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(8.3) The War on the Home Front
(8.3) The War on the Home Front!
Headquarters, 1st Regimental Combat Team
Union Army, Exiled
Outer Rim World of Tiss'sharl
December 10th, 1938
The Dorin Empire had plans to take Tiss'Sharl from the Republic and in doing so, cutting off the Republic's support flowing from the Tingel Arm of the Galaxy. Tiss'Sharl had become a highly contested world between the Dorin Empire and the Republic supporting Telos Republic. The Dorin's had sent their most elite units to conquer the world and cut the Republic's supply lines that had been keeping the Republic and its allies alive during the past year of brutal fighting with both the Dorins and the Reich. The Republic's first major stand in the region came at Toprawa with a combined army of nearly one million troops from over thirty different worlds. General Hid Dira from the Telos Republic led the defense of the region against the Dorin's Elite Sang Army. While General Dira was well renowned for his leadership skills and his strategic mind, his weakness came in the terms of fighting the wars of twenty years ago. The battle of Toprawa ended in disastrously for the Republic with a quarter million troops dead or captured and the bulk of his ships left burning throughout the Toprawa system.
As the Dorins continued to push deeper in to the region and the effects on the push were starting to be felt by Republic front line units closer to the Core Worlds, Acting Chancellor Cevita Murl placed the defense of the region in the hands of exiled Reich leader Field Marshal Erich Von Kessler and his elite United Human Navy (AKA The Union Navy) which was made up of the elite Panzer Haar III. A move which sent ripples of outrage throughout the Republic Senate. The Acting Chancellor's position was that of between a rock and a hard place. The Senate did not have much trust for the Former Reich commander and his troops and their support for General Dira was still strong despite the losses at Toprawa. On the other hand, if the Dorins are not stopped at Tiss'Sharl, than the Tingel Arm supply lines will be cut and the Republic will face yet again another crisis. A crisis that the Acting Chancellor knew could be crushing to embattled Republic forces across the entire front lines. With special elections threating to remove her from leadership and a large number of contenders seeking to replace her.
The Acting Chancellor was facing her own political battles which she might not survive. Ever since the successful Reich assassination of her adoptive father, Chancellor Daz Murl, Chancellor Cevita Murl faced contenders and political rivals in and out of the Senate. It was clear that the Acting Chancellor was lacking the support of the Senate and world leaders that her late adoptive father had so richly enjoyed. She didn't have the same political elegance that her father used to help secure the strong political allies he needed to rebuild the Republic that stood today. Her lack of skills as both a politician and political leader of her father's Party were starting to become a liability for those few supporters she did have. This was starting to show through as they to jump ship and joined the vast ranks of voices against her leadership. Acting Chancellor Cevita Murl fate was all but sealed within the Senate and she knew it. Though like her late father, Acting Chancellor Cevita Murl was not willing to let go of her dreams without a fight. In a brilliant political move she turned on her last waning supporter, the Galactic Church of God by being the very first within the Republic Senate to support the New Jedi Order. She managed to push her own bill through the Senate prior to other supporters of the New Jedi Order which would make the new organization official in the eyes of the Republic. This move bought the young Acting Chancellor time to make her next political move which appeared to be a blessing to her political enemies. She tied her own Chancellorship to the fate of the battle for Tiss'Sharl.
The Acting Chancellor was facing a sure defeat in the coming special elections which were scheduled to take place in a few days. While her surprising move to support this New Jedi Order dazed many of those who were still unsure of her ability to lead the Republic. It did show that the young Acting Chancellor was able to reach across the divide to strike new alliances. In turning against the old institution of the Galactic Church, she was able to win some new support from those traditionally not of her normal supporters or those of her fathers. However this was hardly enough to protect her Chancellorship. She needed time and victory. Since the death of her father, the Republic has been facing defeat after defeat against both the Reich and the Dorins. Her father's normal die hard supports of the Varl were the only military power who were making gains on the battlefield. However they were far from her political supporter as they started to return to their old slaver ways to make such gains. A move that was politically toxic to the young Acting Chancellor and such she could not openly or privately support. Her fate had to rest in the Republic Senate and only in the Senate. She had to forge new political allies or she was doomed to be voted out of office in just a few days.
