Chapter 4

Two months after The First Judgment day, the Terrans found themselves busy as ever preparing to support the Elithion in their quest against the Mect Pact. In the eyes of most Terrans, they not only held the Elithion responsible for the brutal destruction of those planets, but the Mect Pact as well for using the inferior empire as a glorified meat shield. There was a whisper of contempt towards the Elithion and their diplomats had long since evacuated their quarters on Sol out of fear of reprisals. The Terran fleets now rivaled the power of even that of the Elithion and many factions within the Terran population quietly voiced their desire to see the Elithion wiped out as they had done to the Plethorax. On a busy day not unlike any other day, the news reached the Terran High Command. The Elithion had been defeated. Their fleets were lost and only thirty percent of the ships and troops they sent to fight were returning home. And though the Elithion hierarchy had started up production lines again to support the war, the effort had only been half hearted as they believed themselves near immortal. In this, the Terrans saw two opportunities. A new battle plan was constructed in secret, a plan that would lead to the final breath of the Elithion Protectors. Under the cover of night, two Terran diplomats were dispatched to the Mect Pact to discuss the retrieval of the Colossus that had been lost near their home system. In exchange the Terrans promised that no further military action would be taken towards the Mect Pact and that the Terran government would keep their noses out of Mect Pact affairs. In so many words, the United Nations of Terra would look the other way. All of this to be able to use the Elithion's own ship of mass destruction against them. The second part of this secret battle plan was to upkeep the impression to the Elithion that they were in fact still on the offensive against the Mect Pact. When all the deals had been struck, a fleet of salvage ships were dispatched to collect the Colossus along with all three Terran fleets.

The Colossus remains were finally delivered to Sol star base nearly six months after the bargain was struck with the Mect Pact. The Elithion were still under the impression that the Terran fleets were engaged with the Mect Pact. That secret was only kept by reassuring the Elithion that their fleets were not needed and to save themselves for the battles to come. Progress on the restoration of the Colossus was swift as the technology was practically already in the Terran's grip with their research agreement with the Elithion. On December 27, 2470, three Terran heavy battle groups and one Terran anti-aircraft fleet entered the home system of the Elithion Protectors. The Colossus followed closely behind them but with enough distance to avoid a direct confrontation. All at once, the three Terran battlegroups opened fire on the star base orbiting Victren, the capital planet of the Elithion. Within second the star base was in pieces. The Terrans then positioned the Colossus over the planet and opened communications with the Elithion hierarchy. Their message was simple. The Terrans would no longer be forced to fight in another empire's wars. They were not weak anymore. Broadcasted on the galaxy wide channel, this message was a dare. "Come and fight us" it said. With the message's conclusion the Colossus unleashed it devastating energy on Victren, eliminating all life and sending chunks of the planet flying in all directions. The Elithion made a feeble attempt at a counterattack, but the Terran fleets held superior positioning and easily overpowered the Elithion fleets. The remaining citizens of the Elithion Protectorate were given a choice, integrate into the United Nations of Terra or be destroyed. With that, the short war was over, and the Elithion Protectorate was no more. Slowly the Terrans began the process of bringing the former Elithion citizens into their own empire.