IPV System Patrol Ship Verdict, Deysum System


“What a cesspool,” mused the ship's captain.


Even in the pressed black Imperial uniforms of the Trax Sector Authority's customs service, Gunther hardly seemed like an officer. To be sure, his erect posture bespoke an alert readiness and professionalism that wouldn't have been out of place in any of the Empire's cloned stormtrooper legions. His past performance had been unquestionably satisfactory. But the man too often had the tongue of a loose schoolboy; the sort that found themselves frequently in the principal's office. He ran this head through his thick brown hair and turned towards his first mate with a quizzical look on his face.


“Why the hell did Fossk chose Deysum III to be his capital? The place is more toxic than Nal Hutta. I mean seriously, dome cities covering half the world?”


“They industrialized too quickly,” suggested the woman, “but that's probably why it was so attractive to the Empire to make it the sector capital. Kill two birds with one stone. If you to protect a planet's industrial facilities, might as well put all the bureaucracy there too to share the protection.”


Gunther snorted, “Well, shall we get to work? This is supposed to be a customs ship after all, I think it's time we begin stopping some freighters. Get the teams ready...”


The cone-like starship from Inferno Fleet's Task Force Delusion jetted around the world, supposedly stopping freighters like at least one of its sister ships on the opposite side of the world. Seic'lar's slicers had managed to reauthenticate the ship's transponders in Fossk's systems, despite their capture by Inferno Fleet. Gunther wasn't sure if it was entirely a matter of skill, or if it was a combination of there being dozens of the craft in the Trax Sector, all looking to ensure that the Supreme General properly taxed the merchants and spacers which plied the area, and confiscated any illegal goods. Over the last week, he had managed to let slip in dozens of Alliance tramp freighters carrying commandos and goods for the upcoming invasion, right under the noses of Fossk's navy. Moreover, the ships had deployed many Verpine hatchling droids to tinker with the satellites orbiting the world. Light years away, Seic'lar's slicers controlled the droids to clandestinely take control of orbital defenses, communication's satellites, sensor platforms, weather control satellites, and even a few which Gunther did not know what they did. But what the man did know is that it would likely cause pandemonium among the General's surviving fleet when the main Alliance fleet arrived to finally dispose of the corrupt warlord.


Gunther looked at their target vessel, a green Ghtroc 720. The turtle-like craft jetted towards them, causing the man to frown. Don't look too eager, idiots. We've had a pretty sweet gig going on here, but once they realize we're both Alliance, it's all over. He turned his eyes back to his first mate, who quietly scrolled through the freighter's manifest.


“So what are they carrying? A couple metric tons of thermal detonators?”


She shook her head, “Durasteel ingots.”

He frowned, “It's not one of ours?”


“Well,” scoffed the woman, “it's not as if we can only do slacker work, and not any of the real stuff for Fossk. That wouldn't look suspicious at all...”


“It's not that, I just could have swore we saw that ship earlier this week, and it was ours...”


“You're thinking of the Dapper Duck. This is the Deysum Duke...”


“Did you say Deysum Dumpbucket? Sounds about right...”


She sighed, “One day sir, you're going to get it, and hopefully it won't be from me...”
 

Efreeti-class Battlecruiser Husdant, somewhere in the Trax Sector


“Look at how the star destroyer, not that one, the Victory-class, right here never leaves its orbit...”


Kre'fey, still in the guise of Commodore Dha'tey, swept his furry hand across the briefing room's holo-projection of Deysum III. The intelligence gleaned by both the infiltrating ships from Task Force Delusion and Seic'lar's slicers had given him an unusual luxury: not only did he have many of the intimate details of the world's defenses, but he also had the time to sift through them all, along with a nicely built in network of spies and other subversives. Perhaps even more importantly, he had the opportunity to go over it all with his more senior commanders. As he savored the various schemes brewing his head, the bothan turned to a human wearing a similar crimson uniform.


“Commander Syfonne, your thoughts?”


“Geosynchrous orbit like that suggests two things to me. Either the ship is geosynchrous orbit because it's guarding something on the surface, or at least keeping an eye on access to a certain portion of the earth below. Alternatively, the ship is in orbit in order to rendezvous with other ships, either for repairs or supplies or to join up with other vessels for a combat or movement operations.”


