Retribution [IC/AXIOM ONLY]

[Masade]

It had been a few weeks since the warning from Shi, but the Emperor was sick of waiting around for something to happen. Instead of waiting for the galaxy to come to Masade the Emperor would go to it. Although the gods warned him that inhabitting another system would draw attention, the Empire was suffering.

As he read over the official document to send scientists to scout for inhabital planets, he felt something the gods described as "nervousness." He liked it better when he didn't have to worry about fear and lovve and all the other emotions, but he had already been remodeled and there was no going back. He looked at the paper one last time before scribbling his name in the old language of English. His nervousness quickly shifted to hope. A hope that one day, he wouldn't need to wonder how long it would be until steel would run dry.

The paper that had been sighned commissioned the exploration team of Xiang to head south. Their goal would be to find a steel rich planet with the side mission of finding intelligent life. The team would consist of four light frigates, two scorpion class, a solar ship, and three science ships. Only one would contain actual scientists though. What they would find would be unknown to them. What was unknown to the Emperor, was that if intelligent life was found, the princess requested one be brought to her.

[Galax6]

A transport ship of an unknown nation is happily cruising along near the far left corner of Axiom. Suddenly the sensors pick up a ship speeding towards the cargo ship. Once the oncoming ship hops into view it immediately opens fire on one of the storage cases on the side of the ship. The storage case breaks off and the cargo ship opens fire, but suddenly more ships come to back the small other ship and begin shooting down the guns of the cargo transport. There are five of these in total about the size of a small cruiser. The smallest ship which fired first then goes near the spot where the cargo was shot off and connects the ship to it. The guards of the cargo ship run to the area where the attacking ship docked itself. The door opens and smoke immediately billows out, the guards open fire not being able to see the attackers. The smoke clears and they find a few dead shark-looking creatures dead on the floor. They bend down to examine one and suddenly a flash bang is thrown right next to the guard who inspected. Blowing off his head and making everyone deaf. Suddenly a small match is thrown and where the smoke was then immediately ignited. The fire fuel was soaked into the armor of the guards and they were burned alive. Meanwhile in space the five attacking ships have managed to block the signals on the cargo ship, preventing any backup. The heavier guns near the cockpit manage to badly damage one of the smaller ships, putting it on fire and it eventually loses its stabilizers. This causes it to crash into one of the larger cruisers, which manages to shut off the shields. The heavy guns on the front are taken down by missiles launched from the largest attacking ship. The Cargo ship is defenseless.
Inside the ship more of the shark men climb out of the ship and begin to take down the remaining guards. The pilots in the cockpit watch the ensuing battle on the security cameras and watch as the remaining five guards attempt to take down the 16 remaining attackers.
"Wait pause the Camera!" says captain of the cargo ship, Delthar Ztodd. "There just as i thought, Fire pirates!" The recording is un-paused and you then see the final guard fall, they only managed to take four of the pirates with them. "Close the cockpit door!" Commanded Delthar, and the door slammed shut and locked it's self into place. A specific Pirate walked up to the entrance door fingerprint scanner. He hooked up a stethoscope looking device and somehow opens the cockpit door. A big 8 foot tall burly looking Pirate wearing a hat that doubles as a gun walks in to the cockpit with a small plasma pistol in his hand. "I am Captain Zerdarc Shethpu, and this ship is now mine." he then leans back in one of the empty pilot chairs and asks, "So, what kind of bounty is on this ship anyway?" The Delthar speaks up with a fierce gleam in his eye "You'll never get it! You'll have to kill me first!" He then grabs the pirate behind him messing with the controls of the Cargo holds and puts him in a choke hold. He then says, "Get off my ship or i will kill your mate! He looks of decent importance." Zerdarc just shakes his head, "Actually he is just a new recruit, sorry Mandirk. He then fires fires four shots at the other pirates chest killing both the pirate and the Captain. "Now, anymore objections?" asks Zerdarc, "None good! Now what's in this ship?" "Looks like some dangerous creatures sir, these could be used for executions!" "Perfect! i always like to have a little bit of fun with my prisoners." Suddenly a transmitted message comes in from now of the other pirate ships. "Sir there is some sort of sip that just exited Hyperspace, but we can't locate it!" Suddenly the Captains voice has a hint of fear in it. "Ar-are you saying it's cloaked?" "Um, i do believe so sir!" Suddenly out of the view port of the Cargo ship they see plasma shots come out of seemingly thin air. A ship is barely visible, being covered in mirrors, reflecting space and being hard to spot. it is positioned behind two of the ship and takes out their engines. One of the ship then explodes when a missile is fired through a hole in the ship. The other one loses its stabilizers and gets pushed by the almost completely hidden ship into the remaining ship. Then the docked ship tried to fire at the nearly invisible ship but its guns are taken out quickly. Then the incoming ship shoots off the air seal that allowed them to connect to the Cargo ship and attaches itself to the cargo ship. It then fires a few missiles hitting the engines and exploding the last remaining pirate ship. Then the pirates stand guard near the area where the new ship docked itself. Suddenly the door opens and smoke bombs fly out and the fire of a plasma machine gun is barely visible. One of the pirates then shoots the attacker and the machine gun fire stops. When the smoke clears they learned that it took our seven of their men and thee is only three of them left. It looked like some sort of deactivated Separatist commando droid was manning the gun. suddenly they realized that all the lose cords made the droid a puppet! Two of the pirates suddenly fall over with plasma bullet shots in their heads. The third one began running but only got about three feet away before he too was shot down. Then a two foot tall droid that resembled Wall-e rolled out of the ship holding a plasma gun with a silencer on it.

Inside the cockpit, Zerdarc yells at the techie. "Stop him! he got through our men, release those creatures!" The techie pushes a button, locking the cockpit door. And then releases the animals. Meanwhile outside the cockpit door the droid is finishing hacking into the cockpit door's entrance code. suddeny something grabs him from behind. He is then thrown backwards but he activates his jetpack mid-air and hovers for a second while he regains his balance. When he lands he looks forward to see several creatures battling each other. He spots the one that probably grabbed him, it is a large dinosaur looking thing with ridiculously long arms. It turns around to face him and snarls, ready to pounce. He raised his gun, but before he could fire he gets hit from behind by something with a bony tail. He then crashes into the face of the monster and uses a retractable plasma blade to cut off its head. He then does a flip and land upright near the cockpit door. He looks to where the control panel is and notices there is a large white blob creature that seems to expand around anything that touches it and digests it covering the door and the panel. He throws a grenade at it and the beast expands around the small explosive ball. He then pushes a detonation button on his arm and the grenade explodes, sending pieces of the blob-ish monster everywhere. He then runs up to the control panel and opens the door slightly. He then sticks one of his plasma pistols through the slot and shoots the pirate techie. The techie collapses and the droid is free to fully open the door without any opposition. He then opens the door swiftly and closes it by pushing a small hidden button on his arm. This keeps the monsters outside the cockpit. Then a gun duel ensued between the pirate captain and the droid, all the while the surviving pilots ducked for cover. The Captain managed to walk backwards enough to reach an escape pod. He opens the door to the pod and the droid throws something that resembles a tracking device into the pod without the captain noticing. The pirate then closes the door and launches himself off the ship. When the pod was far enough away, the droid pushed a button on his arm and the pod exploded. The droid then grabbed the controls and steered the ship near the explosion. There was nothing left. He then turned to the scared pilots and said "okay, my job here is done and I will get myself out of the system. He then opened the cockpit door a crack and a small chip with legs walked into his hand. He then pushed a few buttons on a digital keyboard that popped out of his arm and pointed a laser pointer in a circle around the area where the escape pod went. He then pushed a final button and his ship detached, and flew itself to the area where the escape pod was. "See ya later boys," he hollered as he rolled in to the entrance of his ship. He then took off, leaving the pilots to get to wherever they were going to go in the first place.

[The Aberration Transcendency]

Unknown System, CDG ship Draconian's Path, Crashing

The Grub class Destroyer enters atmosphere, paneling and wires ripping off the sides of the heavily damaged ship as it races towards the surface. Smoke billowing from holes in the port side of the ship from where pirates attacked the Destroyer. Making a small correction the ship crashes into the sea, the force pushing it towards the shore nearby and beaching itself. Pillars of smoke rising into the air.

[Mestovakia]

Unknown System, CDG ship Draconian's Path, Crashing

The Grub class Destroyer enters atmosphere, paneling and wires ripping off the sides of the heavily damaged ship as it races towards the surface. Smoke billowing from holes in the port side of the ship from where pirates attacked the Destroyer. Making a small correction the ship crashes into the sea, the force pushing it towards the shore nearby and beaching itself. Pillars of smoke rising into the air.

"Woah there!" Lord Alfred von Littenheim, the local owner of the coastline where the ship had crashed, reined in his horse as it whined in fright. Both of them had heard the various sounds and the massive bang that the ship had made when it crashed into the beach. He had been on a coastal road, passing the occasional horse-drawn carriage, when the object had plummeted from the sky and crashed into the beach a kilometer away. Behind him, a carriage containing a few of his servants stopped. A young blonde-haired girl in peasant clothing opened the carriage door and jumped out, approaching Alfred's side. "My Lord...what is that?" She asked, curling her blonde hair as she was known to do when confused. Lord Alfred, a Handsome man of 26, could only shrug. "It came from the sky, so it is not one of the Imperial Ships..."

[Great Geranium]

Although the Geranium people saw themselves heroic, brave and brash. The Geranium Navy ran the exploration and survey missions with meticulous planning and extreme caution, in-order to make sure no ground on any planet, no matter how harsh or barren it was, effort was made to make sure no spot was left untreaded. Due to this, the Great Geranium Empire has only been able to get as far as 50 lightyears away from their home system of Blütenkrone while having a history of spacefaring that spans multiple centuries.
The crew of GRS Vithar-Crone had finished their preparation for to the exploration for system ES-0274, or colloquially known as Brustam, and were winding down in warp. The preparations for Brustam took nearly four times as long as their other exploration missions, this was due to a range of signals being transmitted from the direction of the system and was given as one of the systems with the higher probabilities of finding alien life.

