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Super Star Destroyer Ares, On approach to Nal Kuat
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Admiral Aron Gentis recalled taking a relaxing liberty at Nal Kuat five standard months ago. Today, the planet he was returning to was no longer the same one he remembered visiting before the war.
The Super Star Destroyer had hyperjumped into the Kuat System at the New Thyfeeria gap and proceeded towards the Kuati home world at a leisurely sublight speed. The jump from Jastawui had taken two days. Now accompanied by a fighter escort of nearly two hundred TIE fighters, the massive warship crept silently towards the wrecked shipyard encircling Nal Kuat.
From the forward viewscreen, Gentis got his first direct glimpse of the carnage along the brutalized Star Destroyer row. He angrily shook his head and clucked his tongue in disgust. The officers standing behind him stood silent in their own judgement of the scene before them. Six Star Destroyers were still anchored at their berths, tiny flashes of light indicated zero-g work crews and welding droids slowly tearing at the damage with electro-cutting torches. One of them, the Might, remained in the vacuum-dock she had been berthed inside during the attack. A cloud of smoke, dust and debris still lingered around the naval base. In the Void smoke had nowhere to go and would linger until finally succumbing to the gravity pull of Nal Kuat over the course of the next few years. Gentis knew that within that malicious debris field still floated the torn and frozen chunks of thousands of Imperial sailors, caught asleep the morning of the First Order's surprise attack. KDY work crews recovered hundreds of them every day, even now, a full month into the war.
On the surface of the desert world, far below the KDY Driveyard Ring, two massive black scars marred the surface of Nal Kuat. Gentis didn't need to be told they marked the impact sites of the Star Destroyer Vision and the Venator Battle of Coruscant, both torn from their moorings and pulled to their doom by Nal Kuat's gravity well.
It was the break in the unending ring that disturbed the Admiral the greatest. Laying alongside the gap cleaved in the driveyard was the Star Destroyer Hope, or to be more precise, what little remained of her. Nearly half the casualties incurred in the attack came during her cataclysmic explosion as energy bombs pierced her tibanna magazines. While furious work was being launched to repair the gap in the ring, little attention was being paid to the small pieces of the Hope that had survived. There was simply too little to salvage from a ship that had become a tomb.
It certainly was a vastly different Galaxy than it had been a month ago, Gentis mused. "And admit that the waters around you have grown."
A voice from behind him replied. "And accept it that soon you'll be drenched to the bone."
Gentis gave a warm smile to his old friend, Captain Lenoan the new commander of the Ares. "If your time to you is worth savin' and you better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone."
The Kuati officer finished the stanza. "For the times they are a-changin.'"
"I have no intention of letting the Empire sink like a stone, Ormes. I had no idea you were a fan of the classics." Gentis told his replacement.
"Sir, I'd hardly call Dylan a classic. His music is barely a hundred orbits old."
"Indeed. Besides he was an Earthling, and even if intelligence says they weren't involved in this attack the Confederates would certainly approve of its outcome." Gentis remarked.
"Absolutely, Admiral. Surely President Harris facilitated the attack." Another officer interjected. This time it was Captain Vertitas, lately returned to service from the Space Ministry and currently unassigned. The Ares had been a magnet for some of the brightest officers in the Empire after the attack. Officers had fled the Rhombus on Palpatine Prime to avoid the poorly-aimed flailing of the three surviving officers of the Admiralty as their careers plummeted into their own personal sarlac pits.
Not only was Vertitas drawn to the Ares, but Gentis had gathered Captain Bhao of the Bureau of Personnel, Captain Freyborn of the Bureau of Ordinance, Captain Wolbam of the Bureau of Ports and Driveyards, newly arrived from Nal Kaut, and Captain Murp of FleetIntel. Gentis saw the potential in each of them and held them close by his side, shielding them from the expected fury of the Admiralty.
"The connection between him and the First Order is evident, not just at New Ryloth, where they bombarded Moff Fortuna's guard units from orbit in advance of Earthling ground troops, but also during the CEN's initial attack at New Mandalore." Gentis replied.
"Wasn't it the Mandos that first gave us the name of these people?" Captain Wolbam asked. He had been helping out with the repairs of the ring driveyard and had been the least involved senior officer with updated intelligence.
Captain Murp on the other hand and been up to his neck in it. "You are correct, Captain. A small contingent of First Order fighters joined the CEN in their attack on New Wellington and were captured and interrogated by Clan Bly, their local intelligence service."
Gentis, unlike many who held senior command, had no issues with deferring to junior officers who had more expertise. "Have we learned anymore of the First Order's origin or their intentions?"
"New Mandalore has relayed us a little information, but it's getting kriffing tough to get a signal through from the Sol System. Moff Hinter has a few prisoners she's picked up on Mars and they confirm that the First Order was working with President Harris for the past year. Other than that our best source of new intelligence seems to be the Kazoookians."
