Chapter 26: Chapter 26: To War

A few words before the chapter starts. Due to a busy work schedule I usually only have time to write during the weekend. My current plan is to upload 1 chapter per week, with each chapter being 5k+ words.

Also, due to the numerous amount of feedback I received, I may make some changes about whether Starcraft units disappear when they die, as it may indeed cause some issues in future chapters. I'll go back and make some edits to the previous chapters when I have time. The plan is to make it so that the units that died don't disappear by themselves, but Athena can choose to recycle them by having drones turn bodies back into biomass and SCVs recycle armor and vehicles as minerals.

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Athena looked around the conference room. Everyone who meant anything in the 3rd Infantry Regiment was here. The ten captains who commanded the ten companies in the regiment were here. The lieutenants who were a part of the Regimental Command Staff were present as well. There was the young colonel of the regiment, of course. There were also a handful of faces she didn't recognize. Hardly a surprise considering the high turnover rate of Imperial Army officers. 

All in all, there were dozens of men and women, mostly men, in the conference room. All of them were in black uniforms with the sword sigil of the Imperial Army on the chest. 

Even before entering this room, Athena knew this wasn’t just one of the routine regiment-wide meetings that were necessary for keeping a unit of thousands of people functional. What she saw after stepping into the room only confirmed this hypothesis. No…meetings of this scale with so many key figures meant only one thing. The 3rd Infantry Regiment was likely going to be deployed soon.  

Athena wasn’t the only one who came to this conclusion. Most of the other officers in the room, all of them veterans of many battles and wars, came to the same realization. There was a mixture of reactions from them. Some looked absolutely thrilled, no doubt glad to have another chance at claiming wealth, rank, and influence. Others seemed a little concerned but did well to hide that from their colleagues. The vast majority of the officers displayed a mixture of both, keenly aware that deployments often meant both significant opportunities and significant risks.

A few minutes went by and the last of the attendants arrived at the meeting. As the automatic metal door snapped shut one last time, Colonel Jason Gavin made his way to the elevated stage in the front of the conference room, a PEI in his hand. He might be relatively new to the Imperial Army, but he still had a sense of confidence commonly seen in Military Academy graduates. There wasn’t a sense of nervousness in his voice as he spoke to the crowd of officers. 

“Before I start, I want to remind everyone that what I am about to say is highly classified information. The appropriate security protocols should be followed to the letter. Failure to do so will incur significant consequences.”

The officers nodded and the colonel continued. He tapped a key on the PEI, and a few hologram projectors in the conference room snapped to life, displaying a 3D star map in the front of the room. There was a large portion of the map that was highlighted in a light red color while another portion of the map, slightly larger in size, was highlighted in a light blue color. 

Each of the two portions had a small piece colored in dark red and dark blue respectively. These two pieces were adjacent on the map.

Athena and the other officers knew what these annotations meant. The light red and light blue territories represented the territories of the Venya Imperium and the United Republic of Dorn. They represented dozens of sectors, each with dozens, if not hundreds, of planets. The small piece of dark red represented Sector 9A2 of Lord Vitz. Sector 9A2 was large beyond imagination for Athena, but on this star map, one that didn't even cover the entire galaxy, the sector was tiny. Almost insignificant. 

As for the dark blue…

“This is the Republic Sector designated as Sector Orion.” Colonel Gavin tapped the piece of dark blue. “The Sector High Command is launching an invasion into Sector Orion. This will be a large-scale operation, involving major elements from Battlefleet Silver Lance and the 9th Imperial Army Sector Force.”

“The 329th Infantry Division is only a small portion of this offensive, but that doesn’t mean our duty isn’t as important as that of the other units. A lot of eyes will be on this operation, and if the 329th Infantry Division accomplishes its tasks with excellence, all of us will be rewarded. If we fail, then all of us will be held accountable for it regardless of our ranks or backgrounds.”

