A/N: Instead of 2 chapters I will give you guys one big chapter. Regular chapter upload schedule will still return after new years.
Also Happy New Years! Now we just have to make it through another grueling year, so lets all push through together.
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The first shots fired were from the Super Dreadnoughts who targeted pockets of enemy who were huddled too close together. One of the many weaknesses of having hundreds of thousands of ships in one fleet was how close together some of them were to each other.
To counter this, the Imperium utilized artificial intelligence to always maintain a safe distance from every ship to prevent collateral damage from happening to other ships.
The Theocratic Dominion lacked such advanced technology. Their fleet commanders relied too much on faith and zeal rather than tactical precision, believing their gods would protect them from harm. When the Super Dreadnoughts' massive turbolaser batteries opened fire, entire clusters of enemy ships were destroyed.
"Enemy formations breaking apart," reported the tactical officer. "They're attempting a reform, but our initial attack eliminated approximately fifteen thousand ships."
That combined with the effects of his battle meditation, the enemy started to become disorganized and confused. Their admirals hadn't expected the Imperial fleet to arrive so quickly, and the devasting strike had shattered their assault plan.
"Fighters initiate swarm maneuvers, targeting their fighters and capital ships." Daimon ordered. Swarm maneuvers were a tactic used by the Imperium whenever they had 3x the starfighters than the enemy. The starfighters would advance in line formations and swarm the enemy fleet targeting any and everything in their path.
As Daimon issued the order, the fighters charged forward and the battle started to intensify as each minute passed. The Theocratic Dominion quickly found themselves overwhelmed by the combined Rakatan and Imperial assault.
Their own fighter squadrons attempted to mount a defense, but the Imperial pilots enhanced by Daimon's battle meditation outmaneuvered and bested them in every battle.
In the command ship of the Theocratic fleet, Commander Vareth watched in horror as his formations fell apart. "All vessels, maintain positions! The Divine Light will protect us from these heretics!"
As he said this, one of the cruisers close to his ship were hit by several torpedoes and exploded. Everybody looked in shock as one second the cruiser was there, in the next it exploded.
Their faith, which they so heartedly believed, offered no protection against turbolaser fire and proton torpedoes. Another wave of explosions hit his fleet as Imperial bombers penetrated deep into their formations, targeting the engines and power cores of capital ships.
After about 20 minutes of fighting, "Commander, we've lost another forty thousand ships!" his tactical officer reported. "Their coordination is impeccable. It's as if they can anticipate every move we make!"
"Then we need to fight harder!" Vareth shouted, slamming his fist on the command console. "All ships, full offensive! Ram them if necessary! Die for the glory of…." His order was cut short as the Luminary's main batteries targeted his command ship.
Daimon had been taking out their command ships one by one, and he had just found their main commander and didn't waste any time eliminating him. The massive ship exploded, taking three nearby cruisers with it.
Without their commanders, the Theocratic fleet's already fragile coordination collapsed entirely. Individual ship captains made desperate decisions, some attempting to retreat while others charged forward in suicidal attacks. The result was complete chaos across the battle.
This allowed the combined Imperial and Rakatan fleet to move through the disorganized enemy formations like a blade. Daimon's battle meditation guided every ship captain, every flight pilot, and every weapon officer with almost perfect precision.
It looked like they were moving as a single organism but in reality, their minds were just working in such insane coordination through the power of the force.
"Enemy retreat detected," Grand Admiral Caedus reported. "Approximately seventy thousand ships attempting to disengage and jump to hyperspace."
"Prevent their escape," Daimon commanded. "Deploy interdiction fields across all hyperspace vectors. None of them leave this system alive."
Imperial interdiction cruisers moved into position, their gravity well projectors creating distortions in space-time that prevented hyperspace travel. The fleeing Theocratic ships found themselves trapped, their escape routes cut off.
The battle continued for another forty minutes before the last Theocratic ship was reduced to debris. Four hundred thousand vessels had entered the Ossara system. None survived to report back to their leadership.
