Hello, welcome back to the next chapter! Last time, we've seen the beginning of cooperation between the Task Force and the colonists from Markia as they plan out their moves to deal with the Jia'akai, while Dora decided to visit one of the frontline settlements to experience the situation there. Not long after, the settlement finds itself under enemy attack.

With that said, let us begin.

Chapter 9

February 5, 2169

16:19

Praetor City, Militia HQ

Ester ran into the command room of the Militia HQ as the alarms sounded. Everywhere, she saw people running around, giving the feel of organized chaos to the room. As always, Perija stood at the holo-table, watching the map of the planet, with Sarekh by his side, already waiting for Ester. Looking at it, she saw numerous pulsating red areas on it. Colonel approached the Erecan and motioned for Sarekh to translate.

"What's happening?"she asked.

Perija looked at her, his reptilian face showing determination.
"We're getting numerous reports."he said firmly."Enemy just launched the biggest offensive since their initial attack from months ago. They're attacking all positions across the current frontline. There appear to be hundreds of thousands of them."
"Isn't that normal numbers?"

"Usually they attacked in groups numbering from a few to tens of thousands. But this is the first time they're attacking us in full force."

Ester nodded. She looked at the map again.

"I want reports from areas under the biggest pressure."she stated."I will give them to my commanders and ask them to send more support for the defenders."

Perija nodded and turned to his adjutant. Ester in the meantime found the position of Bezit on the map.

"Hang in there, Do."she thought.

February 5

16:23

Bezit

Cacophony of battle filled Dora's ears. Energy and kinetic weaponry roared to life as thousands of projectiles left them and flew in the direction of approaching creatures. Automatic turrets that were placed on the walls hit the front row of enemy wave, while Humans and Erecans aimed further, trying to hit enemy back line. Dora saw the main gate open and the Erecan tank she saw earlier drove out of the town. Immediately, it joined the cannonade.
"Jesus Christ, there is no end to them!"Solzani exclaimed.
"No shit."Dora replied

Hundreds of creatures fell to the combined fire, but it was not enough to slow down the approaching wave which was going to soon crash against the walls.

Finally, after several minutes of waiting and constantly firing, Dora heard a characteristic sound. She looked up and saw two dropships flying overhead and firing their missiles at the charging wave. Geysers of fire and earth shot up into the sky as missiles hit the approaching mass, killing dozens of Jia'akai, but that still didn't slow them down. If this was the kind of enemy they were facing, Dora wasn't surprised Erecans were pushed back as hard as they did.

They continued firing, but the wave of creatures just kept coming. However, suddenly, the approaching wave split into three columns. One continued to run towards the walls and the other two started going in two different directions. Militiamen and the Sharks still fired at them, killing another dozens of them. They definitely killed hundreds of feline-like beasts already, but that was just a fraction of them. And among them, Dora saw some of the other sub-species that colonel Perija told them about.

She glanced at the two other columns. It took her a few seconds, but she realized what was happening. She quickly turned on her radio.
"Enemy is trying to surround the town!"she exclaimed."Someone quickly get to the other sides of the walls!"

Erecans and mercenaries looked at each other before some of them quickly moving to perform the order. It was still not enough to cover the whole length of the walls, but it had to do for now.

The tank started backing off, blocking the gate. And in the meantime, the first bunch of creatures crashed against the wall.

February 5

16:32

10km from Bezit

General Geerezz of Xa'har Hive's army stood on a rock overlooking the passing warriors of his queen's brood as they charged towards enemy ground hive. Overseers reported that already hundreds of broodlings died in the attack. A small price to pay for the victory for the Hive. The orders from Hive Queen Mother were simple. This attack was meant to break the stalemate and to finally allow their troops to march at Sky People's capital.

"They brought this war upon themselves. And now they shall suffer the consequences. As it was meant to be."his mind waves sung.

"What was it, general?"one of his Guards asked mentally.

Geerezz didn't respond.

"General Geerezz."the voice of Queen Wiiziera sounded in his mind.

"My Queen."general replied.
"I wish for a report on your attack on Sky People's groudn hive."

"Of course, my Queen. The attack is going as we expected. Enemy is putting up a resistance, but nothing we can't handle. We're surrounding the ground hive and preparing to storm it."

"Our losses?"

Geerezz growled. He was meant to serve the Queen of his Hive, that was what he was born for. But he didn't hide his distaste for how emotional she could be. The purpose of the broodlings was to be born and die serving the Queen. Hive Wars taught them that well enough. Millions of broodlings died in them every day.

"Overseers report hundreds, approaching to a thousand, my Queen."

Queens dissatisfaction filled his mind, but general didn't fall for it easily.

"My Queen, I told you many times. This is the price of war and what broodlings are born for."

"I am aware, but…it's still hard for me to accept the fact that so many of them have to thrown at the enemy before achieving a serious breakthrough."

"My Queen. Remember who is to blame for this. If it wasn't for the Sky People landing their forces on Queen Tariiva's Hive, we wouldn't be here now."

"They weren't trying to conquer the Hive."Wiiziera growled from her Throne Chamber.

General growled again. They spoke of this many times before. It was clear that the reason Sky People landed so many of their numbers on Teriiva's was to conquer it. Wiiziera argued that it wasn't the case, as she listened to what Teriiva's generals were saying and reported smaller Sky People among the ones they slaughtered and that none of them seemed to have any form of weapons they used. But Wiiziera was young, ascending to the Throne Chamber relatively recently, following the death of previous Hive Queen in one of the Hive Wars. She probably mistook Sky People's worker class for children. And the weapons must've been hidden and the only reason Sky People didn't use them on Teriiva's broodlings was because they weren't fast enough. Geerezz was sure that was the case and he stood by it.

