Plan of Action

The war room is full. Full of StarOps, full of FleetOps, full of some bodies from the 224th Battalion, Companies B, C, and D representing. The center of focus in the large room is a broad, rounded table with a projection system located in its center. There are several hands of authority circled around it presently - Admiral Ackbar, Vice Admiral Quix, LTC Katar, and 224th Battalion Captains Valin Rall(of A Company), Stevin Nix(B Company), Ried Fandan(C Company), and Exis Vans(D Company). After several minutes of unofficial 'call to order', the Mon Calamari at the center raises his voice.

"Thank you for your attendance." The unmistakable mug of Admiral Ackbar looks up from his study of schematics on the tabletop screen. Globular eyes blink a charismatic stare around the table and to those faces gathered beyond. "Such short notice is regrettable, but to be expected in the wake of new intelligence regarding Bothawui. Time is not a luxury we can afford and must take advantage of this narrow window of opportunity to deploy our first strike against the Empire in the Both system."

Argon Brand, the commanding officer of the Lightbringer, is also present, electing to be in his best uniform because rumor had it the top brass was here. He is rather junior compared to a decent number of the officers present and so stays quiet currently, but nods along as the mention of going back to Bothawui is brought up.

"Our intelligence gathered by Lt Commander Brand and accompanying squadrons," Ackbar nods to the squad leaders, "has been confirmed by a more recent scan and relay from our eyes on the ground, with a little help from some local cells of resistance. There is a sizable Imperial fleet gathered in Bothawui's orbit - Two Venator Class cruisers, the Responder and Remorseless, several Vigil Class Corvettes, many local patrol craft, and the unforgettable swarms of TIE fighters. Some of these vessels likely contain reinforcements for their ground troops. The real muscle of the fleet, however, is not evenly spread throughout orbital space." Gesturing to the enlarged starmap that showcases Bothawui, he continues, amber eyes glowing green through the projection.

"This gives us a possible entry point. By coordinating our jump carefully, we can punch through the blockade and deploy a heavy ground force to link up with 1st Lieutenant Halo and her team. If successful, we must defend our small position there until the Deliverance, under Captain Cen's command, and additional fleet support can arrive to better secure it. It will not take long for the Imperial fleet to coordinate and do the same, so it is imperative that communications between the Rapier and the Deliverance are kept open and that the second wave be prompt in responding to the first wave's signal." Pausing there, he blinks through the hologram to study others' study of it, as little avatars resembling the cruisers and transports blip into existence and steadily blink towards the planet.

Argon nods as Admiral Ackbar speaks and nods in thanks for the favorable, at least it seems so, mention. He notes the orders in his head and maps out the thing, roughly, mentally, figuring out what role he might play in the fight.

“Both the Remorseless and Responder are in-system at this time, the heaviest hitters the Empire has stationed, according to our acquired intelligence,”  Ackbar tilts back his head, peering over those standing opposite him towards the voice of, “Capt Cen. It is probable that they are monitoring opposing arcs of orbit, for best coverage. Naturally, I would expect some of their smaller fleet members to be tending each of the Venators. The precise ratio remains unknown, but we should expect the other ‘half’, so to speak, to be prepared to respond once alarm is raised.”

“For the sake of speed and mobility, to ensure a swift and surprising arrival, our first wave will be small and precise. Two MC-40s and three Corguns will accompany our troop transport shuttles’ jump into orbit, along with a squadron of starfighter interceptors. What’s left to decide now is how we proceed to deliver the troops once we exit hyperspace.” Pausing, he swivels his head to meet the gaze of every commanding officer present. “If we exit our jump at a safer distance back, we do not risk overshooting it, but will have a longer escort time to get the transports into atmospheric range and deploy the troops – a time during which the Imperial bombers will surely be hounding our ships heavily. If we jump nearer, we close some of that distance, but risk suffering damage to our defenders’ shields, or worse, if miscalculation is made. There is also the matter of choosing which of our gunships and cruisers should escort the transports in. A matter of placement, taking into consideration our defensive needs and also the potential for offensive maneuvers against incoming Imperial craft.”

