Ten years, two months, and seven days after the Battle of Yavin...
Or the forty-fifth year, second month, and seventh day after the Great Resynchronization.
(Eight months and twenty-seventh day since the Arrival.)
The dreadnought Rottaran entered the Doli star system accompanied by a dozen Corellian corvettes.
The enormous ship, whose ancestor was built by Mandalorian shipwrights, was nearly indistinguishable against the starry sky.
Painted black from bow to stern, it betrayed its presence visually only through the glow of its engine exhaust.
Exactly until its turbolasers came to life, filling the darkness of Doli's night side with snow-white-blue turbolaser bolts.
An instant later, the escort corvettes' guns joined in.
Controlled chaos reigned on the Rottaran's bridge.
Dozens of Mandalorians talked over each other, each claiming that their matter was of paramount importance.
Despite their warlike past, the people of Kal Adorn were participating in a full-scale space military operation against a strong opponent for the first time.
At the center of this primordial chaos, with the air of a creator (if a Mandalorian could be a creator), sat Hedge Spar, studying the tactical holographic diagram helpfully drawn by the central onboard computer.
Two Kaloth-class battlecruisers, identified as starships allied with the rebel aristocrats, had just joined the fight.
The Rottaran's gunners had already fired on the new enemy with turbolasers.
The port deflector shields of the first battlecruiser couldn't withstand the furious assault, forcing the crew to turn the ship.
But the corvets joined in, flooding it with laser fire.
Watching the Kaloth try to dodge all enemies at once was both pleasant and amusing.
Mandalorian "Nimbuses" had already sniffed out the shield damage and, like a swarm of hungry biters, swarmed the agonizing enemy ship.
The Rottaran tore into the second battlecruiser, leaving it not the slightest chance of survival.
The joy of the unfolding battle was marred by the orbital platform "Fire Star" off the port bow.
It ignored the large ships locked in combat, picking only small fry and mercilessly destroying them.
The fighters, after suffering their first losses, no longer risked approaching it, as the "Star's" gunners handled turbolasers and launchers quite well, allowing the gunners to fire one proton torpedo after another.
Squadrons of D'Astan sector fighters rose from Doli's surface and, under the station's cover, joined the battle.
Fast and nimble thanks to three engines, they still had weaknesses in armament and defense.
One heavy and one light laser cannon, no deflectors — that's not an arsenal to show off against Dominion-upgraded Alpha-III Nimbus-class fighters.
The Mandalorian machines, though not the newest, were still murderously powerful.
A D'Astan fighter.
After the first Kaloth was disabled, breaking apart, the attackers' light forces improved significantly.
"Notify Nez Peron of the composition of the defending forces," Hedge ordered the comms officer, shouting over the mild commotion on the bridge. "The General needs to know we were met differently than intelligence expected."
The subordinate answered affirmatively and got to work.
"Almost boring, even," came a voice from a Devaronian who had appeared next the command chair.
Hedge glanced at the leader of the Baroness's special forces group.
The Devaronian was outwardly calm, clad in heavy armor, and clearly wouldn't mind gutting a few enemies.
"It was expected there'd be more of them here," Spar declared. "Just two Kaloths and one 'Fire Star' is kind of..."
"Disappointing?" Mortok clarified.
The Mandalorian nodded affirmatively.
"The General sent a whole squadron and landing force here, but in the end, one Rottaran could have handled it," lamented the man from Kal Adorn.
"That's true," the Devaronian agreed. "Your dreadnought is powerful and well-armed. I've seen ones like it before."
Hedge remained silent.
"From the Zann Consortium," the Devaronian continued. "Though, they say those could drain energy from other ships' shields. And their main caliber was a large-bore mass driver."
"My Rottaran is better," the Mandalorian cut him off. "All those unnecessary gadgets were installed out of a lack of intelligence. You can't carry many dummies for a long battle, and the energy draining worked at short range. Too stupid a decision to put such equipment on a warship. To win, this ship only needs its standard armament."
"I don't recall Zann's gangs operating in our parts," the Devaronian continued.
"And what are you trying to say?" Hedge Spar inquired.
"Just curious where you got such a ship," Mortok shrugged. "It looks like a Keldabe, but it's heavily modified..."
"We got it from the Dominion in exchange for loyal service and the opportunity to participate in battles," Spar explained.
"Some exchange," the lieutenant yawned. "You can always find someplace to fight in the galaxy."
"Yes," the Mandalorian agreed. "But you can't always find a sturdy, well-armed, and beautifully constructed dreadnought, plus military equipment to get there."
"Depends on how you look for it," the Devaronian snorted, nodding his horned head toward the main viewport. "These guys managed to find themselves Kaloths and a 'Fire Star.'"
Mortok's correctness couldn't be denied.
The General had struck the enemy forward base in the Doli system precisely because there were only two battlecruisers and one defensive station there.
It was strange and suspicious.
Just two cruisers couldn't boast either firepower or the valor of their crews.
Ordinary average Tauntauns, nothing more.
According to intelligence, four more Kaloths were supposed to be assigned to the planet's defense.
In that quantity, these ships could have seriously complicated matters.
But they weren't there.
Perhaps the enemy was planning an ambush, but the full scope of his plan wasn't important.
