[Friction roll: 3. Indecisive]

Once the Aotrs adjust their hit and run techniques to account for Azura range and weaponry the situation finally starts to stabilize. Azura gravitational weaponry is both offense and defense, and Aotrs pilots and tacticians are able to devise a way to time their strikes to force the Azura to commit entirely to defense. These constant weapons tests are providing large amounts of useful data on Azura defensive systems and limits, giving Aotrs command a much clearer idea of how to attack and how to overwhelm the Azura shielding systems, but the skirmish has ground to a stalemate as a result.

[Friction roll: 5. Aotrs advantage]

In the first break for a while, the infiltration goes perfectly. The commandos come in entirely undetected and on location and are able to observe the Azura disembarkation process from start to finish, including identifying a comprehensive map of all ammunition dumps and command locations. Much like Gate technology, cloaking fields seem to be something outside of the range of Azura thought. 

Priority is overwhelmingly going towards construction of the temples. The ships are disembarking construction machinery and hordes of servitor species who are flung into engineering tasks the moment they're off the ship. The Azura officers are visibly nervous as they oversee the construction though they do not take any of their frustrations out on their servants. Instead, the most common stress response is getting into tangled, violent wrestling duels with each other and then breaking apart with minor bruises and scratches. 

[Friction roll: 1. Azura advantage]

Almost at the same time as the Murders make their jump a squadron of Azura fighters accelerates towards a partially operational Ring Gate and is hurtled at FTL speeds towards Tanshin I. 

They come in hot. That's a problem - the Aotrs stealth ships were making their way in undetected, but the Azura squadron draws attention. From under swamps of brackish, filthy water emerge monstrous crablike forms, the size and structure of a main battle tank. They fire into the sky swarms of bulbous blowfish-like projectiles with a similar threat profile to missiles. Caught between the Azura fighters from above and anti-aircraft fire from below both Murders are lost with all hands. It does not escape notice, though, that these projectiles seem specifically designed to resist the Electromagnetic Flux - an ELF strike will paralyze the living projectile rather than detonate it prematurely, causing it to continue in an unguided path until it recovers. Depending on the angle and trajectory this might cause it to slam into its target and detonate nevertheless. It's not a trivial fix, but a new line of missiles could theoretically be developed along those lines which would have a much better success rate against the Azura defenses.

The Azura ships fire their munitions to clear away the defenders and then land, evidently having the same idea of breaching into one of the ruin complexes. Two full squads, lead by a pair of Azura Knights.

*

In the midst of all this, another messenger skiff has made approach to the Aotrs fleet. This one is launched from the defector Azura force, still in close orbit around Tanshin III. It is transmitting a tightbeam, claiming to speak on behalf of Biomancer Kendall, with a rather straightforwards message: We would like to hire you as mercenaries.

There is an Azura diplomat aboard and she is interested in a wide range of trade deals. Her first interest is in the price to buy your entire fleet, but failing that she's also interested in all manner of things. Teleporters, warships, companies of soldiers, whatever military force you're prepared to part with. She is well traveled enough to understand that aliens might value different things than her own society, and think in different ways than her, but she strongly hints that the most valuable thing she has to offer is political influence.