Athena winced a little at the colonel’s words. Yes, she did look forward to being deployed into a warzone, but the Republic? The Republic was hardly an easy foe to beat. It might not have the same level of control over its territory and population as the Imperium, but it had an advantage in territories and resources that more than made up for it. Its troops near the border were also known for their training, equipment, and will to fight the Imperial invaders until their last dying breath.

Colonel Gavin didn't give any detailed information about the scale of this operation. Most likely, that was because he himself had no idea. Still, Athena knew a sector-wide offensive would likely involve tens of thousands of capital ships from the Imperial Navy and usually several times that number of Imperial Army divisions. Forget about her company. Even the entire 329th Infantry Division was nothing in an offensive of this scale. For all Athena knew, her entire division might get blown up before ever getting their boots on the ground. This was the nature of warfare in this era. A single torpedo was all it took to kill thousands. 

Some of the other officers were equally concerned. Most of them have seen too much to believe the Imperial propaganda that portrayed the Republic troops as being nothing more than cowards and traitors. In reality, the Republic troops often fought as hard as the Imperials, if not more. 

Maybe Colonel Gavin saw the reaction of his men. Maybe he didn't. Either way, he simply tapped another key on the PEI. The hologram zoomed into the dark blue area on the star map before showing a star system with 12 planets orbiting around a single star. 

“This is a system in the Orion Sector designated by the Republic as the Diego System.” Colonel Gavin continued explaining. “We will be a part of an expedition force tasked with bringing the entire Diego System into the Imperium. The entire expedition force will include a fleet from Battlefleet Silver Lance of the Imperial Navy and 20 divisions of the Imperial Army.”

“The Diego System has 12 planets, but only 4 of them are terraformed by various degrees and colonized by the Republic. These four planets are Diego Prime, Diego Secondary, Diego-Five, and Diego-Nine. It is the task of the 329th Infantry Division to secure Diego-Nine for the Imperium.”

Athena silently drew a breath of relief. This was…better. If she was going to be thrown against a heavily fortified Republic world, she might as well look for any chance she could of deserting. As risky as deserting would be, it would give her a much higher chance of survival than charging into the Republic lines. Luckily for her, their objective seemed to be a relatively minor system for both the Imperium and the Republic. Diego Prime and Diego Secondary might still be tough targets, but if the Imperium was only sending a single infantry division to secure Diego-Nine, then Athena was starting to like her chances of surviving. 

Colonel Gavin tapped a few more keys, and Athena raised her eyebrows. She expected the colonel to have some basic intel on the planet, but what the hologram displayed far exceeded that. 

The hologram shifted and showed a 2d map of the Diego Nine’s surface. There was a large area colored blue in the middle of the map. Around that area were two blue dots and one blue square. 

“Diego-Nine is a mining world with a large store of natural resources and minerals.” Colonel Gavin continued and pointed at the piece of blue in the middle of the map. “It has a population of 100,000 civilians, with most of them being miners. The vast majority of this population resides in the mining city they call Prosperity.”

“The planet itself holds major strategic value in the context of the Diego System. Its mining output is the primary source of raw material for the orbital shipyards of Diego Prime. Therefore, it is imperative for us to seize control of Prosperity with as little damage to the mining infrastructure and personnel as possible.” 

A few officers clearly frowned. The city itself had to be intact, which meant dropping every bomb and missile they had on the enemies from orbit before deploying was impossible. The Imperium task force had to take the enemies out with more basic methods, which was bad news for the grunts on the ground. 

“The Republic garrison force of the planet includes minor fleet elements in orbit. The Navy will handle them. Our job is taking care of the Republic forces on the ground.” Colonel Gavin continued to explain. “The Republic ground forces on the planet are around 8,000 in number. They have the support of minor artillery and armored units. They may be outnumbered, but knowing the Republic, they will put up a fight nonetheless.”

He pointed at the two blue dots on the map. 

“These are the two forts the Republic garrison forces reside in. Fort Samsa and Fort Cornelia. The Republic garrison forces will likely use the fortifications and fixed-point artillery units in the two forts to repel our attack. In addition, this circle represents Starport Cinder. It houses four Republic air squadrons, primarily made up of S60 starfighters.”