"My Queen."he sent."I have upmost respect for your authority. I honor the traditions. However, I can't agree with your thinking. We all know Sky People have been trying to take over and exploit our world for many seasons now. I refuse to believe that act was an accident."

He expected her to respond like the previous queens responded to talking back. He even wanted it to be the case. He wanted her to show she could be strong and firm.

"I understand."Wiiziera replied."Continue."

And with that, the mental link disappeared. Geerezz hid his disappointment and just continued to listen to reports from Overseers. He had a war to win.

February 5

19:12

Orbit of Markia

Phil sat in the captain's chair of San Antonio, looking at the numerous reports coming from the surface of the planet. They were not looking good. Enemy forces were advancing on all axes, pushing forth towards the planet's capital. First reports stated that already a million enemies were killed and they were still coming. Even Phil was surprised by this. He knew they were fighting animals, but even then, the scale of everything surprised him completely. He had never seen anything like it.

And the worst part is, they didn't have a lot of options to deal with it. Colonists clearly stated, that the extensive aerial bombardment would definitely damage planet's delicate structure. Not to mention that due to the fact most enemy forces were gathered around settlements and facilities, so orbital bombardment could cause extensive damage to them and Erecans didn't want that either. Air support wasn't as effective as well, due to enemy's long-range capabilities. It seemed that the only hope of dealing with this sudden attack was the Erecan plan to find the location of enemy High-Queen. If she even existed to begin with…

Said plan was already in motion. After the first attacks started, Erecans ordered allied special forces units to go and retake the four relay stations. A force of around two hundred SOF operatives set out for two of them, while Erecan special forces were to take two others. So far, no reports came from these teams. They had to keep radio silence, just in case the creatures could somehow intercept enemy communications. And considering other things Phil found out about them, he wouldn't be surprised at all.

Three hours into enemy offensive, it was still impossible to say which side had better chances of winning. They needed more forces. Fortunately, Phil already sent out a request for reinforcements from the rest of the Expeditionary Task Force, while forces that were aboard other ships that arrived within the last few days were already being sent to the surface in hopes of making a difference in face of this overwhelming enemy.

Captain looks at the camera views from telescopes, showing what was happening on the surface. On one of them, he could see countless creatures charging out of numerous tunnel entrances in the ground. Definitely one of the nests. But then again, Erecans told them not to fire on any of them. Planet's geology was really unstable and that was the main reason why, for example, no mines were created. Firing numerous several ton railgun round into the surface definitely could cause catastrophic earthquakes. The creatures must've adapted to that, since they managed to dig all these hives while not destroying the planet. That's why it was so important to find and eliminate the High-Queen's hive with one, precise shot.

Something, which Phil just couldn't wait to do.

February 5

22:49

Bezit

Night has already fallen above the town of Bezit, from the very first minutes of the Jia'akai offensive on the forefront of defense. This is why for Dora, current calmness seemed so unnatural.

Following the opening fire exchange between the creatures and the Task Force supporting Erecan colonists, Jia'akai tried climbing the walls of the town and get inside. However, three hundred defenders didn't make it easy for them, pushing them off, firing at them or stabbing them with whatever sharp objects they had. After two hours of this back and forth, the creatures simply stopped.

They still surrounded the town. They fired upon everyone who as much as raised a weapon. They even managed to force the dropships to land with their ground fire and the tank fell back behind the walls. And now, two sides were engaged in a staring contest, as Jia'akai basically laid siege to the town.

Dora peeked over the town walls at the creatures swarming there. The sight of their glowing eyes clearly showed her what situation is the town in.

"Under siege by weird alien cats."Solzani said."I should put a check mark next to it on my list of 'Things I never expected to do'."

"Trust me, I didn't expect it either."Dora replied, hiding back.

Solzani looked at the sword on her back.
"Listen, boss. Could you maybe…use this fancy toothpick of yours and maybe take them out?"he asked.

Dora shook her head.
"I'd wish. Even with what it can do, I can't stand alone against a whole army."she replied and pursed her lips."As much as I'd want to."

"I bet."

Going silent for a few seconds, they could hear the sounds being made by the creatures. Their snarls and growls reverberated through the night. What were these things planning? Were they even planning at all, that was the biggest question? Something in her gut told her they were bamboozled. Animals doesn't usually act like that. Then again, these were not normal animals. But their actions really seemed as a part of a larger thing. It all seemed to be too well planned for her taste. So unless some Erecan commanders suddenly decided to defect and start helping the Jia'akai, that meant that these creatures aren't as stupid as they could seem.

A she sat like that, sudden chime rang through the night. Looking at her hand terminal, she saw an information about incoming call. Accepting it, Ester's face appeared on it.

"Hey."Dora said.
"Dora, is everything alright on your end?"Ester asked, concern clear in her voice.

Dora shrugged.
"As alright as we can be. With aliens surrounding us and being a bit too efficient at taking out our air support."she replied, pursing her lips.

Ester winced.
"Tell me about it. Same problems are being reported across the whole planet. Jia'akai are advancing everywhere. They were stopped in some places, but in majority of them, they are still pushing forward. They basically now threaten Praetor City itself. Perija enacted martial law in case something would go down."

"Any problem with the populace?"
Ester shrugged.
"Some minor riots. Nothing we couldn't handle."

"Good. Also, Es, there's something I need to discuss with you."Dora stated firmly."The more information I hear about what's happening, the more I'm starting suspecting that…"
"…Jia'akai aren't as stupid as we were told?"Ester finished for her.

Dora nodded and smirked. She should've known Ester would operate on the same brainwaves.

"Exactly. This whole 'offensive' appear to be too well organized for my liking. Or at least, as organized as aliens incapable of space travel can do it."

