1913. Spark (9)
[I will definitely be able to overcome all obstacles and pay attention to you all the time, Radiance in the Storm. Use those injured hands to create a better future and infinite glory...] Impassioned music continued to echo in the office.
"Colonel, there is a military order from the Naval Department. A new combat order will be issued this afternoon." Adjutant Sandars came over and said.
"This is a song sung by the superstar Dawn Star Planet, Ailiya-Isabella, called "Radiance in the Storm"." Colonel Thrawn seemed to be a little confused. Said, "This song was composed a long time ago and is no longer popular. But as a star in the official background of Dawn Star Planet, Ailiya-Isabella will sing this song in almost every concert..."
The adjutant Sandars scratched his head and turned to look at the screen in front of Colonel Thrawn, "Are you looking at Dawn Star Planet's intelligence again? We shouldn't be fighting Dawn Star Planet again, right? After all, they have surrendered."
"I think this is a very interesting planet." Thrawn said lightly, "Dawn Star Planet, they are located in a remote place and have a developed economy. Galactic Empire is also beyond their reach. At the same time, It is also a planet dominated by humans. Therefore, even if they maintain the status quo, they can become the top wealthy family in the Galactic Empire. But judging from their culture, there is a sense of crisis everywhere... Why?"
Colonel Thrawn asked back without a clue.
"This may be because of Tang Xiao's ambition." The adjutant said, "Look at Dawn Star Planet before the war and after the war. They have expanded a large area. Now they can be said to be a very powerful warlord."
"You are half right, Sandars." Colonel Thrawn said, "Tang Xiao has ambitions, but this ambition is far more than just expansion. His imaginary enemy from the beginning has been Galactic Republic, until now, he has also targeted Galactic Empire. What does their sense of crisis come from? In other words, they have already planned to go to war with Galactic Republic.
"Why should they? There is a strength gap of at least a thousand times between Dawn Star Planet and Galactic Empire." Sandars frowned.
"I haven't figured this out yet, so I'm trying to read more about their literature and art. Even... myths and legends." Colonel Thrawn said, looking back at the book.
He read it very carefully and almost didn't miss a word. After more than ten minutes, a sneer gradually appeared on the corner of his mouth, "Interesting."
He closed the intelligence window in front of him, stood up and said, "Inform the fleet's mid-level and above officers to stop taking vacations and return to the battleship within an hour to prepare for a combat meeting."
"Yes!"
"In addition, let Staff Department and Logistics Department immediately prepare a plan to complete the maintenance and supply work within three days based on the minimum requirements." Colonel Thrawn added.
"Sir, do you want to leave early?" Adjutant Sandars asked.
"Our maintenance supply application has been sent to the Imperial Naval Department. They naturally know our status. So requesting to issue combat orders at this time should make us leave early." Colonel Thrawn smiled faintly and added, "In the worst case scenario."
"Okay, I'll make arrangements right away." Sandars immediately gave a military salute.
In the conference room, Colonel Thrawn stood meticulously in front of the screen, with his feet spread apart like compasses and standing straight.
A middle-aged man wearing the white uniform of General Galactic Empire Navy appeared on the screen. He was Lieutenant General Commander and Chenor in the star area where the Thrawn fleet was located.
"According to the Imperial Naval Department's combat plan, Sixth Patrol Fleet Commander...Thrawn." Lieutenant General Chenor looked coldly at the blue-skinned Chiss in front of him, with no concealment of contempt in his tone. "I order you to set off immediately to reinforce Akuria Planet (Akuria)!"
Thrawn said calmly, "General, my fleet just fought with Geth battlegroup, and it still needs time to repair. According to the approved documents, we need to repair for seven days."
"The the Empire people of Akuria Planet are being attacked by Geth, and you actually have to wait seven days?" Lieutenant General Chenor sneered, "As expected, Chiss has no sympathy for human beings."
"There is no basis for your judgment. As Commander of Sixth Patrol Fleet, my first obligation is to ensure that I defeat my enemy. If I cannot do this, then anything else is meaningless." Thrawn said.
"Hmph! Defeat the enemy, yes. You performed very well in the last battle, defeating Geth battlegroup, and your fleet was not damaged. So why do you keep pushing back? Do you want to disobey?" Lieutenant General Chenor slapped a big hat on his head.
Colonel Thrawn's tone remained unchanged, and he said calmly, "Your Excellency General, 'damage' and 'loss' are two completely different words. Although my fleet did not suffer losses, it was seriously damaged during the battle. Therefore, according to the report I submitted, the seven-day rest period is an accurate and reasonable time."
"Let me confirm again, Colonel Thrawn." Lieutenant General Chenor's tone became extremely cold, "My order is to set off immediately. And you, do you want to disobey the order?"
"Three days. This is the minimum time that my fleet can enter combat status as soon as possible, and it is also the only promise I can make, General. If you insist on setting off immediately, then I can only ask Imperial Naval Department for a re-ruling." Thrawn said.
"You are lucky, Chiss, then you'd better stay so lucky. For aliens like you who don't take human beings seriously, the best outcome for you is to farm in Outer Rim. "Lieutenant General Chenor no longer insisted, and the fat on his face trembled slightly, "Then, if I don't see your actions by then, I will send you to Imperial Tribunal immediately!"
"As you wish, General." Colonel Thrawn stood at attention and saluted.
The image on the screen gradually disappeared, and when it was completely dark, the young and handsome face of Colonel Thrawn was reflected, as well as the calm smile at the corner of his mouth.
"Sir! He is completely making things difficult for us!" Adjutant Sandars said loudly and angrily, "With the current state of our battleship, three days is simply not enough time to completely repair it!!"
"Rather, we are lucky that we still have three days." Colonel Thrawn said.
Three days later, Akuria Planet, outer orbit.