This was far more information than anything scouting or infiltration ships could gather. Most likely, there was a data breach from the Republic side that leaked a significant amount of classified military information. Athena suspected this was the work of the Imperial Security Agency. Perhaps this data breach was the reason behind this offensive. 

Either way, none of this matters to Athena as of now. Regardless of what was going on with the Republic, her goals remained the same. 

The meeting continued for two more hours as the colonel explained the task of the 3rd Infantry Regiment. Their job was to land to the north of Fort Samsa. Bombers, missiles, and artillery units would do their best to weaken the fortifications of Fort Samsa. After that, the 3rd Regiment and two other infantry regiments would advance onto the fort and wipe out the Republic garrison stationed in the base.

Basically, the Imperials would drop every bomb they had on the Republic forces before sending in the infantry for cleanup. 

The Imperials needed Prosperity to remain intact. The same couldn’t be said for Fort Samsa.

Overall, it was hardly the most elegant battle plan, but often battle plans didn't need to be elegant or sophisticated to be effective. The Imperials had major advantages in the theater in terms of orbital support and numbers, and this plan was able to use these advantages to their fullest extent. 

As the meeting progressed, Colonel Gavin also introduced a few possible responses the Republic garrison might have. One possibility was that the Republic garrison might fall back into Prosperity. This would force the Imperials to fight in brutal urban warfare against enemies who knew the city better than the Imperials ever would. Artillery and air support would also be limited for the Imperials. If the Republic tried to go for this, the Imperial air elements would do their best to limit their movement while the ground forces attempted to intercept them and hold them down. 

At the same time, two of the other infantry regiments would drop in close to Prosperity and seek to control the city as soon as possible to avoid a war of attrition. 

If the Republic troops managed to reach the city and set up defenses, then the Imperials would have no choice but to take the city street by street, block by block. 

Another possibility Colonel Gavin brought up was that the Republic garrison might abandon the forts and Prosperity altogether and escape into the wild. Diego-Nine was a sizable planet, after all. However, due to terrain issues, Diego-Nine also had next to no ability to produce food, with its population having to rely on food imports from Diego Secondary to avoid starvation. The Imperial Navy would be able to blockade the planet, depriving the Republic troops of not only food supply but also fuel, weapons, and ammo. The Republic troops might live a little longer in the wild, but they still wouldn’t last long. 

Finally, it was possible the Republic troops might lose their uniforms and blend in with the local population and wage asymmetrical warfare against the Imperial occupiers. The colonel admitted they didn't have a good answer to this as of now, but if the Republic troops tried to do this, they would have to abandon all heavy weapons, making them a lot less dangerous. This was also a concern for General Pierre and not necessarily for the 3rd Regiment. 

During the two-hour-long meeting, Athena entered the game at least a dozen times, both to think to herself and to ask advice from Nova. She knew Nova might have alternative motives, but even so their fates were still tied. Athena wouldn’t trust Nova unquestionably, but she would still carefully consider what Nova had to say. 

In the end, Athena’s decision was to go along with the offensive. Diego-Nine, as Colonel Gavin stated, had a rich mineral storage. It would be the perfect place for her to set up a terran base and start building units. Conflict with the Republic also gave Athena opportunities to unlock many terran units. The loss of life that would no doubt occur in the battle, while unfortunate, would also add to Athena’s vespene gas reserve.  

There was always the possibility that a stray bullet or a random missile could kill her, but it was a risk Athena had to take. 

As the meeting came to an end, the officers left the conference room one by one to organize their troops. Their feelings about this operation might be mixed, but all of them knew the best thing they could do was follow their orders and do their duties. Plus, as officers, they had a higher chance of surviving than their men. 

Athena left the room as well. As she stepped out, she was met by a pair of men in black uniforms. 

“Sir.” They greeted Athena. 

“Johnson. Lee.” Athena nodded at the two men. 