"That's what I thought when listening to all the reports."Ester replied."Perija, of course, still insists that Jia'akai aren't intelligent creatures. But their actions seem to contradict that."

"Are you gonna confront him on that part?"
Ester shook her head.
"No. At least not yet. First we have to deal with what we have here."
"How's the whole operation behind enemy lines going? Any of the transmitter stations retaken yet?"

"One. Other than that. The teams still are trying to approach them."

"Alright."

"Don't worry, our reinforcements are slowly coming. Phil gave me the news from San Antonio."
"Well, they better hurry, before we become cat food."
"We'll do our best. Just…just hold out there, got it?"

Dora smirked.
"You know me. I won't go down easily."

Ester smirks back.
"I know. Bye."

With that, Ester disconnected.

"A wife like that is a treasure."Solzani said, shaking his head."Mine took our kids, jumped into a ship and simply left, even taking our home with her."

"I know, you told us more than once."

"And I will tell more times! That home was in my family since World War II!"he exclaimed.

Dora just giggled and leaned her head back on the wall. She liked Solzani's company. Not only was he reliable, but also he could lighten the mood whenever and wherever he appeared. Dora recruited him personally, from a Marine unit she met him at during a mission.

Right then, they heard screams coming from another part of the wall.
"Boss!"a voice said in Dora's radio."Enemy is launching an attack!"

"Wait there, we're coming!"Dora replied and disconnected.
She looked at Solzani.

"Let's get this underway."

"With pleasure."

Next, they rushed towards the starting fight.

February 6

01:43

With one of the away teams

SOF Operational Team 1's leader, captain Sarah Yalb, stood on top of a ridge overlooking a canyon that housed one of the transmitter stations needed for the plan of finding the location of Jia'akai High-Queen. Through the binoculars, she observed the facility built into a side of the canyon.
"So, how does it look, ma'am?"

Sarah looked to her left, where her deputy, a Nashini Phantom Commando lieutenant Zet'Ava, who crouched beside her.
"Look for yourself."she says, handing him the binoculars.

Nashini takes them and looks at the base. Thanks to the night vision in them, he could see the building. Abandoned, it was still in a pretty good shape. Unfortunately, it was also crawling with Jia'akai. Creatures traversed the courtyard of the building and even in some corridors along the windows facing the canyon.
"That's a lot of company."he said, handing back the binoculars."Any plan how do we approach this?"

Sarah looks towards the station and starts thinking.

"You think we can use zip lines to get across?"she asked.
"Looks good enough to me."Zet replied."I feel like the real problem will lie with getting there unnoticed."

Captain had to agree. Even on the zip lines, the area was that separated them from the station was, as expected, very open. And knowing that the enemy possessed ranged units definitely didn't make it easier.

"That's the thing, lieutenant."Sarah states, smirking."We don't."

"As expected."Zet smirked.
"Tell the snipers to get ready. During our approach, they have to take out any enemy ranged unit they spot. We can't afford huge losses. We attack at dawn."

"Understood, boss. I'll tell the boys and girls."

Saying that, he turned and left to address the remaining 98 SOF operators. When he left, Sarah looked back towards the facility. It was her first time in Andromeda galaxy and being in this situation was certainly not something she expected. Fortunately, she already had experience with dangerous situations. She fought in 2nd Galactic War, storming Laconia itself and then spent a year dealing with remnants of Laconian military in the Arbitration Control Zone AKA all of Laconia except the planet itself.

If she had to be frank, Laconians seemed to be even less predictable than these animals.

Still, she had a job to do. And she was known to always get things done.

After all, there is a reason why she held such a high rank in Republic of Frankling's Elimination Squadron.

Four hours later…

As the sun slowly started rising above the horizon and it's light fell upon the facility, one hundred SOF operators took action.

Standing at the edge of the canyon, Sarah ordered her men and women to fire the zip lines. They flew across the canyon, before attaching themselves to a wall on the opposite side. After checking if the lines were properly attached, they quickly attached themselves to them and started sliding one by one towards their target bellow. Of course, their actions didn't go unnoticed by the Jia'akai, who were already rushing to try and stop them. Their ranged units already set up, preparing their spike throwing tails to start the carnage.

However, before they could do anything, sniper fire from the other side of the canyon reached them, picking off the ranged creatures, making Jia'akai unable to stop the approaching enemies.

As they reached the other side, operators detached from their zip lines and fell onto the main courtyard of the facility. Immediately Jia'akai turned towards them, trying to stop them before they could move any further. But again, the sniper fire masterfully protected the commandos from the approaching beasts.

Once enough number of SOF members crossed on the other side, they quickly formed a perimeter, opening fire at the charging enemies. Seeing that enemy was too well organized and prepared, Jia'akai simply stopped attacking and started falling back towards the facility, still chased by SOF sniper and direct fire.

"They're falling back!"Sarah exclaimed in the radio."Follow them into the facility, but keep your guard up! We don't know what we might be walking into!"

"Yes, ma'am!"operatives replied.

Commandos started slowly moving forward towards the facility, their barrels scanning the area for any form of ambush set up by the creatures. Nothing of that sort happened, so they confidently strode forward, the entrance to the facility already within Sarah's vision. She gave her troops hand signals to form up on both sides of the door. They did as ordered, with Sarah at the forefront.

Sarah looked past the door at Zet who nodded at her.
"Everyone ready?"she asked on the radio.
"Yes, ma'am!"the commandos replied.

"Then let's go in!"she ordered.

Without waiting long, the SOF operators went inside the building.

Immediately they were met with resistance. Several Jia'akai jumped out of their hiding and started clawing at the commandos, who were not surprised. In fact, they put up much better of a fight than the creatures probably expected. Bullets and lasers were shredding them left and right, again forcing them to fall back.

