Brigadier Kramla had long grown accustomed to the distant booms and roars of Telerian bombers trying to break through the ceiling of Shoma, one of Arlan's underground cities. They were wasting their time, of course. Nothing short of an especially powerful nuke would get through that thing; the bombs weren't even audible on any but the top level of the city.

Then, something strange happened. The noises stopped. It had been nearly a month since the bombing had started, and since then there had been two or three hitting every minute. Kramla checked the time. One minute passed. Two. Five. Still nothing. The other soldiers looked relieved. Happy. They thought the battle was over. That victory was at hand. Kramla was skeptical, and he was in charge. He didn't plan for any of them to rest on their laurels.

"Send a drone up to the surface and link a video feed back to here. I want eyes on those bombers," he ordered. Easiest way to make sure things were okay.

"On its way, sir," came the reply a moment later.

Within thirty seconds, the drone was out of one of the hidden tunnels leading to Arlan's surface. It traversed the mile between it and the area directly above Shoma in two minutes, where the snow was scattered in huge heaps and valleys from the bombs, but that were already beginning to fill up and fade in the storm. Moments later, its camera picked up a group of about a dozen Telerian transport ships. Most carried groups of soldiers, but hanging from the bottoms of two were what looked like drills mounted on vehicles the size of trucks. Their purpose was clear.

Kramla stared at the screen for a few more seconds before getting to work. There were times when being right was a bad thing, and this was one of them. 

"Evacuate the North mine," he said to the assembled officers. "Move third and fourth companies to defensive positions in the mine. The second every civilian's out, open the doors."

One officer obviously didn't agree with his plan. "But, sir, wouldn't that compromise our defensi-"

"Our defensive strategem [i]is[/i] compromised. Did you see those drills? Better to have them come from a direction we can control."

[hr]

Thankfully, the Telerians took the bait. They weren't expecting much resistance, considering the tactics their enemy had used so far, and they thought of the opening of the huge doors as a kind of surrender. They were outnumbered, but individually far more dangerous than either a human or an Iratoc. As such, the Arlene forces would have to make proper use of their home field advantage.

The Telerians spread quickly throughout the first level of the mine, stooping to fit their large forms in the tunnels built for creatures of human height. Only when they were certain that the level was clear of enemies did they regather at the stairs at the southern end of the mine. What they didn't realise was that already a handful had been silently dispatched by soldiers of the Providence hiding within.

The invading force moved into the stairway, heading downwards to the second level. After about two thirds of their force had made the decent, the defenders struck back fully. Those left waiting for space at the top of the stairway were suddenly assaulted with a series of grenades. Most were killed immediately, while those that remained were cut down by gunfire.

The remaining two thirds panicked, turning and trying to strike back at what they didn't realise was only a small portion of the enemy. It proved almost impossible as they were bottlenecked by the stairway. The moment they were visible, each Telerian was shot down in time for the next one to step over his body. It didn't help them that any Iratoc in th enemy force had far better dark vision than them.

Next, once the Telerians' attention was fully diverted once more, the main force of the Providence struck. A number of incendiary explosives were set off within the stairwell, sowing confusion within the remaining Telerians at this new source of pain. Moments later, Providence soldiers opened fire from the second level, and within another minute the battle was won.

[hr]

The defense had been a brilliant success. Over one hundred Telerian casualties, against seven from the Providence. [i]Seven.[/i] Unfortunately, this would not be enough to get them out. No way would the Telerians fall for that trick again, and those drills posed a problem. The solution was clear, the method less so; the siege had to be broken.

"Brigadier, sir!" One officer caught Kramla's attention. "It's the field marshal, Maltarn, sir. She wants to speak with you."

"You're joking. Surely she has more important duties to worry about," was Kramla's reply. The officer said nothing in return, simply pressed a button instead, and suddenly Maltarn's face was on the screen at the front of the room.

"Brigadier Kramla," she adressed him. "I have been told that earlier today, you repelled the Telerians' first attempt at a ground assault?"

"Yes, ma'am, that- that would be correct," Kramla stammered, stepping to where the camera would be able to see his face more easily.

"This isn't good. Not at all. But, you've proved yourself, and I want you to be the one to break the siege."

Kramla paled a little at this. It was a lot of responsibility. "And- and how would you expect me to do this?"

"The Telerians use a clan-like structure to govern. First, this means that a repercussion from the other clans is unlikely, assuming we win here. Second, this means that if the chief is killed, the collapse in leadership should encourage them to leave. And that," Maltarn smiled, "would be where you need to get creative." And then the transmission was cut.

The room was silent. All eyes were on Kramla. Afraid, but excited. Waiting for orders.

"Get me an infiltration unit with vaccsuits, a stealth ship and as many fighters as we can spare. We have work to do!"

[hr]

Soon, a sizable force of fighters had gathered alongside the [i]Future Sight[/i], which exited Arlan's atmosphere in their approach to the Telerian gathered in high orbit. The fighters struck fast and without warning, engaging both larger ships and enemy fighters with guns and explosives. After the battle had begun, the [i]Future Sight[/i] passed close to the Telerian flagship, the [i]Reaper[/i]. In those few seconds, six of the Providence's best jumped across the gap between the ships in vaccsuits and magnetic boots, before priming a thermite charge and detonating it on the hull of the [i]Reaper[/i].

All three Telerians inside the room were killed instantly and lost to space. The team entered the room, drawing weapons, and began to slowly move through the ship, dispatching anyone in their way with silenced ballistics.

It was slow going, scouring the huge ship for one room in particular. Basic logic helped, though - it would likely be near to the back, and near the bottom of the ship. Eventually, however, the engine room was located. The room was filled with timed explosives, then the team made their exit.

Once again, the [i]Future Sight[/i] made a close pass with the [i]Reaper[/i], while the Providence's fighters began to retreat, having suffered from the difficult battle already. The team made the jump again, and the [i]Future Sight[/i] joined the fleeing fighters. The Telerians were left utterly confused as to the point of the attack, until less than a minute later when a chain reaction with their flagship's engine completely destroyed it and their leader.