Fall of Yoth

The Fall of Yoth, known by the Chat as OPERATION: SWITCHBACK, was one of the largest engagements of the Galactic Civil War, pitting the Chat Empire against the Resistance on the ice planet of Yoth, with the latter being aided by several members of Team Heretic Dinofox.

Robotic Owl
A few weeks prior to the invasion, the Chat Empire intentionally allowed a resistance officer to recover an artificial owl from the body of a dead Chat trooper. Having a primitive AI programmed to imitate real owl-like movements, the officer developed a sentimental attachment to it, although in reality, it was a listening device for the Chat. Eventually, it was transported to Gamma Base on Yoth to be used as a paperweight. While the resistance generals discussed their war plans, the robotic owl picked up everything they said and conveyed it back to the admins. Through the owl, the Chat were able to gain vital intelligence, such as the amount of stationed troops, the battle formation of the defense fleet, and future offenses that were to be carried out.

Chat Mobilization
After the Chat military leaders learned about Gamma Base and the Resistance strength from their Robotic Owl, they began planning for their assault. They assembled two fleets, the Second and Third Fleets of Trolling, into the First Heavy Fleet. Combined, the Chat had over 600 warships heading toward the ice planet. The Chat also disregarded their usual battle tactics and strategies to catch the resistance off guard. Knowing that both Forerunner and Vidmas7er were imprisoned on one of Yoth's moons, they developed a three phase plan: overwhelm the defenses, free the prisoners, and demoralize the enemy.

Chat Arrival
The Second Fleet, having 250 warships, began the attack on the orbital defense platforms. Although they were not as effective on the larger ships, such as the Bane Cruisers, the guns still slowed down the advance more so than either side had predicted. Using this to their advantage, the defense fleet started picking off smaller vessels within the First Heavy Fleet. Commander Heathcliff and the Lord of the STARS led a small group of ships to the prison to ensure the prisoners were being liberated, as the former suspected. By the time they arrived, the Chat had already captured it and over half of the resistance forces were executed. With the help of Sinon, Heathcliff was able to murder Moderator Doland, the man responsible for the deaths of the resistance POW's, and set several dozen charges to demolish the base. The Lord of the STARS asked the commander about the men he sent in, but the latter only responded that it was a shame that his men died before the Chat prisoners did.

The Cheytac Smugglers
At that moment, Gamma Base received word that the prison was under attack. DMR4LIFE and Jess McKathy took a squad of Cheytac Smugglers and made their way to the prison, unaware of what Heathcliff, Sinon, and the Lord of the STARS had done. When they left the atmosphere, they were immediately engulfed in heavy space combat, prompting them to take evasive maneuvers. Starships on both sides were in ruins, and some were even drifting toward the planet. Getting nothing over communications from Heathcliff, DMR4LIFE decided to proceed as planned and assist the friendly forces at the prison.

The Cheytac Smugglers encountered lots of resistance as they landed on the moon, having to do a jump-jet entry to maximize safety. Taking heavy fire and still getting nothing from Commander Heathcliff, they slowly weaved their way toward the prison. Unbeknownst to them, Heathcliff, Sinon, and the Lord of the STARS had already left with the freed resistance prisoners and rigged the structure to explode. Upon learning of the bombs, the team was forced to frantically fight back to the LZ to escape the blast radius and the approaching and unwary Chat forces. By the time the dropship returned, half of the Cheytac Smugglers had been killed and DMR4LIFE himself was wounded. Once the dropship ascended, the bombs within the prison exploded, providing a show of lights for the resistance forces. Contact was re-established with Heathcliff shortly afterwards, in which he was criticized for breaking communication.

Another Plan
Although the battle at the prison was a small victory for the Resistance, they were faring poorly in orbital combat. Without the Scouting Fleet of Generous Distribution, Team Heretic Dinofox's naval capability was significantly reduced. In less than a day, over half of the defense fleet had been destroyed while the Chat casualties hovered at a little over 150 vessels. Realizing the futility of the situation, the Lord of the STARS took his forces and fled the scene, leaving Yoth even more exposed. Commander Heathcliff also decided to pull out of the battle and reconsider the battle plans. DMR4LIFE, fearing that their allies were about to abandon them, pulled a gun on Heathcliff and demanded that he remain in the fight. Before a gunfight could break out, Jess and Sinon stepped in to calm DMR4LIFE and Heathcliff, respectively.

Knowing that only a pyrrhic victory was possible at that point, all forces were diverted to assisting the evacuation of Gamma Base. Heathcliff's ship, the Hecate, easily snuck around the Chat fleet and placed nuclear warheads to be used upon their departure. At that point, the defense fleet broke formation and started to fall apart at the hands of the relentless First Heavy Fleet. With the space battle won, the Chat forces moved in for the ground war.

Assault on Gamma Base
Hundreds of tranports were sent down the the surface to prepare for the ground assault on Gamma Base. The moderator Darth TheHackingDog was responsible for taking the base while SWATminifigGuy provided sniper support from the nearby mountain. Soon, Gamma Base was bombarded from all sides via ground and air units. Fox McCloud ordered the destruction all sensitive data and any technology that couldn't be salvaged be destroyed. To stall the Chat for as long as possible, the Cheytac Smugglers were deployed alongside numerous resistance soldiers to protect several shield generators that halted the progress of vehicles. However, two of the three generators were easily destroyed despite their best effort, and the Chat weren't hindered in the least.

The team held their position at the last generator as the Chat started to throw more and more troops at them. Soon, they found themselves cornered; they successfully bought Gamma Base valuable time, they were completely surrounded. In an extremely bold maneuver, Heathcliff ordered high precision orbital bombardments surrounding their position. Fox protested at the high risk of friendly-fire, but he was ignored. As the bombs fell, Heathcliff piloted a dropship down to their position and tried to extract them while several escorts were brought along as scapegoats.

Yoth: Fallen
The team was successfully extracted, but at the cost of all the escorts and the last remaining generator. As time ran out for the defenders, the Chat discovered the nukes that Commander Heathcliff had placed earlier and attempted to pull out, but their bulky ships were caught in the large minefield planted by Sinon, which, in a domino effect, chain detonated the nukes.

Unfortunately, the nukes only served to separate the main chat vessels from the ground forces, and Gamma Base was still surrounded. With few options left, the remaining THDF members and resistance generals boarded the Hecate to leave the system. With a wounded DMR4LIFE and only a handfull of Cheytac Smugglers remaining, the Hecate fled to random coordinates in space to recover.

The remaining resistance forces fought valiantly against the endless Chat forces, but they eventually succumbed to the large numbers. By nightfall of the third day, the Chat had already secured Gamma Base and started to govern the few cities. It would remain in this Chat-controlled state until THDF members returned two years later.

Trivia

 * Yoth is a play on Star Wars' Hoth.
 * Originally, DMR4LIFE and Jess McKathy led the Delta SEALS in this battle, not the Cheytac Smugglers
 * OPERATION: SWITCHBACK was originally labeled as OPERATION: YOLO.