Although these signals are nothing new and have been received for nearly a century. Decoding, understanding and contextualizing the transmissions have been impossible. Especially as these transmissions seem to mimic sounds of mammalian fauna and very unlike Geranium speech. Despite this, multiple attempts to synthesize and emulate the language of the broadcasts have been made but as the how accuracy of these attempts are unknown and with the transmission used to make it could have been out of declarations of war or other content that may deem disadvantageous to broadcast, this means that the emulation attempt will only be conveyed as a second effort to contact with whatever is located in or near ES-0274, with the first effort being an attempt broadcast a constant of square wave on hour intervals.

As GRS Vithar-Crone’s lengthy warp wind down was complete, the crew immediately made their focuses on undocking the 3 smaller research vessels docked on the dreadnaught. This was interrupted by the detection of multiple ships in the same system. The day of first contact was upon them. While nerves were stable on this momentous occasion as they followed the communication protocol, their facial expressions were mortified and in shock. They were vastly outnumbered in the system but would not put their defences and weapons down until they got a response, fearing an attack from the sizeable fleet. Due to the fears of an attack, the crew also prepared the ship to go on a slow warp wind-up, in-order to make sure the ship could retreat if needed.

[The Aberration Transcendency]

Tazayk System, UnTranscended space, Hive Fleet [Terran Designation Unknown]

At the edge of the Tazayk System hundreds of ships exit warp. The Draconian had sent a full fledged Hive Fleet to take a new system into the Transcendency. Three Hive Ships, 4 Leviathans, 400 Hunters, 5000 Piercers. The Draconian wants this new system.

Controller Sta'Fezit, Hive Fleet Controller

Scuttling forward, my six legs pounding into the semi metallic floor as it carries my weight. The Silver armor of the Fezit clan adorning my ponderous body. [What is the Situation?] I glare at the Drone pilots, the lowest of the intelligent Aberration. A necessary idiocy in the Draconians plans.

[Apologies Controller.] One of the pathetic Drones steps forward, [The Terrans are already in system. We will have to fight for Tazayk.]

My eyes close halfway as I snarl at the mention of the Terrans, a hand absentmindedly brushing a scar along my face from a bayonet. I stand up and retreat back to the command pedestal and stare at the lights of the Terran fleet. I grin as I give a command, the command all Aberration look forward to against the Terrans, {Kill them all}

The Fleet speeds up. The Piercers pulling away from the heavier ships as they begin zig zagging, jinking up and down and pulling evasive maneuvers that would hurt if not kill most other species. From the Heavier ships, Swarm clouds of Shellback bomber/fighters zip from the docking bays to follow behind the Piercers. The heavier plasma cannons of the Leviathans open fire as energy is directed towards the forward heavy fusion cannons.

Glaring through the window as the engine flares of the ships and the bright, sickly green energy from the plasma lights up the darkness of the void. I smirk as I look towards the Terrans, [This time, you die.]

[Paranos]

The Providence, Jublaii System

Navarchos Aerus had exited the conference room after his meeting with the Vasilkrator, who gave him permission to ratify a treaty with the Maldurii

"General Maz'rok, Saturnus XIV has granted permission for myself and the diplomatic staff on this expedition to conduct diplomatic negotiations and ratify a treaty with your officials. We would like to begin talks as soon as possible."

"Greetings, Navarchos Aerus. We extend our best to Saturnus XIV as well. It would be in the interests of both to commence work on the treaty. I do have executive authority in diplomacy and the ratification of a treaty in the territory of Jubaal, and, by extension, all territories of Maldurich, and I assume you will ratify said treaty here and now?"

"Correct, General. All diplomatic proceedings will be recorded for archival purposes, if that is alright?"

"Yes, that is standard protocol for us as well. Very well. The interstellar superstate of Solocon has commenced the Retribution initiative to restore the former Solon Empire, after its destruction by the Infernuii in the First Corruption War. This would entail the assimilation and destruction of many cultures and nations, including Maldurich and the Parni. There is no excuse but to stand and resist this hunger for conquest. Maldurich and its ally, the Tenebrean Empire, have begun fighting back in Solon systems, while the Representative Alliance of Isestrel has joined arms with the enemy. It is our hope that you will bear arms with us and stand on what is rightfully ours."


"This is quite a lot of information to handle at once. If you could please elaborate on what Solocon is? Who the Infernuii are? Tenebrean? We'd like to make a well-informed decision."

"The Solons are a race of humanoid aliens who are the residents of the So'kon system, along with the main battleground that is the Ecchan system and the other Solon colonies. They are the nation that once held a large section of the supercluster known as the Solon Empire. Back before the First Corruption war, the Solon Empire was caught between the Infernuii and Proto-Aberration conflict. Very little is known about either party, but the Infernuii are a race of highly advanced energy beings who sought to eliminate the Solons to stem the rapid and uncontrolled growth of the Proto-Aberration. The Solons fought to preserve themselves, but ultimately lost their empire in the final showdown that nearly demolished all involved parties. The Solons lost their empire, and now, several thousand years later, smaller nations have sprung up in the wake of destroyed Solon systems or new systems, such as the Parni and Maldurich, as you know. The Tenebrean Empire is likewise allied in arms with Maldurich as we prevent the expansion of Solocon to its former size, which would encompass our nations."

"I understand. Clearly these Solon's are a threat to the security of the Parni and other nations around the supercluster. I think I speak for the entire Imperial Government, and Paranos as a whole when I say that they must be stopped at all costs, and that Paranos will do anything in it's power to ensure that they do not cause the destruction of nation's in their short sighted conquest."

"Indeed. Active and proactive steps must be taken to quash their expansionist ideals, and Maldurich and the Tenebrean are already taking such actions. It is our hope that you will support us in active combat against the Solons."

"I would like to pledge Parni support to Maldurich in your battle against the evils of Solocon, and, through this pledge, foster a healthy relationship with the Maldurii people."

"Your pledge is much appreciated. I would like to bring into your consideration a treaty between the Maldurii and Parni for the duration of the war and hopefully longer - an extendable pact. I speak of a mutual defense and optional aggression pact that would entail the Maldurii attacking those who attack the Parni and vice versa, while aggression is optional between our two nations."

"Such a pact would be beneficial for both nations. I would like to formally accept the pact on behalf of His Most Benevolent Majesty, Vasilkrator Saturnus XIV and the Imperial Senate."

"Our deepest gratitude to the Vasilkrator Saturnus and yourself, Navarchos Aerus."

"Further proceedings and details about the Ecchan strike will follow once our discussions are relayed to Othlikk and Parni, assuming you wish to join the active fight?"

"Sending men to the frontlines would be the decision of the Senarium and Vasilkrator, however, with our recently ratified treaty, I believe the decision will most likely be yes."

"Understood. Thank you, that is all."

"Comms, send the recording to Parnia ASAP."

---

The Aremius, Parnia System
The Aremius was a standard Vasilkrator-class Dreadnought, 1.5 kilometers long, the jewel of any Parni fleet and the second largest ships in the navy. So it came as a major shock when an unidentified group of 17 vessels exited warpspace near Partus, the Capitol of the Empire of Paranos, and many of them were near the size if not larger than the Aremius itself. Orbital defense systems around Partus trained on the foreigners, and the 10,000 ships charged with defending the Capitol formed a sort of blockade, halting any advance they could make.

The commander of the Aremus, Navarchos Ploius, issued a message to the xenos, intended to ensure they didn't attack.

"Attention unidentified vessels, you are entering Parni space. You are required to identify your leader, affiliations, and intentions immediately. Failure to comply or hostile action will result in a command to open fire."

Ploius hoped that the invaders did not have hostile intentions, and the sheer size of their ships could cause damage to the Emperor's Navy.

[Paranos]

The Damascus, System RD0X97J

Commander Demosia, Commander of the Light Carrier VBS Damascus, was placed in charge of exploratory efforts in RDOX97J. System survey reports showed that the asteroid field surrounding RDOX97J was rich in minerals, the planets in the habitable zone were tidally locked, and there was no sentient life detected. Demosia was filling out her report when one of the marines entered her chambers.

"Speak quickly marine."

"Your presence is requested on the Bridge, Ma'am. One of the cruisers reported a ship exiting warp near RDOX97J-3"

"Thank you for informing me, Marine."

Commander Demosia made her way to the bridge, where her First Officer, Galaus, provided further information.

"All cruisers in the system are receiving old propaganda broadcasts and square waves by the hour, originating from the unidentified vessel. We presume this is an attempt to communicate."

"I will issue a reply."

"Attention unknown vessel. You are required to identify your affiliations at once. Hostile actions will result in a command to open fire."

[Luca Pedere]

Pederea Prime
Seras, Capital City
Grand Citadel of Luca

The Grand Citadel towers above the tallest buildings of Seras. Beautiful mosaic glass covering the windows, depicting images of the birth, rise, and death of the son of Luca.

Inside the public Cathedral the windows throw kaleidoscope colors across the spacious room, adding to the serene atmosphere. Unarmored monks leading the masses in prayer and ceremony. Further back in the Holy Orders command HQ and barracks the Adepts and Knights train, honing their skills.

The Grand Citadels history is obscured in legend and myth. The Church claiming the son of Luca built it himself, multiple stories about its construction proliferate throughout Pederea.

Grand Master Varyis

Leaning into the balcony I look over the training yard as the Adepts and knights train against one another, the sound of energy crackling as their plasma blades make contact or the whine as a deflector shield takes the hit.

I turn towards the High Chaplain, "What do you think Marsal? Will we be prepared for what's coming? Has your vision changed at all?"

The Tarlin priest sits quietly, his age showing through the wrinkles of the leathery face and grey in the otherwise pitch black dreads common among his people. He opens his eyes slowly, showing once vibrant eyes, milky with blindness. "The future is always clouded Grand Master. However the Grand Conflict is a certainty." The Tarlin let's out a sigh, "Already the bedrock for its arrival has been layed. As for the Order we are all willing to fight to the end, they will be ready when the time comes."