Before a full Senate, she urged that if the Union Navy failed to successfully defend the system from the Dorin's she would step down as Chancellor and not seek election. Acting Chancellor Cevita Murl delivered one of her most heartfelt speeches to the entire Senate. It was nothing short of passionate and fulled with energy that she had never before been able to muster. Sadly it did little to move her political enemies, though it did buy her the time she needed for a miracle. "Since the day they had agreed to assist the Republic in its battle against the forces of darkness, we have failed to use the Union Navy to its fullest potential. My Father knew that one day the Union Navy would be the make or break of this war. That day that my father had foreseen has come. That place is Tiss'Sharl! If we don't act now, If we don't act in unity, and if we don't act decisively, than we might as well seek terms of capitulation from the Dorins and the Reich. If you can not support me in this, than all I ask is that you allow me the ability to act. If I fail you, if they fail us, than use this failure to remove me. But for now, I ask. Nah! I beg you. Please allow me to do what is necessary to protect my Father's dream. Please allow me to protect the Republic in the means that is necessary. I am here begging you, let me do my job as Chancellor of the Republic."
December 10th, saw the complete assault on Tiss'Sharl by the Dorins. To the shock and horror of the Telos Government, the brave loyal defenders sent to defend Tiss'Sharl were betrayed by a minority of the world's leadership and their followers. hours before the first Dorin ship hyperspaced in to system, a group of Tiss'Shar moved on the defenders of Tiss'Sharl. Saboteurs and assassins hit in highly coordinated attacks that crippled the Telos Command Center and the Tiss'Sharl Orbital Defense Platforms. If this was not bad enough, agents of this rouge faction were able to sneak their way in to barracks of the Telos Defense Command and murder hundreds of soldiers and officers in their sleep. The saboteurs, assassins and agents were mostly all caught but the damage had already been done. Ten key leaders of the Telos Defense Command on Tiss'Sharl were dead as well as field and unit level officers. It was a nightmare situation facing the Telos Command. Once dawn broke, the second wave of insertions began. The rouge factions of the Tiss'Sharl world government sent out messages claiming that they were officially breaking off all relations with the Telos Republic and demanded that the Telos military leave Tiss'Sharl.
While the Telos Command Structure might have been crippled by the betrayal, the Union Navy was not touched at all. Not for the lack of trying though. The Union Navy recorded a number of attempts to violate their security scenes or hack in to their systems. Over all Union Commander, Field Marshal Kessler had issued orders that his three bases on Tiss'Sharl be secured and that Union Guards be on the look out for possible saboteurs. During the night of flames, Union soldiers shot and killed fifteen Tiss'Shar who were reportedly attempting to infiltrate Union Bases. Several others were captured and handed over to the Union's Military Police. It was this stroke of luck which most likely had saved Tiss'Sharl from complete defeat once the Dorins arrived. Both the Telos Command and Union Navy took these actions as clear signs that the Dorins were only a matter of hours out. While the alerts were signaled, this did little to change the fact of the battle. With much of the Telos' fifteen warships badly damaged or lacking commanders to lead them in battle, the Telos Republic was in no position to directly oppose the Dorins. The Telos Commanders accepted the only option available to them. They would entrust the complete defense of Tiss'Sharl to the Union Navy.
Within hours of the first acts by the Rouge Tiss'Sharl Government, the Dorins did come, and in force. Some thirty Dorin warships arrived in system supported by one of the largest ships ever created. The massive Dorin Doombringer Dreadnought with its over all length of just over a thousand meters was nearly two times the next smaller Dorin ship. But it was its massive Planetary Bombardment Mass Drivers that gave the warship its name and reputation. Hundreds of Dorin support ships and troop transports followed the massive assault force. Because of the events of the night before, none of the defenders were able to oppose the initial landings.