To generals and admirals, a captain might feel no different than a trooper, but for the grunts that made up most of the ranks of the Imperial Army, a captain like Athena was a big deal. Captains could often decide the fate of the troops under their command. Back in Research Outpost Delta, when Captain Hanson accused Athena of desertion without proof, there was little she could do to defend herself. Unless someone intervened, she could very well be jailed or even executed because of this. 

Even on a daily basis, captains often had the final say in deciding if a trooper was a loyal and competent soldier who deserved rewards and privileges or a coward who should be disciplined. Many privileges in the Imperial Army, such as the right to take time off, were dependent on this. 

Athena knew that it was common for captains to demand favors or bribes from their troops in exchange for not making their lives hell. 

At the same time, captains like Athena often had a handful of troops who remained close to them at all times. These troops served as aids, bodyguards, confidants, and messengers. Their interests were often closely tied with their officers. These troops would serve their captain with extra loyalty and distinction, and in return, the captains would use their authority to grant whatever favor the troops might desire. If their officers rose in ranks, they would bring these troops with them to the new position and elevate them to higher ranks. 

For many men and women who didn't have what it took to rise in power on their own, offering their loyalty to someone who did might be their best chance of achieving more than being simple cannon fodder. 

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This was a common trait in the Venya Imperium. Often, anyone who had ambitions of a higher position would slowly build up armed groups loyal to them and them alone for situations that could only be solved by force. The names of these armed groups differed. Mercenaries. Private armies. Enforcers. Security forces. Yet the idea remained the same.  

The higher the rank, the larger the private armies and the more loyal these armies were. Captains had a handful of troops. Colonels usually had security platoons made of their most trusted men in the entire regiment. Generals tended to have entire companies of the same nature. Larger Imperial Houses would have fleets and armies funded entirely by the Houses. These forces followed their orders and their orders only. Even if the Houses rebelled against the Imperium, these fleets and armies would likely remain loyal to the Houses while other military units might turn against them.  

Moving higher up on the political ladder, Battlefleet Silver Lance was technically the private army of House Vitz and therefore Lord Vitz. As long as Lord Vitz reigned, the admirals, officers, and crew of Battlefleet Silver Lance would live a relatively safe and comfortable life. If House Vitz was overthrown, then whoever took Sector 9A2 would likely spend their resources on their own trusted units, thereby gutting Battlefleet Silver Lance. 

This was why Battlefleet Silver Lance would defend Lord Vitz until the end against any foe. Their interests were too tightly linked. They either rise together or fall together. 

Initially, Athena wondered if something like this was necessary when she had Starcraft units that were more loyal and more competent than any human troops ever could be, but she quickly realized having loyal Imperial troops could help her do many things the Starcraft units couldn’t. It wasn’t like the two were mutually exclusive either. 

In the end, she selected half a dozen men from the company and, after meeting with them individually, moved them from their respective platoons to directly under her command. Athena would do all she could do to benefit them, and in return, they would serve her with loyalty. 

Of course, Athena questioned the strength of loyalty that was purchased by money, but it wasn’t like she was going to lead them against the Imperium tomorrow. She just wanted them to do their best to protect her, which shouldn’t be too much of an ask.

Johnson and Lee were two of the six men. Like the others, they were both veterans. Johnson had served in the Imperial Army for 7 years. Lee had served for 13. 

“Is there going to be a deployment, sir?” Johnson asked, a level of excitement in his voice. 

Lee didn't say anything, but Athena could tell by the way his eyes lit up that he was as thrilled by the possibility as Johnson was. After all, Lee was one of the few men in the company who completed his decade of service and decided to go again. These people were either extremely loyal, extremely ambitious, or plain insane. Having read Lee’s file, Athena knew he was all three. 

“Indeed.” Athena nodded and let out a smile that was only half-faked. She was happy about the deployment as well, although for very different reasons as the two men. “Go and gather the men. We have a lot of preparation to do.”

As the pair of men left, Athena remained silent for a few seconds. A lot of people were going to die. Maybe most of her 437th Company would die. Maybe all of them would die. She expected herself to be scared, but there was little fear she could feel. If anything, all she could feel now was excitement.

