Allegiance-Class Star Destroyer Timeless

A thud on the glassy table caused the middle-aged XO to jump slightly, his mind being pulled back to the present in a rush. He blinked a few times, his black gloved hand shooting up to grope at his mustache on sheer instinct.

He looked up at the elderly captain, dressed in his brown khaki uniform and resting back in the chair across from the younger - though not by much - commander.

"What is this?" the XO asked, looking down with groggy, blurred eyes.

He heard Captain Xiler sigh.

"Orders from the top," he explained quietly, as though afraid others would hear. "All the way from the top."

Ever since the capture of Joren Arden, things had been coming "from the top" quite a bit, everyone vieing for power and claiming that they were the official high command.

Though it would take someone very important to yield such a reaction from Captain Xiler. Commander Tryke picked up the stack of papers and pulled them in close.

He took the orders in slowly, digesting each inked out word carefully before letting the stack drop to another thud. His eyes, widened, peered at the captain across from him.

The other simply nodded.

"All the way from the top," he echoed.

"Who?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," the captain said. Tryke smirked.

"Try me," he boasted gleefully.

"Admiral Me'Vere," he said.

Well that would certainly explain a lot. Tryke looked down at the papers one last time, eyeing the orders with a bit of awe. Though he could not deny the excitement he also felt.

He rotated in his seat to gaze at the painting behind him, of an old Imperial-Class Star Destroyer he'd served on many years ago.

"When do we leave?"

"Three hours, the orders literally just came in."

"And the intelligence?"

"Good, we've been sending in transmissions for the past thirty minutes and are going to continue for the next hour or so trying to instigate the people, to perhaps turn on her," Xiler explained, rising from his seat. "Get to your station either way Commander, we have a helluva job ahead of us."

"Yes sir..." Tryke commented quietly while gazing at the painting. When he heard the door hiss shut, heralding the exit of the captain, he finally turned and rose, offering one last glance at the brief orders on his desk.

<hr>
Draw out, chase, and capture Bhindi Drayson, last seen at Abregado-rae
<hr>



Six Hours Later

The Allegiance-Class Star Destroyer Timeless slowly eased out of hyperspace, as the transmissions had promised with the exact force they'd promised.

The small task force moved forward, the Allegiance at the helm, its Imperial Star Destroyer fast behind it. The rest of the fleet followed closely.

All of them moving toward the planet.


<font size=1>--Capital Ships--

1x Allegiance Star Destroyer
1x Imperial Star Destroyer
1x Strike Class Cruiser
1x Battle Horn Class Bulk Cruiser
2x Penetrator Assault Cruiser
3x Silencer Cruisers
4x Corellian Gunships

1x Squadron of Birds of Prey

Taken from For the People, ORS invasion of Taloraan

Indeed, Theren Gevel did have a special affinity for controlling the ebb and flow of information on the Imperial News Service. After the Coalition newscast which, roughly, announced their intention to strike, the Empire had been put on war footing – and nothing had been more essential in this process than INS.

On Imperial worlds across the galaxy, militias had been formed, bunkers built, houses reinforced, and citizens armed. The propaganda of Simon Kaine – featuring one particular commercial of brilliant design, but also a number of others – had been disseminated, along with dire warnings of what was to come, backed up of course with direct (and threatening) quotes from ‘Coalition’ officials...


And Abregado-rae was no exception. Since its liberation from the terrorist forces, the world had prepared itself for another attack. They were not a violent people by nature, but all understood only to well that the terrorists could not and would not accept that Abregado-rae wanted no longer to be a part of the Coalition.

An invasion was imminent. That much was obvious from the moment Imperial forces had first set foot on the planet’s surface. Why should terrorists abide by their own laws? Any world within the Coalition is free to leave whenever it wishes? Tell that to the dead, killed by terrorist forces during the demonstrations that led to the world’s liberation.

The citizens were prepared to defend their planet. The Imperial Army was prepared to defend the planet. Abregado-rae was not to fall to the forces of the terrorists.



Taken from the IC News and Propaganda forum

Following previous INS reports of uprisings on the Coalition-held world of Abregado-rae, the New Order has stepped forward with a bold announcement: the forces of the Imperial Navy and the Imperial Army, respectively, have liberated the world from the iron fist of the Galactic Coalition.

The victory comes in the wake of massive anti-Coalition rallies that resulted in the deaths of fourteen GC army units and the storming of the government buildings in the world's capital.

The Imperial fleet, commanded by one Captain Raine (no first name was given), entered the system late yesterday as further reports came that the citizens of Abregado-rae had declared the world neutral, and were seeking aide to drive the Coalition from their planet.

Coalition fleet elements were defeated in battle above Abregado-rae, with much loss to the GC that Admiral Bhindi Drayson, Moff of the Ubiqtorate Expansion Regions and Captain Raine's Commander-in-Chief, said was "an unfortunancy of war." Drayson also said that, "Abregado-rae made its decision, and the governors of the GC could not accept it. They fought their own people to keep the world under their control."

She went on to say that the Imperial soldiers who fought at Abregado-rae should be commended for their efforts, and that this battle is only another clear sign of the Empire's right to rule. "The planet clearly wanted to join with the Empire," said Commander Deusvult Godridge, Military Aide to Drayson, "and this act shows both how far the GC will go to keep their worlds, and that the Empire is indeed right in their liberation."

Abregado-rae officially joined the New Order this morning, following the seizure of the military command center...



“You’re certain?” The shimmering hologram asked, frowning.

“Yes, Admiral. We’ve been picking up transmissions over the last several hours. Evidently they’re trying to turn the population against you.”

“The people?”

“They caught the first few. We’ve blocked the rest of them. No indication of any sort of rebellion, if that’s what they were hoping for.”

“They’re ready.” Not a question.

“They’re ready. The people of Abregado-rae do not want to be ruled by the terrorists, Admiral. They want the Empire – our solidarity, our truth, our stability.

They will not rebel. Not unless the terrorists take the world first.”

“Very well. Good luck to you.”

The hologram vanished.

Major Drevell barely noticed. He was already issuing orders to the soldiers near him.