Still, there was a high probability that the enemy had recalled half their battlecruisers to defend and attack on other fronts.
The General must have understood that.
Probably, it was part of some plan.
Or else the Mandalorian was thinking too highly of the Dominionites, assuming they could suddenly resolve the problems of a civil war that they had ignored for months, allowing the enemy to seize strategic initiative in several star systems.
Well, let those in charge worry about strategies.
The Mandalorians from Kal Adorn had a different task.
As long as there was an opportunity to deal with enemy units piecemeal, they shouldn't miss the chance.
Now, the Rottaran and the surviving eight Corellian corvets from the D'Astan Sector Fleet, on one side, and the "Fire Star" defensive station on the other, exchanged artillery fire and torpedoes — with equal unquenchable fury.
The deflector shields of the nimble corvetes were cracking at the seams — the gunners on the station were clearly not amateurs.
For a time, the corvetes that had approached the station held out, then their deflectors solemnly gave up the ghost.
There was no time or energy to restore them.
Now the ships were protected only by armored hull plating.
Which, on vessels of this class, was thinner than flimsi.
The comparison was rather weak, but it reflected the difference between the Rottaran's thick armor and its escort's.
"Tell the corvetes to get out of there!" Hedge ordered, looking at the wreck of both Kaloths. "Set course for the station. Prepare for bombardment and capture!"
The dreadnought approached its new victim.
The deflector field absorbed the damage dealt to the ship, gradually thinning.
The anti-aircraft laser artillery, working without fail, must have been driving the operators of the launch systems on the Fire Star insane: not a single proton torpedo ever reached its target.
The gunners aboard the Rottaran weren't going to let that go unanswered.
Whether through skilled targeting or blind luck, some of their shots hit the station's turbolaser batteries, others managed to silence torpedo tubes. Those that weren't so fortunate simply stripped the Fire Star, trying to get at its guts.
The station was clearly losing this battle.
It couldn't return fire against five opponents at once, but it was trying desperately.
As a result, this allowed the Rottaran to burn out dangerous firing points, shaping a clear picture of the events in the minds of the observers.
"So, I take it the station's hangar was left uncovered for a reason?" the Devaronian clarified.
"Why destroy a military station, even if it's not exactly new?" Hedge asked. "It could be useful to us."
"Can't argue with that," the horned one grinned. "If you don't mind, my boys would like to handle its capture."
"That's why you're on board my ship," Hedge snorted. "The station's capture is on your people. We'll just suppress the artillery to make it easier for the landing groups and shuttles."
"I'd almost forgotten how noble Mandalorian warriors can be," Mortok laughed good-naturedly, checking that his vibroblade slid easily from its sheath. "Then bring your ship closer to the station, and I'll head to the landing craft. Once we're on board, the fun begins."
"I have the same plan, but regarding the enemy base on the surface," the Mandalorian leader declared, clenching his right fist. "I love the smell of dead enemies in the morning."
"There's no arguing about gastronomic preferences," Mortok shrugged, heading out of the bridge.
* * *
At Spar's signal, the Rottaran turned its forward guns toward the planet, presenting its starboard side to the Fire Star.
The station, already stripped of its deflector, couldn't withstand the salvo — this strike effectively eliminated all its artillery along the attack front.
Even greater damage to its defensive capability was inflicted by the ion cannons of the Mandalorian dreadnought.
Bluish spiders of surface charges crawled across the mangled hull.
Entire sections went dark, turning into shadowed structures.
"It's done, Mortok," the Mandalorian commander's voice sounded in the headset. "You can proceed."
"Understood," the Devaronian replied, turning to face the fighters of his special squad standing in the landing bay. "Well then, 'Headhunters,' ready for a stroll?"
The unanimous roar of two dozen throats was the answer, coinciding with their gunship lifting off from the deck.
LAAT/i.
Low Altitude Assault Transport.
LATT/i.
Or, as soldiers of the Grand Army of the Republic called it during the Clone Wars — the "Latti."
This same name resurfaced and became firmly lodged in the minds of those who had "inherited" this equipment by the will of the Dominion.
In particular, the forces loyal to Baroness D'Asta made extensive use of weaponry and equipment from the Clone Wars era.
Of course, it had been heavily modernized by Dominion engineers, but in the case of the "Latti," these technical interventions weren't widespread. This was due to the quality of the original work, done long ago by the employees of Rothana Heavy Engineering, where these aircraft were created.
And the Dominion engineers who repaired this equipment — which somehow reappeared decades after being decommissioned — deserve credit too.
Throughout the Clone Wars and the subsequent civil war in the D'Astan sector, the sight of an LAAT over the battlefield became one of the most longed-for and cherished sights for soldiers.
Numerous LAATs provided fire support to ground troops, carried out bombing and strafing runs, conducted tactical reconnaissance, delivered reinforcements, supplies, and weapons, deployed commandos, and were often the last hope for soldiers trapped behind enemy lines.
With all hatches sealed, the gunship emerged from the Rottaran's hangar and rushed toward the invitingly open hangar bay of the Fire Star, its "wings" swaying barely noticeably.
The LAAT was a two-seat, high-wing aircraft with a spacious troop and cargo compartment.
The ship's wings weren't full aerodynamic surfaces, though they could generate additional lift through two small repulsors mounted on the wingtips.
