"The Terran Systems Alliance was originally founded upon the principle of providing a united deterrent against any force from beyond Terra's atmosphere. Conceived by the then President of the United States of America Ronald Reagan in 1987 as a series of defensive plans, the proposal would be reconstituted as a military and political alliance and presented to the United Nations in early June of 1991 but would not be passed in a UN Resolution until mid July. The organization would be officially formed on August 2, 1991, with the founding members including the United States of America, The United Kingdom, France, China, Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada, Australia, Japan, and South Korea. Its armed forces would initially consist of the TSA Army, Navy, Marines, and Aerospace Forces, alongside its intelligence service.
This relatively small beginning would see massive changes just three years later with the attempted pacification of Terra by the Confederacy of Independent Systems in August of 1994, leading to the inclusion of nearly twenty new members including but not limited to the Russian Federation, Brazil, Egypt, India, Ukraine, Poland, and Mexico."
-From Dirt to Durasteel: The Terran Systems Alliance's Trials by Fire (1987-1998 A.D.), published 2069 A.D/54 ABY.
Deep Space
July 13, 1994/21 BBY
Deep in the void between the stars laid a small fleet of ships. Their sizes spanning from a little over seventy meters to over a kilometer, this force of vessels belonged to the Confederacy of Independent Systems — known simply as the Separatists throughout the galaxy.
Composed of only one capital ship and just under a dozen escorts, the fleet was much smaller and less powerful than his usual charge — not that Captain Mar Tuuk would air such grievances, however. The Hero with No Fear's bold strategy over Ryloth had utterly destroyed both his fleet and reputation. It was no small mercy, then, that the Head of State had relegated him to protecting a semi-important hyperspace lane used by the Separatist logistic train.
If it had been Grievous who had been his superior...
Tuuk shuddered at the thought, returning to his usual observation of the sector from the bridge of his ship, the Redundant.
"Sir, communication request from the Count."
Bidding farewell to his momentary peace, Tuuk turned to the droid, internally preparing for the communication.
"Put him through," he ordered. Only a few seconds later, the image of the Confederacy's leader appeared before the captain.
"Captain Tuuk," the hologram greeted.
"Count Dooku. How may I be of service?"
"What do you know of the world known as Earth?"
"Only that it was discovered near the Unknown Regions, and its people are far beyond the galactic standard. Is it true that they solely use slug throwers?"
"It is indeed," Dooku prefaced, "and it has become a problem. They have continued to trade with the Republic and are gathering a fleet made up of Republic warships. More importantly, however, they prevent us from accessing the resources in the Unknown Regions whilst allowing the Republic full access. Diplomatic talks to resolve this issue have stalled, and I have no expectations for them to resume, nor that if they do, the Terrans would be willing to deny their biggest trading partner access to resources they badly need for the war effort. It would economic suicide."
"So, you intend to order a preemptive strike to cripple them and force them to negotiate on our terms."
"Precisely," Dooku affirmed. "Which is why I contacted you. With the rest of the Admiralty occupied with numerous other matters, we have little effective commanders to rely on."
Tuuk's eyes slightly widened.
"You wish for me to lead the assault?"
"Indeed. I trust you are capable of rising to this task."
"The Terrans will submit to our might, my liege. You have my word," Tuuk said steely.
Dooku simply stared at the captain with a piercing glare. "You have your chance at redemption for your previous failures. Do not do so again" he said.
The transmission then dissolved. Tuuk immediately turned to his communication droid.
"Gather the fleet. It is time to prove to the Count that his faith is not misplaced" he ordered.
"Roger, roger" it replied. Tuuk then stared once again out the bridge window of his ship. The Terrans would fall, and there would be no Jedi to stop him this time.
From: COMCISDF (Commander of Confederacy of Independent Systems Droid Forces).
To: COMCATF89 (Commander of Combined Arms Task Force 89).
Subject: Intended Action Against Terran Systems Alliance Territory
Reference: (a) Art. 289 and 279, Navy Regulations, 30991. (b) OutRimFlt. Conf. Ltr. 12-FD-19.
Enclosures:
Estimated Terran Forces
Potential Terran Combat Capability
Possibility of Republic Intervention
Recommended Tactics
Predicted Results
1. Whilst total void-forces are expected to be light in comparison to comparable Republic worlds, they are still extensive and should be treated with caution. Estimated forces are as follows:
a. Battle force:
1 Valkyrie-type starfighter cruiser
4-6 Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers
12-18 Consular-type escort cruisers
1-3 Gladiator-type frigates
1-2 Thunder-type destroyers
1-3 Tampa-type corvettes
b. Defensive emplacements:
28-30 Sky Defender-type defensive platforms
2. Terrestrial Terran forces are expected to be extremely extensive. Whilst Terran technology has been proven to be much more primitive than Galactic standards, its threat capability remains similar to its Republic counterparts. Forces take on three distinct classes: Maritime, Terrestrial and Aerial.
a. Estimated Maritime Forces:
8-12 Large Carriers
12-22 Medium Carriers
3-6 Battleship analogs
35-58 Cruiser analogs
80-135 Destroyer analogs
76-124 Frigates analogs
129-219 Submersibles
+4,000 Smaller attack craft
b. Estimated Terrestrial Forces:
+8,000,000 Troops
+10,000 Armored Vehicles
+20,000 Light Vehicles
c. Estimated Aerial Forces:
+11,000 Fighters
+3,000 Bombers
+1,000 Ground Support Craft
+9,000 Rotor Craft
3. Republic Intervention during the assault is considered unlikely, with political grid lock expected to hold Republic reinforcements back until victory over Earth is achieved. Estimated Republic reinforcements are expected to be anywhere from 2-4 Star Destroyer Groups, with a travel time of 1-4 standard weeks after clearance to intervene is given.
Conclusions:
1. Achieving orbital supremacy should be paramount, allowing us unfiltered access to any location the planet.
2. Deploying mass formations into civilian and industrial centers is recommended to increase the likelihood of reduced enemy air and artillery support.
