Chapter 191

The Precursor command hub was gone, vaporized along with whatever planetary weapon it had been charging.

"Command confirms the station's destruction," Omni's voice reported in their comms. "Precursor forces are retreating to the edge of the system."

"Damage to our fleet?" Axel asked.

"Seventeen percent of Konrad's forces sustained moderate losses," Omni replied. "But morale is high. This is the first full retreat we've forced them into so far."

Axel finally exhaled and nodded. "Relay to all ships: regroup and hold position. I want recon teams sweeping every inch of that debris field. If there's anything left such as data, fragments, anything, we recover it."

Beside him, Catherine was curious as to what was on his mind. "You think there's something more in that wreckage?"

"That warframe... it wasn't just a weapon. It was protecting something. I felt it." Catherine started to think about it, but she didn't get the same feeling as Axel did.

———

Fleet Admiral Hood, now commanding the bulk of the Eastern Defense Fleet, had already reformed and redeployed his forces to defend the Kaelis Prime sector. But what he faced at Kaelis Prime was unlike the previous battle he was in. This wasn't a frontal assault; it was a siege.

The Precursor's forces had scattered themselves throughout the sector, hiding in asteroid fields and other places. They adapted from their previous engagements and were now using hit and run tactics.

In response to this, Admiral Hood detached a small task force to deal with these ambushes, while he led the main fleet to attack the main Precursor fleet at Kaelis.

Approaching the planet, Admiral Hood could see the various parts of the planet burning as the battle on the ground raged between the defending Ascendency forces and the Precursor forces. Dozens of analysts' communication officers were sorting through all the incoming comm chatter from the battle and sorting through it as the Precursor fleet came into range.

"Enemy fleet within range, Admiral," the sensor officer called out. "Multiple heavy carriers, several support cruisers, and at least two dreadnought-class Precursor vessels moving to intercept. No sign of retreat behavior. They're holding the high orbit."

"Then they know what's at stake. So do we."

"All ships, battle stations," his XO barked over the fleet-wide channel. "Tactical formations Delta and Theta. Prepare to engage."

The space above Kaelis Prime lit up as the two fleets exchanged fire. Precursor ships moved in strange formations, shifting amongst each other, adapting to the incoming fire. But this time, the Ascendency came prepared for whatever tactics they had.

The first volley crashed through Precursor shielding and tearing holes in their formation. Hood's battle groups advanced, hammering the enemy with coordinated strikes. The fleet's AI synchronized across the fleet, redirecting fire at weak points and assisting in real-time targeting adjustments. But the Precursors hit back just as hard.

"They're focusing fire on the Resolute Dawn," someone shouted.

"Reinforce their flanks!" Hood shouted. "Divert gunships from group Gamma to provide close-range support."

One of the Precursor dreadnoughts let out a massive pulse, sending out a shockwave that hurled three Ascendency cruisers out of formation. One collided with a debris field and exploded. Another went dark.

"Hold formation! Fire MAC at that dreadnought's core section, look for weak points!" Hood shouted.

From behind Kaelis Prime's dark side, a group of Ascendency stealth ships decloaked and began tearing through the Precursor support craft from below, striking with precise MAC strikes.

The Vigilant Storm itself fired its main cannon, a massive super powered MAC powered by an unstable mini singularity. The shot punched through one of the Precursor capital ships, splitting it in two.

"First dreadnought is breaking apart," the tactical officer reported.

"New contact, massive energy spike from the planetary surface," said Omni.

"What now?" Hood growled.

"Precursor ground forces are activating a planetary tether, some kind of energy siphon. They're trying to draw orbital energy into the surface. If they finish, they'll wipe out our entire fleet and everything on the surface."

Hood turned to the operations panel. "We need to break their grip on the surface, now. Get me ground command."

The skies above Kaelis were fire and smoke. What was once a metropolis was now a battlefield of ash and debris. The Precursor ground forces had descended like a virus, crawling through streets, filling the ruins with bio-mechanical war constructs and terraforming machinery that corrupted the land.

Commander Rhea Soren, ground commander of the Kaelis Defense Corps, stood atop a scorched government building, her armor cracked and her HUD flickering from multiple impacts.

