Battle of Sorvius One
Part 1
Rarrkar Lotraag deflected the half-hearted blow from the reeling, exhausted Dysori. It was the time to finish this, his troops and fellow Muero officers bearing witness to another glorious image of death. As the Dysori attempted to regain her balance, Lotraag moved behind her, and, in an instant, rammed three feet of steel through the Dysori's rib cage. His momentum lifted her off the ground, blood splattering all over nearby onlookers. She twisted, writhed, twitched, and was finally still.
With a twisted jerk, Lotraag yanked his blade free and held it aloft for the crowd. The Dysori's body slumped to the floor next to that of her companion, who had met a similar fate a few minutes before. The troops roared their approval.
Nearly ten feet tall, the Muero commander dwarfed the next largest Muero male. His scarred body serving as a living testament to his victories, Lotraag was the eldest son of the Motann-Raxx, leader of the Muero. While his own troops' loyalty was deep and unquestioning, most of Lotraag's peers regarded him with neutrality, or, in more extreme cases, smoldering hostility. With any luck, neither his peers nor his father would be an obstacle to Lotraag's ascent to ultimate power for very much longer.
Among the onlookers stood Primaag Trogaan, admiral of the Muero fleet charged with taking Sorvius One, and his second-in-command, Primaag Suutraal.
"Look how they worship him. His ambitions worry me, Suutraal, and I fear he will soon force my hand. I am not yet ready to confront him."
"He is certainly popular with his own troops, and his ruthless efficiency in combat is well known," Suutraal replied.
"Indeed. However, at the moment, I'm still Primaag of this fleet, and in two days, we will attack Sorvius One. With any luck, this will not only weaken the morale of the Dysori, as their 'resort' is torn to pieces, but it should also cripple them in a more direct manner when we destroy their base on the moon of Cruxtacia, preventing them from using it as a fleet rendezvous and sortie point. This victory should negate Lotraag's attempts to weaken my standing in the eyes of his father and of the council. It should also give me time to deal with him once and for all."
"What of your attempts to contact Lotraag's brother Taarkiis? There is no love lost between those two, and, if not for the Motann, I'm sure one would have murdered the other by now. If you can't do something 'permanent' about Lotraag, I'm sure to be high up on his list of those to deal with. Perhaps, even before you my friend."
Neither Primaag noticed the wary eye of Lotraag, looking straight at them from the center of the battle arena. To contain his amusement at their obvious topic of discussion, Lotraag beat his fists on his chest, roared louder - soon, Trogaan, soon.
"Dread Sovereign, the Dysori attack five days ago was but a feint to draw some of our forces away from the Sorvius One attack. I'm certain they have concentrated their defenses on Sorvius One."
"And how do you know this?" the Motann queried. "Do you consult the ancient methods still? Did you have a reader consult the bones? My spies tell me that our probes have detected numerous defensive positions in their home system. That would leave the Dysori unable to defend any other star systems adequately. The council and I have spoken and we go forward with our plan. Their paltry feint attempt was little more than a target practice exercise for our patrols. We have more than enough ships to defend our home space and enough in the attack fleet to destroy their so-called 'Pleasure World' and its moon."
"My spies tell me that the Dysori have used false sensor pings and other misdirection to hide the true location of their fleet-not their homeworld, but rather Sorvius One. If we divert the fleet to Arcadius Prime, we will crush them. The attack on Sorvius One could result in a disaster if my spies are correct."
"Enough already! I will send a personal scout to investigate your findings, but we will not change our plan. That is final!"
Primaag Taarkiis acknowledged the Motann's decision. It will be a disaster. My father is wrong. I must do what I can to help. Taarkiis retired to his chambers to form a plan. His chief military strategist, Feckiis, was already there.
"I need to know how many ships we can send from our fleet to support the Sorvius One attack, and I need to know within the next octchron," Taarkiss barked. "And I need to have a conversation with Trohh Grozz. Find him."
"Yes, sir."