As they did, Sarah started giving orders.
"Secure the perimeter!"she exclaimed."I want all the entrances to this room secured and make sure there are no more of those hiding here!"

She then connected to the snipers outside.
"What do you see?"she asked.

"Enemy is gathering on upper floors."one of them replied."Be careful out there boss."

"I always am."Sarah replied and disconnected.

"I know."

Growls and roars of the creatures were reaching their ears, coming from deeper within the facility. Looking at her commandos, Sarah could see that they're not moved by this in the slightest. They were Special Operations Force and even if some of them were new recruits, they were chosen mainly because of their determination and boldness.
"So, when are we moving up?"Zet asked.
"As soon as possible. But first, I must get some information."

Saying that, captain walked away from Zet and activated her comms.
"Command, this is captain Sarah Yalb. What is the progress on retaking the other communication facilities?"

"This is command. Remaining facilities are already under assault by other teams. Enemy is trying to hold them, but with no result."command replied.
"Understood."

Turning off the comms, Sarah started walking back towards Zet. She smiled, thinking of how good her timing was.

"Well, apparently we're not the only ones who have launched their attacks already."she said."Other groups did too."
Zet whistled.
"Well, that means that this whole thing might be over pretty soon, innit?"
"I sure hope so. Squad leaders, to me!"

Commanders of other squads in their team then left their troops and approached their commanders.

"Ma'am!"they saluted.

"Alright, this is where we stand."Sarah said, activating her hand terminal.

A holographic model of the facility appeared in the air before them, supplied by the Erecans. Fortunately, all communication facilities were built the same way, so one set of plans was good for every team to use.

"According to these plans"Sarah begun the briefing"the main command room is placed at the highest floor of the facility. Which, as we can see, is floor 42."
"Of course it is."one squad leader said, scoffing.

"I share the sentiment."Sarah nodded."This is why, to not slow each other down, every squad will take a different way to the top. Fortunately, the plans show multiple entry points to the floor. Some staircases and some elevators. So, who wants to go which way?"

"We can take an elevator."sergeant Vark said.

"Us too."sergeant Nero joined.
"Good. You will get there first and secure your way in. Then wait for the rest of us."Sarah stated.
"Yes, ma'am."they replied, saluting.

She then looked at two other sergeants.
"In that case, Usak and Klapra, you're going with us up the stairs."

"Yes, ma'am!"Chakdrik and Tertan commandos replied, saluting.

"Zet, you, of course, are coming with me."
"Always keep your enemies close?"Zet smirked.
"Indeed."Sarah smirked back.

Sergeants then spread out and returned to their squads. Sarah then proceeded to give them a signal and soon, all five groups were moving towards their goals. Vark and Nero led their troops towards the elevators, while Sarah, Usak and Klapra made their way towards the staircases. Quickly making sure there isn't any kind of an ambush awaiting them on the other sides of the doors, they stepped through and started their climb.

As they were climbing up the stairs, Sarah's team started hearing gunfire coming from deeper within the facility, together with snarls or growls.

"Ma'am, resistance at the elevators!"Vark reported.

"Can you handle it?"Sarah asked, on alert. If needed, she was ready to send some of her troops to support the other teams.
"Of course, ma'am!"sergeant replied."They just jumpscared us and their numbers aren't high enough to stop us!"
"Understood."She then ended the call and looked back at her team."Keep moving."

The climb continued for at least ten more minutes as they ascended the staircase towards their goal. On the way, Nero and Vark reported they broke through and they were already going up towards the control room via elevators. Usak and Klapra also managed to defeat enemies in their way and were already on the way up the staircase.

Finally, they reached their target floor.

Sarah quickly pointed towards the door where the rest of their teams were gathered, ordering her men to join them.
"The way is clear, ma'am."Vark saluted.
"I can tell."Sarah replied. Next she connected with the snipers."How does it look inside?"

"There are some creatures in there."one of the snipers reported."And I see some more climbing up the walls from lower floors."

Sarah blinked.
"They can do that?"
"Apparently. Man, those are some strong claws…They're literally stabbing the concrete with them…"

Sarah suddenly felt a big relief that they managed to kill the beasts attacking them before they managed to reach them.

"Take them out."she ordered.
"Already ahead of you, ma'am."

Sarah nodded and then looked back at her operatives.

"We're breaching."

Several SOF commandos approached the door and placed breaching charges down on them. Next, Sarah quickly showed the others with a hand sign to move back out of the radius. Once that happened, she gave the order.
"Breach!"she exclaimed.

The commandos pressed their buttons and breaching charges exploded, tearing through the steel door and opening a way into the command center.

"Go, go, go!"Sarah exclaimed.

All commandos immediately started running for the command center. They ran through the cloud of smoke that covered the hole in the door and quickly aimed their weapons. Jia'akai, stunned by the explosion, were cut down one by one, their bodies falling in sprays of purple blood. Meanwhile, on the outside, snipers peppered the creatures scaling the side of the facility trying to help their falling comrades.

One of the creatures managed to get itself together and, snarling and screeching, jumped on Sarah. As it landed, captain quickly aimed her weapon and unloaded entire mag into the creature's stomach, making it spit purple blood on Sarah's face, before it fell, dead. Then, she quickly stood back up and helped her troops finish off the remaining couple creatures.

Everything ended within just five minutes.

"Snipers?"Sarah immediately asked, as creatures lay dead.
"No more enemies spotted. You're clear."snipers replied.

"Copy. Everyone, get to work!"

Commandos quickly started performing their task. They started clearing the Jia'akai bodies, tossing them out the windows and into the canyon. At the same time, others, the most knowledgeable, who were given quick instructions and training by Erecan militiamen on how to use their equipment.

Few minutes of intense waiting later, sound of humming equipment started feeling the room and commandos looked at each other with smiles.

