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(3.5) Aftermath
Aftermath
Republic News Agency
Baklid 6
We are broadcasting live from the rebel strong hold city of Courtesy on Baklid 6. Due to security concerns the Joint Republic/Azgard Commander, Warlord Raynar, had order a complete transmission and news blackout just prior to the coming attack on this once proud city. Due to this blackout we were unable to report any of the remarkable events that followed till now. Just before the plugs were pulled on the entire Galactic Net Work. Warlord Raynar issued one final request for the Rebel Leaders to surrender and spare further needless loss of life. He informed them of the coming attack and his time tables of when the attack will begin. This morning he expressed his hopes for that action so that his forces would not have had to attack the city of nearly two million civilians.
Courtesy has been known as Baklid's jewel of the south since its settlement and foundation. Over half the size of the planet's capital, this sprawling city was a center piece of trade, commerce and held the cultural hub of this Outer Rim World. Continuing along the lines of Baklid architecture, the city was littered with plush gardens, out door theaters and even two small lakes. Even during the hight of the civil war, this proud city had been spared the horrors of the war. Not once had any enemy forces come even close enough warrant concern. So the residents of Courtesy have become numb to the war over all. Even as the Warlord made his plea to the Rebel Commanders to surrender, no one dreamed that he could make good on his claim of attack. That was until yesterday morning, when air raid sirens blared just hours before sun rose.
Early warning sits across the city all reported hundreds of dropships speeding their way to landing positions just outside the city. This was the last time the city defenders had the advantage of sensors and detection around their city. At the same time, fight-bombers hammered the few remaining airfields, space ports as well key command and communications positions around the city. It was only rumors that spread after the attack that spies had sabotaged the city's shield generators leaving it open for the attacks. The air attacks were under close guard by the Azgardian fighter wings. The fight for the skies above Courtesy was a sad showing for the rebel defenders and a sign of things to come. The few rebel fighters that did manage to make it to the skies were quickly swapped away by over whelming numbers of Azgardian fighters.
As the first drop ships were making their landings, the fighters and bombers all broke off their attacks and fled the areas around the city. Many within the city had thought that the aerial attacks had been beaten back. This was far from the truth and just another part of the Warlord's greater plan. The morning light was joined by a massive wave of aerial bombings, long range artillery strikes, and orbital bombardments. For what seemed like a life time, the city was pounded in to ruble. There was no holds bared and no area was safe from these brutal attacks. By the end of the two hour bombardments the city looked like a shattered husk of its once former glory. The destruction was horrific as well as complete, yet again part of the plan to softened up the defenders for what now was clear to be coming. The ground invasion of the city.
With the city now in burning ruins and encircled by Republic Forces, the ground attack was ordered by Warlord Raynar. At first many of us (watching from a specially tasked dropship to carry the Press over the war zone during the battle) thought that there had been a mistake in communications. We watched as only a third of the forces marched on the embattled city. It was only after the battle did we learn that Warlord Raynar leak most of his battle plans to the enemy. He had hoped that they would consider surrender instead of hiding in the city. They used this information to form a trap in hopes of crushing the Joint forces and winning the war in one glorious battle. As the Warlord said in a later interview, “It was just as I had hoped they would act.” With only a third of the forces marching on the city we all were left wondering what could be next for this already lopsided battle.
Once the command to start the ground attack was over heard and realized by the enemy did the rebels spring their own trap. Sadly they had no idea that they had just walked in to a trap of their own. Thinking they had the rear flanks of the Joint forces and surprise on their side,they lunched an attack from their hidden positions in the nearby wooded foothills that surrounded the city. This was just what the Warlord had been waiting for. For us, the battle plan became painfully clear as we watched Rebel units rushing the front lines of waiting Azgardian forces. Warlord Raynar had held back nearly all of his Dragons to face off with the larger number of the hidden Rebel forces while Republic and Government forces invaded the city. Regardless of the plan, one simple fact became painfully clear to everyone. The Republic was completely and seriously out numbered by the Rebel forces.
The Rebels hoped that their larger numbers and veteran mercenaries would make the battle an easy win for them. Despite having a nearly forty to one numerical advantage, they saw the battle turn against them during the opening hours of the engagement. Using the terrain the his own advantage, Warlord Raynar forced the Rebels to attack in regions around the city that cut or nearly negated their higher numbers. Another key factor to equalizing the numbers was the accuracy of the Azgardian gun crews in orbit. This allowed for direct fire within meters of friendly units and further forced the Rebels in to more tighter formations. However what seemed to hurt the Rebels the most was that the much needed reinforcements from other fronts never showed up during the battle. It was learned later that some commanders simply refused to deploy their troops to support the embattled city. However for those who did try to rush to the battle, they were only cut down by Azgardian fighters and bombers while making their way to the battlefield.
One factor that became the single largest factor in this conflict that no one could deny, was the Azgard Warriors themselves. It had been over two hundred years since the Azgardians have gone to war and many had questioned if time had dulled their blades. However this question was quickly answered with single kill ratios reaching nearly twenty to one, and sometimes even higher than that. The rebel's prized numerical superiority was quickly deteriorating as causalities started to add up. The trap had been laid for the rebels and they walked blindly in to it as they were thinking they were planting a trap of their own. It was too late for most Rebel Commanders as the Azgardians closed their trap. They were doomed and many of them realized it.
