Nine years, seven months, and two days after the Battle of Yavin...
Or forty-four years, seven months, and two days after the Great Resynchronization.
The planet Baskarn was located in the eponymous star system of the Noon Sector in the Outer Rim Territories. According to the Imperial military astronavigation guide, the target of the Star Destroyer Relentless and its battle group was located in quadrant M-6.
In the past, an Imperial reconnaissance fleet discovered this base, hidden deep within the rock and surrounded by impassable jungles. And the data from that attack were extremely disappointing: the base of those who at that time were called "Rebels" and could boast no more than one hundred and fifty sentient personnel and a squadron of X-wings repelled the Imperial offensive and continued to function. And that was many years ago, when hastily trained civilians faced off against career Imperial military personnel. After so many years, the situation has changed dramatically, and not in favor of the Empire.
— Transition complete, — reported the watch officer. — Battle group has arrived at the destination in full force.
— Release the corvette, fighters, and interceptors, — ordered the Star Destroyer commander. Alexander Mor examined the information about the enemy base on the tactical screen. How many times has he done this already? Fifth? Tenth? — Raise the deflector shields. Ensure the safety of the landing craft. Begin the landing of ground units outside the angle of the enemy's ion cannon fire.
He didn't notice anything new here.
In terms of internal arrangement, it was an exact copy of the New Republic training center on Tierfon, destroyed by Grand Admiral Thrawn's fleet intelligence. Unfortunately, due to the peculiarities of the impassable and excessively dangerous jungles, as well as the support of local residents, the same tactics could not be applied. So a dozen X-wings would not become prey for the Imperials.
However, there is plenty here that their battle group can "profit" from. The base was located deep in the jungles of Baskarn, and its builders placed it under natural protection, placing it inside the mountainside. A well-thought-out solution that ensures the strength of the overall structure and reliable protection from sensor scanning as a result of the thickness of the stone walls.
According to information received from scouts, in the past the base was surrounded by a minefield, and there was also a V-150 "Planetary Defender" ion cannon, which required a large amount of energy to power it. But the biggest revealing factor...
— Deflector shield raised on the surface, — reported the sensor operator. — Base location localized.
— Relay the coordinates to our ground troops, — Alexander ordered.
— Registering enemy fighters, — they added.
— Direct interceptors to destroy them, — ordered the Star Destroyer commander. — Show no mercy in space.
— Sir, wouldn't it be better to use an interdictor cruiser or minesweeper for these purposes? — asked one of the young specialists. Mor gave him an interested look. Yes, this is the tractor beam operator. But he's from another watch; the one who should be in his place now is being interrogated, as are three other spies discovered by counterintelligence.
— If we wanted to make sure that not a single ship escaped from here, we would have done so, — Alexander stated, turning his back to the "pits." — Neither the Grand Admiral nor I care if any of our enemies escape into hyperspace. The nearest New Republic fortress planet is Ithor. It takes more than three days to fly there from there, even with a first-class hyperdrive. During this time, we will not only destroy the enemy, take everything that interests us, but also leave a few surprises.
Alexander's battle group was called "Besh" and included the Relentless as its flagship, one CR90 corvette, which protected the ship from the lower hemisphere, two Star Galleons, and two Tartar -class patrol cruisers. More than an impressive force to deal with a single peripheral enemy base.
Watching as both patrol cruisers surrounded enemy fighters rising from the surface, unnerving them with fire from their guns, forming a fiery bag, Alexander could not help but suppress a wry smirk.
In fact, his forces now formed a hemisphere around the enemy with three light ships: a corvette and patrol cruisers. The center of the formation was the Relentless, which spewed from its bowels an air wing of three squadrons of TIE fighters and twenty-four interceptors. While the former helped hold the perimeter and keep the New Republic's small aircraft from beyond the fiery bag, the interceptors, skillfully maneuvering between the fire of guns, bit into the enemy's formation, which had broken into pairs, demonstrating excellent maneuverability and training. Thanks to the quantitative superiority of the Imperials, the enemy had no choice but to accept battle on unfavorable terms.
At the same time, landing barges with light equipment — gravcycles and speeder bikes — under the protection of TIE bombers were entering the planet's atmosphere in a large arc away from the events. As soon as the landing force is dropped, the bombers will attack the base's fortifications, which do not have powerful anti-aircraft cover, and ensure complete Imperial superiority.
The ion cannon fired from the surface in rare salvos, indicating that they did not have such a powerful energy source. Well, that only makes the attack easier. Because none of the scarlet drops of energy capable of disabling the battle group's equipment could harm Alexander's ships - based on data from the previous Imperial attack on this base, as well as data from reconnaissance droids sent here in advance, he placed his ships outside the range of the New Republican ground weapon.
— Landing reconnaissance groups are already on the surface, — reported the watch officer. — Engaged in a clash with enemy units and locals. Shield projectors and a generator powering the ion cannon have been discovered. The bombers are striking...
Alexander looked at the tactical monitor, which showed schematic images of everything that was happening. A small circle of white light, symbolizing the enemy deflector shield, a small figure resembling a spiral - the discovered generator, and a circle with a dash - the enemy's ion cannon... And twelve red dots - a squadron of bombers approaching the targets... Everything is like in a simulator...
A few seconds later, the deflector field circle and the energy generator spiral disappeared.
— Targets hit, enemy base has no defense, — reported the watch officer.
— Direct the Tartar to geostationary orbit, — Alexander ordered. — Stay in the zone of minimal planetary attraction and shell the rock inside which the base is located. Compensate for the disruption of the formation density at the expense of nearby ships.
He watched intently as the icon of the specified ship approached the enemy weapon's kill zone. Here it crossed it, it is already at a distance of confident destruction, opens fire...
No reaction from the enemy, except for an attempt by one X-wing to attack the ship. Which was immediately stopped by two TIE interceptors, placing the enemy fighter under crossfire and turning it into a miniature spark of explosion.
