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Phase 28: Ashes of victory

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Part 3

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Gyndine System

Two scout divisions jumped out of light speed at the edge of the system. A single escort carrier flew at the back of their defensive formation. It began launching reconnaissance fighters as soon as it returned to normal space.

As it turned out, the precautions were wasted this time. There was no enemy force in the vicinity waiting to ambush them, neither minefields nor automated weapon platforms spat death at them. On the contrary. As soon as their sensors could recover from the transition and begin gathering data, tactical computers noted a severe lack of signatures in range.

The scouts dispersed, diving deeper within the system, and sent the signal for the second, larger wave to arrive.

Soon, twice their number of light warships entered Gyndine and began their hunt, while the main fleet was still in hyperspace, moving much slower than it could have.

Fighters carefully approached planets and moons, while deftly keeping away from the rings of fixed defenses surrounding Gyndine itself and the shipyards in orbit. Weapon satellites, minefields, and two very obvious modified Golan battle stations protected the planet. There would be fighter and bomber squadrons on the ready as well.

However, there were no larger ships in sight. Neither the expected Confederacy fleet nor Gyndine's own System Defense Force was in sight. By the time the main fleet's vanguard arrived, the scouts were sure that no enemy battle groups were using celestial bodies for cover. There was still the option that the enemy was trying to be tricky and waited outside of the system, ready to attempt a hyperspace insertion to catch the fleet off guard.

While the main fleet was still arriving and reforming its formation, the scouts accelerated for the edge of the system, and as soon as they were in good enough positions, they jumped in deep space, a few light-years away from Gyndine, in search for ambushing forces.

=RK=

Lounge
Republic Cruiser Victory

"The enemy continues to display glimmers of intelligence," I said aloud, as much to myself as to my Apprentice.

"It would have been nice if they made a doomed last stand." Aria pipped up.

"I'm beginning to think that if they do make a stand it's going to be above one of our worlds, thus rendering some of the threat I represent moot."

"I would have done the same." Aria snarked.

"You're learning from the best and don't have political considerations binding you." I pointed out. "My compliments to the Admiral, Captain." I activated my comm. "Have Fifth, Eighth, and Ninth Cruiser groups, and attached escorts, neutralize the shipyards. Eleventh and Fifteenth are to sweep remaining space industry."

Now, if I was the enemy commander facing someone like me and lacking powerful enough Force Adept to counter, what would I do? Avoid fighting altogether by running into deep space and then try to cut off supply lines was one feasible option. If I had to make a last stand, I would do it above an enemy world. That way, I would hopefully avoid the worst Force sorcery I might face otherwise. And if I had to attack, I would prefer to face against a conventional opponent.

"My compliments to Admiral Sanchez. Inform her that she might be facing uninvited guests soon."

"She should be arriving at Reytha about now, shouldn't she?" Aria asked.

I glanced at the tactical display then zoomed it out until it showed the relevant system. Reytha was an Agri world, and while Separatist aligned, we would want it intact in the long run. Fighting a pitched battle in that system would be less than ideal.

"Detach Task Force Gamma and have them ready to leave for Reytha at best speed if necessary," I ordered and explained my reasoning both to my Admiral and any other high-ranking officers listening. "The rest of the fleet will proceed to the Antar hyperlane."

Admiral Sanchez soon arrived at Reytha and reported only light enemy units, all noted escorting freighters to and from the Agri world. She would neutralize or capture as many of them as possible and proceed to Gyndine at the best speed.

So far, so good. This part of the operation was going too well, in fact, thus I waited for the other shoe to fall.

We were halfway through the system, with cruiser groups busy blowing up industrial sites, when it happened.

"General, we've got a priority call from you from General Kenobi." A communication officer announced.

"Patch him through."

"Veil, we've got a spot of trouble over here." Obi-Wan scowled. "Trench decided he didn't want to wait for us and counter-attacked."

Huh. This stunt I didn't see coming. I might have done so in Trench's position, but only because I would be able to leverage my Battle Meditation. Without it, the correlation of forces wasn't good. Even if Trench won after smashing through Kenobi's forces and the fixed defenses, he would be spent and would give me all kinds of delicious options.

