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(6.19) The Lords Voice
(6.19) The Lords Voice
Galactic News Agency
Transmitted from the Holly Sea, Baklid VI
August 15th, 1937
Galaxy At War!
We have a special report for you tonight, regarding the war
In the later days of June, the Reich made one of its most expected moves to date. As we have reported up to this date, the Reich invasion of the Free World Council was based on a number of key factors. First came the wide spread crack down of Reich spies within the Shana’duna space. This all but paralyzed the Reich’s intelligence operations within Shana’duna space and crippled the Reich’s operations. The next move came with the massive build up of Republic force throughout Shana’duna space. With the added forces the defenders of Shana’duna out numbered the defenders of Council space nearly three to one. There are unconfirmed sources that place the timing of the Reich invasion was to match a key naval commanders’ meeting on Alderaan. These factors weighed heavily in timing and choice of the Reich’s next invasion. Of the possible points of invasion, the Free Worlds Council was the most expected. There is evidence indicating that the Shana’duna could have been the original target. And what followed became some of the greatest battles in history.
The two largest powers within and round the core faced off in a war that had been building for over seven decades. When these two super powers finally faced off in the first days of June, the entire galaxy was rocked. To recap the events that led to the war that spanned the entire galaxy, here is Brother Parrie Hrirry. Brother Hrirry is our special military consultant.
Thank you for allowing me to share the Lord’s gift with all of your viewers. Allow me to start by saying that times like this are when I feel the heavy burden of our Lord's gift. There are times when the future is clouded to us. There are times when the Lord speaks to us and reveals the future right before our eyes. The Lord spoke to us and showed us what is to come. With all the clues leading up to this invasion, the Free Council Navy had been warned over and over again of the coming threat. Instead of learning from the mistakes of others they simply dug their heels in and held fast to policies of nearly a century ago. Even within their own Government the alarms were sounding and the Council’s Grand Admiralty shut down and stopped listening. The Po'lash, Kel Varh, Y'Ish, Ponji were all warnings of the kind of war that was coming. What did the Free Worlds' Navy do to prepare for it? Nothing! They hid behind their all-impressive wall and counted down the hours till what everyone knew was coming.
When the attack came, it was just as we all had expected. The invasion plan was clearly developed by Field Marshal Kessler. He has become a strategic rising star within the Reich. To see this, all you need to do is look at the tell tale signs within the Reich's actions. The lack of involvement of Kessler and Halder are just two more clues that Kessler created this plan. With the man known as the Galactic Fox at the helm of this invasion, all bets were closed and this race to annihilation had begun. This was a war for the ages, over seven decade in the making. Its causes were as deeply woven in to the culture of each powerful state as it were in recent actions. Neither side let us down when it came to the big show. The Reich clearly didn’t bring their ‘A’ game to this invasion, as it became clear that the invasion was not their first plan. However they did come to win and this was seen throughout the battles that ranged. The Council’s military, regardless of mindsets, had been planning for the defense of this war for years. With their back up against the wall, they refused to pass in to the night like states before them. The heroism was a well that was plentiful for the Council defenders. As two titans of the stars clashed my words would ring true, the Galaxy rocked!
Due to security changes, the Council’s computerized sensors were protected from out side hacking. Lesson’s learned from the fall of the Y’Ish upped the level of network security within the Council Communication Networks. The Council hadn’t expected the level of attacks the Reich was bringing. There was no defense for what the Reich was bringing. The opening hours of the invasion saw the entire defensive line light up with hundreds of thousands of Reich ships lunching their attacks across the Council boarder. There was no explaining the level of sensor signals that were being recorded by the Council security networks. Hundreds of thousands of ghost ships were being record crossing the Council border. There was only one explanation for the ghost ships their systems hacked. The Council reacted by sending ships to each sector to confirm what was going on in each zone. This didn’t have the same level of chaos that the Y’Ish suffered but it did tie up needed ships when the invasion did come.
