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The Battle at Druckenwell
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| General_Garret | Date: Tuesday, 14 Jul 2009, 1:55 PM | Message # 1 |
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| The New Republic's 3rd Task Force appeared suddenly over Druckenwell, as expected. That is, expected by some; certain members of the planet's government who had been informed, and coerced into issuing decrees ordering their vessels to stand down and to cooperate with the Republic forces (the decrees being timed to approximately coincide with the fleet's arrival, so as not to warn Druckenwell's treasonous defense minister, Novak, in advance). Not that it would do too much good; most of the planet's defense forces were crewed by Novak's own droids, and officers under the influence of the Force, or his wiles. The exception to this rule might be the Munificent-class cruiser Indomitable, used more for trade and traffic control than for combat. It might prove helpful to the liberating forces. But there were, of course, other contingencies. The New Republic had become much more sophisticated in its tactics since the days of the Rebellion. Its methods and strategies had been honed for a decade against countless Imperial foes, in skirmishes, ambushes, disputes, insurrections. Now, there were always contingencies; the Republic had been deliberate, some time ago, and arranged to have a Golan-II defense platform placed in the planet's orbit, ostensibly for Druckenwell's defense, but now particularly useful to free the world, with force, of corruption and Sith influence. In addition to this, New Republic Intelligence had been assigned a Dreadnaught-class heavy cruiser, which would assist the 3rd Task Force if called upon. The task force itself consisted of the Assault Frigate Gallantry, the CR90 Corvette Mantooine, the Corellian Gunships Egalitarian and Defender of the Core, and the modified Quasar fire-class cruiser Shistavenan, which had been outfitted as a carrier. The fleet was also accompanied, conspicuously, by Vice Admiral Kaiden's command vessel, the MC90 Cruiser Dawning Peace (a name at once ironic, and strangely appropriate). They were, finally, joined also with additional squadrons of A-wings, X-wings, and Y-wings, which buzzed between the larger ships like gnats in precise formations. The fleet had emerged from hyperspace a considerable distance away from Druckenwell, but had done so already at a tremendous speed, and thus approached the planet quickly enough to surprise the enemy, but also with enough time to assess the enemy's fleet positions, and to situate the Republic's ships accordingly. The task force was separated into two wings; the Dawning Peace formed with the Mantooine (while the Shistavenan remained behind it), and the Gallantry was paired with the Egalitarian and Defender of the Core. As they approached nearer Novak's forces, conveniently formed up in high orbit, the Dawning Peace and her escorts went to starboard ("behind" Novak's ships), while the Gallantry and her wing went to port ("in front of" them); the intention was to envelope Novak's forces quickly, and prevent a possible escape. * * * All of this had been explained to General Garret in advance of the attack. He was, of course, aboard the Dawning Peace, but not its bridge; while Kaiden was, undoubtedly, furiously coordinating the fleet movements, Garret was in the recesses of the ship, in its tactical command center, dividing his attention between the holographic data of Druckenwell's capital city, the points of interest therein, and the manifests of soldiers, artillery and armament that were--the General looked at his wrist chrono--as of now on their way to Druckenwell in a series of transports, approximately 20 minutes behind the Task Force. Suddenly, over one of the comm channels in the command center, Garret could hear Kaiden's voice. It was not directed at him, but at Druckenwell's defense fleet; "Forces of Druckenwell, this is Vice Admiral Gomar Kaiden of the New Republic Defense Fleet. We are here under orders to secure this world from probable Sith corruption within the ranks of its government, and its military. You are ordered by the New Republic, and your own government, to assist us in this effort, and power down your shields, engines and weapons systems, and identify yourselves, your weapons, and your crew and cargo. Please acknowledge, and comply."