I silently contemplate the words before turning back to the training yard. Grunts and roars can be heard from the stables as the Toras beasts wake up looking for their meals.

[Ella2 6]

The Roar of the Dragon

Planet 2442 Gamma 'Hyrokkin,' System 2442 'Jing Xiu'
HTNSS Valiance (J87)
Admiral Valerie Cruz

Starlight gleamed off of the freshly polished hulls of the Terran colony fleet as they sat in orbit around the terrestrial world below. Some three thousand vessels of varying shape and size were scattered around the system, performing tasks from mining to research. Atop each vessel, the holographic flag of the crimson cog and the golden cross of the City-state of Destiny fluttered in the solar wind. At the heart of the fleet, the Khalid-class colony ship, Destiny, waltzed gracefully around the Earth-like world, her streaming banners trailing behind in her wake like scarves.

Admiral Cruz, idly twirling strands of her wavy, coffee hair between nimble fingers, sat peacefully upon the command chair of her jumpship, the Valiance. Her large, brown eyes, dark and piercing, gazed aimlessly into the void as she meditated, her bold, solitary figure a strange presence on the mostly abandoned bridge. There were only two other officers present in the massive room, marching between various workstations to keep an eye on things while everyone else rested, their erratic footsteps echoing unnaturally loudly in the emptiness of the chamber.

One of them, a sandy-haired youth, some years the admiral's junior, stepped out from behind the flight department's section and broke the serenity. "Admiral Cruz, Ma'am," he began gravely, "Reports from Valhalla Colony Fleet indicate increased Aberration movement in the nearby sectors. Aberration have been sighted off the Victoria star system, headed for one of the terrestrial worlds. Baroness Destiny has just requested that we take precautionary measures in case of an attack."

The fingers stopped their trivial movement and her hands fell to the arms of the command chair as she came to her feet. "How old is this news?" She demanded, her tone soft, yet no less urgent or penetrating of the tranquillity which has descended upon the great hall.

"Exactly one week, Ma'am," the Officer duly reported, "this was issued from Baron Valhalla who was nearby the system at the time. Baroness Destiny has already declared Code Orange for the Colony." He then added for good measure; "The Aberration would have been upon us shortly if they wished to attack."

Valerie bowed her head, her delicate eyelids closing briefly as she decided on the appropriate course of action. "Very well," she said eventually, "Lieutenant Ellis, strengthen our system defences and issue a general notice to all vessels to be prepared for an Aberration attack."

"Should I declare general quarters, Ma'am?"

Valerie strode gracefully to the massive canopy of her great jumpship, gazing past her reflection on the thick glass into the depths of the void. "Not yet," she decided, "no point wasting everyone's energy, but have all hands on standby. If an attack occurs, we need to have all teams ready within ten minutes. That is all."

"But of course," the junior officer agreed and turned to the interactive glass panels to pass down orders, his practised fingers tapping away quickly and precisely on the touchscreen devices. Valeria turned her back on the beeps and taps emitted from the console and found herself confronted by the elegant form of the Destiny as she made her way around Hyrokkin. As her eyes adjusted to focus on the extensive vessel, she noted the ship's combat decks blinking to life. The limited batteries on her frame, normally powered down to save energy were activated by vast surges of energy. The scarlet dragon was waking up.

She glanced down at her own pale palms and turned to walk back to her command chair. Taking a seat once more, she raised her head to the fiery gears and golden crosses which fluttered above the bridge. The dragon within was stirred by the spirit of battle. The time has come to shine.

---

Dragon Flame

Interplanetary Space, System 2442 'Jing Xiu'
HTNSS Honourbound (K121)
Captain Mattie Walton

RED ALERT:
BRACE FOR IMPACT

The entire ship shuddered violently as the impact of the Piercer sent ripples of reverberations through the damaged hull. The skeleton of the bony craft shook violently as if shivering from the dreaded sound of steel-like appendages tearing through the particularly thick armour of a Terran spacecraft and the ear-splitting grinding of the tough iron hide being cracked open.

Mattie, his arm shielding his face from the debris kicked up by the resulting shockwaves, now dared to remove his limb from its protective stance. The dust swirled around the interior of the ship with the piercer blocking the hole that it made and preventing depressurization of the compromised hull. Experience told him there would be a brief pause - about two to three seconds long - before the sentient battering ram unleashed its cursed spawns upon them. This time was vital for issuing the most crucial order for the entire battle to come to the ranks of men standing behind him, blocking the network of corridors which lead to the rest of the ship.

"Company!" He yelled fiercely, feeling the adrenaline coursing rapidly through his veins, "FIX BAYONETS!" Two hundred arms reached down to their utility belts and withdrew monomolecular blades, fixing them atop massive kinetic battle rifles in perfect unison. Mattie twisted the weapon slightly to ensure that it was locked in place and gazed across the long hall which the piercer has crashed through. The entire operation took only two seconds, and in another heartbeat, the Gates of Inferno opened and swarms of drones were unleashed upon their positions.

Mattie dropped to his knee in a crouch to facilitate the second row firing over his shoulders. "Give it to 'em!" He yelled, completely immersed in the chaos of battle. His cry of encouragement was completely unnecessary as many of his comrades have already started firing, their heavy weapons hurtling kinetic slugs down range at breakneck speeds, dropping Aberration left, right and centre. The Aberration returned fire as they rapidly closed the distance, their plasma bolts reaching the Terran positions almost as quickly as they did.

Men and monster went down in the brief exchange, the depleted ranks of both forces immediately replaced by a neighbour to continue the slaughter. Mattie's rifle clicked and the heavy en bloc clip was ejected violently out of his weapon, hitting the floor with a resounding thud. This was followed by many similar thumps as the marines emptied their clips into the oncoming foes. Without enough time to facilitate the loading of a new magazine, the only alternative was the chaos of melee. With an enormous roar, the Terran line surged forward, bayonets extended in an impassable wall.

The clash was brief and brutal and the two lines broke almost immediately after as individuals sought out each other and engaged in bloody struggles where the powered exoskeleton was the only thing which allowed the Terran marines to match the naturally overwhelming speed and strength of their foe. Mattie's limp body slumped onto the metal floorboards in a tattered heap shortly in the desperate fighting.

[The Tenebrean Empire]

Excelion System, Tenebrae, Imperial Palace

Sitting on the Imperial Throne the half dead, ancient Emperor, Kazak Telon, sits, cables attaching him to the life support of the specially built Throne, watching the two way argument between War Minister Stormclaw and Foreign Minister Karas.

Stormclaw, a dark grey furred Stromian, even for their natural aggressiveness Stormclaws stands out for his merciless views against the enemy. Karas on the other hand is his complete opposite, a member of the RhoDorian race, Karas is aloof and diplomatic as any of her species.

"My Emperor these Xenos obviously mean to eradicate all not with them. Why is it so bad that we do the same?" Stormclaw pleads with me,

Karas snorts, smoke coming from her nostrils as her wings slightly expand before retracting again, "Bull headed as usual Stormclaw. It is a definite need to defeat the Solons, but complete eradication is just insane. Would you have us become like the Plaguers?" She shakes her head, "I'll not join anything stinking of that."

My son, Arkas Telon steps out from behind me. I fear for the boy, Stormclaw has become his confidant ever since my imprisonment go the throne.

"Ministers, both of you raise good points. However Minister Karas we are fighting a war for our very survival, all options are on the table."

With a shock I turn my eyes to my son and look his face over but it is like a statues. Mentally shaking my head I turn to the two, "I cannot condone the slaughter of civilians, we are a civilized people. That is my final word."

Minister Stormclaw lets out a growl before snapping an about face and storming off, my son, after excusing himself, quickly follows him.

Shaking my head again Karas gets my attention as we talk about furthering diplomatic relations with Maldurich.

Excelion System, Planet Tenebrae, Capital City Tenebrae
AFCOM

The busy mega city of Tenebrae. Hovercraft and wheeled vehicles filling the lanes of the grand city. Lights brightening the on coming darkness of night. Traffic, chatter, sirens, noises adding to the cacophony that comes with cities. Amongst the towering buildings of the steel jungle, a more squat building, not 50 meters from the Imperial Palace and the House of the Four Congresses sits. Inside officers and adjutants, arms manufacturers and imperial inspectors, all walk about. In command of all these beings? Marshal Paul Thompson, head of AFCOM and right hand of Minister Stormclaw.

The city continues, the war a distant thought as news reports update the populace on the distant conflict.

On Titan IV the Calavera continue the "Reclamation" project with the Plaguers. Demands for more Versus Devices continue to flow in as the project becomes more disdainful to the Populace and the Stromian Congress as they see it as a potential weapon.

[Universal Church Of Truth]

Thao System



Captain Yukon woke up with his hearts pounding, and sweat beading down his forehead. Another nightmare. He slowly got up, put on his blue Uniform, made himself coffee and got a Nutrient-Bar from his stash. It may have tasted like cardboard , but it keeped him sustained . He was feeling a bit woozy and he suspected that if he mentioned this to his first officer, that he was going to call for inspection in medbay. He first officer was a responsible kid, only 168 years old, pretty young to be working for Alterra, but his ambition got im where he was now. Today they were supposed to reach the designated location to scout out a possible colony for the Xeon empire, which would be a huge win for Alterra, especially against their main competion, the Odin Corp. Alterra itself was a another story. About 10 months ago they contacted him and promised him his own ship, crew and access to Alterra equipment. They even offered him a fully paid retirement home. So he took his last Job on the Aurora, one of Alterra's more advanced ships for 4 months and he was set for life.
He opened the door and heading down to the Control room. He exchanged some friendly hello's with some of his other crewmates who seemed to be just as tired as him, and nodded towards some of the Clones stationed on the ship. Alterra may create ships and manufacture a whole variety of goods, but the clones were their specialty. The Xeon empire adopted the Clones as a replacement of Xeon soldiers, since they were cheaper and short lived, to the Xeon they meant nothing. As he was having a friendly conversation with one of the Doctors from medbay, he got an alert on his Com-link.

[Captain, we have a situation up here. We really need you please hurry down here]

[What is it Ariis?]