“Get all the citizens into the bunkers. Ensure all of our anti-air batteries are armed.” He paused. If the enemy brought a fleet with them, surely it would be capable of attacking the surface. The entire defence could be compromised.

“We must rely on the enemy to be humane.” He thought, even as he remembered what the Outer-Rim Sovereignty had done to Bespin and Taloraan. But there was no time to worry over the enemy. Abregado-rae could only prepare itself for what it could. What the enemy fleet may do the planet was no his concern.

The Citizens Militia had been formed shortly after the liberation of Abregado-rae, with the people’s need to feel that they could protect their homes themselves. They didn’t want to have to rely on the Empire to save them – and they didn’t.

The Empire was simply there to help.

From the garrisons scattered throughout the planet’s population centres, blaster rifles and carbines were distributed, along with chest armour like that worn by Stromtroopers and a handful of grenades. Every citizen who showed up – millions of them – were armed as best the Empire could offer.

Still more had their own weapons (illegal, under the terrorists’ rule) and brought them out as they had done during the Rebellion. The Empire had no taken these weapons, knowing that one day they would become necessary.

Major Drevell led his small group of officers out of the command centre and down one of the world’s streets. Normally, it would be busy at this time of day, with speeders and pedestrians crammed everywhere. Now, though, it was empty. On each corner was a rapidly constructed bunker of concrete and steel, and in nearly every window a man with a blaster could be seen.

Only a few were of the Imperial Army, soldiers sent here to lead the Militia and offer the best possible defence against the enemy. The Army, and its vehicles, were waiting still elsewhere. The enemy would meet Abregado-rae, and they would suffer for it.

The Major’s comlink buzzed.

“Sir. It’s begun.”



“What do we have?” Drevell asked, breathless after the run back to the command centre.

“Two Star Destroyers, a Strike Cruiser… a variety of support ships.” It was, they all saw, a powerful fleet. And one that was intended only to harm Abregado-rae.

“Alert all forces.” Drevell said. “Get a message out to the rest of the Empire.”

The officer he addressed nodded and rushed off to do so.

So it begins.

Imperial-Class Star Destroyer Spartan
Undisclosed Location

Admiral Me'Vere's hands were clasped tightly at the small of his back, eyes gazing out across the starpaths, watching the illuminating glow of the small moon. It seemed as though a white ring surrounded it, the dimly lit atmosphere of the tiny sattelite.

He let out a short sigh as he turned back to face his XO, who gave him a curt nod.

"All is ready then?" Ralen asked quietly. His body was tense, his head throbbing with pre-battle stress.

The XO nodded, earning him a grin from the admiral. He looked back out over the transparisteel before him and took in one more deep breath.

"Okay then, get the flotilla moving," he said.

<hr>

Abregado-rae

Xiler's hands gripped down onto the arms of his command chair as a brief wave of tenseness passed through his body, causing little ripples of exaggerated fear to both rise and fall instantaneously.

Deep green eyes watched straight ahead as the stars seemed to pass them quicker and quicker with the acceleration of the starship. Allegiance Star Destroyers were not exceptionally fast ships, at least not in comparison to the more sleek and agile craft on every side of it. Though what it lacked in speed it more than made up for in firepower.

Firepower that the people of Abregado-rae could see lumbering toward them in full view.

The bridge of the Timeless was quiet, each person having been fully briefed on the objective of the operation. Most of the men were nervous, having heard the notorious reputation that had been sent out throughout the ranks of the Outer Rim Sovereignty.

How much of these were rumors and how much were fact were beyond the people...but rumors all had to start somewhere didn't they?

What if they were captured? Would they be tortured? Forced to offer up priceless information on the Sovereignty?

These crewmen were high priority personnel...some of the best that the navy had to offer. Capture would mean certain death after unwittingly giving up otherwise invaluable intelligence.

Xiler however had given his word...passed straight from high command itself...that none of these men would be captured. That none of the marines stowed aboard the ship would have to endure the seemingly ritualistic torture that had been the glee of the Empire for so many generations.

The captain recalled his father's stories of enduring Imperial incarceration. Of how Darth Vader had a kind of zeal for using various unruly methods of torture to incite a response from the victims.

Then there were the stories of Han Solo...who had to suffer electric shocks to the face for no particular reason, simply for the Dark Lord of the Sith's sick amusement.

That had been in a time when the Rebellion were a simple nuisance...what of now? What would they do to a government who waged open war with the Empire?

Xiler held no doubts that Drayson would personally see to the deaths of every single person who fell to her command in the most brutal and savage ways possible.

The men feared what could happen to them in that case...but they knew, they trusted such a thing would not and could not happen to them. Not as long as this mission contained the kind of high priority promised to it.

Most of the men were curious though. Was Bhindi Drayson still here? Would she have the courage to fight an Allegiance Star Destroyer?

Xiler and his XO, Commander Tryke, doubted she had the courage to attempt to do battle with a Sovereign force without bringing overwhelming battleships in an attempt to simply crush them with little to no effort.

She was completely predictable.

But it mattered little. There were other objectives. Military compounds to be leveled, enemy forces to be defeated, information to be garnered.

And that was Xiler's intentions here.

With the fighters deployed in a defensive screen, and a loose formation heading toward the planet, the ships stood ready, shields and weapons fully charged.

When Tryke gave the confirmation and a target was acquired, one of the enormous shield generators designed to defend the planet from bombardment, the Timeless let up as red and green shots emitted from every cannon that could reach.

Just as the other nearby ships did. Green, red, all the turbolasers shot forward with a vengeance, screaming toward the shield generator.

The command centre - even buried under ground as it was - shook as the beginning strikes of the orbital bombardment struck home far above.

Major Drevell watched the hologram of the massive Star Destroyer, shaking his head silently. Bombardment from orbit was a dangerous thing - both for the targets and for the commander, politically. Even the Empire, evil as the enemy would call them, only bombarded a planet from space as a last resort.

Evidently, the Outer Rim Sovereignity considered it a perfectly acceptable practice.

"Damages?" Drevell asked as the first salvo ended. On the various monitors, images of burning buildings could be seen in near-perfect detail.

"Four square kilometres near the city centre." The answer came back from one of the officers. "The epicentre was near the Metropolis Mall."