With their help, the pilot controlled the aircraft's roll and pitch — quite unusual for a flying vehicle, requiring significant skill from its pilots.
Mortok had to work hard to find a "flyer" with the necessary qualifications for his special group.
Two beam cannons were mounted in the wings, and under each wing were four hardpoints for light air-to-air missiles. Inside the wing root were some air-to-ground missiles and a belt-fed automatic system for feeding missiles into the launchers.
The machine was powered by two powerful engines mounted in two nacelles.
The twin-engine configuration, with engines spaced far apart, increased the machine's reliability and survivability. If the enemy managed to disable one engine, the LAAT could reach its target on the remaining one, or even "parachute" down using only its repulsors.
But after such a "landing," which damaged or destroyed the repulsors covering the underside of the hull, the "Latti" required extensive repairs before it could fly again.
The Baroness's supporters learned this the hard way — unfortunately, although "flyers" who had previously fought on the Dominion's side as volunteers initially returned to the Baroness's army, not all of them had experience with this type of machine, and therefore couldn't pass on their knowledge to others.
Every detail on this machine was meticulously thought out.
If the enemy did manage to shoot down the loyalists' "workhorse," the crew had the option to eject using the escape system. The LAAT's cockpit was designed as a sealed armored capsule. During ejection, the capsule would detach and temporarily function as an analog of a spaceship's escape pod. Of course, pilots tried to find any clear space and make a forced landing if there were soldiers or wounded in the troop compartment.
Due to the limited number of such machines in the Baroness's army, they were kept safe from unnecessary crashes.
Everything changed with the arrival of the Mandalorians, Kavil's Corsairs, and the General, who took command of the D'Astan forces.
Along with them came — and continue to come — large volumes of military equipment and weapons desperately needed by the loyalists.
Not to mention the "volunteers" the numerous cutthroats of Captain Anilex, famous for their daring raids across the sector.
Spar's Mandalorians proved to be exactly the ground assault force needed in the sector to breach the enemy's layered defensive lines.
And sure, many fighters grumbled that the Dominion wasn't supplying the Baroness's troops with the latest equipment, but it was better to have Clone Wars-era tech on hand than none at all.
The soldiers of the rebel aristocratic forces also had aging armored vehicles — mostly from the Clone Wars era too.
Though theirs were built in factories belonging to the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
Some joked that the civil war in the D'Astan sector was merely a continuation of the Clone Wars.
And the loyalists would have paid dearly to see Phase II white-armored troopers appear on the battlefields.
After clearing the station's hangar bay with its enfilading laser cannons, the "Latti" broke through inside, gliding over the polished floor.
"Disembark!" the pilot's command rang out.
One of the side doors on the right, the side not facing the station defenders firing small arms, swung open.
The special forces poured out, using the rear drop ramp as well.
Theoretically, the LAAT could carry up to thirty armed soldiers in full combat gear.
In practice, the loyalists rarely packed more than one or two squads of nine to ten people inside, preferring to take more supplies and ammunition rather than cram into the troop compartment.
Reducing the number of troops allowed the infantry to bring heavy weapons, mortars, grenade launchers, and crew-served blasters.
It also increased the speed of disembarkation and, consequently, reduced the "Latti's" vulnerability, preventing the enemy from having a good chance to shoot down or "blanket" a stationary target with artillery.
Yes, the machine still had its drawbacks.
Despite being an excellent multi-role vehicle, its armor couldn't withstand serious weapons.
If the LAAT was hit and lost altitude during its descent from low orbit or in flight, the soldiers inside had virtually no chance of surviving the crash.
But in battle, as an assault craft, the "Latti" was unmatched — as long as it was in the air and there were no enemy fighters or anti-aircraft artillery nearby.
The lack of deflector shields and strong protection made them a tempting target for the enemy.
The LAAT's armament was an extensive arsenal of "all-purpose" weaponry.
Two air-to-ground missile launchers. Unlike most launchers used in the galaxy far, far away, the missile's initial acceleration wasn't provided by its own sustainer engine, but by a mass-driver system — an electromagnetic launch device that instantly accelerated the missile to high speeds.
The only pity was that the LAAT's autoloader was belt-fed, so the crew couldn't take missiles of multiple types on a single mission, forcing the use of several LAATs for an assault.
The loyalist fighters, like the Grand Army of the Republic's clones from the very first days of the war, held their machines in high regard and treated them with great care. One proof of this is the abundant "nose art" visible on the sides of many LAATs.
They also often marked the number of combat sorties and the list of destroyed enemy vehicles on the sides...
Most of this "artwork" dated back to the Clone Wars.
The Dominion hadn't removed it, leaving the faded and worn drawings on the sides and noses of the machines.
The D'Astan forces wholeheartedly supported this initiative, and the tradition, which positively affected troop morale, continued.
The drawings were refreshed, and the tally of destroyed vehicles now included the marks from their time in storage, which caused no small amount of anxiety for enemy soldiers.
Seeing a transport with several hundred marks of destroyed enemy vehicles on its side wasn't a pleasant sight.
Because the mind played a cruel trick, painting a picture that the crew of this "marked machine" had destroyed all that military hardware belonging specifically to the rebels.