The Defenders of Tiss'Sharl might have been set back by the rouge attacks, but they were hardly defenseless. Field Marshal Kessler and Admiral Karl Dönitz watched from the bridge of their flagship, The Union's Prise. Kessler's Union Navy had his flagship, the Union's Pride, a Fleet Carrier. The Reich designed and built Fleet Carrier Class Carrier was most likely the only ship in the region that could match the power of the Dorin battle fleet. Along side of his flagship, there are three Strike Carriers running tight escort. There were also nine other supporting warships of different classes. The Telos Navy was able to field only half of their original ships for the opening battle. While they still bore the scares of the betrayal from the night before, the crews of these ships were more than willing to give all to defend the world of Tiss'Sharl. Fighting along side the Union carriers was also the pride of the Free Polosh Navy, the Maelstrom.
The Maelstrom was a lone survivor of the Reich invasion of the Core World of Polosh. It became a symbol of defiance against the Reich and her Dorin allies. Many had thought, due to the bad blood between Kessler and Admiral Nor'ish of the Free Polosh Navy, that the Maelstrom was going to sit this critical battle out. It was Field Marshal Kessler who had planned and carried out the invasion of Polosh when he served the Reich Military. When the Maelstrom arrived just the night before, it was a good sign that the battle could be won. The Maelstrom brought with her five support ships and over twenty thousand battle harden troops to fight along side the Union Navy. With the more traditional commanders of the Telos Republic on the side lines, Field Marshal Kessler was able to employ tactics that were more common with all Reich units. The style of combat was first realized as Kessler unleashed his Wolf Class Attack ships. Within minutes of the first Dorin cruiser hyperspacing in to the system, it paid the price with its life as Kessler's ten Wolf Class Attack ships refused to allow the Dorins a foothold in the system. The first space conflicts of the battle were brutal as the Dorins pushed their way through Kessler's first line of defense.
To the horror of his Telos allies, Kessler's flagship and the four other carriers, including the Maelstrom hyperspaced out of system. The Dorins had to have thought the major battle was over as the remaining Defending ships withdrew from Tiss'Sharl. This allowed the Dorins to start their landings on to Tiss'Sharl. Kessler had ordered all units to remain clear of the Dorin Dreadnought till the next phase of the battle. Aside from a Telos Battleship who thought they could go toe to toe with the massive Dreadnought, all other defending ships followed the order. The Telos Battleship offered little challenge for the Dorin Dreadnought as it was blown from its position. A seemingly costly loss to Kessler's over all defensive plan. With the defending ships running hit and run operations against the Dorin lines which had secured the world's orbital plane, the Dorins switched their operations from space combat to Planetary Invasion. The Dorin's underestimating of Kessler would turn to become a costly mistake for their dreams of taking the world.
Field Marshal Kessler unleashed his Wolf ships once more and this time they were joined by fighter and bomber groups from both the Union and the Free Polosh Navy. At the same time, he ordered the remaining ships of his fleet to push hard against the Dorin lines and force them back against Tiss'Sharl. The plan to was to close the Dorin ranks as much as possible while the air groups were attacking. The plan worked well enough for Kessler to see his plan succeed. His bombers hammered the Dorin Dreadnought without mercy. They were too small to be targeted by its massive anti-ship weapons and the picket ships were unable to provide a suitable defense against the air groups. Still the mammoth warship did not go down easily. With the entire air group focused on the dreadnought, the second space battle quickly turned to a battle over the death/survival of the Dorin Flagship. For nearly two hours, the battle unfolded as wave after wave of fighter-bombers and Reich built Broadswords launched attack after attack on the ship. What the Dorin's didn't realize was the battle over the Dreadnought was only a distraction. Kessler focuses his precious air groups on the Dreadnought just as the Dorins thought he would. At the same time, he had two special air wings from the Maelstrom running raids against the Dorin support ships and escorts. While the larger battle was unfolding, the smaller picket battle at the edge of the battlefield was whittling away of the Dorin advantage in space.