"They're rather eager to lend us a hand against these guys now that they know we're not the same fleet that attacked their home world." Lenoan reported. "The first Wookiees should be here in a few days."
"I sure could use them." Wolbam admitted. He would need them too, Gentis felt, especially if he was allowed to follow through with his own plans for the fleet.
"We're more alike than we know." Captain Murp continued referring to the First Order.
"Echuta. How so?" Captain Freyborn demanded. Her brother had been confirmed killed aboard the Hope and she did not condone comparisons between Imperials and their mysterious new enemies lightly.
"New Mandalore reports the First Order apparently originated from the Home Galaxy, most likely the Unknown Regions or Wild Space. Their prisoner states they've been in the Milky Way for about a year and a half." Captain Murp reported.
"That disturbance in the Sagittarius." Vertitas realized with a gasp. "The Convor's last transponder reading came from the same area."
"That hyperscout ship that vanished?" Lenoan asked. "I always figured they got swallowed by a space slug."
"That would put them in the vicinity of our best guess to where the Kazoookians come from. And the time frame from the Wookiees reported attack on their home world lines up with our current hypothesis as to the First Order's arrival." Murp said.
"Those Earthlings on Kazoook probably pointed a big arrow right at the Sol System for the First Order. No wonder they showed up when they did. Kudos to them for crossing the Void between the Sagittarius and the Orion so quickly." Vertitas stated. "No one in our Space Ministry has managed to do so."
"The First Order has done a lot, much too quickly for my liking. Let's not focus on how they got here, but what they intend to do now that they've arrived." Gentis told his officers.
"They don't seem as bent on conquest as the CEN. Spotting reports from Hinter on Mars reported that they've settled their fleet around Titan near Earth 6. It was these spotting reports that finally allowed the Ares to come out of hiding and dock here at Nal Kuat." Murp reported.
"Unless they intend on doing their conquests by drowning us in Confederate blood." Freyborn argued. "Both advances down the Gallivanter and the Carnificial have been led by new upgraded ships of the Confederate Space Force."
"We hardly reciprocated with any drowning of our own at Plympto Blight. Blastman lost nearly every ship in his command and barely scratched the Solars." Lenoan complained.
"They've come up with some new weapons, that's for sure." Captain Freyborn admitted. "My techs and engineers are working to match their new torpedoes. Strange they seem to be using First Order jamming and comm equipment but the First Order didn't have as good a torpedo here at Nal Kuat as the CEN did at Plympto Blight. The First Order might be the ones that supplied them with those under-powered shields they're using as well."
"Space Force didn't have shields a year ago, and their front line ships have three or four times the amount of blasters they used to, as well." Lenoan added. Several of the officers looked to the floor. Their concerns weighed heavy on them as they did their commander.
Captain Bhao delicately chose to change the subject. Being head of the Bureau of Personnel, his mind was on filling duty stations with the best officers he had available. "Traal and Windrider have both stepped down from the Admiralty and the writing is on the wall for Admiral Cabbel. Has the Empress named you the new commander of the Imperial Navy yet, Admiral?"
That got a few chuckles from the gathered officers. Gentis wanted to continue lifting their spirits. "When she contacted me at Jastuwui a couple of rotations ago, she relieved me of the Ares and gave her to Lenoan here. I was named Chief of Naval Operations and she told me to get my shebs out to Nal Kuat and don't come back until the war is won."
That got a few more laughs out of the officers, even a hardy clap from Vertitas and Wolbam. The truth was the Navy was going to expand. It had to in order to survive and defend the Empire from the coming onslaught. Each of the officers before him, a few of them noblemen, had been personally recommended for the rank of rear-admiral by Gentis in the past week and he fully expected those promotions to occur in the next month.
"But surely Cabbel is out." Freyborn offered. "He won't go out without a fight like the other two, but he's leaving, right?"
"That is up to the Senate and the Empress. It is not up to us to make up their minds on such matters." Captain Bhao stated flatly. He was right. Such a decision was out of their hands, which was at it should be. Gentis had avoided being drawn into it but the political fight with the Admiralty would inevitably consume his attentions, much to his irritation. Didn't the Empire know he had a war to fight?
"Excuse me, Admiral, Captains." An Aqualish Master Chief interrupted the senior commanders. "KDY has dispatched a pilot and eight heavy-tractor tugs to bring the ship in. Admiral, your shuttle is ready to take you in."
"Belay that, not the tugs, Force-forbid the Ares hit something or somebody out there because we were showboating. I won't be needing the shuttle. I will accompany the Ares all the way to her berth. Have our welcoming committee meet us there."
"Aye, aye, sir. By the way, it will be Admiral Cabbel welcoming us to port." The Master Chief said before slipping away from the officers.
"He's back? Would have thought he'd go into hiding after turning tail from Waypoint 16." Vertitas stated. The other Captains nodded in agreement. Their career paths had all been suppressed and slowed over the years at the petty whims of the Admiralty. Gentis had suffered just as much as they had, but he couldn't quite find fault with Cabbel over the Waypoint 16 decision to turn back and preserve the fleet. Though if he had been in Cabbel's boots he would have at least tried to give Space Force one lick before departing.