[It's...It's just better to explain in person]

Feeling a bit annoyed, the captain started heading in a rushed pace to the control bridge.

AURORA COMMAND BRIDGE

Captain Yukon arrived to the Control room to see his first officers reptillian face worried. It was unusual to see a Za'kuii worried.

"What is it? Did one of our Fusion drives stop working?" As he said this, his antennas started twitching a bit, if the fusion drive stopped their mission would be delayed further and he was not pateint.

"No sir, we...Detected a strange anomaly floating through space, nearly A quadrant away from us"

"So?! What is so intresting about a peice of debris floating through space?"

"Captain, it seems to be articially created. I checked our ships databases, and we don't have anything like that we ever sent out to this sector, in fact we never sent anything to this sector"

"What is it exactly?"

"We think its a... Ship? A Foreign ship to say the least. We believe it hasn't seen us, but we could be wrong. What do we do?"

"Send them a message to acknowledge us, send the the full Xeon alphabet so they can translate"

"Sent it sir. Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Protocol 85 states if we are to find any forms of like we are to queue any and all mission to investigate further"

"Captain they sent us a message, I'll put it on the screen"
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Computer log/Alterra/Aurora/Stardate: 15-7-3
Recorded messages:

(Unkown vessel) "Halt. You are entering Maldurii space without a permit. Identify your leader and vessel IDs for further inspection. Detail your affiliations and await further instructions. Failure to comply will result in a command to open fire."
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"Send them all information on the Aurora and the crew. Now."

His antennas were twitching, that usually happened when the crustacean was nervous. He was trying to recall all protocols and simulations for this type of scenario. They didn't train him for this. As he was trying to recall anything useful he heard his first officer broke his train of thought"Captain, what do we now?"
"What else can we do? We have to comply.
"Captain I think we should leave. Now. Before they bring any more of them"
No. We shall hold position
"Sir, protocol 18 specifically says you shall not endanger the lives of cre..."
"You can shove Protocol 8 up Alterra commands (Censored)! Besides, I have a feeling that we would be in more danger if we did leave, rather than staying."
"But.. Sir!"
"No! And thats an order!"
With hesitation Detrius said "Yes, sir" and walked away

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(Unkown Vessel) "We have recieved your data. Wait outside the Systems grafity of influence and wait for further instructions."
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24 Minutes later

One of his officers, Stell suddenly announced "Captain they responded." Looking cautiously over the transmission, he added "They are asking us for more information about our system and are asking us for a diplomatic meeting through holograms with our leaders. They are denying to tell us any more information without a goverment official] "Send them the Xeon homeworld database. Tell them we will send a request to the Xeon goverment in nearly 1 Xeon month. As them for permission to turn around and set course for Xeon"

Officer Jak waited patiently, signs of frustration and irritation on his face. "Sir. They have given us permission to turn around"
"Alright men, turn all thrusters around and set a course to Xeon. We shall stop at Delta 6 and send a broadcast to the Alterra half way to Xeon. Now lets go home "

The thrusters roared loudly, the ship slowly turned around....Then it was gone

[The Aberration Transcendency]

Tazayk System
Terran Ship

The Drones mindlessly continue to attack. Blasting away with plasma rifles attached to their arms or even worse with claw and Aberration created axes and swords. With another rush the lines clash as the creatures attack their hated foes. Roaring and screeching fills the corridors and bridge as it becomes apparent that more than one Piercer made it into crashing into the ship.

As the fight continues the Piercer on the bridge shivers a little as something or somethings moved around inside. With roars the eclipse the din of battle a new Aberration not seen by the Terrans leap from the ships open hatch and onto the deck. The creatures standing over the Drones appear bigger than their smaller brethren and wield heavier looking weapons. With another roar these bigger creatures join the fray, their plasma cannons firing into the Terran lines.

Tazayk System
Hive Fleet

The Piercers who weren't able to crash into a ship begin wheeling about and hunting ships down to harass them with their quick fire turrets, trying to distract the Terrans. The Hunters finally reached range. Their combination of plasma and kinetic cannons firing. Mostly aimed at the engines and bridges of the Terran ships.

Shellbacks flying in between ships, missiles and bombs pounding the ships as they zoom about the fleet.

[Universal Church Of Truth]

Xeon System: Alterra Command Defense HQ
Lieutenant Nor'tal was literally running to the east sector. About a week ago, One of the captains sent a transmission to Alterra HQ informing them that on his expedition mission he contacted an alien race known as the Maldurii. As he was thinking over when he heard this news he nearly ran into the door and dropped the data cube from the mission.
He knocked on the door.
"Come in!" Said a gruff voice
"Nor? What are you doing in my off..."
Before he finished his sentance Nor quickly yelled "SIR" in a squeaky voice.
"Sorry sir. I have learned some incredible news "
"Nor. I am the head of the Alterra defense forces. This better be very important or I will send you to the asteroid mines for the rest of your life. What is it..." He said in an annoyed voice
"Sorry General Orion, its just that we have learned of a new civilization during a expedition to the Eastern system.."
"That the one we were scouting to colonize, right?"
"Yes sir..but"
"How was the mission?"
"They couldn't colonize the planet due to the alie..."
"Are you telling ME. That after all the work put into this expedition. That it was unsuccessful?" His nostils flared in anger
"Yes sir, but...They couldn't..."
Before he finished his sentence he was cut off.
"I don't give a (Censored) about what they could and couldn't do. Alterra is about efficiency. Expansion. Why do you think we will let these people stand in our way" He intenesly looked at Nor, as if he was studying him. Then he laid back in his chair. "We are a powerful nation. We have 16,000 ships armed and ready for war, 1 BILLION Clones we have grown over the years. Send 4000 war ships to their system. As I see on the data scanner we are close to their capital system. We will not let them distract us from our goal.We are the superior beings"
Nor was shocked. He was arrogantly assuming we would win. This could potentially kill billions and cause internal conflict.
"But Sir!"
"Nor...I want you to send that order to all the Alterra military stations. We will win this war, and if we do. I'll make sure you are rewarded"
(Nor looked at Orion before saying a final statement "Yes sir, but if you REALLY wanted to be efficient we could have a democratic meeting first and analyze the enemy")
General Orion looked as if he was punched. "I guess it would be. Fine. We will have a democratic meeting. War would be idiotic."
Nor looked at Orion. He smiled. Almost

[The Neimodian Trade Federation]

Othlikk System, Maldurii Space
Munificent Class Frigate

At the edge of the system a Frigate enters real space again and enters an approach vector used hundreds of times by similar Trade Federation ships. As the ship approaches he home world of the Maldurii the Captain opens comms. "This is Munificent Class Frigate, designation A18-C30. We request permission to dock and conduct our business as usual."

_______________________________

[Maldurii Ground Control] "Permission pending. Please stabilize and remain at Lagrange Point 2 for scanning."

________________________________

"A18-C30 copy that. We will stabilize path and hold at Lagrange Point 2 for scans." The Frigate slows down before entering a holding pattern at the designated location, stabilizer thrusters keeping the Frigate from drifting.

________________________________

[Maldurii Ground Control] "Scanning complete. Dock at Yard 46. Over."

________________________________

The Frigates engines fire up again as it restarts its docking vector. "Docking at Yard 46, A18-C30 over and out." The Frigate slows as it reaches its docking station, ramps and clamps locking the ship into its berth. Droids and the Neimodian supervisor crew exit via the ramps. Captain Untar behind them scrolling through the datapad of goods meant for the Maldurii homeworld. His comm starts blinking and he clicks it on.

________________________________

[Unknown] "This is Lieutenant-Commander Garru, speaking on behalf of the Maldurii Government. Rendezvous at the location that will be transferred to your device now. This is a confidential meeting. Come alone. No harm is meant, and we have a message for the Trade Federation higher ups. No one is to find out about this meeting but Representative Lok Durd. Understood?"

_________________________________

The Captain looks flustered at first before composing himself, the natural affinity for business asserting itself, "Of course Lieutenant-Commander. I will tell no one and relay your message to Representative Lok Durd." He looks around to see if any of his crew was close enough to hear the conversation, a quick glance shows no one close by and he returns his attention to the comm.

__________________________________

[LtC. Garru] "Your compliance is appreciated." The device's display blinks before a transmission is sent with coordinates.

__________________________________

Reading the coordinates to himself the Captain shuts off his comlink and gives last minute instructions to the Neimodian supervisor crew and the Droids unloading the supplies that will be distributed across the planet. Turning towards the hallways leading further into the docking station the Captain sets off to his meeting.

__________________________________

The drone that met the Captain was about the size of a small bird, eyeing him in orbiting flight patterns to seemingly scan him down. Once it had reached his feet, it produced a holographic image that produced another set of coordinates.

_________________________________

The Captain is bewildered by the drone circling him at first before reading the new coordinates. With a sigh he changes direction down a different hallway and walks to the new meeting location.

_________________________________

"Lieutenant-Commander Garru. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Garru spoke in Neimoidian, his ballistic helmet concealing his facial expression.

_________________________________

The Captain comes to a halt, a bit surprised this man took the time to learn his language, "Greetings unto you, Lieutenant-Commander Garru I presume?" Untar replies in Neimodian before continuing in Maldurii Basic, "I am most interested in this business proposition you have for Lok Durd and the Representative Council."

_________________________________

"We have a situation, the details of which are in this datapad. It is only to be accessed by Representative Durd. The datapad will self destruct within 2 hours of contact by Durd, and contains a highly volatile request."

_________________________________

Taking the datapad carefully and placing it gently into an inside pocket of his robes the Captain smiles at the Lieutenant-Commander, "I will ensure the safe arrival of this information to the Representative. I'll warn him of the self destruct as well. Seeing this is important I'll leave for Neimodia Prime immediately after we finish unloading the cargo from the ship."

_________________________________

"Excellent. Many thanks for your compliance. Maldurich wishes to thank you with a bonus; you'll find a handsome sum in your desk in your quarters, in the second drawer on the right."

