As the next day rolled around, Daimon was looking over the report which included the Imperium's military numbers and the deployments that would be made.
The first was the Veldari Armed Forces, which had a total of 100 billion active members with 200 billion more applying for recruitment. This would bring the Imperium's active soldiers from 0.70% to 2% of the total population. But training 200 billion people would take some time while they expand their current training facilities.
Veldari Armed Forces Breakdown:
Imperial Army: 40 billion
Imperial Navy: 30 billion
Imperial Marine Corps: 10 billion
Imperial Starfighter Corps: 8 billion
Strategic command/SpecOps/Imperial Guard: 4 billion
Logistics/Engineering/Medical: 8 billion
This might sound like a lot, but when compared to the Imperium's enemies it was not.
Following this were the reports on the Ascendant Legions led by the respective Progenitor. Each Legion numbered around 1 million members and for the first time since their creation had received mass deployment orders to various places around the Imperium.
One legion would be heading to the Northern Imperial territory which had been separated ever since it was created. This region bordered the Republic and was the closest territory the Imperium had to Coruscant. The defense of this region was high on Daimon's priority because of this.
The other legions would remain within main territory of the Imperium, the Rakatan Dominion, and the Imperial territory located in Hutt space.
Then there were the clone fleets which brought their own numbers. Five hundred million Gen'Dai clones spread across fifteen fleets, each one genetically programmed for warfare and utterly loyal to the Imperium. Grand Marshal Liberius had already deployed three of those fleets to former Hutt space, leaving twelve available for immediate deployment.
Daimon looked over the holographic map showing the Imperium's territories and its borders with hostile powers. The strategic situation was challenging but not impossible to beat. The dimensional gates would be the key to everything. With them, he could move forces across the Imperium faster than the enemy could coordinate their attacks.
For his own personal legion, the Empyrean Guard, their numbers had reached 100,000. Following them were the Immortals at 10 million and the overall Imperial Guards, numbering 30 million. The Imperial Guards were a mix of people from all walks of life assembled together to protect the emperor and execute his will wherever they were needed.
The Immortals were more like Daimon's own personal army which did have their own dedicated fleets, vehicles, and support troops. Daimon did this as the existence of the Immortals, Imperial Guards, and Empyrean Guards had caused confusion within the hierarchy of the Imperium. He had to fix this, so they were assigned dedicated roles, making their roles clearer.
The last thing that Daimon looked at was the number of Balance Keepers, which had reached 120,000 members. This number while not as great compared to the billions of soldiers that would fight in the war, it was still a significant number when compared to the Jedi Order who had 80,000 members spread across the Republic.
Once he was done looking through the report, he closed the report and turned his attention to the deployments that would need to be made in the coming weeks. As he was doing this, Warmaster Raelos entered his office with some important news.
"Daimon, we've received intelligence from our agents embedded in the Republic about a strike force assembling at Dorin. From what we can piece together, they're planning a three-pronged assault targeting our border worlds in the northern region."
Daimon moved the map to where Dorin was, and it showed a gathering of military ships in real time. "Do we know their expected targets?"
"It's not confirmed, but we can guess that they will attack probably Iridonia, Keitum, Ansion, or Glee Anselm. All four are significant industrial centers that are close to the Republic core. If I had to guess, they're probably betting that we won't be able to reinforce all three worlds before our forces arrive."
"We have about 200,000 ships over there. However, the Republic has 800,000 ships near the border which puts our forces at a significant disadvantage." From Daimon's perspective the situation was extremely volatile for the Imperium.
"I will deploy to the northern territories with 100,000 ships immediately." Informed Raelos. "Me and the Ordinatus will defend the territories until it is time to go on the offensive."
Daimon nodded. He had complete trust in Raelos's ability and was eager to see him in action after so long.
"What about the Unknown Region empires? Raelos asked. "Intelligence suggest they're coordinating their own offensives against us."
"The Theocratic Dominion will likely strike at our religious planets first. They view this as a holy war as much as we do, but their zealotry will make them predictable. Station the Balance Keepers at our most prominent temples and academies. Let them face Force-users who actually understand what they're doing."
