Jedi Insurgency 325

Arriving stealthed in the Axion system, Corvus witnessed a daring dogfight between the starfighters, whilst the Republic & Imperial forces were rapidly closing, trading turbolaser fire between one another. 

The enemy had two ISD's in the field, complimenting a pair of Venators, five Acclamators, and a handful of light corvettes. Meanwhile, the Republic fleet consisted of two Venators, and eight Acclamators. Despite the higher firepower of the ISD, the tonnage balanced one another out. Relatively speaking, both sides were equal. For this fight, there wasn't any asteroid field, or convenient astrological phenomenon to maneuver around. It was straight up empty space! 

Witnessing this opening clash, Corvus saw that the Imperial formation was an inverse V-shape, with the pair of ISD's taking the lead, and the Venators just on each side, with the corvettes all the way at the back, acting as anti-starfighter gunners for the relatively vulnerable rear-side of the Acclamators/ISDs. Whoever had thought of this formation wasn't necessarily a genius, but it accounted for a weakness, and was dangerous in its own right. Unlike the standard Imperial arrogance under Palpatine’s reign, the military men serving Crown Prince Vader were valued for their skills & merits, not how much money they donated, or who they knew. 

‘Troublesome.’ Corvus thought to himself. 

This one battle, no doubt, would serve as a microcosm for what similar engagements would look like across the galaxy. Oh, certainly, there would be Imperial commanders that were arrogant, over eager, or glory hungry, but as the war dragged on, those types of personalities would either sober up, becoming deadly veterans, or they would die young, and be replaced by better leadership. 

Meanwhile, the Republic formation had taken a radical approach in response to this inverse V, and were attempting a surrounding U shape. Pots-or whoever the naval commander was for this operation-must've realized the importance of the corvettes, and was actually attempting to destroy them first. The idea was a good one, at least on paper. After all, with the corvettes gone, then their bombers would be free to flank the ISDs, and deal some massive damage. However, this strategy of ‘ignoring’ the other ISDs & Acclamators was extremely costly. 

The battle had practically just begun before Corvus had arrived, and perhaps no more than 15 minutes had transpired since the beginning of the battle. And yet a pair of Republic Acclamators had already sustained catastrophic damage, and were burning up. One had ejected her escape pods, whilst the other one was looking for an emergency landing on Axion. The corvettes were destroyed, but the cost ate away at Corvus's heart. 

All of this occurred within a minute of him arriving within the system, and he hadn't had time to affect the outcome of the fight. Doing some [Shadow Reading] on the combatants, Corvus beheld the two most likely futures from this encounter. 

One, the Imperial forces immediately engaged their hyperdrives, cutting their losses. 

There were a handful of transports hanging out even further back, preparing for a land invasion, but were conspicuously waiting in place, despite Axion's shields being currently down. It was clear as day to Corvus that this was a trap set up by Thrawn. By dangling such a dangerous force so close to Umbara, the Republic had to respond. Especially since he had seemingly been ignoring the CIS's pleas for reinforcements against Arcann. If he ignored his allies in this theater, then the entire basis for their cooperation may come unraveled. If he didn't show up, then the landing forces would wreak havoc upon the inhuman Colicoid population. 

The other possible future-which he privately thought was much less likely-was that the Imperials maintained position, looking to win this engagement. If such an event occurred, the Republic bombers would pierce the dogfight in the middle, and destroy one ISD, and three Acclamators before they retreated. Meanwhile, the Republic would lose two more Acclamators. In essence, both sides would have lost an equal amount of tonnage, whilst the Empire was forced to withdraw compared to a voluntary withdrawal. 

Of course, now that Corvus was here, he would try to prevent option one as much as possible. Unfortunately, Thrawn had implemented anti-mind control protocols as of late, and if officers suddenly started acting funny, their troops were ordered to take matters into their own hands. In fact, intelligence reports made it known that brain chips were becoming more & more common amongst the military. Instead of being stigmatized, soldiers who agreed to this were given more credits/benefits, and told they were fighting the evildoing cult who had brainwashed the Senate for generations. 

It was a toxic strategy, and one entirely in line with Vader’s sick, twisted need for control. Considering the man was a Mechu-Deru genius, he could probably remotely control these soldiers like meat puppets if he was close enough…which, what the hell, that was Corvus's shtick with his shadow powers! The Heart of the Force, and its Chosen really were just two sides of the same coin, huh? 

Anyway, [Mind Tricking] his way into keeping the Imperials from fleeing was unlikely to work out. Additionally, his Umbaran stealth ship wasn't nearly as good at combat as the upgraded Millennium Falcon, so engaging in direct combat was out of the question. 

The negative debuff of [Shadow Battle Meditation] on the enemy was useful, but he estimated that any sudden change like that would only serve to make the Imperials more skittish. 

Is there no way to keep the Imperials in place? 

Corvus thought to himself, desperately wishing to completely destroy or capture this invading force. After deeply thinking about it from Pause, he had found a solution! 

Piloting his ship near his line, he began to cast [Shadow Energy Resistance] on the Republic forces, and then hailed the lead ship, using his own command codes. 

“General, is that you? Kind of in the middle of something.” Pots hurriedly saluted, and then gripped a handrail as his ship shook due to an enemy barrage. 

