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 Star Wars Civil War Star Wars Story Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Getrealistic Home Copyright 2000 GetRealistic & CRN |
7. TWILIGHT OF BRANKANOF A heavy freighter loomed out of the darkness between Brankanof and the Binarian colony on one of it's moons, New Binaria. It was returning to it's home port after making a run of supplies to the fledgling settlement. The freighter tried to hail the planet for shield passage, but recieved nothing but static. Then the piolet noticed that the shield sphere no longer existed. What the... Without warning a shape that could only be a star destroyer came out of hyperspace, destroying the freighter. If the crew was still alive, they might have saw the name Intrepid III on the bow of the ship... * * * Haywater winced as the engine assembly of the freighter floated past the bridge. "Damage?" "No damage, sir. Shields were up the instant we left hyperspace." "Sir, the planet is defenceless. Planetary shield sphere is down and the ground based weaponry is destroyed." Haywater looked out at the planet. "Deploy the fleet." The Intrepid and Poseidon split, allowing the Chrysslist, the Lancer, and Madab's claw to take up position in the middle. On the sides of the crusiers, two Nebula's formed up. Next came two CAF's, two Claws, and two more Nebula's held the flank. Haywater had a total of 13 heavy ships and 24 fighters, the largest fleet fielded by the CRN so far. With this force he would face an understrength home gaurd consisting of two aging Dreadnaughts, two Corellian Corvettes, and a large crusier of unknown origin. Haywater looked at his status screens and saw an object coming around the planet. "Sensors, what is that bearing toward us?" "Sir, it looks like Brankanof's orbital drydock, and it appears that the cruiser is in it for repairs. The crusier shows no signs of life." For a moment Haywater considered sending troops to capture the ship, but then he realized the skeleton crew would do the only smart thing - self-destruct the ship, taking the drydock with it. "Get me the Poseidon." "Nolan here." "Nicole, I want you to disgorge your troops and destroy the drydock. Once that is done, await orders." "Yes, admiral." Haywater turned back to the viewscreen. "Send these orders to all ships. Fighter command will escort the troopships to the ground. I want the Nebulas to split up and head into the atmosphere. Make trouble, but call for support if you run into heavy opposition. Madab's task force will hold position, awaiting any calls for help. One CAF and one Claw will escort each heavy crusier. Transmit." "Done." He turned back to his bridge crew. "As for us, we will test the orbital bombardment capabilities of this ship." * * * Admiral Erin Chrono of Binar Fleet Systems watched the battle unfold from his flagship, the Excalibur. He wished with all his heart that he could take his fleet to Brankanof and kill some Chrysslistians, but he knew that such a move would invite destruction. And the one thing that could destroy New Binaria was an open destruction of her fleet. He had just got off the communicator with Lord Mazao, explaining that there was nothing he could do, that Brankanof would fall, like Binar. Chrono knew that this planetary takeover would hurt them more than the last one. Unless they could complete the ground based weoponry within a week's time, the CRN's next logical target would be New Binaria. As he contemplated his planet's fate, he realized that this Haywater was probably the best commander he had ever faced. This guy was good. In a month's time he had neurtralized the BFS, taken Sol, taken Brankanof, and was poised to destroy what was left of Binarian culture. A liutenant spoke up, jolting him from his thoughts. "Sir, the Brankanof drydock is destroyed, along with their biggest crusier. Brankanof is as good as taken." Admiral Chrono looked up to see the Intrepid III unleash a firestorm into the planet. "It may be, but many men will die before Brankanof realizes it." * * * Vie Nesh had never been so happy to be flying into a battle in his life. After spending five hours unconcious in a private home in Knobuss, he spent a week wandering around the city with temporary amnesia before a patrol noticed his tattered uniform and brought him in. Now he sat in the cockpit of one of the CRN's six brand-new Incom X-Wing fighters. Behind him flew the lead ship in the CRA's 20 landing craft, bringing in 2,000 of Osh Nabuk's soldiers. His 24 assorted fighters were escorting the troops in, but Vie wondered if they were even needed. Already the Intrepid III had layed waste to Brankanof's main fighter installation, and was now shifting fire to the main troop barracks on the other side of the planet. This invasion should go easily, he thought as the troop transport pulled away, heading for it's landing site within view of the capital tower of Brankanof. Kashar had never seen such a peaceful scene in a planet being touched by war. His Nebula, the Intruder, was cruising over Brankanof's main ocean, looking for trouble. The water shimmered as pleasure boats sailed to a seaside city. But beyond this peace he could just look at a monitor and see the fight for Brankanof raging. Now they passed into a mountain range, and the helm increased altitude accordingly. As each report came in, the forces left for his ship to fight dwindled... Kashar was thrown of his