I am Hormur, son of Dormir, and recorder of the Histories of The Hierarchy of Pross. The following is an excerpt from the War of Extermination: A Clash of Flesh and Steel.
In the year 2250, the Grand Marshal commanded the expansion of the Hierarchy. We were new to FTL travel and thus still in the fledgling days of space supremacy. Our militaristic might was small in comparison with our planetary forces. Despite this, we expanded gloriously into the galaxy. System after system was claimed for the greater glory of the Hierarchy. For five years we explored and conquered systems, claiming precious resources in the process. In 2255, we encountered our first alien civilization. A similarly sized empire called the Quentian Grid. Our first encounter with them came in a system we named Xudra. This system held very little significance and exhibited very low resource utilization. The crew aboard the Quentian exploration vessel showed hostile intent even when faced with diplomatic attempts. Two of our scientists were murdered outright in the ensuing chaos. The remaining crew fled the system to the Prossnakan Interior. The Grand Marshal declared war upon the Quentians and vowed to avenge those killed in that fateful encounter. Within weeks, our fleet of five light corvettes and ten frigates arrived at the border of our empire and to the system where the Quentians had begun excavation of its resources. To our surprise, they had already deciphered our language and when contacted made the following statement: "To those who bear the mark of organic life hear this, death approaches you." Unfazed by the threat, Commander Thyria threw herself into battle with the machines. The effect was catastrophic. Within hours our fleet was split asunder and forced to flee to opposite systems. The Quentian fleet, comprised of ten corvette-type ships and ten larger, missile bearing vessels pursued with cold, calculated vengeance. They conquered system after system, finally stopping after capturing our outermost colonized system, Evfrippe. To our relief, they did not invade and murder the civilians planet-side. Rather, they pulled their fleets back to their now fortified border and awaited our response. In an effort to catch the machines off guard, Commander Thyria circled to their other border, five systems away from the initial battle. She was met with disaster as another fortified star port awaited and decimated her fleet. She linked up with the other remaining fleets and began to recapture our lost systems including the outer rim system of Evfrippe. The Quentians still held formation in port at their border. Scouts reported a doubling in size of their fleet as well as a new invasion fleet gathering. In 2261, the Quentians reached out through our own communication systems to announce the "postponement" of our extermination. Commander Thyria gathered her remaining forces and prepared to attack, but the Grand Marshal demanded peace. She was recalled to the home-world to face her failures and fortifications were constructed to prevent further incursions by the Quentian Grid. To this day, little is known about why the Quentians halted their advance upon us when they could have easily overwhelmed and destroyed us. If I was to speculate, I would assume that they faced a far greater threat within their own borders and chose instead to face that threat head on.