Bastards. I liked that mall!

"Damage Control crews are already responding... estimated casualties; twenty Army, two hundred civilian."

Drevell nodded absently. All two hundred of those civilians would have someone who loved them. Someone who, when this was all over, would have to bury their son or daughter, mother or father, brother or sister.

Drevell knew that the military objectives were all secured. The only Imperial records on the planet were to be found in the command centre, buried some kilometres below the surface.

And those would be destroyed before the enemy could reach them.

But what of those we cannot hide? Or afford to destroy?

Abregado-rae was relitively lightly populated, with not quite a billion inhabitants. And with the enemy fleet in orbit, all of them were at risk from the brutal enemy who (it was clear) cared not for slaughtering as many civilians as neccessary.

How many lives are ours worth?

Drevell thought, watching the enemy vessel fire into the city again.

How many people would they kill to get to the Regent, or the Grand Marshall?


Or the Admiral?

"They're firing." Drevell nodded again without looking. The command centre was shaking as the blasts struck the ground above, and two of the monitors turned to static as the holocams transmitting the images were consumed in flames.

"Estimated one thousand dead, now." The same officer said, her voice thick. "Fires in qaudrants Alpha-Six and Seven."

Drevell turned to her.

"You have family in the city?" He asked quietly. She nodded, and out of one eye a tear began to run down her cheek.

"On Parker Avenue."

Right, Drevell knew, where one of the holocams had been positioned.

"We'll pray for them, Lieutenant." She nodded, tears running down both cheeks now.

"I cannot fathom the minds of aliens." Another officer said, stepping forward. "Firing on a city? It's something Palpatine would have done..."

Drevell nodded. Even in the Empire, resentment for Emperor Palpatine and his methods was high.

"Continue transmitting images to the Empire."

He did not say it, but all shared the same thought.

End the bloodshed.

After the first two volleys, incinerating various targets upon and about the shield generators and scraping viciously the armored plating that kept the thing intact, Xiler ordered the firings come to a halt.

The ships set themselves up in a defensive alignment, moving a couple klicks closer inward.

A statement was sent forth from the Timeless.

"Attention, attention military and para-military forces. This is Captain Xiler of the Outer Rim Sovereignty, Second Fleet, Spartan Command. We have entered the system and stated our intentions with force on a military target.

"We offer you this chance and this chance alone to begin evacuating your cities where you have hidden military targets. We will allow any civilians to leave, however any armed individuals will be deemed a threat and fired upon. This is your only warning.

"Civilians, this is your chance. We have no quarrel with you, but my orders take precedence. We shall fire upon military targets until Abregado-rae is no longer a threat to the galaxy or its galactic freedoms. Your government is hiding defensive installations inside cities, they are arming you. If you accept these arms, you have officially given up your rights as a civilian and shall be deemed a para-military force and treated with the same scrutiny as Imperial Stormtroopers.

"This is, again, your only chance. Evacuate the cities at once, we shan't offer a second warning."

Tryke leaned back on his heels as the communication was sent out, scrambled into four different languages and shot out to directly come in contact with the persons down there. Would it work?

He had no way of telling. The Imperials were undoubtably feeding their typical propaganda "they are here to murder and kill you" and the ever so popular "notice how they are launching orbital bombardments!"

Let them.

They had orders to raze military facilities...that was what they were here to do. Staring across the bridge to Xiler, he saw the determined stare upon his face.

They were hiding behind civilians...they all knew whatever happened to those very people would be the direct result of Imperial cowardice. They were unwilling to come out and fight. They had to hide and shield themselves behind forced paramilitary personnel.

Not that it mattered. As the communication filtered through and was picked up on every radio and holonet, they began to see.

Even those who disregarded the "propaganda" of the Outer Rim Sovereignty heard it. If they cared not, so be it.

Xiler's consciounse was clean. He had not fired upon civilian targets, and he would not do so.

If they were going to put a shield generator next to a mall...then any collateral damage was in direct fault of the Empire. Not he.

"Let me know," Xiler stated, "when they give a response, if any. Give the civilians a chance to evacuate and have the fighters widen their screen."

Tryke nodded, eagerly falling back to relay the orders.

"Oh and Commander..." Xiler added. Tryke turned over his shoulder to offer the captain a glance. "Jam all long range communications belonging to the enemy."

Again the XO nodded, making off to carry out the orders.

Bridge of the Timeless

Xiler stood carefully, hands gripping the rail of the catwalk he stood on, overlooking the hundreds of computers and consoles below him that made up the command center of the Allegiance Star Destroyer. His hands rotated about the metal bar, teeth gritting as he watched the chronometer at his side.

There would be five more minutes to meet the dead line, then they would have to open fire in full once more.

The captain had gotten a handful of responses from independent persons, mostly civilians but a handful of militia as well. They had stated their desire to escape and thanked Xiler for his willingess to grant them that chance.

Apparently, the Empire had stated that there were an estimated thousand or so dead. Over the past thirty minutes of waiting, a body count had been done. Forty seven were dead, eighty wounded, amongst those hundred and twenty-seven people, ninety of them were militia, seven Imperial Stormtroopers.

For five minutes he stood there, waiting, watching. As the chronometer finally clicked to zero and, according to long range scannings, most of the civilians had exitted the city, others simply waiting stubbornly, believing Imperial propaganda, Xiler gave the command.

The warfleet opened up again, tearing through its designated targets with wild explosions.

<font size=1>Damages

-Gencore Shield Generator
-Capitol City's Anti-Fighter Defenses
-Two empty buildings
-One Militia Compound
-Thirty-Seven Imperial Soldiers and/or Militia

Imperial-Class Star Destroyer Spartan

Both the admiral and his younger - and yet still mildly aged - commodore could not supress chuckles as they watched the propaganda being spewed forth from the Empire. Arms crossed across his chest, pressing the metal of his medals into his chest slightly, Ralen could hardly deny the obvious humor in this.

The Empire's entire political stand point was dying fast. Like a boat filling with water, it was simply the last man grasping for straws to keep it afloat. Soon the entire thing would simply collapse.