“Marshal Pots, good to see you. I'm currently stealthed in the Axion system. I want you to order the fleet to scatter in all directions, forming groups of two.” Corvus hurriedly explained. 

Pots hesitated for a second, clearly understanding the idiotic implications of such a maneuver. Ordinarily, a move like that was tantamount to a full retreat. Losing two or more ships in such a scenario was inevitable. However…good soldiers followed orders! 

Saluting, Pots didn't even grit his teeth, complain, or think anything negative. He had complete trust in his General! 

Seconds later, the Republic fleet performed this strange maneuver, briefly confusing the Imperial commander. Doubtlessly, he thought that the Republic leader was a complete moron for enacting this maneuver. However, by this point, Corvus had added an extra layer of shielding to every cruiser. And by now, the Imperial forces not only were in hot pursuit, but the landing force had begun its descent. 

Corvus grinned like the Grinch when he saw the Imperials split up to take advantage of this ‘chaotic’ retreat. If it were Thrawn, perhaps he would have remained in place, knowing that the current line-up of Republic ships could not threaten him. That pursuing the enemy would only threaten the ground invasion. However, Corvus was relying upon the Imperial commander's intelligence. 

Gambling that he would order a pursuit. In war, the majority of casualties on either side typically occurred during a route. This was a statistical fact, something any military leader should be well aware of. When the enemy line breaks, that is the opportunity for slaughter! And Corvus had offered that ‘easy victory’ up on a silver platter! 

Now that the fleet had scattered, and couldn't fight in formation, it was time for phase two. 

“Prepare for a sudden real space transition, just like on Kuat.” Corvus gave Pots a one minute heads up. 

The Marshal saluted, replying with a knowing grin. 

Hanging out near the close formation of one Acclamator & one Venator, Corvus deeply concentrated, and [Shadow Hopped] the battle group backwards. Aka, right ‘beneath’ an ISD, and enemy Venator! 

Emerging from a shadowy portal, the pair of Republic ships unleashed a near point-blank hell directly into the defenseless enemy engines. Concentrating on the ISD, they made her drift listlessly within a minute. The Acclamator's Captain, meanwhile, saw the writing on the wall, and jumped out of the system without looking back. At least, that's what she attempted to do. 

Corvus hadn't sat idle after teleporting his forces, and thanks to the close range, was all too happy to use the Force. Closing his eyes, and focusing, he held out his hands, and slowly pulled down as if he were struggling to close a large garage door. In reality, he was casting [Shadow Force Pull]. 

Large shadowy tendrils manifested in space around the engines of the Acclamator. Just as it tried to make the jump to lightspeed, the blue ion white twisted, and the metal deformed. The ship suddenly rocked, and an accident occurred deep inside. A chain reaction explosion happened within her reactor core, and seconds later, all hands were lost as she erupted into a brilliant blue-white explosion. 

Corvus took a deep breath after swiftly executing those large-scale techniques. Although his FP bar hardly decreased, and he didn't need to use the [Shadow Wrath State], playing with the Force on such a grandscale was nothing trivial. Taking ten seconds to gather himself, he rapidly [Shadow Hopped] the pair of ships three more times in quick succession behind another group of Imperial vessels. 

Practically repeating the exact same attack, they captured an ISD, and a Venator. Of course, Corvus or some Marines would have to board the ships, and clear them deck by deck, floor by floor to truly claim them, but that could wait. 

By now, the remaining Imperial ships, four in total, had realized that something was incredibly wrong, and had all made the jump into hyperspace. Corvus felt a slight headache after rapidly porting such a large group all over the place, but it was nothing a [Heal] couldn't fix. 

Still connected to Pots via HoloCall, Corvus began issuing his orders. “Keep a pair of Acclamators and some fighters on the downed Imperial capital ships, but don't bother boarding them. We can let them stew for a while. If they don't voluntarily surrender, I'll attack their psyche using the Force. Meanwhile, I'll help clean up the remaining starfighters with my ship.” 

“And the ground forces?” Pots-as a professional ground pounder-asked in an eager voice. “Should we target the transports?” 

“Call for the transports to surrender. They have to know that without a fleet they're sitting ducks. Position the remaining ships to act as a blockade. By the way, how many Imperial Army regulars have landed on Axion?” Corvus both commanded & questioned. 

“Sir!” Pots saluted, already getting one of his adjutants on it. Then, consulting a dataslate, the Marshal faithfully reported the numbers. “It's estimated that 5 million Imperial Army soldiers, supported by several companies of walkers have made planetfall.” 

‘Damn. I wanted to keep them here, that's true, but that's a hassle to finish off in a short amount of time. Can I do it in a single week?’ 

“General, sir, the Imperial Army are refusing our calls for surrender, and are already running deep into the factories/hab zones!” Pots hurriedly reported. 

Corvus frowned, and then came to a swift decision. 

“Bombard who you can, limit civilian casualties as much as possible. You have my permission, Marshal, let loose the dogs of war!” 

“Yessir!” Pots eagerly saluted, and then hung up the call. 

Corvus, meanwhile, began to pulse [Shadow Battle Meditation Valor] outward. His allies became like a swarm, whilst those Imperial starfighters & sailors trapped floating in space began to experience a nightmare.