other members of the junta detained and killed. Of course for now they needed to believe Ashon was simply here to oversee the end of the Federalists and once that bloody business was done retire. And that meant he needed to ensure the next operation ran smoothly.
"Gentlemen and lady," He said as he took a seat at his table and smiled brightly, "I have been informed that all the necessary preparations for the offensive into Kheshigan have been undertaken. I have gotten Captain General Gurhkani to switch sides secretly. He has allowed us to set up bases in his provinces. And the troops have been moved in under our own Field Marshal Valko who as you may notice is not here."
The junta members looked around and indeed the army field marshal whose own mechanized division had assisted with the coup was missing. They then eased their attention back to Sylor. No one made any indication whether or not that gained their confidence.
"Premier are we sure this is the course of action we wish to take," Spoke up Major General Savorius incharge of Special operations, "Our best and most experienced troops have been moved from Ty'Xian. If the federalists figure that out and mount an all out offensive….."
"They will be pushed back by our air power,tanks, and artillery," Sylor guaranteed, having faith that conscripts were fully capable of holding out for just a single month, "Kindly provided by our new friends." He motioned towards the two CIS officials seated in the room. One was a CIS intelligence officer named Xol, a gray skinned Trandoshan who Sylor believed was a bounty hunter before the war. The other was a human from Balmora and a Balmoran marine at there leading a small brigade that was an added reserve for Sylor who was recognized as a CIS General as well as the Premier of the ACG.
"Your new friends may certainly be generous," Began Director Avon Execubitor leader of ACG intelligence, "But guerrillas can not be quelled by simple maneuvers from air and ground. The peoples of the regions we have retaken still sympathize with the federalists. One report reads we have had over five hundred attacks within the last week world wide. They are sabotaging our supply depots,ambushing our patrols, and assassinating our senior officers." Avon said utterly unimpressed with Sylor, "We need to gain the confidence of the people if we are to hold power."
"Gain the confidence of savages?" Scoffed High Commissioner Freyja Sarmitian who lead the ACG police which was a rival of ACG intelligence, "We should detain every last one of them and send them off to the mines."
"High Commissioner there are over one billion people who live out in Ty'Xian alone. Do you believe we can seriously round up and exterminate over a billion people with our resources," Avon scoffed right back to her, "No they must be integrated into the Central Authority otherwise we will never control the region."
"And how do you say we do that?" Freyja said, rolling her eyes. She didn't view the peoples of Ty'Xian, Sahora, and Kheshigan as Askarian rather as sources of instability.
"Simple we call off this offensive and build up what we have already conquered. At the end of the day people do not seriously care whether or not their governments a federal or unitary system. They couldn't give a bantha's hide over it. What they want is food,water, and financial security," He broke down simply, "We need to rebuild the industry of the regions we've taken. Maybe invite foreign aid in so we can get food and medical support to the reconquered territories. Then get the people there working again. They'll stop caring whose incharge after a year of relative stability."
"And how are supposed to do any of that with the Federalists launching attacks from the North and the parts of Ty'Xian they still hold?" Sylor questioned and made it clear in tone he found Avon's idea ludicrous, "We can't until they are destroyed. And regardless your means mean taking resources away from the ACG as a whole. There is a galactic war….."
"That we could have stayed out of if you hadn't brought the damn separatist to our planet!" Avon shouted angered with being constantly interrupted, "Yes you're right the military is going to need to eat up the vast sum of our resources because now we're on the GAR's hit list. Which would not have happened had you not talked with the CIS."
Sylor hated Avon deeply. The man thought he was smarter than everyone. And while he was smart he wasn't that smart. He'd have him killed and replaced if the intelligence service wasn't so could chip away at their power later.
"Avon we would have been drawn into this conflict eventually. Our astrographic position makes it so one side would eventually violate our neutrality. I have sided with the faction who will win and does not care about the sins of Usharok." Sylor said frustrated he needed to remind the man of that, "And besides Askaria used to be the most powerful planet in the sector until we began fighting like dogs. I plan to return us to that glory! The CIS will provide air power and funding. All we have to do is crush every single opponent in our way."
"You fool," Avon snarled, "If we reunified Askaria with out any foreign aid. We would be able to slowly but surely rekindle that glory with out becoming a puppet of aliens! And we were close to doing so until you pulled a coup."
