microjump
into middle orbit amidst a group of Scionate warships holding the rendezvous
point while far more numerous fleets of Lacvamat ships dominated low orbit…but
not enough to blockade the planet, which had the surface tied up in battles
that saw the enemy pushing over 2/3rds of the smaller planet of Orril and with a solid but contained foothold on Rewqt . According to his information the Lacvamat were
pushing Orril hard, intent on wrapping it up then moving
their troops over to Rewqt to then conquer that
world, with Yen’ten being ordered to send his 36
transports worth of ground troops down to Orril .
They had to hold that planet or lose the system, and
with so many Scionate troops deployed elsewhere in the ADZ there was no way of
telling when the next group would return. Three systems were under assault, all
smaller ones. The Lacvamat hadn’t been so bold as to hit their Capitol or
primaries, but they were succeeding in taking the targets they were striking,
due in no small part to the fact that the Lacvamat had no troops on the front
and were essentially hitting the Scionate with a dishonorable, blindsided
attack.
But that advantage wasn’t going to last, for the
troops on the fronts were being recalled en mass to defend their territory,
giving the Lacvamat a window of opportunity that the local defenders were
trying to stall out…with little success. A quick glance at the overall troop
disposition and Yen’ten knew his transports would be
going down heavily outgunned, but they had to hold at least a piece of the
planet to deny the Lacvamat the clean sweep. More troops would be on the way,
he knew, and the Scionate were the dominate military power of the two, so if
they held long enough the scales would tip in their advantage, but they were
going to have a very bloody price to pay in order to do that.
There was no question whether or not they’d pay it.
The Lacvamat had hit Scionate territory and every single one of the quadrupeds
was now out for blood. They’d do what was necessary to attain eventual victory,
even if it meant fighting and dying here to buy time for others to finish the
job.
The jumpship waited at the orbital rendezvous point
long enough for the other ships following it in to arrive, which took nearly
two hours, but that was as long as they were going to wait. Two more jumpships,
one a troop ship identical to Yen’ten’s and one a
warship carrier that added desperately needed firepower to the Scionate orbital
presence. With those ships and the others working as escorts, Yen’ten ordered his transports to disconnect and head down
to the planet to make a contended landing in a very hot LZ where the troops
already on the surface were losing ground rapidly as they retreated across a
massive grass plain with only a few small cities to find shelter in.
Mik’tal ran hard, keeping
pace with the Scionate tank alongside him. The big, blocky rectangle shielded
his right side and the hole in his yellow armor as the skies overhead were
filled with distant Lacvamat. Little energy orbs dropped like rain, landing
randomly across the landscape from the unarmored flyers that were too far
overhead for the infantry to shoot back at. The few Valeries in the air were
consumed by the Lacvamat’s own fighters, shaped like
a boomerang similar to their starships.
Those fighters were nearly the Valeries’ equal,
despite the inferior technology…but then that was to be expected of an aerial
race. Trouble was that meant the Scionate had lost air superiority, which meant
they’d effectively lost the ground war because the Lacvamat didn’t fight on the
ground. They flew overhead and rained down ordinance on the infantry, landing
only when there were key structures to take.
In those few situations the Scionate were eating them
alive, making it hard for the Lacvamat to take the few outposts and cities
ahead, giving Mik’tal and the other fleeing troops
somewhere to run to. They’d just had to evacuate
into middle orbit amidst a group of Scionate warships holding the rendezvous
point while far more numerous fleets of Lacvamat ships dominated low orbit…but
not enough to blockade the planet, which had the surface tied up in battles
that saw the enemy pushing over 2/3rds of the smaller planet of Orril and with a solid but contained foothold on Rewqt . According to his information the Lacvamat were
pushing Orril hard, intent on wrapping it up then moving
their troops over to Rewqt to then conquer that
world, with Yen’ten being ordered to send his 36
transports worth of ground troops down to Orril .
They had to hold that planet or lose the system, and
with so many Scionate troops deployed elsewhere in the ADZ there was no way of
telling when the next group would return. Three systems were under assault, all
smaller ones. The Lacvamat hadn’t been so bold as to hit their Capitol or
primaries, but they were succeeding in taking the targets they were striking,
due in no small part to the fact that the Lacvamat had no troops on the front
and were essentially hitting the Scionate with a dishonorable, blindsided
attack.
But that advantage wasn’t going to last, for the
troops on the fronts were being recalled en mass to defend their territory,
giving the Lacvamat a window of opportunity that the local defenders were
trying to stall out…with little success. A quick glance at the overall troop
disposition and Yen’ten knew his transports would be
going down heavily outgunned, but they had to hold at least a piece of the
planet to deny the Lacvamat the clean sweep. More troops would be on the way,
he knew, and the Scionate were the dominate military power of the two, so if
they held long enough the scales would tip in their advantage, but they were
going to have a very bloody price to pay in order to do that.
There was no question whether or not they’d pay it.
The Lacvamat had hit Scionate territory and every single one of the quadrupeds
was now out for blood. They’d do what was necessary to attain eventual victory,
even if it meant fighting and dying here to buy time for others to finish the
job.
The jumpship waited at the orbital rendezvous point
long enough for the other ships following it in to arrive, which took nearly
two hours, but that was as long as they were going to wait. Two more jumpships,
one a troop ship identical to Yen’ten’s and one a
warship carrier that added desperately needed firepower to the Scionate orbital
presence. With those ships and the others working as escorts, Yen’ten ordered his transports to disconnect and head down
to the planet to make a contended landing in a very hot LZ where the troops
already on the surface were losing ground rapidly as they retreated across a
massive grass plain with only a few small cities to find shelter in.
Mik’tal ran hard, keeping
pace with the Scionate tank alongside him. The big, blocky rectangle shielded
his right side and the hole in his yellow armor as the skies overhead were
filled with distant Lacvamat. Little energy orbs dropped like rain, landing
randomly across the landscape from the unarmored flyers that were too far
overhead for the infantry to shoot back at. The few Valeries in the air were
consumed by the Lacvamat’s own fighters, shaped like
a boomerang similar to their starships.
Those fighters were nearly the Valeries’ equal,
despite the inferior technology…but then that was to be expected of an aerial
race. Trouble was that meant the Scionate had lost air superiority, which meant
they’d effectively lost the ground war because the Lacvamat didn’t fight on the
ground. They flew overhead and rained down ordinance on the infantry, landing
only when there were key structures to take.
In those few situations the Scionate were eating them
alive, making it hard for the Lacvamat to take the few outposts and cities
ahead, giving Mik’tal and the other fleeing troops
somewhere to run to. They’d just had to evacuate
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