Saga of the Bridgers-Year 4

Chapter 18: Counter-strike

May 12.

Life on Lothal had definitely changed. The populace had gladly accepted Ryder as the new Governor and new elections had been called in three months. Formally, the planet was now part of the Protectorate of Lothal, under the authority of the Imperial Federation.

Since military protection was guaranteed by the Federation and the Rebel Navy, the new Governor had focused the efforts of the new administration on rebuilding. The Imperial Dome was to be slowly dismantled and the incredible amount of metals used to rebuild public facilities: schools, libraries, public offices and, last but not least, hospitals.

In particular the central hospital of Capitol City, which had been long neglected by the Empire, had finally been reopened and was also undergoing a process of enlargement. The Federation had established the prisoner camps a few km away from the city and around the entire planet, and the imperials were being used as manpower for a few hours a day and under heavy surveillance, not just to prevent their escape, but to keep the resentful populace away from them.

And the reopening of the hospital had also marked a significant change for Mira.

Most of the doctors she had once worked with in that same hospital had been deported, killed or had escaped, meaning that she was the only one left on the planet with the necessary experience and skill to run the place and he had offered her the position of head-department of the ER.

It hadn't been easy for her to leave her family, but eventually, she decided that she could give much more contribution to the reconstruction and to the war effort, by going there and helping rebuild an efficient healthcare system on Lothal. Jordan and the kids also were of the same advice and pretty much encouraged her to accept.

Since the qualified personnel was pretty hard to find on Lothal, the Federation had sent some of its own medics to assist. Jaral and Claudio had put the propaganda machines of their respective factions to also spread far and wide the news of the liberation of Lothal in order to try to encourage a flux of immigrants, Imperial political dissidents, so they would escape on the planet and help to rebuild, or maybe join the rebel armed forces.

Mira had recently participated to a party at the old tower of her kids on May 1, Ezra's birthday where he finally turned 18, and he did it on his finally liberated home-planet. Truly something to celebrate, among all the work that everybody still had to attend.

Rebel Command on Yavin had expressed the desire for Jaral to go back to Yavin and conduct the other operations that the Alliance wanted to undertake independently from the Federation, but she had insisted to at least conduct the upcoming campaign for taking Mon Cala from Lothal, where she could much easily have better intel and communications with the frontline.

Yes, the war against the Empire had now significantly changed. It had turned to a conventional war, and soon, the Capitol would need the hospital at full efficiency to welcome the mass of wounded soldiers that would arrive once the campaign started.

Even now, Mira was working day and night because the hospital was submerged with patients. The strict rationing of the Empire had caused widespread malnutrition and that mean weaker immune systems for the people. There was the risk of an epidemic, against which the Federation was giving an incredible amount of medicines and specialized doctors. After all, it was in their interest as well that there was no such thing as an epidemic of alien origin on the only planet that was capable of hosting the invasion force.

In fact, when the Federal forces didn't simply occupy the imperial bases, they built new ones. Outside of the Capitol they had established the biggest one, named 'Camp Garibaldi', where the people of Lothal could also buy some of their food and other essential commodities for extremely favorable prices. This exchange was needed as it allowed the economists of the Federation, mostly Volus who had taken residence in the camp, to create an exchange rate between the Imperial Credit and the Federal Crown, the main currency of the Milky Way.