The Battle for New Titan
The Battle for New Titan
The first explosions rippled through the colony's industrial district as UED drop ships descended from the sky, their thrusters kicking up thick plumes of methane-rich dust from Titan's frozen surface.
Armored personnel carriers rolled onto the streets, their glowing blue thrusters humming as they deployed shock troops in blackened combat exo-suits, each emblazoned with the UED sigil—a three-pronged crest symbolizing Earth's rule over the colonies.
The occupation had begun.
But this time, New Titan would not go quietly.
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The Defense Grid Infiltration
Deep beneath the surface, Dr. Alexandra Pryce and Dr. Jonas Ibarra sprinted through the narrow, ice-lined tunnels of New Titan's old infrastructure.
The entrance to the planetary defense grid control station was buried beneath a collapsed transport hub, long abandoned after the colony had transitioned to orbital security.
Now, that grid was their last hope.
As they reached the control chamber, Pryce slammed her palm onto the biometric scanner. The rusted doors groaned open, revealing a room filled with ancient, dust-covered consoles, their interfaces flickering weakly.
Ibarra exhaled sharply. "We're working with pre-colonial tech—half of this stuff hasn't been operational in decades."
Pryce's fingers flew over the controls. "We don't need all of it. Just the orbital defense cannons—if we can bring even one online, it'll force the UED fleet to pull back."
Ibarra activated his wrist pad, linking it to the defense array. "I'll bypass the security lockouts. You try to rewire the power grid."
Pryce nodded, already pulling open a side panel, exposing tangled wires and rusted conduits. Time was running out.
Outside, the battle was already raging.
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Holding the Line
In the colony's upper sector, Captain Elias Vance, Lieutenant Adrienne Cormac, and Sariah Delane crouched behind a barricade of overturned cargo containers, watching as UED forces moved in formation.
Their weapons were state-of-the-art.
XM-88 Gauss Rifles – sleek, black-barreled weapons that fired superheated metal slugs at hypersonic speeds.
Aegis-Class Combat Shields – wrist-mounted energy barriers that could absorb small-arms fire.
Exo-Frame Armor – form-fitting, graphene-plated combat suits, reinforced to withstand both extreme cold and direct ballistics.
And there were dozens of them.
Delane gritted her teeth. "We are so outgunned."
Vance checked his weapon—a T-47 Plasma Repeater, its cylindrical core pulsing with an orange glow. "Doesn't mean we can't stall them."
Cormac switched her dual Verik-9 pistols to disruptor mode, the barrel ports shifting as the power cells hummed. "They've got numbers. We've got cover and elevation."
The first UED soldiers moved in, their scanning visors glowing red.
Vance raised his fist.
Wait for it…
Closer…
Now.
"Open fire!"
The street lit up with energy bolts as the resistance fighters unleashed a storm of plasma fire, their rounds smashing into enemy armor.
Cormac fired her disruptor rounds, overloading the shields of the nearest soldier. Delane followed up with a well-placed rail shot, punching through the weakened plating and sending the trooper crashing to the ground.
The UED soldiers immediately returned fire, their Gauss rounds sparking off metal structures, ripping through old concrete and sending shrapnel flying.
Vance ducked behind cover. "We can't hold forever—Pryce, tell me you've got something!"
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Power Restored
Inside the defense grid control station, Pryce wiped sweat from her brow as the console flickered to life.
"Ibarra!" she shouted.
Ibarra ripped out the final security relay, bypassing the UED's override locks. "Try it now!"
Pryce slammed the activation command.
For a second—nothing.
Then—a deep, mechanical groan echoed through the tunnels as power surged through New Titan's ancient defense cannons.
On the surface, a low, ominous hum reverberated across the city as massive gun emplacements hidden within the colony's infrastructure came online, their targeting sensors locking onto the UED fleet above.
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The UED's Countermove
Aboard the UED flagship Ascendant Valor, Admiral Dominic Kain stood before the bridge viewport, watching as the colony's defense turrets powered up.
A nearby officer paled. "Sir, the planetary defense grid is reactivating."
Kain's face remained cold, calculating. "Deploy striker teams to shut them down. And if they resist?"
He turned, his gaze dark.
"Flatten them."
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The Silent Watchers Intervene
Before the UED could launch their next attack, a sudden disturbance rippled across the battlefield.
Above New Titan, the clouds split apart, and a deep gravitic tremor shook the ground.
The air distorted as two Silent Watchers materialized in the colony's upper sector, their shifting geometric forms pulsing with unknown energy.
The battlefield froze.
Even the UED soldiers hesitated, their weapons lowering instinctively as they registered the new, unknown presence.
Cormac whispered, "What the hell are they doing?"
For the first time—the Silent Watchers moved.
With an eerie fluidity, one of them turned toward the UED's advancing troops, raising a translucent appendage that pulsed with unreadable energy signatures.
Then—space itself bent.
In an instant, the front line of UED soldiers simply… vanished.
Not vaporized. Not destroyed.
Removed.
As though they had never existed.
Delane's face paled. "Did they just—?"
Vance swallowed hard. "I don't know. But I think we just got their answer."
The Silent Watchers had made their move.
Now, the war for New Titan had changed.
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