Chapter 155
Prince Jais and Prince Luke had arrived on the planet the day before, and within that time frame, they managed to make considerable progress. With the 1000 Guardian Knights on the ground, the Red Knights couldn't put up much of a resistance against them.
As time passed, a week had gone by and the attack on the final stronghold was about to begin. The remaining Red Knight Commanders had managed to regroup and take up defensive positions with 200k soldiers.
On the attacking side was the Terran Ascendency with 100k soldiers. If this was a normal battle between two evenly matched armies, then the 200k soldiers would naturally win especially when they outnumber the Terran Ascendency 2-1.
But there was a massive difference between the two sides. On the Red Knights side, they could be considered an armed militia with barely any combat training and only motivated by their religion and ideas.
On the Ascendency side, the Terran soldiers are far superior, have years of training, advanced weapons and equipment, and last of all they have the two Princes and the Guardian Knights. If they were to be defeated by these rebels, then they wouldn't be able to call themselves Imperial soldiers.
For the battle Prince Luke had come down from the Invictus to participate in the battle alongside Prince Jais. He was getting tired of just sitting in a chair watching the battle happen. He wanted to fight on the ground as well.
The battle was set to commence at dawn. The terrain favored no one, a vast stretch of barren land with scattered hills and crumbled ruins from the previous onslaughts.
The first rays of sunlight pierced the grey clouds as the battle began. With a deafening roar, the Terran forces surged forward like an angry wave, their weapons gleaming in the rising sun. Prince Luke led from the front, his Lightsaber held high, reflecting determination and unyielding vigor.
On the other side, the Red Knights braced for the attack. Their weapons were weaker, but their spirits were not. They roared back with equal fervor, eerie shadows cast long by the rising sun behind them.
Prince Jais stood steadfast on a small hill overseeing the battle. From this vantage point, he could see his troops moving in towards the last stronghold of the Red Knights. Suddenly, a scream cut through the cacophony of noises as a Red Knight charged at Prince Luke.
Luke had turned around and met the attacker with a fatal swing of his blade. From afar, Jais watched as his brother struck down foe after foe and the Terran soldiers dominated the battle. Overhead Terran Fighters and gunships were providing air support to the troops below.
On one of the gunships a team of Spartans were being carried in behind enemy lines to deal with the air defenses of the Fortress.
Meanwhile, on the ground, the combat grew fiercer as the Red Knights had tried their absolute best to defend the fortress with all their might. But despite being outnumbered, the Terran soldiers advanced steadily into the Fortress taking out any Red Knights that they see.
There was nothing the Red Knights could do as the Terran forces trampled over them and took control of the last remaining fortress. On top of the Fortress a giant Terran Ascendency flag was placed down signaling the end of the war and the end of the Red Knights.
Inside the Fortress, Prince Luke was talking to a tied-up prisoner who was the Commander of the Red Knights. His appearance looked alien as Prince Luke had never seen a race like him before.
"Who are you" Asked Luke
"Who am I?" Responded the Commander, "I am nobody, but if you think that this is the end then you are surely mistaken."
Luke listened and observed the alien as he spoke. And just as he was about to respond his commlink had started blinking, so he answered it "Brother we have a situation, massive ships of unknown origin have appeared above the planet. The fleet is already going to intercept them, but I think we best get back to the Invictus," said Prince Jais.
"Copy that, I'll take a transport and meet you up there" responded Luke as he
turned to gaze at the alien Commander one last time. The prisoner merely smirked, his strange eyes gleaming with a mix of defiance and confidence, despite their victory.
"Your war is far from over, Prince."
As the sounds of celebration echoed through the fortress walls, Luke took a transport to the Invictus to see what was going on.
Once the transport breached the atmosphere, Luke had seen massive, strange ships in the distance slowly approaching the planet. The ships were nothing like what he had seen before, nor did they look like they were made out of metal.
Once his transport landed in the Hanger of the Invictus, Luke proceeded towards the bridge of the ship where Jais was already waiting for him.
As he arrived, the Admiral was briefing Jais on the events leading up to now. "They had appeared out of nowhere and we didn't catch them on scanners until they got this close. And they are not responding to our attempts at communicating with them" Explained the Admiral.
"I see" Responded Jais as he tried to figure out what to do next. Once he noticed his brother, he had turned to him "Brother what do you think of these strange ships."
Luke looked at the ships on the scanners which revealed the details about them. The ships were entirely biological in nature and didn't have an ounce of technology that they could detect inside of them.
"I think we should contact father," said Luke.
"Alright then" Jais said as he turned towards a Communications Officer, "Set up a direct line with the emperor" the Communications officer didn't waste any time to get a direct line to the emperor.
A few seconds later, the image of Alexander had showed up causing everybody to snap to attention "At ease everyone. I am already aware of the situation and have sent High Admiral Thrawn to deal with it. He is a capable leader and tactician, so you are to follow his orders once he arrives" Explained Alexander.
He had received a vision of the Yuuzhan Vong fleet appearing above the planet and he already prepared for their arrival. High Admiral Thrawn was the one he sent to deal with them to test out their weapons against them and limit the damage done.
A few seconds later High Admiral Thrawn and his fleet appeared out of Hyperspace gate. This would be the first encounter with the Yuuzhan Vong fleet and the Terran Ascendency. The start of the final war has begun.