| abstract | - The Battle of Bastion was the Galactic Federation's first major victory over the Mandalorian Empire in the Victorious Wars. Fed incorrect intelligence deliberately planted by the Dark Nebula division of the Galactic Federation, the Mandalorian commander Darth Umbraul launched an undermanned attack on the Federation fortress world of Bastion. As soon as the Mandalorian war fleet exited from hyperspace, supermassive gravity well generators cones mounted on orbiting shipyards activated, trapping the Mandalorian fleet within the system. Umbraul assumed that the Federation planned to hyperspace in its warships at high velocity toward the rear of his formation, and placed no less than eight of his Mandalorian heavy cruisers at his rear flank as pickets to ward off possible arriving Galactic Federation warships. This, however, was only a feint: no Federation warships would be arriving. As it became clear that the Mandalorian Sith had gone for the feint, the Galactic Federation opened up with a medium-range bombardment on the Mandalorian phalanx. Darth Umbraul divided his fleet into three sections: Taskforces Glory, Blaze, and Watch. Taskforce Glory consisted of his Mandalorian command cruiser, the Inexorable, the Mandalorian planetary assault carrier Running Blade, two Mandalorian heavy carriers, and three Mandalorian heavy cruisers. Taskforce Watch, the rear guard, consisted of the eight Mandalorian heavy cruisers. Taskforce Blaze, the main group, consisted of the Mandalorian planetary assault carrier Bloodspike, a single Mandalorian heavy carrier, and nine Mandalorian heavy cruisers. Taskforce Glory moved to the side of the Federation fleet to attack the planet below, Blaze moved to engage the enemy fleet and draw off the fire from the descending Mandalorian warships, and Watch held the rear guard position. However, Dark Nebula had managed to sabotage the Running Blade, of Taskforce Glory. The chemical warfare containment fields were disrupted, flooding every single chamber with supertoxic Null-x and Null-y chemical warfare gases. All of the crewmen immediately fell dead. The Galactic Federation Glorious-class Star Destroyer Quickfire led six Aleph-class strike cruisers to assault Taskforce Glory as the Running Blade lost control and began to uncontrollably plummet through the atmosphere. Darth Umbraul was forced to suspend the assault as his command ship, the Inexorable, and a pair of Mandalorian heavy carriers activated their tractor beams full-power to retrieve the Running Blade. In orbit, the Coruscant-class Super Star Destroyer Strikefast mauled the Bloodspike, the second Mandalorian planetary assault carrier. The heavy warship was annihilated, taking out four escorting nearby Mandalorian heavy cruisers. The back of the Mandalorian assault fleet had been brutally snapped, and, the Galactic Federation deactivated its gravity well generators. Suffering a heavy bombardment from Galactic Federation warships, Taskforce Blaze rendezvoused with Taskforce Watch and in synchrony, sustaining heavy casualties, hyperspaced. The Galactic Federation fleet elements and orbital defense stations opened full fire on the remnants of Taskforce Glory. A sustained positron battery salvo from the Bravo-class orbital defense platforms disabled the Inexorable and two Mandalorian heavy cruisers. The crews of all three ships, including Darth Umbraul, committed ritual suicide rather than dishonor. The four last warships of Taskforce Glory, two Mandalorian heavy carriers and two Mandalorian heavy cruisers, went kamikaze, ramming and destroying the Quickfire and two Aleph-class strike cruisers in their fiery deaths. The falling Running Blade was successfully retrieved and boarded by Galactic Federation military forces in full N/B/C (nuclear-biological-chemical warfare resistant) environmental suits, and vented the Null-x and Null-y gases. Samples of all of the Mandalorian biochemical weapons were taken, and the Running Blade was repaired and found service in the Galactic Federation Fleet. The battle was a decisive Galactic Federation victory.
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