Lenoan gazed out the forward viewports. "Aye, there's the Flood docked in with the Spitfire and the Implosion. I heard Captain Banjeer had to retire to his own quarters after Cabbel's order; otherwise he would have had to arrest his entire bridge crew for mutiny."
"Banjeer's a good man. Quiet and serious, but stang deadly on a bombing run." Vertitas informed the others. "He served under me during the Lesser Continental Campaign."
"Men that served under you have a way of rising in the Empire." Wolbam joked, referring to humor surrounding the Prince Consort which was more suitable to pilot ready rooms rather than civilized company.
"None higher. Even Yutu never climbed to that lofty height." Vertitas replied, which even got a chuckle out of Gentis.
Before anything bawdy could be said that would give slight to their beloved Empress, Gentis brought them to the subject at hand. Their duty to their Empire. "Bring us into port, Captain Lenoan. Captain Wolbam, I want your repair teams aboard the Ares the minute we anchor. You know the changes I have in mind."
"Aye, sir." Wolbam replied. "KDY has almost twenty thousand dock workers ready to get to work. Do you really want that many anti-airspeeder cannons mounted to her? She's not going to win any beauty contests with all you have in mind."
"I'd mount a thousand more if I could. Those wrecks out there are testament to the raw power of snub-nose fighters. This new enemy wants to fight us from a distance, I will oblige, but I will give my sailors and troopers every advantage I can squeeze out of these ships. I expect the same from each of you. Bhao, Vertitas and Freyborn, you will accompany me ashore."
"Aye, sir." Each Captain said in tune with the others. Wolbam and Lenoan departed to tend to their own duties as the Ares closed with the ring. A massive berth had been cleared on the inner planet side of the ring away from the damaged warships on the outer side. Scores of TIE Interceptor escorts swarmed about the monstrous vessel preventing private airspeeders from getting too close and snapping holopics.
Gentis and his entourage moved to the officer's boarding ramp as it extended from the ring and connected to the port side of the Ares's superstructure. The officers had to wait several seconds while the tube pressurized to allow their passage. Thirty members of the Venom Guard unit of the Navy Special Forces provided their official escort.
As the pressurized air blew up the boarding ramp Gentis caught his first whiff of hypermatter and scorched durasteel. It was a stench so all-pervading that the beings stationed at Nal Kuat had ceased to notice it.
An Imperial Troop Transport arrived, probably hurried from the VIP Shuttle landing bays to the Ares's berth. Admiral Cabbel and a dozen other officers stepped out of it. Gentis saluted Cabbel, perhaps for the last time as the other man's inferior if recent scuttlebutt was true.
Gentis knew all about the wasted relief mission to Waypoint 16 and the sacrifice of its garrison. That was in the past now and there was nothing either man could do about it. The Empire had more current and pressing matters, including the one that continued to push the raid on Nal Kuat out of the HoloNews' headlines. "What news of Mars?"
Cabbel scowled. Waypoint 16 may have had a chance at being relieved. Mars, and with it one-third of the Empire's Stormtroopers, was most certainly out of the Imperial Navy's reach with its current capabilities. Captain Murp had quietly informed Gentis of FleetIntel's estimate of Space Force's size and placed it around six hundred warship. None could go toe-to-toe with a Star Destroyer but five or ten of them massed together certainly could.
"Moff Hinter is still conducting her defense from Olympus Mons. General Dritwright supports Hinter's claim that they can hold out for months if they have to. There's been some talk of small successes with a new band of irregulars operating behind the Earthling lines there but Hinter minimizes it in her reports." Cabbel reported as if Gentis was the senior. If Nal Kuat could be blamed on the Admiralty they could at least claim they never saw the First Order coming. Hinter, however, had a day to prepare before the Space Force invaded the Empire's most populous world. She had no one else to blame for losing most of her air cover on the ground like she did.
Gentis's eyes absently went to Cabbel's rank cubes as he contemplated the heavy burden of command. Others had gotten Gentis into this situation and now it was his duty, for the sake of the Empire, to get everyone out again.
Cabbel noticed his glance. The senior Admiral had the same amount of squares as Gentis since they were both technically Vice-Admirals, but where Gentis carried two code cylinders next to his cubes, Cabbel carried three. The last one being the command authority codes of the Admiralty. "I suspect I will be handing these over to you in the next few hours. As soon as orders come from Palpatine Prime. Then instead of two officers with the keys to the kingdom there will be one."
"Two officers? I suspect Doza lost his when he fell but there are still three members of the Admiralty for now." Gentis was slightly confused.
"Perhaps you did not hear the news while you were in transit?"
"I'm afraid operational security forbids the Ares from linking with HoloNews or command beacons unless we are in secure areas of operations." Gentis replied.