He could imagine, unfortunately, exactly what the Empire was going to do to the poor lad who cost them Abregado-rae politically. He was barfing out bullshit as easily as he did breath, and the entire galaxy was seeing him for the sucker he was.

For the past few hours, Captain Xiler had been working beautifully hand in hand with the civilians of Abregado-rae, getting information on the dead, wounded and Imperial positions, what targets were hit and what weren't.

A handful of diplomatic officers had landed to discuss terms with the people, and what would turn them against the Empire. Most civilians had agreed:

They simply did not want to be ruled by anyone.

That was a fair belief. The Outer-Rim Sovereignty had neglected them, the Empire abused them.

Admiral Me'Vere had told Xiler that they were going to get exactly what they wanted.

Commodore Wells eased off of his spot on the desk, turning over to click off the HoloNet displayer. A few minutes ago Ralen had given his own counter, as he put it, the final response he would give.

They were about to jump into a combat zone. There was no time to play tit for tat in a situation where people's lives hung in the balance.

The commodore took his seat across from the admiral, who was by then already in deep thought, his brow scrunching up to accentuate the point.

"As is said by many Imperials...'the board is set' sir," Wells remarked, placing his arms on either side of the chair. Ralen nodded slowly, bringing fingertip to fingertip as he let out one, long sigh.

"Reports from Xiler indicate that the population is no longer hostile to us...fifty-seven percent of the militias having laid down their arms, twenty-seven having been destroyed in the first few attacks," he responded. "Civilian casualties are at a minimum. We are doing our job well."

"The civilians explained that the Empire is talking about destroyed residential districts and losing sight with them..." Wells ventured off to explain as well as question, "saying that they have...cameras was it? set up there so they could monitor the situation. Those went out."

"We haven't been targetting civilians Commodore, nor have we been targetting residential districts." This time Ralen let his hands drop to the grips of his own chair, leaning back into the full, black leather of it, causing it to rock back just a bit. "We knocked out their visual sattelite dishes however, they're simply not being relayed back to their command station wherever it is. The civilians have given us some potential locations, but we don't know where it is exactly."

Wells nodded.

"What's the damage report?" he asked.

"They've lost their ability to supress air strikes, they're practically blind, they're deaf to long range communications, but it's a planet, we can't jam close range communications, we'll have to knock out their comms towers, and I don't feel like depriving civilians of communications after this is all over. Their shield generator is down and they've lost a couple bunkers."

Again Wells nodded.

The strategy was sound enough. Decimate their military personnel from the sky, take out bunkers and eliminate their ability to fight you, this will wear down onto the men when they meet on the ground - if they meet on the ground.

The most difficult thing about this attack was that many of the people were still at ends with the Outer Rim Sovereignty. Joren Arden had not been the best of military-political leaders.

The job was simply too difficult for him. Me'Vere wondered how he himself would stand up to such a task if it was laid before him.

As though reading his mind, Wells made the inquiry that had been sitting on his tongue all this time.

"What about Joren Arden? Have they said anything about him?" he asked.

Ralen nodded slowly, leaning forward.

"They're holding him in one of the local jails in the capitol. The Empire initially wanted the glory, but the ever opportunists that they are, wanted the chance to score another political victory and decided to have the Abregado-rae natives try him for something...it's been such chaos down there since they took over that they aren't even sure any more what it was he was being tried for. Some people say war crimes, others say negligence in command."

"The latter seems more likely..." Wells dared to comment. Ralen simply nodded his approval.

"Arden is a good man, he just had too much racked onto him. We'll get him out though."

"So negligence isn't exactly tolerated on Abregado-rae then I see."

This time the aging admiral shook his head slowly. "No, they don't like that idea much. The entire place is basically an industrial-esque world. Negligence can get many people killed or throw the planet into depression. That is exactly the last thing they need. But I've been studying them heavily," Ralen's eyes twitched a bit, as though a memory were being projected before his eyes as clearly as a holoprojector would, "they won't kill him for negligence. At best they were going to hold him and then expell him."

Wells nodded. As he opened his mouth to continue the conversation, a low-pitched ring emitted from the alarms in the cabin. The two identified it immediately. They were emerging from hyperspace.

Both men's stomach turns as the two realities met, and the flotilla was shot out, completing the second fleet.

This half moving from the far side of the planet, moving in cautiously, carrying the bulk of the ground force.

<hr>

Commander Nevgerad leaned down against one of the scorched buildings for a second, trying to catch his breath. They came in short, mellow rasps, a side effect of running three miles in battle armor.

His men behind him were equally as exherted, though not exhausted. They'd trained to do things like that, but they simply needed a breather.

The commander felt an uneasy cold throughout his body, especially in his chest, the effects of his body finally catching up with him. After a second or two of panting, he and his men were set once again.

They'd ran from the infraction zone a good three miles away at most, where a shuttle was being escorted by two fighters. Long range attacks had decimated the anti-fighter defenses surrounding the base they were at now.

Or it was once a base at least.

During the initial attack on Abregado-rae by the Empire, several locations were scorched or burned out so that Sovereign personnel inside could not put up any kind of resistance. Militias did much the same thing.

The entire planet had been turned upside down by this whole situation. The lines of good and bad had simply gone out the window, the only problem was, the Empire was still digging itself deeper into a hole by trying to point fingers.

At least the civilians had come to accept that no one was here for the people, they were here to destroy each other.

That had been Admiral Me'Vere's major speech before the battle. Reminding all to remember that the goal of this attack was not to free the "persecuted civilians who lived there", but to take the Empire off, so they may live in peace once more.

Even now the persons on the ground were beginning to realize that having the Empire there meant, much like having the Outer Rim Sovereignty there, would lead to some kind of battle. The only way to be sure that there would no longer be fighting, was to make sure both were gone.

And Captain Xiler's promises and negotiations had ensured that.

In exchange for that promise, they had willfully given over the locations and defenses of several nearby installations to the bordering cities outside the capitol.

Several cities, guarded by only a skeleton crew of stormtroopers and a handful of militia who were already disheartened, had fallen to the swift moving Outer-Rim marines who had landed from the Timeless and Icefire. They were not being held as much as they were being sat in.

The people there were now having an uneasy peace with the marines, each commander offering their assurances that during the major push against the capitol, they would stay no longer.