3. Limited frigate units should act as mobile coordination hubs for local engagements.
4. A defense posture for the remainder of fleet until possible reinforcements are either eliminated or driven off.
5. Estimated CIS casualties: -800,000 units
6. Estimated Terran Casualties: -2 to 8,000,000 prior to capitulation
5. Estimated time until Terran capitulation from onset of operation: -four weeks
August 19, 1994/21 BBY
0600 Hours
"...It's a sunny day today in the Lowcountry, winds of 10-15 miles an hour..."
"...Numerous small meteorite showers were sighted off the coasts of several major cities..."
"...Many have been wondering what the outbreak of the Clone Wars means in context to Earth..."
"...Economic output for many developing nations has drastically increased since the completion of Sputnik Station two years ago..."
"...The US Navy's Second Fleet has begun exercises this morning, some of the largest seen in the North Atlantic since the end of the Cold War..."
"...Poland's request to join NATO..."
"...Republic officials have affirmed that the Clone Wars is a matter that affects the entire galaxy..."
"...Thousands have left coastal cities worldwide for fear of larger meteorite impacts further inland than predicted..."
"...Joint Russian and NATO exercises are planned to take place in the Baltic Sea within the next few months..."
"Wilson? Wilson? Tommy!" Thomas Wilson snapped back from the array of various news channels, looking back at the table to see his friend Will Tipton looking at him.
"Come on man, pay attention".
"Sorry, sorry" I apologized.
"Okay, okay. So, say you do manage to land the girl, what are you going to do first?" a voice asked from behind him.
Thomas turned to look to the source, seeing it was his squad mate Ethan Jacobs looking at Will. The small-time diner that they were sitting at was one that Ethan had decided upon, seeing as he was from the east Georgia area near their unit, the 3rd Infantry Division's, base at Fort Stewart. They'd been let off the base on leave for the weekend, and Ethan had wanted to show the pair the local area in more detail.
Now it seemed he wanted to talk to Will about the 'other' aspects of the area.
"Well, I can think of a few things" Will replied smirking.
"Wow, you're thinking of more than one thing when it comes to women? That's a new record!" Thomas interrupted.
"Oh, shut yourself you Virginian. Or should I say virg- ". Thomas cut Will off by flicking droplets of water into his face.
The pair both may have only been nineteen years old and fresh-faced graduates of boot camp, but Will acted like he always had since he and Thomas had met as children. Much more confident than he should have been in any way, shape, or form.
"You know what Tamara would say if she heard you right now?" Thomas asked.
"Probably get really pissed about it, and damn would it make me happy" He replied chuckling. Will and Thomas's sister always did have an interesting sort of relationship when it came to Will's common swings.
"Alright, bringing us back on topic. What would you do specifically?" Ethan asked Will again.
"I'd probably just treat her to a nice dinner, have a nice movie night, say we'll do it again if it goes well" he replied.
Thomas just looked at him. "Really?" he asked disbelievingly. "Nah, its straight to the bed" Will laughed.
"There it is" Thomas exclaimed exasperated. Ethan chuckled at the scene and turned his attention back to his drink. Thomas in turn refocused his attention to the TV and noticed CNN was on it.
"The galactic wide conflict, now tentatively called the Clone Wars, approaches a year and a half in length. Latest reports indicate that the Republic has been pushed out of the system of Salucami with heavy losses. Many consider the battle's attritional warfare that has become all too common across that theatre of war will eventually lead to a stalemate..."
The world hadn't changed too much since the Republic's arrival nearly seven years before. Despite the collapse of the Soviet Union and its Eastern Bloc, the militaries of the world hadn't downsized as one would have expected. In some areas they even appeared to have grown. The newly founded Terran Systems Alliance had been building up an actual space capable force over the last couple of years. They had even commissioned some new capital ship only a few weeks before. Nothing that could go up against the Venator's or Providence's of the Republic and CIS respectively, but something that could take on perhaps anything smaller given the hype around it.
Which given that there had been very heated discussions regarding Terran trade with the Republic, especially given CIS raiders were often targeting freighters bound for Republic worlds, whether their cargo was military or not, provided some degree of comfort and knowledge that the current galactic situation was at least being taken seriously.
Will looked over to the TV as well. "Not going so good for the Republic, is it?" he asked. "Apparently not. Think it'll ever make its way to this corner of the galaxy?" Thomas replied referring to the wider war.
"I don't see it really happening to be honest. We're neutral, even if we mainly just trade with the Republic," Ethan said taking a swig of his drink. "We don't really have much to offer either side, anyway, so why waste the time on what they almost certainly see as a middle of nowhere backwater?".
"Fair enough" Thomas replied. Just then Ethan's phone rang. "Hello?" the African American answered.
He listened for a few seconds. "What why?"
"The hell they need us for? We're on leave".
After a few more seconds, his expression hardens.
"Okay, we'll be there soon". He then set the phone down and turned to his fellows. "We're being called back to base; leave is cancelled for now".
"What in the love of God for?!" Will asked angrily. "Apparently, we're running combat drills. The real kicker is though, this is happening across the states" Ethan replied seriously.
Will and Thomas looked at each other. If this was happening across the whole country, something big was happening. Uncle Sam wasn't going to waste all his taxpayer's money on a drill this massive without an announcement of some sort.
"Let's get heading back then. I'd rather not piss Dilaon off enough to do a hundred pushups again" Thomas said referring to their squad's staff sergeant.
Nearly two days later, the trio had returned to base and nothing.
No announcements, no mass training exercises, just basic firearms trials and being told to wait.
Then wait.
Then wait some more.
The military in a nutshell at times. A lot of hurry up and wait. The troops spent most of their time in their combat fatigues just in case, but patience amongst the rank and file was starting to wain thin.
"I just don't get it," Ethan said. "They rush basically the entire division back here, then they just tell us to sit on our asses for a few days?"
"I don't know man. I for one am getting damn well tired of only being able to shoot rifle rounds, and when not doing that, cleaning the monstrosities that are those toilets" Thomas replied mock shuddering.
"We better get going soon. Hopefully before Jim starts doing something to people's undershirts again" Ethan said.
Before Thomas could reply, Will leaned into the room. "Hey guys, that meteor shower is starting to hit now, we got it playing in the commons room. Wanna take a look?". Ethan and Thomas looked at each other, shrugged, and got up to follow him.
Quickly jogging to said room, they noticed a small crowd already there. They were all focused on the tv screen on a small table, which was playing the news of the meteor shower on it in New York City.
