Chapter 10. Intermediate results (I)

It took the stormtroopers stationed on the Chimera and the Death's Head two hours to secure the rebel base on Ord Pardron.

Nothing could save them—not even two regiments of infantry fighting valiantly like lions. Not even the multiple commando units that inflicted significant casualties on our forces. Nor could the enemy's heavy arsenal make a difference.

The stormtroopers advanced through the rebels' defenses like a steamroller, crushing everything that wasn't wearing the Empire's uniform and dared to resist.

Now it was time to tally up our "earnings."

"The area is cleared, Grand Admiral," said General Freja Covell, meeting me at the Lambda's ramp, a faint smirk on his lips. After ground forces accomplish such a massive feat, it's only fitting to descend to the surface of Ord Pardron and witness the results

firsthand.

** General Freja Covell **

Despite the slight movement of his lips, the general himself remained as calm, cold, and calculating as ever. His personnel file had been an intriguing study. In the distant past, he had come under the influence of a renowned Imperial figure—Maximilian Veers, the master tactician behind the use of AT-AT and AT-ST walkers. Covell had clearly absorbed much from his senior comrade, already being regarded as a model in the art of tactics. Interestingly, while Covell, Veers' protégé, remained steadfastly loyal to the Empire, Maximilian himself wandered somewhere in the galaxy, awaiting the inevitable collapse of a once-thriving, now decaying, state. This situation opened certain opportunities.

But my immediate concern was something else: trophies. Who doesn't appreciate them? Especially when an entire sector fleet base has been plundered.

"Have the technicians arrived yet?" I inquired.

"Yes, sir," the general responded. "Eighteen teams from the Chimera and an equal number from the Storm Hawk. My men have escorted them to every part of the base. The equipment is already being dismantled."

"Sappers?" I asked.

(A sapper, also called a combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing field defenses, and road and airfield construction and repair.)

"They're scheduled to arrive in fifteen minutes," Covell replied. "By then, we'll have already begun removing the rebels' belongings. The Death's Head will soon deliver asteroids."

"Speed up the process, General," I ordered. "We need to leave the Dufilvian sector within three hours. The base must be so thoroughly destroyed that any rebels who return will once again taste the bitterness of defeat."

"I remember your order, sir," Covell said with serious intent. "I've already directed the stormtroopers to accelerate the process wherever possible. We've scoured the base and compiled a brief inventory of the contents, downloading data from their computers."

The general handed us the deck. Pellaeon took the device, and with that, Covell saluted and vanished from view.

"And he still believes that the officers of the Imperial Navy waste their time while the army alone fights real battles," the Chimera's commander remarked with a grimace, watching the departing general.

"Did he tell you that directly?" I asked.

"In a way," Pellaeon admitted.

"Before or after you promoted him from colonel to major general?" The question seemed to catch Gilad off guard.

"After, sir," he conceded. "But before you awarded him the rank of full general."

"The next time you hear a general boasting about the army's superiority over the fleet, ask him how quickly his walkers can reach Coruscant without our starships," I suggested. A smile spread across the Chimera commander's face.

"Of course, sir," Pellaeon assured me.

"Let's take a walk, captain," I proposed, ensuring Rukh continued to shadow us. "I can see you're eager to assess the magnitude of what we've captured."

"I suspect there isn't much," Pellaeon said, skimming the lines. "This is merely a sector base, and a remote one at that. The rebels were only just beginning to fortify it—the defensive systems are barely twenty percent complete."

"That's precisely why I chose this planet as the main target," I said. "Weakened fixed defenses, a smaller garrison, and its isolation from major hyperspace routes. Additionally, the enemy had withdrawn most of their capital ships from here. The tactic of drawing out enemy forces to repel the attack worked perfectly."

"But we didn't manage to destroy the Mon Calamari star cruiser," Pellaeon noted.

"Learn to find the positives in this," I advised. "From the outset, we anticipated possible shortcomings. But all three primary objectives of the operation were achieved."

"Sir, may I ask what they were?" Pellaeon inquired.

"First, to test the limits of our master's competence," I said. "Now we know for certain that he cannot control ships beyond the borders of a single sector—at least not yet."

"The attack on the medical triage station in the Crondre system and the base on Ord Pardron—was that the second objective?" the Chimera's commander clarified.

"Correct," I replied, as we slowly approached the rectangular storage crates located away from the ground base's main buildings. "We need the medical supplies ourselves, but we can't expect much help from the Imperial Ruling Council anymore—their resources are depleted. The primary supplier of bacta, Thyferra, is under rebel control. The Empire is forced to buy bacta on the black market at exorbitant prices, further straining our already limited financial resources. Destroying the Ord Pardron base will signal to the rebels that they must protect their allies if they wish to maintain their dominance. Moreover, the destruction of the base and the capture or elimination of part of their sector fleet is not just a blow to their prestige but to their reputation as well. No planetary governor can now feel assured of rebel protection. Our adversaries will be compelled to expend vast resources to convince their supporters that they alone can guarantee the security of systems. However, our attack hints that their earlier decision to disarm ships and convert them into cargo vessels will cost them dearly."

"But the rebels might rearm their ships," Pellaeon observed.

"Indeed," I agreed. "In some sectors, they will. But they can't entirely abandon that concept—their economy needs time to recover. And they need those ships. They now face a dilemma—restore the previous state of affairs or recall some disarmed starships to strengthen their formations. If they choose the former, they allow us to continue striking sectors with weakened defenses; if the latter, they delay their economic recovery. Either way, we stand to benefit."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Pellaeon admitted. "By the end of this operation, we'll need to return to the shipyard for full repairs. The Aurek and Besh groups have sustained hull damage, and we've lost turbolaser batteries in battle. Not to mention the losses among crew members and pilots."