"He threw several captured Corellian cruisers at us with escorts. While we managed to neutralize them, the damage is severe." Kenobi grimaced. "He used them as cover to send boarding parties. There were more than enough of them to overwhelm the Guardian systems on multiple ships and either capture, destroy them from inside or force us to do it ourselves. This includes Admiral Yularen's flagship. While he's alive, he won't be commanding anything for months."

My mind raced over the implications. If Trench intended an all-out preemptive strike, he would have thrown everything he had at Kenobi. At a glance, this didn't make sense, unless it was a sacrificial gambit to buy time, but for what? He should have been able to outrun a pursuing force and get safely to Separatist space, leaving Kenobi to deal with any nasty surprises the enemy left us while they held parts of the Core.

He might be coming for me, and if that was the case I would look forward to it. The numbers would be close enough, I would have an advantage in super capital ships and Battle Meditation.

Ever since the Separatists got their new leadership, and cleaned up house, they've been fighting smart. They had been husbanding their forces when they could and spending them freely when they believed they had a worthy objective. I had no reason to believe they would suddenly change this strategy. It was working for them, and it was a good idea considering the greater strategic situation.

Trench was leaving the Core. That was a given. The Confederacy had spent months fortifying the Corellian system. That was the place for a stand away from Separatist space. It was the reason why I thought of Star Hammer – we would avoid facing both heavy fixed defenses and a massive enemy fleet in one of our systems. Defeating them separately, with greater concentrations of forces would be much cheaper.

More importantly, he didn't want any close pursuit, which meant he had a target in mind. And there was only one target he could go after.

"The Mid-Rim Alliance." It was my turn to grimace. "Trench is going after them. Neutralizing their remaining industrial capacity and detaching light forces to raze the remaining mining infrastructure in that part of the galaxy will prolong the war significantly. If we can keep them intact, and on our side, in two years there won't be a chance of a military defeat. In four, we'll have the assets to overrun the Separatists if our friends in the Core are willing to pay the butcher's bill. If Trench takes them out, he'll be able to prolong the war significantly, and we can lose it off the battlefield."

"While those aren't the numbers, I would use, I agree. I won't be in a position to pursue with enough force. I've already had scouts in the Corellian system We'll need to clean up the orbitals and land heavy reinforcements all over the place. I'm afraid that would be the case with many important Core worlds currently under Separatist control." Kenobi explained.

What he meant was that simply bypassing them and leaving them for later would be politically unacceptable for our "allies".

Antar was a Separatist stronghold. I doubted we would face strong resistance there meant to slow us down. That left either Quellor or Exodeen. Both were loyalist worlds taken by the Separatists during their grand offensive.

"It's a race, then. One we have to win. I'll need logistical support."

"I'll dispatch tenders under heavy escort, and I'll have Admiral Konig strike towards Exodeen at best possible speed. She'll have some logistic assets as well."

"May the Force serve you well, Obi-Wan."

Kenobi twitched at the good-bye.

"May the Force be with you." He grumbled and cut off the connection.

I took a moment to ensure my emotions were under control. I didn't risk everything, my life included, only to see the Mid-Rim Alliance annihilated before it could serve my purposes. The way politics shaped in the Core, that alliance might be the one reliable sources of forces to relieve Mandalore. I had to preserve it.

I chuckled at that. This was either a disaster in the making or a great opportunity to seize.

=RK=

Part 4

=RK=

CNW Whisper in the Night

CR90 Corvette

hyperspace

en route to the Corellian system

For the first time since the of Talus, Commander Solasta was coming home. She was no longer a Lieutenant Senior Grade, but a full Commander, and a member of the Corellian "Free" navy. That was the auspicious name suggested by Senator, now General Gram Bel Iblis. The respected statesman was the factual commander and civilian leader of all honest Corellians who managed to flee during or immediately after the fall. Of those who lived and plied their trade all over the galaxy as a matter of course too.

Iblis soon proved that for once a politician actually deserved their good reputation. He moved the heavens themselves and made deals with beasts from the deepest darkest Corellian Hells to see their home liberated. Solasta didn't want to think what some of those deals entailed. After seeing the vaunted Republic fall apart months ago, the Commander didn't particularly care. They had to liberate the Corellian systems, their families and homes first. They could get even later.

It was finally happening, despite all the delays and nasty political games Solasta wasn't privy to as a simple Commander. She didn't particularly care either. What was important was her current mission – one final scouting insertion, which would pave the way for the Fleet's vanguard under Admiral Falconer.

