Confederate March: Anaxes

[Seven Maelsav]

Seven Maelsav was sitting, hard braced to a chair. Around him were several Cizerack; and all of them were prepared for what was to come. Anaxes was to be one of the first targets to be hit by the Confederacy. To be taken over, and act as a foothold- somewhat a seat of power. That the group was a powerful organization, and that they were going to be known in this conflict.

Anaxes was republic controlled, for the moment. The planet would be key for a base of operations. Or to mount a defense when need be.

The Lupine stared through the display of his HUD, looking at his Cizerack compatriots. They wore no helmets, instead they wore what would be called Combat Visors. It gave them the same heads up display as he had, but wasn't as confined. However, Seven felt it pertinent to wear a helmet for battle. Illusion of safety.

He was this platoons leader. His object was to lead a ground assault in the main city, and successfully take it. Sounded simple, however the battle wouldn't be.

Seven acted as an agent in regards to being manned with Cizerack. The forces needed an effective leader, warrior. And Diego had decided to put him to the Test. In simulations he had been far effective.

The dropship had released. He looked around to his men, and then a bit beyond them to combat droids. They were prepared. He was prepared. But no matter how much he thought he was ready, that little twist and rumble in his stomach shook him- atmosphere. They were coming in hot.

Two kilometers to destination

Explosions after that voice. Other ships being shot down. Down, that's where they were headed. The ship set down, the rear opened, and Seven was on his feet. He held an energy carbine, and as soon as he exited beams whirled past them.

"Droids, out- into position and on your vehicles."

The monotone response quickly came, he turned to the Cizerack, and it was like they were reading his mind- already deploying, defending the droids as they were doing their part.

Seven crouched low and moved to a tree. He moved to look around it, saw an approaching enemy- his finger slowly squeezed the trigger, but more than one shot was fired. A smoldering mess.

The battle for Anaxes had begun.

[Vargo the Hutt]

Nestled in the heart of a Trade Federation battleship like a queen termite, Vargo the Hutt watched the beginning offensive with the detatched interest of a Geonosian Emperor overseeing gladiatorial games. The spartan interiors of the Lucrehulk-class galleon seemed at odds with its supreme leader, who sprawled across a pillow-heaped dais on a raised platform above a motley crew of droids, Neimoidians, and Cizerack.

Vargo's tongue slid across his broad chin as he jabbed a chubby finger towards one of the several dozen holograms encircling him. The other holograms disappeared, and the one he singled out enlarged before his eyes. It was a Nebulon frigate. A single slurred command in thick Huttese diverted hundreds of smaller holograms to approach. Droid starfighters began to engage the New Republic picket ship in wave after brutal wave.

It was an act of attrition, requiring no strategic foresight whatsoever. It fit the Hutt's lack of any shred of subtlety. As Vargo devoured a striped lizard, his droids began to devour the frigate's defenses, overwhelming them.

Slurping a scaled tail down his gullet, Vargo belched, letting ichor drip down his chin as a Cizerack Lieutenant gave him a verbal battle report.

"Yourr hjigh exaltedness, ourr landjing forrces arre begjinnjing debarrkatjion. We wjill be wjithjin bombarrdment rrange jin fjive mjinutes."

Vargo had nothing to say to his underling, except to "hooom" with hearty approval.

[Lion El' Jonson]

Nebulon-B Frigate Repulse
Anaxes Defense Force
Commander Kospi

The Repulse rocked as another wave of droid starfighters made their run on her superstructure. The vessel's gunners had picked off dozens of the small spacecraft, but there were just too many of them.

"Damage report!" yelled Commander Kospi.

"Shields are down to 18%, sir. They're completely gone from decks 7-12. Numerous hull breaches on those decks. Energy reserves are down to 30%."

"And the fighters?" asked Kospi.

"Green and Blue Squadrons scrambled at the first sign of the approaching fleet. The B-Wings have jumped to a randomized adjacent system, and Green Squadron is attempting to reach a communications station to warn the fleet."

One bright point of news, anyway. "Thank you, Lieutenant. Don't give up ye-." Before he could finish the sentence, the vessel rocked again, and this time everything went out. Lights, consoles, shields, weapons...the vessel was silent. Commander Kospi picked himself up off the floor, and wondered what had just happened.

"Sir, shields are out! They've...they've taken out the spine! We have no contact with the engineering hull. We're currently drifting. The droid starfighters are continuing their attack. Without shields, we have less than 5 minutes until the hull fails."

He was off by about 4 minutes and 30 seconds. A lucky shot from a droid starfighter caused a plasma containment breach in the engineering hull, and the fusion reactor literally blew apart, incinerating everything within 2 kilometers.

Anaxes Military Command Center
Designator: Golkaan Base
Commanding Officer: Major General Sango Kariudo

"What the feth is happening, Colonel Sten?" yelled General Kariudo.

"No idea, sir. We've lost contact with the Repulse, and there are reports of enemy forces landing all over the planet. There are already casualty reports coming in for militia forces around the Capital. We think that there're Cizerack in the area."

Sango slammed a fist onto the table. "You can't be...what are we doing about this?!"

"We have initiated emergency procedures as outlined in our Invasion Contingencies. Other than that..."

"You haven't raised the shields? The Surface-to-Orbit Batteries?"

The Colonel shook his head. "No sir. Raising the shields requires an order from one of the Executive Ministers, owing to the energy crisis Anaxes currently suffers from. As you know, the Orbital Defense Batteries are centered around the Capital. We've got another 6 hours of planetary rotation before the enemy fleet enters our field-of-fire, and if they maintain a geostationary orbit, we can't touch them."

Sango sat down and placed his fingers on his forehead. He had no idea why the Confederacy would hit Anaxes. The New Republic had maintained relatively stable ties with the Cizerack Empire. They never should have trusted that race.

"Alright. Colonel Sten, order an immediate call-up of all reserve personnel. Revoke leave for all troops, instruct the maintenance pool to ready our vehicles for departure, and relay these instructions to the other bases. Raise the shields."

Sten hesitated at this last order. "Sir, we can't without approv-."

Sango cut him off. "Do it. I'll take responsibility. I don't want my forces incinerated by an orbital bombardment."

The Colonel nodded. "I'll get on it immediately."