Brigadier General Rogar Garret
1,001st Armored Infantry Brigade
The New Republic Armed Forces
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| Rath-Deschain | Date: Tuesday, 14 Jul 2009, 5:12 PM | Message # 2 |
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| Druckenwell had been a good home for Novak. Oh, the subterfuge had been regrettable, but Novak liked to think of it being left behind with fond memories. He had known from day one that Druckenwell could never be a permaant home. It had proved useful for its economy and shipyard primarily, but it could never be home. Novak had known this just as thoroughly as he had known the New Republic would come for him in force the day he announced himself as a hopeful Senator. He had known the time was near when the New Republic had built a Golan II defense platform, yet staffed it with members of the New Republic Defense Forces. It was the single place around Druckenwell he had not managed to slip agents into; unlike the sturdy Indomitable which had practically been staffed by those within his core group since it had arrived. The Golan II station had been situated on the sunward side of Druckenwell, right along the primary hyperspace route where, presumably, the New Republic fleet would have emerged from hyperspace. This would present them with an excellent view of Druckenwell's shipyards and orbital production facilities... but there were no ships, or so it might seem at first. This was because Novak, not wishing to moor his fleet within range of such destructive power that the Golan II could muster, had placed his vessels in high orbit (a rather relative term in itself; high orbit is simply a distance and Novak's forces were oriented south of the equator) on the night side of the planet, neatly placing a large mass in between his fleet and any possible threats, such as the New Republic fleet now presented. What the New Republic fleet commander would see, was a rather curious mass of cables and wires linking a CR90 to the shipyards. The corvette's purpose had been somewhat different. It was still a warship and still quite viable, yet in its not fully repaired state, it had been wired in to the shipyard as a rather nasty explosive, capable of a goodly amount of damage to one of Druckenwell's primary resources. The fleet was already in motion (since it had, after all, been at ready status with systems powered and hyperdrives charged for the supposed purpose of going to Deralia), and when the sensors picked up the New Republic fleet, it was a simple matter to gain that little extra distance and engage the hyperdrives, sending them out of the system. On the ground at the spaceport, Novak was aware of the arrival, primarily due to the Vice Admiral's message. With his fleet gone and most of his forces away, he saw no harm in a response, even as he suited up and prepared the last bit of necessities before entering his fighter. "Vice Admiral Kaiden, it's a pleasure to meet you after hearing of your exploits!" Novak began rather cheerfully. "This is Lord Jericho Novak of the New Sith Order, formerly Minister of Defense to Druckenwell. The planet is all yours, Vice Admiral, and we'd like to leave New Republic space peacefully enough to go our own way and call it no harm, no foul. "I assume you are a man of principle though and will still give pursuit. As such, you may wish to be aware of the following items: I love Druckenwell and its people. They have granted me kindness when I was an outcast, and I would not see them harmed. Nonetheless, I value my continued freedom and existence. Firstly, the Druckenwell shipyards have been rigged with a CR90 corvette to detonate. This should be unacceptable, as it would be a dreadful blow to Druckenwell's economy. Secondly, my sleeper forces on the surface are poised to do great damage to the business structures of this planet. Civllian casualties will likely be high, even with New Republic intervention. "Let us go, Vice Admiral, and we'll trouble the New Republic no more. I assure you, you would rather have us on neutral terms than as enemies. If you insist on giving chase, I'd hope you have a dragship in your pocket." Novak cut the transmission and began finishing his preflight checklist; his engines already warming up.
Rath Deschain
High Inquisitor
Message edited by Ashikage - Friday, 17 Jul 2009, 6:06 PM |
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| General_Garret | Date: Tuesday, 14 Jul 2009, 11:52 PM | Message # 3 |
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| [ooc]Just two quick points of clarification, from perusing the request forum. I can't seem to find the CR90 having been requested, and also it doesn't appear as though the conversion of one Venator to a gunship was actually approved. That request seems to have ended inconclusively (it's also frustratingly unspecific on fighter numbers, although not your fault). And, not to be difficult, but I would contest that even Novak and his people would not have enough access to rig a private shipyard, unnoticed, with enough explosives to destroy it. Also, finally, since one of your posts on "To Further One's Aims" indicated that at least three hours had passed since the assassination attempt and when Novak regained consciousness (and that he continued to spend time in the medcenter thereafter, talk to reporters, etc.), I would be appreciative if it would take Novak a bit more time to depart the planet and reach his fleet since, realistically, the Republic would have arrived while Novak is still on the surface (probably still in the medcenter, although I won't be that picky).[/ooc]
Brigadier General Rogar Garret
1,001st Armored Infantry Brigade
The New Republic Armed Forces
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| Management | Date: Wednesday, 15 Jul 2009, 0:27 AM | Message # 4 |
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| Rath-Deschain | Date: Sunday, 26 Jul 2009, 7:22 AM | Message # 5 |
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| [ooc] Post edited [/ooc] Added (26 Jul 2009, 8:22 Am)
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(ooc) It's been way over the four-day mark by quite a bit. As such, I'm gonna go ahead and post accordingly. Let me know if it is a problem and I will edit. (/ooc) The New Republic fleet was indeed a powerful force to be reckoned with; a hammer of justice that could crush a Remnant fleet of nearly equal size or pacify and liberate a hostile planet. Here, at Druckenwell though, a hammer could not hope to accomplish the methods of Novak's scalpel tactics. The New Republic had indeed become the Empire in many of its mannrisms. Grounded and having to hold on to planets and territories, whereas the New Sith Order was like the Rebel Alliance; free and shifting from place to place. Faced with the prospect of high civilian casualties and an unknown amount of collateral damage (not counting the damage done to Druckenwell's solitary shipyard, which would likely be catastrophic) versus the opportunity to settle the planet with relatively peaceable terms and catch Novak later when he had no real leverage, the Vice Admiral chose the latter path, opting to save more lives (though undoubtedly the ship's bridge would be filled with curses at the situation.) With the freedom bought of careful planning, Novak, Rajek and the trio of transports finally lifted off from the spaceport, gaining space and leaping to hyperspace not long after. The Sith had escaped capture for the moment, but the New Republic still had the task of weeding out his agents on Druckenwell.
