Post by EmperorMyric on Mar 22, 2021 16:02:04 GMT
The Seleucia finally arrived, just several miles away from the planet of Satembi, which was under the supposed control of the United Worlds of Alondra. Was supposed to be. For now, it was a witness to a ceasefire between the UWA government troops and the Satembi rebels. A tank crew was attacked while they were protecting a forest, having needed to be reinforced by their comrades after having to fend off for an hour and more.
The Seleucia was a vessel intended for meetings and all kinds of things related to that. Lightly armed and fully crewed, it was an ingredient for a great war if this was destroyed by any party. For now though, the UWA would secure it. The warships sent to accompany it were the carriers The Harrow and Yarra, which were relatively new while their own escorts were the frigates Memory, Centipede, Aries and Sonne.
Under the command of Admiral Tintafasut Nasrallah
...this fleet would watch over the Seleucia until their new ally arrived.
As per their agreement the Alliance sent a small diplomatic ship containing a delegation of diplomats, at the head of the delegation was Sub-Director Alexis Chambers. The small ship entered from the systems edge and made its way to the Seleucia.
“Think it will be over quick or will it be another month long sit down.” Diplomat Louis Vance asked Alexis
“I’m not sure these people seem to have quite the disparity in what they believe to be right for their nation.” She answered back but Louis only returned a look of disbelief
“Yeah we could be here forever.” She said back and laughed alongside Louis
“Coming up to the ship now ma’am.” The ships pilot announced over the intercom
The ship then began docking procedures with the Seleucia where the diplomatic team would disembark and begin their efforts to mediate the situation.
The ship allowed them to dock and to disembark. Aboard the ship, there were numerous guards. The UWA troops wore brown uniforms and silver power armor that complemented the unique combat masks they wore to protect their identities and to shield them from contaminants. A pair of guards, one female, one male was waiting for them.
Upon Disembarking their ship Alexis and the delegation approached the two guards awaiting them.
“Sub-Director Alexis Chambers Alliance Ancerious Department, we’ve come unarmed and without guards as to not send the wrong message for today. With me I have four other two diplomats and two aides.” She said politely
The two guards saluted them well before the female guard told them in a voice that clearly informed them that she probably lost her vocal cords and instead was fitted with artificial ones.
"Very well. I am your escort. I will be assigned to you until you are safely away from the ship. My fellow guards will take care of you. Do you have anything you need for me to do before we proceed?"
“Nothing that I think of we’re ready to start immediately.” Alexis replied chirpily
The female guard looked at them for a bit then said nothing as she turned around sharply and started to walk towards the chamber where they would meet with the UWA officials and the officials sent by the Satembi.
Upon entering the chamber at the meeting place Alexis and the delegation stopped just past the door.
“Greetings I’m Sub-director Alexis Chambers Alliance Ancerious department. With me I have diplomats Louis Vance, Sally Wendellson and assisting us today is Harry Takem and Steve Pallor. We’re here as requesting to mediate between the two parties in dispute.” Alexis announced to the room.
A woman and a man who had darker skin color than the other stood to face them. The woman smiled while the man frowned. She said "I'm Bilehelde Halkett. This man is-"
"I am Amadayo. I represent the sovereign world of Satembi."
The woman tried not to break her smile. She sat down and so did the man. The woman then said to them
"I represent the UWA on this matter. For now, I have my aide, her name is Ernestène de Saussay"
A young lady standing behind the woman smiled at them and bowed.
"And the diplomat speaking on behalf of the UWA with me is Bonne de Lorraine. The representatives of Satembi are Keyse and Xidig."
Alexis and the Alliance delegation sat down at the table with the others. It was clear that this was a tense situation and that they needed to tread very carefully.
“Well then let’s get started.” Alexis chirped
“Now, what we are aiming for right now is permanent ceasefire between all involved and put a stop to the fighting. Firstly though we need to examine the key disputes between the two parties and try to compromise and then hopefully aim to get everyone what they want. Am I making sense so far?” Alexis changed to a more serious tone when she spoke.
All nodded. However Amadayo said
"We also want them to withdraw ALL of their troops first."
"But that means leaving behind our citizens who reside on---"
"I care not for them but for my people, woman!"
And at the point, there was a violent silence between the UWA and Satembi.
“See this kind of attitude is going to lead nowhere, we need to keep calm and talk things out like the civilised people we are. I understand that everyone cares about their people on the surface and to show that you care we need to end this non-violently. Now what is everyone willing to do right now to end the fighting?” Alexis said sternly
The two parties murmured among themselves. But as they did, Amadayo and the woman nodded to Alexis and agreed to discuss. They set their terms.
The UWA did not want to withdraw because they fear for the lives of those who want to stay and for those still loyal to the UWA. The Satembi rebels want everyone out, especially the military. But the UWA did not want to abandon their basses here. The rebels then said that they want the bases.
“Well we’re at a bit of a difficult spot then aren’t we? Tell me what does Satembi plan to do with its sovereignty?” Alexis asked curiously
"We want ourselves to rule this planet on our own. Without them."
"Without us, you would not have gained much from---"
"Shut up! You are all running out of time anyway!"
And that startled the UWA officials and the guards nearby.
That caused the UWA official to say
"What do you mean?"
The Alliance delegation remained calm as the guards and UWA guards were startled, it wasn’t the first time talks had gotten hostile for Alexis and it probably wasn’t going to be the last.
“Look we can sit around here all day listening to threats and demands but at the end of the day it amounts to nothing and people on both sides will continue to suffer. So let’s just all calm down and get our heads into the game.” Alexis said calm yet firm to all parties in the room.
The UWA official was about to speak when suddenly a guard entered the room and said to them quite worriedly
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a problem. There's been an incident. I have been instructed to take you all out of this room and into the emergency shuttles right now. The rebels hav-"
And then the ship was struck a few times from an approaching Satembi rebel controlled space fighter, causing the ship to rock as the fleet around the ship moved to engage the incoming Satembi ships while on the planet, a battle was being waged over planetary defenses.
After recoiling from the hit taken by the ship, Alexis wasted no time making sure the members of the delegation were alright.
“Come on, let’s get out of here now. Move.” Alexis shouted at everyone. The alliance delegation was quick to follow the guard who entered the room.
However things went to hell when the Satembi officials tried to block them from going out. Others even started to fight the UWA officials while the guards tried to take control of the situation and to protect their own officials as a space battle began and the planet was thrown into chaos.
The ship kept rocking violently as a few missiles hit it.
Eventually the ship was destroyed by a pair of space fighters launching all of their missiles at it before spraying it down with their guns. They flew off as the hopes, all the hopes of peace between the rebels and the government went down with it.
Now it was war.
---------------------------------------
Two weeks after the disaster involving the diplomats of a foreign party and their own, the UWA declared war on the Satembi rebels. They had mobilized in that time and were waiting for their ally and their own forces to be completely ready.
It was a cloudy day in New Gatlinburg for the state funeral of everyone that dies during the failed peace talks. The media had called it the ‘Satembi Slaughter’, Six Alliance citizens snuffed out of existence by a rebel group that they had hoped could be talked down. It had only been two days since the incident and already people in Ancerious and back home were fuelled with rage. The matter would be taken to congress later in the week and a course of action would be decided on until Director Albert Tyldum could do nothing but mourn for his lost comrades. He sat there and watched the ceremony before he went up to speak, he spoke humbly about the deceased one of them the former Sub-Director was a personal friend of his since their time in the navy some years ago. It was a loss that hit him hard seeing a friend who believed in his peaceful ideals as much as he did be killed. After the ceremony finished Albert went back to his office for a nip of whiskey, he needed one today of all days; however upon getting to his office he was informed by his secretary that the President was waiting for him on vid call. He walked into his office putting on a fake impression for the President.
“President Johnson, a surprise to be hearing from...” Albert said before being cut off
“Let’s cut the small talk Al, this talk has been a long time coming. Sit down this could take a while.” Johnson barked he waited for Al to be seated
“I still have high hopes for what your department can do Al I won’t lie but this is a set back and a big one with someone high profile being killed. So this is me telling you as a friend that you’re on your last legs, it’s obvious that these peaceful ideals you hold dear have amounted to nothing but lives being lost for absolutely nothing. Personally I would of transferred you out after the whole Davian thing but laws are laws and I can’t break them so when the elections for your department come around don’t expect to be staying in that nice new office of yours. Anyways apart from that my condolences for today and I’m truly sorry about Alexis. Anyways I’ll talk to you later in the week with some good news hopefully.” Johnson was mad as hell and his tone of voice carried that well.
Albert was left to sit there in his office alone again when the call ended. He could hear the first few spatters of rain hitting his window before it started bucketing down over the city. Johnson remained true to his word and later on in the week he had news that the war vote was going ahead and a day later when the results were announced no one was surprised that the vast majority agreed with a declaration of war against the Satembi Rebels. The Military forces began mobilisation as soon as the results were announced, very soon the rebels would pay for what they had done.
It had been sometime since the Vestahl battle, but finally after months of rehabilitation and therapy General Burt “Birdman” Hashmon was back in the saddle. He was being assigned to the campaign against the rebels for his previous efforts. It was also the day he would get to see his army again after such a long time. He turned up in his staff car at the barracks on New Tetrarch where the reformed divisions that were lost on Vestahl were stationed. He exited the car and was met by his subordinate Brigadier Michelle “Roll em in” Moranis who was there with to aid in the inspection.