"It works!"one of them exclaimed.

"Wooo!"commandos cheered.

Sarah raised a hand to silence them. Next, she turned on her comms and contacted commanders of remaining away teams.
"How's the situation on your ends?"she asked.
"Team 2 here. We completed the mission."commander of Operational Team 2 answered.
Two Erecan teams sent short signals, as agreed on earlier, signaling they have completed their missions too. With that confirmed, she established a connection to San Antonio.

"What is it, captain Yalb?"comms officer of the Frigate asked.

"San Antonio, we report mission complete. We have retaken the communication stations and we're ready to start the procedure."Sarah replied.

"Understood. San Antonio awaiting signal."

Sarah ended the call and turned towards the commandos.
"Let's get this started."

February 6

06:37

Bezit

Dora kept sending slashes of green energy at charging Jia'akai with her sword.
"Run! To the center of the town!"she exclaimed to the civilians and Erecan militiamen.

They didn't wait long. They turned and ran as Dora slashed another creature that got close to her. After making sure the creatures won't follow them by collapsing a building with several well aimed slashes, Dora followed the civilians and militiamen.

In just a few hours, the siege turned into a street battle as small probing attacks suddenly turned into a full out assault. With their small numbers, militiamen and mercenaries were quickly forced off of the walls and resorted to trying to defend choke points across the streets of the town. Still, they were pushed back minute by minute, as the numbers of Jia'akai just didn't seem to stop, coming in wave after wave.

Meanwhile, ammo already started running out and it was only a matter of time before the creatures overrun the town. There went the heroic defense.

"Solzani, how does it look?"Dora asked in the radio.

Mercenary captain was wounded during the escape from the wall and was now sitting at the command center at the center of the town, helping in directing the last defensive efforts.

"Not good, boss."Solzani replied, his voice slightly shaking."We just lost another three positions. Jia'akai are flooding right towards the command center."

"Fuck."Dora hissed."I'll be there in a bit."
"Understood."

Dora reached the APC they arrived here with and as she stepped in, alongside the militiamen and civilians, the door closed and the machine started moving down the empty streets. Militiamen wanted to save as many civilians as they could. Even though Dora knew this will not help them in the long run, with them stuck in the town, surrounded by blood thirsty creatures.

"Go."Dora said to the Erecan driver.

The vehicle started moving. Good that at least Erecan militiamen had a little time to learn some English words. They were surprisingly good at learning unknown languages. Apparently, even though they were all from relatively young and backwater (for Erecan standards) colony, they were all from what they called 'Center Worlds', the systems and planets closest to Erecan Core Worlds and received some kind of proper education. It's just that they were lucky, or in some cases unlucky, enough to get chosen to be part of mission to colonize the planet.

Dora wondered what kind of policy was that, choosing people at random and telling them to just leave their previous lives behind and travel to some world they never heard of to settle it for the Dominion. Apparently it was how things were for centuries now and everyone saw it as normal. For her, getting several billion people and moving them from their homes seemed like a typical displacement operation. In case of Earth, when a new planet was found and designated for colonization, people willing to colonize the world were volunteers. In most part.

Penal colonies existed, after all.

The vehicle quickly made it's way through the empty streets, until it finally reached it's destination. Sentries on the makeshift barricades observed them as they passed by the stacks of vehicles and furniture. There were additional stacks of items behind the barricade. In case Jia'akai reached this area, these piles could be knocked over and used to block the gap through which one could pass through to leave the town's center. The vehicle stopped in in front of the HQ's building and it's back ramp lowered again. The militiamen, civilians and Dora quickly disembarked and walked away.

Dora then approached Solzani, who had his arm on a sling and stood by a makeshift hospital, where numerous militiamen were being treated from the wounds they took.

"So."Solzani said as she stood beside him."This is how it ends?"

"We were in worse situations."Dora stated, leaning on her sword.

"True."He nodded."But this time it seems like we might be closest to ending up on the other side than ever before.

"Any update on the reinforcements?"

Captain looked at her.

"Allied tank brigade is currently on the way to the town."he replied."But I don't think they will come in time to help us."

"Never say never."Dora stated.
"Unless it's when you say to never say never."Solzani smirked.

Dora glared at him.
"Sorry."

"No need. It was actually funny."Dora replied."I'm just wondering what kind of last stand can I do so I will die heroically for future generations to speak legends about."
Solzani glared at her.

Next they both smirked.

"Alright, enough of the fun time."Dora stated."We need to prepare this place for defense. Jia'akai can attack at…"

"Incoming!"Erecan militiaman exclaimed.

Immediately, militiamen designated to this task collapsed the piles of items and blocked the path into the square. Next, militiamen opened fire towards the approaching enemies.

Not long after, other three barricades reported the same and gaps were closed, as fire started, causing civilians to panic.
"Shit!"Dora exclaimed."They were just a few kilometers away from here! How'd they get here so fast?!"

She looked at Solzani.

"Make sure the civilians and wounded are hidden within the buildings!"she ordered to him."We will try holding them off!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

He saluted and then, they both ran off to perform their respective tasks.

Dora quickly rushed towards the first barricade and with several strides, she climbed on top of it, overlooking the wide main street of the town. The street itself was now full of snarling and screaming creatures, which were constantly coming closer and closer, pouring through the arteries of the town like a tidal wave that could not be stopped.

"But we'll see what we can do."Dora thought before tightening the grip on her sword.

She wielded this weapon for just three years and yet somehow, she felt as if it belonged to her for eternity. Once she held it in her hands, she suddenly knew how to unleash it's power, yet not in it's fullness. The training with it over the past few years allowed her to learn some new tricks, like more rapid fire of energy slashes the blade was sending. But that was pretty much it. And it had to be enough.