"If you believe we should have negotiated with those mongrels why in the name of Askaria did you side with the coup and why are you sitting on the junta?"
"Because I realized you managed to talk that buffoon you sent to Kheshigan and the High Commissioner into doing it. With both the army and the police under your thumb, if I opposed our two way civil war would have turned into a three way civil war. I live to reunite and rebuild Askaria and your decision put me in a situation where supporting your coup and making this damn scheme of yours work is out best hope for that." Avon snarled and it was clear he hated Ashon, "But I will not sit idly by as you people pound our planet into obliteration. There is no point in winning a civil war if there's no planet to rule after words. Hence I must insist you redeploy the forces about to go north into territory we currently control instead of attempting what in essence is a fool's errand. The Kheshig are the fiercest fighters on this planet. Casualties will be heavy but I bet you people don't give a damn about how many of us have to die in order for you to cling on to power. So care about this if the Northern expedition fails or is anything less than a total overwhelming victory you lose the positions you slid yourselves into just as fast as you gained it. And all of us will be hung by our necks from the tops of trees by the insurgents mark my words."
"Then it is good the expedition will not fail," Sylor guaranteed, "And either way Avon you can not prevent it from happening. I have already given the order for it to commence. Within the next few hours starfighters,tanks, and artillery will roll through the Kehsigan and sweep their cities from them. Then with in the month the bastion of the federalist cause will be snuffed out." And you will be a dead man.
The Republic C90 corvette dropped from hyperspace. The trip itself was short. Just under half an hour. Further hammering home just how close they were to coruscant. Lieutenant Dral looked from the bridge of the ship as he stood behind the two pilots.
From above the planet of Askaria looked like most other worlds. He could make out the continental the plates. And the fields of green with vast oceans of blue separating them. Clouds swirled in the sky over some areas. Yet he couldn't see the war he was told brewed beneath it. The one he wanted to get in already.
"How long till we're planet side?" Dral asked.
"We need to confirm landing information first. After all, we don't want to get blown from the skies because they think we're an enemy vessel." Said one of the pilots.
"Right." Dral a said, nodding his head.
"We also need to make sure we enter the atmosphere using the right route. Come in at the wrong angle where we're exposed to enemy held territory and we'll be blown right out of the sky."
He waited as the copilot channeled the communication line through. It chimed for a few moments before clicking on. A hologram of a soldier appeared.
"State your number and intention." The man said drably.
"This FY2432 we're a republic corvette requesting permission to land in Ardashir."
"Right, I see you on my manifest. Welcome to Askaria, enjoy your stay."
The ship moved towards the planet carefully descending through orbit over Kheshigan. The land mass became progressively bigger and more detailed as the approached. Buildings began to protrude from the ground and Dral could make out speeders flowing through the ground.
The space port came in to view as they slowed and hovered over it before slowly descending towards the ground. The landing gear deployed and they touched down with a slight thud. Dral then turned back to the troop bay as he placed his helmet back on. The door swished opened anf he saw the full platoon of republic commandos rising from their seats in full katarn class packing DC-17M carbines and rocket launchers.
"Let's go gentlemen." Dral said and pointed towards the door. He spoke firmly in most militaries; the Lieutenant would have a platoon sergeant at his side. Junior officers were usually ill experienced. Yet with clones everyone came from the ranks. Sergeants became Lieutenants. All because they were raised for war. So in a way they were all graduates of a military academy making no need for a separate enlisted and officer corps.
Dral wasn't sure if his men liked him and he didn't care much. They respected him the way they stood and responded to his orders immediately. And so long as they had faith that in his orders he didn't care if they liked him or not.
The filed out of the corvette down a ramp that extended from the side. Dral led the way their boots clicked as they pounded against the metal rampart. The lieutenant noticed other ships besides theirs in the space port. Various shuttles and corvettes. He saw droids moving up and down ramps with crates going in and out. He remembered from the intel reports that Askaria was originally used for microchip production. This was due to the abundance of highly conductive metals in the world. It seemed even with a civil war they tried not to neglect their economy. He found that interesting and telling of their work ethic. Even while the threat of an offensive occurred the Kheshigs would continue to work hard.
Dral'Alor saw three people waiting for them at the space port's exit. He held up a fist and his men stopped swiftly and at once. Everyone stood firm and attention. In the center stood a man with a black durasteel plate over his chest and a gray jacket draped over it. He had a cap over his head casting a shadow over a pair of hard blue eyes. And yet he formed a sharp smile on his face as he approached. Having reviewed the full report Dral Alor knew exactly who that was. He moved his hand swiftly above his brow in a salute. The commandos all copied.