“Good to see you back and walking around again sir.” She said cheerfully
“And it’s good to be back, now where are the new lot tough bastards they sent? I’m keen to see the reinforcements.” Burt said as he rubbed his hands together
“Well… you gonna see for yourself on a bit sir.” Michelle replied scratching the back of her head
The two walked over the Parade ground where a large contingent of troops were selected to participate in the inspection, they were there in their general purpose uniforms standing at attention then back at ease when the General walked over. To Burt’s surprise he wasn’t reinforced with troops from other armies they were all green recruits fresh out of boot. He took Michelle over to the side where they could talk in private.
“Who are all these kids?” Burt said confused
“Replacements sir, majority of them are fresh out of boot.” Michelle responded
He gave them a look over from where they were standing there was barely anyone over the age of twenty five. Burt wasn’t an old man himself being in his mid-thirties but seeing all these kids made him feel like one. He left barracks feeling a lot less happy then when he went there, his next stop was central command where he would meet with the other commander of the campaign. The meeting was on the Raxus Twelve Station in orbit of the planet. The wardroom was bustling with activity when he arrived it seemed that he was a little behind schedule.
“Good for you to join us Burt.” Grand Fleet Admiral Terrance Chesterton rebuked with a sarcastic tone.
“Now that everyone is here we can over the plan.” He said motioning his hand to floor which changed to a system layout where Satembi was.
“Now the enemy has fleet capability now so we’re gonna secure the system first then bring in the troop ships to land the second wave. Commanding Officer for fleet operations will be Admiral Sara Switch with CSG One and Admiral Dorothy Delegard with DSG One. Handling the ground operation will be General Burt Hashmon with the 1082nd Mobile Infantry Army with second wave being General Killian Saxon of the 4333rd Armoured Army. Gentlemen ground operations will be at your discretion once a suitable Forward Operations Base is established which is what you’ll be handling Burt. Any questions?” Terrance spoke clear and concise
“Yes sir, what policy are we taking on prisoners?” Killian spoke up
“Imperial prisoner policy, anyone else? No good the rest of the detail are in the Intel packet to view at your discretion. Dismissed” Everyone saluted Him as he walked out the room.
Everyone else left the wardroom to go and prepare their strike groups and armies for the upcoming assault. When Burt left he paid careful attention to where Sara was going and got in front of her at in in one of the hallways. He grabbed when she walked past and pulled her to the side where no one could see them.
“What’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?” Burt said softly
“Well I was going to get ready for an assault but now that you’re here…” Sara said leaning in towards Burt
“I’m going to prepare for an assault.” She whispered before giving Burt a quick kiss and pulling herself away and walked off.
“Hate to see you go… but love to watch you leave.” Burt said as she walked off down the hallway.
Now it had been two weeks to the day since the ‘Satembi Slaughter’ and the Alliance was ready and rearing to go the combined forces of two strike Groups had assembled as well as two full armies. The hour was nigh and the jump preparations were complete. The fleet spooled up their wormhole drives and each ship opened up a gateway to the edge of the system where Satembi sat.
The cities of Satembi were named after local heroes of the planet. They were Chenzira, Hamadi, Abiola and New Ishaq. They were fortunately in the control of the UWA and many of the inhabitants of Satembi remained loyal to the UWA. But most of them were just civilians. The rest were already soldiers of Alondra and Veneshia and Satembi. Along with the soldiers already sent there from other worlds to take care of things, they were outnumbered by the rebels. They had captured many towns outside of these cities and have overrun planetary defenses in the rural areas, threatening any ship that comes close to the world if they were not under rebel control. The urban areas have been garrisoned and heavily fortified but the plagues of any and all sieges was beginning to fall upon the defenders.
With the rebels also having stolen equipment, although, little, this was enough for concern.
Along with their ally, the UWA sent out Admiral Stonecutter, a human woman who had experience with putting down rebellions in the past. Her partner on the ground was General Styrodo.
For now, Admiral Stonecutter and her fleet, the Sea of Adalgar, were already out there, making their way towards Satembi, going slowly in order to give time for their ally to catch up. As they did, the Admiral was looking over a digital list of ships that she had under her command. These were the Paloma, Josefina, Pilar, Antonia, Adoncia, Ezperanza de Segovia, Eldora, Rosalind de Anania, Eveline, Brunile, Belladyrrya, Elvira Mastersly, Anabeth, Genevelle, Estevie, Mariette, Iraldine, Loulou, Nanette, Ervyla, Galsa, Hlevala, Rathyne, Tereri, Taluri and Gilberto. They were all new ships. All of them were destroyers. They were accompanying a pair of Battle Cruisers, the Rawiya and the Umar.
Following them also were the frigates Auror, Avarice, Celestial, Crimsonia, Georgiania, Josephina, Livinia, Manisha as well as the Battleship Clementina. All these ships made up 37. There were supposed to be 50 and so the rest of the force was made up of the escorts to the carrier Alida.
For now, Admiral Stonecutter attempted to make contact with the TDA.
Once in system the Alliance fleet was greeted by that of the UWA their de facto allies in this campaign. Although some animosity was held against them for failing to properly protect the meeting spot it wouldn’t effect relations or the conduct of the Alliance personnel during the campaign as the situation wasn’t one that was to be expected.
“UWA Fleet this is Admiral Switch Alliance Navy, I’m transmitting codes so we have access to instant communications and shared tactical data.” Sara responded to the UWA hail.
“Alright staff meeting, comms bring em up.” Around the central command console of the CIC appeared Admiral Delegard as well as the captains of the fleets’ capital ships, smaller ships captains were only put on voice however as having that many holograms would clutter up the CIC.
“Well, here we are at another wonderful destination. Now we are aware of the anti-orbital defences they have planetside so we’re staying far away from their ranges and we know these rebels aren’t dumb enough to leave their safety. So this will be a largely carrier based attack plan, as a result I’ve put the request in for twenty void groups of bombers and their escorts. While they get to work we’ll provide long range fire well out of range to keep the distracted. We’ll keep the fighters covered with a massive opening salvo so they hopefully won’t be able to what’s what. After that we keep firing until the magazines run out, any questions?”
“Ma’am what about re-arming? Won’t they be easily detected flying back?” one of the carrier captains spoke up
“True, but we’ll send them in waves of twenty void groups so while one wave attacks another is coming back, another is re-arming and they’ll keep cycling like that.” Sara responded
“Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll alert the UWA of our plan. Don’t launch fighters till the ordinance is ready and locked we’ll go on my order. Dismissed” almost all at once the holograms of the captains disappeared.
“Ma’am message from HQ bomber mission has been authorised and are being scrambled now.” A comms officer yelled out
“Good, MPDSA get an active scan of the system I want to see exactly what we’re dealing with and how much and get interdiction raised” Sara shouted back
The fleet spread itself out and made ready for its attack however it didn’t advance towards Satembi yet, as they waited for the UWA forces response and plan of attack.
Admiral Stonecutter and the officers of her fleet listened to their allies. However, they had some plans as well. They wanted to get in the planet as quickly as possible while other ships provided covering fire. On the other hand, they also would commit their carriers to this plan. But they wished for their carriers to focus on destroying the anti orbital defenses. For their ships were more armored and designed better for assaults on planets rather than space combat. Admiral Stonecutter spoke to her allies
"Stonecutter here. I wish to say something. I am transmitting the tactical data for the plans we have made on our part. My plan is to pit our greatest ships into assaulting the planet. Our ships can take anti orbital firepower best as we make our way in. Our carriers however will assist you as our ships do this. Our weapons can also provided bombardment necessary to overcome the rebels on the planet. What say you?"
“We acknowledge your plan Stonecutter, we’ll keep you covered as you advance. Now let’s get this show on the road shall we.” Sara replied to Stonecutter enthusiastically
The Alliance fleet moved forward accelerating towards Satembi, the rebel fleet of one hundred eighty ships came up clear as day on MPDSA as well as the system lay out which included two more planets both inhabited. The Alliance fleet moved to a comfortable three AU away from the rebel fleet it was here that they would begin their assault. Although at this range the rebel fleet would be able to manoeuvre around munitions fired at them with ease, this was the main idea to break their formation and cause disorganisation within their fleet.
“Get first wave launched and get all guns firing, we’ve got a battle to win.” Sara cried out to her CIC crew
Carefully picking their targets and trajectories the Alliance fleet opened fire with a ferocious opening bombardment, Railguns, missiles, torpedoes, lasers of different varieties as well the fighters that launched at the same time hoping to give them the appearance of munitions all headed towards the rebel fleet above Satembi.
The rebel fleet was stupid. While some of their ships, the important ones, moved away from the fire, the rest didn't and paid the price, not being able to raise their shields in time and not also being able to engage the enemy in time. But soon enough, they realized what was happening as they returned fire, using their railguns, missiles and torpedoes to shoot at the Alliance fleet while the UWA fleet was maneuvering their assault ships while their carriers deployed their fighters, rushing out around the flanks of the enemy to distract them as the assault ships Dove and then rose towards the planet, shooting their heavy weapons at the surface while they also deployed their torpedoes against ships in the way.