On the tactical screen, it was already possible to notice how the Tartar was burning out their communication systems, control tower, and laser cover turrets on the rock under which the New Republicans were hiding... A few minutes of shelling was enough to turn all the peripheral equipment of the enemy into molten slag.
— Has a signal for help been received from the base? — asked the commander of the Relentless.
— Aye, sir, — replied the communications officer. — A distress signal and a request for help have been sent to the enemy base on the planet Ithor.
— What is the response of the Republican command? — Alexander inquired.
— They promised to send three assault frigates, — was the reply. — They will arrive in... three days, sir.
— Timely support from allies, — Captain Mor chuckled. — Convey to our pilots my approval of their actions.
The tactical screen of the Relentless was covered with eleven marks of destroyed enemy X-wings. The only New Republic fighter that was hit by an ion shot from the guns of an Imperial Star Destroyer was now being towed to the nearest corvette in order to take the pilot prisoner and inspect the "prize."
— Ground forces have engaged enemy defense units, — reported the watch officer. — An attempt to lure our infantry into a minefield was unsuccessful. Ten squads of stormtroopers broke into the base, landing right at the main entrance. The defenders surrender. Teams are guarding all key locations of the base, no more resistance is being offered inside the fortification.
— Send technical teams to the surface, — Alexander ordered. — By the end of the day, all computers, armory, personal records, and the ion cannon, as well as everything of interest, must be on board our Star Galleons.
***
Sometimes time is so subjectively distorted that it seems as if minutes have become hours. This is especially noticeable during a flight to the target. You literally have nowhere to put yourself...
— The interdictor cruiser has moved into position, — a report came from the commander of the Chimaera. — Gravity well generators deployed and ready for operation. Jamming has begun... Communication channels are blocked, no alarm signals are registered... Maintaining stable communication contact with our ship.
— Data from the scanners? — I asked, stroking the ysalamiri lying on my lap.
— The current information matches the previous information, sir, — Gilad replied. — The ships have not changed their position, no new ships have been detected. No signs of alarm have been detected either.
— They are hiding, — I stated. — They believe that the appearance of an Imperial ship here is nothing more than an accident. Proceed to the second point of the plan, Captain.
— Bait-1 has exited hyperspace, — Pellaeon reported a couple of minutes later. I glanced at the ship's chronometer. The start time of the operation has been recorded. — The direction of the exit vector has been corrected by artificial gravity projection. Approaching the kill zone in which our previous ships were destroyed. Reconnaissance droids have been released, the space is under constant scanning.
— Reaction to the invasion? — I asked.
— Droids from Bait-1 are registering the accumulation of energy on the surface of the planetoid, — Pellaeon said quickly. — Bait-2 has been pulled out of hyperspace, standard procedures have begun... Three small fighters have been spotted from the surface. Identified as Alpha-3 Nimbus-class starfighters. Salvo from a planetary weapon!
I stroked the lizard and looked at the chronometer again. The ysalamiri, stretching sweetly, settled down more comfortably.
Alpha-3 Nimbus-class starfighter.
— Bait-1 destroyed, — Pellaeon reported. And the hand of the chronometer continued its run... — Bait-2 attacked by enemy fighters... B-1 droids on the freighter are firing back, but the weapons they have are clearly not enough for a full defense... Sir, we will soon lose this ship too.
— Data on the accumulation of energy of the planetary weapon continue to be recorded? — I asked.
— Aye, sir, but...
— In that case, everything is going as it should, — I reported. — Bait-3 ready to be dispatched?
— Aye, sir, — replied the commander of the Chimaera.
— The interdictor reports fifty percent energy storage charge, — reported Lieutenant Tschel, who approached. He looks more collected and well-rested today. It seems Gilad has finished harassing his subordinate.
I glanced at the hands of the clock. How interesting...
— Has the position of the planetary weapon been localized? — the question was not left unanswered.
— The enemy has charged the gun to sixty percent!
— Bait-2 is taking heavy damage from enemy fighters!
— One Alpha-3 Nimbus-class starfighter shot down, another damaged and retreating to the surface of the planetoid!
— Aye, sir, reconnaissance droids have located the location of the planetary weapon...
— Dispatch Bait-3, — I ordered. — Captain Pellaeon, relay to the battery deck the coordinates of the planetary anti-space defense system to the gunners of the ion cannons. General order to the squadron's ships: go into hyperspace. Group Alpha: move to the coordinates of Bait-2. Group Beta: to the second vector of the interdictor cruiser.
— Aye, sir, — Tschel, having received the instruction, went to the communications post.
A few seconds later, the Chimaera, like the ships of her squadron, located a few light hours from the borders of the attacked star system, disappeared from real space, illuminating the cabin with the white-blue glow of hyperspace.
Stroking the lizard and envying its imperturbable snoring, I asked:
— Questions, Captain Pellaeon?
— Aye, sir, — the commander of the Chimaera did not stay away. — What is the focus of the Baits?
— Focus is sleight of hand and the magician's ingenuity, nothing more, Captain, — I said. — The "Baits" are a way to reveal the enemy's reaction time to an invasion.
Judging by the silence of the commander of my flagship Star Destroyer, he did not understand. I'll have to explain.
— From previous reports, we know that single reconnaissance ships arriving in the RZ7-6113-23 planetoid system were destroyed by unknown garrison forces with the help of a planetary weapon. Bait-1 was necessary to identify the location of the enemy's planetary weapon in a charged state, the firing range of the specified system, and coped perfectly with these tasks. Bait-2, appearing after the gun fired, gave us sufficient reason to believe that, firstly, the enemy has only one planetary gun, secondly, it requires time to reload, and thirdly, our scanners identified the location of the gun itself.
— The enemy raised Alpha-3-class starfighters to attack Bait-2 during the planetary weapon's reload, — Pellaeon understood.
— Exactly, — I agreed. — Also, the enemy made it clear to us that if there is a modern Interdictor-class Star Destroyer with a corresponding air wing of modern TIE fighters, their best response to our forces is precisely the Nimbus -class fighters. This revealing fact gives reason to believe that there are outdated types of weapons at the RZ7-6113-23 base — from the Clone Wars or the initial period of the Galactic Empire hegemon.
