Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Star Wars. They belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not created with a commercial aim. It is not for sale or rent.
Phase 5: The Rim Campaign I, Act I
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Part 4
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asteroid belt
Cularin System, Thaere sector
A constant stream of transmissions looped over all channels, disrupting all but encrypted military communications.
"People of Cularin, the Republic betrayed you. They sent Clones to arrest your Senator and now force you to fight a battle you can not win. I offer you a singular opportunity to stand down and enter negotiations for admission within the Confederacy. If your forces surrender, they will be treated well. If they persist in fighting and wasting my time when they cannot win, I will annihilate them. I am Darth Vael, Dark Lord of the Sith and Admiral of the Confederate Navy. You know what my kind does to those who oppose them. Choose now, and choose well. Either break your chains or die bound to the rotting carcass of the Republic."
Commander Wraav roared in indignation after hearing that proclamation. The pilots of his wing voiced their own displeasure with curses, roars, and angry hisses. If the Trade Federation wasn't a major power within the Confederacy, then such a proposal might have been tempting. As things stood, it was only the Jedi and the Republic that saved Cularin from exploitation by the Federation, and even after that, those honorless curs kept playing despicable legal games to get ahead.
The way the Republic treated their Senator angered many in the system. However, that woman's insistence on neutrality irked even more people. How could they stand aside and just watch when they could be fighting those who still desired to exploit their system?!
"Commander, we've got incoming… a lot of them…" The commander of the support squadron reported.
Vesh squadron was outfitted with old, large, heavy fighters, modified to act as command and control platforms for all assets deployed throughout the asteroid belt.
Even before some Force-damned madness put Cularin out of time for centuries, the system used to be cut-off from the rest of the galaxy for nearly a thousand years after the hypelanes leading out of it were collapsed, leaving it stuck under gravity shadow making hyperspace travel impossible. That isolation meant that those stuck into Cularin had to become self-sufficient. They had to prepare for the day when they could once again contact the wider galaxy, and everyone knew that Hutt space was nearby, which meant pirate and slaver raids.
Building large ships was out of the question with the industry and technology they had available or could develop in isolation. However, the nature of their system meant that even if they couldn't hold it, they could ensure an enemy occupation could be too costly to contemplate. A key for that was the asteroid belt created on the last day of the New Sith Wars by obliterating one of the planets in the system. Over the centuries, large asteroids became fighter, bomber, and raider bases. Work crews hollowed out many smaller rocks, turning them into sensor platforms, oversized mines, or hidden weapon emplacements. Slowly but surely, the asteroid belt became a death trap and a staging ground for military units that could bleed an invading force in the long run by choking their logistics and striking at lightly defended convoys passing through the system.
The few larger elements of their System Defense Navy and the Republic ships deployed to Cularin would make a stand at the planet the system was named after or behind the fixed defenses meant to fend off raids at the industrial centers around the gas giant.
Wraav's job was to patiently wait like dozens more Wing Commanders across the asteroid belt and begin hitting soft targets when they presented themselves.
Refined sensor data reached the Wookie's fighter, and the computer eagerly updated the map of his zone of responsibility. He blinked a few times at the wave of red approaching, then tapped the screen with a large finger. Wraav growled quietly at Vesh's Commander, asking for clarification.
"I told you, boss, there are a lot of them. The sensors are all right. I checked three times already!" A note of unease could be heard in the human's voice.
Wraav couldn't blame him. Nearly four thousand fighters and bombers spread throughout the asteroid belt, backed by a powerful defensive network. They would be able to cripple even a mass pirate or slaver attack. They could have given the Trade Federation a run for its money, or so people thought.
The war of Droid Fighters flying through the asteroids as if devouring them on the screen had more vessels than all small craft Cularin's defenders could muster. Wraav wisely doubted that he saw more than a fraction of what the enemy brought to this fight.
"Launch everything. We will lure them into the fixed defenses," the Commander ordered. That would allow them to destroy as many of those machines as possible. If they were lucky, the greedy bastards of the Trade Federation would back off, deeming the price for victory too expensive.