"Officials have recommended evacuation from the local coastal areas affected by the light meteor strikes, due to the risk of some hitting the coastline and causing minor damage or injuries. That has not stopped many from wishing to witness the spectacle for themselves," the reporter on screen said.
"For a reminder, these showers are currently raining down off the shores of New York City, Los Angeles, Hamburg, and Tokyo. They are expected to cease around four PM Eastern Standard Time or one PM Pacific Standard Time. Once again, I'm Carol Bradley, CN- ".
A sudden commotion cut the reporter off. People were running past the camera, some tripping over themselves.
"It appears something is happening at the base of the pier... OH MY GOD!" The camera turned to see multiple gray mechanical beings walking out of the ocean near the pier. Seconds later, they began to fire upon the fleeing masses. Bolts of red plasma hit several, killing them instantly.
Some of the bolts began to fly towards the camera. One struck the cameraman, killing him and causing the camera to fall and now face the sky. Then some sort of giant squid mech appeared, grabbing ahold of a building, tearing chunks out of it. One of these pieces fell upon the camera, cutting off its signal and leaving the screen filled with static.
The troopers all just stood in silence. Utterly stunned at how the situation had just gone from a simple news story about falling rocks, to now something attacking New York.
Just then Staff Sergeant Dilaon burst into the room. "Everybody gear up! Report to your companies immediately! We deploy in two hours. Now move it!" he yelled.
As we all scrambled out of the room, Thomas wondered just what the heck was happening. If only he'd known that such things were happening across the planet, and what was happening in orbit was even worse.
Abord the bridge of his ship, Admiral Zack White drank a cup of coffee. It had been yet another quiet morning in the orbit of Earth. Training exercises and freedom of navigation patrols had kept the fleet busy over the last few months since the outbreak of the Clone War. In the last few weeks however, the fleet had reconstituted the bulk of its strength back in Earth orbit.
The reason for this remained unknown to White until recently. There were rumors of a planned attack on Earth. By whom remained unknown, but his superiors had notified to him to bring the fleet to alert status. Meaning most of the fleet's crews were currently aboard their ships or in positions to be recalled given short notice.
His new flagship, having transferred from the cruiser Belfast, was the TSS Valkyrie. She was the lead vessel of a new type of warship, a battlecarrier. At nearly 650 meters long and 212 wide at the extremes, she was currently the largest ship in the fleet. That didn't mean she didn't have some teething issues, however. Having been commissioned only a few weeks before, she hadn't even completed all her trials yet and didn't have a full complement of starfighters with only thirty-six of a possible forty-eight.
However, the real power of the fleet currently sat in its five Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers. Whilst not the full eight currently in the fleet's inventory, these ships held more firepower than the rest of the fleet put together. Alongside the fourteen Consular cruisers that made up their current escorts and the motley Terran designs numbering only nine vessels, including the Valkyrie, they were the only things standing between whatever force attempted to assault Earth.
"Admiral, sensors are reading a group of ships exiting hyperspace!" a crewmen said.
It was then that said group of ships appeared on the Valkyrie's scopes. A Separatist fleet, and a sizable one at that.
"All hands to battle stations! Bring shields and weapons to full power and get our birds out into the black now!" White ordered.
Tuuk assessed the Terran fleet from his new flagship, the Providence-class carrier Cato's Wrath. The newly promoted Admiral was confident, but not foolish. He could not afford to simply rush into battle. The Trident assault ships and aqua droids that had been deployed down to the planet disguised as a meteor shower would seize the area's needed for his ground forces to land in bulk, but he would have to deal with the Terran fleet in orbit before deploying them.
CIS intelligence had been off by a couple cruisers, though the fleets main body was exactly as predicted. A little over thirty ships, centered around their brand new 'battlecarrier', a singular sizable station, and a cluster of small defense platforms. The first of which was no more than a glorified cruiser in his eyes, and the former of the latter pair was a civilian station, not a military one. Once the orbital defenses were swept aside, the ground assault would for the Terrans to submit to the Confederacy's terms.
"Order the Yunome and its escort squadrons to intercept the Terran fleet. The rest of the fleet will cover the landing ships and assist in ground operations" he ordered.
"Roger roger" a droid replied.
As ordered the Providence-class carrier Yunome, alongside eight Recuscant-class destroyers and twenty-four Munificent-class frigates began to advance on the TSA fleet. At the same time, the remaining two Providences, four destroyers, and eight frigates remained in escort to the sixteen Lucrahulk-class battleships and dozens of supply ships acting as the transports for the invasion force as they advanced into low orbit over Earth.
White took stock of the situation. His experience as the commander of a destroyer squadron commander before being selected as the commander of the Earth's orbital defense would have to be fully exploited.
He couldn't challenge both the landing force and the incoming task force at the same time without potentially leaving his force stretched too thin. TSA orbital defense doctrine was clear. Do as much damage to the enemy force as possible, then retreat to a nearby staging ground to regroup and resupply. An opportunity to re-engage would come soon enough.
"Order ECS's 12 and 13 to begin flanking maneuvers on the frigate screen. Task Forces Exeter, Cleveland and Belfast are to hold formation around the stations, and Task Forces Kongō and Northampton will remain in escort with the Valkyrie. All forces execute" he said.
The ECS's (Escort Cruiser Squadron) were the fleet's Consular cruisers, labeled as such due to their small size compared to other full-sized cruisers. They immediately began to advance on the advancing Separatist frigate screen.
Laser turrets began to fire upon the advancing cruisers, who returned fire in turn. They began to run rings around the formation, forcing some frigates to break off in pursuit, and others to reduce their frontal shielding for more effective overall coverage.
As they did this, the Valkyrie and its escorts began to advance on the leading frigates. The frigates fired first, their bow heavy turbolaser batteries barely missing Valkyrie's hull. Whilst her escorting cruisers fired back upon the advancing frigates; Valkyrie opened up with her ten C4RT coil-guns. Whilst the original version mounted on the TSS, formerly USS, Gladiator was a spinal mount fixed on the bow, these were turret mounts, allowing the Valkyrie to engage targets in all directions. The slugs slammed into the lead ships sloped armor, denting the frame but not penetrating. Several more salvoes followed, each slowly eating away at the Munificent's shielding and armor.