“Seems they don’t what they’re doing ma’am confirming multiple hits on the enemy fleet.” One of the MPDSA operators chirped
“Good keep it up and give the fighters the attack order and get the second wave out.” Sara commanded in reply
The Alliance pilots made contact with the rebel although dozens were shot down rapidly they didn’t let that phase them they let loose their nuclear payloads on the rebel fleet targeting the larger ships first such as battleships and cruisers. Although the two nukes from a single fighter couldn’t do much damage on by themselves the sheer number of them from the amount of fighters enemy ships were defeated with ‘bug bites’. The return fire that the rebels sent the Alliances way was relatively dismissed with an inferior number of ships and plenty of warning time the only hits scored were against the shielding of a few misplaced frigates.
The rebels caught sight of the UWA however. Quickly, their fleet split into two parts. One part went all out against the Alliance while another assaulted the assaulting UWA, pummeling most of the ships moving into the planet. This caused a lot of damage as many ships carrying the troops were damaged enough to stop moving or were destroyed catastrophically, with many men and women floating around in space, dead, with or without limbs.
The flagship of the Admiral herself was caught dead in space as most of her fleet survived but not without some sort of damage as they entered the atmosphere, eliminating nearby planetary defenses as Stonecutter said
"This is Admiral Stonecutter. We are taking losses. We could use some help. We ar-"
The transmission itself was cut as her ship took a few more missiles to its body, causing it to shake.
“UWA Fleet taking heavy losses and we have more incoming fire.” one of the MPDSA operators shouted out
“Does the enemy have interdiction up?” Sara rebuked
“Negative ma’am none detected.” The operator responded
“Alright drop interdiction and active wormhole shielding get that ordinance turned around on the rebel fleet. Fire control get torpedoes prepped for gate use, put the nukes inside the enemy ships as best you can. Comms get our bombers in give them coordinates for the fleet wormhole them in right on top of their position.”
Back in Alliance space the fleet of bombers called upon came out of their launch bays and took formation to wormhole into the system they only needed to wait for spooling up to be completed. Outside of the new orders the Alliance attack stayed consistent the second wave of fighters was on approach and the first wave was on its way back to the carriers to repair and re-arm. The incoming rebel ordinance was intercepted by the wormhole shielding, it went through the entrance and exited out into the enemy formation specifically that of the rebel group that intercepted the UWA fleet while the Alliance focused fire on the group that remained use wormholes again to the launch their sustained nuclear missiles inside of the rebel ships, they aimed for all critical areas of the ships such as CICs, reactors and magazines. Any ordinance that got through the wormhole shielding was merely absorbed into the shields or dodged given the great distance between the two fleets.
At this point, the rebel ships and their crews were getting hit as hard as they could be. They were confused and they no longer could understand what was going on as some tried to flee the system while others attempted to return to the planet. Most ships of the rebel fleet stopped firing while only those ships that seemed to be competently controlled continued to engage the enemy, sometimes going full speed towards them in an effort to concentrate their fire on the enemy and also to make the enemy distracted.
As for the UWA, the assistance of the Alliance allowed them to get more ships into the planet, the first messages from the ground forces being landed on the surface being
"This is General Styrodo! Thanks for the assist! We're getting our first Naval Infantry reinforcements! We can still use some more troops but I will do what I can to get the defenses of this planet disabled."
The transmission was then cut as the UWA fleet kept entering the planet, the Admiral finally regaining comms with the Alliance. The Admiral said
"Ah. Thank you. I'm sorry. But right now, we can finally push into the planet. We'll take it from here! We'll let you command our carriers in order to finish the rebel fleet!"
“Confirmed enemy ship destruction ma’am we got ships retreating, firing back and others sitting there menacingly” a MPDSA operator called out
“Bring the bombers in, right on top of the enemy still around the planet, get more ordinance on those ships firing back and redirect their fire to the ships retreating the system. Tell the fly boys, to do a sweep for survivors from destroyed enemy ships, no quarter, no prisoners.” Sara gave the orders with a serious tone.
A large wormhole opened up above the remaining enemy ships around the planet, and like a bat out of hell descended a TDA Bomber fleet and their escorting fighters, twenty void groups in total locked targets and fired their payloads. The enemy fleet would find itself with thousands of Graviton torpedoes incoming on its position. Meanwhile the ships firing and advancing had no affect still since the wormhole shielding was still active, their munitions would only impact their own ships that were trying to leave the system, while the ships firing quickly found another wave of nukes worm holed into their ships. The Fleet maintained its stance overall however carrying out its original plan with the second wave of fighters engaged with their own payload.
In time, the rebels broke. They all now turned for Satembi and tried to flee but unfortunately, they were intercepted by UWA space fighters and frigates, who turned all that came their way into junk and blood. Meanwhile, the UWA kept on invading the planet, their ground forces rushing in to protect the cities while the rest advanced against the rebels, the surface being a witness to dozens of tanks and other vehicles rushing out to lead the infantry as they started to roll over the rebels who were assaulting them.
For now, the UWA was winning along side their ally. In space and in the surface, the UWA was increasingly brutal, finishing off ships that were dying off while on the surface, any one who surrendered in the heat of battle was shot. The UWA now called to their allies to join them on the surface!
It was apparent that the defeat of the rebel fleet was absolute; any survivors fled to the planet, yet another object for the alliance force to take. The fleet would position itself in high orbit over the planet and continue its use of worm hole shielding to protect itself from any anti-orbital fire. After a small celebration amongst the fleet and congratulations all round everyone turned their focus to what was next: Planet fall.
Burt walked in to the drop pod bay and was again greeted with young faces, as well as a few of the survivors from the Vestahl massacre in his personal unit. To the fresh faced transfers he looked quite intimidating although cybernetics weren’t uncommon to see the amount that the general had was sign that he’d been to hell and back. A few of them got nervous as his piercing gaze from both his organic and cybernetic eye turned their way.
The Plan Burt had drawn up was simple they would concentrate their efforts on taking out the rebel controlled bases, he would land in the closest city and get the FOB established then General Killian Saxon would arrive with his Armoured army and lead the way while Burt would what he does best and attack from behind enemy lines. Burt walked into the drop pod launch bay where some of his men were waiting; they were already locked in tight and waiting for the door to close. He was met with more nervous glares as he walked down to his pod. It was another few minutes before the carriers were in position over the drop zone. The whirring of launch mechanisms was the last thing anyone heard before they were dropped, after that it was the silence of space as they descended down towards the planet, and then the rush of air against the drop pods as they carved their way through the planet’s atmosphere. After that they simply went through the motions as the drop pods broke apart and came to a gentle landing in one of the cities that was closest to the rebel bases. Several companies of Troopers rushed to the defence of the city while the majority awaited for the sky ship drop.
“Brace yourselves boys and girls we’re coming in.” The CAG of the sky ship group alerted everyone.
Several sonic booms ripped through the air above the city, it was a sight common to the Alliance troopers but it still impressed them every time watching the superheated hulls of the ship illuminate the sky and the engines cutting in to slow descent just above the city. The group of twenty sky ships would act as the FOB for the alliance ground forces as well provide extensive planet side support such as over the horizon artillery, local defence against SAMs, SSMs, aircraft as well housing its own air group of roughly two hundred planes each. Now the alliance Divisions on the ground needed to mount up in their transports and await on General Saxons arrival to the planet, his troop ship was already enroute and be in orbit shortly.
Orbital bombardment and ordinary air support was being given to the forces of both factions already on the ground against the rebels. As friendly ships helped the TDA and the UWA, it was now up to General Styrodo and their men to handle the ground war.
Styrodo fought wars personally among their troops. So for this one, he led his own division, the 41st Spear Infantry. When he felt that it was the right time, he sent his men out to secure more territory for their own forces as well as for the Alliance forces. They did well (hopefully) to establish a perimeter around the FOB.
The 41st Spear Infantry wore brown vests with armor that carried their ammunition and sidearm as well as other equipment. They carried light packs for their equipment on their back and their sand colored helmets protected their heads as much as their transparent visors of green or blue protected their faces.
They had small badges of spears on their chests and they were incredibly experienced on the planet of Satembi, used to its terrain and weather. It was hot and the winds were merciless.
For now, the 41st Spears kept it up, setting a defense around the establishing FOB as the General approached the Alliance forces accompanied by his own guards, who wore darker helmets and smaller badges.
Burt walked over to General Stryodo casually, when he was in front of the man the face of his helmet retracted back so he could without the voice scrambler. Through his comms he could pick up the entry of General Saxons troop ship entering orbit and beginning disembarkation protocols. Killian himself was one of the first tank squadrons to hit the ground inside of the city, a dropship landed him near Burt and Stryodo. The small man ran over to the two.
“Looks like I’m here just in time.” Killian said excitedly
“Yep, was about to explain our plan but I think we could afford to change it up a bit. I’ll show you what I had in mind.” Burt responded
“Anyways, I’m General Burt Hashmon Alliance 1082nd Mobile Infantry, and this is…” Burt gestured to Killian
“General Killian Saxon Alliance 4333rd armoured.” Killian chirped
“Now let me show you our plan real quick.” Burt said pressing a few button on his forearm which displayed a 3D holographic map of the battle space.