"We have sixteen thousand operational Spaarti cloning cylinders at our disposal," I noted. "Perhaps we can increase that number to twenty thousand once our technicians fully understand the technology. Regardless, we'll replenish our losses during the ship repairs. But there's something far more important—the third reason for this large-scale assault on the Dufilvian sector."

"Freighters?" Pellaeon asked for clarification. "We destroyed most of them. The cargo, naturally, in many cases, became our spoils."

"We won't require many outdated freighters for future operations," I explained. "The ones we've captured are certainly sufficient. Don't you find some irony in all this, Captain?"

"Sir?"

"At the start, the Empire was the galaxy's hegemon, forced to expend energy and resources to hunt down rebels who could strike anywhere," I continued. "Now, the so-called New Republic finds itself in the same position. We managed to contain the Rebellion due to the sheer size and impeccable condition of our fleet. The rebels, however, lack such an advantage—their ships are slower to build, and those they have need constant repairs and upgrades. Huge sums are spent on maintaining and operating their combat starships, but they don't have many to begin with. This extra expenditure will push them to hasten the rebuilding of their economies. I wouldn't be surprised if the damaged Mon Calamari star cruiser that escaped from Crondre system is pressed into service again. But by attacking their convoys, we're sending a clear message: your freighters, whether under your direct control or operated by civilian contractors, are no longer safe. Consequently, the rebels will be forced to invest more effort and money into protecting their transports. We'll use our network of spies to pinpoint where crucial cargo will pass and employ interdictor cruisers to inflict further damage on the enemies of the Empire."

"Unless they try to lure us into a trap with decoy convoys," Pellaeon noted.

"They will undoubtedly attempt this," I agreed. "It's too predictable to overlook. That's why we need seasoned and highly skilled spies—and we have them. This victory will stir up Imperial society, drawing more and more people to our cause. Perhaps even non-humans, adding an interesting twist to the situation."

"Maybe Imperial Space will allocate more ships to your command," Pellaeon mused. "They're building an Imperial-class Star Destroyer at the Bilbringi shipyards, which they plan to hand over to you."

"That would be a splendid addition to our fleet," I concurred. "But we should also consider this: the previous concept of linear combat held that Star Destroyers were merely ordinary fleet ships because there were always plenty of them. By destroying Imperial remnants piece by piece, the rebels managed to capture some ships and destroy others. The total number of Star Destroyers in the galaxy has dwindled, leading the Rebels to believe we have reached military parity. But we know that there are still a vast number of warships scattered across the galaxy that could become ours with a little ingenuity. We need to carefully analyze the locations of the rebel Star Destroyers, identify those we can capture, and take them. While the rebels focus on logistics, we must build up our fleet."

"By securing the Dufilvian sector, we've become a serious thorn in their side," said Pellaeon. "From here, we can strike devastating blows at the nearby sectors…"

"We don't need the Dufilvian sector, Captain," I interrupted, causing the Chimera commander to look confused. "There's nothing here that can strengthen our defenses. Even the base on Ord Pardron would require colossal investment to hold. Otherwise, the rebels will reclaim it just as swiftly as we took it. No, Captain, we don't need more territory at this moment—we simply don't have the forces to defend it."

"That's why you ordered us to capture as many enemy ships as possible?" Pellaeon exhaled.

"Yes," I confirmed. "If we have enough Star Destroyers to fight the sector fleet's forces—perhaps even two, considering their reduced numbers—we still face significant problems with lighter forces. Our Star Destroyers, particularly Imperial-class ones like the Chimera, have very limited anti-aircraft coverage. We need additional support. Nebulon-B escort frigates are perfect for this, as are the captured Carracks. Even the Tartans. And the Corellian frigate should still fit in the main hangar."

"Hmmm…" Pellaeon murmured thoughtfully. "Only if it's in storage mode, of course. But, yes, it's possible."

"Imagine the rebels' surprise when they encounter a pair of our Imperial-class Star Destroyers in battle, along with lighter ships they haven't detected before," I said. "Given their fondness for fighter squadron tactics, encountering adequate resistance will be a shock to them. Additionally, I'd like Chimera's technicians to examine the remains of the MC30c frigate. Its deflector field generators are located under the armor, which on Star Destroyers is much thicker. Solar ionization reactors give us more energy than we need. An additional deflector generator would be advantageous."

"It won't be as powerful as the ones we currently have," Pellaeon pointed out.

"We don't need it to be," I said. "The third generator would serve as a last resort, providing protection when the main deflectors fail. At a time when we lack numerical superiority over the enemy's main forces, we must improve the quality of our ships."

"Sir," Pellaeon said as we halted at the gate of the first warehouse. Seeing us, the stormtroopers began unlocking the massive doors. "If we had more time, we could tow the damaged but not destroyed Golan II station from Crondre's orbit. It's a valuable defensive asset that could fortify any of our planets. With a day or two, tugs could arrive in the system and…"

"We'll take the station with us," I decided. "But towing it across half the galaxy is a thankless task. It would take months to deliver it anywhere, and we'd need to escort it with the entire fleet, as anyone who survived on Crondre knows we disabled the station's defenses with our ion cannons. The enemy could easily pursue and finish off our damaged ships. Considering their nearest sector base is only fifteen hours' flight from Ord Pardron, they'll be here soon. No, we'll take a different approach."

"What then, sir?" Pellaeon asked, puzzled. "We don't have the bulk carrier ships to dismantle and transport it in parts…"

"But we do have the remains of the MC30c frigate," I said, surveying the half-empty warehouses. I had hoped they'd be filled to the brim with equipment or other resources. "Order your technicians to remove some parts from it... Yes, you'll also need to brief the commanders of the Aurek and Besh groups—they have a special role in all this."