Kessler’s next move was to sideslip around the Council's all impressive defensive line known as the Demarcation Point. While the sensors and communication's grid was under full attack by Reich hackers, Kessler’s elite Panzer Haar III made their assault on Renegg. Renegg offered Kessler two important factors for his invasion plans. It was a critical anchor for further operations deeper in to Council space. Secondly, it closed the most used space line between Council space and Shana’duna space. From Renegg, the entire southern regions of Council space were at threat and would force the Council and her allies to consider this threat before reacting to the invasion. From Renegg, Kessler could make a North East run and cut all of the Council space off from Shana’duna support. Renegg was a critical loss for the Council and Kessler made no attempt to conceal his invasion of the world. Task Force commanders were begging for deployment orders to support Renegg. However, the Council's Admiralty saw through the diversion and was not biting. The Grand Admiralty held back from deploying their ships too soon, which could have been disastrous for the Council navy. Kessler's gamble had all but failed.
With the might of the Council Navy still holding their positions, the diversion failed. Kessler secured Kenegg with little effort and moved to the second part of his plan. It was time for the student to unleash the Teacher against the Council; Field Marshal Halder was given his orders. By the end of the first day, it was clear that the Council wasn’t going to take the bait. Field Marshal Halder’s Haar moved on the Council’s southern defense headquarters located on Alderaan. Kessler turned his Haar north ahead of a steady flow of Reich forces across the line. Changing his plans in midstream, it was clear that he had intended to cut the Council from support from Shana’duna. However, now he was moving to give direct support to Halders invasion of Alderaan. At the time, it seemed like a strategic mistake. In hindsight, it was the only option opened to Kessler due to the Council not moving on the diversion.
The entire time, Wolf class assault ships punched holes in the DP line to allow more forces to cross in to Council space. By midday, day two, the entire southern boarder of Council space was in full conflict and Republic troops flooding in to the eastern regions of Council space. They fought a dogged resistance against Field Marshal Kessler with Chancellor Murl leading the defense from his flagship. The fact that the Council still exists today is due in part to Chancellor Murl’s leadership during this critical time. It was clear that Kessler was moving to cut the Dragon Tail space lane and cripple the Council defenders. The battle of Zelerus Prime saw the first time that Republic forces faced off with the elite Panzer Haar III. The battle was short lived due to Kessler’s units untimely withdraw from the battle. Kessler hit the Republic hard in a daring raid and crippled a number of ships and destroying transports. Chancellor Murl turned his forces south off their western course and pursued Panzer Haar III. Kessler gave the 1st Republic fleet a run for their money as the two forces played a hit and run battle for more than eight days. Chancellor Murl fleet lost the Panzer Haar III near the world of Bistage, along the Shana’duna boarder. According to Republic reports, the Panzer Haar III was heavily mulled and forced to retreat for Reich space. The 1st Republic Fleet turned and headed for Hok in victory. However, the invasion was far from over and the losses were building on both sides.
There were reports from locals of wide scale bombing of civilian targets. There were also reports of wide scale use of weapons of mass destruction. Our reporters on the ground were unable to prove either of these claims. We did uncover areas of where civilian populations were effected and where many civilians had died as a direct result from attacks on military bases and limited use of weapons of mass destruction. We were unable to prove that the Reich forces had directly targeted civilians as many reports claim. Within days of the opening shots, both key world of Alderaan and Kenegg had became secured by the Reich. The jewel of the Reich invasion was the parade of Admiral and Generals who were captured on Alderaan just a few days after the invasion started. The loss of the Admirals had been intended to be a killing blow to the Council military. This had the opposite affect; the military didn’t crumble as suspected. Within days of the invasion starting, the Council Army regrouped under junior Brigadier General Q'Anilia, which is pronounced kani:lja. The remnants of the Council Navy shortly there after followed suite as well.
The battles across the southern boarder of the Council raged and the spectacular invasions of Alderaan and Kenegg were headliners unto themselves. However, Field Marshal Erich Von Kessler was about to show off his master plan. Long before the ten Reich Haars, or Armies as it is spoken in basic, crossed the Council boarders, Field Marshal Kessler assigned a very important mission to one of his most closest and dearest friends, Field Marshal Walther Model. Wishing to avoid a prolonged war with the Council, the plan was to snap the neck of the Council while at the same time removing the military leadership. This would hopeful cause the Council to crumble and surrender. Days before the invasion started, Field Marshal Model led part of his unit on one of the most dangerous missions to date. Slowly they crept their way through Council space without being detected. Model’s mission was two fold. Capture the Council civilian leadership on Jagga-Two, second destroy the Free Polash Navy which was protecting the world.