Something at the back of her mind told her there was more. But she'd think about that later. For now, she started sending green energy at the advancing creatures, eliminating them in large numbers as slashes of green energy cleaved through multiple enemies at once, sending them flying backwards. But Jia'akai didn't care about losses. That's where their biggest advantage lay. One that was surprisingly hard to deminish, even with their capabilities.

The heroic defense continued, as behind them, militiamen and mercenaries continued to push civilians into buildings, which would not be enough to protect them as the creatures break through the barricades. Which was inevitable.

They fired at the creatures for what felt like hours, when the first barricade finally fell and Jia'akai started pouring into the plaza. This forced Dora to order the militiamen to abandon their positions, which they did maybe even too eagerly. She sent several more energy slashes, before jumping off the top of the barricade and joining the retreating and firing defenders. Some were more brave than others and stayed behind, trying to buy them time, only to be immediately torn apart by the attackers.

Militiamen, mercenaries and Dora slowly backed off, firing at the creatures straight from nightmares as their relentless assault. Snarling, growling and howling filled the plaza and mixed with gunshots. In the buildings, civilians cowered as defenders started firing from the windows, trying to make any kind of difference.

It didn't. After a few minutes, Dora felt the wall behind her back. Before she knew, she felt a wall behind her back. They were backed into the corner against the living blocks that surrounded the plaza. With a quick glance, Dora saw as Jia'akai break down the door of command center and rush inside. She didn't even wanna think what was happening inside.

The creatures in front of her stopped, as if taunting her and the remaining defenders in the plaza. They just circled around them, snarling and growling. They definitely liked playing with their food.

Dora didn't see a way from this situation. Not this time. Was this really going to be the end for her? After everything she went through? A cat food for some aliens? They might beat her, but she will definitely take as many with her as possible.
…a…o…

Dora blinked. Was she hearing things?

…Sa…wo…

No. She was actually hearing a voice in her head. A faint one. But still. She closer her eyes, trying to focus on it.

…Say…wor…

Say the…ds…

Say the words…

Say the words? What words?

You…know…

Do I?

You said the First Oath…Now comes the time for the Second…

She was definitely going crazy. Hearing voices telling her to say some words and speaking of some oaths? When would she even speak the that first one? Of all times to go completely bananas, now was probably…

Dora remembered. Back then, three years ago, in Enean ruins on Taurus III. A small sliver of memory that somehow stayed hidden from her. Just as she came out of the vision bestowed upon her by the sword of Enean Grand Master, she spoke the words:

"I swear to uphold justice and stand for what's right."

The First Oath…

Grip on the sword's hilt tightened. She spoke the First Oath without even knowing. She didn't knew the implications of that, but there would be time to learn. For now, she decided to listen to the voice and speak the Second Oath.

And then, it came to her.

On the outside of the plaza, general Geerezz paced through the streets, surrounded by his four Guards, as sea of broodlings passed by, assaulting the last part of the Sky People hive still under their control. He was filled with undescribed satisfaction. Even though it was a small victory, it was a big step to ultimately chasing the Sky People out of their world. After this victory, he will march forth to capture enemy's main hive and thus, securing victory and glory for his Hive.

"What a beautiful day for victory."general spoke through the mind waves, looking up into the sky above their heads, devoid of clouds.

"Indeed, general."his guards answered all at once.

General then just stood and watched, waiting for the final act of this clash.

And then, he saw the a light shine behind the walls. And the broodlings froze, right as they were about to scale the wall.

Geerezz growled, looking at them.

"What is happening?"he demanded to know.
"General, we…"one of the Overseers tried to reply, but he was suddenly silenced.

And then another. And another. And another.

Overseers were being silent alongside with broodlings that accompanied them. General snarled in annoyance as he suddenly didn't know what was happening. A cold paw of fear gripped on his throat.

And then, it happened. A figure bathed in green light jumped over the wall. Broodlings tried to get away from there, but they were too tightly packed, so when the figure landed, causing a green pattern of twisting and twirling lines to form beneath her, the impact also released a green circle of energy which cut through broodlings, cutting down dozens of them in an instant.

The dust slowly settled and stunned broodlings, Overseers, Guards and General watched the single figure as it stood up from among the deceased broodlings. She stood tall, her skin was almost fair as snow that covered the surface in cold seasons, but not quite. Her head was covered with a long, orange fur that flown behind her back and she was surrounded by an outline of green, crackling energy. Her green eyes showed something that even Geerezz recognized. Unrivaled determination and resolve.

The figure then grabbed her weapon, a long, sharp looking stinger. She her it in both her forward paws as she stood on her two behind ones.

And then, she spoke.

"I will protect the weak and stand against tyranny."

"Kill it!"Geerezz gave the command to one of his Guards.

Heavily armored creature moved forth, running at the enemy. It swung it's massive claws at her. However, the enemy shifted her stance, lifting the stinger to block the strike. Which she did, with surprising ease. Guard looked, clearly surprised. And then, the enemy pushed him back and before the Guard could react, the stinger made an arch in the air, decapitating the armored broodling with ease.

Enemy then looked towards Geerezz and General started feeling as if the ground was falling off behind him.

She pointed the weapon at him and the green aura around her flared up even more. Next, she shot forward, almost sliding on the ground, right towards the General.

Geezer didn't even feel the strike. The blade cleaved through his entire length, starting from the mouth and ending at the end of his tail. His eyes started looking around frantically, before finally rolling into inside of his head, as he collapsed, causing all his insides to pour out. All the broodlings and Guards stood in silence.

"So?"Dora asked, covered in Jia'akai blood."Who's next?"

The creatures jumped at her.