A small trick that helped disorient the enemy.
Mortok fired his paired blasters, landing shots directly into the head of an enemy who had poked out from behind cover, and achieved a kill.
Resistance on this flank was crushed, and the Devaronian's fighters continued their assault.
And behind them, more and more gunships landed loyalist units aboard the station, adding fresh troops to the capture of the Fire Star.
* * *
Captain Tyberos reported alarming news.
From any angle, it was alarming.
It might seem there's no problem at all with the Corporate Sector sending an Indomitable-class dreadnought to escort its transport ships.
Despite the rearmament undertaken in CorpSec, patrol and escort duty is all this ship is good for.
Too many resources would need to be invested in a full modernization of this type of vessel to get a modern warship.
And money is something the "Corporates," like any other form of aggressive capitalism focused on extracting super-profits at ultra-low costs, don't like to spend.
So, a healthy vigilance might be dulled by this simple fact.
But that's not the case.
If the "Corporates" were acting on their own, such practices wouldn't raise questions.
The beings are simply saving money.
But in context, the situation looks entirely different.
Our auxiliary forces spent a considerable amount of time figuring out all the routes the ore ships took from the Corporate Sector to Hutt Space.
And the buzz droids of Project "Morrt" weren't scattered at course-correction points randomly.
They were placed specifically in systems where the cargo ships made stops before continuing their journey.
There are few such systems, and in terms of saving travel time and related fuel costs, the "Corporates" chose them perfectly.
Absolutely perfectly.
Logistically sound.
And this raises a fair question, emphasized by Captain Tyberos: "If the ships are coming from the Corporate Sector, why wasn't the Indomitable detected by the buzz droids?"
This can only happen in a few cases.
The first possibility is that there are other "transshipment" systems where the second-echelon escort ships, like the detected Indomitable, have been "standing by."
In that case, it becomes clear why the buzz droids didn't detect this (and, more likely, other) escort vessels that might be following other convoys.
The second echelon of the escort simply follows a different route and doesn't intersect with the convoy, maintaining working contact and exchanging information when the convoy reaches a course-correction checkpoint.
The second hypothesis is partly related to the first and suggests there are "jump bases" in the sectors from which CorpSec forces are deployed to reconnoiter systems where contact with a convoy has been lost.
There's also a third hypothesis, according to which the Indomitable was following the convoy, tracking its schedule in secret from the crews of the main escort and transports.
The third hypothesis is unlikely because it contradicts what's currently known about the "Corporates."
Why send an old, completely non-combat-capable heavy dreadnought to "watch the convoy"?
It's only capable of patrol duty; its combat value is negligible.
Any privateer ship strong enough to handle four escort frigates would simply leave the system before the Indomitable got within firing range.
So as a "backup" or "observer," this ship is clearly unsuitable...
Because the "Corporates" have at least five hundred Victory-class Star Destroyers.
Those, on the other hand, are perfectly suited for escort duty, both overt and covert.
The whole situation is illogical.
If the "Corporates" and the Zann Consortium expected an attack on the convoy, wouldn't it have been reasonable to send fast, heavily armed ships to follow the transports?
We know perfectly well that they're pouring resources into building an entire military transport fleet.
We know about their control of Rothana and Kamino, about the likely revival of the "Consortium's" army cloning project.
We know they have updated Keldabe and Crusader\-class ships... So why put on this act with weak escort?
Four frigates and one heavy dreadnought is not protection for such a convoy, assuming an attack was actually anticipated.
So what was this?
Until now, the Zann Consortium's campaigns have always been successful, meticulously planned, balanced, and multi-layered.
But here, it looks like they simply sent the convoy to the slaughter?
That's nonsense.
That doesn't happen.
Every action creates a reaction.
Sir Isaac Newton may have lived in a different galaxy far, far away, and in a different time, but the laws of the universe are immutable.
A considerable amount of time has passed since the attack on the convoy.
And there's been no enemy reaction whatsoever.
If they knew we would attack, or were setting a trap, why haven't they responded yet?
Why aren't they reacting to the counter-offensive in the D'Astan sector?
Waiting?
No, Tyber Zann doesn't have that much patience.
Besides, he's already received quite a few slaps in the face.
He's lost control of the Bosph sector, yet the Corporate Sector fleet hasn't even reacted.
They continue to maintain the blockade with their obsolete starships and show no signs of aggression.
The base on Snark was attacked, and Zann didn't even order a reconnaissance to investigate.
The Baroness's kidnapping failed, an entire organization was wiped out, a branch of the Zann Consortium's operations was destroyed, Urai Fen was killed — Zann's friend...
And again, no reaction.
Especially since Urai is possibly the closest being in Zann's entire circle.
Finally, the attack on the convoy, the destruction of the escort — both first and second echelon — and the capture of the transports.
And again, silence.
There's no reaction whatsoever to the ships we captured at Snark.
Nothing at all!
That doesn't happen.
I admit, the organization's focus might be shifted elsewhere, but Zann can't afford to just ignore this chain of events.
Yes, with some probability, I could assume he interpreted some of the events as interference by other forces, not the Dominion, but the objective facts should have led to the "pieces fitting together."
So why have we been attacking for days now, yet still haven't received the slightest information about the Zann Consortium's countermeasures — not just regarding us, but in general...