After the fourth salvo, its shields finally gave up. Valkyrie immediately let lose a salvo of missiles from three of her Axe missile pods. Dozens of the missiles went under the frigate to avoid its frontal armor, instead hitting its relatively unarmored underside. Whilst some were intercepted, many more found their mark, hitting tibanna gas storage areas and leading to a catastrophic explosion. The frigate had only lasted three minutes in combat with the Valkyrie.
Only a short distance away, the cruiser Kongō and frigate Gladiator were engaging another pair of Munificents. The Gladiator was letting lose with all it had, its two light and one medium coil-guns flashing constantly. Kongō managed to get behind one frigate letting loose with her turbolasers, the ships shield quickly failing, flames jutting out near her engines.
The Gladiator wasn't as fortunate. Her much smaller size and armament compared to her adversary led to her shields getting lower and lower. Suddenly, impacts began to rock the Separatist vessel.
Valkyrie pulled in front of the Gladiator, who pulled out of range to recharge her shields. She pulled up to the CIS frigate's side and began to exchange broadsides with it, gun and missile fire erupting from her length. All the while fighters began to swarm around the quartet of ships.
"I got a Vulture on my tail!"
"Splash one, splash one!"
"Guns guns guns!"
"This is Trace-4, I need some help now!"
Lieutenant William Adama hadn't imagined this when he decided to transfer to the TSA Starfighter Corps from the U.S. Navy.
He had participated in Desert Storm flying off the USS Saratoga, but that had been limited to strikes on ground targets. Not a whole fleet on fleet engagement with dozens of ships in one place!
Banking past the Kongō, he spotted a pair of Hyena bombers heading for Valkyrie. He quickly gained a lock and fired a pair of missiles at the bombers. Both found their mark, adding two more tallies to the one Vulture droid he'd already bagged.
"Husker break left!" a voice yelled. Instinctively rolling left after hearing his callsign, he quickly looked behind him. A Vulture had been diving on him, filling the space he'd previously been with laser fire. It then overshot and attempted to continue to dive away.
That was not to be, however. Just then a Viper zoomed past Adama, firing its 30mm cannons directly into the droid fighter. The craft disintegrated until the assault; dozens of scrap pieces filling the void in its wake.
"Get on my wing Husker, we're going for those bombers heading for the Kongō!" the Viper's pilot said, whose voice he now recognized as Captain Aaron Ward, callsign 'Avalanche'.
"On your wing sir!" he replied.
As they raced back into the fray, the situation was clearly disintegrating fast.
Things were indeed going bad. A quartet of new frigates had arrived after the destruction of their two fellows. This time, however, they were accompanied by a pair of destroyers, and all of them were now bearing down on the trio of Terran ships.
"Two squadrons of vultures and one squadron of bombers are approaching the Kongō as bearing 013, down thirty degrees off her bow".
"Get the Rapier Squadron over there to reinforce her and tell her to close her formation with us." White ordered. He then took another look at the tactical map, noting Gladiator was already in close formation with Valkyrie.
"Concentrate all firepower on the leading destroyer and order the Gladiator behind us. She'll be torn apart otherwise".
Valkyrie's crew did as he ordered, her batteries firing salvo after salvo into the lead destroyer. Unlike her frigate escorts, her shields remained intact. The destroyer returned fire, soon accompanied by a trio of frigates. They weren't aiming at Valkyrie, however.
They were all aiming straight for the Gladiator.
"Gladiator, break off! Break off now!"
But it was already too late.
Dozens of turbolasers tore into the frigate. Her shields broke under the strain, her hull beginning to disintegrate. As a last act of defiance, she let loose with a charge of all three of her coil-guns and all her remaining missiles. This all targeted one Munificent, whose own shields broke and suffered damage along her weaponry from missile impacts. It wasn't enough.
Just as the last missile impacted, Gladiator's reactor overloaded. Her hull was torn apart from the inside out, pieces of it flying in every which direction, slamming into the ships around her and bouncing off their shields.
Humanity's first starship and her crew... were gone. Nothing left but debris.
White stared at the display for but a moment, his shock quickly turning to anger.
"Redirect starboard batteries on frigate 5, bring that bastard down!" he yelled.
As the ships' batteries shifted to engage, the CIS vessels now began to turn to engage the remaining two Terran ships.
Valkyrie's cannons and missiles pods let lose a constant barrage of hate, the unshielded frigate and one destroyer soon being ground into scrap within three minutes. Her shields were beginning to strain however, and bleed through damage began to short circuit some systems.
"Admiral shields down to 30% and our missile stores are running on 25%. Kongō reports severe damage to her starboard side from bomber and suicide strikes. Her shields are running on 19%!" an officer said.
"Bring us around, bearing 160, and set course for the defense platform screen" White ordered.
"Sir, TSS Cleveland is reporting that the defense screen is being overwhelmed, boarding teams are heading for Sputnik Station, and ECS forces are down to 40% combat effectiveness" the officer said again.
White scrunched his face in anger. He took stock of his options as the Valkyrie and Kongō made their way out of range of the Separatist task force.
"Order all forces to pull back to the orbit of Venus. We'll regroup and resupply there for a counterattack." He commanded.
"Husker, one at 8'o clock low. Press him!" Avalanche ordered. Adama immediately pulled in behind the Vulture, which was firing upon a Z-95. Gaining a sizable lead, he fired a two-second burst from his 30mm cannons, blowing off the droid's wing.
"Splash four!" he said.
"Husker, we got another two coming in from 11'o clock high" Avalanche said.
Looking up into the fleet above them, he saw them. Two more Vultures ripe for the taking.
The pair of Vipers banked up, with Avalanche now retaking the lead position with Adama some three hundred feet behind him. Avalanche targeted the lead droid, whilst Adama went after the second.
"Fox one!" Adama said. He and Avalanche's missiles launched from their internal bays. They streaked toward the hostile fighters, traveling at several hundred miles an hour, reaching them within three seconds.
The first missile detonated directly on the lead Vultures undercarriage, disintegrating the body, and leaving the side 'wings' to fly off into the void. The second wasn't as successful, however.