Within these very important picket battles, it was noted that the Free Polosh Air units were led by the Polosh Hero, Commander Kaidan (aka, Ronin) Vosk. His elite 9th Polash Interceptor Squadron spearheaded the attacks sweeping away Dorin air defenders. It was also rumored that fighting along side Commander Vosk and his Fallen Angels, flew the 1st Jedi Air Wing, known as the Black Cats. While they were few in numbers, their part in the battle was equally important. Jedi Master Angelique Heartman led her Jedi in to combat from within her own pink camouflaged Jedi Star-Fighter. The rest of her ten fighters were of Azgardian design. Together, the two elite units were able to punish the Dorins and push them back even further forcing their lines to collapse in on themselves. Once that finally occurred, it was the end of the Dorin's organized efforts to protect their landing sites. The massive Dorin Dreadnought finally gave up the struggle for survival in a brilliant flash of white light. The explosion was so intense that it took two Dorin Destroyers and five Union Fighters with it. It was time for Kessler's final stage of his plan to kick in.
Once the signal was sent, he returned to the system with his carriers and unleashed the remaining air units down on the Dorin landing sites. These air units worked directly with the ground forces to punish the Dorins as they attempted to hold back the land assaults. While the Dorin's held the numerical advantage in both land and air units. Kessler made sure to have fresh units for this stage of the battle. The surviving Dorin air units had already been fighting nearly none stop for over six hours without break. Kessler ordered the first waves of his air units to return to the carriers and prepare for the next stage of the battle. The Dorin fleet had been brutally crushed and only a few warships were able to limp from the system. The battle for Tiss'Sharl was meant to last weeks if not months. Field Marshal Kessler knew this and understood what it meant. The Dorins had a second wave getting ready to jump in. He had to stop that wave before they departed for Tiss'Sharl. Thanks to information offered to him by the Jedi Council, he knew where this fleet was being formed at.
Kessler left over all defense of the world in the trusting hands of Jedi Master Angelique Heartman and Prince Arwen Phanan. With such battle harden units fighting side by side like the Phanan's Light Horse Regiment and the Panzer Haar III, the Dorin ground offensive didn't have much luck. That was as long as the second wave of invaders can be stopped. Kessler gathered up his air units and reformed his fleet and prepared to depart the system. He headed out for the claimed neutral Outer Rim World of Bimmiel. His over all plan was to break the world's strategic value as a forward base of operations for the Dorins. The Dorins had operated within the region conducting raids and inflicting devastating losses on Republic Allies in the region. For months, no one had any clue where the Dorins were operating out of. It was thanks to the Jedi and their Rangers that prove was finally uncovered and the base was exposed. Now Field Marshal Kessler put his cross hairs on Bimmiel. He left the defense of the Tiss'Sharl system to the three warships of the Lortian Navy while the rest of his ships turned and left for Bimmiel.
Bimmiel had been a colony world of the Telos Republic for nearly nine centuries but never desired to join the Telos Republic. With a largely Human, Dorin Twi'lek mixed population, they opted to remain neutral in all regional conflicts. Their vast ice caps and open ranges gave Bimmiel a great range of agriculture to offer for trade. While Bimmiel only offered a minor space-faring navy, they were highly motivated to keep their neck of the Outer Rim free of pirates which plagued the region. This made the small navy very dangerous and gave most would be invaders reason to reconsider attacking. But it was the Bimmiel shipyards that was Bimmiel's true claim for influence. Here were above the world of Bimmiel were some of the last remnants of the Great Republic. This shipyards once belonged to the powerful Tingel Military Command and now fall in to the hands of the former workers and traders of the region. Nine centuries ago, a large colony effort was started by Telos in hopes of laying claim to these shipyards. The effort failed but did boost the population of the world. Prior to the break out of the Great Galactic War, Bimmiel's shipyards were open to any world that wanted to come and use them, for a high price. Once war broke out, the Government of Bimmiel elected to not join the Republic and to close its shipyards off to either side that was joined in the conflict.
