Disclaimer: I don't own SWTOR or anything in the Star Wars Franchise which is being butchered by Disney.
AdmiralF.: Sorry its a short chapter but I'm building up suspense to the final battle. The Battle of Mandalore should take up at least 4 Chapters of action and thrill.
SEVERAL WEEKS LATER IN THE MANDALORIAN CAPITAL OF SAMIEL
"Move it! Move it!" Shouted First Lieutenant Broxton of the Galactic Republic Armed Forces Wolf Division as he waved his hands towards the outer walls of the city. Republic Soldiers and Mandalorian Security Forces ran quickly down the cleared out streets of the Mandalorian Capital in a hurried manner. In the Tramways above them, the Tram's had been commandeered as moving gun platforms and outfitted with Repeating Blaster Rifles at every sixth window. These modified gun platforms moved around the Tramways ready for battle. Public Landing Platforms had been commandeered by the Republic Troops for use by their Fighter Craft. The major pathways to the Capital Building had been mined and barricades were set up around the Central Plaza and other Plaza's. The once peaceful and serene Mandalorian Capital had been turned into a fortress.
The Civilians ran from the streets and everywhere else to the safety of their homes. Mothers rushed their children from school and into their cellar. Husbands hurried their wives to safety. Civilians got their elderly relatives to their homes with them. Fear was in the air. After all it fits the situation. A cold blooded conqueror was on his way to Mandalore to invade it and it makes sense that fear is in the air.
The Outer Walls of the city were fortified heavily to prevent the Imperial Forces from even entering the city. Proton Cannons lined the wall which surrounded the city and at equally spaced positions on the wall were bunkers which had Repeating Blaster Rifles set up in them. The defenders used the naturally snow covered terrain to their advantage and carved out some of the ice formation into makeshift bunkers for gun crews. Trenches were dug with haste as Republic Snow Soldiers and Mandalorian Security Forces rushed out of the dome and to their positions. Mines surrounded the dome and Outer Walls.
Inside the Outer Wall Central Command Bunker was the group in charge of commanding the defense of Samiel. The group was made up of Mandalorian Security Chief Axle Polarus, his three best Security Captains, Wolf Division Commander Hart Draus, and Jedi Master Nul Tam. The group overlooked a Holomap of the area as they watched the defenses being set up. Around them Operators monitored the Communications channels and directed the orders through the ranks.
Security Chief Polarus pointed to a position some twelve miles from the Capital in a area of cliffs and passes. He zoomed in on it with the pressing of a few keys. "Here is where the Imperial's and Death Watch are most likely to land. Its out of range of our Proton Cannons and an easy congregation point." However Commander Draus had another opinion as he shook his head.
"Negative. In an area where heavy troops and vehicles will be required the Imperial's would not choose a location where it would be difficult to move their troops from that position." Draus pressed a few buttons and the map zoomed out and then zoomed in on another area some ten miles away from the city on a flat plain. "At this location they would have a perfect point from which to move towards the Capital." On that point they could all agree.
Master Tam stepped forward and decided to share his knowledge of the situation. Nul Tam was a human male with long curly brown hair, emerald green eyes, pale skin, and a tall figure. He pressed a few keys and a new view appeared. This time of an new Imperial Weapon that Republic Intelligence had only just found out about. "Gentlemen they could land at neither of those two points due to the Empire's new weapon. The H.A.T.A.V. or the Heavy All Terrain Assault Vehicle." The image rotated allowing them to view the entire thing.
The Heavy All Terrain Assault Vehicle was a large six legged walker with a bulky center and a command center attached to it. The command center was designed like a head almost and attached to its underside were two large Laser Cannons. On either side of the Center Hull was two rotating automatic Laser Cannons on each side. A demonstration showed the underside of the Center opening up and three large armored transports being lowered down. The transports opened up and Imperial Troops charged out. Next a new demonstration showed the vehicle lowering down until it was close to sitting as it was level with the knee's of its legs. The underside dropped down as a ramp and Imperial Assault Droids marched out. Then it returned to the regular image.
The group had gone silent watching the demonstration of the vehicle and Master Nul Tam was the one to break the silence. He returned the image to that of the map. "Intelligence believes that if the Empire does land then this will be their main weapon during the invasion. This weapon is extremely well armored and as such will be difficult to destroy." This was very grim news indeed. That new vehicle could very easily take out their defenses while deploying Imperial Forces at the same time. And Intelligence on Ryloth reported the Imperial Invasion Force had already stopped there to refuel and they knew it was headed to Mandalore because one of the Younger Officers had a bit too much drink and spilled the news to an Intelligence Operative.
Draus stepped forward and pressed some buttons opening a map of the galaxy with a highlighted Mandalore and highlighted Imperial Invasion Force. "Intelligence predicts that the Imperial/Death Watch Invasion Force will arrive within one hundred and twenty standard hours. We must have our forces ready within that time and the shield must be up at Maximum Power or they will catch us completely off guard. Republic Warships alongside your own Mandalorian Security Warships are already in position in orbit. Down here we still have a lot of work to do." They all nodded at his statement. True the orbital defenses may be safe but a ground assault was not ready to be repelled. Turrets still needed to be constructed, Shields still needed to come online, Bunkers still needed to be built, Paths for the makeshift Mobile Gun Platforms needed to be made, Mines needed to be laid. They had a lot of work to do.
