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9 BBY: M4
Chapter 4: The Blockade of Kuat and the New Imperial Fleet
Admiral Motti paced on the bridge of his Imperial I Star Destroyer, Steel Talon. He had contemplated the war for several hours and the Empire's stake in the conflict. As the man nominally in charge of the Navy, there was tremendous pressure on him to bring results. The problem that all members of the Imperial High Command faced was a military situation worse than anything that could be found in the history books.
Motti had lived through the Clone Wars, and even its brutally powerful opening moves were still more balanced than this catastrophe. The Mandalorian Crusades, the Jedi Civil War, and even the Great Sith War paled in complexity to this new paradigm. The galaxy had effectively fallen into a six-way civil war, possibly seven or even eight if one counted the supposed 'return of the Sith' or the Corporate Sector Authority. Both were gaining ground in the outer rim worlds, but those were mostly just rumors and hearsay, Imperial intelligence was, rightfully, focused almost entirely on the Core of the galaxy.
Most of the systems in the Core belonged to the Empire, but the traitorous 'New Empire' had a foothold in the deep core, and the systems to the galactic north of Imperial Center.
Technically speaking, nothing was preventing them from launching an attack on the center of Imperial power save for the massive graveyard of ships that represented the last dregs of both factions' respective navies. Rebuilding Imperial Center's Defense Sphere had taken short-term priority. The, admittedly thin, defense cordon of ships and stations around the planet had been restored; ideally, the threat of their existence would be enough to ward off any attacks, but the traitors simply didn't have the numbers to break through.
Then there were the Republic Hardliners to consider. Several systems in the core had balked at the formation of the Galactic Empire; Alderaan, Brentaal IV, and Corellia being the ones of immediate value and principle. Motti wasn't surprised at Alderaan, Bail Organa had done everything in his political scope to hinder the military and the Emperor at every turn. Brentaal IV was more shocking because nobody seemed to have realized that the planet held the Jedi in such high esteem. Corellia too, had been a major surprise. Garm Bel Iblis had been quietly supporting all kinds of dissident factions for years, going so far as essentially building and refurbishing the Hardliner's Navy. To make things worse, Imperial Intelligence was fairly certain that Corellian ships were a significant portion of this so-called Rebel Alliance's Naval Forces in the outer rim. Seems Iblis held a major grudge against the Empire and wanted a backup plan.
'The Soul of Republic, The closed fortress at the heart of the Trade Spine, and one of the largest shipwrights in the galaxy,' thought Motti. 'And this blasted triumvirate of planets has completely paralyzed our naval production.'
Since the rise of the Empire, many of the major companies that had enjoyed prestige and power in the Old Republic had been swept to the side by new systems. Rendili and Corellia had essentially been the backbone of the Navy. The Clone Wars had shifted the balance of power to Kuat Drive Yards and, post-war, Fondor.
'Without Rendili, we would have surely lost.' In ages past, Rendili StarDrive had once been the heart of the Republic Navy and now it was the principal supplier of warships for the Empire. True, the company itself was nationalized or 'Imperialized' and so it wasn't producing ships for sale, so much as being told what to build to supply Navy requirements, but they did remain loyal in the 10,000 Revolts. Though their fleet yards weren't designed to manufacture massive amounts of Star Destroyers, they were keeping the Navy supplied with frigates, cruisers, and support craft. Fresia had also stepped up into its new role as the home of Imperial Starfighter manufacturing. The smaller shipyards at Anaxes, Corulag, and even converted dockyards at Imperial Center were all being turned toward shipbuilding, salvaging, repair, or refurbishment.
Of course with only a fraction of its resources available, the Empire could no longer afford to mass-produce capital ships. As it stands for the next few months, Star Destroyers like the Steel Talon were essentially irreplaceable. Even Motti's ship was currently maintaining a defensive posture over Corulag, in the event the Republic launched an offensive from Brentaal IV.