— Otherwise, they would have sent something from the TIE series to intercept, — Pellaeon realized.
— You are thinking correctly, Captain, — I agreed. — This is how we get confirmation that the ships of the Clone Wars era, located in orbit of the RZ7-6113-23 planetoid, are not just someone's fleet, but part of the assortment of the base itself. Outdated starships, outdated fighters... All this was supposed to be written off and transferred for metal processing. But someone decided to organize a small supply of outdated equipment for themselves. Perhaps to sell it on the black market in the future: as you know, Clone Phase II armor was and is very popular with various Outer Rim groups. Acclamator-class assault ships were often used in the Imperial fleet as armed high-speed transports, while Venator-class Star Destroyers served for the first ten to fifteen years after the end of the Clone Wars in all fleets of the Galactic Empire until the complete replacement with Victory- and Imperial-class ones. We have already found one such ship at the disposal of Trandoshan slavers. Maintaining such a starship for more than two and a half decades is not a cheap pleasure, not to mention that spare parts and components are needed that cannot be repaired, only replaced. This equipment had to be taken from somewhere - given that neither Acclamators nor Venators were built after the victory in the Clone Wars, I assume that everything necessary entered the black market either from this or from a similar base.
— According to intelligence reports, the Zann Consortium initially used these types of starships, — Pellaeon said. — And the Mandalorians had them in service... As did the Rebel Alliance.
— I have no doubt that some of the Acclamators and Venators were lost after the end of the Clone Wars, — I said. — However, this does not change the essence. I am interested in this base, I am interested in who it is subordinate to and what is in its warehouses.
— Do you assume that something from all this junk can be useful to us? — Pellaeon asked with doubt.
— I believe that in our situation we can use absolutely everything that remained after the collapse of the Galactic Empire, — Pellaeon frowned when he met my gaze.
— At the moment, we depend on the supply of weapons and equipment from the D'Asta sector, — I reminded. — This imposes certain restrictions and costs on our armed forces. Clone Phase II armor is not so different from stormtrooper armor, and our reserves are running out. There is nowhere to produce it - at least if you buy it at a reasonable price. At the moment, we have the opportunity, by blocking calls for help from the base's garrison, to get everything that we need, and then to use it for its intended purpose. The experience of working with Droch-class boarding ships, droidekas, B-1 and B-2 droids, BX-series commando droids, as well as separatist and republican ships gives an understanding that after the end of the Clone Wars, impressive scientific and technical achievements were undeservedly anathematized. Given the complete absence of our production of ground equipment, all that we can count on is our existing tanks, walkers, and gravcycles. The addition of even outdated, but still relevant ground equipment from the Clone Wars to our armies will expand the range of ground offensive operations.
— I remember you said you wanted to visit the headquarters of the Hell's Hammers unit, — Pellaeon said. — They have a whole planet that lives by the laws of the Empire and will surely be happy to join us...
— I don't need them to join only because we still wear the same regalia as them, — I said. — In order for such a glorious unit as the Hell's Hammers to respect us and consider it an honor to join our troops, they need to see what we are without their participation. The best agreement only happens when two equal parties agree.
— And given that the glory of your achievements is now attributed to Prince-Admiral Krennel, it is not difficult to guess that Colonel Zel Johans will refuse to obey you, — Pellaeon nodded understandingly. — Ah, if it weren't for your agreement with the Imperial Ruling Council on information security...
— In fact, you are only looking at the facts one-sidedly, Captain, — I said. — Hiding my involvement in what is happening with the New Republic is part of the plan, — actually, it's an accident that became part of the plan, but who would voice such clarifications? — At the moment, the New Republic is in a certain information vacuum, not fully understanding who is attacking them - "Grand Admiral" or "Prince-Admiral." Krennel's ego and his advisors are playing into our hands - he takes on all the responsibility and all the negativity for what is happening. Which attracts attention to himself from the New Republic and short-sighted Imperials. We don't need such allies. Krennel is resting on his laurels, and at the same time does not suspect that not one, but two military campaigns are being plotted against him - the Bothan one, and ours. At the moment, his Hegemony is flourishing only because the Bothans are starting to pull resources together to ensure a long-term campaign against him. Which successfully supplies us with medical and other equipment. Soon, due to the decrease in supplies to the Fourth Fleet, Advisor Fey'lia will decide to go all-in - and this will be the end of his political career. In fact, it will be the end for most of the starships of the New Republic's Fourth Fleet. After he becomes a victim of circumstances, we will only have to take what remains after him. And then, in the ruins of the Siutric Hegemony, it will become clear to all participants who and in what way has been draining the New Republic all this time. Operation Crimson Dawn is currently fully aimed at the Prince-Admiral taking the laurels of the winner, the Imperial who finally decided to get rid of the Republican bases where our valiant armed forces have suffered defeats in the past, or have not achieved complete success. This will distract him for a short time from thinking about looking for the culprit in the disappearance of such necessary equipment for arming Mon Calamari ships. And at the same time, it will suggest to the owner of this base, and I am sure that he is not actually present here, that all the attacks on Republican bases are just a cover for the seizure of this storage facility. One way or another, but the pride of Prince-Admiral Krennel will play into our hands and push him himself to the abyss of defeat.
— Too complex a plan, Grand Admiral, — Pellaeon admitted. — Will it work with the efficiency intended for it?
— A plan that can only work if all elements are executed perfectly is no longer a plan, it is an algorithm of actions, — I said. — In our case, there are too many variables, so betting that everything will go only as I need it to be is a waste of time.
— Therefore, you have saved, in addition to the first two Baits, also a third freighter, still controlled by droids that are not a pity to send to certain death? — Pellaeon asked.