“You are correct,” nodded Kre'fey, his fur rippling, “the duration of the star destroyer's orbit, several weeks now straight, suggests that it is your first idea. More interesting, while Fossk has other starships present, including an Imperator which have more leeway in its movement, the victory is the largest all atmospherically capable ships present. This suggests a link to something important on the ground itself. But can anyone hazard a guess at what could be there, since it's not in orbit over Fossk's capital, or any other populated area of note.”


No-one raised their hands. A brief moment of silence pervaded throughout the room. Kre'fey's fur rippled yet again and his pivoted on his foot. His gaze swept the audience, looking for any clue that someone else might be thinking or scheming about the latest piece of intel he had just fed them. But none of them seemed to change their facial expressions. No wheels turning here...


“Neither do I,” replied the Commodore, “but I have ideas of what it could. Let's state the obvious, it's something valuable enough to guide a star destroyer with. The area around it isn't populated. This could suggest it is so valuable that he doesn't want to risk people getting close enough to easily discover or steal it, or alternatively, that it is something dangerous. My personal thoughts are divided between two lines. What Seic'lar, and I too, at first thought is that the large dome structure over which it orbits houses a prison, likely for the thousands of political prisoners we have not recovered yet. My second thought is that this could be Fossk's retreat, where he directs the efforts of his Trax Sector Authority. Thus far, none of our intelligence sources have gotten even close to discovering what is going on there. There are no satellites near it, no populations by it for over a hundred kilometers in any direction. Our customs vessels report that that specific area is even outlawed to them. Only a few ships go into that aerospace over the dome, and it's always directly to the dome or away from it to one of the two star destroyer's presence. This obviously confirms to us that we're looking at a strictly government facility, albeit Seic'lar has stated that it is possible it could be a joint venture with one of his closer, and perhaps darker, corporate associations. So, let us discuss how we should start going about securing this facility...”
 

Efreeti-class Battlecruiser Husdant, Deysum System


The Husdant fell into realspace, leading a host of smaller crimson vessels in its wake. Almost immediately, the batteries of the battlecruiser flared to light; glowing orbs of fire streamed out of the craft at its counterpart, the Imperator-class Star Destroyer Immortal. As the first of the shells smashed into the General's ship, the star destroyer began to return. Kre'fey tore his attention from the surprise attack as Seic'lar glided next to him.


“The Verdict's information would appear to be solid. You caught them during shift change.”


“We might have got them slightly uncoordinated for the moment, but we'll have to see if it'll last. We might have to call in the Nodens if they decide to put up a fight.”


Seic'lar's fur rippled, “You don't intend to destroy or capture it?”


“If we can, absolutely,” replied the other bothan, “I just do not think it likely. I think they will flee once the Alliance fleet arrives. No idiot stays to fight against impossible odds. We have to appear as equals for the next few minutes; long enough to see if we can draw that Vic towards us.”


“And if not?”


“We know that whatever it is guarding is more important a star destroyer.”


Seic'lar almost imperciptably nodded before slipping into the ranks of the rest of the flagship's bridge crew to glean more perspective on the unfolding battle. For his part, Kre'fey turned his attention to the battle unfolding. The Immortal had come about to point its wedge directly at the Husdant, bringing all its batteries to bear on his starship. Yet the larger rebel vessel was taking the return fire in stride, with an expert group of shield operators, augmented by Bothan computer programming, drawing upon the vessel's defenses to absorb and deflect most of the opposing battleship's fire. Sorties of fighters from both sides clashed, escorting heavier craft meant to damage the larger ships. Fires engulfed a Nebulon frigate guarding the aft starboard flank of the Immortal. More artillery fire from the Flamewind smashed into the spine of the craft, sealing its fate by breaking the warlord's vessel into two. The bottom heavy bow of the vessel plunged down into the gravity well of the world below. The blocky engine block of the vessel propelled the spine forward in a suicidal charge at the Inferno Fleet vessels. More artillery fire from the crimson frigates smashed into the impromptu ramship, yet the warlord's wreck continued forward, undetered by the rebel's fire. Kre'fey spared a glance at the incoming ramship, watching the escape pods continue to jettison off of the remains of the frigate. The bothan growled and tapped a button on his headset comlink.


“This is our moment, Syfonne, take your Cerberi up and smash into the right flank of the star destroyer, while everyone is distracted by this idiot display of bravado.”