"Casualty report," Daimon requested, releasing his battle meditation. The effort of coordinating such a massive fleet had drained even him, though he showed no outward signs of fatigue.
"Minimal losses, My Lord," Grand Admiral Caedus replied. "Two thousand ships damaged, three hundred destroyed. The Rakatan defenders lost another eight thousand ships before we arrived, but their orbital infrastructure remains largely intact."
"Father, with this victory, the Theocratic Dominion has lost a significant portion of their military strength. They won't be able to mount another offensive of this scale for months."
"Which is why we won't give them months," Daimon replied. "We press the attack immediately. Grand Admiral, coordinate with Archon Tarlen. I want repair crews working on damaged vessels while the rest of the fleet prepares for the assault on Kalyndra Prime."
"How long until we move?" Sera asked.
"Forty-eight hours. That should give us enough time to resupply and reorganize the Rakatan defense fleet." Daimon replied. The next battle was going to be a big one as they were attacking the capital planet of the Theocratic Dominion which was heavily defended.
It would be a combined space and ground battle to eliminate their leadership and fracture the empire's command structure.
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A/N: This next part is showing parts of the Imperium that is not often talked about but still present. One can strive for perfection in creating an empire but not everything can always go as planned.
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On the Imperial battle front, everything seemed to be going well.
However, on one front, the Imperial forces were seeing higher casualties than usual. The cause of these casualties was a particular Major General who was known for his xenophobia against other races. However, he was a talented general who won many battles and awards during the Abominor war, as such he was largely ignored by the chain of command.
In the Imperium, xenophobia is not a crime, but it is also not endorsed. Since the Imperium has a expansionists policy, it is very xenophile.
In one of his speeches, Daimon stated that, "The galaxy is full of varying species, so to hate them is to hate the very foundation upon which the Imperium was built."
But Major General Krolus Verr didn't care about such philosophy. He was a pure-blooded Gen'Dai supremacist who believed that only his species was worthy of leading the Imperium's military forces. Under his command, non-Gen'Dai officers were systematically denied promotions, given the most dangerous assignments, and blamed for any failures regardless of circumstances.
His current command, the 47th Army Group, had suffered twenty-three percent casualties over the past month; triple the average for Imperial forces engaged in similar operations. Yet Verr continued to receive reinforcements and maintained his position because of his political connections within certain Gen'Dai military families shielded him from proper oversight.
"General, the Republic forces are establishing defensive positions along ridge seven-four," reported Lieutenant Colonel Thessa, a Twi'lek officer who had somehow survived three months under Verr's command. "Our scouts indicate heavy artillery emplacements and at least two divisions of infantry."
"Then we attack directly," Verr announced without even looking at the tactical display. "All battalions, frontal assault. We'll crush them through superior Gen'Dai strength."
"General, a frontal assault against entrenched artillery would result in massive casualties," Thessa protested. "If we flanked through the valley to the south, we could…."
"Did I ask for your opinion, alien?" Verr interrupted, his massive body towering over the lieutenant. "Gen'Dai warriors don't hide in valleys like cowards. We face our enemies head-on. Now relay my orders or I'll find someone who will."
Thessa saluted stiffly and moved to transmit the orders, though her expression showed clear disapproval. Around the command center, other non-Gen'Dai officers exchanged worried glances but said nothing. Speaking up against Verr meant being reassigned to suicide missions.
The assault began an hour later. Imperial soldiers advanced across open terrain toward the fortified Republic positions, exactly as Verr had ordered. Republic artillery opened fire immediately, raining shells down on the advancing formations. Soldiers died by the hundreds in the first minutes alone.
"General, casualties are mounting rapidly!" another officer reported. "The 3rd Battalion has lost half its strength and hasn't even reached effective weapons range!"
"Then they're weak," Verr replied dismissively. "The strong will prevail. Continue the advance."