Motti had spent the last two months in contact with fleet officers who had any experience fighting smaller set-piece battles and low tonnage actions to help refine Imperial Tactics. Without access to their large battleships, Imperial tacticians had been floundering. They were too used to always having the biggest guns, the most starfighters, and the best ships. This was no longer true; The Republic and Separatist remnant factions had both spent their years of unhindered preparation well. Both factions had modernized their ship designs to keep pace with the latest technology, while a Venator couldn't match the number of guns of an ISD, it didn't mean that the turbolasers were any weaker. Some veteran pilots were already reliving their nightmares defending Eadu in the outer rim from Vulture Droid swarms. The sheer diversity of tactics and fleet doctrines was forcing Imperial Tacticians and academy courses to go back to the drawing board as it were. The Imperial Navy would have to make do with smaller tonnage ships making the bulk of their fleet for the foreseeable future.
While the likes of Admiral Yularen or Tarkin had little experience in this new wave of warfare, men like Captain Pellaeon and Vice Admiral Thrawn had been invaluable in helping refine the doctrine. Thrawn in particular had some revolutionary ideas about naval combat that had left Motti speechless. It was clear why the Emperor himself had sponsored the Alien into the fleet. The Naval Chief was eager to see what he would accomplish in the coming months. He then shifted his thoughts to the future.
'Our immediate goal is to secure the space lanes back to Kuat. Once we have our main shipwright working at full spread we can focus on the massive Republic Fleet at Corellia.' If Imperial Center was the most defended planet in Imperial Space, then Corellia was the Republic's. Intelligence had noted massed warships, totaling almost 20 capital ships and over 100 support ships. Without a doubt, it was the bulk of their Navy. It made sense, Corellia had become the functional capital of their movement, and their primary shipyard. It was also the key point from which Republic ships had blockaded Kuat from the rest of the Empire.
Kuat, as it stood now, was assembling a fleet to attempt to break out from within the sector. Imperial Intelligence had been working with a network of private smugglers to ferry resources to the system. It was nowhere near even a fraction of the normal allotments for ship construction but they had already put together a number of the new Procursator class warships. Their home defensive fleet was also more than a match for any probing Republic attacks, they still maintained several Mandator battlecruisers. It helped too that the bleeding heart Republic Navy wasn't blockading essentials like foodstuffs for the system. This allowed some leeway that the KDY was taking advantage of.
Motti was already preparing an offensive that would crush the defenders of Brentaal IV and Alderaan, which would effectively end the blockade. As fast as ships could roll off the line, he was diverting them to his fleet, other than essential replacements for combat losses. Motti had gathered up a fairly large fleet; 27 Vindicator Cruisers, 10 Gladiators, 3 Ton-Falk Escort Carriers, and a few dozen smaller ships. Motti felt confident that when he emerged with his armada, the forces over Brentaal IV, several Venator class Star destroyers, plus a flotilla of light cruisers and a motley mix of medium support ships numbering less than 15 in total, would likely flee.
The Brentaal IV defense network was another matter entirely. A Ring of Golan I defense stations supplemented the Planetary Defense Grid. Motti had studied their specifications and determined they could be overcome with sufficient numbers. Assuming his intelligence was correct, Brentaal IV should fall within the week.
He had already drawn up plans for the naval battle and subsequent orbital blockade, dubbed OPERATION: TALONSTRIKE. It called for a three-day campaign where each day would focus on a different objective. Day one focused on skirmishing with the defensive battlegroup and stations to determine their willingness to sally forth and engage the Imperial Fleet. The goal would be to ultimately lure ships away from the orbital defense grid to cut off and destroy them. Day two would be a thrust into the Republic fleet lines where Motti's superior numbers can engage the enemy at extremely close range. Ideally, the Golan I Stations won't fire into a mixed-up mass of allied and enemy ships, thus allowing his fleet to deal with the mobile enemy ships and then back off to prepare for day three. Day three would be focused on sieging down the defense net and destroying five stations, one at a time, to open up a corridor for planetary Invasion.
General Bast would then be in charge of pacifying the planet. Intelligence estimates showed that there was only one primary military bastion on the planet. Destroying the base there will cripple any Republic efforts on the ground and allow them to occupy the cities with the least amount of resistance. Motti turned from his mental musings back to the viewport, where he could see his ships patrolling in formation.
Yes, everything would fall into place soon,
(AN) Sorry for a shorter chapter here. I got the pads of two of my fingers all cut up, which made it an absolute bitch to type without any pain. I wanted to take a moment and thank all the people who have favorited, followed, and reviewed. I hope you're enjoying this web I'm weaving. Up next will be the Invasion of Brentaal IV.