"Chief Cyrus." He said his voice was hard and cold due to his helmet's modulator.
"At ease gentlemen,"Cyrus replied, "Seriously relax I'm a civilian for kriff's sake."
He seemed to laugh at the idea of soldiers saluting him. Dral found that interesting he wasn't wrong. Cyrus was a civilian on paper. He didn't hold a military rank. Meaning he wasn't subject to military law. In all regards he was a private citizen in a war zone. Yet he still wore a durasteel plate and carried a heavy blaster pistol to his right. He was flanked by Kheshigan soldiers that were clad in plastoid armor and packed A280 blaster carbines.
"Pretty heavily armed for a civilian." Dral commented.
"Hey now according yo galactic law I have the right to own blasters and defend myself." Cyrus commented sharply, "I'm simply a private citizen who's doing business on a very dangerous planet. So I choose to buy, myself, a dura steel plate DH series blaster pistol and yes a westar carbine. All of which were purchased perfectly legally from the private sector and I have the proper paperwork and credentials to show I am not in illegal possession of weaponry and have passed all the screenings for the privilege."
Dral laughed but didn't allow his helmet to project the reaction. He imagined the rest of the platoon was doing the same. Llats Ward talked about covert operations. Saying politics always defined war fighting and you have to make the war work within the political framework. So Cyrus in order to be able to operate freely seemed to have to make a clear separation between himself and the politics of coruscant. Dral knew that meant if any one asked Cyrus was a private citizen he simply made contact with to get intelligence. The man seemed sharp.
"Alright citizen," Dral replied, "We were sent here to help the local rebels. Seeing as you do business here we thought you might know something useful."
"Let me take you back to my place of business so we can talk more." He said and formed a brighter smile seemingly pleased the Lieutenant was smart enough to pick up on the game.
Cyrus led them out of the space port and towards what on the outside looked like a private storage facility. Yet it was guarded by what also appeared to be private security. A few were Transdoshan and duro. And Dral Alor made out one Keldor.
Once they entered the "warehouse" Dral froze amazed that he saw a full scale intelligence headquarters. Analysis at computers and comms. Astro mechs scurrying around. People in military uniforms discussing affairs with people out of uniforms. Everyone looked up at Cyrus as they passed and waved. It was clear he was incharge around here but not in a military way. More like the CEO of a company.
They entered what seemed to be a meeting room. Dral was absolutely amazed at what they could do with space. Cyrus moved to the holo board where a map emerged and laid out enemy battle lines specifically focusing on Kheshigan and Aesnyr where a border was made and defined. He saw ten cities between them and the enemy. Then a subregion where fighting seemed to be intended judging from the way marked enemy positions looked.
"Right, let's talk business. Thanks for playing the game. You never know whose listening so when we're in public. I'm a merchant."
"A merchant who walks around with Kheshigan marines."
"Secretariat Pileser Borjid wants foreign merchants protected while they're here." Cyrus explained.
"Good to know," Dral replied, "And where is Borjid."
"In the mountain city of Altai, the regional capital dealing with politics, he'll be in tomorrow with reinforcements. For now Captain General Seljuk Timiriud is the senior Kheshig military official and GAR officer of operations. But only for a few hours. You'll meet him soon. Just let me get through the intelligence brief."
"Proceed." Dral said.
Cyrus nodded as an astromech plugged itself into the holo table. In addition to the map several faces floated above.
"First you all need maps of the planet, region, and cities on your data pads and uploaded on to your huds. I might not be a soldier but I can imagine fighting in a warzone with no knowledge of the geography would be awful," Cyrus replied, "There's been battles in forests, open grasslands, mountain villages, deserts, and even jungles. The planet is biodiverse meaning multiple biomes. Two things to note: you only need to worry about the Kheshigan biome being mountainous highlands and low grasslands. But also the decisive military action had always been urban battles. Street for street, factory for factor, house to house, and even room to room."
"That means engagement ranges could be far, medium, and close." Beskad spoke up.