— No, of course not, Captain, — I said. — The planetary weapon fired at Bait-1 thirty seconds after the ship appeared in orbit of the planetoid. This is the reaction time of the gunners and the personnel of the protective structure. Between the destruction of Bait-1 and Bait-2, five minutes passed before the anti-space defense gun accumulated a charge of fifty percent. Based on this, we know that the reactor powering the installation supplies ten percent of the gun's power in sixty standard seconds. Apparently, Bait-2 will be destroyed by an enemy fighter some time after the arrival of Bait-3. And the latter will enter the system nine and a half minutes after the previous shot from the planetary weapon. Therefore, it will take the gunners on the planet from thirty to sixty seconds to destroy Bait-3, since Bait-2 will no longer be of great interest to them. The Chimaera and the ships of the squadron will emerge into real space twelve minutes after the destruction of Bait-1, that is, in one and a half minutes after the destruction of Bait-3. Which gives us a reserve of at least eight and a half to nine standard minutes of lead time to strike at the coordinates of the detected enemy AA gun. Following this, the landing of ground forces and the capture of the Venator and Acclamator class starships drifting in orbit will begin. Coupled with the fact that our other combat groups will capture the necessary equipment, there is a high probability that we will soon have more Dragon-class ships. Since we cannot create the necessary energy installation for the uninterrupted and rapid-fire operation of Project Sunburn, we will simply increase the number of ships of this type.
— I understand, this is the final touch to the long-delayed operation against the Sluis Van shipyards? — Pellaeon asked with hope in his voice.
I didn't answer him. Let it be a surprise.
***
The New Republic base on the planet Akuria II had been attacked by the Imperial fleet in the past. This dome-shaped structure, covered by several laser turrets, was, as in its past years, a dome-shaped structure lost in the snow.
In the past, an Imperial scout infiltrated here under the guise of a commander, from whom this information ended up in the Imperial archives. Such an insignificant target, which even after the passage of time none of the Imperial military leaders tried to attack, despite its location in quadrant M-5 — not far from the territories of the Imperial Space.
— Fighters of our air wing engaged a link of enemy small craft in combat, — reported the senior officer to Captain I-Gor, who calmly watched as the gray triangular hull of the Victory-class Star Destroyer. Straight, like a metal pipe, devoid of any noticeable emotions on his face, the commander of the Crusader seemed to see nothing in front of him. Only impenetrable clouds of clouds that stood in the path of the Star Destroyer.
The senior officer intended to repeat the information in order to get a response from the captain, who had lost all his fun after the battle for the Hoth shipyards, but he nodded almost imperceptibly.
The senior officer, biting his lip, looked questioningly at the crew members. What to do? Unfortunately, the rest of the officers and specialists could not give him an answer to the burning question.
No one knew what Grand Admiral Thrawn had said to their commander during their personal meeting on Tangrene after the operation. But after Hoth, after that rendezvous, Captain I-Gor stopped smiling. At all. As if someone had sucked all the joy out of him. It seems that the death of his son affected him more than many thought...
— Are the launchers from the twenty-first to the fortieth ready? — the ship's commander asked quietly. And although his voice was not filled with emotions as before, it remained as firm, confident, and unshakable.
— Aye, sir, — reported the executive officer. — Missiles in the launchers, safeties off.
— Has the enemy reported our invasion? — asked Captain I-Gor.
— Yes, Commander, — replied the first mate. — The base on Agamar responded. They claim they will send a Mon Calamari star cruiser in a few hours. A Crusader-class corvette is on patrol in orbit.
After the loss of the DP20 frigate, Grand Admiral Thrawn ordered that a warship captured by scouts from the Zann Consortium operate in the same detachment as the Crusader. An excellent vessel, equipped with laser point defenses and a good arsenal, was used as a light support ship. And at the same time, it was an excellent way to destroy missiles, torpedoes, and enemy small aircraft.
The captured ship differed greatly in many characteristics from those starships that had previously been in service with the Consortium, so it received a new designation, as a second-generation model. Like other small ships of the corvette or frigate type in the Grand Admiral's fleet, this vessel had no name of its own, only a tail number. By order of the command, small ships had to earn their right to a name in battle. So at the moment, only a serial number flaunted on board the trophy starship...
— Is the target fixed? — Captain I-Gor asked a new question.
— Yes, sir...
— Fire, — commanded the man, continuing to look at the clouds...
Two dozen anti-ship missiles — the main weapon of a Victory-class Star Destroyer — burst from the tubes of the launchers, tearing the dense cloud cover with the lights of their engines and dissolving into the darkness.
By the time the Crusader descended into the atmosphere below the cloud level, defying the fierce blizzard, those on the bridge saw a picture of a local branch of hell in the middle of a snowy desert. Hundreds of square meters of surface were engulfed in flames. The twisted buildings, smoldering with black smoke, were disfigured torches. Fuel from the destroyed storage facilities spread throughout the area, forming a real river of fire...
— Retreating enemy forces spotted, — reported the first mate. — Two ground snow-going vehicles at a distance of five hundred and seven hundred meters...
— Fire from the ship's artillery, — Captain I-Gor said calmly. No one wanted to object to him.
Slightly tilting its triangular nose closer to the surface, the Star Destroyer Crusader spewed out dozens of green turbolaser beams from its towers, evaporating only the miraculously surviving rebels and huge areas of the snowy plain...
And then the smoldering remains of downed enemy fighters crashed to the surface, futilely trying to resist the attacking Imperial forces.
Not a single sentient being in the kill zone of anti-ship missiles and turbolaser installations survived the raid on the New Republic military base on the planet Akuria II.
The Mon Calamari cruiser and its crew, which arrived at the designated time, could only mourn the dead.
***
The Chimaera materialized in real space at the very moment when the last Nimbus-class fighter began to move away from the wreckage of three freighters that had seen better days. Baits one through three destroyed. It took several seconds for the Star Destroyer's systems to return to normal mode.
— Ion cannons on the starboard side - fire at the specified coordinates, — Pellaeon ordered. — Raise the deflector shields, drop the Corellian corvette, release the fighters and interceptors. Landing shuttles - prepare for landing.