The guns of the Husdant turned their fire from the opposing battleship to bear down on the fastly approaching frigate. Shell after shell smashed into the spindly superstructure, engulfing it in searing red-orange plasma. The frigate melted under the intense heat before one of the battlecruiser's tractor beams snatched the now molten hull of the frigate to hold it as shield for one of the Torch gunships damaged while screening the Husdant from a flight of Tie Bombers. While that all unfolded, Commander Syfonne had led his fast Cerberus-class Attack Cruisers to rapidly close in on the Immortal's right side, blazing away with a fearsome display of heavy disruptor and plas-blast missile fire at the Immortal's bridge. Fire began to engulf that side of the star destroyer's bridge. Kre'fey glanced at the Victory-class Star Destroyer's sensor signature. But the star destroyer remained in orbit around the dome facility. Kre'fey narrowed his eyes at the holo-projection of the enemy vessel and turned his eyes to a protocol droid standing next to him.


“Redirect Nodens' group to change their jump point to the Victory Star Destroyer, but to await my command to jump. The Alliance will be here soon to finish with the rest of the General's fleet....”
 

Deep Space near Ventil II

The dark void rippled with activity as ship after ship moved into position in preparations for the last jump. The massive form of Courageous sat between two smaller star destroyers which had moved along side her and stopped awaiting the order to jump. The fleets Carrier took its position at the rear of the diamond formation now forming in the void. The forward lead position of the formation remained open waiting for the two Majestic-class heavy cruisers to move into position. On the flanks of the formations Sacheen-class escorts and Ranger-class gunships formed up into escort and picket formations  flanked by formations of starfIghters. The entire bulk of the Courageous Battlegroup sat poised to pounce on the imperials and the world of Deysum III. INside thirty thousand Alliance army troopers of III Corps suited up and loaded transports ready to take the fight to the world and its Imperial subjugators. The three thousand Marines of the 1st Marine Regiment prepared to lead the charge and prepare the world for the army to make its assault. The three hundred marines of 1st Company clad in the new marine Power armor boarded their Kartan-class boarding shuttles and Bantha Assault shuttle ready to free the world of Deysum III and its people. As the men and women of the infantry readied so did the 8th Alliance Armored Regiment. Thier armored vehicles fueled and ready to respond when the order came. The Alliance war machine had never been so ready. The last few months of the Mid Rim champagne had passed slowly as world after world was freed from Vossk and his Imperial hold. The time to finish the war was now and the Alliance forces of newly formed Mid Rim Fleet would be the fist that crushed Vossk and his hold on the mid Rim. 

"Admiral, The fleet is nearly in place. I must join my marines  and prepare for the assault."

Holt nodded to Colonel Conners  and smiled. The man was still angry about having been pulled off Messert before his job was done. It had given him no joy that the world was liberate anyway. Connors was a man of pride and his had been wounded by the alliance. It was something that could not have been avoided at this point. The timing of the assault on Deysum was not his doing. the situation could never have been any better for the assault and waiting on Conners and his men  was not an option he needed them.  Agent Black had proved more than effective at Messert which rattled Holt. The man could not be trusted it was clear but he had done what he had been ordered to. Just not the way Holt had envisioned. That was not important at present, now Deysum III was all that mattered. Holt watched as the two heavy cruisers came to rest at the point of the formation and Captain Krant informed him the formation was ready.

"Captain, is my fleet ready?"

Captain Krant smiled and looked out at the two cruisers taking up the forward view port. The new ships had just joined the fleet and were marvelous to see. He had been XO on a Majestic  and had grown to love the battle sturdy ship. He turned to Holt and answered.

"Admiral, All line report readiness, Condition one is set fleet wide and all stations report ready sir.  you orders Admiral?

Holt looked over the data streaming down his chairs data screen. The co-ordinates were set and the battle in the Deysum system had already begun. General Kre'fey had softened up the enemy and sent back the pertinent information and battle environmental information. The war for the Mid Rim would soon be over and Holt could go back to his normal life. Reshmar had pulled him out of retirement for this and he wanted nothing more than to get back to his life and his cabin by the lake. He finished looking over all the information and then out to space in the distance. 

"Captain take us to the Deysum system."

