Operation Nesting Asps
Imperial depot/staging area
Quatel Prime- The Stygian war effort on Quatel Prime raged on. Most of the fighting spread west to east across the prime desert continent. In the south the Stygian empire was making the most gains while the northern front had gone rather static with nether side gaining a clear advantage.
Stygian Spies then began reporting more Imperial reinforcements had slipped into the system and made landfall. While half of these forces had gone to the south to try and check the Stygian advance, the rest had landed in the north. The Stygian agents realized and reported that a major counterattack of nearly 35,000 Imperial guard was being prepared in the north. Worse still for the Stygians no replacements or reinforcements would be able to reach them and check the Imperials for another four months.
Asura, the Alpha Legion champion that served as commander for the Quatel Prime front faced a dilemma, how best to meet the rapidly approaching Imperial counterattack with the forces at hand without giving up strategic initiative on Quatel Prime. Many Stygian commanders recommended that the entire reserve of five regiments be sent north to bolster the defense. others sought to build a far deeper defense in depth to the north.
Asura considered and then rejected both options. The first because there would then be no reserve left, the second because it surrendered initiative. Also weighing on Asura's mind was the need to inflict the maximum harm for a minimum cost. Very quickly Asura decided to adapt a "Fire Force" defense. It would still allow him to keep a reserve and allow his forces to keep pushing to the south.
To that end Asura released a single regiment from reserve along with seventy Alpha Legion marines active on Quatel prime. Furthermore he transferred his entire air force reserve north, along with two squadrons pulled off of the frontline in the south. These forces would secretly move to forward airbases in preparation for what was to be Operation Nesting Asps. An operation that Asura hoped would halt any Imperial operation and perhaps pave the way for an eventual offensive to the north.
A quickly constructed Forward Air Base
For Operation Nesting Asps
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