"Yes," Cyrus replied, "If you're going to take part in the defensive operation you must know the city layouts like the back of your hand and maintain good relations with the locals who live in the city." Cyrus paused to let that sit in, "That said the province on the border, Samarkand, and its five cities have been a state of constant warfare. Their Captain General, Gurkhani Almorvid and his troops have been key in holding back the ACG. This coming offensive will occur there and if the numbers predicted are true he will fall after a month of fighting."
"So we deploy there." Dral replied.
"We'll talk about it more when Borjid's here. But he told me he wishes to pull a faint. Let Gurkhani where them out. Then make them think they're winning to lure them into an encirclement to obliterate their forces."
"That's a risky strategy," Dral said, "We can assist. Have us run raids and ambushes."
"We'll discuss it tomorrow." Cyrus said, "Get to know the guys in para military ops here they'll be your best friends. I've arranged for you to meet the Captain General at his city head quarters and then your barracks should be good to go."
The para military officers had a small office space near the back of the building. There were four of them. Two were humans, another was Keldor and a fourth was Trandoshan. The lead human a male , wore a dark blue armored cuirass senate commando. Dral thought he didn't smile when he saw them, in fact he frowned.
"Colonel Daidochi," He said, "I'm in charge of para military operations. What we do is simple. We embed with the insurgents and tell them how to fight. Nothing to complicated."
Dral got a hostile feeling from the man. In his tone and the way he looked at him and his men. It was possible he did not clones. Still the Lieutenant shook the man's hand.
"Our operation was running smoothly until the clone wars broke out. Now with separatist air power the cents have been able to make considerable ground in the six months. So of course the chancellor sent clones believing somehow we weren't doing an adequate job," Diadochi said, "But we were. And I will not have the appearance of new units botch up my AO got it lieutenant."
Dral showed no sign of outwards hostility back. As much as he wanted to say I could do your job better he held his tongue. And simply shook and nodded. "Understood." He replied.
"The colonel's invested in this operation," The other human a woman with olive hued skin and a black robotic arm said stepping in front of him, "We've been here for fifteen years and you have to understand before separatist involvement the Central Authority, the Askarian government, was on the brink of negotiating peace terms. So it does look like the only reason we are seeing reversals is because the clone wars broke out."
"What's your name ms?" Dral asked.
"Masara. Technically I'm a Major in military rank. However I was a sector ranger and then a bounty hunter before Republic intelligence picked me up. So I tend to ignore military formalities."
"Yes," Diadochi said irritatedly, "She does."
"Well you guys are paramilitary," Beskad spoke up, "No offense of course but I imagined you wouldn't exactly have to comply with standard procedure hence why republic intel has you."
"Precisely," Masara responded, "We don't have to play by rules or formalities. Intelligence says something needs to get done and we get it done by any means necessary solong as the Republic has plausible deniability. Infiltration, assassination, destabilization that's our operandi modus"
"I like it," Dral said and he was genuine about that he wore a smile beneath his helmet, "And we're not unalike."
"Really?" Diadochi asked rather blandly, "Explain."
"We're republic commandos. Not conventional soldiers sir," Dral began, "Most clones are trained to hit the enemy out in the open battlefield. That's not our doctrine. No, we're professional guerrillas really. We move fast, get close to the enemy, slit his throat and disappear. Minus the unconventional warfare we do the same thing."
"Maybe," Diadochi nodded, seemingly taking the man's word for it, "Yet unconventional warfare is key here. This conflict isn't going to be won by simply blowing up everything between us and Aesnyr. No, we need to achieve a political victory as much as a military victory. And I'm tired of everyone acting like sending more troops,bombs, and blasters will somehow bring this conflict to a faster end."
It was clear that it was directed towards the republic commandos. Once again, Dral held his tongue and he got the man's jab. He seemed to see him as unsophisticated and simple minded he'd said so politely simply blowing everything up really meant that's all you clones are capable of. He could read the distaste in the man's face.
"I'll admit I'm not very politically well versed," Dral said, "But if we're simply trying to get them to negotiate we can be applied in a way to encourage that can't we?"
"Force used precisely can achieve a precise ends," Diadochi said, "Sure, I'd still have preferred if we were sent more intelligence personnel. Case officers,paramilitary operatives, and people good at doing the exact task we need done here. We've got more than enough brawn around here. If there's nothing else you have for me see your way out I hear the Captain General wants to meet you. It's Keshigan custom to treat guests to a meal you better meet him so avoid possibly insulting the man."