With that, the civilians, at least those who had lingered, were bought. The others had fled the urbanized areas when Xiler had given them the chance, and relief forces were now assisting them to live in quickly set up refugee camps for the extent of the battle.

It was better than the fourth-class, scorched houses belonging to alien owners who had been "removed" by the Empire.

Nevgarad lifted himself, cranking the hammer of his weapon and biting his lip. He looked at his men who were doing the same, getting ready for the charge.

"Okay men," he said quietly, "I'm going to go first, take a few quick shots at potential enemy hold ups, and then you follow. Understood?"

The squad, all twenty of them, confirmed.

The entire base was being surrounded and practically swarmed by marines, who were ready to absolutely pummel the Imperial positions.

Nevgarad closed his eyes and silently counted to three. When he reached the final number he spun around the wall, unleashing red shots at what he believed was a window. Red laser blasts shot back, the surviving troops who made it out alive of the initial orbital attacks.

He doved and rolled, the dirt flying up behind him where a laser bolt hit. When he got behind a piece of scrap, he got up into a crouch, resting his elbows onto it and opening fire.

Within a few seconds the entire base was lit up.

<hr>

James sighed slowly, depression and even fear weighing heavily into his mind. For going on...how long was it? A week, three weeks? A year?...he had been locked in here, unsure of his fate, unsure what the Empire would do to him.

Upon his capture they had interrogated him only once. He had offered no information in the first stage, or the second. By the time they were ready to do the third however, something had distracted them.

For days he'd been left completely alone. Sometimes they would bring in one of his troops, another prisoner of war, and then drag them off. He didn't know what they were doing to him, whether it be nothing or someting horrific. But what his mind manifested was the worst punishment of all.

They had said nothing to him.

Nothing at all.

And now there was something. The entire room lit up with the familiar sound of blaster shots, echoing off the walls, and red flashes of light were seen outside of his cell.

He climbed up onto his bed to get a better look.

<hr>

Captain Xiler's hands trembled slightly as he watched the holovid before him. He never liked ground combat, especially not observing it when he could do nothing.

Hordes of men running at one another, blasting at each other, unleashing hell in great waves. If a single piece of light hit someone it could be the end of them.

It was too dangerous for them to continue pounding from the air, and so targets had switched to Imperial bunkers that had been set up outside of the cities, now that their sensors were effectively exterminated.

The fleet's part of the fight was almost over. Even now the gunships were returning from their place near the atmosphere, setting up around the bigger ships in an anti-fighter screen, fully expecting Bhindi Drayson to enter at any time.

Xiler was not yet willing to admit that she was as much a coward as she showed herself to be.

A few footsteps against durasteel plating signified Tryke taking his place next to Xiler.

"Admiral Me'Vere has arrived sir..." he said, awe in his voice. Xiler nodded, unable to hide the grin from his face.

The sensors even showed the B-Wings and X-Wings already through the atmosphere, en route to the various battle scenes.

A hail was received from the second Allegiance Star Destroyer, as well as the Spartan.


<font size=1>Damage

<li>Imperial Sensors
<li>Most Imperial Soldiers
<li>Militias disbanding or destroyed
<li>Several outlying cities seized
<li>Ex-ground commander located and troops moving to seize

Total Forces

2 ASD, 2 ISD, 12 SC, 2 SCC, 3 BHC, 4 PAC, 10 CG, 60 SBOP
(95 Total)

<li>New Ones Have complete fighter manifests and troop manifests

"Enemy troops are beginning to land in some of the outlying cities." One of the aides reported. Major Drevell nodded. The anti-air defences around the bases were largely destroyed - along with massive tracts of resedential land. Whatever the enemy commander might like to believe, turbolasers were not entirely accurate from orbit.

But the mobile weapons, and those buried deep within the cities, weapons set on the roofs of tall buildings to provide cover to the citizens in just this sort of eventuality, were (for the most part) intact.

Sensors picked up the first of the enemy shuttles dropping into the atmosphere. These were met with fire from the heavy emplacements, shots lancing up and blasting the enemy ships from the sky as they approached.

But there were many ships, and the guns were few. The enemy fighters moved quickly, targetting the batteries and destroying them before they could destroy more than a fraction of the enemy shuttles.

As the guns began to fire, so did sound the old air raid alarms. The sirens could be hear across nearly every city on the world, alerting all citizens to the imminent threat of enemy airships and landers.

"Avra City is reporting enemy troops landing at the air base." An officer reported. "Militia units are moving to counter them."

Indeed, the screens showed hundreds of army units and battle-adorned civilians rushing to fill in the gaps. The energy weapon fire coming forth from the assembled group was enourmes, filling the area where the enemy troops had landed with deadly energy.

Dozens fell before they saw where the shots were coming from, and many more before they realized that the shots were coming from everywhere.

"We're taking heavy losses, Sir." The same officer said. But that was expected. The enemy soldiers were trained. The defenders, for the most part, were civilians.

But the numbers were extraordinary.

"Order them to fall back. The commanders know what to do."

Still firing, the civilians began to fall back, retreating from the battle. Only a handful of Stormtroopers remained now, and they too moved back quickly.

The air was calm for a moment as both sides took in the situation. Then the crack of an explosion shook the ground, and when the smoke cleared the entire landing area was gone.

Smoke was curling up into the air from where the dozen thermal detonators had landed. The shuttles were gone, their shattered hulks pushed well clear of the blast radius and still burning.

A cheer went up from the survivours. But this was only the beginning.

Only the beginning.





The prison facility was empty. Whatever intelligence Admiral Me'Vere relied on to make his strike was sadly out of date, indeed. Joren Arden had been removed from the world weeks ago. What he had considered a "shield generator" was indeed a shopping centre for the civilian populance. And Bhindi Drayson...

She was (at last report) fighting the Sovereignity on Mechis III.

But the idiocy of that government was not the concern of the prison guards. They were responsible simply for ensuring that the enemy forces believed that Joren Arden was on the planet still.

And it was going quite well thus far.

Enemy troop positions had been allowed to advance nearly to the location of the prison. The facility was set in the midst of a large tract of tall buildings and other facilities.