For weeks, the Free Polash Navy had been in orbit of Jagga-Two re-supplying and rearming. They made for a fat easy target for Model’s five strike carriers. Above Jagga-Two was also the last major fleet still battle ready under the command of Admiral Boushi. Model laid out his plan as the hour of the attack closed. All things rested on Model’s forces not being detected during the five-day roundabout journey to Jagga-Two. Model arrived in Jagga-Two with complete surprise and was unto himself was surprised when his fleet arrived in Jagga-Two space. The Free Polash Navy had vanished less than an hour before the Reich had arrived. Nonetheless, Admiral Boushi’s fleet had been caught flatfooted by Model and his reinforced Hop Light Group when they hyperspaced in. Model quickly rolled with the changes to the battlefield and engaged Boushi’s ships before they even realized they were in combat. Admiral Boushi was a sound strategist, but not the senior Officer of the fleet. Hours before the battle, across Council space, a hundred assassinations took place. These assassinations were aimed at taking out as many of the Council military commanders. Most were successful, but some failed. Admiral Boushi was a junior flag officer and did not have direct command over the fleet. Admiral Boushi was faced with a nightmare situation.
Two other junior Admirals who were part of the Fleet’s Command group claimed superior rank as they attempted to take over the Fleet. Many orders were issued and countered by other flag officers. This confusion gave Field Marshal Model the upper hand almost right from the first shot. Even with the chaos and the confusion, Admiral Boushi was able to rally his ships and put up a sound defense against Model’s fighters. The plan was working till Boushi’s flagship took a number of heavy hits. It was unclear rather Admiral Boushi died in the hits or when the ship finally broke apart. However, the command channels fell silent and the fleet fall victim to the Reich fighters. Many analysts believe that the withdrawal of the Maelstrom cost the Council their capital. I personally disagree with this. Had the Maelstrom and her fleet been over Jagga-Two, they would have been destroyed with Boushi’s fleet. Could they have slowed down the invasion? They could have slowed down the invasion of Jagga-Two without a doubt. But at what cost? The Maelstrom is one of the only pure carriers within the Republic’s fleets. Her loss would have opened up a number of other losses in the future. The finally outcome of Jagga-Two would have been the same. The Maelstrom would have made no difference if she had been there. Even with the last of Boushi’s ship burning and braking apart, the battle for Jagga-Two was far from over. The Republic had one more card to play.
With the space around Jagga-Two secured, Field Marshal Model gave the order to start landings. The delay of his order till after the space was secured was uncharacteristic for Field Marshal Model. During the space battle, Model held back dropping his forces on the planet. This gave the planetary defenders valuable time to prepare for the coming invasion. It was not till well after the invasion did the reason for this uncharacteristic move become clear. Once the battle for the world started, it was clear that this single battle was going to be a down and dirty brawl. The defenders under the command of Colonel Emerison, refused to give up ground. The planetary defenders fought with such heroics that Model was quoted saying, "its a shame they have to die. Although its an honor that we can share this battlefield with them today." The defenders needed a miracle and fast. Despite all the heroic efforts by the defenders of Jagga-Two, the world was lost cause. Though the hand of God was about to be waved over Jagga-Two. Out of nowhere, ships slipped from hyperspace and turned the tide of battle. These were not just any ships. They were the ships of Black Dragons, the elite bodyguards of the Azgardian Warlord, Fiolla Heartman.
The arrival of the Black Dragons shifted the tide of battle and forced Field Marshal Model’s ships from the planet’s orbit. The battle was fierce between the two combatants above the world and within the capital the Free Worlds Council. If Field Marshal Walther Model ever found a match in his class, it was in the leadership of the Azgardian General, Birgr Heartman. The two men pitted their forces in a match of strategy that spanned the entire system. Model’s goal was to secure the world for the Reich invasion. General Heartman had other mission goals. At first General Heartman deployed his forces as if his mission was to defend the system. It forced Model to react in kind. What happened next became a focal point of many critics.