Aurek squadron materialized according to two vectors of artificial gravity projectors.
The Chimaera, and with it the Death's Head and the Bellicose, came out according to the coordinates of Bait-2, and the Beta group — Captain Dorja's Inexorable, as well as the Phoenix and the Judicator — in the immediate vicinity of eleven Acclamator and Venator-class starships.
So, eleven ships of two outdated types. Eight Acclamators, the modification of which is not yet known at the moment, and three Venators. In my opinion, after the Clone Wars, there should be hundreds, if not thousands of them left. However, there are slightly less than nothing here. Either this is too small a base, or I am still right in my assumption that the base has long been deconserved and already has an owner. If only I knew who he is at the moment... If it's Grand Moff Kaine, it will turn out... Awkward.
However, we will soon find out. In any case, most of what I intend to find here, I do not intend to publicize in open battles. At least until I figure out the situation and am ready.
Before my eyes, the tactical screen of the Chimaera lit up with a second portion of bluish arrows associated with the shelling by ion cannons. Pellaeon's gunners were literally saturating the anti-space defense gun, disguised as the mouth of an ugly volcano.
— Confirmation from the fighter-spotters, — Pellaeon said. — The AA gun has been hit by our ion cannons.
— Send out a landing party to capture the installation, — I ordered.
Watching intently as the ships of the Beta group — the Inexorable, the Phoenix, and the Judicator, surrounded by the aviation of the first and last ship, spewed out an endless number of landing and boarding bots from their depths.
I watched them, docking with the emergency airlocks, landing boarding parties. The method of capturing ships is the most effective way to use starships for their intended purpose in the shortest possible time, limiting themselves to minimal alterations at the shipyard. It is for this reason that plasma drills, separatist Droch boarding bots, and other options for penetrating starships with hull damage are not used. It takes too long to mess around with all this.
— Grand Admiral, sir, — Lieutenant Tschel approached me. Pellaeon, casting a piercing glance at him, refrained from commenting. — A message has been received from Captain Mor from aboard the Relentless.
— Report, — I said, stroking the ysalamiri.
— The New Republic base on the planet Baskarn has been successfully attacked, — the young officer read from the deck screen. — Eighty-seven sentients have been taken prisoner from among the personnel and guards of the outpost. The data on the base's computer was damaged during an attempt to delete it. Most of the database has been saved. The arsenal, enemy supplies, as well as one T-65 X-wing starfighter have been captured. The pilot has been placed with the other prisoners. The V-150 Planetary Defender ion cannon has been dismantled and will be delivered to Tangrene in the near future as part of a convoy of transport ships.
— Send confirmation to Captain Mor that the message has been received, — I said. Noticing in the reflection of the main viewport that the lieutenant had taken a step away from my chair, I said:
— Lieutenant Tschel.
— Yes, sir! — the young officer looked at me, spinning on his heels.
— According to the Charter of the Imperial Armed Forces, should a junior officer confirm receipt of an order from a senior officer? — I inquired.
— Aye, sir, — the lieutenant reported, his face pale.
— Should a junior officer, when intending to address a senior officer with a report that brooks no delay, in the presence of his immediate commander, ask permission from the latter? — I continued my small interrogation, watching as three Venators began to move, onto which our landing force had landed in the first wave.
— Aye, sir, — the sound with which Lieutenant Tschel swallowed the lump that had risen to his throat was like the fall of a heavy object down a pipe in the silence of the bridge.
— Are you aware that you have violated the provisions of the Charter? — I inquired, continuing to observe what was happening. Additionally, two Acclamators came into motion, leaving the general "drifting" formation. Excellent, there are only six starships left.
— Aye, sir, — in the reflection of the viewport, it was possible to see the young officer standing at attention.
— Remember one thing, Lieutenant Tschel, — I said. — The fact that the Galactic Empire is now a pity remnants, which are painful to look at without tears, does not mean that you can ignore the provisions and circulars on which our military hierarchy is built due to youth or some other reasons. This entails chaos and uncertainty, which are destructive in conditions of uncertainty and variability of the course. Only strict adherence to the provisions of discipline will allow us, commanders, and our subordinates, the execution of orders of which is entrusted to us, to be sure that all assigned tasks will be completed as planned and by the deadlines that have been designated. Do you understand this, Lieutenant?
— Y-yes, sir, — if the reflection is not lying, then streams of sweat are now rolling down the young officer's face.
— There is a parable that is very old, — I said, on the go paraphrasing the Japanese wisdom of my native world. — "Because of an unrepaired fuel line, an engine was lost; because of the lost engine, a courier ship was lost in interstellar space; because of the lost courier ship, a secret message was not delivered to the fleet command; because of the undelivered message, the fleet lost the general battle." A systematic approach to the functioning of large associations of sentients was invented long before you, and it will not be ignored by you. Is this clear to you, Lieutenant Tschel?
— Y-yes, Grand Admiral, — Lieutenant Tschel muttered in a completely defeated tone.
Having made sure that four more assault cruisers had "weighed anchor" and began to destroy the initial formation, going to where fleet specialists could move to their board faster, I turned my chair, peering into the pale face of the junior officer. Judging by his physiognomy, he is already going through the options for his punishment in his head.
— Remember this moment, — I advised, intently watching the lieutenant Tschel's chin begin to tremble slightly. — One day you will climb onto the bridge of the ship entrusted to you. And you will have to command hundreds of sentients who will strive to see you as an authority and a role model. The effectiveness of the execution of orders assigned to you by higher command directly depends on how exactly you present yourself to your subordinates and how quickly you can win their respect and achieve clear performance of official duties. The weakest link breaks in the chain, and it is in a critical moment in time that the reliability of the entire system is tested. Did you remember this?
— Aye, Grand Admiral Thrawn, — Tschel said.
— I hope you remember this lesson, — I concluded — Draw the proper conclusions and we will not return to this again. History will not forgive us for collapse due to the unreliability of links in one chain or another.
