[b]The settlement of Stargrove, Seraphian homeworld.[/b]

The sun had begun to rise above the once peaceful town and shed light upon the ruin it had become.
During the night, Karilac precision bombardment had levelled several buildings and the fierce fighting that followed had destroyed many more.

The Nur’Xal troops that occupied the town had been taken by surprise and had suffered near total casualties. Only four Agron warriors still remained, holed up in the council meeting room of the town hall where they had lined the walls with thirteen exhausted and terrified Seraphian civilians so no Karilac troops could breach their perimeter without risking innocent lives. It was only a matter of time though before they too would fall. The Karilac had already killed everyone else including their commander, raid-leader Gran and freed all of the other hostages.

One of the Nur’Xal troops was listening to a radio broadcast, another was making sure the prisoners were all still properly tied while the two others manned the barricade they had erected to block the main entrance to the room.
Suddenly, the radio operator jumped up and grabbed his axe.
“Brothers! Great news! The…” he started. Clearly he was about to announce something truly uplifting but he never had the chance since a loud crack could be heard before a slab of concrete fell on his head.
The remaining three now only saw that a large hole had formed in the roof. Seconds later, a swarm of Ventri came buzzing through. Before, the Nur’Xal had used napalm grenades, flamethrowers and flechette rifles to counter these creatures but none of those weapons could be used in the intensely close quarters they now found themselves in.

The little creatures bit and cut fiercely as the now panicked warriors tried to desperately shake them off. It was a hopeless struggle and soon the room became quiet again, safe for the crying and whimpering of some traumatised hostages. The Ventri calmed down again and quickly returned to their hosts while three figures jumped down through the hole in the roof to free the hostages.

The barricade was torn down and more Karilac entered the room to make sure the Seraphians were all safely led away.
“Not a single hostage has been killed and all hostiles neutralised.” One Karilac soldier announced to his superiors on the radio but he would swiftly have to adjust that statement as he heard a cough from beneath the rubble under the entry hole.

The Nur’xal radio operator was still alive, though very badly injured and just laughed at the Karilac squad that now trained all their weapons on him.

“You’re all dead meat! More of us are coming! More than you can ever imagine!” he bellowed while reaching for a grenade. He could never pull the pin though since the entire squad opened fire before he had even taken the weapon off his belt yet his words did resonate…



[b]Dreadnaught Empress Delatti, flagship first fleet, Seraphian homeworld orbit[/b]

Admiral Kil Kratha sat in her command chair looking over the central display on the Empress Delatti’s bridge. She allowed herself a small smile while she looked over the images of the massive debris fields that once were the mighty Krall fleet.

The supership had crumbled under her fleet’s guns and the rest of their orbital forces had suffered a similar fate or retreated with heavy damage. Kimo and Karilac fighter patrols were now mopping up what little remained of the Krall while the dreadnaughts of the first fleet reformed the battle line to face the only remaining threat: the Nur’Xal.

The enemy was severely outnumbered and had only three dreadnaughts to oppose the first fleet’s fourteen and only about a quarter of the number of support craft. It would hardly be a battle at all and the Nur’Xal fleet faced utter annihilation if they chose to stay and fight.
Admiral Kil Kratha fully expected them to retreat as soon as her fleet advanced and regarded it as nothing more than a formality. She was just waiting for the order to come from central command when a far more troubling message reached her.

“Nur’Xal reinforcements imminent! ETA 18 hours. Fifth fleet advance elements fought harrying action against superior force with minimal casualties. Enemy casualties more severe but proportionally limited. Hostile force consists of 23 dreadnaught class, 256 cruiser class, 168 frigate class. (multiple troop carriers identified among cruiser class though exact number remains unknown) Orders are as follows, coordinate with Karilac and Seraphian forces to stage defensive operations, fifth fleet elements will mobilise to reinforce. ETA of first units 26 hours.”

The Admiral’s mouth fell open.
“Ensign, open a communications channel to the Karilac flagship this instant!”



(this isn't a full post, rather an update on the situation so all parties can properly respond to the immenent crisis)