"Right," Dral said and understood he just wanted the republic commandos out of the way, "We'll do that."
They left the para military officers' office space. Then they left the intelligence headquarters, quickly picked up by a truck and driven off to the Captain General's headquarters near the city's capital building. The building was built like a mansion and was under guard by men dressed in dura steel not plastiod. They escorted the commandos into the building and led them to a dining room.
The dining room was massive with paintings of the planet's war heroes on the walls. A balcony in the back from which one could see the stars of the various systems in the galaxy. Then a long elegant table with gold trimmings. The whole platoon was seated around the table. Dral took off his helmet figuring this was a formal occasion. The rest of the platoon was quick to follow his model.
The door opened and everyone turned their heads. They saw an ARC trooper enter. He had blue stripes along his armor,kama, and pauldron making him out to be a Lieutenant. Given his build Alpha class.
"Which one's Lieutenant Dral'Alor?" He asked as he looked around the room.
Dral raised his hand and the ARC trooper approached, removed his helmet and took a seat across from him. He extended his hand to shake in the most polite fashion. Dral extended the courtesy and shook the man's hand.
"Lieutenant Grail, 5th ARC RCT." He said. Grail was quite the charmer from the way he spoke,smiled, and even moved.
"Nice to make your acquaintance. And of course I mean no offense but where's Captain Druid?"
"Druid," Began Grail, "Is handling increased activity in Ti'Xian. They've stepped up air raids in the region and he believes they're going to try and overrun several strongholds from the ground using wave tactics to try and break the stalemate."
"You mean they're just chucking people out there like their battle droids." Beskad said shocked by the idea.
Grail looked at the man, "I'm sorry but what's your name?"
"Sergeant Beskad, Warlock squadron."
Grail nodded, "Well Sergeant I've been here for six months and I can tell you this. Sylor Ashon will do whatever he believes he has to win. He sees a numerical advantage and he'll gladly keep throwing bodies at us until we run out of ammo."
"Kriffing hell," Chieftain replied, "He realizes those are people's lives right?"
"Yes, and he doesn't care." Grail replied quite coldly and the way his posture changed and his eyes narrowed. Dral could tell he'd seen it happen already. All clones were nothing more than shinies six months ago. Didn't matter the rank nor did it matter if you were special forces or just a grunt no one had actually seen combat. And seeing it changed a person. He could see in Grail's eyes solemn pain from having watched waves of living beings charging over in a mass wave through artillery fire, blaster fire, maybe even knife fights. Just rushing over the bodies of their comrades. It must have been a horrifying site.
"That's going to happen here?" Sergeant Prowl spoke up, "Intel told us the enemy's planning a massive offensive north."
"Intel thinks that's what'll happen. Intel knows they're massing troops along the Kheshgan-Aesnyran border. But why would they do that? Kheshigan is the most fortified position among the Federalists. We have airfields,anti air guns,armor,artillery, and the best trained infantry formations among the Federalist military all in this region. They haven't been able to advance through Samarkand with out experiencing reversal from heavy combined arms strikes." Grail said shaking his completely disagreeing with intel's analysis, "No it's a ruse to get us to drain troops from Ti'Xian allowing them to finally take the region and then have Khashigan isolated from the rest of the planet."
Dral nodded unsure if he could comment only having been on this planet for maybe an hour. Grail seemed visibly shaken for another moment, maybe remembering something awful as he shook his head clearing his mind of whatever it was. The man was haunted. Dral enjoyed war however he did not enjoy every aspect of it. One thing Llat's Ward tried but couldn't prepare him for was the trauma of watching people next to you die. Dral hadn'r lost any one in his squad but he remembered Mythosaur squadron whom his old squad trained closely with. They were all killed quickly. Artillery shell fell on their position. Dral remembered the boom knocking him on his feet. He'd gotten caught in the shock wave the Mythosaurs got caught in the actual blast. They were gone in instance. All those years of training meant nothing. He also remembered when he fought the mandalorian hand to hand. The moment was intense and filled him with adrenaline but the moment after he put his knife in another man's neck. The guy's helmet fell off and fell to the ground choking on his own blood. It was a horrifying sight Dral ended the man's suffering with a blaster bolt to the brain. Those were the scars in him. Grail looked as if he had more then just two he'd been fighting a planetary war for six months he'd more then likely killed no shortage of people and watched no shortage of people die. He'd probably watched clones under his command killed. Alpha ARCs had also begun recruiting from the regs and hand training them. Meaning Grail probably watched people he trained get killed, Dral couldn't imagine the pain. Yet it sat in front of him.