"As it should. Then I regret to inform you. Admiral Commander Traal, was found dead inside his estate on Vehaa. His service blaster was present at his side." Cabbel reported with a tinge of regret and sadness in his voice.
"That's horrible." Gentis said truthfully. The Admiralty may have been dawdlers and petty tyrants, but they were still beings and officers within the Imperial military. That the shame of his failure had caused Traal to take his own life absolved the Admiral Commander of further condemnation in Gentis's eyes.
"As you know, Marshal Windrider resigned his commission. I suspect we both will be facing charges before the Senate before too long."
"Nal Kuat was nobody's fault. I will put that into writing, whether or not they ask me to, Admiral." Gentis swore.
"Thank you, Admiral. That's very kind." Gentis saw some surprise in Cabbel's eyes. The man had been vilified by the Empire for the past month and most likely didn't have any hope of finding an ally for his cause.
Another landspeeder arrived, this one an expensive Sorusuub model. Moff Farnmir stepped out followed by several Kuati board members and shipwrights from KDY. Farnmir approached the two Admirals and offered them both firm handshakes. Hinting at who really ran things on Nal Kuat, Farnmir greeted them with, "Gage Kuat sends his apologies for not being here to welcome his grandfather's ship and you, fine sir."
"No need to apologize. I'd wanted to meet with the Kuat of Kuat as soon as possible. but I'm sure we will have ample opportunity to do so over the next coming days."
"Absolutely. However, I must address the new factory space you appropriated next to the shipyards. Half my workforce is rushing to enlist to fight the invaders and now you're claiming eminent domain of some of the ring's prime real estate." Moff Farnmir protested.
"The Admiralty wasn't aware of such a move, but I do recognize the need for space with the expanded dimensions of this new war." Cabbel pointed out. "It will probably become inevitable that the military requires more and more space as the conflict progresses. After all, would you rather Admiral Gentis take your driveyard warehouses or the Confederacy of Earth Nations?"
"Thank you, Admiral. A very good point, but I have been in contact with the Kuat of Kuat and he has already offered the space for the duration. I'm sure he informed you of the industrial specifications I forwarded." Gentis asked the Imperial Governor.
"Yes, he has. The first factory is already up and running. The units there were already known to us and the easiest to produce. The second ones are quite expensive, which is why only the Banking Clan could afford them in the past. And to this third one; we're going to need a major retool just to get it going. Those units shouldn't arrive within the fleet for a year. We got lucky that research and development on them was pretty much completed at the end of the last war before the economic crash shut everything down." Farnmir explained.
"Put the first hundred units from the primary factory to work in the second and start relieving your workers for other duties. I need those refits on the six remaining Star Destroyers of Bombardment Squadron 1 started as soon as possible." Gentis ordered.
"I will personally oversee that the new factories are brought up to peak performance as quickly as possible." Captain Freyborn vowed in her role as the Navy's Chief of Ordinance. Gentis had absolute faith in his top commanders. That's why he had spared them from the clutches of the Admiralty over the years. Captain Bhao would certainly appreciate the new units as they became available to his Personnel Bureau, especially since Gentis planned on gutting the fleet's complements before he was through.
"Yes, about that . . ." Farnmir started.
"The Empress and the Senate are most adamant those ships are put back into service as I see fit, my Lord."
"I understand. But such drastic changes." Farnmir sighed. The last decade's Star Destroyer conversions from Kuati Destroyers were ships designed to fight the last war. The enigmatic First Order had taught the Empire a valuable lesson with their devastating raid, one Gentis had quickly learned from. This war was not going to be like the last one. If small bombers could take out a Star Destroyer what was next? A Death Star?
"Admiral, my Lord, I don't mean to interrupt," Captain Bhao interrupted. "But there is an urgent message from Palpatine Prime. I'm afraid it's for Admiral Gentis's eyes only."
"You may use my transport." Admiral Cabbel snapped his fingers at the nearby ITT. The crew quickly exited the armored vehicle.
"Thank you, sir." Gentis excused himself from the rest of the welcoming committee. He received several assuming grins from his entourage due to their silent predictions of why Palpatine Prime would be calling and what it meant for all of them.
Gentis entered the empty vehicle and approached the field comm-projector. As he placed his code cylinder in the encryption portal he knelt down on his left knee on the deck of the ITT. The emblem of the 2nd Galactic Empire appeared for a second before being replaced by three holographic heads. Empress Phasma Yos was flanked by Prime Chancellor Runnerz and Senator Saria of the Imperial Patriotic Party.
"Rise, Fleet Admiral." The Empress gently ordered. Her familiar tone, the most recognized in the Empire, was a soothing comfort in such troubling times.
Gentis was not placed at ease enough that he missed the Empress's greeting. "Fleet Admiral? But the Empire hasn't had one of those since . . ."