General Heartman at the height of his maneuvers and with enough advantage to possible force Model to withdraw from the system, General Heartman started his own withdraw from Jagga-Two. With him, he took the majority of the governing body of the Free Worlds Council. The Reich had been denied the capture of the Free Worlds Council leaders. Just as the Azgardians were falling back to defend shuttles filled with politicians and their families, the rest of Model’s forces arrived. The tide had turned back in favor of Field Marshal Model but too late to capture the Free Worlds Council leadership. However, Model was not going to allow the Azgardians to leave without a fight.
Model was able to use his higher number of both fighters and ships to drive the Dragon ships back away from the planet. As the battle shifted from a holding action to a running retreat, Field Marshal Model pushed harder to drive the Dragons ships and break their lines. The losses surged on both sides as the Azgardians fought to hold their lines while the Reich ships were starting to over come the Azgardian lines. General Heartman gave the order to withdraw from the system. The order was given but not of the Azgardian ships were able to withdraw right away. A group of Azgardian ships found themselves cut off by a larger group of Reich ships. I lone Dragon heavy cruiser fired its engines and heroically charged the Reich lines. The ship took heavy fire but was able to destroy two Reich warships before the Dragon ship rammed a strike carrier. The act cut an opening in the Reich lines allowing the rest of the Azgardians to withdraw from the system.
As the days turned to weeks, the situation grew even harder for the Free Worlds Council’s defenders as the Dorins joined the invasion as well. The Free Worlds Council military was in near chaos as the heads of major forces were assassinated and the weight of the invasion placed its pressure on junior officers. It was Brigadier General Q'Anilia’s quick thinking and solid leadership skills that rallied the other officers around her. Her actions denied the Reich and Dorins a large final battle. General Q’Anilia had her forces conduct a fighting retreat eastward as they consolidated. She forced her units to withdraw faster than the Reich’s invasion lines and ahead of the higher numbered Dorins. With additional support from the Republic and the Shana’duna, General Q’Anilia was able to create a defensive line along the Hydian Way. Sadly the Reich had secured the FWC worlds along the Core/Colonies Border and west of the Hydian Way. Though the invasion could have been so much worse than it was. A quarter of the FWC worlds remained free; the majority FWC leadership remained free at a secured location.
The FWC military remained still functional under the leadership of General Q’Anilia, despite her refusal to follow Chancellor Murl’s orders to push back on to the offensive. For the time being, General Q’Anilia is currently regrouping her military and fighting a high-speed war against the Dorins near the Northeastern region of former Council space. The strategy seems to be paying of in a number of minor victories. The Reich has stopped all advances as the Dorins are attempting to pick up the slack. This has allowed General Q’Anilia much needed time to rebuild her forces. Though the rift between the General and the Chancellor’s office could spell disastrous for the remains of the Council military. What General Q’Anilia has in her favor is the loyalty of her troops and a proven strategy that is starting to show results. Currently only Chancellor Murl is only military leader to defeat the Galactic Fox, a fact that he has used in a number of speeches and in private communications with General Q’Anilia. For the time being, the borders have pretty much formed where they are now. One question everyone is asking is, why has the Reich stopped its eastward movements to finish off the Council.
Throughout the invasion, it was the wolf packs that really made the difference. They conducted critical advanced intelligence gathering long before the invasion. Right before the invasion, the Wolf packs blasted holes in the DP and harassed defense units. They also hit critical rally points and targeted flagships in an effort to spread chaos among the FWC military. After the invasion, the Wolf packs hit the military conveys the hardest. This continued to fuel the demise of what remained of many Council units. However something remarkable has developed between the wolf packs and the civilian merchants. The wolf pack commanders have honored an unspoken unwritten truce with the civilian merchants. The civilian merchants would paint the large letters of ‘CM’ across their hauls. Currently there are no recorded civilian merchant ships that had been attacked with these markings on them. This unspoken truce has allowed much needed humanitarian supplies and food to reach worlds that have become cut off as a result of the invasion. Due to the truce, the same civilian merchants have refused to carry troops, war supplies or running supplies to embattled FWC units. This became another point contention for the Chancellor’s office, which is desperate to supply units that have been cut off.
But wait! What about the massive Orion program?
