((OH
OH
OHHHHHHH))

[color=lightcoral][center][h3]Fringe Space, Draconian Empire, Colony 257G of the Forerunners[/h3][/center][/color]
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An armor battalion was rumbling across the great plains of the world- Colony 257-G- as the Minor Forerunner surveyed them with a smug pride. She was the only female Forerunner, and the only one that was actively expanding her lands. She made them fear, she made them band together. She had one of the most powerful fleets in the Draconian spacefleet- a ridiculous thing, really, since none of the others deemed space warfare as vital as ground warfare. Them and their pride- she'll just wipe the deck with them before they can even drop. 

In the middle of the battalion was what they were practicing defending- a giant strip mine, surrounded on all sides by watch towers, warehouses, and mass accelerator cannons, slinging the massive shipments of resources into orbit. She didn't even need to set up any others- this spot was by far the most material-rich spot, and it even had some places that were nearly solid titanium, in others, solid gold. The planet was, as a result, sort of wavy- the land would arch up slowly to a ridge, then dart down slightly steeply, and come back up again. It made tank battalions less effective, infantry more so, and aircraft far more so. The planet had massive fields of grasses and brush, large and weak in the lower gravity. There were only trees in small patches here and there; they were used to hide orbital defense units, being set up pronto. 

Oh, she loved this planet. It was destined to be a hotspot for mining and production for years to come. It already outstripped half her slave worlds in resource production, and that was just with three ships' worth of slaves working with one ships' worth of equipment. 

Then an attendant- also a female Draconian- rushed up, calling, "Draconia! Unknown fleet sighted on the edges of planet orbit!" She knew better to address her so informally, but the news was enough to overwhip the scale-picking she normally would've received. Instead, Draconia whipped around- a name she chose based on the name of their species- and strode indoors of the large command tower. Ferroconcrete, reinforced with titanium alloy struts and protected with just-installed, brand new shields, the building had the broadcasting of the eight troop transports set up cross-planet, and then some, being able to transmit on its own all the way to the outer reaches of the system. 

Indeed, in the large holographic table in the middle room, a fleet had appeared some great distance away from the planet. They were nothing but a small dot in the face of the massive planet- unusual, because the core was detected to be superheated gases, instead of liquid or solid like any other planet, resulting in the low gravity- and three planet lengths' away. The planet's gravity may be low, but gravity fields extend a far ways. 

She eyed the dot with morbid curiosity, as a cat may an immobile mouse, and silently regretted sending her fleet to ensure her control over the nearby systems. No matter; she'll deal with them through orbital defenses and sub-atmospheric Shrike strike fighters. 

She didn't wait for a headcount on the enemy fleet, and instead absorbed the roughly translated message they sent. She paused, weighing her options. A normal Draconian, even a Forerunner, would've laughed or ranted at the audacity of the newcomers, but she stood and thought. The sixteen Draconian officers shifted nervously; heads might roll soon. 

Instead, she smashed the "COMMUNICATION TOGGLE" button on the console, large and reinforced for that predicted reason, and she spoke. "This is Minor Forerunner Draconia, reporting from Draconian Homeworld "Sentatian," requesting help from outside species. Units on ground are currently engaged in a civil war, and assistance to end and control rogue forces would be much appreciated. Ground assistance required; sub-orbital bombardment may hit strategic or highly-volatile resource deposits. Our status as a sister nation in trade can be given after our people are back under control. Please advise- will you assist?"

Of course, she was lying. By all means, it would appear that the tank battalion surrounding the mine would appear under fire, since approaching infantry and light armored divisions were locked in simulated real-time training, using advanced holographics and electronics, it would very much appear a fierce battle from above, where even more advanced technology would have trouble peering through the as-realistic-as-possible training session. Elsewhere on the world, there were great craters, or groups of craters, from high concentrations of what was indeed methane pockets, and was accidentally sparked off, or fired at from orbit, to ensure safety. Methane wasn't very valuable, but it left the planet somewhat scarred and still smoking. 

She silently ordered her officers to relay messages for [i]everyone[/i] in every base to form up and begin realistic training immediately, and prepare for alien invasion so we can take them by surprise. 

The great craters could be assumed to be ICBM-obliterated cities and population centers, the bunker-like resource hubs being entrances to underground bases, the massive landed-and-entrenched troop transports to be solid cities, self-contained from the planet's natural pathogens. May be a little sparse, with it still being a world settled only a year beforehand, but it should be enough.

They may take the bait, believing the world to be underpopulated and in a civil war, and join one side in the fight to "destroy" the rogue side. Then they would turn on the not-rogue side, and destroy them, then annex the planet.

Unfortunately, the moment they entered orbit, they'll detect a multitude of semi-online satellites, and probably dismiss them- one of their planets probalbly has slightly under the same amount. In reality, they are defense satellites, and only half of them have active sensors on- the others are safely offline, with passive sensors on low, next to impossible to detect due to size and inactivity, and armed with little surprises. Hidden anti-orbit emplacements, and small outposts built on all the moons and planets of the system. Only a half-dozen tugs are visible, pulling a small asteroid into high orbit on the other side. 

Really, they'll send dropships or whatever they use, and then at the same time they land, all Draconian forces will turn on them and either take them as prisoners, or as targets, and then Shrike flights will go up to support activating defense satellites, taking to the trails of anti-orbit ICBMs and other weapons, such as MACs, anti-orbital railguns, or antimatter missiles.

Really, Draconia would be pleased if she managed to take out the entire fleet. And if she started a conquest into their territory...

Oh, the Major Forerunner would be pleased at the slave worlds of a developed species.
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