It detonated too far from its target, leaving the droid stricken with shrapnel, but still very much intact.
It immediately climbed up into the furball above it, with the Vipers in hot pursuit.
"Husker, press him!" Avalanche ordered. Adama barrel rolled to attempt to get a better shot. With so many fighters diving in and out of the line of fire in such proximity, missiles were just as dangerous to allies as they were to enemies.
Jinking behind the Vulture, he struggled to gain a firing angle. The constant maneuvering pressing him into his seat, his g-suit squeezing his calves to keep blood heading to his brain to keep him conscious.
A tight right turn. 7 G's. A reversal turn. 8 G's. Another right barrel-roll to stay on its tail. 9 G's.
He pulled the viper in to a tight right turn, then followed when the Vulture swept under his guns by reversing the turn. The vulture then threw itself into a tight left-hand spiral. Rather than just follow, Adama pulled a barrel roll, pulling himself just behind the vulture, with it barely out of his firing angle.
Then fate decided to intervene. A Z-95 swept in front of the droid, forcing it to break right into Adama's sights. Instinctively firing his cannons, he clips its wing, sending it spiraling into the side of a Separatist destroyer. He immediately banked back around using his RCS to flip the Viper around in place and pushed his engines to full, Avalanche quickly doing the same, to avoid being utterly sliced into pieces by the destroyer's point defense lasers which had just begun to target him.
Adama quickly activated his ECM and deployed electromagnetic chaff in intervals to prevent any possible missile tracks from blowing him to pieces.
"Husker, pull back to the Kongō! We are leaving!" Avalanche called out.
"Sir?" Adama asked, surprised.
"The fleet's being torn apart, and the Admiral has ordered a withdrawal. Now get your ass to the Kongo!"
"Aye, aye sir." He said angrily.
Putting their engines to the max they, alongside the rest of the Terran starfighter forces, began to disengage from the CIS fleet. The pair of Vipers eventually managed to catch up to the Kongō after nearly twenty-five minutes. She was venting flames, and where she wasn't, scorch marks across her hull marked where plasma fire had hit it. Alongside her were the other ships of the fleet, all of which seemed to have suffered some sort of damage as well.
It was also notably smaller than Adama remembered.
"Kongō, this is Avalanche requesting clearance to land in hanger bay 2B" his flight lead said.
"Avalanche, Kongo. You are cleared for approach, hanger 2B, speed 125, the board is green, call the ball" the landing signals officer said.
"Roger Kongō, I have the ball" he replied.
The pair of Vipers approached the ship, sighting the bright red light below the hanger bay that made sure they were on the correct landing approach. They glided through the shield, deploying the three landing gear struts, outfitted with magnetic clamps and roller wheels.
Climbing out of the fighter, Adama looked around the hanger bay. Several other members of the squadron had already landed, accompanied by several Z-95s, all supporting varying degrees of damage ranging from missing paint to holes and gashes where parts of the wings and engines used to be.
He then spotted his squadron mate, Lieutenant Tyler Wickers.
"Snake!" he yelled at him using his callsign, making him turn around.
"What the hell happened?!"
"The ship got caught between a trio of Hyena squadrons. We got most of them, but we couldn't stop them all" Wickers said.
He then looked at the floor. "It cost us either way" he said.
Adama looked at him in sad understanding. "How many?" he asked.
"We lost Tempest, Indiana, and Dragon. Don't know if they punched out or not" Wickers replied.
Adama closed his eyes. Three of their friends were either dead, or possibly worse, captured.
"Ships casualties number at least a few dozen as of now, though it'll probably get higher. The rest of the squadron is still ready, though their birds are all dinged up in one way or another" Wickers continued.
"Where are we going then, and when can we get back into it" Adama asked, reopening his eyes with steel behind them.
"Venus from what I hear," Wickers replied with steel of his own. "We do damage control, take stock of our losses. Then we either get some reinforcements, or we go save Earth ourselves. Whatever the outcome, we're not going quietly".
Adama nodded in agreement. "We better get started then".
"...Unknown droids have breached the northwest German coastline..."
"...Reports of CIS Trident assault droids near Tokyo have reached..."
"...A Separatist fleet has engaged the TSA Navy in orbit..."
"...CIS ships have landed near Moscow. The Russian army has..."
"...New York City is under heavy assault by droid forces..."
"...Los Angeles is currently under siege..."
"...The reasons for this invasion remain unknown..."
"...NATO Fast Reaction forces have been engaged in Hamburg..."
"...Japanese armored units are in heavy combat in Tokyo..."
"...Right now, one thing is clear... the world is at war..."
"Come let's move it!" a trooper yelled, Thomas, Will and Ethan quickly following.
The three troopers had been airlifted out of their base and flown all the way to another base near the coast of South Carolina. With New York and Los Angeles already under siege in the U.S. alone, evidently the Separatists had decided to attempt to divide the U.S. military even further. They had laid siege to a large section of the Carolina's, coming down from Wilmington in North Carolina, to Charleston in South Carolina.
Most of Charleston had already fallen by the time heavier units had managed to hold the line about twenty or so miles from the coastline. Despite that success the American's were still facing a front over forty miles long and the previous number deep. Now it was their job to clear them out.
"Wilson, Tipton, this is us" Ethan said motioning to a Humvee. As they climbed in, Thomas managed to take a look around the base. Whilst the aircraft that had previously been based there had been moved further inland to protect them whilst on the ground, the airfield that used to house them was now being used as a forward operating base for ground forces. Dozens of tanks, IFV's, APCs, and many other types of equipment were being driven in and out constantly, whilst more were flown in via transport aircraft.
Wilson's new convoy, made up of dozens of Humvees, Abrams and Bradley's began to make its way deeper into the city. Its smoke covered remains could be seen even from dozens of miles away.
Thomas looked over at Will, noting the steeled expression that mirrored his own.
"Why?" he asked him.
"I don't know," Will replied knowing Thomas was referring to the CIS attack as a whole. "But we're going to make them pay for it" he finished.
His response made Thomas internally continue to ask the question, however.
What did Earth do to earn the ire of the Confederacy? Why go through with an invasion? Why not try diplomacy?
These questions burned at him, but he knew he had to put them aside. For now, pushing them out of their home would suffice.