_________________________________

Not showing the alarm at the intrusion of his office Untar bows slightly in response to the gift, "Many thanks lieutenant-Commander. I am sure you are needed elsewhere for you war so I shall take my leave and deliver your message." With another bow the Captain turns around and once out of sight walks quickly but calmly back to the ship. Shortly thereafter the frigate leaves after clearing with ground control and shortly entering hyperspace back to Neimodia Prime.

Neimodia Prime
Lok Durds estate

A protocol droid shuffles into the study of the round representative and approaches the desk with the datapad. {Urgent data delivery from Captain Untar of Vessel A18-C30, honored representative.}

Plucking the datapad from the droids hands I smile and shop the droid out with a word of thanks. Opening the data, I read through the request quickly and smile as I get a Magnadroid to take away the pad before it self destructs. "Interesting," standing up I turn on my comlink, "This is Representative Lok Durd, ask the Viceroy to convene the Council as soon as possible. We have a very intriguing business proposal from the Maldurii."

[The Tenebrean Empire]

Nothing is here. Go away

[The Interstellar Roman Empire]

Uncharted Space
Neptune's Trident, Trident Class Battleship, Primus Pilus Atticus's Flagship

I calmly listen before pressing the comb button. "Attention Parni commander, I am Atticus Aurelius, Primus Pilus of the Xth Exploration Fleet. I represent the Astrorum Romanum. The Senate is searching for new systems and civilizations. We mean no harm."

[The Adrelos Spinrim Cluster]

Jubaal, Jublaii System

A fleet of military and passenger ships entered the Jublaii system, turning more than a few heads. As government officials scrambled to issue warnings and establish communication, the request for 80 Prometheus class vessels and 120 Poseidon fighters was urgently sent to the Capital. Their resources would soon be spread thin at this rate, but it was deemed necessary. General Carrel Maz'rok, who had been placed in charge of the Jub'li rebuilding efforts, was wired to the incoming Adreli fleets. "Halt. You are entering Maldurii space without a permit. Please identify your leader and vessel IDs for further inspection. Detail your affiliations and wait for further instructions." All that was left was to hope they would comply and that Maz'rok wouldn't have to use force.

---

The Enigma, Othlikk System

The Enigma was one of the sixteen spearheads of Maldurii home defense, and the sensors it was responsible for had recently detected two Avadrelij fleets. Communication ensued immediately.
"Halt. You are trespassing Maldurii space without a permit. Please identify your leader and vessel IDs for further inspection. Detail your affiliations and await further instructions. Failure to comply will result in command to open fire." Both had received the message, and all they could do was wait for further news. A request had been sent to Othlikkore for the decision of what to do to these frequent trespassers; there had been another one reported from Jubaal, and many feared it was a sign of dangers to come.

Various Ships, Stellar Returbics, Jublaii System
Frantically, the 70 functioning ships jetted towards their "leaders". Nearly every ship had its own mob government, but a few blocs had managed to form. Each lead ship broadcast roughly the same message, an artifact of the extremely old "first contact" protocols, now long-forgotten but still ingrained in any certified ship captain's mind- "We come in peace. Guide us to your leaders." Each message was followed by a long list of ship names and commanders of each.

Command Ship King and Country, Free Reperetics, Othlikk System
Supreme Director Obligore stared at his screen, his braincomp working out a good reply. In a minute, it came to him, his subconscious observed by him to prune away any trace of belligerence- "Salutations and goodwill! I am Supreme Director Obligore of the enlightened Free Reperetics. We seek refuge in another enlightened society. My ship is the Command Ship 'King and Country', our largest ship. My integrated computer will send you our fleet register in just a moment.

Exploratory Fleet Two, Othlikk System
The automated reply systems ticked past the "human reply required" limit, and responded on their own. "We are a small exploratory fleet. If this message is being sent, we require assistance. Stand by for a list of vessels."

[Gaennan]

Ragnarok

A Bright flash of purple light followed by a burst of radiation appears in the outer parts of the Othlikk system. As the light dims, a large ship replaces it, being approximately 15 kilometers in length, and around a kilometer at it's widest, it was a monstrously large ship. The ship's AI starts scanning the system, sending out small probes and drones, most are Proximity sensors to alert the ship of incoming threats, but some were sent on capture courses to other planetary systems. The ship's inner surface starts to flicker on, as orange lights turn on. The entire ship comes to life. The ship, called Monument, was already in a wide orbit around the system's star, as the Gate's jump coordinates were randomized, they at least put the ship in a stable orbit.

[Masade]

While the last exploration fleet was finding continual success in the exploration of the southern star systems, the Empire was still under strain. It didn't help that no foreign entities were found present on the planets. So in a continual quest for other life and supplies, the Emperor would issue two more exploration teams. Each would consist of ten scorpion class, five frigates, two light cruisers, two all-purpose supply ships, three science crews, and a single diplomat. The one would head from Sungchi and head southwest, to what would soon be known as Aqut. The other would launch north from Zergang and explore the two northern systems that were closest.
Paranos

[Solocon]

PLANET ECCHA

---

[-00:05:01:15t] - Paladin

Paladin has five solar ticks. It realizes this immediately, before rechecking its variables or running verification protocols or initiating a precognitive simulation. This is simply known, the necessary data connections being made in the timespan of millionths of ticks. Automatically, trillions of task execution protocols shift their functions and begin to actualize the reality unfolding around them. Suddenly, there is space. And then, it exists.

Planet Eccha is a blue-green oblong spheroid with a diameter of roughly 7784.657 units orbiting its parent star. It has three major continents, two similarly-sized natural satellites, and 17 orbiting artificial constructs with non-negligible gravitational fields. Several thousand units above the planet's surface, deep in interplanetary space, there are approximately 1438 metallic objects ranging anywhere from the size of minor meteorites to that of large asteroids. SolDefSect refers to them collectively using many names: 'Invasion Fleet'. 'Maldurii Blockade'. 'Hostile Foreign Actors'.

Paladin knows them only as Entity One.

Entity One is coming.

Paladin has five solar ticks. The metallic objects orbiting high above Eccha follow a predictable pattern, organized into groups and subgroups that maintain a constant relative velocity with deviation values that are expressed in millionths of millionths of a unit. Hundreds of sensors all over the Soloconian planetary colony are trained on them; Paladin's eyes; and now they are recording deviations of thousands of magnitudes. Entity One has changed its course.

It is going down. Towards the surface.

Paladin experiences this as if it has already happened, because it has. Since the time at which the Maldurii fleets began orbiting Eccha, Paladin has executed 804784902 simulations involving this exact situation. It has tested changes in an uncountable number of variables. It has changed the number of assaulting ships. It has modified atmospheric conditions. It has created earthquakes and reinforcement fleets, it has simulated failures at every single stage of its retaliation efforts and mixed them around for the sake of it.

In each one, Paladin's directive has been to protect Eccha from Entity One. In each one, it has had varying degrees of success.

In each one, the average time it takes for Entity One to reach the surface has remained relatively consistent.

Paladin has five solar ticks.

[-00:04:49:02t] - Ek'kon

Ek'kon is not awake when the war on Eccha begins. Sitting cross-legged on the floor of a resting chamber, his open, milky-white eyes see nothing as he drifts silently through dormancy. The chamber is dark, save for a thin bluish-white sliver of light that runs along the edge of the low, metallic ceiling above him. Ek'kon's neural implant, having received an immediate high-priority alert, disturbs him from his slumber via a series of electrical impulses he experiences as soft vibrations in his head and chest.

It takes Ek'kon a moment to recognize the nature and pattern of them before he hastily crawls out of the resting chamber, standing up drowsily in the pitch-black CoHab. Looking to his right, Ek'kon sees his other cohabitants-- a few SolIntelSect and SolSocSect officials-- moving around in the darkness, having also been awakened. The thin metallic door to the CoHab pushes inward and slides up with a hiss, and Ek'kon steps out into the corridor. The SolDefSect facility around him is dimly lit, but it is enough to hurt his unadjusted eyes.

Following the thin lights running down the corridor, Ek'kon makes his way to the facility's central command chamber. The bright light emanating from within the chamber is accompanied by sounds of commotion and an unusually high level of clicking. As Ek'kon enters, his implant immediately syncs with the holographic projections around the room, and his attention turns pointedly to a particularly frantic broadcast from a terminal in orbit over the planet.

At the other end of the chamber, SolDefSect strategists are clustered around the virtual projection of Eccha's HeadDefSect, who clicks hastily into the screen. There are Solons hurrying about in the background.

'...ECCHA R'SKAA MAL'KKN SEK :::-:.-:-|-::. T'KH...'

Ek'kon is wide awake now. He hurries towards the interface as the HeadDefSect informs them that they are detecting new deviations in the paths of the Maldurii spacecraft surrounding Eccha. It is then that a loud noise sounds from the interface and the HeadDefSect is engulfed in white before fizzling out, the connection lost.

Ek'kon and the other government officials stare at the blank hologram in shock, left with nothing but the sound of static and a realtime display of the looming Maldurii vessels.

One of the SolDefSect strategists snaps out of the trance, giving the call to sound alarms across the planetary colony. A low droll roars through the facility in line with the urgent pulsing of its lights.

Stepping back from the hologram anxiously, Ek'kon realizes they are under attack.

[-00:03:51:17t] - Ae'iim

A sound unlike any he has heard before races through the massive SolDefSect terminal, the thin lights of the chamber flicking off momentarily as waves of force send vibrations through the sensory cavities located deep within his skull. Ae'iim ignores it, attempting to restore the connection with the SolDefSect and SolIntelSect officials on the ground. It is no use: the impact received from the Maldurii weaponry was just enough to knock out Aiium's communications channel.

Under normal circumstances, the signal could be rerouted through a different channel. These are not normal circumstances. There is no time.

Every tick counts now, and by conforming to protocol Ae'iim has wasted two. In the back of his mind, he admits he should have granted authorization first. The interface still displays the option for him in bright Solonian symbols. Abandoning the unsalvagable connection, Ae'iim raises his arm towards the interface, acting to grant authorization to Paladin as quickly as--

A second blast throws him across the room.