“Now our original plan involved the use of only a small portion of our forces to eliminate the rebel bases one at a time, as you can see here but since the threat doesn’t seem as bad we’re feeling a bit more adventurous.” Burt said looking over to Killian who raised an eyebrow
“Instead we team up two or so divisions together and attack on multiple bases simultaneously, hopefully this’ll create a larger breakthrough in the enemy lines plus we’ve brought enough support so that if the worse would happen we can saturate an area and re take the initiative.” Burt said confident that the plan would go off without a hitch
“That’s it in a nutshell then, should be good.” Killian replied
“So what’s your plan of attack? General… Sorry I didn’t catch your name.” Burt scratched the back head trying to remember if the man had told him his name already.
The General paid attention to the plans of his allies. Once they were done discussing what they would do, he stepped closer to them and said
"I am General Styrodo. I command the 41st Spear Infantry. Just call us the 41st Spears. My plan is to concentrate on the largest bases first, cutting the lines between the smaller ones and the forces already spread out on the field of battle. It is my wish to see those bases destroyed or captured for our use. If possible, we will use the assistance of our ships in orbit and our forces in the skies to speed things up.
I have artillery also in the cities. This will allow us to advance more progressively. So here goes: I will go forward with my men to take the largest bases with the cover of artillery and the possible support of our forces in the skies."
He then nodded to his allies and added
"I'm with your plan but since this has been our fault, I will be willing to take the first blood. In this way, we take the casualties, you take the glory. I'm not in it for the glory but for securing Satembi anyway."
As he discussed with them, his 41st Spears were already on the move. More and more of his troops were moving out of the safe areas and into the field of battle. The allies could see their tanks escorting the infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers in. UWA space fighters and other aircraft also entered the skies, securing it for the forces below while self propelled heavy guns rolled in.
They could also see the UWA setting up their high powered artillery a few miles behind the main lines being set up by the UWA and the TDA. The General glanced at them and then returned his eyes to his allies and said with a great smile
"Welcome to the United Worlds of Alondra, Veneshia and Satembi, ladies and gentlemen. When do we get started?"
“Well, what are we waiting for let’s get it done and be home in time for dinner.” Kilian smirked as he walked off back to the dropship that was now unloading his own tank onto the ground.
“Hopefully we’ll meet again General good luck out there.” Burt said as his helmet closed off. He pushed a few buttons on his forearms holographic display and a dropship picked him up and carried him up to one of the sky ships above the city.
Burt and Killian were both impressed with the display of fire power and gumption of both General Stryodo and the UWA forces. After the generals explanation of the UWA plan they both agreed and alter the Alliance course of action to help support the UWA advance alongside their own. Kilian’s 4333rd armoured was broken down into their combat brigades with a brigade of armoured and mechanized tasked together on the frontline for the push into rebel controlled territory. With each group was a company of armoured artillery to provide heavy fire support, task along with them was also AA support in the form SPAAG companies following close behind under the protection of the armoured front. For air support they would have Alliance CAS and gunship support as well as high level bombers over the frontline the fly boys were contempt to let the UWA handle air superiority over the front line. Burt’s 1082nd Infantry would concentrate on actions behind enemy lines as well as reinforcing the front line where needed. He would use his airborne infantry divisions to drop from high altitudes into enemy concentrations behind the front to create encirclements and breakthroughs as well as cut off support to their frontline units. In the meantime the sky ships would unsheathe their mammoth artillery guns and rain hell down on enemy positions at the front in hopes to soften up the enemy before the Alliance and UWA forces arrived.
The UWA unleashed her fury on the rebels with the Spears of the General. She was so angry and she inspired fear in the enemy by making her men yell "Bayonets!" And actually mount them on their guns before attacking. The rebels held the line but broke when the Spears conducted a charge with their vehicles and forced the enemy to let them through out of fear and surprise.
In the sky, the UWA had ships and planes that were like sharks and eagles. Mighty beasts of prey, they swooped on the rebels mercilessly, bombing them with bioweapons or napalm upon their more exposed units.
“These people are mad, are you seeing this Burt?” Killian asked in pure shock
“Yep, these people are crazy alright, I’m gonna send some troops to help them out use this confusion to get a good break, I want you to send the 314th, 612th and 582nd armoured companies to push up in with those UWA guys. I got more CAS incoming too so get them to call it when needed.” Burt replied
“Alright, sending the orders now. Killian out.”
Alliance troops moved up to the front en masse to support the UWA advances, they would be relentless in their attacks as armoured formations, supported by artillery a plenty as well as CAS dropping ordinance on rebel strong points. From the sky as well came the airborne troopers hitting the ground behind enemy lines to create encirclements of the enemy troops.
With allied support, the UWA charge was relentless. Merciless. If they could not shoot their enemies down, they stabbed them or slashed their bodies open until they were sure they were dead or dying. Anyone who surrendered was quickly forced to the ground and dragged away from the battle while anyone who fled earned a round to the back of the head or stomach. The UWA continued until they forced the rebels to rout, some of the rebel forces abandoned by their comrades.
With the bulk of the rebel forces in full retreat back to their bases only a few hold outs remained, they were quickly cut off and surrounded by Alliance forces then bombarded by artillery and SSMs before the ground divisions moved in to secure the area. As these were being taken care of scouts and reconnaissance drones would commence an analysis the rebel bases for their capabilities.
The bases were all carefully hidden in the forests or within the hills and mountains of the world. However, they were small ones. While they were heavily defended, they were isolated from each other. Soon enough, the victory for the UWA and the Allies would come inevitably unless the rebels surrendered.
Being in hard to reach places it was decided that the bases instead of being captured would just be destroyed. The Various artillery platforms of the Alliance forces targeted and fired upon those smaller hidden rebel bases. With friendlies nowhere near the bases as of yet even the mammoth guns on the sky ship fleet were brought to bear. They aimed to level every square meter of these bases and any retreating forces from the bases would be eliminated by ground forces.
The UWA also did the same thing in their own ways. They first did it by sending out their planes, forcing them to bomb the bases with napalm and other bombs filled with biological and chemical agents. Afterwards, they made their own high powered artillery launch shells after shells filled with incendiaries, hoping to burn the fuckers out. And they did, forcing many armed and unarmed rebels to come out in an attempt to flee or surrender. The UWA did not give them any chances, sending their infantry in to kill every single one that had a weapon. If they didn't manage to do that, they sent in the mortars.
The General watched the slaughter take place without a blink of an eye before he faced his allies and said to them "Ever had a rebellion like this? This is probably like no other. What happens here changes our world forever."
“Well, we’ve started rebellions before then helped the rebels remove their oppressive government. We’ve had people dissatisfied with the government to the point they broke off and started their own government; they’re alright from what I’ve seen of them. But we’ve never come in on a government’s behalf to take down a rebellion this is all new territory for us.” Killian responded to the General
With the smaller rebel bases destroyed The Alliance kept the pressure up and continued their long range strikes against the rebel bases, they wouldn’t waste lives trying to take something that could be rebuilt after the fighting was done.
The General nodded and said "Yes. Indeed. But perhaps not on such a bloody scale like this. They will give up soon. You'll know it." He then ordered his forces to stop pummeling the rebels. They obeyed but the infantry were instructed to remain and to, if anyone tried to escape, shoot them dead.
The General then started to get on board a tank and told his allies "I will be going personally to speak with the rebels now. Will you cover me?"
Lucas Parker: “Yep, we’ve got you covered from the air and ground General, I’ll stop the bombardment for now but if things go south we’ll just level the place.” Burt said over comms from a dropship at high altitude
The bombardment ceased as was ordered Alliance forces took this lull in fighting to reorganise, rearm and evacuate the many wounded as there always was in ground warfare.
The rebels came out. They were all so battered. Many injured and many dying. A rebel dressed in a stolen uniform approached the approaching general. He was waving a white flag as the tank stopped in front of the rebel. The General pulled out his pistol as he approached the rebel. Then he started to talk with the rebel for a few moments before raising his hand and firing into the air. He put his pistol away and gestured to his forces and his allies to start arresting the rebels.
“We’ll let your troops handle it General, we’re gonna conduct several sweeps of the destroyed bases and root out any and all holdouts in the region.” Burt told the General before giving the order to his troops
The Mobile infantry took things from here conducting recon sweeps of rebel positions, and looking for any signs of holdouts that hadn’t received the surrender order or chose to ignore it.
At the end of it all, it cost no more than a few more weeks for the UWA to pacify the planet. Once the rebels surrendered formally and most of them were arrested or pardoned, things quickly went back to normal. However this time the police had more power and watched the people of Satembi as the General and the Admiral went together to see to their allies.
Burt was walking to a dropship, the last dropship to leave the planet now that the occupation period for the Alliance forces were over they were headed home. Waiting on the door for him was Killian smoking one last cigarette before they departed.
“Well that was pretty clean cut all and all got the final casualty figures on a tablet inside. Essentially piss all from the total number of troops we brought down with us… still a lot of boys and girls going home in a box though.” Killian said between drags.
“Well this is war, we’re used to it after all. Press are gonna be all over this like a fly on shit though, this is about the only good thing to happen for us so far in this galaxy. Anyways let’s get out of here, I got a hot date tonight and I don’t want to be late.” Burt replied
“Yeah, righto” Killian threw his cigarette butt on the ground and took his seat next to Burt.