"My father." The Empress reminded Gentis of the extremely large shoes he would be filling. Fleet Admiral Yos had formed the 2nd Galactic Empire, freed all the slaves of Tarkin's Fist, began the colonization of the Bloodstripe Run at Mars and in his free time started the first war against Earth.
"My life and service for you, your Majesty." Gentis accepted the promotion.
"Then in my service I charge you with saving and liberating the conquered territories. I am but one being of the Empire and I hold you responsible, as I am responsible, for all beings in our Empire."
"I shall succeed in your charge or go to chaos trying." Gentis declared.
"Well said, Admiral." Prime Chancellor Runnerz smiled in congratulations. As leader of the Imperial Patriotic Party he had always been supportive of the military.
"But doesn't this complicate things? Advancing me to Fleet Admiral places me a rank above the members of the Admiralty." Gentis asked.
"The Admiralty has been dissolved. The military has now been placed under direct supervision from the Senate. Senator Saria here has been appointed Minister of War with direct oversight over the Navy, Army and the Stormtrooper Corps."
"Does that mean the budget, as well?"
"I'm afraid so, Admiral." Saria chuckled. "But do not worry, the Empire will fund the war to its rightful conclusion. What other choice do we have? Surrender is not an option."
"I look forward to working with you to defeat our enemies, Madame Minister. But where does that leave Admiral Cabbel and Marshall Windrider?" Gentis inquired after his predecessors.
"Windrider's resignation won't be enough to save him. Both of them will be recalled to Palpatine Prime to face a Senate Board of Inquiry." Runnerz said. Phasma looked disappointed at the politician's course of action.
"Why? The Admiralty is guilty of nothing more than fighting the last war. Grand Admiral Yutu and your father, nearly ground the Earthlings to dust with orbital bombardment. Prophesying that the next war would follow the same course was a logical conclusion made by many good officers working in the Rhombus."
"The Empire needs answers. Someone has to take the blame for Nal Kuat." The Prime Chancellor demanded.
"The Empire does not need a lengthy show trial. What the Empire needs is victory and the assurance that its beings are safe and secure. We need to do everything we can to stop the Earthling invasion where it is." Gentis countered.
"What do you propose, Admiral?" The Empress asked.
"I need men like Windrider and Cabbel. They held the military together in the years after we lost the Grand Admiral. They carried the fleet down the Bloodstripe. If I could, I would recall Windrider to service. I need someone to run the Bureau of Training and I see a place for Cabbel as the head of the Bureau of Supply. I need experienced men in both those positions. If you feel the need to humiliate them or punish them for failing to see the arrival of this new First Order, then we are all guilty."
"I cannot keep them at their high ranks. The public wouldn't stand for it. And I'm sure there are men you'd like to promote upwards into their places." Saria stated.
Gentis couldn't argue with her there. Cabbel and Windrider would probably suffer demotions but they wouldn't have to fear being thrown into the stygium mines of Nal Kessel. "There are several dozen I'd like to move up to flag rank in all three branches of the military. We need to expand quickly but not at the expense of our cutting edge. Promoting those officers will only make the Empire stronger."
"I shall consider your recommendations, Admiral." Saria told him. Gentis could already sense that civilian oversight was not going to be a pleasant experience.
"Perhaps, I should send over some of my Royal Guard to assist you, Minister, in the interest of expediting the process." Phasma warned. She made it quite clear that the Empire did not have the time or patience for partisan politics and petty bureaucrats.
"No need, Your Majesty. I will have the Senate pass the Fleet Admiral's suggestions in session this afternoon." Runnerz promised as he shot Saria a stern look of warning. Now was not the time to play power games.
"Speaking of promotions. This war has already grown larger than the Empire-Earth War. Why don't we promote the Fleet Admiral to Grand Admiral?" Saria asked.
"Grant me victory, Aron Gentis, and I shall raise you as high as I once did my dear Yutu." Phasma promised. She was right of course. The Empire had known nothing but defeat for the past month and the CEN was still creeping steadily closer to Palpatine Prime every day. Gentis vowed to himself that he would give the Empress just what she asked for and earn the white uniform of a Grand Admiral by watching the First Order burn.
"I intend to do just that, Your Majesty." Gentis answered.
"And what exactly is your plan to do so?" Prime Chancellor Runnerz inquired. "Especially concerning Mars, where nearly five million beings of the Empire are currently threatened with occupation."
Mars was a tough subject to broach. A relief mission was surely out of the question. They'd have to blaze a trail down the rimward half of the Bloodstripe Run against a heavily strengthened Space Force and an unknown First Order fleet. The debacle at Waypoint 16 proved just how unprepared the Imperial Navy was for such a task. Gentis hated to admit it, but barring one of those Christian miracles he had heard about, Mars would fall.
"Moff Hinter has a lot of powerful friends in the Senate and in the HoloNews. It will look very bad for morale if she were to fall into enemy hands." Runnerz said.