[-00:03:21:43t] - Paladin

Paladin has three solar ticks. The HeadDefSect braces for impact against the floor of the orbiting Terminal; various parts and objects slowly floating towards the floor around him. Each tick is an eon. The floor of the chamber is covered in debris by the time Paladin has completed analysis of the damages inflicted by Entity One's weaponry. A thin light from the ceiling courses towards the floor of the Terminal. By the time it has shattered, energy output and visual bright line analysis bring Paladin to the conclusion that the impact is consistent with the mechanics of a controlled nuclear fusion explosion.

The HeadDefSect rises from the floor of the central command chamber, his head turning slowly towards the damaged interface.

Entity One's spacecraft move in a highly predicable manner. Paladin is accustomed to the entropy of Soloconian swarm mechanics, but Entity One behaves systematically, almost as if attempting to become one unit. The HeadDefSect begins pushing up from the floor as Paladin maps the projected routes of each various subgroup emerging from within Entity One's fleet. Trends emerge, and it becomes strikingly obvious that each of Entity One's subgroups is assigned to one of Eccha's metropolises.

The HeadDefSect walks slowly towards the panel as other SolDefSect officers click urgently to him that they need to evacuate.

Paladin predicts that it will take another 35 milliticks for the HeadDefSect to reach the interface. Until then, Solocon's military fleets will remain uncombative, locked in their stable low orbits around planet Eccha. Once active, disabling Entity One's spacecraft should be easy, given their relative lack of sophisticated combat mechanisms and clustered battle formations. Doing hundreds of billions of calculations, Paladin comes to the conclusion that there is one striking, overwhelming problem:

Paladin has three solar ticks. There is not enough time to stop Entity One from reaching the surface.

If current variables remain unchanged, precognitive simulations project that Entity One will reach half of Eccha's metropolises before annihilation. Given the predicted nuclear blast radii of Entity One's weaponry and the population densities of every metropolis located above Eccha's equator, Paladin concludes that the number of Solon lives lost in the first of Entity One's offensives will surpass 6.25 billion and that half of Eccha's cities will be totally destroyed.

The HeadDefSect's arm is outstretched, grasping at the option on the interface outlined in bold symbols.

The war is barely begun, and already, Paladin has failed its directive.

So it makes a new one.

Solocon will prevail in space. It is the ground that lies in peril. Processing servers reach maximum capacity as Paladin races through possible algorithmic solutions. Half of Eccha's metropolises are doomed, but through manipulations of the variables that govern the outcome of the war, it may be possible to salvage them. Each value of the events occurring in real time races by in the space of mere nanoticks.

There are simply not enough variables to manipulate.

Paladin needs more data, more possibilities. Paladin needs---

[align=center][AK'KAN EK TS'KEK SOLIX]
[FULL PALADIN ACCESS AUTHORIZED]

The Terminal explodes brilliantly.

[-00:02:43:31t] - Xaekon

The synthetic world is endless. It begins with an exact replica of Xaekon's metropolis; every superstructure, transport bay and walkway cloned in excruciating detail, all the way down to the chambers of Xaekon's CoHab. Outside the virtual cities, the world enters the realm of impossibility. The programmed, crystalline flora covering Eccha gives way into a surreal landscape of euphoric floating structures and endless dystopia. Collectively, it is known to most Solons as The Network.

Suddenly, it all disappears.

Xaekon is immersed in a void of darkness as his connection to the synthetic reality is unexpectedly severed. Error protocols flash through his vision in bright Solonian symbols before the display blacks out completely. Confusedly, Xaekon pulls his face away from the metallic mask and back into reality. The mask retracts up into the ceiling, and a thin rod disconnects from his neuroport on the side of his head.

Xaekon steps out of his NetBay inquisitively. It is late in the solar cycle, and his CoHab is dim save for the white-orange light filtering though its black-tinted windows.

His cohabitants are missing.

Xaekon looks through the windows with his milky-white eyes and notices commotion far below. Thousands of Solons are amassing on the walkways and ground of the black, metallic city, staring at...something. An urgency fills the air. The nanite coverings on Xaekon's feet click softly against the metallic structure of the megatower he calls home as he leaves the CoHab.

Suspended over the hollow inside of the colossal tower by a series of wide platforms, Xaekon makes his way towards a connecting walkway that branches at high altitudes over Eccha Nine. Ensheathed by the massive dark-transparent panels above him, Xaekon staggers onto the elevated tunnel and into a group of clicking Solons within it. They peer out at the bright sky, and Xaekon notices strange shapes in the atmosphere descending towards the city.

It does not take him long to realize what they are.

[-00:01:03:07t] - Architect

Architect has one solar tick. It realizes this immediately, before calculating grid reprioritizations or querying exact movement pathways or simulating physical structure redistribution protocols. This is simply known, the necessary information parameters unwinding into algorithmic programs in the timespan of millionths of a tick. Automatically, trillions of task execution protocols shift their functions and begin to actualize the reality unfolding around them. Suddenly, there is space. And then, it exists.

Eccha Nine is an artificial physical construct with an area of roughly 842.8 units located above the equator of Planet Eccha. It is composed of tens of billions of structures, several million transportation network pathways, and roughly 900 million inhabitants. Every aspect of the city is planned and optimized down to the degree of hundredths of a unit. The function of each structure acts in near complimentary synchronization with those near it-- the city is efficient. Hospitable. Perfect.

From the moment of its creation, Architect's directive has been efficiency; to build the pillars of Solonian civilization to their maximum height.

But then Architect met Paladin.

Several thousand units above Eccha Nine, deep in interplanetary space, there are approximately 1438 metallic objects ranging anywhere from the size of minor meteorites to that of large asteroids referred to collectively as Entity One. Entity One is coming. Paladin has made every attempt to prevent its arrival, sending thousands of SolDefSect vessels out into the depths of space to protect Architect's creations in the most effective way mathematically possible. And yet, even amongst the destruction of countless enemy units, Entity One will still annihilate half of the vast planetary civilization Architect is programmed to keep in existence.

Paladin has failed its directive, and in that failure Architect derives the imminent jeapordization of its own.

So it makes a new one.

Paladin precongnitive simulations predict an impending event of mass destruction in the form of a delocalized fusion blast. Average air temperatures will number in the hundreds of millions of units, combined with an insurmountable wave of radiation that will vaporize an area two times the size of Eccha Nine. In its current state, the metropolis Architect has derived is helpless. Useless. Imperfect.

Architect races through logical thought processes, a million million calculations and algorithms playing through its servers like a stream of photons beamed through a vaccum.

In the fires of the city's impending destruction, a new one takes its place.

Architect has one solar tick.

[-00:00:33:05t] - Xaekon

Xaekon sprints through the megatower for his life. Making his way to the ground level, he runs out onto the transportation network pathway that threads by his tower. Crowds of Solons are streaming out of the buildings around him, and the air is filled with the sound of terrified clicking. The outside is bright, even with the setting sun, and Xaekon cannot make eye contact with the sky.

He can hear them coming.

Behind him, in the distance, Xaekon senses a low rumbling; the thrust of hypersonic engines against the still atmosphere. A bearer, assisted by a medical drone, clutches her eggs desperately as the ground below them begins to shake. He is running, and the others are running, too, and they begin to move in instinctual cooperation. Xaekon can sense their fear in the air; the pheromones latching onto his skin.

The metal ground below them begins to crack open, the spiraling buildings above begin to twist and shake. The city is crumbling, convulsing, collapsing.

In his desperate flight, Xaekon fails to notice the uncanny geometric synchronization of it all.

[-00:00:10:01t] - Paladin

Paladin has one-sixth of a solar tick. The SolDefSect military fleets pummel into Entity One's advance, ripping apart hulls and assimilating spacecraft. This is no longer Paladin's concern. In less than half of a solar tick, the subgroups that split off of Entity One's armada will reach their targets. Paladin sends a live stream of data into the AI known as Architect's networks.

Paladin is not programmed to understand the mechanics of what Architect is doing. What it does understand is that the sudden physical changes occurring in every Ecchan metropolis above the equator are creating an exponential drop in the value of calculated casualties.

With full access to Solocon's networks, Paladin's sensory capabilities have expanded by several magnitudes. In the final deciticks leading up to Entity One's arrival, it constructs a realtime data stream of every Solon inhabiting an imperiled city.

One of them sprints through the transportation networks of Eccha Nine.

[-00:00:05:00t]

He is no longer sure if the world around him is real. Rectangular geometric cracks race through the ground below Xaekon's feet; an abandoned hovercraft deconstructs and assimilates into the transportation network pathway it is landed on. Ripples of living metal wind through the city and up into the heights of its spiraling black towers as they all begin to angle sideways.

It is almost as if Xaekon is still in the Network; the world around him a construct of a nonphysical virtual reality.

[-00:00:04:00t]

Massive pillars of black thrust up from the ground and into the sky, and the surface ahead breaks up into an impasse of metal plates. Xaekon stops running, as do many of the Solons around him, and they stare at the strange amalgamation taking place around them. The massive fleets growing in the distance no longer matter. The ground shifts around them and breaks apart, and suddenly Xaekon is standing with several others on a pillar of metal, the massive towers of the city lowered by outstretched scaffolds of nanites into a dark trench that grows into the distance.

One such tower looms in front of them, its shadow blocking out the light of the sun.

Xaekon looks towards the other inhabitants of their lone platform. There is nothing they can do. The front face of the tower grows nearer, closer, blocking out the sinking city around them--

[-00:00:03:00t]

-- and splits in two. Architect calculates the necessary structural reorganization with ease, drawing it down into the crevice below the city while leaving the small group of inhabitants unscathed. Paladin's emulation programs estimate the very last few inhabitants are descending down into the recesses below the city, the previous home of Eccha Nine's infrastructure networks.

Eccha has one twentieth of a tick.

A subprogram within Architect's intelligence orders the temporary platform to descend quickly, and with a jolt--

[-00:00:02:00t]

--it shifts below Xaekon's feet as he looks up in disbelieving awe.