You known the Orion Program, the not so secret Orion class super ships the Council's navy vested so much in to building. This was supposed to be the ship class that would save the Free Worlds Council from attacks by either the Dorins or the Reich. The Free Worlds Council navy vested nearly half of its annual budget for ten years. The program brought some of the most advanced technology together to build ten super ships. The program was designed to offset the Dorin Doombringer class dreadnought and the Reich Peacemaker class dreadnought. The while the Dorins pushed their Doombringers, the Reich all but abandoned their Peacemaker program after a few class ships were built. Like the Dorins, the Free Worlds Council’s navy had chosen to push the Orion program forward. The Orion Program was not just one class of ships, but also a whole new line of warships that would fight side by side. The navy banked on their Orion Program so much that they didn’t heed warnings of the changing philosophies within the Reich. A total of twelve Orion hauls were laid, but only ten would see construction through. The remaining two hauls were sent to Chazwa’s ship graveyard for long-term storage. However the remaining ten would never achieved full operational status. Most were forced from the yards to join fleets in defense of the Council with work still being done on them.
During the invasion, two were lost over Alderaan during Halder’s first assault on the world. It was clear that they were targeted by Halder’s Wolf packs. A third took so much damaged that the crew was forced abandon the ship with fires raging out of control. It is presumed that the remains of the ship had fallen in to enemy hands. Another two were blown from their own shipyards as they were being prepped to join the battle by Wolf pack attacks over the worlds of Kiribi and Quil’ac. The attacks were so thorough that the yards were also destroyed as well as their defenders. The construction crews scuttled three more when the Reich’s advance placed the ships in threat of being captured. The Mammoth was badly damaged defending against the Dorin invasion. Surprisingly, the Mammoth was one of two that were the closest nearing completion. Even though not completely mission ready, the Mammoth took down three Dorin Doombringers during the battle of Bilbringi. While the overall battle was a loss for the Free Worlds Council, Bilbringi played the part of a much-needed speed bump for the Dorin invasion. This gave other Council units’ valuable time to withdraw and regroup before being swarmed by the Dorins. The Mammoth and her battle group played a critical role in this battle before being forced to withdraw from the battlefield. The Mammoth and her battered battle fleet joined up with General Q’Anilia’s forces in July.
Above Jagga Two, the Goliath, another Orion class ship was nearing completion. Her construction was over ninety percent complete. All that was missing was her main reactor. The reactor was never shipped to Jagga Two due to a malfunction discovered during quality control. Her crew ready and trained, her massive weapons fully stocked and dangerous. This ship might have helped during the defense of Jagga Two, if she had a reactor. Without her reactor, the ship was completely helpless. It didn’t even have enough power to move its large guns or raise her shields. The ship was doomed like her sister ships were. Her captain gave the order to blow her up before the yard could fall in to enemy hands. This was the very reason why Model slowed his landings on Jagga Two. What the Council Captain didn’t know was that a Reich team had already boarded the Goliath. Reich Lance Corporal Wilmer Berg is credited with saving the Goliath of its scuttling. Reich combat teams secured both the bridge and engineering before the detonation could occur. The captain was shot and killed by Corporal Berg with a single shot between the eyes. The Captain was dead before he hit the ground and with the detonator still in his hand. The Goliath was the only Orion class ship to be confirmed captured largely intact.
I have saved the best report for the last! For years, we have heard about the Free Polash navy and their fight against the Reich. Shortly after the brutal fall of Polash at the hands of the Reich a number of ships managed to escape the carnage. These ships that had managed to escape the system formed what is called the Free Polash navy. At first the fleet started out with just two ships and the well-known Maelstrom. What made the Maelstrom special was the fact that she was one of very few ships built to be carrier. The Maelstrom and her two support ships were on a military training mission in Kel Vahr space when the invasion of Polash occurred. Once the invasion was over, the Maelstrom put the call out to any surviving Polash ships. Slowly as the days ticked by, ships starting to arrive and the fleet grew. What started out as a fleet of three ships grew in to a fleet of nearly twenty capital ships and a number of support ships. The fleet was centered on guerrilla hit and run tactics against the Reich. They made a name for themselves hitting the Reich where they were the weakest or where they were not expecting the attack. This brought fame to the fleet and earned the hatred of the Reich.