When Field Marshal Kessler's fleet hyperspaced in to Bimmiel's system, there was no doubt that the Dorins were using the shipyards. A number of badly wounded ships that his forces had allowed to flee were already being repaired in the vast shipyards. Also, a large number of transports and support ships were gearing up and getting ready to launch the second wave on Tiss'Sharl. Despite cries of neutrality, Kessler ordered his air units to attack the shipyards, Dorin support ships, Bimmiel defense ships and ground facilities. In Kessler's own words the orders were clear, "The Dorins shall not use this world as a base of operations ever again." This time, Kessler ordered that no ships be allowed to flee the system. His Wolf Class ships cut off any ship attempting to flee the system. Civilian and military ship were targeted alike. Kessler could not afford to allow the Dorins to get the word out that Bimmiel was under attack. There were too many Dorin battle units close by that could stop his plan of ending this world's involvement in the Dorin effort. After a whole day of bombing and attacks, the Bimmiel shipyards were reduced to nothing more than smoldering hunks of metal in space. Tens of thousands of Dorin ground forces were cut down without ever being able to return fire. Bimmiel's own defense forces were reduced to nothing. The civilian death toll on Bimmiel would become a point of out rage and anger, but the end result would speak for themselves. The Dorins had lost an extremely valuable strategic asset that they would never be able to replace.
Once more back on Tiss'Sharl, the Dorins had their backs to the wall. With no ships in orbit to retreat off world and unable to push the attacks back, they were forced to fight a losing battle. This gave the Dorins that much more incentive to fight harder and to refuse surrender. There was a glimmer of hope when a ten warship Dorin task force arrived. However the brave actions of the Lotrian Navy, The Fallen Angels and Black Cats fought back the Dorins each time that they attempted to land reinforcements on Tiss'Sharl. By the time the full Union Navy and their allies returned to Tiss'Sharl, the ground war was all but over. Just at the Dorins were preparing to launch another push in to Tiss'Sharl space, the Azgardian's elite Black Dragons arrived to help secure the world. With their numbers blustered by the Azgardians, and the loss of the Dorin's second massive wave back on Bimmiel the Dorin High Command had to accept defeat on Tiss'Sharl. The victory stopped the Dorin's move in to the region and saved the Telos Republic from being overrun. And while the cost was high, it was no where near what the original estimates were. However for the Dorin's they lost three of their most elite armies, nearly fifty warships and hundreds of fighters during the one week engagement. Most notable, was the loss of the shipyards at Bimmiel. Without them, the Dorins were forced to withdraw their base of operations to the world of Vinsoth. However this too would prove to be a unsuitable location.
Taking the momentum that he had gained at Tiss'Sharl and Bimmiel, he turned his unified force on Toprawa and Junction. Both battles against a Dorin force that was still licking its wounds from Tiss'Sharl offered little resistance to the two pronged attack. In true Reich fashion, the former Reich commander turned a defensive operation in to a massive thrust back in to the heart of the enemy's strongholds. To protect his flanks during the thrust, he convinced the Telos Republic in to invading and securing Bimmiel from its current government and Dorin Ally. With the Second Battle of Bimmiel a sure win, Kessler didn't waste any time in out flanking the Dorins once more. He moved his elite Panzer Haar to Dathomir where the undermanned Dorin garrison were swapped aside with little challenge. With the Azgardian Black Dragons on Toprawa, the Free Polosh Navy on Junction and the Telos Republic forces backed up by the Lortian Navy, the Dorin region command on Vinsoth was forced to move once more. This time they retreated their command and base of operations all the way back to the world of Phaeda. For the first time since the opening of the war, the Dorins in this region of space were being driven back. Field Marshal Erich Von Kessler might go down in history as the Butcher of Bimmiel, but he shall be remembered on many other worlds as the man who broke the Dorin Offensive and as a hero of the Telos Republic.