The two left the planet and docked back into the troopship where a gaggle of various reporters when the doors opened. They stood around and answered as many questions as they were authorized too, while the ship left Satembi orbit and wormholed out of the system and back into Alliance space. Everyone involved felt a sense of accomplishment with the success of the mission.
The Seleucia was a vessel intended for meetings and all kinds of things related to that. Lightly armed and fully crewed, it was an ingredient for a great war if this was destroyed by any party. For now though, the UWA would secure it. The warships sent to accompany it were the carriers The Harrow and Yarra, which were relatively new while their own escorts were the frigates Memory, Centipede, Aries and Sonne.
Under the command of Admiral Tintafasut Nasrallah
...this fleet would watch over the Seleucia until their new ally arrived.
As per their agreement the Alliance sent a small diplomatic ship containing a delegation of diplomats, at the head of the delegation was Sub-Director Alexis Chambers. The small ship entered from the systems edge and made its way to the Seleucia.
“Think it will be over quick or will it be another month long sit down.” Diplomat Louis Vance asked Alexis
“I’m not sure these people seem to have quite the disparity in what they believe to be right for their nation.” She answered back but Louis only returned a look of disbelief
“Yeah we could be here forever.” She said back and laughed alongside Louis
“Coming up to the ship now ma’am.” The ships pilot announced over the intercom
The ship then began docking procedures with the Seleucia where the diplomatic team would disembark and begin their efforts to mediate the situation.
The ship allowed them to dock and to disembark. Aboard the ship, there were numerous guards. The UWA troops wore brown uniforms and silver power armor that complemented the unique combat masks they wore to protect their identities and to shield them from contaminants. A pair of guards, one female, one male was waiting for them.
Upon Disembarking their ship Alexis and the delegation approached the two guards awaiting them.
“Sub-Director Alexis Chambers Alliance Ancerious Department, we’ve come unarmed and without guards as to not send the wrong message for today. With me I have four other two diplomats and two aides.” She said politely
The two guards saluted them well before the female guard told them in a voice that clearly informed them that she probably lost her vocal cords and instead was fitted with artificial ones.
"Very well. I am your escort. I will be assigned to you until you are safely away from the ship. My fellow guards will take care of you. Do you have anything you need for me to do before we proceed?"
“Nothing that I think of we’re ready to start immediately.” Alexis replied chirpily
The female guard looked at them for a bit then said nothing as she turned around sharply and started to walk towards the chamber where they would meet with the UWA officials and the officials sent by the Satembi.
Upon entering the chamber at the meeting place Alexis and the delegation stopped just past the door.
“Greetings I’m Sub-director Alexis Chambers Alliance Ancerious department. With me I have diplomats Louis Vance, Sally Wendellson and assisting us today is Harry Takem and Steve Pallor. We’re here as requesting to mediate between the two parties in dispute.” Alexis announced to the room.
A woman and a man who had darker skin color than the other stood to face them. The woman smiled while the man frowned. She said "I'm Bilehelde Halkett. This man is-"
"I am Amadayo. I represent the sovereign world of Satembi."
The woman tried not to break her smile. She sat down and so did the man. The woman then said to them
"I represent the UWA on this matter. For now, I have my aide, her name is Ernestène de Saussay"
A young lady standing behind the woman smiled at them and bowed.
"And the diplomat speaking on behalf of the UWA with me is Bonne de Lorraine. The representatives of Satembi are Keyse and Xidig."
Alexis and the Alliance delegation sat down at the table with the others. It was clear that this was a tense situation and that they needed to tread very carefully.
“Well then let’s get started.” Alexis chirped
“Now, what we are aiming for right now is permanent ceasefire between all involved and put a stop to the fighting. Firstly though we need to examine the key disputes between the two parties and try to compromise and then hopefully aim to get everyone what they want. Am I making sense so far?” Alexis changed to a more serious tone when she spoke.
All nodded. However Amadayo said
"We also want them to withdraw ALL of their troops first."
"But that means leaving behind our citizens who reside on---"
"I care not for them but for my people, woman!"
And at the point, there was a violent silence between the UWA and Satembi.
“See this kind of attitude is going to lead nowhere, we need to keep calm and talk things out like the civilised people we are. I understand that everyone cares about their people on the surface and to show that you care we need to end this non-violently. Now what is everyone willing to do right now to end the fighting?” Alexis said sternly
The two parties murmured among themselves. But as they did, Amadayo and the woman nodded to Alexis and agreed to discuss. They set their terms.
The UWA did not want to withdraw because they fear for the lives of those who want to stay and for those still loyal to the UWA. The Satembi rebels want everyone out, especially the military. But the UWA did not want to abandon their basses here. The rebels then said that they want the bases.
“Well we’re at a bit of a difficult spot then aren’t we? Tell me what does Satembi plan to do with its sovereignty?” Alexis asked curiously
"We want ourselves to rule this planet on our own. Without them."
"Without us, you would not have gained much from---"
"Shut up! You are all running out of time anyway!"
And that startled the UWA officials and the guards nearby.
That caused the UWA official to say
"What do you mean?"
The Alliance delegation remained calm as the guards and UWA guards were startled, it wasn’t the first time talks had gotten hostile for Alexis and it probably wasn’t going to be the last.
“Look we can sit around here all day listening to threats and demands but at the end of the day it amounts to nothing and people on both sides will continue to suffer. So let’s just all calm down and get our heads into the game.” Alexis said calm yet firm to all parties in the room.
The UWA official was about to speak when suddenly a guard entered the room and said to them quite worriedly
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a problem. There's been an incident. I have been instructed to take you all out of this room and into the emergency shuttles right now. The rebels hav-"
And then the ship was struck a few times from an approaching Satembi rebel controlled space fighter, causing the ship to rock as the fleet around the ship moved to engage the incoming Satembi ships while on the planet, a battle was being waged over planetary defenses.
After recoiling from the hit taken by the ship, Alexis wasted no time making sure the members of the delegation were alright.
“Come on, let’s get out of here now. Move.” Alexis shouted at everyone. The alliance delegation was quick to follow the guard who entered the room.
However things went to hell when the Satembi officials tried to block them from going out. Others even started to fight the UWA officials while the guards tried to take control of the situation and to protect their own officials as a space battle began and the planet was thrown into chaos.
The ship kept rocking violently as a few missiles hit it.
Eventually the ship was destroyed by a pair of space fighters launching all of their missiles at it before spraying it down with their guns. They flew off as the hopes, all the hopes of peace between the rebels and the government went down with it.
Now it was war.
---------------------------------------
Two weeks after the disaster involving the diplomats of a foreign party and their own, the UWA declared war on the Satembi rebels. They had mobilized in that time and were waiting for their ally and their own forces to be completely ready.
It was a cloudy day in New Gatlinburg for the state funeral of everyone that dies during the failed peace talks. The media had called it the ‘Satembi Slaughter’, Six Alliance citizens snuffed out of existence by a rebel group that they had hoped could be talked down. It had only been two days since the incident and already people in Ancerious and back home were fuelled with rage. The matter would be taken to congress later in the week and a course of action would be decided on until Director Albert Tyldum could do nothing but mourn for his lost comrades. He sat there and watched the ceremony before he went up to speak, he spoke humbly about the deceased one of them the former Sub-Director was a personal friend of his since their time in the navy some years ago. It was a loss that hit him hard seeing a friend who believed in his peaceful ideals as much as he did be killed. After the ceremony finished Albert went back to his office for a nip of whiskey, he needed one today of all days; however upon getting to his office he was informed by his secretary that the President was waiting for him on vid call. He walked into his office putting on a fake impression for the President.
“President Johnson, a surprise to be hearing from...” Albert said before being cut off
“Let’s cut the small talk Al, this talk has been a long time coming. Sit down this could take a while.” Johnson barked he waited for Al to be seated
“I still have high hopes for what your department can do Al I won’t lie but this is a set back and a big one with someone high profile being killed. So this is me telling you as a friend that you’re on your last legs, it’s obvious that these peaceful ideals you hold dear have amounted to nothing but lives being lost for absolutely nothing. Personally I would of transferred you out after the whole Davian thing but laws are laws and I can’t break them so when the elections for your department come around don’t expect to be staying in that nice new office of yours. Anyways apart from that my condolences for today and I’m truly sorry about Alexis. Anyways I’ll talk to you later in the week with some good news hopefully.” Johnson was mad as hell and his tone of voice carried that well.
Albert was left to sit there in his office alone again when the call ended. He could hear the first few spatters of rain hitting his window before it started bucketing down over the city. Johnson remained true to his word and later on in the week he had news that the war vote was going ahead and a day later when the results were announced no one was surprised that the vast majority agreed with a declaration of war against the Satembi Rebels. The Military forces began mobilisation as soon as the results were announced, very soon the rebels would pay for what they had done.
It had been sometime since the Vestahl battle, but finally after months of rehabilitation and therapy General Burt “Birdman” Hashmon was back in the saddle. He was being assigned to the campaign against the rebels for his previous efforts. It was also the day he would get to see his army again after such a long time. He turned up in his staff car at the barracks on New Tetrarch where the reformed divisions that were lost on Vestahl were stationed. He exited the car and was met by his subordinate Brigadier Michelle “Roll em in” Moranis who was there with to aid in the inspection.