After weeks of staying on an Imperial planet and maintaining the mask of a loyalist zealot, she couldn’t wait to unleash the Starcraft units once again.  

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Four days later. 

Diego-Nine. Fort Samsa.

Colonel Ryker stood in the command center. He was a man in his forties. His hair was a mess and more than a few buttons on his uniform were open. As the commander of all Republic forces on the planet, he should put some emphasis on his appearance, but as of now, the man had no time to worry about petty things like how he looked. 

It was early morning on Diego-Nine when a sizable Imperial fleet suddenly jumped into the orbit of the planet. The planet’s surveillance satellites detected the jump signatures twenty minutes in advance, allowing the defenders some time to prepare themselves for the attack. 

Unfortunately, it quickly became clear to everyone involved that it would take more than some time to repel this offensive. The invading Imperial fleet was several times the size of the Republic fleet in the planet’s orbit. By the time the colonel was woken up by his lieutenants and dragged to the command center, the Republic ships were already taking quite a beating. 

The colonel forced his aching eyes open as he looked at the star map on the hologram projector. The satellites in orbit over the planet were still intact despite the Imperials’ attempt to shoot them down. Coupled with the scanners on the Republic ships, the colonel could see an overview of the Imperial fleet.

The Republic fleet was centered around one Vanguard-class cruiser and four Lancer-class light cruisers. All these ships were designed to mainly serve as starfighter carriers. As far as the colonel saw, the Imperial fleet had at least one heavy cruiser, three cruisers, and fifteen light cruisers. In addition to the advantage in numbers, Imperial ships also had an upper hand when it came to armor and firepower. 

In this case, as soon as the Imperial ships jumped in, they began charging toward the Republic ships at full speed. Republic Dragoon-class J-8 heavy assault fighters, Immortal-class bombers, and S71 starfighters did their best to bring down the Republic ships, but the Imperials saw this coming a mile away. Their own interceptors and starfighters were limited in numbers, but they were still enough to repel the Republic fighters with the help of point-defense missiles and turrets on the capital ships. 

This put the Republic ships in a dilemma. Once again, space was a 3d battlefield that was boundless in size, and warships were designed to survive as much damage as possible. The Republic ships could fall back and engage in a back-and-forth war of attrition with the Imperial ships. If they did so, it would be very difficult for the Imperials to destroy them completely without spending a lot of time, fuel, and munition. 

However, doing so meant giving the Imperials complete orbital control over Prosperity. In the modern era, losing orbital superiority was like losing half the battle. There were so many things a fleet could do to wipe out any number of enemies on the ground. 

An amateur officer might waste precious minutes debating his options, but Colonel Ryker was a veteran, and he knew the importance of urgency. The man quickly made up his mind and snapped to the communication officers.

“Instruct Commodore Liam to fall back if necessary. We can’t risk losing our only naval assets on the planet. As long as the fleet is still there, they can serve as a constant threat to the Imperials. That threat is worth so much more than taking down a handful of Imperial ships.”

“Yes sir.”

As the officers started transmitting the order to the fleet, Colonel Ryker turned his attention back to the ground. 

“Sir,” Another communications officer walked up to the colonel, a look of fear on his face. He was ordered to call in reinforcements from the rest of the system as soon as the Imperial jump signatures were detected, and it was clear he didn't get what he was looking for. “Diego Prime and Diego Secondary have both reported that they are also under attack. This seems to be a system-wide invasion. All fleet reserves are directed to Diego Prime. We are trying to contact aid from the rest of the sector, but...”

Colonel Ryker sighed. He wasn’t surprised most resources were sent to Diego Prime. The planet was simply more important. Still, this left him and his men in a dangerous situation. 

Cross-sector communication itself was often quite difficult and time-consuming. Even if reinforcements were deployed from the other systems, they wouldn’t arrive in time to save them. 

At this point, the colonel knew victory was all but impossible. It was true that there was more to warfare than just numbers and statistics, but the power difference in this theater was so significant that the only way for the Republic to win was if the Imperial commanders completely failed at their jobs. 

