Editing Taking the Mining Complex on Rusty Shard

[[File:Rusty Shard.png|thumb|right]]
A planet known under the unsightly name of Rusty Shard is located approximately 750 parsecs away from Old Earth; it rotates a very Sun-like star and is about as far away from it as Mars is away from the Sun. In official parlance, astrographical charts and catalogues, it is known as Ruthenia, honoring its original Russian-originating colonists; however, its common name isn't going anywhere - at least not before the abundant natural iron oxides, covering its surface, go away. Still, it's not only iron; nickel, titanium, and much rarer metals used in beacon and drive construction are plentiful on Rusty Shard as well.<br />
Such a resource-rich planet can't escape the attention of the galactic rulers, and it is unsurprising that Rusty Shard was hotly contested many times over the course of the Dominion's history. Despite the unwelcoming conditions, there are seven large domed cities on the planet, and smaller installations are innumerable.

Rusty Shard belongs to the Buffer Zone, right between the imperial territories and those of the Protectorate. After the end of the Third Wave, planets of the Buffer Zone were changing hands quite often, acting not unlike a testing ground for both sides' armed forces.<br />
When the Third Wave ended, Rusty Shard was partially controlled by the Empire, with lord Cross crushing the main defenses and local militia; an imperial garrison was installed. Still, there were militia squads refusing to yield, retreating to the less-explored parts of the planet. Using smaller settlements and mines as bases, they were continuing to strike at the imperial regiments.

On year 4505, three years after the Vigilant Peace, the Advisor Corps have decided to wrestle the planet from the hands of the Empire. The ones to execute the operations were decided to be Ruthenian rebels and advisor Olgerd, the hero of Velian.<br />
Olgerd has decided not to use Protectorate forces at all, instead opting to rely on the guerrilla fighters fully. First, he hired several smuggling companies to supply the rebellion with modern weapons and, more importantly, communication devices.<br />
Several times, he had infiltrated Rusty Shard to talk to rebel leaders in person, promising them Protectorate support and protection if they would be able to deal a significant blow to the Empire garrison. Said support was being gathered by him in a covert fashion; several regiments of robotic infantry, complete with dropships, were directed into an asteroid field, then placed in conservation mode - all in order to avoid premature detection by imperial ships.

Meanwhile, the planetary side of the plan to overthrow the Empire oversees was set into motion.<br />
Every large domed city was housing imperial garrison troops - troops unused to the cramped housing and the local air, troops that required rotation and replacement in order to keep the garrison able to perform. Every fifty days, a rotation convoy (more than a hundred transports, several squadrons of light combat vehicles and a company of walking tanks for escort) headed out from the northern pole base of the Empire - headed to each of the seven cities, replacing the tired troopers with fresh squads.<br />
Defeating such a convoy in a direct battle was not an option. The plan was to plant thermal mines on its way, which could destroy most of the vehicles and leave the troops ready to be defeated by the guerrillas, but vehicle sensors would have discovered the mines easily.<br />
But there was a scientist among the rebels; professor Rabbit, a geologist and a volcanologist. He offered a better solution.

The convoy's path laid through a region known for its frequent earthquakes and eruptions; rich in minerals but dangerous, it was never used for mining. The path was also, unfortunately for the imperials, a shortcut; if there was no earthquake coming, the convoy used it to save several weeks of travel.<br />
Rabbit's solution was to trigger an earthquake exactly under the moving convoy using properly placed explosives; at the same time with convoy destruction, the rebels in cities would have to attack the tired garrisons.<br />
Everything went according to the plan.<br />
Mostly.

With the convoy moving through the region, the explosives triggered; more than a hundred vehicles and tens of walking tanks happened to be at the epicenter. Most of the convoy perished instantly, with the rest crushed under avalanches or fallen into fissures. Sadly, the exact magnitude of the earthquake was hard to predict, and the ambushers-to-be were caught by it as well.<br />
At the same time, the city battles started; imperial line infantry and police forces suffered massive losses, not being adequately prepared for this sort of fighting. Not every city of the seven faced such bloodshed, though; in the east most city of Barad-Dur, the rebels have destroyed the entire garrison without firing a shot by flooding its ventilation with nerve gas.

In under a day, two thirds of the imperial presence on the Rusty Shard were done for; it was the time to reactivate the robots and drop them.<br />
This did not go according to the plan.

Unknown to Olgerd, the planetary garrison commander has transmitted a distress signal earlier than countercomm shielding was activated. While the dropships full of robots descended onto the planet, aiming to activate their cargo after landing, an imperial patrol fleet under the command of lord Shinji attacked them.<br />
The surprise fighter attack managed to destroy a third of the transports, and the cruisers fired at the ground guerrilla forces who were trying to storm the imperial headquarters fortress with their heavy weapons destroyed by a raid of fortress defenders.<br />
For three weeks, the sides, both in space and on land, engaged in protracted skirmishes, until a speleologist team led by Rabbit planted a thermal mine under the fortress, destroying enough of its defenses for it to be conquered.<br />
Outnumbered, Shinji has nonetheless decided to use his ships to evacuate the survivors, landing his cruisers around the fortress and firing at the rebels until it was possible to fit the remains of the garrison on board.<br />
Olgerd decided not to pursue the retreating ships. The planet was imperial no more anyway.

{{Бpoнeпeхoтa}}
[[Category: Бpoнeпeхoтa]]