Several minutes later, Solzani, other mercenaries, militiamen and civilians left their hiding and were shocked to see the plaza. Hundreds of Jia'akai bodies covered it, all sliced in various ways. They walked through, trying not to step into the pouring insides or stains of blood.

"What happened here?"one mercenary asked.

Solzani then saw one of Erecan militiamen talking to another, one of those that stayed back to protect the barricades. After listening to what his companion had to say, he quickly approached Solzani.

"He say…woman…commander…yours…attack…"militiaman said, struggling to speak English.
"Commander Hiedel?"Solzani asked.
"Boss, did you know she could do that?"one of the Sharks asked.

"No."captain replied."She would've told us if she could do something like that."

Captain then rushed towards the barricades, hearing sounds of snarling, growls and roaring coming from behind them. As he climbed on top of one, his eyes widened.

"But if she did, I'm happy it happened now."

The street in front of him was covered in sea of Jia'akai bodies, no smaller than the one behind him.

February 6

07:07

UNSA San Antonio, orbit

"Got it!"one of the comms officers exclaimed.

Phil immediately rushed towards his position and stood behind him.
"Really?"he asked.
"Yessir!"officer replied."Please, take a look!"

Captain looked at the screen, but he didn't really understand what was being shown on it.
"Excuse me, son, but I'm made for shouting orders, not looking at screens of data I don't even know how to read."
"Oh, forgive me then, sir."comms officer replied and cleared his throat."Thanks to the help from the five communication stations on the surface, we managed to locate a waveband of the enemy that's different from the others."
"Are we 100% sure it's the High Queen?"

"Yes. It's presence is stronger among enemy communication. If that isn't the one, then I don't know what is."

Phil nodded.

"Inform the ground and ask for permission to open fire."

"Yessir!"

Comms officer quickly turned to his console and enacted the order. Phil stood behind him as he explained the situation to the ones in Praetor Cit. After several minutes of talking, the officer turned back to the captain.

"Permission granted."he said.
"You heard it! Aim at the source of the radio waves!"Phil ordered.

Weapon system officers quickly got to work. Not long after, a missile left the missile tubes of the Stealth Frigate, flying towards it's final destination.

February 6

07:23

Xa'Har Hive, Throne Chamber

Hive Queen Wiiziera knew that something was wrong.

As a Hive Queen, she could easily differentiate between various mind waves of different members of her Hive. She could easily see what, when and where was any broodling doing. Not at the same time, at once she could look through the eyes of a single child of her Hive. But the minds of others always lingered at the back of hers, always in reach and always available for her to look through.

That's why sudden disappearance of General Geerezz and hundreds upon hundreds of different broodlings caused her to fall into a state of panic.

Some time ago, they suddenly started vanishing, their mind waves severing one after another and sometimes in large groups. Wiiziera paced around her chamber, her Guards looking at her with concern. She felt broodlings and her Generals die before. But this time…This time, she felt like it wasn't right. Like something was at works here that she couldn't understand. She tried to look through the eyes of broodlings under command of General Geerezz, but whenever she tried using this ability to look through the eyes of a broodling that was the closest to the place his brothers died, the connection was immediately being severed as said broodlings died too. That only made her even more concerned.

"I've got no choice."

She started tuning her mind waves, searching for the ones that were the most important. After few minutes, she finally got it.
"MY CHILD."

The song of Queen Mother Uviissa was as crisp and powerful as ever. Wiiziera remembered the first time she heard it, when she came to this world all those seasons ago. A song commanding, yet caring and understanding. The leader of all their kin and the one that gave birth to Hive Queens when needed. Wiiziera listened to the Queen Mother's orders, but she didn't agree with them. This is why since all of this madness begun, they didn't sing to each other. And even before, their relations were not very good, considering that Wiiziera was born weak and sickly, always shielded from the outside world until the time has come for her to take over a Hive of her own. This is why she did everything she could to act as independently from Uviissa as possible.

"Mother."Wiiziera sung."I know we didn't sing in a long time, but…I feel like something bad is happening."

There was a short moment of silence.
"GO ON."

The tone of singing clearly showed that Uviissa wasn't pleased with this exchange. If Wiiziera had to be frank, she wasn't either.

"I'm losing contact with my large swaths of broodlings storming a Sky People's ground hive. And…I've most possibly lost General Geerezz…"

She hoped it will get some kind of reaction. Uviissa respected Geerezz greatly.

"THAT IS…UNFORTUNATE."

"Unfortunate? That's all you have to say?"
"DAUGHTER, DO I HEAR A DISOBEYING TONE?"

What was she even singing about?! Was she really so keen on holding onto grudges? Are they really more important to her than the matters of their kin who were being killed by unknown enemy?

"Mother."Wiiziera stated firmly."All I'm saying is that something weird is happening. And I need your…"

Before Wiiziera finished her sentence, her head was suddenly filled with a piercing pain as, much to her shock, her connection to the Hive Queen Mother was severed abruptly and worse, she couldn't feel it anymore, as if it was nonexistent completely. But Hive Queen had no time to wonder about that, when she fell to the ground, wailing and flailing her tail, while her terrified Guards could only watch.

February 6

08:11

10th Armored Brigade, on the way to Bezit

Decimus felt someone poking his ribs and opened his eyes, looking around, before he remembered where he is.

"Hey, boss, don't sleep."Aulus said, looking through the scope of his gun."We're approaching the target."

"Oh yeah. Of course."Decimus said.

Loader Amarin Saan rolled his eyes. He was a new addition to the crew. Sons of Sadera were using Laconian Leonidas 21 tanks, designed with auto-loading systems, which meant they didn't need a loader. But since the prisoners were sent to penal battalions, especially in case of tank crews who now had to change to M5 tanks, that required four crew members, there was a need to add an additional member in form of a loader for each. Even though it was pretty much obvious, that the main reason was actually that higher ups needed their people in between former Sons to keep tabs on them and report anything they considered suspicious. Then again, Decimus didn't blame them at all.