“Good to see you back and walking around again sir.” She said cheerfully
“And it’s good to be back, now where are the new lot tough bastards they sent? I’m keen to see the reinforcements.” Burt said as he rubbed his hands together
“Well… you gonna see for yourself on a bit sir.” Michelle replied scratching the back of her head
The two walked over the Parade ground where a large contingent of troops were selected to participate in the inspection, they were there in their general purpose uniforms standing at attention then back at ease when the General walked over. To Burt’s surprise he wasn’t reinforced with troops from other armies they were all green recruits fresh out of boot. He took Michelle over to the side where they could talk in private.
“Who are all these kids?” Burt said confused
“Replacements sir, majority of them are fresh out of boot.” Michelle responded
He gave them a look over from where they were standing there was barely anyone over the age of twenty five. Burt wasn’t an old man himself being in his mid-thirties but seeing all these kids made him feel like one. He left barracks feeling a lot less happy then when he went there, his next stop was central command where he would meet with the other commander of the campaign. The meeting was on the Raxus Twelve Station in orbit of the planet. The wardroom was bustling with activity when he arrived it seemed that he was a little behind schedule.
“Good for you to join us Burt.” Grand Fleet Admiral Terrance Chesterton rebuked with a sarcastic tone.
“Now that everyone is here we can over the plan.” He said motioning his hand to floor which changed to a system layout where Satembi was.
“Now the enemy has fleet capability now so we’re gonna secure the system first then bring in the troop ships to land the second wave. Commanding Officer for fleet operations will be Admiral Sara Switch with CSG One and Admiral Dorothy Delegard with DSG One. Handling the ground operation will be General Burt Hashmon with the 1082nd Mobile Infantry Army with second wave being General Killian Saxon of the 4333rd Armoured Army. Gentlemen ground operations will be at your discretion once a suitable Forward Operations Base is established which is what you’ll be handling Burt. Any questions?” Terrance spoke clear and concise
“Yes sir, what policy are we taking on prisoners?” Killian spoke up
“Imperial prisoner policy, anyone else? No good the rest of the detail are in the Intel packet to view at your discretion. Dismissed” Everyone saluted Him as he walked out the room.
Everyone else left the wardroom to go and prepare their strike groups and armies for the upcoming assault. When Burt left he paid careful attention to where Sara was going and got in front of her at in in one of the hallways. He grabbed when she walked past and pulled her to the side where no one could see them.
“What’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?” Burt said softly
“Well I was going to get ready for an assault but now that you’re here…” Sara said leaning in towards Burt
“I’m going to prepare for an assault.” She whispered before giving Burt a quick kiss and pulling herself away and walked off.
“Hate to see you go… but love to watch you leave.” Burt said as she walked off down the hallway.
Now it had been two weeks to the day since the ‘Satembi Slaughter’ and the Alliance was ready and rearing to go the combined forces of two strike Groups had assembled as well as two full armies. The hour was nigh and the jump preparations were complete. The fleet spooled up their wormhole drives and each ship opened up a gateway to the edge of the system where Satembi sat.
The cities of Satembi were named after local heroes of the planet. They were Chenzira, Hamadi, Abiola and New Ishaq. They were fortunately in the control of the UWA and many of the inhabitants of Satembi remained loyal to the UWA. But most of them were just civilians. The rest were already soldiers of Alondra and Veneshia and Satembi. Along with the soldiers already sent there from other worlds to take care of things, they were outnumbered by the rebels. They had captured many towns outside of these cities and have overrun planetary defenses in the rural areas, threatening any ship that comes close to the world if they were not under rebel control. The urban areas have been garrisoned and heavily fortified but the plagues of any and all sieges was beginning to fall upon the defenders.
With the rebels also having stolen equipment, although, little, this was enough for concern.
Along with their ally, the UWA sent out Admiral Stonecutter, a human woman who had experience with putting down rebellions in the past. Her partner on the ground was General Styrodo.
For now, Admiral Stonecutter and her fleet, the Sea of Adalgar, were already out there, making their way towards Satembi, going slowly in order to give time for their ally to catch up. As they did, the Admiral was looking over a digital list of ships that she had under her command. These were the Paloma, Josefina, Pilar, Antonia, Adoncia, Ezperanza de Segovia, Eldora, Rosalind de Anania, Eveline, Brunile, Belladyrrya, Elvira Mastersly, Anabeth, Genevelle, Estevie, Mariette, Iraldine, Loulou, Nanette, Ervyla, Galsa, Hlevala, Rathyne, Tereri, Taluri and Gilberto. They were all new ships. All of them were destroyers. They were accompanying a pair of Battle Cruisers, the Rawiya and the Umar.
Following them also were the frigates Auror, Avarice, Celestial, Crimsonia, Georgiania, Josephina, Livinia, Manisha as well as the Battleship Clementina. All these ships made up 37. There were supposed to be 50 and so the rest of the force was made up of the escorts to the carrier Alida.
For now, Admiral Stonecutter attempted to make contact with the TDA.
Once in system the Alliance fleet was greeted by that of the UWA their de facto allies in this campaign. Although some animosity was held against them for failing to properly protect the meeting spot it wouldn’t effect relations or the conduct of the Alliance personnel during the campaign as the situation wasn’t one that was to be expected.
“UWA Fleet this is Admiral Switch Alliance Navy, I’m transmitting codes so we have access to instant communications and shared tactical data.” Sara responded to the UWA hail.
“Alright staff meeting, comms bring em up.” Around the central command console of the CIC appeared Admiral Delegard as well as the captains of the fleets’ capital ships, smaller ships captains were only put on voice however as having that many holograms would clutter up the CIC.
“Well, here we are at another wonderful destination. Now we are aware of the anti-orbital defences they have planetside so we’re staying far away from their ranges and we know these rebels aren’t dumb enough to leave their safety. So this will be a largely carrier based attack plan, as a result I’ve put the request in for twenty void groups of bombers and their escorts. While they get to work we’ll provide long range fire well out of range to keep the distracted. We’ll keep the fighters covered with a massive opening salvo so they hopefully won’t be able to what’s what. After that we keep firing until the magazines run out, any questions?”
“Ma’am what about re-arming? Won’t they be easily detected flying back?” one of the carrier captains spoke up
“True, but we’ll send them in waves of twenty void groups so while one wave attacks another is coming back, another is re-arming and they’ll keep cycling like that.” Sara responded
“Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll alert the UWA of our plan. Don’t launch fighters till the ordinance is ready and locked we’ll go on my order. Dismissed” almost all at once the holograms of the captains disappeared.
“Ma’am message from HQ bomber mission has been authorised and are being scrambled now.” A comms officer yelled out
“Good, MPDSA get an active scan of the system I want to see exactly what we’re dealing with and how much and get interdiction raised” Sara shouted back
The fleet spread itself out and made ready for its attack however it didn’t advance towards Satembi yet, as they waited for the UWA forces response and plan of attack.
Admiral Stonecutter and the officers of her fleet listened to their allies. However, they had some plans as well. They wanted to get in the planet as quickly as possible while other ships provided covering fire. On the other hand, they also would commit their carriers to this plan. But they wished for their carriers to focus on destroying the anti orbital defenses. For their ships were more armored and designed better for assaults on planets rather than space combat. Admiral Stonecutter spoke to her allies
"Stonecutter here. I wish to say something. I am transmitting the tactical data for the plans we have made on our part. My plan is to pit our greatest ships into assaulting the planet. Our ships can take anti orbital firepower best as we make our way in. Our carriers however will assist you as our ships do this. Our weapons can also provided bombardment necessary to overcome the rebels on the planet. What say you?"
“We acknowledge your plan Stonecutter, we’ll keep you covered as you advance. Now let’s get this show on the road shall we.” Sara replied to Stonecutter enthusiastically
The Alliance fleet moved forward accelerating towards Satembi, the rebel fleet of one hundred eighty ships came up clear as day on MPDSA as well as the system lay out which included two more planets both inhabited. The Alliance fleet moved to a comfortable three AU away from the rebel fleet it was here that they would begin their assault. Although at this range the rebel fleet would be able to manoeuvre around munitions fired at them with ease, this was the main idea to break their formation and cause disorganisation within their fleet.
“Get first wave launched and get all guns firing, we’ve got a battle to win.” Sara cried out to her CIC crew
Carefully picking their targets and trajectories the Alliance fleet opened fire with a ferocious opening bombardment, Railguns, missiles, torpedoes, lasers of different varieties as well the fighters that launched at the same time hoping to give them the appearance of munitions all headed towards the rebel fleet above Satembi.
The rebel fleet was stupid. While some of their ships, the important ones, moved away from the fire, the rest didn't and paid the price, not being able to raise their shields in time and not also being able to engage the enemy in time. But soon enough, they realized what was happening as they returned fire, using their railguns, missiles and torpedoes to shoot at the Alliance fleet while the UWA fleet was maneuvering their assault ships while their carriers deployed their fighters, rushing out around the flanks of the enemy to distract them as the assault ships Dove and then rose towards the planet, shooting their heavy weapons at the surface while they also deployed their torpedoes against ships in the way.
