Chapter 3
M5267
"Meridian is gone no survivors we've been ordered to head to rendezvous point Alpha were to make our stand their" – Captain Alexander of the UCS light cruiser Spear of truth to Battle fleet Meridian three days after contact with the Orion
Dear Reader much of the current state of affairs within the united commonwealth is a direct result of the Orion War and though that horrible conflict ended so many centuries age the scars it left still run quite deep. Countless billions lost their lives in the initial chaos of that war and even to this day the full body count is still uncertain so here is some more context to explain the seeming overreaction the commonwealth made when Shanxi went silent- Sincerely Historian Watson from the university of Terra Primus
Military Doctrinal Response
When one world goes dark a chain of events begins as that world will alert its subsector command of an oncoming threat and once that subsector learns of the oncoming danger all worlds in its jurisdiction are alerted along with sector command this process continues so that by the time the Segmentum Solar is aware of this threat the entire union is already well on the way to total mobilization meaning that in mere weeks the United Commonwealth can be on a total war footing such a feat is unheard of amongst the council races and is one of the many reasons they fear us.
10 hours post enemy planetfall
PDF forces across the planet were dug in around the cities of Shanxi and they were determined to hold. While the PDF lacked any heavy artillery they had something their foes did not Headhunters from Mars. 5 Martian Headhunters were on Shanxi when the invasion began having completed stage 7 of the program they were enjoying some well deserved R and R at least until the sirens went off. Lead by Lance Corporal Shepard upon learning of the dire situation they volunteered to do what they do best, Spread terror and chaos.
Wraith armor as white as the snow around them they crawled on their belly's towards their target meter by meter closing on the enemy camp they moved slowly so as to not attract any attention. Guards patrolled the perimeter of the camp blissfully unaware of the danger they were in. Shepard pulled out his knife the blade made of a Monomolecular alloy perfect for slitting throats. Waiting till all were in position the air around silent until the moment arrived in the blink of an eye they struck as each guard suddenly found a hand over their helmet and knife in their throat the life bleeding out of their eyes before they were silently lowered to the ground snow gradually covering their bodies still kept warm by their suits heating system. The first part of their task complete the small squad proceeded to split up. Each had their own task to complete.
Shepard slowly made his way to the enemy barracks peaking inside he could see all of the soldiers were sleeping confident in their own superiority and arrogance a grim expression on his face Shepard pulled out a small cylindrical object from his suit placing it in one of the camp trash cans he proceeded to cover it with debris before leaving as quietly as he entered satisfied that no soldier in this barracks would make it through the next few hours. Spotting the rest of his team they proceeded to regroup outside the enemy camp silently leaving no one aware of what was about to happen.
PDF Commander Williams looked at the Alien camp through his scanner before checking the time. Five Minutes to midnight five minutes till hell would erupt he silently hoped the Headhunters had completed their mission and barely a few minutes later he got his answer as confusion erupted in the alien camp lights flickering off as the power died followed by a silvery mist barely visible to the naked eye pouring out of the barracks. With a grim smile on his face Williams turned to his second in command and nodded. The man proceeded to pull out a small pistol aiming it in the sky and pulling the trigger seconds later the entire forest erupted in bright light as dozens of flares lit up the black sky battle cries erupted everywhere as PDF soldiers erupted from the snow covered ground catching the enemy enemy completely by surprise. The blizzard and flashing lights spread confusion and terror as the enemy soldiers struggled to identify the source of the attack. They were cut down left and right Alien commanders barking orders only to find their necks slit and necks twisted suddenly by unseen foes. Within hours the space port was back in Union control and with it came the next phase of the plan as Commander Shepard and her small defense fleet reappeared right behind the enemy forces dropping off a salvo of torpedoes before reentering the ether.