The Free Polash navy was a prize that no Reich commander would pass up. Not even the very mission orientated Field Marshal Model. Model had calculated the Maelstrom’s involvement in the battle for Jagga-Two. Model planned for the heavy fighter engagement that common for battles involving the Maelstrom. However Model would be denied this prize because less than an hour before Model’s fleet arrived the Polash navy slipped in to hyperspace and escaped the battle over Jagga-Two. To this day, the reasons why the fleet fled is still obscured and will most likely be debated years to come. The fleet arrived at the last known location of Task Force 92, a reinforcement unit for Jagga-Two that had gone missing. The unit had been attacked by a number of Wolf Class assault ships a few hours before as they were rushing to Jagga-Two. I have talked before about stages for galactic moments. This was not one of those moments but no less as important. This was just what the Council needed. When the Council was facing its darkest hours against an enemy that seemed undefeatable, the Lord gave the Council hope.
The Free Polash navy arrived and started to conduct recovery operations. The entire task force had been left burning by the unseen attacking Reich ships. It had appeared that the battle was long over. However the Task Force was just the bait for the lurking Reich ships. In the middle of the recovery operations the Reich sprung their trap on the Maelstrom and the Free Polash navy. The first shot from the lurking Wolf class ships hit the Polash Wicher, a light Cruiser built some forty years ago. The weapon hit on the Wicher was so devastating that it nearly ripped the large ship in two. As the Wicher was braking up and its crew was fighting for their very lives, the nature of the situation became clear. The fleet was trapped; a large number of survivors from Task Force 92 still needed to be rescued. The Admiral of the fleet, who’s name still remains a mystery, gave the order to continue with the rescue despite the risk to his ships. The choice was heroic, but fear still ran high among the fleet. They were risking their lives for soldiers and a government that didn’t lift a finger while Polash fell to the Reich.
This was a fact that surely ran through Ambassador Zall’s mind during the cowardly attack. Ambassador Zall stepped forward and helped claim the crewmembers of the Free Polash fleet. Ambassador Zall was able to help focus the crews on their task as the trap continued to close around them. This night belonged to someone of destiny. That man would be Lieutenant Kaidan ‘Ronin’ Vosk, commander of the elite 9th Polash Interceptor Squadron. The squadron is more commonly known as ‘Fallen Angels’ because of their diverse background. The Squadron was formed from a number of fighter units that survived the invasion of their homeworld. Lieutenant Vosk formed the unit and taught them how to be survivors against the Reich. His skills were about to be put to the test. Failure would mean the lost of the Free Polash fleet. That was an end result that Lieutenant Vosk refused to accept.
The Reich ships were still hidden from sight and the attack was just getting underway against the Free Polash navy. Another shot fired from the cowardly Reich ships hit the Bonetta, a Council heavy cruiser. The impact hit the Bonetta with such destruction, that the entire front of the ship was ripped from the rest of the ship. Vosk knew that the next shot would be aimed at the Maelstrom. He had to stop it, no matter what he had to stop the next attack. Lieutenant Vosk turned his fighter as he followed his heart. His unit attempted to follow him on this moment in history. However it was only the newest member of the Fallen Angels that could keep up with him as he ripped through the battlefield and debris of wrecked ships. The pair of fighters made a mad dash as they flew through burning wreckage of a Council Dreadnought. Punching through the wreckage like a pair of flaming phoenixes, their trails were lit up from their afterburners. From eyewitness reports, it was as if time had stopped to allow Lieutenant Vosk to complete his attack run.
The pair shot past the Maelstrom on their attack run as they pushed for the location of the attacking ship. The space started to light up with an eerie glow of red. Lieutenant Vosk led his wingman in to the eye of the dragon without any fear in his heart. Lieutenant Vosk faced certain destruction, but the love that he felt for his crewmates drove him forward. With only one shot that could be made, Lieutenant Vosk closed his eyes and pulled the trigger. His twin lasers fired at the red eye of the dragon in unison. The two beams ripped in to the heart of the red glow hitting the weapon that had been fired at the Maelstrom. The explosion ripped the Wolf class assault ship in to pieces. The shock wave was felt throughout the battlefield. The remaining ships fled the area in light of what had happened. Lieutenant Vosk landed back aboard the Maelstrom to a hero’s welcome. As news spread of Lieutenant Vosk’s actions, the Council’s defenders got a much-needed bust in moral.
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