“Seems they don’t what they’re doing ma’am confirming multiple hits on the enemy fleet.” One of the MPDSA operators chirped
“Good keep it up and give the fighters the attack order and get the second wave out.” Sara commanded in reply
The Alliance pilots made contact with the rebel although dozens were shot down rapidly they didn’t let that phase them they let loose their nuclear payloads on the rebel fleet targeting the larger ships first such as battleships and cruisers. Although the two nukes from a single fighter couldn’t do much damage on by themselves the sheer number of them from the amount of fighters enemy ships were defeated with ‘bug bites’. The return fire that the rebels sent the Alliances way was relatively dismissed with an inferior number of ships and plenty of warning time the only hits scored were against the shielding of a few misplaced frigates.
The rebels caught sight of the UWA however. Quickly, their fleet split into two parts. One part went all out against the Alliance while another assaulted the assaulting UWA, pummeling most of the ships moving into the planet. This caused a lot of damage as many ships carrying the troops were damaged enough to stop moving or were destroyed catastrophically, with many men and women floating around in space, dead, with or without limbs.
The flagship of the Admiral herself was caught dead in space as most of her fleet survived but not without some sort of damage as they entered the atmosphere, eliminating nearby planetary defenses as Stonecutter said
"This is Admiral Stonecutter. We are taking losses. We could use some help. We ar-"
The transmission itself was cut as her ship took a few more missiles to its body, causing it to shake.
“UWA Fleet taking heavy losses and we have more incoming fire.” one of the MPDSA operators shouted out
“Does the enemy have interdiction up?” Sara rebuked
“Negative ma’am none detected.” The operator responded
“Alright drop interdiction and active wormhole shielding get that ordinance turned around on the rebel fleet. Fire control get torpedoes prepped for gate use, put the nukes inside the enemy ships as best you can. Comms get our bombers in give them coordinates for the fleet wormhole them in right on top of their position.”
Back in Alliance space the fleet of bombers called upon came out of their launch bays and took formation to wormhole into the system they only needed to wait for spooling up to be completed. Outside of the new orders the Alliance attack stayed consistent the second wave of fighters was on approach and the first wave was on its way back to the carriers to repair and re-arm. The incoming rebel ordinance was intercepted by the wormhole shielding, it went through the entrance and exited out into the enemy formation specifically that of the rebel group that intercepted the UWA fleet while the Alliance focused fire on the group that remained use wormholes again to the launch their sustained nuclear missiles inside of the rebel ships, they aimed for all critical areas of the ships such as CICs, reactors and magazines. Any ordinance that got through the wormhole shielding was merely absorbed into the shields or dodged given the great distance between the two fleets.
At this point, the rebel ships and their crews were getting hit as hard as they could be. They were confused and they no longer could understand what was going on as some tried to flee the system while others attempted to return to the planet. Most ships of the rebel fleet stopped firing while only those ships that seemed to be competently controlled continued to engage the enemy, sometimes going full speed towards them in an effort to concentrate their fire on the enemy and also to make the enemy distracted.
As for the UWA, the assistance of the Alliance allowed them to get more ships into the planet, the first messages from the ground forces being landed on the surface being
"This is General Styrodo! Thanks for the assist! We're getting our first Naval Infantry reinforcements! We can still use some more troops but I will do what I can to get the defenses of this planet disabled."
The transmission was then cut as the UWA fleet kept entering the planet, the Admiral finally regaining comms with the Alliance. The Admiral said
"Ah. Thank you. I'm sorry. But right now, we can finally push into the planet. We'll take it from here! We'll let you command our carriers in order to finish the rebel fleet!"
“Confirmed enemy ship destruction ma’am we got ships retreating, firing back and others sitting there menacingly” a MPDSA operator called out
“Bring the bombers in, right on top of the enemy still around the planet, get more ordinance on those ships firing back and redirect their fire to the ships retreating the system. Tell the fly boys, to do a sweep for survivors from destroyed enemy ships, no quarter, no prisoners.” Sara gave the orders with a serious tone.
A large wormhole opened up above the remaining enemy ships around the planet, and like a bat out of hell descended a TDA Bomber fleet and their escorting fighters, twenty void groups in total locked targets and fired their payloads. The enemy fleet would find itself with thousands of Graviton torpedoes incoming on its position. Meanwhile the ships firing and advancing had no affect still since the wormhole shielding was still active, their munitions would only impact their own ships that were trying to leave the system, while the ships firing quickly found another wave of nukes worm holed into their ships. The Fleet maintained its stance overall however carrying out its original plan with the second wave of fighters engaged with their own payload.
In time, the rebels broke. They all now turned for Satembi and tried to flee but unfortunately, they were intercepted by UWA space fighters and frigates, who turned all that came their way into junk and blood. Meanwhile, the UWA kept on invading the planet, their ground forces rushing in to protect the cities while the rest advanced against the rebels, the surface being a witness to dozens of tanks and other vehicles rushing out to lead the infantry as they started to roll over the rebels who were assaulting them.
For now, the UWA was winning along side their ally. In space and in the surface, the UWA was increasingly brutal, finishing off ships that were dying off while on the surface, any one who surrendered in the heat of battle was shot. The UWA now called to their allies to join them on the surface!
It was apparent that the defeat of the rebel fleet was absolute; any survivors fled to the planet, yet another object for the alliance force to take. The fleet would position itself in high orbit over the planet and continue its use of worm hole shielding to protect itself from any anti-orbital fire. After a small celebration amongst the fleet and congratulations all round everyone turned their focus to what was next: Planet fall.
Burt walked in to the drop pod bay and was again greeted with young faces, as well as a few of the survivors from the Vestahl massacre in his personal unit. To the fresh faced transfers he looked quite intimidating although cybernetics weren’t uncommon to see the amount that the general had was sign that he’d been to hell and back. A few of them got nervous as his piercing gaze from both his organic and cybernetic eye turned their way.
The Plan Burt had drawn up was simple they would concentrate their efforts on taking out the rebel controlled bases, he would land in the closest city and get the FOB established then General Killian Saxon would arrive with his Armoured army and lead the way while Burt would what he does best and attack from behind enemy lines. Burt walked into the drop pod launch bay where some of his men were waiting; they were already locked in tight and waiting for the door to close. He was met with more nervous glares as he walked down to his pod. It was another few minutes before the carriers were in position over the drop zone. The whirring of launch mechanisms was the last thing anyone heard before they were dropped, after that it was the silence of space as they descended down towards the planet, and then the rush of air against the drop pods as they carved their way through the planet’s atmosphere. After that they simply went through the motions as the drop pods broke apart and came to a gentle landing in one of the cities that was closest to the rebel bases. Several companies of Troopers rushed to the defence of the city while the majority awaited for the sky ship drop.
“Brace yourselves boys and girls we’re coming in.” The CAG of the sky ship group alerted everyone.
Several sonic booms ripped through the air above the city, it was a sight common to the Alliance troopers but it still impressed them every time watching the superheated hulls of the ship illuminate the sky and the engines cutting in to slow descent just above the city. The group of twenty sky ships would act as the FOB for the alliance ground forces as well provide extensive planet side support such as over the horizon artillery, local defence against SAMs, SSMs, aircraft as well housing its own air group of roughly two hundred planes each. Now the alliance Divisions on the ground needed to mount up in their transports and await on General Saxons arrival to the planet, his troop ship was already enroute and be in orbit shortly.
Orbital bombardment and ordinary air support was being given to the forces of both factions already on the ground against the rebels. As friendly ships helped the TDA and the UWA, it was now up to General Styrodo and their men to handle the ground war.
Styrodo fought wars personally among their troops. So for this one, he led his own division, the 41st Spear Infantry. When he felt that it was the right time, he sent his men out to secure more territory for their own forces as well as for the Alliance forces. They did well (hopefully) to establish a perimeter around the FOB.
The 41st Spear Infantry wore brown vests with armor that carried their ammunition and sidearm as well as other equipment. They carried light packs for their equipment on their back and their sand colored helmets protected their heads as much as their transparent visors of green or blue protected their faces.
They had small badges of spears on their chests and they were incredibly experienced on the planet of Satembi, used to its terrain and weather. It was hot and the winds were merciless.
For now, the 41st Spears kept it up, setting a defense around the establishing FOB as the General approached the Alliance forces accompanied by his own guards, who wore darker helmets and smaller badges.
Burt walked over to General Stryodo casually, when he was in front of the man the face of his helmet retracted back so he could without the voice scrambler. Through his comms he could pick up the entry of General Saxons troop ship entering orbit and beginning disembarkation protocols. Killian himself was one of the first tank squadrons to hit the ground inside of the city, a dropship landed him near Burt and Stryodo. The small man ran over to the two.
“Looks like I’m here just in time.” Killian said excitedly
“Yep, was about to explain our plan but I think we could afford to change it up a bit. I’ll show you what I had in mind.” Burt responded
“Anyways, I’m General Burt Hashmon Alliance 1082nd Mobile Infantry, and this is…” Burt gestured to Killian
“General Killian Saxon Alliance 4333rd armoured.” Killian chirped
“Now let me show you our plan real quick.” Burt said pressing a few button on his forearm which displayed a 3D holographic map of the battle space.