"We're here to help you win and end this conflict," Dral said steadfast, "Just tell us how we can help."
"End this conflict so we can move on to the next front," Grail sneered at first then shook his head again, "Right, well the High General sees both Captain Druid's and Chief Cyrus's points and is preparing for an attack to occur on either front. He's laying a defense in depth in both locations. I imagine tomorrow he'll want you to dig in here and be prepared to help stall a possible offensive."
Dral nodded, "I look forward to meeting him."
"He's quite the leader," Grail admitted, "Like something out of an old republic military history epic. I once watched him use himself as bait to lure the enemy into an encirclement. It was stupidly brilliant." The Lieutenant said, "However I'm also here because you need a direct comlink to the Naboo starfighter corps channels to direct precision air strikes in the case of an offensive."
"Ah we don't need air power," Beskad said very sarcastically, "It's not like anything has ever gone remotely wrong with out having air power."
"Yeah," Cassus jumped in, "Jabiim was a fun time and we totally won that battle with out having good coordination with air power."
There were dark chuckles all around. Everyone had gone through a similar occurrence. The Jedi lacked experience in coordinating air ground operations. Naval officers were so narrow focused they didn't properly allocate all the ground forces air support throughout a whole planetary campaign. Airfields were often not set up quickly enough planet side and because of planetary guns support from orbit was extraordinarily risky. All that resulted in very vicious ground fighting in which the enemy established aerial superiority. Dral could hear the sound of droid hyena bombers roaring in the back of his head. The first time it happened everyone dropped and prayed to manda the bombs wouldn't fall on them.
"Yeah who needs a silly little thing like air power," Prowl contributed.
Grail got to establishing the comm channels on everyone's comlinks. The doors opened again and finally the Captain General appeared. Mean clad in proud durasteel armor marched in first. They moved in a well disciplined manner as they clutched their blasters to their chests tightly. They moved to every corner in the room and in unison all turned to face the center of the room. Then Captain General Seljuk Timuriud entered the room. His hands behind his back. A proud billed hat over his head. A sharp olive green military jacket over his body. A glimmering set of badges shined from his right pack. His boots were spit shined and despite being black also gleamed. And a metal saber was sheathed to his right paired with a dagger that hung over it. That was the symbol of an officer in Kheshigan culture. He smiled.
"Welcome my fine guests," Seljuk spoke broadly, "To my fine city! We are most glad to have troops of your renown among our ranks to join in a war against those central bastards!"
Dral stood up, the man was technically GAR now. He brought his hand swiftly above his brow in a swift salute. "General officer present!" He told his men sharply. The whole platoon rose from their seats and saluted.
"Please have a seat. You haven't been among our people for long so I'll excuse your bliss. But it is quite rude for guests to act so formally among their hosts. It tells me you're not comfortable and we are bad hosts."
"Even when its the house of our superior?" Asked Prowl very much surprised by that.
"Especially when its your superior," Seljuk emphasized, "Remember that if the High General invites any of you over to his own place of residence. Now please relax, drink my wine, and enjoy the meal made by my chiefs."
Dral sat down and felt uneasy at first but knew he had to set an example. So he sat back in the chair,slumped, and relaxed. Wine was brought as was a fully roasted animal of some kind. It smelled really close to pork so it was probably some kind of equivalent. The rest of the squad fell suit.
"I shall be honest, the purpose of this dinner isn't merely because I wanted to have you over for dinner. It is to get you accustomed with our ways. I understand that you lived your whole lives on Kamino and even if you hadn't our little world is relatively unknown. There are some commonalities among all Askarians such as the treatment of guests. And many Askarians are not ver forgiving and will remember even a minor offense. It's why this war has gone on for so long."
"In that case we should thank you."
"Never thank your host." Seljuk said, "It is the honor of the host to have guests willing enter his home. That said, if offered dinner unless you have a valid reason, if you say no it will offend the Askarian because they will see that as them not being worthy of your presence."
"Kriff," Said Cassus, "That's a good heads up."
"Cassus languag-"
"Feel free to curse because….."
"Right," Said Dral, "If we're not acting comfortably it will be interrupted as the host isn't very good."