"Alright people listen up" Staff Sergeant Dilaon said. "We all know why we're here but here's the specifics. We got several thousand of these robots blasting their way through Charleston. The Air Force is controlling the skies for the moment, but it's heavily contested. Hostile tanks are to be expected all along the line, supported by large amounts of infantry".
"Whilst their advance has been blunted, we are going to be the ones to force these bastards back to the stars from which they came. They think they can just show up here and take our world? Well, they're about to get a rude awakening in the form of our guns ripping them in half and our boots crushing their necks! Am I right troopers?"
"Sir yes sir!" they all yelled in reply.
"Damn straight, now triple check your gear. We don't want any surprises".
The soldiers did as they were told and then simply waited until we reached our drop off point, some making small talk along the way. When they got there, they immediately jumped out of their vehicles and spread out to prevent any sort of artillery or air strike from killing all of them instantly.
'A rather morbid thought', Thomas thought to himself.
Despite being still rather distant from the main source of the battle, he could still easily look up into the sky and spot missiles and laser fire stretched out as far as the eye could see and hear the dull thumps of artillery and explosions.
After nearly thirty minutes of traveling deeper into the city, the sounds had grown much, much louder. They could even hear some sort of alien cannon firing, which sounded like someone going 'pshee' over and over.
"Echo squad with me" the trooper's Sargent, a man by the name of Smith, called out. Thomas's squad gathered around him and began to move up alongside the tanks and Bradley's as they moved towards the battle proper. Thomas didn't feel very good about their current odds, especially because his squad, supposed to have a minimum of twelve men, had only four.
Thomas then saw Ethan looking at him from the corner of his eye. "What?" he asked.
"You got that look in your eyes that says your mind's going everywhere at once. Focus on the here and now. Don't worry about all the details so much. We'll kick these guys out of here, and we'll all go back home" Ethan said.
"Well, that sure is a nice pep talk, now let's fill some of these bastards with lead, shall we?" Will said from Thomas's other side. Thomas rolled his eyes at Will's eagerness to get into combat. Ethan was right of course. He needed to focus.
Just then the lead tank rolled to a stop and Smith held up a hand, signaling them to stop as well. He then signaled to take cover. They quickly found some in the form of an abandoned car and scanned the roof tops around them, looking for anything out of place.
Nothing. What made the tank stop?
What felt like minutes of silence was in fact only a few seconds. Then a dull 'thump' sounded out from in front of them and a rocket slashed through the air and impacted just to the right of the lead tank.
Red laser fire quickly joined the rocket, hitting all over. The tank fired its cannon right where the rocket had come from, annihilating the upper two floors of the building. It then began to pull back towards the soldiers position, firing its machine gun the whole way.
"Return fire!" Smith yelled.
"At what? The air!?" Will asked in anger.
"Just start shooting at them, moron!" Ethan replied.
It was then that Thomas spotted the enemy. "Contact front! 500 meters! Count twelve hostiles!" he called out.
What Thomas recognized as B1 battle droids were slowly advancing on them. He and Will immediately opened up on them. Dozens of 5.56mm rounds flew at the droids, tearing into them and sending the survivors into cover. They continued to fire at them in bursts to keep them suppressed, shortly joined by several other troopers and the 20mm cannons of the Bradleys. Finally running out of ammo, Thomas reached down, trained movements automatically ejecting the magazine and inserting a new one.
"Wilson! Get over here!" he heard Dilaon call out. Thomas looked at him about thirty feet to his right. He began to crouch-run over to him when an explosion on the other side of the car threw him to ground.
Thomas couldn't hear anything other than ringing. He blinked over and over to try and see properly, barely making out shapes around him. His vision then started to clear as he noticed a figure run over and felt them grab him.
They yanked him to his feet, which was also the same time his hearing came back. "Wilson, get off your ass!" they yelled, pulling him to a piece of debris nearby.
"Tipton lay down suppressing fire on that squad!" the man, who Thomas now realized was Captain Dilaon, said.
He quickly checked his M16 to be sure that it wasn't jammed or damaged. He then looked through a hole in their cover, noting rounds from Will's M249 taking down a pair of B1s.
Looking further down the road, Thomas noticed more droids appearing on the roof tops. As they appeared, the Bradley's systematically tore the roofs apart, with one building in particular about four-hundred meters down the road meeting its end via a 120mm shell from an Abrams.
"Smith, take your team and get to higher ground! We need to catch these bastards in a crossfire!" Dilaon ordered their Sergeant.
"Yes sir! Wilson, Tipton let move!"
"Good luck boys!" Ethan called out.
The pair quickly followed Smith to a building to the right of the street, making their way through the rubble. They knew they had only one opportunity. If they couldn't thin out their numbers, they wouldn't last much longer.
"Not what you were expecting to do today was it, Tommy?" Will said chuckling with mirth.
"No, I can't say it was" Thomas replied.
"Can it troopers" Smith ordered them, to which they complied.
They eventually made their way to the other end of the street. "There," Smith said gesturing at a hotel overlooking the street. "We'll have a perfect angle on them from the third floor. Move it!"
As they entered the building, Will noted the pair of bodies in the lobby, clearly shot as they attempted to run to the exit. He growled under his breath as they made our way to the stairwell. Quickly going up the required floors, they came out into a hallway on the side of the building. Which was especially obvious because of the sizable hole in the opposite wall, revealing the droid formation below.
"Captain, this is Smith. We are in position over" he said.
"Copy that, engage at your discretion" the captain responded. Smith then turned to his subordinates.
"Tipton take position at that window. Wilson, with me on the right. Open up with your forty once I give you the signal" he ordered.
The pair quickly complied and got into their respective positions. Thomas checked, then double checked that his 40mm grenade launcher on his rifle was ready. He took a quick look at the droids below, noting their positions.
"On three" Smith said, "One... two... thre-".
"ROCKET!" Will screamed.
Thomas snapped his head across the way to the roof on the other side of the street and saw said rocket.
Coming right for him.
He immediately dove to the ground and felt a massive blast and searing pain.
Then everything went black.
Thomas came to with dull pain across my body. He couldn't see anything but a gray haze. Slowly a weight that seemed to cover me began to lift. Until at last, low levels of light began to seep into cracks, then the rubble was finally lifted off his face revealing Will standing above him, covered in dust and blood on his face.