Rath Deschain
High Inquisitor
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| General_Garret | Date: Sunday, 26 Jul 2009, 4:25 PM | Message # 6 |
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| Indeed, the Republic was in a difficult position; difficult enough to spend long, precious moments debating the appropriate course of action on the bridge of the Dawning Peace, all while Novak made his escape (the order had already been given to ground Novak's ship, or any vessel matching its description or otherwise believed to be transporting him, but because the order was given through the Republic's circuitous network of intermediaries, it came too late to stop the Sith). The escape of his fleet, too, had been disappointing, but despite its flight the battle was still far from over. However, the decision was ultimately not as difficult as it seemed, at least as far as Admiral Kaiden was concerned; he was a man who didn't take kindly to being threatened, or blackmailed. As far as he was concerned, as long as Novak and his fleet were on the loose, it would pose a persisting threat to more worlds like Druckenwell (or worse). Druckenwell would be fine, especially with the Republic troops on the way. Kaiden was also shrewd enough to recognize that he was, as Novak alluded, the "hammer," and diffusing the bomb and weeding out Novak's men on Druckenwell required a "scalpel." In this case, the scalpel was New Republic Intelligence, which was already on the ground and working with the planet's government. To that end, this operation hadn't been a complete failure. Novak had been forced to flee the planet without his Sith apprentices, who were left behind in the Temple without any apparent correspondence from their Master (the Temple was also under observation by Colonel Park and his men, and if the Apprentices did attempt to move, it would surely prompt a fierce firefight). Novak had also, logically, been compelled to abandon the significant number of troops and tanks that had been seen on the surface in the hours after his assassination. The rest of it was out of Kaiden's hands. 53 seconds after Novak's fleet jumped to hyperspace, the 3rd Task Force had determined its course and, undeterred by the Sith's threats, jumped to pursue it. Kaiden, however, overcame his tendency toward vanity, and kept the Dawning Peace at Druckenwell; the rest of the ships, including the Expeditious (which arrived about a minute thereafter), gave chase. They also sent word to the shipyards, that Novak had allegedly planted a bomb in the form of his CR90, and to evacuate the premises if possible. Meanwhile, General Garret and his staff would remain with the MC90 and command the ground offensive, which would begin within the half hour. The Captain of the Gallantry assumed command of the pursuit, and ordered his sensors calibrated appropriately to detect an obstacle (i.e. Novak's fleet) ahead of them in time to drop into realspace. Meanwhile, the Dawning Peace calculated Novak's own trajectory, to determine if he was following his fleet or rather going in a different direction altogether. The NRI had a suspicion where he was headed, and already on Coruscant, Omwat, and Sulon, preparations were being put into effect. Added (26 Jul 2009, 5:25 Pm)
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(( Sorry it's rushed, I'm kind of out the door right now. But I'll be able to post more regularly now (sorry about the delay), so let me know if I've made any errors in this post. ))
Brigadier General Rogar Garret
1,001st Armored Infantry Brigade
The New Republic Armed Forces
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| Rath-Deschain | Date: Monday, 27 Jul 2009, 2:37 PM | Message # 7 |
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| The problem with setting mass sensors to search would likely primarily be that said sensors 'looked' for mass shadows such as those created by large objects (planets, moons, extremely large space stations, perhaps). A fleet of ships wouldn't create much of a mass shadow in comparison. As such, it might be difficult to truly 'track' them through hyperspace. Novak's own little convoy (loaded with a goodly number of the droids used to guard the hospital), jumped in a different direction. He had other places to go rather than follow his fleet. The fleet would take care of itself. Novak's own plans were far more grand than the New Republic may have realized. Groundwise, the NRI had not likely realized that Novak did not have any apprentices, at least outside Rel'kom. The Temple was serving as a stronghold for the remaining droid units and some human elements of Novak's group. For now, all was relatively quiet. The primary activity originated in the shipyard, where workers were beginning to take shuttles planetside.
Rath Deschain
High Inquisitor
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