Confusion was the order of the day for the rebel commanders during the battle. Their remaining short range communication networks were being disrupted by the Azgardians and phantom reports caused them to react poorly during the combat. Because many of the rebel units were mercenaries units, they were either unwilling to support each other or lacked the training to work within a larger unit. What they didn't know was that there were spies within their own ranks. Local trappers and guides who had been befriended by Republic Forces nearly a year ago now allied with the Azgards and help them secretly move small units around the battlefield cause further confusion within the rebel commanders. This allowed the Azgardians to attack deep within the enemy lines hitting where it would cause the most damage.
Even before the trap was sprung by Warlord Raynar, he sent the highly trained Republic Forces supported by local government forces in to the ruins of the city. This was the kind of fighting the Republic Forces had been trained to engage. It was a down and dirty urban street fighting conflict. However, the fighting quickly degraded from street to street combat to house to house. The defenders were small in numbers but fought fiercely for every street and house. At some points during the conflict the defenders simply refused to give up ground. This caused the Joint Forces to pull back and call in orbital bombardments to clear entire rubbled areas of stubborn defenders. Despite the defenders' best efforts the battle was hopeless and in the end, they had to accept it.
By late in to the afternoon, both battles had already started to show signs of the over all outcome. However the final acts had yet to be played out. Watching high above the battle for the city were three dropships that belonged to a special unit known as Causac Vorpal Unit number 5 or CV5. They were given a secret mission to hunt down the Rebel Leaders during the battle and capture them all. As the battle in the city raged and more defenders were being thrown at the Joint Forces to slow their advances, CV5 landed right on top of the headquarters of the Rebel Leaders. The mission was the second most critical mission of the day. Capturing the Rebel leaders meant ending the war almost all together.
The assault on the Rebel Headquarters was led by the Warlord's own son, Colonel Zurel Heartman. From reports and eye witness accounts, it was a brutal battle that both sides knew that they had to win at all costs. And both sides did everything in their abilities to ensure that they would win this one key battle. Sadly, only one could come out victorious this day and the cost was going to be high for both sides. Just as the sun was setting over the rubbled city, a transmission was received over an open frequency. The Causac Vorpal unit had captured all the Rebel leaders alive, and they were forced to confirm this during the communication. It was in that moment that many of the Rebel Commanders simply gave up the fight and surrendered out right.
Nearly a fifty kilometers south east of the Rebel Headquarters, another battle further sealed the fate of the Rebel movement on Baklid 6. It was a single epic battle between no other than Warlord Raynar himself and Jedi Master Qu'Wash, who had been later identified as one of the few Renegade Council Members of the Oulaven Order. Based on eye witness account on both sides, the pair were equally matched as they locked in to mortal combat. For nearly twenty minutes to two tried everything they could to best the other. In the end, it was Warlord Raynar who gained the upper hand. From some of the same eye witnesses, Warlord Raynar used Master Qu'Wash's own lightsaber finish the battle and the life of Jedi Master Qu'Wash. Master Qu'Wash had fallen to his knees beaten and broken from the battle. There he waited as Warlord Raynar picked up the lightsaber and knelled before his opponent. The Warlord was sited saying, “It was my honor to cross weapons with you.” Then stabbed the Jedi with his own lightsaber.
As the sun set over the battlefields, the Warlord ordered in the last phase of his plan to begin. On that order, a number of aide and relief ships started to land around the city. Within hours, civilians and wounded were being picked out of the ruble. Refugee camps were built and hot food was starting to be passed out. Warlord Raynar sited that he never wanted to make war with the civilians of Courtesy but it was something that had to happen because the Rebel Leadership was hiding behind them. While the relief ships went to work doing what they could to rescue and save lives, the Azgards themselves started to tend to their own wounded and fallen warriors. They built a massive pyre in the center of the city with a number of chambers for all their dead. By the morning's light of the second day, they lit the pyre in honor of their fallen.
In a speech that the Warlord gave just before the pyre was lit, he stated, “We were ordered by the Chancellor to this world. Our orders from him were simple. Find the enemy and crush them. Bring peace to this world and restore order. This battle has ensured that this is now possible. The price has been paid on both sides to make this peace possible. For those remaining Rebel Commanders in the field, your leaders are no more now. If you choose to continue this war, then we will find you and your units. We WILL crush you just like we did here yesterday. If there was any time in your mind that you thought was the right time to give up the fight. NOW is that time.”
The Press corp was forced to stand by and watch as the Rebel Leaders were led out and chained to preset stumps. Some passages were read from the Azgardian bible during a make shift trial and then they each were beheaded for their crimes against the people of Baklid 6. Their heads were placed atop of poles around the pyre. While no non-Azgardians were allowed near the pyre, it was learned that Warlord Raynar placed Jedi Master Qu'Wash's body near the top of the pyre. A place normally reserved for those warriors who died heroically. Colonel Zurel Heartman's body had also been placed in the pyre with others that had fallen in yesterday's battle.
As the events of this battle spread not only over Baklid 6 but across the Outer Rim. Many worlds who had joined the Oulaven Jedi and their Sith Leader Rose seemed to be reconsidering their choices. With a large number of Azgardian Fleets already answering the Chancellor's call to arms, eyes are starting to turn to the Senate to bring peace back to the Republic before more lives are lost. In the words of Warlord Raynar after this single battle, “This war is a dirty war where there is no honor to be won. This war should have been fought only with words in forums not with blasters and swords on the field of honor.” Powerful words spoken by a man who commands one of the most powerful militaries in the Republic.
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