A new plan was formulated in order to repel the most likely massive invasion force. A three part Defense Line was to be constructed around Samiel. The first line which would be the farthest out from the city, would consist of small Bunkers for Rapid Fire Blasters to be placed, Light Artillery, Dozens of trenches for infantry, Mines, and Light Anti-Air Artillery. The second line would consist of Larger Bunkers, Heavier Artillery, More Trenches, More Mines, and Heavier Anti-Air Artillery. The third line would be not that far away from the Outer Wall and would consist mostly of Anti-Air Artillery and Long Range Artillery alongside Anti-Infantry Artillery. The Enemy would crash against the first line and exhaust some of their men on overcoming it, then proceed to assault the second line and have depleted their ranks ever further. And by the time they reach the third line they will be greatly smaller in numbers and if they overcame the third line they would be so exhausted that the assault could not continue.
After the possible fall of the three Defense Lines, with the enemy so weakened a counter-attack would be launched. The Republic Arctic Troopers would be ready on a fleet of dozens of Speeders to charge through the remaining enemy and crush them. After which the Imperial Fleet would be forced to pull back and the Republic could declare its first victory in this war. The Commanders hoped it would work. Well not hoped, needed it to work. If this plan failed then they might as well consider the city taken. Of course a piece of information which would come in mere seconds would put quite the monkey wrench in their plan. And it happened mere moments after they gave out the details of the Defense Plan.
The Command Bunker door slid open with a metallic hiss as a Republic Arctic Trooper rushed inside and saluted them all. A Republic Arctic Trooper's Uniform was quite similar to the regular Soldiers uniform except it was white with patches of Arctic blue here and there. They also differed by the Snowpacks they had on their backs. Other than that the two were relatively similar.
Master Tam approached the Arctic Trooper and motioned for him to cease saluting. "What is it Soldier?" Tam could already sense unfortunate news headed their way. Whatever this man had to tell them it wasn't entirely good.
The Soldier cleared his throat before speaking to them. "General Tam Sir! Our Engineers report that we're too low on supplies to construct this Defense Line Sir! They say that we're too low on Mines, Artillery, Ammunition, Weapons, and Tools Sir!" The Soldier then fell silent as he stood with his hands folded behind his back awaiting a response.
Commander Draus began going through the list of remaining supplies and was unfortunately confirmed on the Soldiers information. Security Chief Polarus cursed this news about a hundred times and his Officers did the same. Only Master Tam remained quiet and calm as he digested the information. Eventually the Jedi Master walked over to the Holotable and keyed in the code to bring up the galaxy map.
"It is obvious that we must send for more supplies before the enemy is upon us. The most likely location to send for more supplies is the planet of Ord Mantel. It is Republic controlled and close enough that the supply fleet could be here within three days at the most. The Empire will have a great advantage in the case of a prolonged siege in the event we are low on supplies. We are surrounded by various Imperial Controlled worlds which will be rich with supplies. Ord Mantel is our only hope." They all knew this to be true and usually it was wise to listen to the words of a Jedi Master. And besides with the invasion reported to be only around five days away they were going with whatever they had.
Commander Draus immediately began to work with the Republic Technicians to establish communications with the Republic Base on Ord Mantel. Polarus sent his Officers out to regulate the distribution of their remaining supplies among the troops. Master Tam stood calm as he watched the chaos unfold. He reacted when the communications came through and the hologram on the table changed from a map to a Republic Communications Officer. Commander Draus didn't waste any time getting to the point and didn't even let the Officer speak first.
"This Commander Draus of the Republic Wolf Division on Mandalore. We are stationed here to defend against an impending Imperial Invasion reported to take place sometime soon. However we are running low on supplies and require a large shipment of supplies to maintain our position here." The Officer nodded and told them that his Commanding Officer would speak to them. Moments later the hologram of Jedi Master Halse Ilara appeared on the image.
Master Ilara was a Twilek Woman with orange skin and amber eyes. She wore brown Jedi Robes over a light battle armor. Ilara began to speak with them. "Commander Draus. I have been informed that you are in need of supplies to maintain your position. I can gladly tell you that we have many supplies available to send to Mandalore. What are you in need of?" Draus took out a Datapad and began to read off the list.
"We are short on almost everything. What we are in need of most is food, medical supplies, weapons, ammunition, Anti-Siege Equipment, and Repair Tools. At this rate we'll be out of everything within two days. We need that Supply Convoy and we need it soon." Master Ilara nodded and shouted something they couldn't hear to someone out of the message.
When she turned back to them she spoke this time. "We will ready the supply convoy immediately. It should be there in three days time if the Convoy is not discovered by the Imperials." Master Tam stepped forward to speak to Ilara.
"Halse nice to see you again. I only wish it were under more pleasant circumstances. The very air is filled with fear." The two Jedi Masters began to speak with each other for some time as around them the other Commanders planned and observed. They thought that plans and recourses were all they would need for the coming battle.
Oh how wrong they were. The upcoming battle would call upon every asset they held. It would bring them to their very limits. The coming battle would be the hardest fight of their lives.
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