Icarus Prime Orbit
Imperial Navy Battleship “Hercules”
14:33 - Icarus Prime Central Time
“General, admiral,-“ the young aid greeted both his elders when he entered the observation deck. It was probably the emptiest room of the Hercules, the Imperial Battleship leading the fleet over Icarus Prime. “-initial sensors indicate that the Repulsor Fields surrounding Citadel-One have indeed dropped.” Both men merely grumped and the young imperial aid left the deck once more.
“You have waited long for this, Alexander.” Said the Admiral looking down upon the planet below. “You think the rebels did it?”
“Could be. Could be a trap to lure us down.” The general answered with well-aged wisdom. For almost 3 centuries the humans have been fighting rebels on and off. “These rebels… they are getting desperate. Destroying their own Repulsor Field generator wouldn’t be beyond them. Sure, they imperil their own. But they also create a danger for the humans. If anything, I fully expect a welcoming party once we hit the ground.”
The admiral remained silent for a moment, seemingly to process the words his friend and longtime rival spoke. “Is it not best, to show bravery when facing adversity. Is it not the will of the emperor that we will not cower behind a rock, but instead rise up and meet our foes head on. To challenge back all those that challenge us.”
The general let out an amused grump. “You are very right, Nautilius. You are.” With that, the general left the admiral.
Icarus Prime Orbit
Imperial Navy Battleship “Hercules”
15:06 - Icarus Prime Central Time
“Wheels up in five! Pilots will be briefed on flight! Stick together and keep to the plan. Red Squadron, you’re tailing Blue. Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go!” The hangar deck of the Hercules always looked like a messy ant colony from above. With multi-tier hangar bays and over 40 fighter ejection rails, it could spit out its fighters, bombers and other fliers in minutes. And now was such a time. Battalions were jogging towards their dropships while fighters boarded their Phoenix-fighters. The hyper-advanced interceptors served only one purpose: total air domination. Meanwhile, the slower Griffin-bombers were loading up. With so many explosives on deck, the deck hands were careful and painfully slow with it. Everywhere around a few officers were shouting orders from a stack of boxes. However, as quickly as they could bark their orders, the stage under them was picked apart again to arm the many fighters.
Not much later the first of the fighters were ejected from the hulking ship’s belly. Only to immediately start their descend. Not much later the Griffins joined them. The people of Icarus Prime, especially those of Citadel-One, would soon see the sky light up in flames as several dozens of ships descended into the atmosphere.
When the dropships left their bays, most bombers were already at desired altitude. One quick flyby was enough to gauge the seriousness of the hordes of Vespen. Not much later the first explosions rippled over the surface. While the bombers cleared out a beachhead, the dropships entered the atmosphere with clear orders.
Xthea High Orbit
Imperial Navy Carrier “Ares”
08:44 - Xthea Central Time
“Orbit established. Ares-fleet is checking in, sir.” One of the communication officers reported on the bridge. Admiral Uthilius looked from his vantage point down upon the terran planet. The humans had the rightful ownership of it. Yet some foul Xenos finally had the guts to openly challenge the emperor. The young admiral would not stand for it. He, in fact, volunteered to teach the Daenizens of Xthea a lesson. When he departed Ares’ homeport the politicians were still bickering over what force would be allowed and what not. To Uthilius, only the maximum usage of force was sufficient. He’d bathe the beautiful planet in cleansing fire and make the Xenos regret ever being born. “Priority message coming in, sir. Patching through.”
“Admiral Uthlius.” An ominous voice echoed through the bridge. “The decision has been made. Such open defiance against the emperor cannot be permitted. The Ares will receive the permissions required.”
“And what about the civilians?” he asked, anxiously.
“There are none. Only rebels.”
This was enough to make a smile form on Uthilius’ face. He made a small bow and the communication stopped. “Status on orbital bombardment?” he immediately asked. A random officer answered: “Delta-level, sir.” Righteous fury coursed through his vein. Some humans lowered themselves to drugs, but not Uthilius. He got his highs from a much purer act. “Commence bombardment! Target the hubs! Relay the orders across the fleet! Let the vengeance of the emperor echo through the void! Here and now, we shall make an example!” he barked through the bridge. A few decks lowered the first shells were loaded in as per command. Orbital bombardment was usually a dangerous and almost desperate move. Rarely could a shell be placed with such accuracy so it could support troops on the ground. Yet the gunners of the Ares were in a unique situation. And so the first shots vibrated through the ship. The shells their course upon descent were swiftly rocked and pushed off trajectory by the atmosphere and wind. But who cared if they landed on a tower or a shop a kilometer further? The humans on board the Ares sure didn’t. In the meantime, scout fighters were launched at a leisure pace to hunt down the Xthae their ships orbiting the planet. If only so the capital ships of Fleet Ares could start hunting them down too.
Aurae Surface
Imperial Governor Palace
12:28 - Aurae Central Time
“My lord!” Yelled a politician that barged through Razmus’ door. “My lord you must listen to this! You must! Such destructive words have not been said-“ but Razmus silenced him with a single look, after which he upped the volume of his wrist-mounted computer. The large governor’s office echoed the words of the brave yet foolish Aure. “Freedom… radio.” The governor almost spat out the words like they were rotten fruit. “How… have these vermin been allowed to set this up!?” He demanded from the politician, not really expecting an answer from the stuttering idiot. “Begone! And send General Valdzik.” The politician scrambled to get out of the dreadful office. Ever since Razmus’ appointment to the planet of Aurae, the palace had changed. Windows were sealed with metal and doors reinforced. When asked why, Razmus answered that one could not be careful enough. So far, the place was a lot more fortress and a lot less palace.
“Freedom… radio.” Muttered Vladzik. “You fear… voices?” Vladzik was the younger brother of Razmus and did not share the intensity of his sibling’s paranoia. Though it was well known that Vladzik had a slight obsession with security. “Dear brother, the airwaves will not kill you.”
Razmus didn’t take the joke well. He was eating but now slammed the far too sharp knife down on the beautifully carved table. The only piece of non-militarized furniture in the dining room. The many cracks on it proved it wasn’t the first time the piece of wood was mistreated. “They will give these vermin hope, Vladzik! Hope! Could you imagine what would happen? What if they think they could start a protest outside my house!? Or worse, a riot!”
But Vladzik remained calm: “Then I will roll in the tanks and slaughter them. As we always did.” But it did not satisfy Razmus. “I want action. We need to show this world that such open defiance cannot and will not be permitted.” Vladzik had to sigh, his brother always had a temper. But a part of him agreed. If the radio station continued, some more Aure might get the wrong ideas. He merely bowed and left the room. Razmus never stopped him, knowing full well his little brother would handle it.
A few hours later and general chaos ruled the outskirts of the capital. With EoM soldiers breaking into random houses. Those they caught listening to the radio station were dragged out. The stronger humans had no problems with that. Though some Aure resisted. A terrible mistake. Some officers were very much like their governor and general. There was always one Aure out of a dozen that resisted a bit too hard according to a terrible officer. A single bullet swiftly solved that. With an added benefit that others remained a lot calmer when they saw a bullet hole drilled through a friend’s skull.
Most other Aure were taken prisoner and prepared for a public mock-trial to be broadcasted over the planet. Some, however, were taken to the deepest dungeons of the palace. A place filled with blinding lights and dry air. A place where screamed would never be answered.
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