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Twigster -> The Yaselur Intervention (8/22/2016 5:56:02 PM)
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The Yaselur Intervention
Imperial Galactic Strategic Command, Vrilya
30 May 2396, 1634 hrs.
Given all of the technology, all of the experience, information and processing power available to STRATCOM even the highest-ranking officers could only wonder at the degree of confusion that permeated the Imperial command authority’s decision-making. The Empire had prepared for a second Shakturi War that actually was much less of the Galaxy-wide conflagration that had been expected and planned for. That relatively brief-if sharp-affair had effectively been handled by four Imperial fleets, the Ancient Guardians and the Varaktor virus delivered by newly-engineered Kraltors. After the Shakturi had been eliminated it was true that the Emperor, Privy Council and STRATCOM were of one mind in preparing for an attack on the Phaerax Empire as the first step in the Empire’s program to subdue the entire Galaxy. Selling that agenda to the Imperial Senate, the beauracracy and then the people had been easy enough to achieve given the relatively effortless dispatch of the Shakturi. Imperial propaganda since the end of the Hegemony had been what could only be characterized as ‘excellent’, with only a couple of minor slip-ups on the way. As it was by now, the Emperor was seen as a nearly prescient, benevolent entity to the Zenox and a foe to be reckoned with by the rest of the Galaxy. Some of the Imperial government, however, was aware that the Emperor was not as all-knowing as the propaganda let on. After the end of the Second Shakturi War the Empire had proceeded smoothly into preparations for the planned attack against the Daidalun Supremacy. As the appointed time for the attack neared, however, it became obvious that the Char Dilba had set their sights on the Phaerax and were effectively destroying the Phaerax military with seeming impunity. Two of the Phaerax colonies that had been selected as initial targets of the Imperial invasion had already been seized by the Naxilians- along with several other minor Phaerax worlds- and massive Naxilian fleet forces were evident to Imperial monitoring systems. It seemed that the Char Dilba were going to essentially destroy the Daidalun Supremacy before the Empire had a chance to engage at all. This was not a situation that was sitting well with the Privy Council. The Daidalun Supremacy was under attack not only by the Char Dilba but also by the Ancient Guardians- the Empire’s best guess was that the Guardians were exacting revenge for whatever limited cooperation the Phaerax lent the Shakturi during that war. It was this that caused the most discerning of the Imperial intelligence organs to begin to be worried by Ancient Guardian aggression- that these elements were not paid more heed would soon lead to an issue in its own right. Phaerax military strength had declined precariously, so much so that STRATCOM began making plans- and then orders- for the military confrontation of the Char Dilba, at least initially in recently-conquered Phaerax systems. The thinking that had evolved was that the Daidalun Supremacy had been militarily degraded to the point that the Empire could confidently anticipate success engaging both the Supremacy and the Char Dilba Authority simultaneously.
Command Fleet, 1, 2, and 5 Battlefleet were ordered to Yaselur Prime and Visolea systems (both already seized by the Char Dilba) and Yaselur and Daidalun systems (still under Daidalun Supremacy control). These fleets were not ordered to yet engage, but to show a presence. Behind them were ordered the 1, 2, and 3 Assault Fleets (composed of troop transports entirely, which were significantly slower in hyperjump capability, priority in upgrades having been given to the combatant ships). Only very slowly, and after a great deal of back-and-forth debate, did STRATCOM and the Privy Council come to agreement that the transports, upon their arrival on-station, should concentrate on taking the colonies in the Yaselur and Daidalun systems, thereby establishing bases of operation for the actions that would consequently follow. Instrumental to forging agreement on this course of action was the near-total destruction of Command Fleet by the Char Dilba fleet in the Visolea system in December of 2396. This event shook STRATCOM to the core as it underlined the stark fact that Fleet doctrine and capabilities were actually not equal to the challenge posed by massed enemy Galactic forces. Thus, the entirety of the Imperial fleet that was not currently involved in the Yaselur Intervention operation was ordered to receive the ‘X-refit’; basically a doubling of shields for all combatant ships. After this would come the doubling of shields for all combatant and most commercial bases. By 10/1/2397 1, 2, and 5 Battlefleet were concentrated in the Daidalun system, preparing to engage head-on any Naxilian fleets in the Intervention Zone area- this time, their orders were to push to the point of war and beyond if necessary. All three fleets of transports were at their staging areas just outside the Daidalun system, ready to attack the Phaerax capital whenever ordered to do so. It was understood that war with (at least) the Daidalun Supremacy and Char Dilba Authority was right around the corner. What gave the Privy Council and STRATCOM some sleepless nights was concern over what the now much more aggressive Ancient Guardians would do in response…
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