"The Kingdom of Rylothis will take a more conventional approach," Daimon continued, moving the map where the Kingdom of Rylothis was located. "They'll go for strategic targets, supply lines, industrial centers. We'll deploy the Third, Seventh, and Ninth Fleets to establish defensive perimeters around the manufacturing hubs in these sectors."
"And the Coalition of Free Stars?" Raelos asked.
"They're the most unpredictable. A confederation means different worlds will commit different levels of support. Some might send full battle groups while others offer partial forces. We'll need to remain flexible, adjust our defenses as their actual commitment becomes clear." Daimon zoomed the map out to show the entire theater of operations. "The real question is whether they can maintain unified command long enough to pose a serious threat."
Raelos studied the tactical display. They were fighting on four fronts simultaneously which will have their forces stretched thin during the beginning of the war. Once they started defeating the other empires, then they could move those forces to another front.
Daimon and Raelos continued their conversation until the tactical map started to blink red and Cortana's holographic projection had popped up.
"Tython is under attack!" she announced. "The Jedi Order assisted by the Republic have gathered together an invasion force and have begun invading the surface of the planet."
"Damn it. And Tython doesn't have any defenses." Tython was dead smack in the middle of Republic territory and Daimon didn't want the Republic to catch onto their presence on the planet so he reframed from building any orbital defenses and just left the defense of the planet up to the Balance Keepers and the Tython war droids.
Flights to and from the planet were limited to avoid detection, but it seemed even that was not enough to avoid the Republic discovering the location of the planet.
"Prepare 5,000 Balance Keepers, 50,000 of my Empyrean Guard, and the Immortals. I will personally go to defeat the Jedi and Republic forces and use this to send a message to them."
Raelos wanted to protest since Tython was surrounded by Republic space and Daimon would be isolated if he didn't bring reinforcements.
Daimon saw Raelos expression and knew what he was thinking. "Don't worry about me. The Jedi have wanted to face me directly for centuries. Now they'll get their wish, and I will show them the difference in our abilities."
Raelos nodded and just accepted his decision as he also had somewhere to be.
After several hours, the military controlled dimensional gate on Veldari was activated. The military version was bigger than the civilian one and was powered by two hundred Force engineers. On the other side appeared the inside of the main Balance Keeper temple on the planet.
Daimon turned around and looked at the massive army assembled behind him. "Warriors of the Imperium! The Republic have made a grave mistake. They believe our sacred world of Tython can be taken through overwhelming force. They believe the Jedi Order's numbers will be enough to crush the Balance Keepers. The believe wrong."
He ignited his lightsaber which was the most powerful lightsaber ever created as it was infused with his own Force power. "Today we show them what happens when you awaken a sleeping giant. Today we remind the galaxy why the Imperium has endured for four centuries. Today we defend not just a planet, but the very heart of our philosophy!"
The assembled warriors roared in response. The Empyrean Guard raised their vibro-swords in salute. The Balance Keepers ignited their own lightsabers, creating a sea of different colored lightsabers. The Immortals crossed their rights hands over their chest.
Daimon turned back around towards the gate and shouted "Forward!" stepping through the dimensional gate. On the other side, Guardian Thalia Kestris was already waiting.
"My Lord, the situation is deteriorating rapidly. Republic forces have established landing zones across three continents. The Jedi have deployed at least ten thousand Knights and Masters. Our Balance Keepers are holding the main temples, but we're being pushed back because of the sheer numbers of soldiers."
"How are the droids doing?" Daimon asked moving toward the temple's command center.
"We have activated all 1 million droids across the planet. They're slowing the enemy's advance, but Republic artillery and air support are overwhelming our defensive positions in the open terrain. The forests provide better cover, but they're burning them to deny us that advantage."
Arriving within the command center, Daimon looked at the tactical hologram displaying Republic and Jedi positions across Tython's surface. Looking at all the red dots on the map, the situation did indeed look bad, but that was only because they were severely outnumbered.
Now that reinforcements were here, things were about to change.
"Sir, the first battalion of Immortals has made it through and are ready to deploy." reported the Commander of the first battalion.
"Perfect, I want your battalion deployed to this temple to reinforce our forces there." Ordered Daimon.
"Sir, Yes Sir." replied the commander as he issued the orders to his battalion and went to carry out his orders. Daimon stayed back for a few minutes before he himself joined the battle on the front.