"Tommy! Come on man get up!" he said as he yanked Thomas fully out of the rubble. Thomas groans he's pulled up, before resting on all fours on the floor.
"Wha... what happened?" he asked.
"That rocket hit the floor just above us, it collapsed part of it which fell on us. I came to only a few minutes ago, then dug you out" Will said.
Thomas then looked around, noting the absence of something, or rather someone. "Where's Sergeant Smith?" he asked.
Will closed his eyes and sighed. He then reached into his pocket and yanked out a pair of dog tags.
"I found him first. The cave-in broke his neck. It was at least quick" he stuttered, visibly barely containing himself.
Thomas was shocked. Smith... Smith was dead? That wasn't possible. The man was borderline invincible in his mind. Yet the tags were enough confirmation as any. Their Sergeant was gone.
He took a hard breath. "So, what now?". Will held out a hand and yanked Thomas to his feet. Thomas then looked outside and noted that it was much later in the day, with the sun visibly setting on the horizon.
"We don't exactly have a way to contact the others with no radio," Will replied holding up said object, its casing completely caved in. "So, we're gonna have to hoof it back to 'em. The question is where they are."
Taking another look outside, Thomas noted that their unit was nowhere to be seen. Not even any bodies, though there were several droids lying around.
"Well, our best option would be to just keep going northwest. We're bound to reach friendly lines eventually, no matter how far they've been pushed back" Thomas said.
"Then we better get started. I'd rather not have to carry your crippled ass halfway through it" Will replied.
After making their way down from the building, the remaining two soldiers made their way out into the streets and began traveling northwest, making slow progress. Having to stay in the shadows to avoid possible droid patrols kept them on edge, constantly making sure a every falling rock or groan of metal wasn't an ambush in the making.
From about an hour of leaving the building, we had only traveled what we roughly figured was about two miles. It was also beginning to get dark, with the sun about to go under the horizon.
Then, without any warning, a sort of shimmering field appeared in the sky. It continued on until it reached the northwest horizon, exactly where they were heading. Thomas immediately knew what it was.
"What the hell is that?" Will asked.
Though evidently Will did not.
"A ray shield" Thomas replied. "Weapons can't pass through it, nor can anything else traveling at even a reasonable pace."
They were now alone, surrounded by who knows how many enemies, and completely cut off. Even if they managed to find a radio and get a message out, assuming comms weren't jammed, they wouldn't be able to get any support from the air.
Just then Will held his hand up and gestured to get inside a nearby café that had its windows blown out. Just as they took cover behind the counter, Thomas heard it.
Rhythmic metallic clanking.
A few seconds later a group of about two dozen droids began to walk down the street directly in front of them. Most of them were B1s, though there was a quartet of B2 super battle droids. Then a pair of what the pair would later know as dwarf spider droids brought up the rear.
As they passed, a flash of movement from the opposite side of the street caught Thomas's eye. Taking a closer look, his eyes widened. He couldn't mistake the camouflage wearing form for anything else.
It was another human.
Once the spider droids had made it to the end of the street and around the bend, he tapped Will on the shoulder.
"There's someone across the street" Thomas whispered whilst pointing. Will looked over and saw them.
"Friendly?" he asked.
"Definitely" Thomas replied.
"Well let's get them in here then."
After double checking that no droids were coming down either end of the street, Thomas whistled out their position.
The soldier snapped their rifle up, but lowered it as Thomas waved at them to come over. After they too checked the road to make sure it was clear, they bolted across the street into the building.
"You alright?" Thomas asked. As they turned to face him, he finally noticed that 'they' was in fact a 'her', and that she was covered in dust and had a long cut on her forehead.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine" she said. She then put up an improper salute. "PFC Sarah Addie, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry".
Thomas returned the salute with the same casualness. "PFC Thomas Wilson, same. This is Corporal Will Tipton. Where's the rest of your unit?" he asked.
"We were caught in an ambush by some sort of new droids. Things seemed like they were bullet proof, rifle rounds just pinged off them" Sarah said angrily. "They cut us to damn pieces!"
She then sighed. "As far as I know, I'm the only one who made it out."
Thomas spun around in anger, slashing his arms through the air. "Can anything go right today please?" he asked rhetorically.
"Calm down man. We've been through worse situations than this" Will told him.
"Yeah? Like when?" Thomas asked.
"Remember the gangsters on Rivers Street?"
"How's that worse than this!?" Thomas exclaimed.
"Because we couldn't defend ourselves back then. Now we can."
Will then looked back outside. "We better bunker down for the night," he said. "We don't stand a chance against the droids in the night without NVGs."
He then opened a door leading deeper into the building. "This place is as good as any. Let's find an offshoot room so we'll hear them coming if they come inside for a look". He then started to walk down the hallway.
Sarah and Thomas glanced at each other, then followed. The interior of the building had certainly seen better days as well. Ceiling panels having fallen out and items were randomly strewn all over, its inhabitants clearly having left in a hurry. Given the lack of bodies, most had likely made it out.
After taking another three turns, the three soldiers set up on a door leading to a small storage room. After making sure there were no traps and clearing the room, they locked the door. For a light source, we set up a small lantern that Will had in his pack.
"We got about eight hours until sunrise. We'll sleep in shifts. Two and a half for each. I'll take the first watch" Will said.
Thomas and Sarah went to the back of the room, whilst Will waited in the middle keeping his eyes on the door. Setting up their backpacks up as makeshift headrests and making sure their rifles safety was on, they laid on the floor.
As soon as Thomas did so, the day's events finally caught up to him. His eyes grew immensely heavy, his last thoughts before sleep claimed him being what in the world they we're going to do in the morning.
Jedha System
Open Circle Fleet
Venator-class Star Destroyer Resolute
Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker stood aboard his personal Star Destroyer, the Resolute. Around him, many Clone troopers and officers went about their business of maintaining the ship, coordinating starfighters on patrol, and monitoring communications. It was often strange to consider where he was, considering where he had come from.
From a slave boy on a desert wasteland to a warrior of the Republic and general in its army.
"Master?"
Anakin turned to see his padawan Ahsoka Tano looking up at him.
