OOC Note: The roleplay has moved from a fleet action to a storyline rp.
Enroute to Coruscant..
Admiral Chandler watched as his fleet neared one of the many heavily guarded entry points for Imperial Center. Commercial traffic would have been rerouted along more controlled routes to allow maximum maneuverabilty for the Imperial Navy.
The trip from Corellia to Imperial Center was not a long one but it did afford the Admiral a few moments of quiet contemplation.
Already there were reports of attacks by the Outer Rim Sovreignty and the Tholatin Republic on Carida and others. And ever since the declaration of the war, the Empire had quickly engaged in moves to preempt and counter the attacker's strategies.
The fleet enroute to Farquak and Mon Calamari would be entering those respective systems by the end of the week.
But those battles held no effect over what happened at Corellia...
His mind reflected back to the strange events that unfolded as another large Coalition Fleet entered the Corellian system.
The First Fleet was forfeit and though there were still small pockets of fighting on one or two of the damaged vessels still surviving, they were firmly in Imperial hands.
Lupercus Darksword's Fleet, The Corellian Anvil as they were called in this operation, were consolidating the remaining ships they had around the planet and had claimed their prizes.
Still Admiral Chandler, Governer Gevell, Commodore Trachta and Admiral Desaria were moving to intercept the 2nd Fleet which represented fresh warriors which, given the destruction of the First Fleet which was readily evident with vast array of scattered debris from many warships, were sorely needed. Large and small chunks of warships floated serenely about, some areas serving as havens for those jettisonned escape pods from the fleeing crews of doomed ships.
Admiral Chandler had to grudgingly respect the clear thinking of the Coalitoin Commander of the Second Fleet. He could have fought to his doom taking perhaps many Imperials with him .. in fact, that is what the Empire expected them to do..
Even in the unlikely event every Imperial warship defending Corellia were destroyed, the most important thing to note would be that the Coalition's Fleet would have been history. There would be nothing preventing the Empire from generally overrunning Coalition territories..
Unless the Coalition was counting on another faction to defend their worlds. But Chandler shook his head.. as much as a move like that might give a commander more options, it was never a good idea to trust the welfare of your government to that of another government.
Who would stop the government protecting to eventually take over?
No, the Second Fleet Commander was smarter than that. He had dealt a blow to the Empire but he was not going to sacrifice his men, the crews of the First Fleet hanging on to a thin slivers of hope for a rescue, and the military machinery that protected his government all for Pride.
It was, without a doubt, a move that strengthened the Second Fleet's reputation.
What good is having men ready to die for you if you always send them to their deaths?
And so, the alien commander had offered a parley. With confirmation from Imperial Center, the communications with the rest of the galaxy having been temporarily restored by probes moving outside the jamming interference, the officers of the Empire accepted.
There were some that wanted to skin the aliens alive for their dastardly attack and no doubt there were those who felt the same way in the enemy fleet, but the will of strong officer's prevailed.
The Second Fleet's Commander,
Regrad, had understood the Empire's reluctance to simply let him leave as he would be holding a major (enemy) military force within a region the Empire felt strong.
He smiled to himself at the punctured ego he had dealt to the Imperials and though many had died in puncturing the illusion, they had died showing that strength was only a matter of perception.
*
So, to reach an agreement in obtaining the First Fleet's crew, he had given up several vessels of his Second Fleet. Still, he felt the trade worth the effort for to lose such trained crewmembers would have been a blow indeed. Ships could aways be rebuilt.
So, Regrad ordered the necessary vessels abandoned and the Empire allowed his smaller, more maneuverable vessels to come in and locate escape pods. Even close Imperial warships used their scanners to aid the Coalition for the sooner they had completed their task, the sooner they would be going home.
The remaining defenders of the captured warships from the First Fleet were ordered to stand down and were picked up. Including a war droid who came to the Coalition's cause left with his fighter to go across to his own Flag.
Regrad was shrewed in keeping the ships that he did for he
still hold a formidable force for the Imperials to contend with.
He knew that while the Imperials may have been expecting an attack with the Declaration, they were not prepared for the size of the force he used.
At that, his smile faded and he kept his own pride in check. The Imperials had defended themselves far more capable than even his intelligence had indictated.
He knew his people would have fought to the death but he knew the Empire would give no ground to the enemy without their own blood.
And if their mutual annihilation had occured, what would have become of their two respective governments?
He shuddered as thoughts came and went.
*
The former Tie Fighter Pilot, Admiral Chandler, had spoken with the Coalition Commander who was of a race of beings called an Azguard.
He knew he had heard of the name but never knew what they exactly looked like.
For his retiring to his home (where he belonged), Regrad had gotten the Imperials to agree to a round of diplomacy. Something he and Regrad both had no experience in. Give them a ship and they'd come up with as many creative ways to destroy it as possible, but in the War of Diplomacy, they were but a novice.
So the talks would be carried out by the nearest Diplomatic Envoys of both the Empire and Coalition.
A neutral ground was chosen and by this time tomorrow, they would be locked in debates.
While Admiral Chandler did not know the location of Regrad's home and where they would be heading, he did know the trip would be a very long one and it was not out of the realm of possibility that by the time they reached their home, an accord would be reached.
It was at this time a Relief Fleet from Imperial Center arrived to tip the scales to the Imperial favor and Regrad had given a slight smile to Chandler, causing the Imperial Admiral to laugh.
Yes, the fight would have been very interesting, especially with the reinforcements that were on their way sent by the Grand Marshall.
But Regrad's Parley had stayed their hand.
Shrewd.. very shrewd.
The Imperials watched as Regrad's Command made the jump to hyperspace bound for his destination. Imperial Intelligence had tried to use Regrad's vector to secure a location but a straight line from the Core to the Outer Rim (or whereever) would only uncover several hundreds of millions of star systems.
Far too many for Imperial Intelligence to check on their budget.
Long range tracking confirmed Regrad's departure from the Empire and a few hours later, the defenders began to break apart, intent toward their destinations.
Theren Gevell's force made the jump after a conference with the Governor of Corellia.
Commodore Trachta took his Fleet back to Tralus to see what damage (if any) the 2nd Fleet had inflicted. As it turned out, there was no attack.
Admiral Telan Desaria would remained a while longer before leaving themselves to take up their patrols.
Some of the Relief Fleet stayed on station to organize civilian salvage crews to begin clearing the debris. No doubt, Lupercus would melt it down to create a statue of himself and celebrate the successful defence of Corellia.
And if an accord were eventually reached, Regrad would also return a hero to his own people.
It was ironic how people fighting fiercly could eventually return home as victors.
But as Kaine once told him, it was all about perception.
"Sometimes there is a fine line between victory and defeat. That line is perception."
Sometimes what is left in the hands of the God's is taken and molded by the hands of Mortals.
*
"Imperial Center markers coming up.. Advance signal buoy system..
Reversion in ..3.....2.....1....
Hyperspacial Terminus."
And Admiral Chandler's fleet exited hyperspace the shining orb of Imperial Center glowing in the far distance.
"Signal coming in, Sir. It's the Grand Marshall.."
An Accord was reached two and a half weeks later...