"Exactly," Seljuk said, "I also know you boys probably want to get to work and this formality is very tedious to you. I talked with the high general before I came here. And we believe an attack will happen. A big one, Sylor lowered the age of conscription to fifteen years of age and on Askaria both men and women can be conscripted. He's added a total of one billion soldiers to his overall force. Ill experienced they may be the cents are good at training and instilling discipline. And as the high general said 'if I were Sylor I would move the conscripts to Ti'Xian and form a force of my best troops to storm Kheshigan.' so…"
"He's plotting to hit us with everything he has," Dral said, "Sounds rather desperate. If he loses he will lose his best soldiers."
"High risk, higher reward," Seljuk replied, "If pushes all the way to Altia and gets our air fields he will have basically won the war. And he is indeed desperate. The central chamber is losing confidence again. He needs a really big victory and he needs it soon."
"There has to be more then," Dral said, "There has to be some reason something he possibly already did that would make this whole thing more plausible. Surely he's not going to chuck his best soldiers at us in an absolutely nonsensical manner."
"And that is what has the high general concerned. You're right Sylor Ashon must have some other angle he is about to come at us from. But what the fierfek is it? No one knows." Seljuk said and the horror of not knowing the exact details about what the enemy was about to do reflected deeply in his eyes, "But that's the reality of war. You never know what'll happen for sure. The best we can do is assume the worst is about to happen, dig out, boot in and prepare to get our hands dirty."
Dral nodded he didn't like not being able to do a damn thing. But that seemed to be the situation he now had on his hands.
Field Marshal Valko stood on an assembled base within the territory of Captain General Gurkhani, once a loyal retainer of Borjid. Now secretly in an engagement with the ACG believing he'd be given a port city once the war ended. Valko had the full intention to kill him and place his territory under martial law when the second Kheshigan had been conquered.
He watched as bellow the balcony of his personal HQ soldiers moved a long fast as sergeants and officers shouted orders to get equipment to one end or the other. Mechanics were working just as fast conducting maintenance on numerous aircraft,trucks, and tanks. Huge tanks of fuel were being moved around and plugged in to said vehicles. Payloads of bombs and artillery shells were being offloaded trucks and distributed elsewhere, many being loaded on the aircraft. The paratroopers with their grav packs ran off and towards their designated craft to get ready to jump. The Special forces team among them these men had been assigned to the port city of Ardashir the capital of Ardashir province. The biggest of the three as such the most important to seize intact. The wealth it would bring the Field Marshal personally made it so he couldn't just trust some major general who wasn't financially invested in this came as much as the field marshal was with the task. He wanted the power stations in tact. The space port needed to be taken, the industrial facilities needed to be functional, and of course he needed a reasonable amount of the civilians alive to use in the mines in the wider region. So he would oversee this operation personally.
He looked at his watch, soon they would begin. Valko dialed in the channel that linked the whole invasion force. They would all hear his pep talk before deployment, "Soldiers of Angor!" He said, "Long have we been at war with these terrorists and mongrels, they have savaged our world and attempted to shatter our union for their own petty interests! They have killed your friends and family. And they want to kill every last one of you. Yes we have struggled long and hard," Valko said, "And I implore on one last great struggle to break the neck of the snakes. Tonight will begin the biggest offensive ever undertaken in this fifteen year blood storm. We will sweep the port cities from under their feet and crush their resolve!" he formed a tight fist, 'And then we run them right off the face of the planet! Once these northern savages have been put beneath the boot, the easterners will fall soon after and this conflict will end. You will return to your homes as heroes of Angor! Your names will be cemented in the annals of history for bringing peace and security to our planet. So go my valiant servants and make the enemy bleed!" He shouted they all knew the plan and they all ran drills there was no need to go over it again. He trusted his men to perform to the maximum of their ability. A little motivation however certainly would not hurt their morale.
The sound of hyena bombers and vulture droids began to rise with a howl as the CIS provided craft slowly fired up with their engines and rose into the air flying towards their objective. The Gunships rose and followed behind them carrying the paratroopers and commandos. Tanks and trucks rumbled to life as they slowly crawled out of the base and pulled massive artillery guns behind them. Valko himself would arrive in his personally armored speeder accompanied by an elite detachment of honor guards. A storm was headed for the city of Ardashir. Valko laughed as it moved. Overjoyed that he would be remembered as the man who pummeled the north.