Argon listens to the talk on what Imperial support exits, until the topic shifts. He almost blinks as he is given the opportunity to lead the Rapier. After a second Argon nods and responds, "I gladly accept, sir." It will certainly be a change, moving up from his light gunship to a proper cruiser. The Corellian commander is certainly excited, but he tries not to show it. With the attention shifting to the force's strategy, he states, "Sir, I believe the best plan would be to risk arriving closer. If we are on such a short window, we need every advantage we can get, and the element of surprise would give us that." A quick breath, "I have enough faith in our navigators to get us close enough, safely."

"Is there the potential for some sort of diversionary tactic either from skirmishers in space or on the ground?"Rasi asks next. "The quicker we can make our transports to the ground, the more successful the chances of future operations. So perhaps it is best to make sure that the Imperials are a little distracted."

"By making a run directly through to Drev'starn and taking the space port facilities by hard-hitting surprise, we hope to reduce exposure time," Ackbar wags his head and gestures a finned hand about. "Our existing ground force is small and has remained largely underground, to this point. Making their presence known will only draw more enemy fire to their location before our deploying troops can land."

"It is possible to route one of our cruisers and gunships to emerge at a point far from our Drev'starn route and attempt to engage Imperial forces apart from the rest of our convoy, but to do so comes at great risk - both to the convoy who would experience a loss of defenses against bombers and incoming corvettes, but also to the ships used for diversion. They would be heavily outgunned and exposed on their own."

The mentions of the plan get some moments of silence from Argon as he ponders it deeply. Really there are no strong choices, though he has an idea for what he would do in this situation. However, he is concerned that perhaps he had said too much already.

"One option would be to have our heavy hitters, the Rapier and the other MC-40 jump into the system along with the Corellian gunships and draw as many of the Imperial forces as possible towards. We can then have the transports and a fighter escort make a jump past the engagement between our forces and the Imps. Alternatively, we could play it more conservatively and simply have them jump in en masse but that exposes the transports to a greater risk at the expense of keeping our heavier assets better protected. It entirely depends on if the Imperial forces are concentrated or spread out, if they are spread out, the second option is better as we have a better chance of overwhelming them if we concentrate. If they concentrated, it will be a meat grinder one way or the other."

Rasi allows the room time to process what he's said, "We can also establish a decoy force by disguising a handful of transports as fireships and whenever the Empire concentrates their fire on them, blow them up and any nearby Imperial forces to smithereens. That would force us to cram the actual troopships to the brim but as they say, it's risky, but so are the other options."

As Rasi speaks, a couple of the Marine Captains mutter to one another regarding their transports. Some talk about ground vehicle support teams needing more space for their equipment than the simple infantry transports. The Vice Admiral leans aside to listen to a word or three from the Admiral, nodding and replying quietly in turn.

"A decoy could work. To avoid damage to our own fleet by the explosion, it would need to set apart very quickly from the Cruisers and Corvettes after the initial jump. Make it look like a miscalculation and easy target. We may be able to spare one transport for this purpose. Provided it can be outfitted accordingly within the next two days." Ackbar folds his hands behind his back and stares thoughtfully at the rotating planet.

"The Imperial fleet was divided, spread about the space as per our last intel feed. Concentrating the remainder of our first wave does have a strong potential for success in getting the transports through. While jumping separately with the fighters may gain us a brief window of 'head start', it will not take long for the Imperial corvettes to give chase, or target them with heavier firepower, should the Responder or Remorseless be within range."

"I propose that we jump a little aggressively, get close to transport drop range before arriving on their radar. Our decoy will arrive a little apart from the rest of the group, too far to be tended by our interceptors while they are busy escorting the rest of the transports and keeping bombers off their backs. If it can be launched and detonate near incoming opposition, that will serve to take a little pressure, if just briefly, off our convoy's advancement on Drev'starn. If one of the MC-40s can accompany the transports, with the interceptors, their hull can act as a shield. The other Cruiser will hold its position, guarded by the three Corvettes until the drop is made and non-transport ships return."

(To be cont'd...)