This unpleasant surprise will remove some of the most bothersome of them, and maybe discourage the Republic from striking out so fast again.
—Friiv Agnur
The Battle of Celvlo IV was a battle in the New Republic's struggle against the remains of the Empire, particularly warlord Admiral Erk Grekins. It was part of a turning point against the warlord, or rather, prevented him from retaliating.
After conquering the watery moon of Clanto 12, the New Republic discovered an seemingly accidental link to Erk Grekins's main research base. Apparently, it was on Celvlo IV, and Grekins's Captain of New Technology, Friiv Agnur, was there. They quickly sent a medium task force forward.
A trap[]
While it was a major base and Captain Agnur was picking up supplies, the Republic didn't know the fact that it was set up as a trap. The attackers arrived to just in time to meet a group of Star Destroyers, loaded with TIEs. Accompanying them were two Interdictor Star Destroyers, which were almost as powerful as the Imperial-class and able to prevent enemy retreat to hyperspace.
Sixty-four starfighters were no match for hundreds of TIEs. Major Aiddat managed to get his group to shake them off, but not before losing dozens of starfighters. Captain Seppri soon had to abandon ship, but, amazingly, his escape pod made it to a relatively safe spot on the planet. A desperate attack on the nearest Star Destroyer shut off most power, and the transports fell back just as Republic reinforcements arrived. Several Calamari cruisers and escorting frigates arrived. Several backup ground forces were also sent. While the reinforcements began to retaliate, the survivors of the original force took cover.
Several battles[]
As the ground force was sent down, a few Republic cruisers were able to bomb the target area just enough to soften it up. There was also a shield protecting parts of the facility, and even if it was down, they would have to be careful not to target places that could contain important information.
The planetary forces were well trained, but nearly half the aircraft were lost. The ground forces took fewer losses because of the sacrifices of their dedicated aerial escort. Many crippled fighters dileberately rammed into walkers on the way down. This also gave the Imperials heavy losses, but some of the larger Imperial vehicles had very durable armor, developed by Captain Agnur and his subordinates.
Meanwhile, the two remaining Star Destroyers moved within range of their planetary anti-orbital cannons. While most of the ground battle raged in a mountainside forest, a few of the ion cannons and hypervelocity guns were captured by Repubic commandos. Meanwhile, another team rescued Captain Seppri with no resistance. The captured cannons quickly shredded the Star Destroyers.
Captain Agnur moved many of his walkers out to stop the main force, but kept plenty of troopers in his bases to defend against intruders. While he had anticipated the infiltration of his facility from another angle, his forces could not defend against it. The leader of the commando team, Jedi Knight Gadon Sil-Jolk, disabled the shield generator before being killed. The dozens of Stormtroopers who shot him were then pounded by laser fire.
Slaughter[]
Outside, both forces had come to a stop at the shield. Captain Seppri's forces would quickly be decimated inside, most of his vehicles and Aiddat's aircraft could not breach the shield. He moved back, so Captain Agnur's forces would be slaughtered by laser fire if they ventured outside the shield. Suddenly the shield dropped.
A red and green curtain of laser bombardment flashed around the front Friiv's forces. The laser rain stopped to let the attacker rush in. Aiddat's squad destroyed some turbolasers, then came around to help with the walkers. Soon there was little resistance left. Captain Friiv Agnur took off in his personal shuttle and hyperspaced to Grekins's fleet.
End[]
Our attack was pyrrhic, we cannot replace lives, we can only replace our army's strength. However, we now have several sources that point to Grekins's location. You played no small part in this, and neither did Gadon's sacrifice.
—Captain Lorz Seppri to his subordinates, after the battle.
Several platoons of Stormtroopers were surrounded by tanks and soldiers on one side, and dangerous commandos on the other, not to mention they were at the mercy of the orbiting fleet. The remainder of the Imperials surrendered.
In the end, it turned out to be more of a disaster for Grekins than the New Republic. The research station was replaceable, but his plan to discourage the Republic backfired.
Several seemingly accidental links to the Eeisan system were found. A few prisoners confirmed it. Even if it was meant to be another trap, Admiral Groank reasoned that scouts could make Grekins's fleet flee. It would be very unlikely for Grekins to have much more than what had been a little at a time, plus the system's stationary defenses. It was time for Groank's whole fleet to go.