This was it. They were finally going to do it, and Solasta would be damned if they kriffed up at the last moment!

"All green across the board…"

"Thirty seconds until real-space transition!"

"The fighters are still with us. We've got solid locks on the magnetic clamps."

Solasta had never been a particularly religious person. However, this war brought her closer to her ancestor's faith than she believed possible. First, during the Battle for Corellia, when endless numbers of Separatist ships and swarms of Droid fighters large enough to blot out Corell itself, threw themselves against the Corellian Navy. As a Junior Lieutenant on board a cruiser, Solasta found herself praying then.

She prayed for salvation when it became clear they couldn't hold the line no matter what.

She felt overwhelming hope when Republic reinforcements arrived and plucked her out of the shot up Celeste. And she cursed them to the deepest pit of the Seventh Hell when they retreated without firing a shot.

Now, Solasta found herself praying again, for good fortune in the battles to come. For her family to be still alive. For what she feared they might find at Corellia when the Separatists were cutting off their loses and pulling back instead of facing righteous retribution.

"Transition in five," The Helmsman's words brought her out of her revere, "four, three, two, Mark!"

The familiar vortex of hyperspace vanished when the corvette jumped out of lightspeed.

"Releasing fighters…"

"Bringing up active sensors…"

"Going evasive…"

"Deflectors are up. No incoming fire."

They had trained endlessly for this, even if Whisper's crew didn't have much opportunity to put those skills to a real test. Now they were back home.

"We're detecting faint anomalies. Tagging them as potential minefields…" The Sensors Operator reported. "Those are a lot of mines. Fresh too, or they would have drifted away from the area. We're detecting no capital ships in the immediate area. No small craft…"

"Fighters away. Hunter One-One will scout the minefields. Two and Three will sweep by them, marking their flanks."

"The rest of the Task Force is transitioning now."

"Commander, there's no blanket jamming covering the system. Shall I try to contact anyone planet-side?"

"Do so. Keep in mind that anyone answering might be either compromised or Separatist plant. Be mindful of their codes as well." Solasta nodded in appreciation at the flawless execution and commendable initiative. She had one of the best crews in the Navy. She made sure of it through endless days and nights of training.

"There is localized jamming planet-side. Attempting to burn through or patch into distributed receivers…We've got a faint response… This is CN Whisper in the Night, please respond."

Endless moments passed while hardware and software shook hands and exchanged codes.

"This is General Hughes." A familiar gruff, and decidedly exhausted voice answered.

The Comm's Officer gave Solasta a thumb's up, showing that all the codes checked up. This sounded like the man in charge of CorSec, it might even be him.

"This is Commander Belinda Solasta of the Whisper in the Night. It's good to hear from you, sir. We need actionable intelligence. Relief forces will be in system within the hour." That much she was authorized to say. The Separatists knew they would be coming soon anyway.

"It's about time. The situation down here is critical. We need immediate reinforcements in the Coronet area. The city itself is cut off. The Droids have a large number of our troops and civilians trapped and are grinding them down. All attempts to relieve them failed. I'm sending you all the up to date intelligence we have on enemy troop dispositions on Corellia. I'm afraid that we've got no contact with the rest of the Five Brothers for months now. Our best assessment is that organized military resistance there ceased a few months ago and any security service personnel who is left went underground."

"I'm relaying the data to General Kenobi. Sir, I'm compelled to ask about the political status of Corellia. Is it acceptable to deploy Clone troops in the vicinity of the planet or even on the surface?"

"While we're no longer in any position to contest the orbitals or any exclusion zones around Corellia itself, I can't permit the deployment of Clone troops on the surface. They caused enough damage the last time." General Hughes stated coldly.

"For what's worth, I understand, sir. I'll apprise General Kenobi."

=RK=

Briefing Room Alpha-2

Acclamator Assault Ship Remember Kamino

en route to the Corellian System

A small cluster of familiar faces surrounded Ahsoka when she arrived for the briefing. Practically all of them were either junior officers promoted from the ranks she was barely knew, instead of the small competent cadre she worked with on Coruscant. The reason was simple and painful – the GAR had a ravenous appetite for Officers and NCOs even at the best of times. As things stood, Ahsoka had more "experienced" soldiers, NCOs and now green officers than most of the new formations could boast. That led to a wave of cannibalization that pulled people with even a shred of experience to stiffen up and give edge to brand new formations just coming out of basic training.