The young officer pursed his lips, swallowing the drops of sweat that had frozen on his lip.
— Return to the performance of your duties, Lieutenant Tschel, — I ordered, turning the chair towards the viewport.
— Aye, sir! — the young Imperial answered me in a broken bass, quickly moving towards the pits, where the rest of the watch immediately came to life.
— I'm sure that after this scolding, Tschel will pull himself together and start performing his duties, — Pellaeon smirked caustically. I didn't need to be a Jedi to catch what pleasure he was currently experiencing.
— This lecture was not so much for him, Captain Pellaeon, — I explained, with inner relief watching the last starships come into motion. The minimum program has been completed. Now you can deal with the RZ7-6113-23 base. — Several months of disciplinary punishment of a subordinate and the lack of results is a reason to think about whether you are choosing the right tactics, Captain. During long-term operation, those links that are closest to the clasp fail first in chains. And in this situation, it no longer matters whether there are other weak links in the chain. Begin the landing, Captain Pellaeon, time is of the essence.
— Aye, Grand Admiral, — said the commander of the Chimaera in a dry, official tone, quickly moving away from my chair towards the control terminals.
What Gilad cannot be taken away is the ability to learn from his mistakes. Not immediately, but after a while. Let's see how quickly he learns this lesson.
***
The fourth squad of the 501st legion landed along with the rest of the units of the first company in the vanguard of the invasion of the RZ7-6113-23 base.
THX-0297, supporting with fire the four of his soldiers, together with five others organized suppressive fire, forcing the enemy soldiers to lie down behind the permacrete panels located vertically in front of the main entrance to the military warehouse.
The massive arch of the gate, through which a couple of AT-ATs could comfortably pass without catching each other, opened to the stormtroopers a view of the fact that after the front line of defense they would get into a huge room carved into the thickness of a lifeless planetoid. One glance at the defensive order was enough to understand that this was precisely a military warehouse designed to store military equipment. The builders of this object did not assume that its garrison would have to withstand a siege by superior enemy forces.
Otherwise, there would be massive boxes of long-term firing points, machine gun repeaters, and the space in front of the gate would be shot through with crossfire.
But all that the defending forces could offer to the attackers were volleys from a couple of dozen DC-15 series blaster rifles removed from the Imperial army's arsenal, whose bluish shots crossed out the shrinking space between both factions of soldiers clad in white armor.
From the very first seconds, covered by the armor of landing ships, the stormtroopers of Grand Admiral Thrawn's fleet realized a simple truth - they are opposed by those who are only trying to pass themselves off as soldiers of the Imperial Stormtrooper Corps. Clad in the same armor as themselves, but trained much worse.
There is neither combat cohesion, nor tactical combinations, many unnecessary movements, excessive fussiness...
Everything looked like the sentient, whom these soldiers serving, posing as stormtroopers, decided to indulge his ego by dressing the soldiers in suitable "outfits," but had absolutely no idea that the Stormtrooper Corps is not just snow-white armor.
It is long months of training, tempering the body and consolidating actions to automatism. It is a clear structure and organization.
Even though the attacking units were clones of the Genod program and did not undergo ruthless training on Carida, they all carried in their minds the original's memories of what it was like. And they perfectly understood that their effectiveness depends on constant training and preparations. Therefore, on board the Chimaera, as on any other ship, there were rooms for training soldiers of the stationed legion of stormtroopers. And they used everything necessary to remain effective.
As soon as the landing ship reached the enemy's forward positions, partially destroying them with fire from the ship's artillery, forcing the first half of the "dressed-up" to retreat, and the second to sit tight behind the permacrete blocks, the stormtrooper squads switched to a full-scale offensive.
THX-0297 jumped over the plate of the temporary shelter covered with blackness of the singe, landing on his feet next to one of the "dressed-up." The enemy tried to shoot him, turning the long-barreled rifle at the stormtrooper, but the weapon was knocked out of his hands, after which THX-0297, lightning-fast switching the fire control switch from combat mode to "stunner," shoved into the enemy a charge of bluish energy in the form of several rings. Returning the flag to its proper place, switched to other opponents, methodically approaching another shelter.
He did not need to check whether the defeated enemy was subject to muscle spasms - he knew it for sure. Stormtroopers know for themselves what it is like to be shot from small arms that are in service with their units. This is how the "untrainable" are taught on Carida - a shot from a blaster in the limbs or other non-vital parts of the human body clears the head faster than long stories for those who think that it is not necessary to know for sure about the consequences of pulling the trigger of their blaster.
The first (it is also the last) line of defense of the military warehouse fell in fifteen seconds of the offensive.
Two dozen "dressed-up" clad in snow-white armor, throwing down their weapons, ran for all their might away from the unusually assertive and unscrupulous soldiers from the Chimaera. The stormtroopers did not force the enemies to ask them to do so - firing from an E-11 at a moving target, the distance to which is constantly changing, is an excellent exercise for their own accuracy. The latter, thanks to the propaganda of the New Republic, has become an insulting cliché for soldiers in white armor, but with all this, the stormtroopers were repeatedly given the opportunity to prove their effectiveness and shooting skills. It's just that the enemy's propaganda preferred to remain silent about these cases, and in those moments when it was impossible to hide it, it played out in its characteristic manner of distortion of facts.
Because a simple sentient, hearing such stories, will think three times about crossing the road of government troops.
The example of the battle for the citadel on the planet Ebenmal is a vivid illustration of how a small number of well-trained Stormtrooper Corps soldiers can break an enemy that surpasses the attackers both in quantity and quality.
THX-0297, watching as the stormtroopers drag into the landing ships the "dressed-up" who were shot in the back with stunners and their comrades, who were disabled during the capture of the first line of defense, caught himself thinking that he had not read the work of the historian Chen Ming-di. It was the memories of Colonel Selid that spoke inside him.
"Imperial Villainy and Other Aristocratic Pursuits" was the name of the work of this learned man. Colonel Selid studied this book, as the episode described in it had a direct relationship to him.