Connors stepped into the repulsorlift and stood quietly thinking about the last two weeks. Being ordered off Messert by some shadow agent did not set well in his mind. He understood things change but he could have more than finished his assignment and been back before this operation. But it was not is call, he followed his orders and bit his tongue. He accepted the chain of events  but did not have to like them. His walk to the port forward hanger took the better part of ten minutes and he felt the ship jump into hyperspace somewhere amidships. That meant they had three hours  and it would be time to deploy. The plan was far from simple but sound in structure. Much better than that damn Randon fiasco. 

The hanger bulkhead slid open and the clean fresh air of the corridor was filled with the smell of sweat, fuel and lubrication. Across the hanger the massive forms of the Marines in their armor walked back and froth. many rested in the prep room awaiting the last call to suit up, others already in their armor worked the joints and serviced the suit reading them for battle.  A row of Kartan-class boarding shuttles sat to the left of the hanger  being fueled and serviced for launch.  Across from then sat three rows of Bantha-class assault shuttles ready to board. The 1st Marine regiment was ready and Connors knew each and every marine was well rested and feed. The battle for Deysum would not be easy. the world was a waste land  for all practical purposes. exposure to the elements would kill a man in a short amount of time. Battle in those conditions was rough and with the stress of the suits his men would be tested. 

As he walked onto the deck his men began forming up. 1st company filed into line and a moment later a marine off to the side out of his line of sight spoke.

"Attention, Line review and inspection!"

The Marines snapped to and stood silently still as Colonel Connors looked over the spacing and formations. The few marines already in their armor stood noticeably as tall as their counterparts in most cases. Only the Recon armored troops stood near the height of a man. The others were well over two and a half meters.  He looked at his marines proud and secure in their training and skill. These were the best soldiers he had even commanded and they would rain hell down on Deysum III.  after he had looked over the formation of his elite company he spoke.

"At ease, Relax marines, three hours till we deploy. Make sure your armor is secure and tight. leaks out there will kill you. Now gear up and good luck."

Efreeti-class Battlecruiser Husdant, high orbit above Deysum


Kre'fey turned his head to watch a cascade of explosions ripple across the Immortal's right side as Syfonne lead his Cerberi cruisers in a harsh flanking attack. Their disruptor and plasblast missiles began to eat away past the armor and tear into the very heart of the ship itself. Superheated debris and limp bodies began to flow out of the ship into the depths of space. More inferno vessels had surrounded the craft, pouring their own fire into the craft. Beset on all sides by her attackers and suffering grevious injuries, the star destroyer had attempted to leave the engagement, but the many tractor beams of its opponents had securely latched onto the vessel's hull, dragging the vessel down to the crawl of a one-legged bantha stuck in quicksand. The bothan turned his eyes from the fight back to the Nodens' assault on the Victory-class Star Destroyer.


The Nodens was the second Efreeti-class Battlecruiser that they had been able to produce, and since the crew was a mixture of raw recruits and Inferno veterans, Kre'fey wondered just how well the crew would be able to work the warship in battle. While the Nodens had already undergone its shakedown cruise, the Efreetis were proving to be a somewhat tempermental design because of their technological complexity. Kre'fey half-expected one of the ship's systems to malfunction during battle, hence he had assigned his second group more ships than the ones that accompanied the Husdant. Kre'fey's old command, the Armageddon's Hammer, held the Nodens right flank, while a motley array of the fleet's converted freighters moved from the Nodens' left side to envelope the aging Imperial starship.


Most of the star destroyer's missiles had been rendered inaccurate due to some timely jamming from the hacked satellite system, whose sensor stations projected various signals on the same frequencies on the missiles, while the comm satellites attempted to flood the missiles' link to their home vessel by the sheer depth of Deysum III's communication's network. Yet despite a few mishaps at the start of the engagement, the Nodens group was performing well; their prey had quickly been overwhelmed by the sheer number of starfighters from the new group, allowing the rebel's small craft to harass the star destroyer with almost near immunity or shoot down any missiles that got too close to the larger Alliance vessels. Bandor felt a furry claw rest itself on his shoulder.


“How are we doing?” questioned Seic'lar.


“Any moment now...” replied the bothan, who then squinted his eyes, “Cease fire for all starships. Let us ask the Imperials if they wish to surrender.”


Fire quickly faded out from the Inferno vessels, followed shortly thereafter by that of the Immortal's, but the Victory Star Destroyer, the Swordsman continued to fight. Kre'fey narrowed his eyes as the Swordsman continued to fight. His fur rippled.