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Bridge, Death Dealer Lucrehulk class Droid Control Ship
Cularin System, Thaere sector
Odd but good simulated sensations ran up and down Kraken's circuits. The Super Tactical Droid was attached to Admiral Trench, acting as his adviser, trusted subordinate, and, as of late, Chief of Staff. Today, he was granted the privilege of semi-independent command and the opportunity to prove himself.
Kraken was in charge of one of the task groups ordered to clear the asteroid belt. Due to the size of the thing and the time the locals had to fortify it, this was not easy. However, compared to previous operations, this time, more than enough assets were available to do the job right. They also had the right tools for the situation.
Throwing capital ships among the asteroids where they would be highly vulnerable to traps and ambushes would be foolish. Neither pressing time constraints made that imperative, nor did an impatient commander order such reckless charges.
Kraken and his fellow Tactical Droid, in charge of the second task group dealing with the asteroids, deployed their ships in a circle around the belt, with frigates and escorts flying between the heavier combatants and the danger. Luckrehulks with special cargo hovered at the formation's outer edge in anticipation of finding juicy targets.
Hundreds of droid fighters flew around each ship, screening it against possible danger. Thousands more Vultures waited in reserve or swarmed all over the asteroids in search of prey. They fired at anything suspicious, including rocks with too much metal content, just in case, lighting up the field with a constant stream of explosions that crawled through it at a good enough pace.
"Enemy fighters detected. They are pulling back towards a cluster of larger asteroids," a B1 reported.
They were either running for their lives, luring the Vultures into a trap, or both.
"Send two squadrons to scout the edges of the area and prepare the special munitions for a long-range strike," Kraken ordered.
Within the hangar bays of select Lucrehulks, droid crews did final checks on missiles already loaded within launch platforms. The cavernous cargo holds of those ships were full of more such weapons. Their warheads came from countless mining sites across Confederate space. The Admiral requisitioned the missiles from various system defense navies. They were technically short-range, possessing just enough fuel to accelerate and strike invading ships that came too close to defensive installations.
Here and now, that didn't matter. Those weapons could deploy as usual, then fly on a ballistic course until reaching their targets. Their seismic charges would cripple or destroy everything in their area of effect, save for a proper capital ship or battle station.
The name itself was an odd misinformer like it could be expected from particularly foolish organics. There was no air or enough other matter in space to compress for a regular shock-wave to be an issue unless talking about something of a supernova scale.
However, one type of power could do the trick if properly harnessed – gravity. Gravity waves could shear or shatter things apart if they could be utilized in the right way. Mastery of gravity manipulation technology and the particular properties of a relatively rare gas with the unimaginative name Collapsium could do the trick.
Kraken watched the signatures of his scouts blink out one after another. Jamming cut off their reports, leaving only a garbled mess to reach the fleet. Their destruction and where it happened told the STD all he needed to know.
"Launch a saturation missile strike over the whole designated area. Prepare escort squadrons for a second strike if the enemy manages to intercept or sufficiently degrade the first one," Kraken ordered and watched in satisfaction how hundreds of missiles streaked towards the suspected location of an enemy base, or at least a trap.
As the strike approached the asteroids and their fuel was about to run out, the weapons shifted course, spreading them out. Doing so would allow them to cover the whole targeted area. It would also ensure that intercepted missiles detonating wouldn't proximity kill fellow weapons.
Through the sensors of the Vulture swarm within the asteroid belt, which was currently hanging back, Kraken could see the missiles approach and the stream of defensive fire that rose to meet them. During the final attack phase, those weapons could not maneuver, making them easy targets for the fixed defenses.
The tactical plot is updated with dozens of weapon emplacements.
"Launch a second strike with assigned escorts," Kraken calmly ordered. He would peel out and destroy every enemy defensive installation until they were all gone or the locals figured out that surrendering might be a good idea.