Many had walls, and guard towers. From these the Imperial soldiers and militia fired into the groups of enemy soldiers, the heavy weapons that comprised the prison's defence taking a huge toll on the enemy soldiers.

"Units three and four, forward." The commander ordered, watching the events from inside the prison. From the side streets came to small groups of soldiers - protected behind individual force fields.

Most of the enemy troops were to busy to see them. Those that did found themselves cut down by the flamethrowers the new groups wielded.

Three and Four cut a swath through the enemy ranks, and as the burning bodies of men hit the ground and sizzled, the enemy finally seemed to notice they were there.

But now they were trapped. Units One and Two were coming from the other direction, likewise protected behind individual force fields, and also wielding flame throwers (among other weapons).

These were units of the AHDC - the planet's own army. And their ability to manipulate flames were known to everyone on the planet. Except, it seemed, the enemy.

From above and from all direction laser fire continued to pour in, and now the Sovereignity soldiers were forced to split their fire in every direction imaginable.

"Continue as planned." The commander ordered as the prison force field came to life, protecting the walls and gates from small-arms fire.

There were another thousand or more soldiers and militia inside.

All across the world, ORS army units were falling under attack from the defenders. Striking from buildings, side streets, catwalks... this was their world, they knew it well.

The ORS forces were trespassing. Perhaps they would learn in time that they were not wanted, nor needed.





"Positions are holding as planned, Major." The officer reported. Only a handful had been lost, that was true. The militia was far more dedicated to the planet's defence than their enemy would have liked to think. The ferocity of the defence had (judging by their response) shocked them to the core.

"Very good." More enemy soldiers were landing every minute. But the defence was far larger. Sooner or later, the enemy would run out of troops.

Then they would return to pounding the planet from orbit.

Imperial-Class Star Destroyer Spartan

"At ease," Ralen remarked to the men and women who had jumped to their feet at attention upon his entering the room. With a quick and audible shuffle, they sat back down, taking their stations.

The admiral moved swiftly, his heavy black boots clanging down against the durasteel deck loudly against the sudden and near silence of the bridge.

Commodore Wells had awaited him with a full report of the situation, holding out the datapad before him while Admiral Me'Vere took up his position next to him.

He clasped it in a cold grip, lifting one of his gloved hands to press down on the buttons to scroll the text downward. Several images showed up, torn Imperial barrackses, decimated troop positions, wrecked walkers, and what they had thought was the Gencore Level II shield generator.

Which had turned out to be nothing more than a communications' dish erected in its stead.

Upon reading that part, he looked up curiously at the commodore, who apparently had been awaiting such an inquiry, offering him simply a shrug.

"No shield generator?" Ralen asked, curiousity and concern entering his tone. The commodore simply shook his head.

"No sir...we sent a scout team down there to figure it out, it looks like they completely uprooted it...the comms tower was put in hastily to fix the power link," he explained. Ralen let out a sigh, before a grin began to curl his lips.

Excellent indeed.

"Make sure Captain Xiler informs the populace that the Empire removed one of their only defensive structures in a start," he ordered, handing back the datapad.

Wells nodded, allowing a smirk to play his own lips.

"Helmsman," Ralen said, turning on his heels to face the coming lieutenant, "order fire control to focus on the third city to the east of the capitol. The people have been evacuated, and they seem to be giving our soldiers some trouble...blowing our shuttles out of the sky for instance."

The lieutenant stopped and saluted.

"Aye sir," he said, "it shall be done, anything else sir?"

"Yes...order the Blight to unleash all Hell on the military bases surrounding the location of Joren Arden. We have a report that enemy soldiers are beginning to move therein."

"Yes sir," the lieutenant said once more, giving another snap salute before breaking off to make his way down to fire control.

Ralen simply turned to watch the enormous Allegiance Star Destroyer...the Blight moving into position. A moment later, it and the other ships in the second task force opened up on their designated targets.

<hr>

Allegiance-Class Star Destroyer Timeless

Captain Xiler rubbed at his eyes, seemingly wiping away the blur that had set itself up after the thermal detonator trick. A good forty men had gone down, with at least two hundred wounded.

The men had been ordered to withdraw, the ground commander unwilling to sacrifice so many marines to other such devious tricks.

Looking down at the screen, Ralen watched the retaliation. The militia - those few Imperial influenced civilians who had stayed, being armed by the Empire while the rest had fled upon Xiler's warning - and Imperial infantry were bunkered up in whatever they could find.

Their last thermal detonater blast had almost leveled a very large portion of the city, turning it to rubble.

The B-Wing, escorted by two X-Wings, that flew over head only reduced that area to slag now, missiles smashing down onto Imperial held positions.

From above, the sight was grizzly. They could only detect signatures and did not get a full readout of what was going on. The outlines of figures, after a large flash of light, flew in every direction, mainly the militia who were not trained for this kind of fighting.

The Empire was using them as cannon fodder.

Xiler felt himself beginning to grow nervous. Though everything was on schedule and going according to plan, he could not deny the grim feeling he got when watching men suffer and/or die.

But this was war, and he was here to follow orders.

His Allegiance Star Destroyer opened up again, more red-gold blasts sprinting out toward a nearby communications tower to the capitol city.

Admiral Me'Vere had been relatively specific in his desire to keep as much equipment useful to the civilians up as possible, but the disruption of local communications from the capitol was an essential part of the attack.

Somewhere down there, an Imperial commander was coordinating his troops.

Hence why the admiral had stated that outland towers must be avoided if possible...but the heavily urbanized would be decimating in the original fire.

"Continue the pommel fire on the Imperial held locations, don't let up until we start getting surrenders, avoid civilians if possible," he ordered Tryke, who was standing at his side.

"And of Militia sir?" he inquired, his voice measuring and careful.

Xiler sighed heavily. "They have given up their rights as civilians. Defeat them, but spare their lives if you can."

<hr>

Space, the Abregado-rae System

From all sights it could be seen, the unrelenting blasts of two task forces, an entire fleet crushing the Imperial ground garrison.

The Imperial assessment was, at first, true. The defenders had the numerical advantage. However as the minutes passed on, and militia were beginning to see the futility of it all, cities were beginning to state their surrenders, numbers were dropping, and things were evening out.