"Surely, my new Fleet Admiral can do something about it." Minister Saria emptily promised. Her naivety was charming but he would have to quickly educate her of the blood-soaked realism of the conflict raging down the Bloodstripe. Quite different than Yutu's war in which a young and new Empress absently blessed every move he made. Instead, Gentis would have to tame the beast named Oversight.
"I will put my top men on it right away, Minister. Moff Hinter is a personal comrade of mine." Gentis turned to address Phasma. "We both served under Your Majesty together at the Battle of Four Navies." Gentis replied.
"I remember it well. We've already lost several Moffs during the Confederate invasion. None of them, however, had an entire Legion under their command. What is the situation in the Sol System, Minister?" Phasma asked Saria, who in turn looked to Gentis. Luckily he had been studying the latest reports from the red planet during the hyper-jump to Nal Kuat.
"Moff Hinter and General Dritwright continue to fortify their positions on Olympus Mons. The volcano is so large it has required twelve Confederate divisions to fully encircle it. According to prisoners Dritwright has taken, those forces were meant for occupation duties on other Imperial worlds. He's tying them down and slowing Akfar's coreward advance. Detachments of the 501st have further slowed the enemy's attack, either going down under concentrated attack or fleeing into the wilderness areas of their worlds. FleetIntel is in contact with over thirty individual groups on various planets working behind enemy lines. Dirtwright, supposedly, has organized a large group of irregulars on Mars that have already struck the Earthlings hard behind their lines."
"So Hinter can hold out?" Runnerz asked.
Gentis didn't see the need to give the politicians false hope. "No. Mars will fall."
Saria gasped while Runnerz looked as if he had been slapped. The Empress looked to the floor for several seconds before making eye contact with the Admiral again. "I do not mean to cast dispersion on the Moff, but the truth is Hinter waited too long to retreat to a fortified position. And when she did so she scarcely made arrangements for food and tibanna to be transferred out of Amidala City. Dritwright's troopers have already had their rations cut and their artillery is limited to a handful of shells per day. The Earth divisions on the other hand, are bringing up more and more blasters and slugthrowers every hour and are attempting to bury the 212th in slugs and bolts. I estimate, barring a Confederate direct assault, the Legion will fall in under two months."
"Can the fleet make it back to Mars in that time?" Runnerz asked.
Minister Saria seemed to grasp the situation quicker than her boss. Surely she had been briefed on the overall picture ever since Runnerz had approached her with her new job offer. "The fleet must make a stand. Perhaps at Ro-loo or Kafrene Outpost first. The route to the Kuat Spur must remain open and the capital ships of the Confederacy must be located and neutralized. Especially these new faux-Providence cruisers of theirs."
"The Eiffels, apparently they're named after monuments we destroyed in the last war. I do not believe bringing our Star Destroyers into direct conflict with the Confederate vanguard is wise at this moment. We are dealing with not only Admiral Akfar, who has proven quite capable in space combat, but this mysterious First Order Commander who may or may not be pulling Akfar's strings. It is my belief that they are using the CEN Space Force as bait to draw us into the very battle you propose. With Bombardment Squadron 1 under repairs, the fleet's mobile strength consists of the Slash, Flood, Immobile and the Quill. The Ares must be conserved to deflect the First Order when and where they show their faces again."
"Do you suggest we stay on the defensive, Admiral? No fighter ever won a match by simply blocking the punches of their opponent. We need to start getting in some hits of our own." The Empress asked.
"Precisely, your Majesty. I recommend promoting Captain Vertitas and giving him a task force based around the Slash. Her Captain Lenoan just replaced me at the helm of the Ares. I intend for Vertitas to strike at the periphery of the Confederate advance and to avoid direct contact with the enemy's heavies for the time being. I aim to put the fear of the Empire back into the Earthlings, and that will start with piling up dead Earthlings where they least expect us."
"I hope you intend on sharing your battle plan with me, Admiral." Saria said.
"It's already drawn up. I will send it to you within the hour via armored courier shuttle." Gentis promised.
"Excellent." Saria replied. Gentis felt he could work with her and the Prime Chancellor if they stayed out of his way. Better to have them fending off detractors on Palpatine Prime than having them here jostling his elbow.
Not wanting to focus on the details quite yet, Gentis broached another tender topic. "Actually, all things considered, we got off quite lucky during the raid on our driveyards here."
All three of the holograms looked flabbergasted at his declaration. The raid on Nal Kuat had been the most devastating shock to the 2nd Galactic Empire since Eritech's assassination of Emperor Yos. The Prime Chancellor fixed him with a stern look. "Do tell, Admiral."
"First of all, the attack not only exposed our weaknesses, which we have already countered and solved, it exposed this Dark-sided alliance between the Earth and these First Order scum, who apparently come from our own Home Galaxy. Second, while it is devastatingly true that at current count we've lost 21,999 troopers and sailors dead and another eight thousand wounded it could have been much worse. We lost three times that many at your Majesty's Battle of the the Four Navies and why was that?"