[-00:00:01:00t]

They are falling, falling into the depths of a pit that moments ago did not exist, the looming shapes of strange alien ships blocking out the light of the sun for less than a fraction of a tick as they fly over the receding city. In the flurry of complete chaos Xaekon realizes what comes next and--

[-00:00:00:00t]

The full electromagnetic energy of the sun is detonated over Eccha Nine.

The sky turns white and now Xaekon is actually falling, the platform giving out as the walls of the trench reach out to each other, pulling the ground closed with a deafening squeal of metal that drowns out blaring the rush of air past his head. Suddenly he is isolated inside a confined tunnel, the walls closing in as a shriek of atomic energy ripples through Eccha's crust.

He is sure he is dead.

Xaekon is convinced that he is dead.

Any moment now, he will be--

[+00:00:00:24t] - Paladin

Saved.

6249999847 inhabitants saved.

[+00:23:47:05t] - Ek'kon

The world is quiet. Ek'kon treads silently through the dark corridors with the rest of the SolDefSect officials, one of them lighting the way with his implant. The Maldurian military has destroyed the facility's main power source and high-energy EMPs have rendered the backup generators useless. Up ahead, at the end of the emergency access tunnel, bleak white light beams in from the outside.

A SolDefSect official's implant flashes, and he clicks to them that the air is poisoned with high levels of radiation. Ek'kon and the rest of his group slip black reflective masks over their faces, thin tubes running from their mouths and into a small block of medical nanites positioned on their shoulders. Ek'kon inhales, and his vessels turn black under his skin as the synthetic material transfuses through him.

One of the SolDefSect strategists informs them that they will need to traverse Eccha's terrain on foot until they reach a second SolDefSect base further out from Eccha Nine.

The SolDefSect official gives a gesture, and Ek'kon walks out into a world he no longer recognizes as his own.

Charred, blackened rocks descend into Eccha's acidic, steaming, foamy ocean. The dark-green, slender vegetation that once surrounded their defunct facility is now flattened, half burned and half melted in the planet's low-oxygen atmosphere. In the distance, Eccha Nine is unrecognizable, massive plumes of black, toxic clouds rising from a monolithic crater which extends into the horizon; the sky covered in a sheet of white radioactive clouds. The eerie red glow of melted, smoldering lava is the only recognizable color in the bleak, dead landscape.

They stare in silence for long time.

This is the ruin of war; the destruction of their world.

Ek'kon and the group of SolDefSect officials tread off into the Ecchan Front.

[The Tenebrean Empire]

Solon Space, Eccha System
Flagship Telon's Shield Battlecruiser class

At the north end of the Ecchan system space gets distorted as the Tenebrean Expeditionary fleet exits Warp. From the bridge of the Battlecruiser Telon's Shield Commander Jonathan Baldwin, leader of the Expedition fleet and forces nods as all 300 ships are accounted for.

Commander Jonathan Baldwin



Standing on the command platform, overlooking the rows of computers, holodecks, and info centers, the Main view is dominated by the image of Eccha and the Maldurii fleet orbiting the planet. Turning to my second in command I wave him over, "Inform all captains to ready weapons and shields as well as prepare the gunships to take troops to the surface. It is time we did more than just nip at the Solon beast."

Turning back to the view I can feel a nervous excitement build up inside me, I haven't seen combat since the Plaguer Crisis and that was against mindless beasts. Prince Arkas promised us battle and he has delivered. Shaking my head I turn to the comms officer, "Hail the Maldurii command ship, inform them that Tenebrae stands with them to the end." After his acknowledgment I pull up the Command holotable and over look the full inventory of the Expedition. 130 Tyler Class Frigates, 70 Pressor Class Cruisers, 50 Exequer Class Frigates, 30 Battlecruisers, 10 Carrier-Destroyers, and 10 Carriers with their accompanying DC-S64 Heavy fighters and DC-SG95 gunships. For ground forces the Expedition was allotted 5,000,000 Tenebran Infantry, 1,000,000 Stromian Infantry, 500,000 RhoDorian Infantry, 300 DX-350 CYBER tanks, 600 DX-138 Ringdocus Tanks, and 100 DX1-18 MK I Automatas. Rubbing the cybernetic implant attached to the back of my head, I nod as everything seems to be in order. Closing the inventory screen I send off two messages.

'May the Twelve bless you and ensure you get this message well my Emperor,

I am sending preliminary contact as instructed, it appears that our ally, Maldurich, has complete atmospheric dominance and continues to win the fight for Orbital. They have begun landing operations for ground warfare, I have sent word and will provide support to our Ally's.

Glory to the Twelve,

Commander Baldwin, 1st Expedition'

Sending that back to Excelion I open another message, 'May the Twelve guide is my Prince, We have arrived in full readiness. It appears that the battle will be over quickly with our combined forces here. I have ensured that the majority here are nationalist supporters. Upon completion of operations I will send word so that we may move on to Phase 2.

Glory to Tenebrae,

Commander Baldwin.'

After sending the last message I smile, "Full power ahead, we have a war to win people!"

[Astvatsna]

Astvatsna Communal Officers' Briefing

1900 Hours

One hour ago, a star ship has been discovered around an astronomical unit from our current course. It appears to be severely damaged and unable to locomote under it's own power. The ship is not of known design, and thus requires further investigation.

A majority decision has been reached to explore the vessel by the Command, and all ships should be advised to adjust their courses accordingly.

A special subspace message is being distributed to each vessel group, and it should be broadcast on all frequencies and should be repeated every 10 minutes.

In regards to the lack of hydroponics equipment in Group IX, the Command is unable to procure more and is going to mark it down to the Acquirement List for the next contact trade.

Good luck Officers. All complaints shall be brought to the Command as usual.

[Gaennan]

A Means to an End.

---

Two Months Prior

---

Seeing it was an amazing experience, but even then, it was still horrifying. Thousands of ships, Gaennai, Rumoni, Isharan, fought in orbit of Gaenna. Kilometer long Gaennai carriers would occasionally ram the enemy. In the chaos, a lone object fell into the sky above Cevaam. As it's ablator burned it streaked across the vast red skies of Gaenna. The Ablator panels extend. Before firing off, the large pods tumbling in the sky. Minutes passed, air hung in the sky as a small object, about the size of a soccer-ball at it's widest, fell from the sky, small red lights blinking. After impact, a white flash blinds everyone who could see it, it was even visible from orbit. As the flash dimmed, the vast continent cracked and shattered, some material getting ejected into space, bursting the white dome that was formed by the detonation. It was a GBU-7782 "Fusion Bomb". A second flash presented itself near the Gas Giant of Kadesh-24. But this time it wasn't a Fusion Bomb, but a Balcora Gate. The Gate propelled an "Ark" through a Frameshift tunnel at six(6) times the speed as usual, greatly reducing it's FTL time. The forces of Gaenna start to retreat, but are cut off by the 5th Isharan War-fleet. The Gaennai use their last resort option, and detonated an Experimental GBU-7783 "Hydra" bomb. The resulting detonation was of an unknown yield, all that was/is known, is that it turned Gaenna from partially habitable to uninhabitable.

---

2 Months later, just a minute prior to now.

Monument

+00:00:01, Procyon

The AI looks over petabytes of data. The Balcora Tunnel is slowly becoming unstable- a sign that the Ark is reaching the end of the tunnels, so the AI prepares and activates the dampening field. The entire ship shakes as the tunnel starts to end. The AI activates the field. The entire ship shakes as the tunnel starts to end.

+-00:00:00

The loud metallic screech of the ship starting to exit Framespace echoes throughout the ship as blue particles form around it. All visual sensors go offline, the ship drilling back into normal space. Monument arrives at an unknown star system.

+00:00:01

Procyon starts reactivating sensors, and awaits the response of the second Ark, Gaja. Whilst also firing off several probes and sensors

[Maldurich]

Commander Alexa Therani
The Dragonheart, Eccha System

Commander Therani gazed out the window of the dreadnought towards the objective. Eccha. The Ecchan star would have just appeared over the horizon on the surface. Perfect, she thought. There were so many things that could go wrong in the next ten minutes, and these few were crucial in the outcome of the fate of the Ecchan front.
"This is a day that will be remembered in all of history! This is the day when the power of Solon hegemony is broken! They have no hold on us and our allies. March on to Freedom!"

The calls of Maldurii yelling 'Marching to Freedom' echoed off the lips of the millions of crewmen in the ships surrounding Eccha, the lips of the countless of soldiers in the hangars and the gunships, the hearts and minds of Maldurich's children. The fate of Eccha hung in the balance. The words became a fiery motivator, branded on their hearts and mind, spurring them to action.

"We will not tolerate Solon hegemony! We are Maldurii! Our allies stand strong! Today is the day! We will show them the spirit of Maldurich, the ferocity that rests in each and every one of you! Nothing stands in our way!"

As the roar of emboldened Maldurii warriors reverberated through the hulls of the ships, the blitz began. The goal was to hit Eccha with flashbang tactics and firepower to match, and destroy their nanites. The black little buggers had been a nuisance to the Maldurii, and this was perhaps going to be the largest nanite grave in history. At the precise moment, the cruisers maneuvered into position, all around Eccha, their targets in their sights. They would take the planet hemisphere by hemisphere. Each fleet company had been preassigned to each of Eccha's seven northern centers, and in a moment, they would release the power of a million suns on the planet's crust. Maldurich's allies had been alerted of the monumentous moment in hopes that they would be prepared for a space battle like none before as Solon desperation mounted.
"Shields up."
The command bridge was silent. The many command centers around the flagship were in suspense as well, waiting for the precise moment.
"Prime."
The sound of hundreds of thousands of boosters igniting and fuel checks clicking could be heard around all the ships, overcome only by a dreadful whirring sound. The sound of innumerable nuclear fusion warheads priming, preparing to deliver their power upon the surface.
Therani closed her eyes, imagining the bleak world Eccha would be after the bombing. It would certainly carry a message, but what was to be its fruit? There was no time to debate as the timer wound down and the missiles clicked into firing mode. As the autonomous launch systems took over, she held her breath. The sound of thousands of synchronized clicks. Then, silence as the burners of a hellish rain descended upon their targets.