Xiler could not deny his disappointment that Bhindi Drayson did not show up.

<hr>

Military Base/Joren Arden Holding Facility

Nevgerad lifted himself from the pile of rubble and ash, fallen chunks of debris and the like caused from the ensuing battle. But the Empire was being pushed back. Lifting his blaster to his shoulder, he shot several blasts, catching a running stormtrooper trying to make his way across what had been called "the courtyard". His body slumped to the ground lazily, sparks emitting from where the blasts had hit.

A near miss smashed into the piece of metal next to Nevgerad's head, throwing up sparks and shooting heat across the commander's cheek.

The Empire may have been pinned down, but they still posed a deadly threat. Imperial stormtroopers were well trained, well disciplined, and fanatically loyal. They would not give up easily.

Nevgerad watched as one of his men plucked up a grenade from his chest and tossed it. It soared through the air, whistling its electronic countdown before it smashed into a nest of stormtroopers, exploding in a brilliant flash of light and sending them flying through the air screaming.

His communicater ringed on his shoulder, and he reached up to touch the receive button.

"Nevgerad here," he said into the black microphone.

"What's your situation?" came the familiar voice of the petty officer aboard the Timeless. The two had been kept in close contact most of the operation.

"Extremely hostile, we have the Empire pinned down, but they're putting up a helluva fight. They still have two, repeat, two Imperial model anti-fighter defense units, do not land the shuttle, over."

"A little late for that, it's breaking atmosphere now, but look up, over."

Nevgerad blinked curiously and looked up as the crewman had ordered. A second later he heard the voom, and the X-Wing sped past, along with one other wingman.

The laser cannons, all four, screamed in their celestial delight as red blasts shot outward, crashing into the anti-fighter units. They took some retaliatory shots, but only managed to scrape the shields of one before they combusted, vomitting sparks in every direction.

The next X-Wing swooped down, pummeling the base itself with low powered weapons, blowing a hole in the prison compound wall. When all was good, it flew upward, spun around in a quick barrel roll, dived, and let loose one more fury of Hell, ending a series of the Imperial soldiers who had tried to put up the fight.

A moment later the shuttle landed just outside the base, and the Sovereign troops advanced.

<hr>

James Elidon had since taken a position underneath his bed, hoping not to get hit by incoming debris from various blasts. Imperial soldiers and stormtroopers had gone running by his cell on several occasions, yelling and hollering orders and commands.

For a moment he'd considered trying to escape, but he knew he would probably be a priority target.

So he sat there, waiting, as military training had taught him, in the most secure position away from the gunfire during a rescue.

The earth seemed to shake under his feet, as though the entire planet were being thrown off, after another blast, then another, then he heard a chorus of cheers and knew there had been an aerial strike.

Dust and ash had emitted throughout the entire room, making sight rather difficult. It was like a dense fog, though it stung his eyes.

The light in his room flickered a few times before finally going out. They had hit the power generator.

Someone was coordinating this strike very well.

Climbing out from under his bed, he was quickly grabbed under the arms. Unsure of what was going on, he did not resist. If it was the Empire then putting up a fight would be no use.

So he allowed himself to be taken.

<hr>

Imperial-Class Star Destroyer Spartan

Wells's footsteps heralded obviously pleased news, the pace being quicker than normal and yet still not a full run. Ralen simply watched the planet, and listened in to the various damage reports.

The Empire's overall garrison was weakening, at only a fraction of its former strength. More cities had stated their surrender, more than half now.

The militia did not want this carnage, and Xiler's promise that the Outer Rim Sovereignty would simply leave the planet was one they liked to hear. No more war, no more bloodshed.

That was exactly what they wanted.

The civilians who had evacuated the cities - and the prisoners who had surrendered in the ensuing chaos - were now being dined with small banquets, surrounded by friends and family.

Aliens were being reunited, brought from their meager, hardly surviveable conditions set forth by the xenophobic empire.

Everything was working perfectly.

If only Bhindi Drayson were not such a coward, perhaps he could take some glory from this field. There was very little in the slaughter of farmers with pitchforks.

Wells finally came up to the side of his commander, the grin on his face was obvious. Ralen turned to him, casting an inquisitive gaze.

"Yes Commodore?" he asked, trying to hide his own desire to know the news.

"The ground commander of our PoWs, he's been released and will be docking with Xiler's ship, the Timeless, in moments."

"No anti-fighter batteries have tried to take him down?" Ralen asked suspiciously.

"We wiped them all out sir...the Empire can't take them down, one of your objectives is complete sir."

Ralen nodded, a smile spreading his lips.

"Continue the assault."

Imperial-Class Star Destroyer Spartan

Despite the resounding victory he saw here - undoubtably it was, the crippling of military structure and the intimidation of a government - Ralen found himself at a loss. There was no battle, no fighting with Imperial forces. It was a mockery to all that they had claimed to be.

There were not even starfighters to meet them. The Empire was shivering and hiding, deep underground in a military bunker somewhere, trying to force civilians to fight to the death. At best it was back firing, with people turning on their Imperial "masters". The city, more or less, was now in the hands of the Outer Rim Sovereignty.

The strategy to seize the planet had been a standard one. Assault with incredible hammering force from above until the rest of the fleet arrived. Attain intelligence on the location of various prisoners - including Admiral Arden - so that special forces and marines could begin to acquire those lost in the original fall. Then, when all was secure and the anti-fighter batteries were more or less dealt with, Sovereign troops could begin landing and seizing the cities to strangle and choke off the capitol.

Which is what had exactly happened. With the small pockets of urbanization completely seized and held - wrestled from the limited Imperial stormtroopers there - the Sovereignty had to simply advance and the assault would have been complete.

Ralen had spent a good portion of the time between the assaults speaking with Commodore Wells, who had agreed with the admiral's overall assessments.

The people were at first content with the Empire. Their promises to release military control and open up fundings for schools and hospitals had been more than delightful to hear to the desperate civilians.

It wasn't just a change from Joren Arden and the Galactic Coalition, it was a change from their entire history. Abregado-rae was not a pretty planet. It was generally neglected economically, but forced on politically and industrially.