"How long until we get there?"he asked.

"Just nine more minutes."Jeos replied from his driver's seat."Maybe better get some fresh air, boss."

"Good idea."Decimus then looked at Saan."Unless you have something against it?"

Loader just shrugged.
"You're the boss here."he replied and, as if nothing, returned to checking the ammo status in the ammo magazine in the tower.

Decimus just decided to ignore the look loader sent him and opened the hatch, after which he put his head through it.

Looking back and in front of him, he could see a long column of M5 tanks belonging to the 10th Armored Brigade. He spotted several other tanks belonging to their penal battalion spread out between the standard, non-penal ones. Another form of control put on the former Sons to make sure they won't do some uprising or something. Like that even had a chance of succeeding in the first place.

As Decimus looked at the trees passing by, his radio suddenly came to life.
"Decimus?"Niva asked on the line.

Captain reached into the turret and pulled the radio receiver out.
"What is it, sis?"he asked.

"How do you feel being on a combat mission for the first time in three years?"

Tank commander tapped his fingers on the side of the hatch, thinking. Numerous thoughts raced through his head as he tried to form any sensible answer.
"It's…weird."he finally replied.
"How so?"Niva asked.
"Well, for one, I never expected to get back to the field anytime soon. If ever. Especially in service of my former enemies."
"Remember this isn't a charity."Verius chimed in.

Decimus sighed. Of course, his brother in law still had an eye on him. For some reason, he also suspected he got Decimus' radio tap wired to listen in when he wanted. He was pretty sure he also did it only to him, too.

"I remember. It's punishment."he said.

"And you better not forget it."Verius stated firmly.
"Verius, cut them some slack."Niva sighed.
"If we would, they'd try to stab us in the back the first chance they got."colonel stated.
"You don't know it."

"I…"

Verius just ended the call and put the radio receiver back into the turret. He just sighed and slid back inside, closing the hatch behind him. There went the calmness and enjoying the views without a care in the world. Just this short conversation was enough to completely ruin Decimus' mood. It was better to just focus on the mission.

"Something went wrong?"Saan asked.

"Eh."tank commander scoffed.

The remaining few minutes of the traversal went in complete radio silence. After that, the radio came to life again.
"Get ready, everyone."Verius said."Our target is behind this hill. Fan out and prepare for battle. Don't get overwhelmed by the enemy."

"Yessir!"other tank commanders replied.
"Yes, sir."Decimus said a second later.

Column of tanks then immediately started spreading out, forming a tight wedge, ready to pummel through the enemy lines. However, as they got closer and closer, something became very obvious to everyone.
"Isn't there a bit too silent?"Gerhi asked.

"You're right."Verius said."Everyone on high alert. We don't know what we'll see on the other side of that hill."

"Understood."

The tanks continued on their way and after a few more minutes, they crested the hill and what they saw baffled them.

Instead of the sea of Jia'akai that they were said to encounter here, they were met with a sight of a town with numerous piles of smoke flying into the air. It was obvious a battle was fought here, but where was the enemy?
"What is going on here?"Gerhi asked.
"No idea."Niva replied.

In his tank, Verius was thinking hard about this whole situation. Were Jia'akai hiding somewhere, just waiting for the battalion to come into their trap, unprepared, their awareness put to sleep and then they would just drown them under the sea of enemies? Or something else was at play here?

"We're moving closer."he finally decided."We need to figure out what happened here. Stay in formation."

The wedge continued to move past the hill and soon, they were moving along the walls of the town. Verius looked through the periscope, hoping to see someone on the walls, but nobody appeared.
"Well, that doesn't bode well."he whispered.

"Definitely boss."the driver said.

Few minutes later, they rounded the corner of the town walls and approached the main gate. And there, they were met with an even more peculiar sight. Verius signaled his battalion to stop and opened the hatch, jumping out of the tank. He then approached the open gate of the town.

A gate full of Jia'akai bodies, which formed a makeshift gate.

Sitting there was a single figure, a red-haired woman, with a sword crackling with green energy slammed into the ground next to her. She had her arms behind her head and just sat there, leaning back on the wall next to the body pile. Seeing Verius approaching, she stood up and came forth to meet him.
"Lieutenant colonel Verius Fergran, 10th Armored Brigade."he said.
"Commander Dora Hiedel, Sharkline."she replied."Nice to see you here."

"Likewise."Verius looked at the wall of bodies."We were sent to lift the siege. But it seems we're not needed anymore."

He looked at Dora again.

"What the actual fuck happened here?"

Dora reached out behind her with her hand. Right then, the sword in the ground suddenly shot out of it and flew into her hand, following which she placed it in a holder on her back. Dora then sighed.
"I hope you have a place to sit."she stated, crossing her arms."Because this story is definitely a weird one."

What started as an unprecedented and terrifying attack by the Jia'akai fell apart within a single day. The offensive of the creatures, even though it obtained numerous successes in it's short time, was stopped and pushed back. The destruction of a High Queen hive sent enemy forces into a complete disarray, making them run away to wherever they were hiding. In many areas, Markian Militia, supported by Task Force's troops, went into offensive, pushing forward and reclaiming territory from Jia'akai. It was but a small step in the whole war against the creatures, but across all territory still controlled by the Erecans and Task Force, civilians started cheering, declaring an inevitable end to the menace that were the feline like creatures.

But the HQ at Praetor City knew better. The war was still far from over and it would take much more sacrifices to finish it.

XXX

And this is where we're gonna end for now. As always, feel free to leave a review, follow and favorite. It will be highly appreciated!

Bye, bye!