It's like they've put their activities on pause.
Where first-class ships should appear, we're finding obvious antiques, used more to scare someone than to act as "instruments of justice."
Where they were diligently trying to take the D'Astan sector from us, they've simply gone on a defensive footing and are silently watching what happens, pulling forces away from critically important directions.
Hedge Spar's report is quite telling — without explanation or clear tactical advantage, the enemy simply pulled half their ships out of the Doli system, opening it for attack and subsequent conquest by our forces.
It will be practically impossible to dislodge us from there.
So what's the purpose of this "throwing the game"?
Leaning back in my chair, I silently studied the holograms of the Zann Consortium's officers.
Urai Fen.
Silri.
Bossk.
Tyber Zann.
Four pillars upon which the organization once rested.
Bossk betrayed Zann — that's the official story — and disappeared.
Now we find him building his own army.
Silri, as far as I know, stole a Sith holocron from Zann and used it to find an army of ancient Sith frozen in carbonite — if you believe the clips from a certain video game.
Urai Fen proved himself in the D'Astan sector operation and was killed.
It's possible he was a clone — we have nothing to compare his DNA with to determine if Zann was "dabbling" in producing genetic copies of his close associate.
Not, of course, using the Spaarti cloning cylinders on Smarck, but he does have access to Kamino, doesn't he?
Something clearly doesn't add up.
On the surface, the picture seems complete — the Zann Consortium spread a network across the entire galaxy to build power without attracting attention.
They stole advanced technology from the Republic and the Empire to upgrade their ships and military hardware.
They replaced some beings across the galaxy to provoke a cascading collapse of the Empire and pick up the pieces.
They're certainly building an entire fleet on Rothana and stole military equipment from the New Republic for this purpose.
They're also cloning an army on Kamino and using the "ysalamiri effect" to accelerate maturation.
And they have a duplicate cloning lab on Smarck — just for creating "vultures" or replacement clones of influential beings?
But at the same time, they're recruiting an army of low-grade mercenaries.
And defenselessly transporting huge volumes of valuable ore.
They ignore the capture of their warships and our getting our hands on their advanced technology.
They ignore the loss of the Bosph sector and the cessation of metal shipments from there — as well as the detention of transport ships.
And for some purpose, they're pushing into the Chiloon Rift, which has rich mineral deposits...
Which they sell "on the side" to build the extremely expensive-to-maintain and militarily mediocre Lucrehulk\-class vessels.
Something doesn't add up.
On one hand — perfect conspiracy theory, methodicalness, caution, and slow execution.
On the other — crudeness, speed, quantity over quality.
And yet — not a single trap.
And, I repeat again — not the slightest attempt to retaliate, despite us depriving them of bases on several planets.
All Zann did was covertly start a civil war in the D'Astan sector.
He brought in mercenaries and ships — again, not first-rate or high-quality.
And now, he seems to have lost interest in what he started.
And seems to have refocused his attention elsewhere.
But if so, on what?
And why hasn't he set any trap yet, like the one that led to the destruction of Thrawn's fleet after Bossk's betrayal?
After all, it was so cunningly done — the enemy easily, and with visible protest, got what they wanted, took the holocron with a "beacon" to the Imperial Vault on Coruscant.
From there, Zann retrieved it, obtaining data on the Eclipse under construction at the Kuat shipyards.
And aboard the latter, he gained access to Palpatine's secrets...
From any angle, if you consider the loss of the holocron as "throwing the game," the subsequent trap-strike led to the Zann Consortium's victory in the entire match.
They gained unheard-of wealth and power, subjugated the "Corporates," and god knows what else...
Stop.
"Throwing the game" and triumph.
Easy victory and a "beacon."
Obsession with Palpatine's secrets after capturing the Eclipse and the loss of the Consortium.
Bossk's betrayal.
Silri's betrayal.
An army in carbonite.
The "Vulture" and "Corporate" armies.
Cloning cylinders on Smarck.
Clones on Kamino.
Construction of a battle fleet on Rothana.
Construction of a military transport fleet on Nimban.
Mercenaries in the eastern galaxy, in the Tamarin and Rseik sectors.
Mercenaries in the northern galaxy, in sectors near the Corporate Sector and within D'Astan itself.
Construction of a droid army in the Corporate Sector.
Recruitment of cheap mercenaries in Tamarin.
Lack of response to an attack on the cloning center.
Lack of response to attacks on the bases on Saleucami, Shola, Smarck, and Hypori.
Use of secondary ships for the blockade of the Bosph sector.
Use of secondary ships to escort a convoy with cargo for the shipyards on Nimban.
Noted.
Exactly the same thing is happening here that I'm doing with the Dominion.
In different ends of the galaxy, duplicate production facilities and strongpoints are being created.
But in the case of the Corporate Sector, it's happening sequentially, reasonably, and logically.
And in the case of Tamarin, it's happening in leaps and bounds, "in breadth," not in depth.
The first option is clearly thought out.
The second is imitation without understanding the mechanics of what's happening.
Like children, seeing the actions of adults, start to copy them, thinking that's just what you have to do to seem grown up.
An interesting picture emerges.
Extremely interesting…
I came very close to making a serious miscalculation when I decided to pit Zann against the Alliance, thinking that would divert the threat from Kessel.