They wanted to be recognized, they did not want shallow promises again.

That was something Admiral Me'Vere had yet to offer. He simply stated he would leave the system once the Empire was destroyed, very matter-of-factly.

Their true disturbance with the Empire had come when they began to withdraw military forces. Abregado-rae was beginning to see the pattern. The New Order made their promsies to win hearts and minds, then once they were confident the troops were withdrawn, leaving the planet open to be assailed.

If the Outer Rim Sovereignty were half as vile as the Imperial News Network claimed then a horrific counter attack would be imminent. And what did the Imperial forces do?

They removed the planet's only defensive structure capable of repelling invaders - albeit shortly - and minimized the garrison. Then when push came to shove...it was the civilians who were expected to do the fighting.

This did not exactly amuse them.

By the pictures sent back from the capitol city there was pretty much no need to continue assaulting via orbital bombardment. The outlying military stations were gone - the military casualties were high - and the anti-fighter batteries were completely destroyed.

Civilians casualties were surprisingly low. Ralen was careful in his calculations, making sure his men knew exactly what they were doing before assailing territories which held innocent persons.

It was confirmed that, minus militia, two hundred residents were confirmed dead, with two hundred and fifty wounded. They were being carried back to the refugee camps in order to be treated by the best doctors on call - which unfortunately weren't some of the best they could ask for.

When the fight was over, Me'Vere would call in the humanitarians. It would simply be too convenient a shot now for the Empire. If they could destroy a medical ship they would consider it another insane victory, then twist it to make it look like the admiral had ordered its destruction to deprive the people of important medical supplies.

The pointless propaganda was getting unfathomeably old.

"Admiral sir," the helmsman's voice said, breaking the train of thought that had been wondering in his head. He looked over at the young lieutenant, who had an eager expression.

"Yes Lieutenant?" he asked, easing back in his command chair.

"You have an incoming communique."

"Patch it through."

The lieutenant nodded and dismissed himself. Within moments the holographic life size image of a Sullustan appeared before him, dressed in a rather elegant manner.

He looked nervous, his eyes constantly glancing on either side of him eagerly. Perhaps he was afraid he was being watched.

"You, I dare to presume, are the commander of the Outer Rim forces?" the Sullustan asked.

Ralen nodded slowly.

"Might I have a name?" he dared to inquire - at least by the manner in his tone it appeared to be as though he "dared".

To this the admiral shook his head slowly. "I cannot be certain you do not work for Imperial Intelligence. Worry not though, by the time this operation is over you shall indeed have my name."

That seemed good enough for the wrinkle-faced alien.

"Very well..I am Dal Egum, re-instated Vice Minister of Abregado-rae," he explained in a less than heraldic introduction.

"I am pleased to meet you Vice Minister Egum. Might I inquire...re-instaed?"

The Sullustan nodded his head slowly. "When the Empire came in there was a massive change in politics. As you know by anti-alien laws set forth by the Empire I was no longer allowed to hold office and had to move to the cheap side."

"My condolences," Ralen offered.

"Save them for the dead. Fortunately when your troops landed and took control of the outer rings, I was released from the ghettos they call 'spacious outer sides'. I fled to the capitol as quickly as I could to try to figure out what was happening - where I found what was left of the Imperial command structure in ruins.

"The city itself is in fine shape, you have admirable men when it comes to targetting. It appears though that someone was saboteuring civilian targets to make it look like your ships were targetting them."

"Such as?"

"A shopping mall in the residential district. The Empire has been going on for some time about its destruction."

"And out of curiousity Mister Vice Minister...how do you know it wasn't me?"

To that the Sullustan's mouth opened awkwardly in what must have been a grin.

"You have your sources, I have mine Admiral," he explained with a slight wink.

"Fair enough. You have my assurances I have only fired on confirmed military targets."

"And you have my assurances that if you intend to take the planet, now is the time."

"And why do you say that?"

Egum blinked a few times and looked down sadly, his dark brown skin paling visibly. "Our Supreme Minister was found dead an hour ago. Someone shot him, execution style, three times. No one knows what is going on, the people have essentially stated that as long as we aren't run under an iron fist we'll take any kind of administration - at least temporarily.

"I was put into a make-shift office and told to try to open negotiations. We have the intelligence you undoubtably seek...locations of Imperial strongholds hidden within the city and the like.

"Judging by the tanks closing on our position and the strange disappearance of stormtroopers, it's not exactly unfair to say your troops will be here in moments," the Sullustan carried on.

Ralen liked this one. He was fair and measuring and was truly trying to figure out what could end this quickly enough. The people weren't effected by the bombings in the same manner the Empire wanted them to be.

They were scared and did not know what was going on. Those who promised to protect them were hiding behind them, and by all accounts all they wanted was an end to the hostilities.

Ralen offered a nod.

"You are fortunate, I'll trust you this day. Do not betray my trust Vice Minister, and I assure you we shall get along fine," Ralen explained. The Sullustan nodded eagerly.

"We eagerly await the arrival of your troops."

The holographic image flicked out.

"Well what do you know?" Wells said from behind the command chair, causing Ralen to jump slightly. The middle-aged man stepped around the right side of his commander, crossing his arms over his chest.

Ralen simply smirked visibly. "Yes, it came as a surprise to me."

"They're practically handing the world to us."

"Yes I know..." he said, "but we need to act on this and we need to act fast."

"Orders sir?" Wells inquired eagerly, clapping his hands together in anticipation.

"Cease fire, order the first division to cease as well. Then open a link with the Imperial bunker - a specialty link - and inform them that they have this one chance to surrender otherwise we will hit them in full force. Make sure they are certain the reason their cameras cannot see what is going on over the rest of the planet is because they are held by our forces, and that I am not afraid to finish what I started. Make certain they are aware that I am ready to crush them with full ground and air support and that I know where their bunker is."

"Sir you don't know where their bunker is...yet."

"Yet Commodore...yet."

Wells nodded with a slight grin. "And demand the release of Joren Arden?"

"Yes, definitely."

Wells nodded and saluted. "It shall be done."

Swiftly he made his way toward the comms station where he would offer up the one chance to surrender.