But no amount of strength could overcome poor tactics. The Republic defenders had prepared their positions perfectly, creating overlapping fields of fire that turned the battlefield into a killing zone. By the time Imperial forces finally reached the enemy lines, they had suffered over fifteen thousand casualties; and the Republic position remained intact.
What Verr didn't know was that his actions were being monitored. Deputy Warmaster Ilaria had received multiple reports about excessive casualties in the 47th Army Group and had begun investigating. She deployed a drone to watch the battles and see what the problem was. When she saw what was going on however, she was infuriated.
She ordered a squad of Judicars to be sent to bring the general on charges of misuse of power, incompetence, and criminal negligence resulting in the unnecessary deaths of Imperial soldiers.
The Judicars officially know as the Judicars of Veyra are Ascendants who are tasked with serving justice to corrupt officials, traitors, etc. Since Verr was a General, he had several enhancements which made him powerful and supposed to make him smarter, the Judicars would be in charge of bringing him. However, just making someone smart didn't make them think a certain way and this was one of those instances.
The Judicars arrived at the 47th Army Group's command center three days later, led by Force Scion Morgath. They wore their distinctive black armor marking them as enforcers of Imperial law. General Verr was in the middle of planning another frontal assault when they entered.
A/N: In case you didn't remember, the Force Scions are the original 10,000 Gen'Dai created through the force alongside the Progenitors as the only Force wielding Gen'Dai besides Daimon in the galaxy.
"Major General Krolus Verr," Morgath announced. "You are hereby placed under arrest by order of Deputy Warmaster Ilaria Zane. You will surrender your command immediately and accompany us to Veldari to face charges."
Verr's expression shifted from surprise to rage. "On what grounds? I have won battles for this Imperium while you were still…."
"The charges are misuse of command authority, tactical incompetence resulting in excessive casualties, and violation of Imperial military doctrine regarding equal treatment of all species serving in the Imperial military," Morgath interrupted, his voice carrying the weight of absolute authority. "You have thirty seconds to comply before we are authorized to use force."
"You dare threaten me? I am a hero of the Abominor War! My family has served the Imperium for centuries! You have no right to…." Morgath didn't wait for him to finish. He moved his hand forward and froze Verr in place. The general's body froze in place as the Judicars moved in and placed restraints on his wrists.
"You are correct that you were once a hero," Morgath said. "But that was before you allowed your prejudices to cost the Imperium thousands of lives. And you better be lucky that it is now the Empyrean Guard standing before you or else you would have been cut down no matter your connections."
"This is a mistake!" Verr shouted as they dragged him toward the exit. "The Deputy Warmaster will hear from my family! We have influence in the High Council!"
Morgath shook his head as Verr was dragged out. Once the general was far enough away, he turned to Lieutenant Colonel Thessa and motioned her to come here.
She hesitantly walked over and stood in front of Morgath.
"Attention to field promotion!" Morgath shouted, causing everybody nearby to snap to attention. "By the power vested into me by his majesty the emperor, I hereby temporarily promote you to the rank of Major General until a permanent replacement can be assigned. You will assume command of the 47th Army Group effective immediately."
Thessa's eyes widened in shock. "Sir, I... I'm honored, but surely there are more senior officers who..."
"There are," Morgath confirmed. "But none has demonstrated the tactical competence and moral courage you showed in repeatedly attempting to prevent unnecessary casualties despite personal risk. The Deputy Warmaster reviewed your service record personally. Don't make her regret this decision."
"I won't, sir," Thessa replied.
Morgath gestured to the other Judicars. "We're departing immediately. General Thessa, you have full authority to reorganize your command structure as you see fit. I suggest you start by reviewing which officers shared Verr's prejudices and which were simply too afraid to oppose him."
After the Judicars departed with their prisoner, Thessa turned to start reorganizing the command structure of the Army Group. It was time to rebuild the morale of the Army Group and get rid of the stains that General Verr left.