"Because both sides were Imperials?" Saria guessed.
"Because we were in the Void with every vessel manned and ready. Here we had eight Star Destroyers knocked out and ninety percent of Nal Kuat's TIE squadrons on the ground. By a stroke of luck, the First Order caught our ships in port, rather than in the Void. Imagine, if you can, what would have happened if those slow battle wagons of Bombardment Squadron 1 were in such an action against six First Order Star Destroyers, full of those upgraded TIEs of theirs, working our warships over. We would have lost a quarter million sailors and our pilots would have been killed rather than left stranded ashore.
Lastly, the First Order failed to hit KDY's repair shops all along the ring, especially the hypermatter and coaxium tank farms, where we already have two years worth of fuel for the entire fleet. In addition, the refineries in the Vaedor System have been going at full capacity ever since the raid. Those tanks could have been blasted apart by simple strafes from those TIE chin cannons, but they ignored them. Now our fleet is fully fuelled while, due to the slowing of Akfar's advance, I suspect the Confederates are starting to run low on fuel. The First Order could also be waiting for the Confederates to secure a viable fuel source before they advance. They maneuvered through the Almuhit twice, once to raid us and the second time to escape to their new position near Titan in the Sol System. That had to burn a massive amount of gas."
"No doubt. And how are they supplying them? That small factory they ran up around Earth 2? That can't be up to the task of supporting a lengthy war effort." Saria added.
"I've heard reports that KDY is working around the clock to repair the damaged vessels there and they're laying the keels of scores of support vessels. When do you estimate you'll be ready to take the fight back to the rimward half of the Bloodstripe?" Empress Phasma asked.
"I will play defense for a year. After that, Akfar will either be the one on defense or we will burn the Earth to its core." Gentis swore. Alone the Ares could do it, with a fleet of hundreds of warships planned they could go toe-to-toe with the First Order and the Space Force and destroy them both.
"Excellent. Then we won't keep you any longer, Fleet Admiral. You have enough on your plate to keep you busy for the next several lifetimes." Empress Phasma stated, cutting off the Prime Chancellor, who looked about ready to start another line of questioning. The Empress was correct. Gentis had a tremendous amount of work ahead of him.
The newly minted Fleet Admiral thrust his arm forward into the formal Imperial salute. "Long live the Empire."
"May the Force be with you, Admiral Gentis." Empress Phasma smiled at him before cutting the feed from Palpatine Prime.
What followed was a night of long comm calls to a host of department and section commanders and nearly every flagship captain in the fleet, the new Fleet Admiral had toured the wreckage of Star Destroyer row. Gentis continued on, fueled by an almost endless cup of caf. Captain Bhao pulled every officer Gentis requested and assigned them to his staff or various commands where he believed they were most needed. His command staff had doubled in size over night and was threatening to double again over the next day as the Naval headquarters at Nal Kuat took shape.
Admiral Cabbel had no doubt heard about his reassignment and requested a meeting to conduct a proper change of command ceremony. Gentis waved him off and demanded his fellow Admiral have breakfast with him. The meal was spent discussing theories on what must have happened back in the Home Galaxy to create the First Order and devolved into a discussion over fathier racing on Uvartia, a subject both men had a pre-war affection towards. The admirals and captains of the Empire were a small private club of rivals and friends. Politics and professionalism could, at times, be put to one side for the good of the Empire. They were the brass, the big rank cubes, and there was a war to win. They were expected to show a united front.
Admiral Cabbel, now demoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral, was a man transformed. No longer the arrogant, elitist supreme commander, he was more like a whipped aak. He knew who had figuratively and literally saved his life and, perhaps more importantly to the older officer, his career. He carried himself as if he owed one of those alien life-debts several cultures honored. Cabbel threw himself into his new post as the Chief of Supply and already had several new proposals for Imperial Super Haulers, a massive supply base to be constructed on Next-1, armored loadlifters for service in the front lines and an idea for moduler production methods of mass produced Class Four transports organized into convoys for better protection.
Gentis approved of all of the ideas. He needed supplies brought from the core planets up to the factories at Nal Kuat or the fleet would starve of fuel, food and ammo. Nal Kuat, the planet, could supply none of what was needed to support a war. It was a barren desert suitable only for Jawas and dewbacks.
At one point during their endless tour of the damage caused by the First Order's vicious raid, Cabbel tapped the rank cubes and code cylinder on his chest. "Perhaps we should take care of some official business before things get too confusing, Admiral."
"If you insist, Admiral. I'm still trying to get the lay of the land." Gentis played off the insistency of the request.
"The needs of the Empire supersede our own personal comforts and wants." Cabbel was right. "Might I suggest we meander back over to the Ares and conduct a proper change of command ceremony?"
"The Ares is out of the question. ISB has the HoloNews locked down tight about her even being here. It was one thing for the enemy to catch eight Star Destroyers in port, it would be war-ending if they caught the Ares flat-footed like that."