"Status?" she shouted into the comms.

"Third line has collapsed; zone Theta is overrun! We're pulling survivors back to the second defensive line!"

Explosions rocked the city as Precursor walkers, four-legged, constructs with plasma cannons, marched through the streets, flanked by drone swarms.

"Fall back to the inner perimeter!" Rhea ordered. "Redirect all orbital artillery to coordinates 4-7-Delta! Bring that monstrosity down!"

Suddenly, she heard something on her comms.

"This is Fleet Admiral Hood to all ground forces, stand by for reinforcement drops. We're cutting off orbital support to knock out a planetary siphon. You'll be on your own for fifteen minutes."

"Copy that," Rhea said grimly. "We'll hold."

A formation of drop pods broke through the atmosphere, slamming into the broken streets on top of where Rhea was at. The hatches exploded open, revealing an entire company of Spartan-IVs and ODSTs, fresh from orbital insertion. At their lead was Spartan Commander Kai-17.

"Mission?" Kai asked as he took a weapon crate from a nearby ODST.

Rhea appeared beside him. "We've got a Precursor siphon anchoring itself in the old reactor field. If it goes active, we all burn."

Kai nodded, "Then we'll break it."

The Spartans moved fast, clearing zones block by block. ODST fire teams used Grav-jumpers to scale ruined buildings and take sniper positions. Kai led a squad through the subway tunnels beneath the site, setting charges and cutting off Precursor reinforcements from below.

Precursor Juggernauts descended, massive constructs that broke through rubble and fired plasma bursts. But they were met with concentrated fire, EMP shots, and orbital MACs from the fleet. One by one, the constructs fell.

Kai and Rhea's combined forces pushed up to the anchor site, where the siphon glowed like a beacon, pulsing with red light and warping the air around it.

"Charges are set," one Spartan radioed in. "Awaiting detonation signal."

"Not yet," Rhea said. "They've got a guardian."

The ground split apart, and a massive Precursor beast, part machine, part creature, emerged. Covered in organic plating and dozens with cannons, it let out a super loud shriek and charged towards the team.

"I'll handle the big guy," Kai said. "Light that fuse when it drops."

He sprinted into the open, drawing the beast's attention as others laid down cover fire. The two titans collided, Spartan against monster, fists and weapons clashing in a blur.

As Kai drove a blade into the creature's throat, he shouted, "Now!" The charges detonated.

The siphon erupted in a shockwave of energy, and the guardian screamed as it was torn apart. The resulting explosion sent Rhea and her troops flying, and the entire field went silent.

In orbit, the fleet had picked up the surge. "Energy surge confirmed," The AI reported. "Siphon offline. Precursor fleet destabilizing."

Admiral Hood wasted no time. "All ships, converge. Crush them."

Without their planetary support, the Precursor fleet began to collapse. Within the hour, Kaelis Prime's skies were clear.

Kai stood with Rhea at the edge of the ruined battlefield. Fires burned in the distance, but the Precursor corruption was receding.

"They'll come again," Rhea said.

Kai looked up at the sky. "Let them."

The victory at Kaelis Prime proved just how good the Ascendency military was. They had held their ground against overwhelming odds.

With the battle over with, Admiral Hood began to secure the system, and engineers began to move in to start repairing the defenses within the system.

On other fronts, the Ascendency had so much success, but also failures. They had won over 20+ battles but also lost around 13 battles, costing hundreds of thousands of lives. Most of the victories were because of the new experimental weapons which have been slowly getting added to every fleet.

But these losses didn't stop the war machine from rolling. These losses, while tragic, encouraged people to work even harder. New empire wide guides were given to people in an event of an invasion. These guides were mainly targeted towards vulnerable planets where the population was low, or they didn't have a dedicated defense fleet.

These planets would eventually have a defense fleet of MCU fleets, but they would have to wait until the frontlines got the reinforcements they needed.

Axel took a back seat to the fighting and started controlling things from the background. He would only get involved directly if he needed to or if he wanted to. For now, things were going relatively well that he could sit back and let the brilliant officers of the Ascendency prove themselves.