Despite everything the movies and tv shows in the Republic have portrayed, the Colonel knew people don’t climb to high military ranks by being idiots. This was especially true in the meritocratic Imperium. This battle was lost already.

Even so, this planet was the sovereign territory of the United Republic of Dorn. Whether they would win was one thing. Whether they would fight was another. As an officer of the Republic, it was his duty to give his life in its defense if necessary.  

As he made up his mind, the colonel started giving order after order to his officers. 

“Contact Starport Cinder and tell them to launch all available starfighters and maintain air control for as long as possible. The Imperial fleet will no doubt launch their own fighters and bombers soon.”

“Contact Governor Reese. Inform him of the situation here and get him to sign a drafting order for all members of the local militia. We will need as many men as we can.” 

“Contact Major Piaz and Major Klaus. Tell them to bring their infantry and armored units into Prosperity as soon as possible. Vacate Fort Samsa and Fort Cornelia.” 

One of the younger officers frowned at the series of orders. The first two commands made sense, but the third one… “Shouldn’t we stay in the twin forts and fight with the help of the defenses? Why are we abandoning the fortifications we have been building for decades?”

The twin forts of Samsa and Cornelia were two bastions of defense that the Republic have been building and refining ever since they colonized this world. They were designed to handle threats from all directions. They had anti-air flak guns and missiles that could repel enemy bombers. They had a defensive missile network to intercept enemy missiles. To fight off a ground offensive, they had numerous railguns, plasma weapons, artillery units, machine gun nests, and a giant bunker network that could keep the fort’s personnel, munition, and other supplies safe against enemy bombardment. 

Simply put, forts like this were built to be attacked, which was why the colonel’s orders to give them up made so little sense to the junior officer. 

“I gave you an order, lieutenant. You can have your own opinions, but it is your duty to carry them out!” Colonel Ryker snapped. In the Imperial military if a low-ranking officer interrupted him like this the officer could be court-martialed. The Republic military was a little more lenient, but that didn't mean Colonel Ryker had to be nice about it. 

The young officer quickly went silent. A few of the veteran officers in the room looked at him and scoffed. The young man was clearly an amateur whose understanding of warfare was limited to what he learned in the academy. Yes, usually, fighting behind fortifications was a good idea, but this was one of the rare situations where some deviations from the rule book were necessary.

If their troops remained in the fortifications, they would quickly be surrounded by the Imperial ground forces with no chance of resupplying or getting reinforcements. After that, it would only be a matter of time before the Imperials drop enough bombs and missiles on the forts to reduce them to rubble. No bunker could survive being bombed forever. 

The mining city of Prosperity, on the other hand, was likely the primary reason the Imperials were here. It would be unlikely for the Imperials to be willing to use as much firepower on Prosperity. Given that the Republic would inevitably lose air control, this was the best chance they had of keeping their ground troops from being decimated before even coming into contact with the Imperial ground troops.

As he finished giving the orders, the Colonel looked around the command center once again before raising his voice so everyone could hear him. 

“I won’t lie to you. The situation is not looking good for us, but keep in mind that when it comes to the Imperials, our only choice is to fight!” He scanned the expression of the men and women under his command. “You have all seen and heard what the Imperials do to their prisoners of war! Torture! Execution! If any of us surrender, this is what will happen to us! I don’t know about you, but I would rather die fighting than go down kneeling!”

The officers in the room nodded almost in unison. The colonel was right. The Imperials often publicly tortured and executed their captives. It was something their leadership was quite proud of. In fact, the Imperials would often send videos and photos of what they did to their prisoners to all corners of the galaxy. 

Many Imperials often saw the horrified reactions as positive. In reality, all this meant was that the enemies of the Imperium would fight harder than ever against them. 

Still, for one reason or another, the tradition of torturing prisoners of war by the Imperial military continued to this day, incentivizing the enemies of the Imperium to fight to the death better than any patriotic propaganda ever could. 

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