It won't.
And I'm clearly mistaken about why the Indomitable was following the convoy.
And for what purpose this particular ship was chosen — heavily armored, but non-combat capable.
Activating the holographic projector, I waited until the familiar hologram appeared above the polished projector plate.
"Captain Irvin," the commander of the Colicoid Swarm looked surprised. "Have the transport ships captured by Captain Tyberos arrived at the rendezvous point?"
"Yes, sir," he frowned. "My men are ready to begin unloading and processing the metals according to your instructions."
"The time for that hasn't come yet," I stated. "You have several more hyperjumps to make."
"Are we being tailed?" the former Separatist frowned.
"Exactly," I declared, sending the coordinates I'd had my eye on for a while, but for a different purpose. "Now your task is to lead them closer to the place where we'll deal with them."
"With pleasure, sir," the commander of the Colicoid Swarm grinned. "Coordinates received. Moving out."
"End transmission," I cut off Irvin and switched to another contact.
"Captain Vivant," the officer cast a cautious glance at me. "You have a chance to redeem yourself for your previous mistake."
"I'm ready, Grand Admiral!"
"In that case, your ships must be ready to depart and jump to the specified coordinates," I said, duplicating the coordinate transmission.
Then came more orders, and more…
Well, I underestimated and simultaneously overestimated my opponent.
He didn't want to walk into a trap so easily and preferred his own version of events.
Well, I'll show him what it means to try and spoil my game with his voluntarism.
* * *
Watching the "LATTI's" rockets and lasers scorch the enemy's forward positions, Hedge Spar thought it was a shame the Imperials had abandoned using these machines after crushing most of the remaining CIS renegades.
The obvious reason was the change in the principles of planetary warfare.
In the Empire, landings were handled by specialized assault shuttles, heavily armored and as well-armed as their Republican ancestors.
And the tasks of direct fire support and bombing and strafing runs fell entirely to bombers, fighter-bombers, and ships hovering in low orbit.
The Mandalorians knew for a fact that during the Imperial period, attempts were made to modernize the LAAT/i.
The new models were designated MAAT, but they didn't see widespread use in the Imperial Army.
He had seen a few of these machines with the Dominion, specifically during the assault on a pirate base, and there, technicians had explained to him the reasons why the "LATTI" and MAAT had fallen out of use.
You wouldn't find these machines in large numbers anywhere in the galaxy now except the Dominion.
The Empire, like much other weaponry and equipment, had been sold off to the Outer Rim worlds or loyal governments.
Rumor had it that the Rebels also tried to use these machines, found under various circumstances, but the latest Imperial technology clearly demonstrated why the Republican legacy had been relegated to strategic reserves or scrap.
"Spar!" Mortok's voice came through the helmet. "The Fire Star orbital platform is under our control."
"Happy for you," replied the native of Kal Adorn.
"I can hear your sarcasm even through hundreds of kilometers," the Devaronian said, his tone sardonic.
"Good for you, go pick up a medal from the desk drawer," Spar snapped back without malice, switching to another channel. "Pilot, how long to target?!"
"Two minutes!" came an immediate reply.
Perfect.
Just what I needed.
The situation in orbit was resolved, control of the system was effectively established.
There was no point in staying aboard the Rottaran.
So, as the leader of the Mandalorians, he was duty-bound to lead them into the ground battle as well.
His comlink clicked as he established a channel with all his warriors, now hurtling through the clouds of the planet Doli.
"Mandalorians!" he addressed his countrymen loudly. "Today, like our ancestors hundreds of years ago, we go into battle! Our names will be the last thing our fallen enemies whisper with their dying breath before they die. We are the architects of the oratorios of cannon and rifle fire. Doli has been stormed three times — and all three times, the weaklings of the Baroness's army bathed in blood, leaving thousands of corpses on the planet. Because they are worthless soldiers. We were born for war, for the roar of bombings, for bringing death without any illusions. We were made for blood, for dirt, for killing our enemies, and for the glory of our people."
The planet below them burned.
Rockets and bombs, laser blasts and the smoldering wrecks of armored vehicles — war was ravaging this land.
And the Mandalorians were marching into its very heart for their own glory.
Through the open side panel, he could already see the approaching enemy positions. Ten seconds, and their armored boots would touch the planet's surface, treading on the soil of Doli, blackened by rocket and bombing strikes.
"I called you to a great crusade to restore the glory of our people," he reminded them. "We, the people of Kal Adorn, have long been considered outcasts among Mandalorians. But today we will prove that all the glory of our people flows in our veins, not in those who sit cowardly in the Mandalore Sector. Today is our time to rise from oblivion and win a glorious victory where ordinary beings cannot cope. We do not want silence! Battle is our light, and we go to make it even brighter! Now — attack!"
The "LATTI" hovered a few centimeters above the scorched surface of Doli.
Spar jumped to the ground and immediately fired, seeing a stunned enemy soldier crawl out of a burning, smoking pillbox, whose roof had just been struck by two rockets.
The shot shattered his skull, punching a hole through his eye the instant the enemy tried to stand.
Spar was quickly beside the open entrance of the fortification.
Another enemy, the Mandalorian clubbed with the heavy repeater he wielded in ground battles.
