Battle for Whiterun (Imperial)

Overview
"The Stormcloaks are attacking Whiterun. I have been ordered to defend the outer walls and keep the rebels from taking the city"

Objectives

 * Meet with Legate Rikke.


 * Defend the barricades.
 * Defend the drawbridge (Happens if you fail to defend the barricades)


 * Report to the Jarl of Whiterun.

Walkthrough
Once you finish talking to Legate Quentin Cipius, your objective is to meet with Legate Rikke. She is outside near the gate of Whiterun. Go there and you will notice the Stormcloaks have launched their attack on Whiterun with catapults. Meet with the legate and she will give a short speech to the Imperial soldiers lined up near Whiterun. Once that is done, your new objective will be to defend the wooden barricades from the Stormcloak soldiers. If you enter the city at all, terrified citizens will be seen fleeing from the taverns to their own homes where they will lock the doors to prevent anyone from entering during the siege. All shop owners will lock their doors, including the taverns; stall owners will flee too.

Defend the barricades by killing the Stormcloak soldiers trying to get in. If you fail to defend the barricades, you will have to fall back and defend the drawbridge instead. Failing to defend the drawbridge has little consequences. It seems impossible to fail this quest unless you die. There will be a percentage count of how many Stormcloak soldiers are left. Once that count reaches 0%, your new objective will be to meet with the Jarl of Whiterun or you can meet with Legate Rikke once again to hear the short victory speech.

Bugs
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 * Despite the defense being complete and the Stormcloaks being driven back, the city may continue to be bombarded by fireballs. They do no damage, and the citizens seem unaware of them. There is no apparent fix for this, however it can be avoided. There are certain things that seem to cause this glitch:
 * 1) Looting the bodies of ANY fallen soldiers for anything, both Stormcloak and Imperial. It seems that having any looted item in the player's inventory makes the game "memorize" that the battle is still going on, even though it ended. It is best not to loot anything at all, before, during, or after the battle. If the player wishes to loot the Stormcloak Officer Armor, there is another way to get it. (Note: Could not replicate bug via looting in over a dozen attempts on 4 different saves on 360 & PC, more likely the cause is #2)
 * 2) Entering Whiterun right after the battle. It seems that the game doesn't "refresh" the current state of Whiterun, causing it to be a warzone forever. Note: After talking to Jarl Balgruuf, it is advised to travel back to Solitude or anyplace away from Whiterun and the surrounding area for that matter, and then travel back to Whiterun. Everything should be back to normal as the game has been given time to "refresh" the state of Whiterun. *Not only this but otherwise you may lose your stolen goods, traveling to Solitude and speaking with Tullius before fast traveling back corrected this (PS3)
 * If siding with the Imperials be sure to talk to Jarl Balgruuf before traveling to Solitude and reporting to General Tullius. If you don't talk to Jarl Balgruuf, the objective to report back to him will permanently remain in your questlog and Jarl Balgruuf with still have a quest marker over him.
 * When you leave the Castle, as you make your way to the main gates, sometimes almost all of the Citizens of Whiterun will group just outside the Guardhouse. However, when you approach them, they will run to their house or tavern and then proceed to lock the doors for the remaining duration of the siege.
 * Sometimes, Legate Rikke will talk, then stop for no known purpose, and the Stormcloaks will not advance. A fix for this is to attack her until she becomes hostile and then sheate your weapon. The Stormcloaks should charge now.
 * Completing this quest can possibly make The Shill Job impossible to complete on console versions of the game, as Heimskr's house is inaccesable afterwards.
 * Occasionally a glitch at the completion of this quest. Once the battle is over and Jarl Balgruuf gives his speech, you should get the quest Reunification of Skyrim. Very rarely, however, the quest that shows up is titled " [...] ". The objectives for the quest are the same, and it can progress normally, however you get no quest markers for it, and the description is blank, preventing you from being able to check where you need to go in-game. There is no known solution for this, and its causes are unknown.
 * Sometimes upon leaving Whiterun towards battle, the Dragonborn can see all the civilians who killed, lying naked on the ground.
 * Once the main quest is completed, prior to starting the Legion quests, and Louis Letrush has been assassinated by one of Mavin's thugs over the theft of Frost, the Dragonborn may see copies of him running into Whiterun for shelter during the battle, while another copy stays buried up to his waist in the ground in the main road, beside Whiterun Stables.