“All units are clear to fire on the Swordsman...”


“Message from the Immortal, it's the ship's captain. He wishes to discuss terms with you Commodore.”


“Let's hear it,” said Bandor, getting in his Commodore Dha'tey persona.


The holo-projector in front of him whirled to life, its red and yellow light particles fading to display an almost too average looking man in front of them, wearing a sweat-stained Imperial-style uniform. He offered a brief bow to the alien.


“I presume I'm speaking to Commodore Dha'tey, of the Inferno Fleet.”


“You are.”


“I wish to discuss the terms of my ship's surrender. I want your word that my people will not be harmed, nor that our weapons will be used by terrorist.”


Kre'fey's fur rippled, “I give you my word that your people will be unfairly treated. They will likely be interred a POW camp until the war is over, but they will be treated better than your General has treated our own people. As for your weapons, I guarantee they will not be used against civilian targets. I cannot guarantee that they might not be used against your comrades in the future.”


“Fair enough. If you cease fire now, Commodore, we will continue to hold fire, and then I will formally surrender in one hour.”


“Why an hour?”


“I wish to destroy any weapons that might fall into...the wrong hands.”


“I cannot guarantee the safety of your people if you choose to do that, Captain. If my people do not have some material reward, something that will be of practical use to them, they do not tend to treat prisoners very well, nor would I blame them. Surrender now, that is, if you care about your crew's well-being...”


“Sir!” interrupted a voice from behind Kre'fey's shoulder.


The bothan turned to watch the Swordsman explode from the inside out as one of its missile magazines detonated. Slabs of hull armor and debris blossomed out from the craft to batter at the shields of the nearby Inferno fleet vessels while more debris began to plummet to the earth below. Kre'fey turned his eyes back to the captain.


“Now you've seen your comrades fate...”


“We surrender to the original terms.”


Kre'fey's fur rippled, “And you give me your word that you will not tamper or destroy any of the equipment or any objects onboard your vessel?”


“I do.”


“I accept your surrender captain. We will begin to move ships and personnel to aid in any efforts that you may need for the well-being of your crew.”


“Thank you Commodore.”


And now the space is secured for the rest of the fleet to land...
 

The Decks of the Courageous shuddered and the starlines outside the forward view port rippled and exploded into bleak darkness and the scene of Chaos fallow the battle over Deysum III. Holt looked out over the sight before him  and grinned. A destroyer burned and seemed to be taking boarders as what was left of another secumb to Deysum III's gravity.

"Captain Krant, plot us a course  and see us to a high orbit above Deysum's northern Pole. target all planetary anti-fighter and flak batteries. Load tubes one through three twenty and prepare for a preparatory strike. Colonel Sul'nier have your wings launch. Tell Colonel Conners he has a green light for planetfall."

Admiral Holts orders were carried out and the operation to take and secure Deysum III began. Fighters which had been flanking the battlegroup formed up and began clearing the space between the fleet and Deysum III of debris and stray Imperial fighters who had not got the message yet they had lost. The group moved slowly  toward the northern pole of the planet. In the distance  Holt could see boarding operations were underway on the surviving Imperial warships.  It was time he thanked the man responsible for that.

"Comms open me a channel to the Husdant," The lieutenant set up the transmission then told Holt he had raised the Inferno flagship.

"Commodore Dha'tey I presume" Holt said with a almost silent chuckle. "I thank you for the service in this matter. you have the gratitude of the world of Deysum III and the MId Rim. I am Fleet Admiral Vernin Holt of the Mid Rim Alliance. We thank your organization for its efforts to free our sector."

Holt motioned for the communications officer to engage the security protocols and make the channel secure.  He waited for the acknowledgment then spoke again. 

"General Kre'fey I hope whoever was listening got an ear full. It is good to see you, what has it been three years. I assume Vossk was not here when you arrived. He must be hiding on some back water world by now. We have reports of a fleet building at Jhensrus. As of yet we have not been able to get reliable intel from the world so I can not promise that iw where he is hiding.  Planet fall operations are beginning and we will be wrapping this up as soon as out forces can get into those domes.  Deploy your inferno marines  at your discretion. I assume you have been eyeing that dome the destroyer was guarding. Mole Miners will be on the ground within the hour and we will see what Vossk was hiding down there. I trust you have the prisoner internment operations under control?"
 