Rushing up, his warriors jumped onto the pillbox's roof and tossed a pair of thermal detonators into the doorway.
It detonated.
Fire and a shockwave erupted through the firing slits, finally eliminating any resistance from the beings inside.
This turned out to be the only surviving fortification on the enemy's first line of defense.
Trenches and emplacements, torn apart by explosions, dotted the entire perimeter of the planet's only city, which this battle was being fought to control.
There hadn't been any civilians here for a long time — ever since the loyalists were first driven off the planet.
Those civilians who hadn't left with the Baroness's troops had been killed by the rebels for sympathizing with the heir.
Now this city was the enemy's fortified military strongpoint.
Orbital bombardment was a way to solve the problem, no doubt about it.
But it was too simple for Mandalorians, who needed rich combat experience.
Besides, the General had ordered him to exclude carpet and orbital bombardments from his arsenal — this warrior host needed to learn to fight under these exact conditions.
Cities and planets had to be captured, not destroyed.
The leader turned around.
Behind Spar, a platoon of Mandalorian soldiers had already formed up — in helmets, blasters in hand, bandoliers stuffed to the brim with ammunition, quietly talking among themselves, as any battle-hardened veterans do before the start of another fight.
Soldiers' jokes, whose hidden meaning was beyond any civilian, drowned out everything else.
The only thing he could make out was that the jokes were also very grim.
As it should be.
The roar of fighters and assault craft flying overhead drowned out any speech, but the Mandalorians didn't care — the armor's technology provided active external sound dampening.
Spar ordered the advance.
A sudden bright flash made Hedge look up at the sky.
One of the assault transports flared above his head like a supernova, and the thunder of an explosion echoed around.
The other landing craft were breaking through the cloud cover to the planet's surface, where a swarm of enemy missiles met them.
Two, four, then five ships were shot down by direct hits: their fuselages blazed, and maimed soldiers tumbled out of the bays onto Doli's sandy surface.
A capsule with the pilot and his copilot detached from the nose of one transport, but just a few meters from the ground, a homing projectile caught it, blasting it to atoms.
"Blood is spilled!" Hedge roared, pointing at the position of the surface-to-air missile launchers. "Destroy them all!"
Some of the "LATTIs" had delivered grav-cycles to the surface, and the Mandalorians mounted them and charged forward.
They broke through the enemy fortifications, dropping munitions and thermal detonators behind them.
Shockwaves, explosions, shrapnel, a hail of rockets and laser beams — all of it mixed the defenders with mud and sand.
But some still remained on the surface, firing back at the attacking Mandalorians.
But what could scattered resistance do against a wave of durasteel-clad ferocious warriors?
Hedge had spent a considerable amount of time training his assault squads in several missions in the sector.
And now, the professionalism of the forward units was helping them break through with minimal losses.
In the distance, the silhouette of a missile battery was already visible, nestled at the foot of steep hills that rose from a long crescent of the second defensive line, breached along its front.
The next second, an assault transport made a hard landing on the crest of the parapet, its damaged engines smoking.
Then it turned and aimed its blunted nose at the city's silhouette on the horizon, weaving through streams of warheads fired from the gun emplacements that dotted the second line of defense.
The passengers managed to escape the "LATTI" before several anti-tank rockets blew the ship apart, turning it into a smoking hulk.
Shrapnel from the ship's hull scattered across the area, killing several warriors.
But this didn't stop the Mandalorians.
They surged forward, destroying all enemies in their path.
Spar, catching a position on the crest of a parapet facing the third line of trenches, not without satisfaction, poured blaster fire onto the rebel missile crews who were reloading their launchers.
The enemy's light and often poor-quality armor failed its wearers — corpses lined that section of the trench.
Leaping over the man-made fortification, Hedge continued his charge, hosing down anything that didn't look like a Mandalorian.
A fight had already broken out at the missile battery's position.
The Mandalorian leader found himself in its thick of it, gunning down two rebels on the move.
He drove a combat knife into the armpit of a third when the man tried to hit him with some sort of club and swung too wide.
Another enemy who rushed him and tried to tackle him, Spar slammed with the butt of his rifle into the neck, forcing him back.
The enemy staggered for a moment, and then the Mandalorian put a new hole in his face with a precise shot.
Crouching low to avoid a stray shell or blaster bolt, the Mandalorians surged forward, closing into melee range.
Where they were unmatched.
Blasters and combat knives, vibro-blades and shock clubs — the enemy artillerymen and the units pulled to the point of impact couldn't withstand the onslaught.
Hedge was suddenly charged by a burly enemy.
Locking with him, the Mandalorian felt his repeaters being ripped from his hands and unceremoniously let go of the weapons.
With the firm intention of getting them back.
The enemy drove a knee, aiming for his groin, for the joint in the armor.
The leader caught his leg, and with a strike to the other, sent the big man crashing onto his back.
And he pinned him down with his own weight.
Yanking a combat knife from his left vambrace with his right hand, he deflected the enemy's attempt to block his arm with a forearm strike and drove the blade into the enemy's throat.
Two quick thrusts — and the rebel was choking, unable to cope with the profuse blood loss.
The thigh plate deflected a shot to his leg, and in the next instant, the combat knife had already made its required arc and entered the base of the neck of the artilleryman who had fired.