"You feeling alright? You look like you're thinking too much about something."
Anakin smiled. His padawans concern for his wellbeing always touched him. He playfully slugged her shoulder.
"Oh, so you have grown to care?" he teasingly asked.
"Someone has to in order to keep you alive" she replied with a smirk.
"Well, I'm sure with your training by your truly you'll do just fine."
"Wow! With an ego that high it seems to have reached the clouds."
"I see you both are continuing your usual way of coming to terms with our predicament" an amused voice called from behind the pair.
Turning they saw Anakin's old master, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
"I've been trying to teach him some humility. No such luck so far Master" Ahsoka said.
"Well, since I haven't had any luck doing so in the many years I've known him, I'll leave that task in your eager hands" Obi-Wan replied.
"General Skywalker, General Kenobi" yet another voice called, which revealed itself to be coming from Clone Commander Cody, accompanied by Captain Rex.
"Yes Cody? What is it?" Obi-Wan asked.
"We have a priority transmission sir. It's from the Supreme Chancellor" Cody said.
The trio of Jedi looked at each other with concern. The Chancellor only called specific units out on the field when dealing with matters of utter importance. The battle of Christophsis being one such more recent example.
"He's waiting for you on the bridge holotable Generals".
"Best not to keep him waiting then" Anakin said.
Walking into the main interior of the bridge, the group of Clones and Jedi approached the holotable, already at which was Admiral Wulf Yularen, the commander of the fleet assigned to the two Jedi generals. Soon after the doors to the observation deck closed, the lights dimmed and the hologram of Chancellor Sheev Palpatine appeared.
"Greetings Master Jedi. I wish this call was one in which I was the barer of good news, but unfortunately that is not the case today" he said.
"What do you require of us Chancellor?" Anakin asked.
"You are familiar with the world known as Earth are you not? If I correctly recall the pair of you assisted in a conflict there some years ago yes?" Palpatine asked referring to Anakin and Obi-Wan.
"Yes, Chancellor we did. We assisted a coalition against a warring state known as Iraq" Obi-Wan confirmed.
"Then you will be of upmost help in this endeavor. Earth is currently under attack by a Separatist fleet led by Admiral Mar Tuuk, I believe you know of him from your time over Ryloth General Skywalker."
"Indeed Chancellor" Anakin said, recalling the captain from when he used the Star Destroyer Defender as a makeshift ram to destroy the Nemodian's Lucerhulk-class battleship to break the blockade of the planet. Ahsoka's efforts had taken care of the coward's frigate escorts shortly afterward via a bomber strike. This had then cleared the way for Obi-Wan's own ground forces for the battle on the surface, eventually leading to a Republic victory.
"Why would the Separatists attack Earth? The Terrans are neutral in the Clone Wars and have stated several times they wish to remain so" Ahsoka asked.
"We can assume that they wish to not leave our best route into the Unknown Regions under the control of a Republic friendly power. Without that route, the harvesting of its resources to fuel the war effort will slow to a crawl. As such, we cannot allow this attack to go unanswered, and I am charging you and your forces with the destruction of the Separatists attacking Earth. Assist the Terrans in any way you can, we will need their help to fully push them out of the system" Palpatine finished.
"Consider it done Chancellor. We will update you the moment the situation is stable" Anakin said.
"Then may The Force be with you Master Jedi" the Chancellor finished before disconnecting.
"Admiral Yularen, set course for the Sol System" Obi-Wan ordered. Yularen nodded before setting to his task.
"Rex, Cody, get the boys ready. If the Seppies took the Terrans even remotely seriously, they're going to have a massive force, both on the ground and in space" Anakin said.
"Yes sir!" the clones replied.
The Jedi then returned to the observation deck as the ship began to angle itself for the jump to hyperspace.
"You have met these Terrans before Master?" Ahsoka asked Anakin.
"Yes, back during my days as a Padawan. I helped their fighter squadrons during the opening stages of what they called the Gulf War. Even gave me a medal afterward" he said smirking.
His face then dropped back to seriousness. "The Terrans are not to be underestimated. Despite their technological inferiority, they aren't exactly push overs. The Separatists better hope they came prepared."
"Indeed, their special forces in particular are most impressive" Obi-Wan said, recalling his own mission with SAS commandoes and Delta Force operators during the previously mentioned war.
"With any luck, they have put up enough resistance to greatly hinder the droids. Once our forces arrive to support them in orbit, the battle will undoubtedly shift in our favor" he finished.
Ahsoka considered their words. She had not heard her masters talk about a group of individuals like that without the subject being either the Clones or Mandalorians. As the Resolute entered hyperspace, she wondered what these people would be like once they managed to get into contact with them.
Try and make a good impression, will you? she told herself.
Hello everyone! Welcome to the first chapter of an Uplifting War! This book will be much longer then NSLA, NSFA was, as I have been planning this era of the story quite extensively. Once again, I am open to constructive criticism as always. Thank you all for reading and see you next time.
Now, as promised on the previous story, onto the reviews:
Many Faced Mage: Anakin really just wants people who do bad things brought to justice more than anything. Dimiyty Aleksandrov is in fact an original character that will be based on the various Russian Ultra Nationalists that popped up during the early to mid 1990s, and have a strangle hold on Russian politics in the modern era.
amerikhan786: Kinetic weapons have their advantages and disadvantages, primary ones being the comparisons of rate of fire and ammo count. Venator's may have an exposed bridge, but that seems to be a staple of Star Destroyer design (at least those designed by Kuat) more then anything. Stealth tech will be factor in the designs of future starfighters and ships, don't worry. Mandalorians will definitely take an interest, though it won't be love at first sight or anything, especially given the divided nature of the Mandalorians during the Clone Wars. As for Shmi, I'll keep that a secret for now.
Peter HK: The differences in technology between the wider galaxy and Earth will definitely be noted. Other characters from the wider universe will appear, don't worry. How the TSA handles itself in the future when dealing with relations between the GE, NR, and other factions will be shown in detail, and the New Republic of this timeline with definitely be more Legends style then Cannon, but I intend to use the best of both worlds to make the faction work. I also plan to take inspiration from the Templin Institute's 'New Republic Reimagined' as I feel as that is one of the best versions of the NR that I have ever seen.