What have you caved?

What have you done?

Nothing but shame and there's nowhere to run

Who takes the blame?

Why have they come?

What in God's name have you done?

Nickelback - "The Betrayal (Act 3)"

The Archangel-Class assault craft were a far cry from the crude transports Nassat had ridden into battle as a young recruit. Like the rest of the Tetrarchy’s new Navy, they were state of the art, mounting both offensive and defensive systems, but the biggest difference Nassat was struck by was the view screens. As he and the others dove for the surface aboard the transport Michael, watching incoming fire reaching for them...he couldn’t help but wonder if they counted as an actual improvement.

Admiral Fujimoto had done a commendable job in neutralizing the worst of Ghakh’s military capabilities, but he had ordered her to use a lighter touch than they had in the past. There was no point in landing forces if all they found upon their arrival was ashes...and yet her words were coming back to haunt him. Many more would die because of this strategy. The blame was his, and his alone.

The transport jerked hard, avoiding a brace of missiles, as they raced for the relative safety of the planet’s surface. Once they were on the ground and had secured a perimeter, they could put his plan into action.

Whether or not it would work was another matter.

Sergeant Lin leaned over and shouted into his ear, “Thirty seconds to the LZ, Sir!” The other soldiers were readying their weapons in anticipation, as Nassat glanced over at Jiyazh. He seemed almost calm as if he had accepted his fate, for good or ill, and there was a part of him that envied that. But then the former Dhyaksh had trained since childhood to become a warrior, whereas he...had not.

The thrusters screamed in sudden protest as the assault boats came in hard, slamming onto the surface as they flung the hatchways open. Thousands of Tetrarchy soldiers boiled out of the transports, charging into battle, only to be met with heavy fire. Nassat and Sergeant Lin were right on their heels, just getting clear before the craft roared away, tearing back up to orbit to reload for the second wave. Lin grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to a small depression in the dirt large enough to provide some small measure of protection.

“Resistance is heavier than expected,” the sergeant reported, as he monitored the traffic between units. “Be a while before we’re locked down tight.”

“Securing the perimeter has absolute priority,” Nassat ordered, as he scanned the horizon. “Unless we can hold this position for the next wave, our situation will become untenable.”

A massive explosion rocked them back on their heels, sending a huge fireball into the sky. The two shared a look, as Lin checked his weapon.

“...tell them to expedite,” the human said.

Those who have not experienced combat in space firsthand often have unrealistic ideas about how it’s waged. Even with the advanced ships and weapons used by both sides, the physical laws that shape the universe still hold sway. Over the years engineers and designers have found several ways to tweak the odds in their favor, even a few outright cheats, but there are some things they cannot change. The tactics used by both the Tetrarchy and the Khonhim recognized that.

In space, there is no place to hide. Any force lying in wait is bound to be detected as the enemy approaches, despite the immenseness of the battlefield. The Tetrarchy had managed the trick once in the previous war, only because the Khonhim had been unaware of Humanity’s existence, and after that, they did allow them the opportunity to try it again. You must get close enough to fire your weapons for an ambush to be effective, and to do that your ship must have its reactors and engines online...which is the first thing your opponent scans for. Sure, you can hide behind a planet or an asteroid, only now you have a massive chunk of rock between you. If you can’t see them, you can’t shoot them...and vice versa.

Sneaking up on the enemy isn’t an option either. They will spot you long before you are in weapons range, with predictable results. It becomes a brutal slugging match until one side surrenders or flees. It’s not pretty. It’s not elegant. It just is.

But...if you can somehow misdirect your opponent, lull them into a false sense of security, make them think they have nothing to fear...then all bets are off.

Admiral Fujimoto had scanned Ghakh and the surrounding region as they entered the system. When no enemy was found she scoured the area much more closely, suspicious of a trap. When still no Khonhim were found, she’d scaled back her efforts. You couldn’t keep your entire crew at battle stations forever, if for no other reason than they had to sleep every now and then.

(In theory, this did not hold true for the Ronin. Being artificial lifeforms, “Sleep” was something that did not apply to them, though they did, however, have to power down regularly or risk degradation to their hardware, so it was something of a wash.)

Dhyaksh Chugaz Uydan had prepared the battlefield long before the Tetrarchy forces had arrived. Dzach, Gjuz, and Zhis had been cold-bloodedly sacrificed to draw Hélène deep within Khonhim space, to allow her to fall into a pattern of behavior. When she arrived at Ghakh she had searched for the enemy...and found none. Technicians still monitored deep space in case the Khonhim attempted a counterattack, but it was a skeleton crew. They had all the time in the world to go on alert when they spotted the enemy fleet approaching.

Until suddenly...they didn’t.

Isaac Newton’s first law states: “A body tends to be in a state of rest or motion unless acted upon by an external force”. This holds true in space. Throw a rock in microgravity, and it will continue traveling forever...just as the Khonhim fleet was doing now.

They’d shut down their engines days before, coming in on a ballistic trajectory, having calculated the arrival of the Tetrarchy task force by the frantic communications from each of the doomed worlds. Life support and other necessary functions were held to a bare minimum, and to mask their approach they’d slingshotted in from behind Ghakh’s sun, using its intense glare as cover. Like sharks they swam closer to the unsuspecting vessels, holding their fire until the very last second, as they awaited the final command.

Admiral Fujimoto scowled as she monitored the communications from the surface. To no one’s surprise...except possibly their illustrious Marshal’s...they’d run into stiff resistance from the Khonhim forces. They were holding their own for now, but the situation was far too fluid to be considered resolved.

Fool, she cursed yet again, if he’d listened to me we’d be done by now, and without casualties. Despite humanity’s best efforts, the old Triumvirate races were still far too squeamish for combat, and Nassat was no exception. How he’d convinced Singh to make him Marshal boggled the mind, and she’d ascribe darker motivations for his coup d’état if he wasn’t such a damned choirboy. Maybe he had the best of intentions…Hélène would grant him that much, at least...but unlike him, she knew what they paved the road to Hell with.

She forced a calm expression onto her face. Let him have his moment. She could afford to bide her time, and once the casualty reports started coming in, a copy routed to the Prime Minister’s desk would shatter what credibility he had with her. Nassat would find himself out of favor, and they could get back to the business of winning this damn war.

She stifled a sigh of resignation when her tactical officer jolted upright. “Admiral...I’m getting some odd readings…” he said in confusion, as he began tapping commands on his console.

“What readings?” Fujimoto demanded, leaning forward.

“I’m not sure,” the officer replied. “For a moment I thought I’d spotted…” He froze in horror, spinning in his chair to face her as he shouted out a warning.

“...INCOMING!”