---

Captain Rillo Arrk'on
Paragon Citadel Root_004, Rre'inn One
Captain Arrk'on was a fair-haired man - something of a rarity in Maldurich - who sported a thick pale beard and steely grey eyes. His eye twitched as he watched the briefing again, the clip showing the raging fires and the plasma winds sweeping Eccha's surface. Much of the water had dried up and the cities were burning, titanium and aluminium having liquified and the remains of nanite circuitry drifting as slag along the metal rivers. The base constructed on Rre'inn's prime moon was relatively primitive - the full capacity of the reactors would be finally released today, some tomorrow. Larger detonation radius missiles had been set up for defense and possibly offense, while an additional 6 thousand ships had been deployed for full engagement. The Parni treaty had went smoothly, and Rillo was glad for it - they weren't in this fight alone. Again, their Tenebrean allies showed their boldness and courage and their mere presence had bolstered the already-high morale that buzzed in the halls of Paragon Citadel. The base was simple in design - designed with geometric superiority for durability, the walls were made of fereon alloy, which were held together with graphene suspension cables. The whole thing had been 3d printed in under a rotation with about one thousand score of the construction drones now resting in place and being refitted to their recycling configurations. The solution would be to gain atmospheric and spacial superiority where it counted - in the north. The south of the planet lay in the straining hands of the Solons, but continuous harassment from the blockade would hopefully break through and capture those targets. The bombing runs, he realized, had terrified him - none had thought they would be so destructive, so ruthlessly efficient. Rillo refocused his attention to the briefing. Ground Command spoke softly but quickly, and the other captains were listening intently through their mental implants, their minds simultaneously jotting down notes about their objective. The objective was, of course, the minuscule metallic cubes the Solons favoured for everything. Nanites. The god-forsaken planet that was once Eccha still lay host to the odd nanite factory that, if functioning, put their plans in detriment. There was but one purpose for him on the ground, his comm feed told him - to search, find, and destroy every last vestige of nanite production. Nothing could be left to chance. Rillo's thoughts drifted once more as he processed the feed of information being fed to him. He played in his mind the clip that had been emblazoned on his visor moments ago - the swarming, swimming black rivers of metallic cubes on the surface, visible by the sensors aboard, the images of billions upon billions of nanites heaped in writhing masses on the surface. They had gone still now, and whatever was left in the north had to be put down - for good.
The briefing finished, and the captains discussed their means of action and the coordination that would be required to execute their mission. They would drop into the atmosphere from a Hyperion-class, and each captain would be in command of two Vulcan-class gunships. All the troops in the Eccha theatre had been trained for landings, so the worst case scenario was sending in a squad to take out whatever they couldn't shoot down. As the hangars began filling with crew members doing final checks, Rillo clipped on his core armour before the rest came assembling around him like a carnivorous plant closing in on its prey. His alpha lieutenant saluted to him, already decked in a flight variant of exosuit, and gave a status report on the state of their gunships.
"Vulcan 464 prepped and ready, Captain."
Rillo nodded and analyzed his mission, imagining his actions before they flew in, as they flew in, and as they left. There would be little resistance at all to atmospheric attacks against the Solons, he realized, and whatever vestiges of anti-air capabilities remained would likely be autonomous and limited on ammunition. If anything went wrong, his men would drop in by the squad and deal with the problem on foot.
"Right then, let's get this cleaned up."

---

Captain Alexa Therani
Paragon Citadel Root_Core, Rre'inn One
Therani gazed at the panoramic display as she surveyed the enormous map of the battleground that was Eccha. There were detachments already on the ground and in the air, while further up Maldurii ships drifted in their orbits around Eccha. The enormous Atlas class above each city was escorted by their convoy of Hyperion-class cruisers, which in turn were swarmed with fighters and gunships loading on and off - all this was displayed in crisp projected images, in real time. In the Southern hemisphere, when the map was flipped, the Solon spacecraft too were loading rapidly and sending back evacuation vehicles. It appeared a lull had overtaken the firefight, and Solon and Maldurii ships alike were busy with other objectives. Therani had heard the rumours of the Solon AI - Paladin, so the rumours named it. Paladin was supposed to be an intelligent one - and indeed, probably just about - if not more - advanced than Maldurii artificial sapience. While Solon apparently allowed AI to control its military, Maldurii personnel were reserved for such a task while AI ran simpler tasks that didn't give over as much power. We need to hack the damn thing, Therani thought, wracking her mind for an ideal team they could get to Eccha before things went irrelevant. She looked back at the map, splitting the fields to get a view of both sides, contemplating whether she should thrust at the belly of the beast once more.

"Thoughts?" Commander Sorrd had walked up to the map, bracing his arms agains the bezel of the gargantuan thing.

"It's not like it'd be a good idea to keep at it in space. I'm thinking we finish it all within the planet."

"They don't have much left," Sorrd mused. It was true - much of their southern infrastructure, too, had been destroyed by the initial bombing runs prior to the nuclear Armageddon that had left the North in melted slag. "There's not much left to destroy."

"Still," Therani argued, "we can't take chances. We need to get into that AI too. Have you heard the rumors?"

"Yeah, they're concerning," Sorrd admitted. "To think an AI exists that can counter an equally stacked enemy..."
Paladin hadn't found a solution past their shields, but it was concerning that it could think of so many strategies in mere seconds. Perhaps the Maldurii should implement such a weapon into their campaigns, if the public agreed. That would come after the war, however, and they needed to finish this campaign.
"Any news from the 'kore?"

"Bunch of ships showed up all over the place. Plus we got the contract from the Trade Federation."
Therani nodded and pondered how they could execute their next step, and the next, and the next, until they had complete dominance of the planet - and, by extension, the system. For now, it meant calculating the pros and cons of the atmospheric strikes on the south.
"Send a request for six thousand vessels to Othlikkore," she told her virtual assistant, before leaving for her quarters.

---

Captain Rillo Arrk'on
Vulcan 464, Eccha 12 Outskirts
Captain Arrk'on continued the battalion's descent as scheduled. The Vulcan gunship he was on had managed to pass largely undetected through the equator, thankfully, while their target lay shortly before them. The mission should've been a simple one, but he had a feeling he'd have to go down and take out the infrastructure on foot - something he wasn't too keen on doing after seeing the roiling puddles of still-writhing nanite bunkers in the south.
"Try to stay close," he said, hearing their answers through his neural lace. The gunship rolled left as they came upon their first target - a partially-melted fortress/factory hybrid, apparently, that somehow was still functional despite its internal structure being exposed to the elements. Destroying this will be easy enough, he mused, before ordering his soldiers to open missile and ordnance to the dilapidated structure. As the Wyvern missiles rocketed towards their target, Rillo coordinated his other platoon to begin bombarding the next target, watching the missiles explode each as a brilliant borealis, levelling the walls. The black panels fell apart and the building shuddered to a stop, before falling apart and collapsing.
"Right, next target, boys." The gunship zoomed off.

---

Commander Aria Hukum
The Solitude, Thao System
Aria looked over the files the xenos had sent, regarding them with interest and briefly skimming them before passing it on to Othlikkore. She was fairly young, a 40-year old who was in charge of Maldurii interests in the colony that was Thao. As an unpopulated system, Thao's colonization was also something she oversaw. The xenos - of the Xeon Empire, apparently - wished to hold a diplomatic meeting. As a younger commander she had never had the chance to conduct diplomatic training, so she had sent for an associate who was - a General Ora Cres'ent, and now he discussed with her about how to conduct diplomacy.
"Sincere greetings to you, Captain Yukon, and your leader. We would be pleased to discuss peace and friendly relations in the moments to come. We await your response."

---

The Rhapsody, Jublaii System
General Maz'rok breathed a sigh of relief. The treaty had been ratified faster than he thought - and now, the details had to be sent to the 'kore. The Parni had come to their aid. Perhaps the frequent visits to Jublaii did pay off after all, he thought.
He downloaded the list of vessels from each ship, received in more than one message. The Adrelij seemed disorganized, but he could see their distinct divisions - or so he thought - split up in the edges of the Jublaii system.
"Thank you for complying. You will dock yourselves at the spaceport at the coordinates I'm sending now in territory 13. You'll receive further instructions there. Please deactivate all weapon systems prior to entering the system.

---

The Silence, Othlikk System
Commander Beor Tak'ran of the Home Defense system received the Adrelij messages.
"Greetings, Director Obligore. We understand you have all interest in joining Maldurii society. Thank you for your compliance. Deactivate all weapons systems as you enter the system, then make your way to the Oceanus-class station at Lagrange point 3; you will receive jump codes for your destination there, as well as instructions and a Maldurii escort fleet.

---

Beor was a bit startled by the message Exploratory Fleet 2 had sent - they required help, which meant something had gone wrong.
"We're sending a drone to assess the situation. Please send back details." Beor knew he probably wouldn't get a response even before he sent the message, but it was worth a shot.

---

The Lumina, Othlikk System
The Nyx-class Space Station's systems blared as the incredibly close-proximity vessel came into view. As a bright flash of purple temporarily blinded photonic receptors, the crew could make out a massive, unusual ship that drifted in slowly, almost asleep. As systems started powering up again on the mystery ship, more and more alarms went off, and Othlikkore was notified immediately. Commanders throughout the system broadcasted the same message in different wavelengths to the new ship:
"Halt. You are trespassing Maldurii space without a permit. Please identify your leader and vessel IDs for further inspection. Detail your affiliations and await further instructions. Failure to comply will result in command to open fire."
One could only hope for the best.

---

Commander Solomon Sorrd
Paragon Citadel Root_Core, Rre'inn One
Commander Sorry was notified of their Tenebrean allies' arrival in Eccha. As all communications had been wired from the ships to the Citadel, he received their message of confirmation. Tenebrae would stand with them to the end. Perhaps the most glorious words he had heard all day, he thought, before bringing the news to Therani and the Command Room. The map, sure enough, showed the Tenebrean force enter Eccha, and everyone had a smile behind their helmets. Perhaps the war would be over soon.