Scooping up the fallen repeater, Hedge dodged a burst of fire, hiding behind the hull of a cargo container.
"Rocket Projectiles," the label read.
"Some shelter," the Mandalorian muttered, changing position.
A few bolts hit the container, piercing it clean through and harmlessly dissipating into nothingness.
But they confirmed its emptiness and the unreliability of such cover in principle.
Taking cover behind a boulder, the leader continued firing.
One by one, enemies fell to his shots.
The first gunner dropped like a poleaxed steer; steam rose from the melted holes in his chest — the blaster charges had found their mark.
Another rebel recoiled with a groan, his leg smoking from a deep cut, blood seeping from un-cauterized vessels.
Spar decapitated an artilleryman who sprang out from behind another boulder with a powerful shot that drained a gas cartridge, blowing his head off.
He glanced at his warriors, who were having equal success against the enemy; the hiss of their blaster fire mixed with the steady rumble of launching rockets.
One of the launchers was still operational.
Taking a swing, Spar hurled a thermal detonator into the body of the repulsor-lift vehicle.
The shockwave scattered the last missile launcher, burying its crew and several nearby soldiers.
The Mandalorian managed to dodge as a hail of molten metal shards splashed across the face and shoulders of a Rodian technician.
The latter shrieked like a wild tauntaun, and one of the Mandalorians put him out of his misery with a shot to the chest.
Dodging a thrown vibro-blade, Hedge noticed two more technicians fleeing for their lives.
He was half-inclined to let them go, but the sergeant five meters away who spotted their movement showed no such mercy, dropping them as they ran just a few meters from their "safe haven" the cockpit of the speeder they'd arrived on.
The tension of the fight was fading.
Spar's breathing and pulse were elevated, but perfectly acceptable given the reality.
However, for a second, his focus on the battle wavered, and his vigilance was lost.
A quivering knife blade from one of the mercenaries missed his body by inches.
The Mandalorian spun on his heel and knocked the enemy off his feet, simultaneously crushing his windpipe with a blow from his armored gauntlet.
The enemy gurgled, blood beginning to spurt from his neck in pulses.
Spar, leaning out of cover, stepped on the wound, breaking the enemy's neck, and continued on his way.
The mercenary howled, his eyes widening in terror, and with a wild wave of both hands, he inadvertently struck the hilt of a lightsaber held by a Jedi; the hilt slipped from Shrine's grasp, clattered to the floor, and rolled away.
A little to the side, the same sergeant who had destroyed the fleeing technicians was fighting off two mercenaries single-handedly.
The explosion of the missile launcher had freed one of the guide rails, pinning the leg of the Mandalorian clone, nailing him to the ground.
His blaster rifle was knocked from his hands by one enemy fighter, while the second raised his weapon to finish the adversary off.
Spar fired at the same time as the enemy.
The sergeant managed to dodge the blaster bolt, drew his sidearm, and shot the second rebel.
The first, with a hole through the back of his head, was already lying in front of him.
Hedge, ordering two warriors to assist the squad leader, continued firing, pushing the enemy back further from the position.
The other Mandalorians were doing the same, mercilessly slaughtering the fleeing rebels.
Blaster bolts struck their backs, heads, arms, and legs.
The wounded were finished off immediately.
For Mandalorians, there is no concept of taking prisoners.
Only victory.
Or death.
If someone wanted to mess with those who had wiped out the city's inhabitants before taking it, they could sign up for the advance squads.
The General had indicated that only the data from headquarters could be of importance here — but the saboteurs, who had been in the city beforehand and started fighting as soon as the first shells fell on the enemy positions, were handling that.
The Mandalorian offensive was an exhausting diversionary strike.
Which had turned into a full-scale offensive.
With the destruction of the missile battery, the "LATTIs" began flying beyond the line of contact.
Dropping squads onto rooftops, into squares, saturating the enemy's formations and fortifications with dozens of rockets and laser fire, they bolstered the pockets of resistance in the enemy's rear.
Forcing him to tear his forces apart, react, change his tactics on the fly, and reshape the character of the battle.
And the Mandalorians, meanwhile, continued their victorious advance.
Soon they were at the city limits, fighting for every house, every building, every street, every alley.
Thermal detonators flew into windows and doorways.
Enemy fighters running from cover to cover were ruthlessly gunned down.
From the sky, the "LATTIs" rained fiery death, and Mandalorian snipers operated from the rooftops.
The enemy tried to defend, attempted to launch a counterattack using artillery and mortars.
But their attempts were futile.
The Mandalorian assault squads pushed forward.
House by house.
Street by street.
Encased in metal, enamored with bloody battle, beings born for war, blood, and murder, rose implacably to the attack.
Healthy and wounded, born with war in their hearts, they crushed the enemy's defensive formations.
Unable to withstand the pressure, the rebels abandoned their positions in places, hoping to retreat to the rear.
But it couldn't save them.
Surrounding the city and drenching it in fire, ignoring the rebels' objections, fearing neither close nor ranged combat, the Mandalorians invited their enemies to the dance of death.
And in this dance of victors and vanquished, by the end of the day, only one type of dancer remained alive.
With Mandalorian insignia on their armor.