“Now our original plan involved the use of only a small portion of our forces to eliminate the rebel bases one at a time, as you can see here but since the threat doesn’t seem as bad we’re feeling a bit more adventurous.” Burt said looking over to Killian who raised an eyebrow
“Instead we team up two or so divisions together and attack on multiple bases simultaneously, hopefully this’ll create a larger breakthrough in the enemy lines plus we’ve brought enough support so that if the worse would happen we can saturate an area and re take the initiative.” Burt said confident that the plan would go off without a hitch
“That’s it in a nutshell then, should be good.” Killian replied
“So what’s your plan of attack? General… Sorry I didn’t catch your name.” Burt scratched the back head trying to remember if the man had told him his name already.
The General paid attention to the plans of his allies. Once they were done discussing what they would do, he stepped closer to them and said
"I am General Styrodo. I command the 41st Spear Infantry. Just call us the 41st Spears. My plan is to concentrate on the largest bases first, cutting the lines between the smaller ones and the forces already spread out on the field of battle. It is my wish to see those bases destroyed or captured for our use. If possible, we will use the assistance of our ships in orbit and our forces in the skies to speed things up.
I have artillery also in the cities. This will allow us to advance more progressively. So here goes: I will go forward with my men to take the largest bases with the cover of artillery and the possible support of our forces in the skies."
He then nodded to his allies and added
"I'm with your plan but since this has been our fault, I will be willing to take the first blood. In this way, we take the casualties, you take the glory. I'm not in it for the glory but for securing Satembi anyway."
As he discussed with them, his 41st Spears were already on the move. More and more of his troops were moving out of the safe areas and into the field of battle. The allies could see their tanks escorting the infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers in. UWA space fighters and other aircraft also entered the skies, securing it for the forces below while self propelled heavy guns rolled in.
They could also see the UWA setting up their high powered artillery a few miles behind the main lines being set up by the UWA and the TDA. The General glanced at them and then returned his eyes to his allies and said with a great smile
"Welcome to the United Worlds of Alondra, Veneshia and Satembi, ladies and gentlemen. When do we get started?"
“Well, what are we waiting for let’s get it done and be home in time for dinner.” Kilian smirked as he walked off back to the dropship that was now unloading his own tank onto the ground.
“Hopefully we’ll meet again General good luck out there.” Burt said as his helmet closed off. He pushed a few buttons on his forearms holographic display and a dropship picked him up and carried him up to one of the sky ships above the city.
Burt and Killian were both impressed with the display of fire power and gumption of both General Stryodo and the UWA forces. After the generals explanation of the UWA plan they both agreed and alter the Alliance course of action to help support the UWA advance alongside their own. Kilian’s 4333rd armoured was broken down into their combat brigades with a brigade of armoured and mechanized tasked together on the frontline for the push into rebel controlled territory. With each group was a company of armoured artillery to provide heavy fire support, task along with them was also AA support in the form SPAAG companies following close behind under the protection of the armoured front. For air support they would have Alliance CAS and gunship support as well as high level bombers over the frontline the fly boys were contempt to let the UWA handle air superiority over the front line. Burt’s 1082nd Infantry would concentrate on actions behind enemy lines as well as reinforcing the front line where needed. He would use his airborne infantry divisions to drop from high altitudes into enemy concentrations behind the front to create encirclements and breakthroughs as well as cut off support to their frontline units. In the meantime the sky ships would unsheathe their mammoth artillery guns and rain hell down on enemy positions at the front in hopes to soften up the enemy before the Alliance and UWA forces arrived.
The UWA unleashed her fury on the rebels with the Spears of the General. She was so angry and she inspired fear in the enemy by making her men yell "Bayonets!" And actually mount them on their guns before attacking. The rebels held the line but broke when the Spears conducted a charge with their vehicles and forced the enemy to let them through out of fear and surprise.
In the sky, the UWA had ships and planes that were like sharks and eagles. Mighty beasts of prey, they swooped on the rebels mercilessly, bombing them with bioweapons or napalm upon their more exposed units.
“These people are mad, are you seeing this Burt?” Killian asked in pure shock
“Yep, these people are crazy alright, I’m gonna send some troops to help them out use this confusion to get a good break, I want you to send the 314th, 612th and 582nd armoured companies to push up in with those UWA guys. I got more CAS incoming too so get them to call it when needed.” Burt replied
“Alright, sending the orders now. Killian out.”
Alliance troops moved up to the front en masse to support the UWA advances, they would be relentless in their attacks as armoured formations, supported by artillery a plenty as well as CAS dropping ordinance on rebel strong points. From the sky as well came the airborne troopers hitting the ground behind enemy lines to create encirclements of the enemy troops.
With allied support, the UWA charge was relentless. Merciless. If they could not shoot their enemies down, they stabbed them or slashed their bodies open until they were sure they were dead or dying. Anyone who surrendered was quickly forced to the ground and dragged away from the battle while anyone who fled earned a round to the back of the head or stomach. The UWA continued until they forced the rebels to rout, some of the rebel forces abandoned by their comrades.
With the bulk of the rebel forces in full retreat back to their bases only a few hold outs remained, they were quickly cut off and surrounded by Alliance forces then bombarded by artillery and SSMs before the ground divisions moved in to secure the area. As these were being taken care of scouts and reconnaissance drones would commence an analysis the rebel bases for their capabilities.
The bases were all carefully hidden in the forests or within the hills and mountains of the world. However, they were small ones. While they were heavily defended, they were isolated from each other. Soon enough, the victory for the UWA and the Allies would come inevitably unless the rebels surrendered.
Being in hard to reach places it was decided that the bases instead of being captured would just be destroyed. The Various artillery platforms of the Alliance forces targeted and fired upon those smaller hidden rebel bases. With friendlies nowhere near the bases as of yet even the mammoth guns on the sky ship fleet were brought to bear. They aimed to level every square meter of these bases and any retreating forces from the bases would be eliminated by ground forces.
The UWA also did the same thing in their own ways. They first did it by sending out their planes, forcing them to bomb the bases with napalm and other bombs filled with biological and chemical agents. Afterwards, they made their own high powered artillery launch shells after shells filled with incendiaries, hoping to burn the fuckers out. And they did, forcing many armed and unarmed rebels to come out in an attempt to flee or surrender. The UWA did not give them any chances, sending their infantry in to kill every single one that had a weapon. If they didn't manage to do that, they sent in the mortars.
The General watched the slaughter take place without a blink of an eye before he faced his allies and said to them "Ever had a rebellion like this? This is probably like no other. What happens here changes our world forever."
“Well, we’ve started rebellions before then helped the rebels remove their oppressive government. We’ve had people dissatisfied with the government to the point they broke off and started their own government; they’re alright from what I’ve seen of them. But we’ve never come in on a government’s behalf to take down a rebellion this is all new territory for us.” Killian responded to the General
With the smaller rebel bases destroyed The Alliance kept the pressure up and continued their long range strikes against the rebel bases, they wouldn’t waste lives trying to take something that could be rebuilt after the fighting was done.
The General nodded and said "Yes. Indeed. But perhaps not on such a bloody scale like this. They will give up soon. You'll know it." He then ordered his forces to stop pummeling the rebels. They obeyed but the infantry were instructed to remain and to, if anyone tried to escape, shoot them dead.
The General then started to get on board a tank and told his allies "I will be going personally to speak with the rebels now. Will you cover me?"
Lucas Parker: “Yep, we’ve got you covered from the air and ground General, I’ll stop the bombardment for now but if things go south we’ll just level the place.” Burt said over comms from a dropship at high altitude
The bombardment ceased as was ordered Alliance forces took this lull in fighting to reorganise, rearm and evacuate the many wounded as there always was in ground warfare.
The rebels came out. They were all so battered. Many injured and many dying. A rebel dressed in a stolen uniform approached the approaching general. He was waving a white flag as the tank stopped in front of the rebel. The General pulled out his pistol as he approached the rebel. Then he started to talk with the rebel for a few moments before raising his hand and firing into the air. He put his pistol away and gestured to his forces and his allies to start arresting the rebels.
“We’ll let your troops handle it General, we’re gonna conduct several sweeps of the destroyed bases and root out any and all holdouts in the region.” Burt told the General before giving the order to his troops
The Mobile infantry took things from here conducting recon sweeps of rebel positions, and looking for any signs of holdouts that hadn’t received the surrender order or chose to ignore it.
At the end of it all, it cost no more than a few more weeks for the UWA to pacify the planet. Once the rebels surrendered formally and most of them were arrested or pardoned, things quickly went back to normal. However this time the police had more power and watched the people of Satembi as the General and the Admiral went together to see to their allies.
Burt was walking to a dropship, the last dropship to leave the planet now that the occupation period for the Alliance forces were over they were headed home. Waiting on the door for him was Killian smoking one last cigarette before they departed.
“Well that was pretty clean cut all and all got the final casualty figures on a tablet inside. Essentially piss all from the total number of troops we brought down with us… still a lot of boys and girls going home in a box though.” Killian said between drags.
“Well this is war, we’re used to it after all. Press are gonna be all over this like a fly on shit though, this is about the only good thing to happen for us so far in this galaxy. Anyways let’s get out of here, I got a hot date tonight and I don’t want to be late.” Burt replied
“Yeah, righto” Killian threw his cigarette butt on the ground and took his seat next to Burt.
The two left the planet and docked back into the troopship where a gaggle of various reporters when the doors opened. They stood around and answered as many questions as they were authorized too, while the ship left Satembi orbit and wormholed out of the system and back into Alliance space. Everyone involved felt a sense of accomplishment with the success of the mission.