Back in the Republic Senate, the embattled Acting Chancellor won a stay of execution as well. While the events of Bimmiel would continue to haunt her Chancellorship throughout the war, the Senate by a narrow margin voted not to have her removed. Instead they voted, on a even more narrower margin, to allow the Acting Chancellor to take full role as the Second Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. However there was one stipulation that was forced upon her. While she would not have to contend with reelections as per Special Chancellor Powers of August 15th, 1937, there is no option for her to be reelected. The Senate voted that five years after the end of the war or January 20th, 1945, the Chancellor must step down. This gave the Chancellor the time and space she needed to fight the war against the Dorins and the Reich. It also gave her the time she needs to put together another coalition to save her doomed Chancellorship.
Coming of Age
Jedi Cruiser, Unending Light
In Orbit
Outer Rim World of Bimmiel
December 10th, 1938
The room was dark expect for a single candle that lit up the very center. There were sounds that seemed to flow from every direction that smoothed the atmosphere. The members of the Jedi Council had convened, many by holonet to watch the very first official Padawans being taken in to the Order. Since the destruction of the Order nearly two thousand years ago, there had not been any official Padawans to continue the traditions. Today that was about to change. It had been just over a month since Master Heartman recreated the Jedi Order and its ruling Council. So today, Master Heartman was granted the privilege of naming the first Official Padawans back in to the Order. Sure other Masters within the Order had their own students as such, but this was going to be the first official ceremony before the new Council. The voices in the shadows revealed the individuals hidden from the candle's light. A soft chime signaled the arrival of the Padawans in question. The voices fell silent as Master Heartman spoke, "Enter."
The door hissed open as Kataryla and Tess both walked in. They were dressed in their Jedi Robes and each carried their own lightsaber. Tess bore the scares of her first field command, a bandaged arm. "Walk in to the light, Tess, Kataryla" Master Heartman spoke softly and added, "Do not fear the darkness nor shy away from the warmth of the light. We Jedi are bound to live in a world where we must face the darkness so that others do not have to."
The pair moved to the center of the room and looked around, "Master Heartman" Tess spoke with more worry than fear in her voice. "You summoned us, but why are the lights off?"
"The lights are off as a show of symbolism. Your journey from the darkness has led you here to the center of the light. That is also what the Jedi Must become. The center of the light for the entire Galaxy. You both have proven so much over these past few months. You both have grown to such surprising points that even I am was caught unaware. However it is clear to me and the Council that your times have come." Master Heartman said softly as she walked from the darkness and in to the light. Her hands were concealed behind her back as she moved towards them. Her hood was pulled up in such a way to conceal her face. Only her moving mouth was visible. "The path that a Youngling takes is to learn as much as they can about themselves and to prove their skills to become a Padawan. Last week, both of you did just that. You have proven your knowledge of your own limits and tested your skills. As I had said that day, sending you off on that mission was not my first option. It was actually my only options. You both braved the battlefield and relayed valuable information that saved hundreds of lives. You have shown courage of the most purest sense. You both have proven yourselves to be ready."
Master Heartman trailed off her statement. It was Tess that questioned, "Ready for what Master?"
Master Heartman smiled as she brought her hands around and opened them. "You both are ready to continue your training as" she revealed the two Jedi Padawan Braids, "my Padawan Learners." Master Heartman moved and placed each of the hand crafted braids on their heads.
Both didn't know what to say as they lowered their heads in respect to receive the braids. Once this was done, they both lifted their heads in pride and each spoke in unison, "Thank you, Master"
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