According to legends and local beliefs, the citadel on the planet Ebenmal in the Middle Rim of the galaxy could not be captured for all ten thousand years of its existence.
Eighteen months before the Battle of Yavin IV, Colonel Selid, leading a unit of Imperial stormtroopers-paratroopers, attacked a rebel base entrenched in the specified fortification. Three thousand enemy soldiers, armed with armored vehicles, aircraft, heavy weapons... None of this saved them.
The historian Chen Ming-di described the reason for this as the impossibility of the rebels to contemplate the horrors that the Imperial paratroopers were doing. And the decision to surrender to the enemy command was made solely out of considerations of humanity and saving the lives of their soldiers in the massacre created by the Imperials.
The historian Chen Ming-di did not talk about the fact that the entire "horror created by the Imperials" consisted only in the fact that they consistently and purposefully destroyed first the communication systems, then the ammunition depots, hangars, and garages at the rebel base, repeatedly depriving them of the opportunity to defend and retreat.
The historian Chen Ming-di was deceiving those who had read his historical work. And Stormtrooper Sergeant THX-0297 assumed that one day he would find this writer and force him to present the information in a strict historical context, without the slightest admixture of politicization and "sense of the moment."
At a minimum, the historian Chen Ming-di should tell his readers that it took the Imperial stormtroopers-paratroopers less than a standard hour to capture the Ebenmal citadel, which had been impregnable for ten thousand years.
And also about the fact that the three thousand rebels praised by the author of this work were captured by only eighty-five Imperial stormtroopers-paratroopers.
Having made sure that the approaches to the base were cleared, THX-0297, having received an order from the company commander to survey the military warehouse, proceeded to carry out the assigned combat mission.
***
— Sir, — Captain Pellaeon crossed the threshold of my cabin, entering the realm of shadows and holograms, holding an activated datapad in his hand. — Data received from the surface.
— Report, Captain, — I said. — You can do this in a less official tone in private.
— Our ground units have completely taken control of eleven starships in orbit of the planetoid, — Pellaeon said. — Also, the 501st legion broke the resistance of the gunners of the planetary anti-space defense gun and captured a military warehouse.
Nothing surprising in this, given our quantitative and qualitative superiority. However, the speed of the operation is impressive - they managed in ten minutes from the moment the squadron entered the star system of the RZ7-6113-23 planetoid.
— Is the interrogation of prisoners bearing fruit? — I asked.
— Aye, sir, — Pellaeon confirmed. — It has already been established that the half-company guarding the military warehouse is former soldiers from mobilized civilians who served under the command of the warlord Zindj, who after the defeat of the latter switched to the side of the warlord Ennix Devian. He, according to the prisoners, was the one who built this military base and organized the movement of the military property of the Old Republic and partially the Empire to it. It is preliminarily known that the warehouses with spare parts for the Acclamators and Venators, the arsenal of Imperial small arms, have been almost completely emptied. However, there are huge reserves of equipment, military equipment, small arms, and small arms from the Clone Wars. There are also extensive food reserves - dry rations, predominantly from the same period of release, yes, from the first decade of the Empire. Their expiration date in a sublimated state is calculated in decades, so this is definitely a major catch. And as for the sentients captured... This garrison was left on the planetoid by order of Devian himself to ensure the safety of the object. Devian left them in complete radio silence - given the fact that the territories of the Five-Star Commonwealth are actually nearby, this is a very logical order.
And this is already interesting. And, to some extent, brings relief, taking into account the fact that the owner of these "dungeons" is still not Grand Moff Ardus Kaine. But the identity of the real owner does not make it any easier.
Another enemy loomed on the horizon.
Ennix Devian - an Imperial who became famous in his time as the personal hired assassin of Emperor Palpatine. But I am personally interested in him from the point of view that he is the last known owner of two "habitable worlds" - huge spherical residential complexes built in orbit of Coruscant and lost after the Battle of Endor. One of the "worlds" has now been destroyed by the New Republic, the second has disappeared without a trace. And I desperately need him to fulfill one of the parts of the further plan.
— Has it been established where Devian is based? — I asked.
— In the Ghost Nebula, sir, — Pellaeon replied.
Hmm... not the most convenient region of the galaxy for searching for an enemy. Based on what I gleaned from the astronavigation guides, this section of the galaxy has only two confirmed inhabited planets - Umbara and Atoa. Given that there may be hundreds, if not thousands, of star systems in the territory occupied by the Ghost Nebula, the search will be considerable both in terms of time and labor costs.
— Do the prisoners have information about how many outdated ships were in preservation at this base? — I asked.
— At the time when they were transferred here as a garrison, they noted more than a hundred starships of each type in orbit, — Pellaeon explained. — All of them belong to Devian.
Bad. Almost two hundred morally outdated warships - despite everything - two hundred warships. A force that it is vital to reckon with.
Given that Ennix Devian was in the past strongly associated with the ideological organization of the New Order - COMPONP, as well as the fact that he has not appeared anywhere yet, it only says that this person has no desire to join one or another Imperial splinter. On the contrary, his desire to "lie low" clearly indicates only two of all possible prospects for the development of events. And I do not believe at all that a former government assassin, with a corresponding ideological education in the politics of human centrism, simply decided to hijack a fleet, huge even by modern standards, into a little-studied part of the galaxy in order to simply sit out the raging civil war.
— Devian will return here for his property, — I said. — It is obvious that he is engaged in recruitment with maximum secrecy, and therefore is unlikely to have a large number of personnel for staffing starships.
— He transferred two hundred warships from here, — Pellaeon reminded. — Why leave those that we got? After all, they are in perfect working order.
— Active military operations have confused his plans, — I said, estimating in my mind the relative location of the Ghost Nebula and the zone of military operations. I struck blows in relative remoteness from Devian's place of deployment, but the privateers I hired hunted and continue to hunt caravans just in the same areas of hyperspace between the territory of the Imperial splinters and the Ghost Nebula. — He switched from secretly increasing his forces to observing the development of events. I am sure that one way or another, but he maintains contact with the base, about which the prisoners are consciously silent. And therefore, it is necessary to take everything that is of interest from here as soon as possible.