A burst of white light flashed, and the huge figure of Chimeara Imperial-class Star Destroyer appeared in the universe, followed closely by the Vindicator-class heavy cruiser and 10 Vigil-class corvette.
The outer armor of these battleships seems to be damaged in many places, and it seems that they have just been repaired urgently.
Looking at the large piece of debris in the planet's outer orbit, Adjutant Sandars frowned, "The spaceport has been destroyed. But... what about Geth warships? Didn't Intelligence Department's previous intelligence say that Geth had a small battle group destroying it here?"
"They are hiding in another unmanned galaxy nearby. When we launch operations, they will use warp speed to quickly appear and then launch a surprise attack on us." Colonel Thrawn said calmly.
"You... how do you know?" Sandars couldn't keep up with Thrawn's rhythm.
"Geth doesn't like frontal combat. Before every conflict, they will try to use other methods to create their own advantages." Thrawn said, "But at the same time, they will not give up any goal.. According to calculations, if Geth comes to Akuria Planet, it will take between 7 months and a year to sail at warp speed. Geth will not give up such a time cost."
Sandars nodded repeatedly.
"And now their fleet is nowhere to be seen. The only explanation is that they hid themselves in some way and then waited for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack on us. Their biggest reliance at the moment is warp speed, so it's easy to judge." Thrawn said, "As for what action they want us to take, I think Planetary Administrative Center will give us the answer soon."
Sure enough, a moment later, the communication rang, and Planetary Governor's frightened expression appeared on the bridge screen, "General! General, you are finally here!! Save us! Save us!!"
Sandars was shocked. He looked at Colonel Thrawn who was still sitting in his seat with a calm expression. He turned to Chief Executive Officer and said, "Anyway, calm down first! What happened? Where is Geth?!"
"Geth! Geth is on our planet! They have occupied Dathomir City! Since yesterday, we have been unable to receive any news from Dathomir City! They must be carrying out a massacre! Turning the residents into Corpse Puppet!!" Chief Executive Officer said in horror, "General! General! You must save us!!"
Sandars looked back at Thrawn and said, "Sir, Geth has indeed landed! Should we let Marines set off as soon as possible?"
Each Imperial-class Star Destroyer carries a legion of 9,700 soldiers. The troops carried on one Imperial-class alone are enough to meet most combat needs.
However, Thrawn raised his hand and interrupted him. He said to Chief Executive Officer, "Let the armies on the planet start gathering, and I will reinforce you."
After saying that, he closed the communication directly.
"General, are you asking Marines to prepare? We can also ask Y-wing bomber squadron to conduct a round of bombing against Dathomir City." Sandars said.
Their fleet is still equipped with antiques from the Clone Wars period, Y-wing bomber.
"Take off all fighters and bombers and let them hide on the planet satellite and be on standby. All fleets immediately enter the planet's synchronous orbit and conduct mines according to my plan." Colonel Thrawn said.
"Is it entering synchronous orbit and not entering the atmosphere?" Adjutant Sandars asked.
"Execute the order." Thrawn said calmly.
"Yes!" Sandars quickly made arrangements.
"This is what Geth wants us to do... immediately start landing and reinforce the planet's ground." Thrawn said, "So, for such a thing, we can only do half of it - enter synchronous orbit, but not land, and then we will choose the battlefield ourselves."
The landing of 9,700 soldiers, plus those heavy ground vehicles, was a complicated process. The entire landing process would last a full day, and at this time, their fleet was vulnerable and vulnerable to attack.
Adjutant Sandars also figured this out, and he said in a deep voice, "Geth is planning to make a surprise attack when we land! They are really cunning, just like intelligent creatures!"
Colonel Thrawn smiled, "Geth, they are still robots. It's just that they are robots that think they are intelligent creatures. They think they have learned the methods of intelligent creatures, so every Things are tried to be done in the same way as intelligent creatures. For example, they will disguise themselves as merchant ships under attack and ask for help, for example, they will ambush, for example, they will destroy the morale of the defenders by creating Corpse Puppet... But what is the premise of all this?"
Sandars shook his head blankly.
"The premise of all this is that they believe that this is how intelligent creatures do things." Thrawn said, "But in fact, as an intelligent creature, how would you attack a planet?"
Sandars didn't know what Thrawn wanted to express, but he still shook his head, looking confused.
"Yes, that's what you said." Thrawn smiled slightly, "There is no fixed method. Maybe if you are in a bad mood, just attack with the whole army. So you see, there is still a difference between the behavior of intelligent creatures and what Geth thinks. The manifestation is that sometimes they will do some superfluous things. But when they actually deal with changes outside of the program, their choice is still that of robots."
Colonel Thrawn came to the other side of the bridge. On a platform here, there was the remains of a Geth unit. The central computer of this wreckage has been destroyed, but the body is relatively intact.
He studied the wreckage very carefully. In fact, after accepting the order to come to Northern Territory, what Thrawn did most often was to constantly observe everything they could find related to Geth.
"They have never given up on the appearance given to them by their creators. Even heavy units like Geth Colossus still maintain the same appearance characteristics - even if this appearance feature is not so efficient for combat." Thrawn stared at every inch of the wreckage, "Because this appearance is the part of them that is closest to 'wisdom'. It is the appearance of their creator..."
At this time, the warships of the Thrawn fleet had entered planet-synchronous orbit and formed a battle formation, while tens of thousands of air mines were deployed around them!
Although these air mines will soon be pulled into the atmosphere by the planet's gravity, before that, it is enough for Thrawn to complete his plan!!
Less than two hours had passed when suddenly more than a dozen Geth insectoid form battleships appeared outside the planet! Their location is even directly within the planet's gravitational circle! Less than 1,000 kilometers away from Thrawn's fleet!!