feet as the ship was thrown around like a giant was shaking them in his fist. His second-in-command was up first, shouting orders. "Weapons free!!! Weapons free!!!" The gunnery crews responded immedietly, pouring fire at their adversitary. The helm began evasive manuevers as a Corellian Corvette cut across the bow, spitting fire. Kashar jumped to his feet to see his ship pull under the Corvette, pouding it with gun decks one and two. "Report!!" "Sir, it was an ambush. Two ships, the Corvette and something else behind us." The bridge shook on cue, reminding them that there was something behind them. "Foreward shield is at 60%. Aft shield is...it's gone." Kashar grabbed onto a railing as the bridge shook again. "Bring her around. Face our foreward shield at them." "Sir, gun deck four is gone. We have no more aft weaponry." "Transmission, sir. Help is on the way." Haywater stood up and began barking orders. "All area units report!" "This is Nesh. I am with five fighters inbound. ETA two minutes." "Cashmire. We have two Nebula's heading in that direction. Will be there in five minutes." Haywater stared out at the planet. "Just hold on for a few more minutes." As the battered Nebula pulled around, they could see their other adversary-a Dreadnaught, still spitting fire at the CRN ship. Kashar knew at that moment that his ship was dead. He looked around at his young crew, then made his decition. "Gun deck one, I want that Corvette dead. Engines, give me all you got and prepare for ramming speed." Several of the crew looked up at him in shock. "Do it!!" The upper gun deck responded with a furor, battering down what was left of the Corvette's shields, then sending it on a firery spiral down to the ground. The Intruder's twin nacelles lit up, sending the ship for a face to face meeting with the enemy. Kashar climbed down to the helm. He looked at the Covrusian piolet. "When I tell you to pull down, do it immedietly." He watched as the Dreadnaught came ever closer. "NOW!!" The Nebula flew under the enemy ship just as another ambush was sprung. Ten missiles and the front facing weapons of two more Nebulas impacted on the Dreadnaught's shields. The frigates and fighters moved in, quickly ripping the Dreadnaught apart. They then tried to raise the Intruder, but got nothing but static. * * * Haywater watched as organized resistance on the planet dissapated. The CRA now had 3,000 troops on the planet, and the CRN's frigates were keeping up a heavy combat air patrol, and had several ships looking for Kashar's escape pods. He looked at an indicator screen. "Send in Phase two." Phase II was a huge convoy of cargo ships, carrying the equipment and personnel needed to erect a planetary shield generator. Haywater wanted a shield in place before he would seriously consider defending the planet against the Brankanofian fleet. This meant the workers had a window of only a few days to build a shield. It would be very close. * * * Haywater walked out of the refresher carrying a stack of reports. It had been almost exactly one day since the CRN had taken possession of the planet. Working around the clock, Phase II's men and machines had made great progress. The commander of the project confidently proclaimed the planet would be secure when the Brankanofian fleet arrived. He strode into the bridge, his eyes still on the reports. Osh Nabuk reported 200 casualties, he noted. Haywater sat down as he turned to yet another report. It contained the composition of the Brankanofian fleet. As he looked at the numbers, he told himself once again that he would not challenge this fleet without a shield to protect his conquest. A steaming mug of caf was handed to him. Even with a skeleton bridge crew, someone always thinks of their commander. He looked up at the officer to thank him, but the sailor wasn't even looking at his commander. Haywater glanced up to catch a glimpse of what had captured his young officer's attention. What he saw grabbed his full attention. The mug clattered to the floor as he jumped up. As he stared out the window, another ruby-red bolt zipped by the Intrepid and slammed into the planet. He didn't need anyone to tell him where those shots were aimed. The star destroyer began evasive manuevers as Haywater grabbed the com. "All ships go to red alert!!" He turned to the sensor station. "Where are those shots coming from?" "New Bineria, sir. It's a long range artillery weapon. They hit us when the moon was closest to the planet." "Sir, I just got a communication from Phase two control. The construction area is a total loss. They are beginning their evacuation now." Haywater sat back down. "How long was the bombardment?" "Two minutes; approximately 60 shots were fired." Things are happening to fast, he told himself. But it's my job to slow them down. "Brankanof's fleet is only a few days out. We cannot hope to hold the planet without a defensive shield, which has no hope of being completed in time. Therefore, we evacuate. Someone get ahold of Gen. Nabuk. Tell him to evacuate his troops off the planet as soon as possible. This next order goes out to all commanders: prepare for evacuation. I want us gone by tommorrow at this time." Haywater sat back as his orders were sent out behind him. He stared out at the planet floating in front of him. It was mine for a day... ...and now it's mine, Admiral. Erin Chrono watched from his flagship as the CRN began it's evacuation of Brankanof. |