— That is — everything? — Pellaeon clarified.
— Exactly, Captain, — I confirmed. — We will discuss the degree of neediness of the seized items on Tangrene. Now the main task in this star system is the evacuation of warehouses.
— Sir, but Operation Crimson Dawn is in full swing, — the commander of the Chimaera reminded me. — If we withdraw at least part of the forces from the operation, we will disrupt its entire course.
— I see a small lecture on the systematic approach has benefited you, Captain, — I nodded almost imperceptibly to my thoughts. — You are absolutely right - particulars should not become an obstacle to achieving the goals of the operation. But sometimes circumstances require us to adjust our plans. This is what we will do in the current situation.
— You don't mean to say that the food supplies of this base are equivalent to the goals of Crimson Dawn? — Pellaeon tensed up.
— No, Captain, — I assured him. — Dry rations and stored equipment do not become a priority for us. All goals and objectives will be fulfilled within the specified time frame. Instruct Captain Dorja to evacuate property from the depths of the base, — I ordered. — He remains in charge of the implementation of the further operation. Task - using all the forces available to him, including the Phoenix and the Judicator, to seize absolutely all equipment from the warehouse and deliver it to Tangrene. Contact Moff Ferrus - let him send all the transport ships he has to this star system, — and the governor of the Morshdyn sector has already accumulated almost half a hundred of them, given all our trophies after the battle for the Hoth shipyards. — The moff must use all available forces to guard the transport caravan. As far as I remember, all our escort frigates, light cruisers, patrol cruisers, and the Neutron Star are in service?
— Aye, sir, — said Pellaeon, twitching his mustache. — And also three dozen dreadnoughts.
So, he still remembered the instruction.
— Excellent, Captain, — I said. — In that case, we will combine the evacuation of this base with the training of our cloned crews of heavy cruisers in managing the ships entrusted to them. Warn the commanders of the Bellicose and the Death's Head that we are going to join the Besh squadron. Judging by the estimated time, we will arrive at them at the very moment when the New Republic bases on Agamar and Ithor have already sent out their covering forces to assist the attacked sectors.
— It will be done, sir, — said Pellaeon, heading towards the exit.
Leaning back in my chair, I turned my gaze to the holographic map of the galaxy above my head. The central computer of the Chimaera continuously marked small red lights in the worlds and systems belonging to the New Republic.
I wonder what Fey'lia's face is like there? However, by the end of the next day, he will definitely be uncomfortable.
And it doesn't cost so much to keep third-party information on the computers of their bases... And even more so, it is necessary not to leave them after the Imperial fleet visited them.
***
The training center, better known in reports as "Alliance Training Center-5", was located in the Outer Rim Territories on the planet Xyph. Specialized enemy units were trained here, which during the time of the Rebellion were designated "Green Squad" and the corresponding serial numbers. The code designation "ATC-5/GS" is well known as another moment when the Empire, with all its scope, wiped itself, unable to crack this small stone.
However, this is now in the past. Grand Admiral Thrawn and his fleet have seriously taken up the enemy's bases.
According to data from the Imperial archives and data obtained by scouts from the preserved part of the data from the computers of the enemy base on Tierfon, seventy-two novices were trained here, who in the future were destined to join the New Republic special forces. Eight training squads were currently undergoing training. Eight units, which after the completion of their training will turn against the Empire and the troops of Grand Admiral Thrawn.
That is why the Imperial Star Destroyer Stoemhawk was located here.
— Bombers have struck the enemy's security service operations station, — reported the executive officer.
— Did the enemy transmit a signal for help? — asked Captain Astorias, watching as the Assault Hawk's air wing was destroying enemy small craft in space combat.
— Aye, sir, Ithor responded, sending a Mon Calamari Star Cruiser with the support of four frigates, — reported from the right "pit". — Flight time - forty-six hours.
— What are they even hoping for? — Morgoth shook his head, looking at the schematic data of the attacked object. More than two days... During this time, you can not only deal with the defenders of this base, but also completely destroy the population of an entire star system - if the combat group had such a task.
But Grand Admiral Thrawn forbade attacking civilian objects, as well as the peaceful population, even if it supported the enemy. The legitimate target of his forces is military objects, New Republic military personnel, as well as all those who intend to attack the forces subordinate to him with weapons in their hands.
From above, it is just a dome, most of the premises of which are hidden under the surface of the planet. On the first floor of the ATC-5/GS object, there were all the usual premises of the training center, including the medical center, arsenal, communications, barracks, and kitchen, while the second floor remained a mystery to all those dedicated until their final exam. They could only see it from the outside, where they could see that it was a large dome that ended in a full arc right under the tree line, which was camouflaged and had tinted windows.
Map of the "ATC-5/GS" object.
On the second floor, there were actually rooms for the graduation exam of each group. It was divided into two separate areas: the "forest" and the "Star Destroyer". Each zone was designed to realistically recreate the landscape or interior.
It was here that the enemy practiced fighting on the approaches to the bases of the Galactic Empire located on forested planets and in similar terrain.
And here they practiced the assault of Imperial warships, the basis of the Imperial fleet.
Well, they no longer have such a training ground.
— Is the object destroyed? — Morgoth asked the senior assistant.
— Aye, sir, — he reported. — Stormtrooper squads captured the survivors after the orbital strike and delivered them to the landing ships. Soon the prisoners will appear before counterintelligence operatives.
— In that case, send the corvette to help our fighters and interceptors deal with the enemy's small craft and prepare to retreat, — ordered the commander of the Assault Hawk. — We have completed our task.
Meanwhile, the ATC-5/GS object was burning, casting such bright rays of light that usually dispelled the dawn darkness in the Upper Levels of Coruscant, where panic was just beginning...