ABOARD BROTHERHOOD FLAGSHIP "SPEAR OF DEIMOS"
IN ORBIT ABOVE "FATHOM"
"Contact, four o'clock, two!" "Flanking left!" "GRENADE!!!" "Target neutralized, moving to section six." "Overhead, cover fire!" "Combat breach in three!"
"Order Bravo-Three to regroup with Five-Prime at airlock four." Turning away from the cacophony of mid-combat audio from the engaging squads, Brigadier General Silko turned to his communications specialist nearby, issuing the relevant order emotionlessly. He sat leisurely in the Operations Room of the Brotherhood's Battleship, "Spear of Deimos," and the battle he's been orchestrating had already lasted several hours.
"Fathom" facility was a major weapons stockpile for the planet, but was disguised as a mere marine research base. Regardless, the instant the Empire arrived in orbit they focused their efforts on that exact location. At the time, this was something that Silko noticed, and would be reporting it up the chain of command once the fighting has concluded. The fact that the Empire would have such thorough knowledge of Brotherhood supply and weapon caches is unexpected, and something that needs to be investigated immediately.
If "Fathom" facility was lost, the fight for the planet would become very difficult, with logistics suddenly becoming a nightmare in such an event. However, with the Imperial assault focused entirely on that single spot, it could also mean a decisive victory. Judging from the last two hours of fighting, Brigadier General Silko is already starting to let a slight smile split his lips, as the results had exceeded his expectations. It was too early to declare victory, but the Spartan squads under his command have been continuously pushing back the enemy forces and the facility has almost completely been secured now.
"I want the 'Siren' in position to disrupt any retreat, and have the frigates ready to intercept any potential bombardment from the enemy fleet."
After a delay of about a dozen seconds, the communications specialist turned back toward the Brigadier General, "Sir, the Admiral has approved. The ships are en route." The Brigadier General didn't have any direct command over the naval fleet accompanying his Bravo Group, but the Admiral wasn't a fool and knew the basic situation. While Silko was focused purely on the ground below, Admiral Krake commanded the fleet, and was engrossed in the battle with the Imperial ships also in orbit. This was the Brotherhood's 7th Naval Group, commonly referred to as the "Kraken Fleet," directly related to the Admiral's name.
The naval battles were typically must slower-paced and the commanders rarely committed their ships to heavy risks, preferring to sit back and take pot-shots at each other rather than engage in all-out ship-to-ship bombardments. It was a concept similar to mutually assured destruction, if one side got close enough to fully engage, they'd be retaliated against with effectively equal force. Full-scale engagements were rare, due to the war between the Empire and Brotherhood becoming so extensive and the Admirals knowing full well that losing ships now can make a huge difference later in the war. It became a common circumstance that naval battles would likewise be decided by the battles on the ground, though any losing parties frequently accented their retreats with orbital bombardments to leave their opponents a parting gift.
This was why he had wanted the "Siren," which was a prowler accompanying the fleet, to near the facility and prepare to disrupt enemy retreats. It's stealth capabilities would allow it to get close and remain undetected, and potentially take out a few Imperial pelicans. Stalling a retreat could also delay any bombardments, giving their own forces more time to prepare. The two frigates accompanying the fleet, the "Trident" and "Comet," were equipped with anti-missile armaments and would greatly diminish the damage done to the surface by taking out warheads before they could even fully enter the atmosphere.
After hearing about the ships moving into position, the Brigadier General leaned back in his extravagantly expensive chair and listened more to the ongoing firefights and occasional explosions. Within another half-hour, it was confirmed that the enemies, comprised of the Empire's elite 2nd Enforcers Division, were issuing a full retreat, withdrawing from the facility. A handful of explosives detonated, forcing his own ground troops to give space as the Imperials fled.
The "Siren" went into action. Out of atmosphere, it was almost impossible to detect by either radar or the naked eye. In-atmosphere, while it retained it's radar-invisible state, it was as obvious in the sky as an oversized pelican. It entered into a dogfight with a number of Imperial pelicans that were attempting to extract their forces. It's orders were merely to disrupt their retreat, so it didn't fully commit and instead focused on stragglers or any pelican pilots that became overzealous. The prowler's armaments greatly exceeded the pelicans, though it was outnumbered. In the end, it managed to neutralize a pair of the Empire's pelicans and damage three others before the "Siren" took enough damage to warrant a withdraw. The time it bought, however, was more than enough for the "Trident" and "Comet" to position themselves such that any bombardment would be mostly deflected.
Unexpectedly, though, the Imperials withdrew without committing any notable bombardment. It wasn't Silko's role to worry about naval matters, and he wasn't sure whether it was because they figured the bombardment would be ineffective or if they needed to conserve ammunition and missiles. Bringing him out of his thoughts, however, was the communication specialist, "Sir, patching in Bravo-Four's comm officer."
A brief moment of static ensued, following by a slightly raspy voice due to the distance of the transmission, "Brigadier General, sir! We've got three captives secure. Requesting permission to bring them aboard for interrogation, sir!" It was Warrant Officer Silver, the communications specialist of Bravo-Four, one of the five squads of Spartans within Bravo Group. Capturing Enforcers was a rare event, as heavily injured Spartans committed suicide if it looked like they'd be captured, and securing an entire three of them caught Silko completely off-guard.
"Permission granted, an extraction team for the wounded will arrive shortly, head to Dock B. Secure and accompany the captives during the trip back. The interrogation will begin upon your arrival." Spartans were all but impossible to crack, though, and it was unlikely to get any useful information if they were uncooperative. However, the Brotherhood's original Spartan forces were defected from the Empire, so any captured Spartans were always potential recruits, and therefore could become sources of intel.
"Roger. Bravo-Four out." The line was promptly cut. The background noise of the Operations Room became the only sound, though it was effectively silent.
The near-silence did not persist, however, as the communications specialist nearby once again spoke. "Sir, we've received reports that Alpha Group were also successful and the 1st Enforcers Division seemed to be in full retreat toward 'Waterworx' region."
"I see. Didn't we have forces on 'Waterworx?' What about them?"
"...Not well, sir. Contact was lost with them just before fighting begin below. Command believes the Empire received intel about the troops and laid an ambush, immediately cutting off their retreat. Extraction was unsuccessful and they are presumed KIA. The fighting at 'Deadlock' was similarly short, though that was largely decided by the Imperial Navy. Most of our ships accompanied Alpha Group in their attack, and this left 'Deadlock' largely undefended. Without orbital support, there was no chance of retreat." The communications specialist summarized the reports that had been coming in during the fighting, spending the next several minutes catching the Brigadier General back up to speed about the overall strategic situation.
After a brief consideration, "Inform Command of our success. My recommendation is to immediately pursue the fleeing Enforcers before they can establish themselves again. We need to push the offensive. Also, once those captives are aboard I want them interrogated immediately. If they have any knowledge about the information leak, we need to know."