In theory, the lack of experienced leaders shouldn't have been such a large problem. There were countless people among the local SDFs with at least peace time experience. Unfortunately, most of those weren't available. They were back home, training and expanding defense units which were unlikely to see any combat unless the Confederacy launched another major successful offensive in the Core.

What experienced volunteers the GAR could get, it already devoured.

Ahsoka kept telling herself that she was luckier than most. She learned from the best, had the Force on her side as a power multiplier and the Void Stalkers had some combat experience. They weren't beyond green and had more training than the newest formation being currently raised might get.

They were still a far cry from a proper equivalent Clone formation, and that was going to be painful. What was worse, their colleagues were less capable and that was going to suck.

A few dozen holographic images came to life, everyone seated and the briefing finally began.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm General Pascal Victis." A distinct Corellian accent accompanied the words. An old human man, with a short crop of silver hair crowning his mostly bald head stood on the podium in front of the seats. The holo image made him look even older than he was in person. "I have the honor of commanding the ground forces slatted to liberate Corellia."

Everyone was supposed to know that. However, considering what an unholy mix of units from all over the Republic would participate in the coming operations, better be safe than sorry, Ahsoka guessed.

"I won't be feeding you bantha fodder. You're all aware that most of your formations are new, inexperienced and often untested. Ideally, we would have had many more months to train together before deploying in force. Unfortunately, the enemy does get a vote. We have our task and we will do our utmost to complete it."

Ahsoka wondered how many of those enemies who got to vote were in fact supposedly on their side instead of openly fighting for the Separatist. No, bad Ahsoka! Such thinking, no matter how prudent, led to Sith patented paranoia!

"In light of fresh intelligence, our first target will be Corellia itself. It is the one inhabited planet in the system where organized military resistance is still ongoing. We have actionable intelligence, which is partially confirmed by long range observation." The General waved a hand and a map of Corellia replaced his image and hid the podium.

"This is Coronet city, which is our most immediate concern. The remnants of multiple CorSec divisions are holed in the city, along with millions of civilians who couldn't evacuate before the Separatists cut them off. The enemy has been tightening the noose around Coronet its defenders. They're about to be overrun and if it happens, we'll lose a significant number of experienced soldier we can use for future operations. Not to mention the civilians and whatever useful infrastructure is still intact."

Green symbols designated the remnants of at least ten different formations holed within rather small perimeter. There were many angry red symbols designating Droid divisions of various kinds, including at least three heavy on armor and artillery.

"First we need to reinforce Coronet with people and supplies so it can hold until we secure our primary landing sites and shatter the besieging forces. Considering the complexity of landing under fire in a contested city environment, I'm designating several of our more experienced formations for this exercise. First, Colonel Tano,"

Ahsoka perked up at that. She really should have seen this coming after her Regiment's adventures on Coruscant.

"Your Void Stalkers will lead the way. I'm detaching two Independent Battalions of drop qualified Anaxian Rangers to reinforce your Regiment. You'll be in overall command as the most experienced commander. Further, I'll be adding the Thirty Seventh Coruscant Assault Infantry Regiment and elements from First Duros Shock division. The Duros have some of their new hover tanks configured for drop assaults. They'll provide you with an armored fist and come with attached mechanized infantry."

"We'll hold the city, sir." Ahsoka spoke at last. "As long as the navy can deliver us mostly intact."

"You'll have close fire support from numerous Acclamators and multiple wings of Y-Wing bombers. The fleet's whole small craft contingent will be available to provide air superiority and close air support. However, theater and tactical shields deployed by both sides will significantly diminish their utility."

"Now, the primary landing sites we'll have to secure fall under two classes. First, we'll deploy two thirds of our forces in areas under CorSec control." The General continued.

Those were the least experienced formations, Ahsoka was sure.

"They will have time to deploy at peace. Second, we'll deploy our remaining forces in a pincer maneuver, forcing the enemy to contest attacks from multiple sides…"

All in the name of speed and political necessity. They had to liberate Corellia, then the other four planets in the system. After that, the rest of the Core and all the while, major fleet assets would be tied down supporting and protecting the ground forces.

=RK=

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