"Of course, I hadn't thought about it in quite those terms. Operational security must be our top priority, what is the Earth saying? Oh yes, loose lips sink ships."
"Precisely, but don't worry if all we need is a warship to perform the ceremony on I have the perfect one in mind for the job." Gentis entered his ITT along with Cabbel and his Naval Trooper escort and a single camdroid from the Iron Will, the Navy's own news media.
The ITT raced through the city and industrial districts of Nal Kuat. The city was changed from the last time Gentis was here. It was as if everyone was on heavy doses of tranquilizers after the devastation laid upon their ring and the depressing news coming out of the rimward Bloodstripe. He was going to get them moving up to full steam again.
After weaving through several blocks of warehouses they arrived at a secluded and poorly lit docking area. Gentis and Cabbel exited the ITT and stood facing a towering wall of stacked proton torpedo launchers. Several dozen sailors milled about the airlock leading outside to their ship. The sailors' uniforms were rumpled and covered in grease stains. The officer leading them was wearing a slanted field cap that looked as if he slept atop of the thing at night.
"By the memory of the Sith, Admiral," Cabbel whispered a curse that was more familiar in his grandsire's day than current times. "For a few minutes there I thought you were taking us to some clandestine meeting with the fabled Mynockian of all people."
Gentis laughed. "I hope not. I take it you don't believe he's just a ghost the gossip mags made up to sell holos."
"Well the rumors about him sure scare the Crimson Dawn and Kajidic thugs around this system. I recognize the berth numbers down here but I hate to admit I never took a tour of this post during my time with the Admiralty. Besides, I heard you and Captain Murp had a run in with the Mynockian during the infernal attack upon our gracious Empress."
"He was there. I'm not sure what he was, but something or someone dressed like a Mynock helped us take down those First Order assassin scum. Other than that, you know just as much as I do. Well, let me show you around." Gentis marched toward the gathered sailors. The worn-ragged appearing officer lazily called them to attention. They didn't move too eagerly, despite being approached by their former and current Imperial Naval Commanders.
The officer saluted. It wasn't crisp as if he had just graduated from the Martian Naval Academy, but it would pass muster here in the driveyards. "Greetings, Admirals."
"Commander Strobestack." Gentis returned the salute. He had known Strobestack professionally for several years and had championed the cause of his small unit ever since the major discovery of stygium on Nal Kessel. Gentis smiled and turned to Cabbel. "Strobestack here is the commander of the Pierceskimmer."
"One of yours and Doza's pet projects from before he died, am I right? The SDS Corvettes with the expensive cloaking devices." Cabbel recalled.
"Our stealth ships or IPV-2c Stealth Corvettes. Along with the Pierceskimmer there is also the Ryclclopper and the Emerald Shark. The First Order scanned them during their attack but never attacked them. I ordered the other two ships out on patrol last night. The Pierceskimmer here will join them this evening."
"We thought it would be years before we got a fourth corvette added to our command." Strobestack said with a shrug. The stealth ships were used to being last on a very long list of Navy needs. "But Gage Kuat has ordered the production of seven more ships. We will be up to ten ships in four months. The corvettes are small and don't take very long to build."
"I'll speak to Kuat and the new War Minister Saria. I'll have that ordered doubled by tomorrow. With all of you invisible fish out there it will be like having a fleet behind enemy lines." Gentis told the commander.
"Nobody has ever used stealth ships in any great numbers. Not even the Old Republic during the Clone Wars." Cabbel rubbed his chin. The older officer was obviously taking a wait and see attitude to the project.
"Permission to come aboard, Commander? I'm afraid we have some official business to take care of." Gentis asked the stealth ship leader.
"Aye, sir, at your leisure." Strobestack jerked a thumb back at the airlock. His sailors shuffled to the side without being ordered to do so to allow the Admirals to pass.
The Pierceskimmer was a no-nonsense, bare-bones affair. The crew of twenty-two sailors and three officers slept nearly on top of one another, with most of the free space inside the ship reserved for proton torpedo storage, food and water. They shared a single sonic and fresher and a top-of-the-line hyperwave radio set that could reach from the Sol System to Palpatine Prime without a booster network.
The two Admirals stood on the bridge of the Pierceskimmer while the camdroid floated around them, careful not to capture anything that revealed details about the secretive ship. Cabbel removed the last two cubes from his rank squares and snapped them onto Gentis's own. He then removed his third code cylinder, the one holding the Fleet's master command codes and handed them to his new Supreme Commander. "Long live the Empire."
"Long live the Empire." Gentis echoed to the applause of the Pierceskimmer's sailors.
He turned and faced the cambot but continued to address the crew. "I know most of you here and I have complete confidence in your ability and judgement. We've taken a purrgil of a wallop, but I have no doubt of the ultimate outcome."
Strobestack spoke for his crew. "When the Fleet Admiral gets through with the First Order it will be the Last Order the Milky Way ever sees."
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