**Sol**

The Terran fleet stood silent, no message being sent even between their own ships. After what felt like an eternity for the Terran crews, the blue plasma shields of the fleet suddenly activated, parting for a split second to allow for an all-out barrage of plasma and missile fire. Fighters launched from their carriers, swarming the enemy as their motherships took on the role of frontline battleships with ease. Planetary defense platforms opened fire as well, their long-range shots piercing deep into the Iscandarian fleet. The Terran military fleet had a total of a thousand and ten ships, the extra ten being the dreadnoughts. All of them were Normady-Class vessels, though the landing craft and tanks that would normally be kept on the rotating platforms were replaced with small craft, which formed up with the rest of the fighters to swarm the enemy.

Civilian vessels also joined in, opening fire with light railguns and converted mining lasers. Missiles were also fired from a few civilian ships, joining the giant barrage towards the Iscandarians. On the ground of every inhabited planet, civilians and soldiers alike picked up weapons and set up ground-to-space railguns and missile batteries. If the Iscandarians were interested in finding the theory of everything, they would have to get through every last Terran in the Federation. Every last human was united in their resistance, refusing to let the Iscandarians gain the most safely guarded secret the Terrans held.

The lead starship was a custom model similar to the Normandy, but armed with different weapons. In place of the usual plasma turrets, this ship had a mixture of the normal plasma weapons and a new kind of beam weapon. Mounted both spinally and on the turrets, this strange weapon created an incredibly bright blue beam that seemed to just _delete_ anything it hit. In reality, it was a Gluon Disturber: a device which broke apart subatomic particles by disturbing gluons. Unfortunately, it had a side effect that nobody wanted to talk about, and its use was restricted out of fear of that side effect.

That ship broadcast a message to the Iscandarian fleet, as it fired off a barrage of antimatter missiles in tandem with every other Terran ship.

"This is Kai Vivian of the United Terran Federation. On this day, we formally declare war on the Eternal Empire. We will sooner go extinct than allow you to destroy this reality and create your own. Let it be known to all Iscandarians that we will not rest until the last of you takes their final breath!"

**Icarus**

"Is there any specific way we should address your delegation? I wouldn't want to offend them."

((Oh God don't kill me please I know that was short and terrible please no my plots are too unfinished for me to die.))