Colonel Connors watched as the last of his marines boarded the transports. In the center of the hanger three massive mole miners were being moved into position to launch.  The marines first mission was to get the Mining operation down and underway. After that The assault on the Domes would begin.  The massive mining vehicles floated out of the hanger and out into space headed for the planets surface. Connors watch as a group of E-wings moved into formation outside the hanger and escorted the mole miners down. He turned and walked up the ramp of the last Bantha shuttles to finish boarding. He watched as the Kartane shuttles launched and began moving their forces down. The Banthas launched last  and moved into position with the rest of the group. Connors watch as the aft rim of Courageous lit up in a display that would rival any fireworks display. Heavy torpedo after torpedo moved out and down towards targets on the world below. A few moments later and small plumes began to appear on the surface.  Connors and the men standing at the front of the transport had a front row seat to the show.  They watched as more and more fireballs ignited below as the heavy torpedoes found their targets or were shot down by flak and anti projectile defenses. As the last of the torpedoes hit Connors saw the the formation of K2-wing assault fighters speed past moving down to finish off the planetary defenses. The the largest formation of fighters Connors had seen fallowed behind clearing the was for the miners and assault shuttles. The Alliance had been planing this operations for a long time. It schedule being accelerated seemed to not effect the operation. The pieces were falling into place. Soon the world of Deysum III would be liberated. The last of the major worlds in the Mid Rim and Capital of the Sector would mark what many saw as the winning blow of the war against Vossk and the Imperials in the central Mid Rim.

Connors knew it was not that easy, nothing ever was. They had a world below them which if intel was correct was fully garrisoned and hardened against assault. What ever lay down on the surface was ready for the Alliance and had been for some time. Connors knew the battle was not be as easy as the analysts and politicians thought. He knew Admiral Holt knew that too. What was before them was unknown and anytime he did not know what he was getting into bad things happened. Memories ignited in his mind. visions of Randon and the bombardment that had killed half of his first company.  He fastened his helmet on his power armor and sealed the vapor lock. The Bantha had started descending while he had been watching the scene below. He and his marines were ready, he just hoped what ever surprise awaited him was not his last.

The Citadel, Deysum III


“This is insanity,” murmured the spectacled man wearing a white lab coat, “You...you think he'll do it now?”


The two men stood on a balcony of the monolithic black tower that dominated the dome structure. Designed as a sanctuary for the Supreme General, the Citadelwas an almost entirely self-sufficient complex. Below them, green fields of grass interspersed with small orchards and gardens spread from the tower to the limits of the dome itself. Under those fields, political prisoners and droids toiled to dig out an elaborate system of tunnels, both to mine minerals and metals for use by the Citadel, but to also provide more room for their own quarters and those of the general's pet projects.


“I don't see much of a choice,” replied the man, wearing a rather tight olive green tunic, “Fossk will unleash them as soon as the invaders break through.”


“That is, if we don't escape.”


Captain Shore shook his head, “If that was a possibility, Fossk would be gone by now. But there are too many rebel ships in the sky. We are here at our end now, Mister Wohard. Fossk will fight to the death on these grounds. It's a time to ensure that all of your things are in order. Do it soon, because I imagine he will want you to supervise the unleashing of the beasts.”


The scientist sighed and retreated into the obsidian-like building and his quarters. No sooner had he sent out a variety of cortex messages did he his comlink buzzed, with Captain Shore informing the man that his project was to be released onto the Citadel grounds immediately. The man finished off his messages and reported back to the balcony with an unusually thick datapad in his hand. The other man offered an appreciative smile. Looking below, Wohard saw variety of military vehicles, mostly AT-STs along with a smattering of tanks, fan out to hide in the grounds of the Citadel. All around him, he could see the tips of trooper's blasters and heavy weapons poking out of the Citadel's windows. How are our enemies going to oppose such firepower, especially under the leadership of Fossk himself? The scientist's thoughts immediately went down to the bunker buried below the tower itself, where the Supreme General and his battle staff were likely organizing the resistance to the rebels. Shore cleared his throat and stared at the man. Wohard offered a counciliatory smile and broke out the datapad. He went through a series of security checks before highlighting a multitude of names on the list, and tapped a glowing green icon.


Several dozen trapdoors popped up from the ground, releasing hundreds of feline animals. A biologist might have recognized them as one of the galaxy's most common predators, the Dire-cat, but they not just mere Dire-cats, they were Fossk's special breed of cats. Wohard himself had altered their genetics at the general's command, making them grow faster and stronger than any normal strain of the species, as well as adding in a few genes which made their hides like thick leather, resistant to shrapnel and blaster bolts alike. Lastly, he had supervised the teams of droids and medical personnel that had installed a cybernetic node near the base of the cat's skull, allowing the cats to only attack those who weren't wearing one of the transponder beacons that Fossk issued out as IFF markers to his troops. While the cats had originally be altered to provide the general with a terror weapon against uprisings, Wohard felt as if they could each take down a dozen rebel troopers before they would themselves be vanquished, yet the cats had not fully be trained yet, nor did they understand more than their natural hunting tactics. And so my Dire-cats, we shall both endure a trial by fire...
 

Admiral Holt sat watching the assault forces move down towards the world below. Transports, shuttles, freighters, and gunships one by one descended into the hail of anti-aircraft fire racing towards the surface. Smoldering craters marked much of the planets surface where anti- orbital batteries had once stood. Smaller mobile defensive batteries had survived the first assault  but now were poised for what would be the end of the defenses of Deysum III.

"Cobra this is hen house, you are go, green light for engagement."

"Copy hen house cobra is hot and on the hunt."

Commander Stensi and his squadron skimmed the world below moving in on the largest collection of mobile air defense batteries left on the surface. The six K2 attack fighters now on course and ready to end the air defense around the main dome for good. 

"One to group, twenty seconds to target. Weapons free,"

The six bombers flew just meters off the surface dodging terrain and fortifications on their way to their target. The newly arrived assault craft were state of the art and were truly a thing of beauty. Terrain mapping and target acquisition software still in its testing stages allowed the craft to use real time mapping being transmitted from the group above. Auto course correction programs guided the craft almost without any correction from the pilots. The craft were lock onto their targets and were more guided missile than fighter at this point. Still the perception of a skilled pilot was  far more reliable than any computer and the mix of the best of both pilot and computer made the K2 a lethal foe.

"Cobra one, Hot."

with that the six fighters broke out of the valley they had been moving through and over onto the plateau which housed the main dome and the last of Deysum III's air defense. In the distance a line of AT-AA walkes fires on the ranger gunship which had been the decoy. The ranger rained turbolaser fire down on the installation  while smaller Bantha shuttles supported with turbolaser fire of their own from outside the air defense effective range waiting to move in and deploy. To the south west the massive form of a Acclamator moved in to drop armor to support the marines now waiting to move on the dome. Commander Stensi's HUD lit up as each target was highlighted and targeted. His weapons officer assigned each a tag and released weapons lock. 

"Cobra one to group, release."

The six K2 assault fighters ignited their boosters and shot up into the sky. each ejecting their payload and relying on pinpoint planning and inertia to do the rest of the work. twenty four massive heavy bombs struck the delivering a kilometer wide path of plasma heated explosive pressure igniting everything combustible in their wake. The six craft now sped out of the engagement zone and back to Courageous to rearm for ground support. The air battle was over now as around the world of Deysum III Alliance transports landed  and began the task of finishing off the last of the Imperials. Admiral Holt turned to the group of officers now looking over a details recap of the battle so far.

"Get me Colonel COnnors on the horn captain."

The officer saluted then did as ask. A moment later the armor clad frame appeared on the screen.

"Colonel, General Forlon sends his regards, he said he was sorry he could not be here to join us. He had Admiral Reshmar seemed occupied to say the least.  Now down to business, That dome was the center of the Imperials mission here and what ever is inside will most likely be important. Get in there and figure out what the hell Fossk is up to." Connors nodded them spoke into his helmets com reciever.

"Aye admiral, we will crack that egg open within the hour. I will report when i have any information Conners out."

The screen went blank and Holt went back to watching vid feds from around the world. The southern domes had signaled surrender once they had been left defenseless and Alliance troops had landed outside. Most of the northern domes had put up a fight  many still stood in challenge,  engaging III Corps and hold their own  for the most part. That would soon change once the armor arrived and took up the fight. The capital and Fossks mysterious dome however were far more fortified and protected. The air may have been won now but the ground battle was far from over.