Senator Hermia Prosidius paced the war room of her base on Cruxtacia, listening as her advisors went over the plan once again. The Muero were coming. Hermia would ensure that not only would Cruxtacia survive, but that no Muero would live to tell the tale.
The Dysori and Muero had been at war for almost sixteen years. The Senator wearied of the constant struggle. To many Dysori, the war was just a minor inconvenience to be dealt with by high ranking officials and the Dysori fleet. Queen Helena had proclaimed that Dysori civilians need not worry about the fight, but should merely go about their lives normally. This was not a policy to which Hermia subscribed, but it was not her place to gainsay the Queen. Soon the shock of the war would spare none of the Dysori, and a battle at Sorvius One would come as a rude awakening to most of the citizenry. Its discovery by the Muero was unfortunate.
"Mother, our defensive positions are in place. The sensor cloaks will continue to work as long as we don't move the fleets, but as soon as we do, our numbers will be revealed." Josidynn Prosidius strode into the chamber. She was Hermia's eldest daughter, and despite of her young age was one of the most brilliant military strategists the Dysori people had ever known.
Hermia feared the worst, however, not only for Josidynn but also for Karynn, her younger daughter. Karynn was also an accomplished military tactician, and she commanded the fleet defending Sorvius One. When they put their minds together, there was little the sisters could not accomplish. Unfortunately, working together was rarely a harmonius experience for the Prosidius sisters. While Karynn commanded the planetary fleet, Josidynn would be tasked with the defense of the fleet base on Cruxtacia, and Hermia herself would lead a direct attack on the Muero fleet.
"I feel that I should lead the attack fleet, Mother." Josidynn looked at her mother with determination that belied her age.
"No. I've already decided that I will lead the fleet. Josidynn, I need you here to protect this base and the lives of the troops here."
"As you wish. It's been reported that the Muero fleet should be here within the next half a day."
The senator quickly called for her servants and ordered preparations for departure and rendezvous with the hiding attack fleet.
Karynn Prosidius was analyzing the plan with several captains when her sister entered the fleet hanger area. She quickly excused herself and approached Josidynn.
"Any news, Sister?"
"None to concern yourself with."
"Don't trouble yourself, Mother's been able to handle the Muero up to now. I don't think we'll have any problems."
"The problem is that I should be leading the attack fleet, not her. Instead I may end up rotting here protecting the fleet base."
"It's vital that the base and its 10,000 ground forces be protected. They'll be needed for the counterstrike against the Muero home system."
Josidynn shrugged and walked away from her younger sister. If we sent all our fleet we could annihilate them with very little losses, then turn our attention to their home system. If only they would listen, I could end this war.
The Muero spy ship hung in low orbit around Sorvius One, invisible to tracking systems on the planet. Trohh Grozz thumbed the viewscreen to scroll the report from his agents on the Dysori moon. Soon. Soon he would be given the opportunity to single-handedly eliminate the Dysori threat. The Senator thought herself safe, but how wrong she was. Grozz's agent would strike soon. In the ensuing pandemonium, the Muero fleet would attack, and the defiant Dysori would be crushed once and for all. Primaag Taarkiss had issued the assassination order, but Grozz followed it only because it suited his own plans. Besides, Taarkiis would owe him big for this one.
Taarkiis again reviewed his calculations. He hoped the few ships he had been able to assemble into a secondary fleet would be enough. Our fleet is counting on you, Grozz. Now if only my father would listen.
"Primaag, the Motann would like you present in his council chambers."
"Did the Motann say why?"
"No. Just that he urgently wished to see you." The messenger was gone as quickly as he entered.
Trogaan looked over the first sensor readings of the Sorvius One system. His reports were correct. There was no fleet nearby, but Taarkiis' warning was still gnawing at the back of his mind. He never knew Taarkiis to make mistakes, especially a mistake this enormous. According to Trogaan, everything was on schedule. His fleet would be at Sorvius One within the hour. Victory would be succulent.
"Hail Suutraal's and Lotraag's ships and verify that their sensors are picking up no ships as well," he command his communications officer.
Seconds later, "Primaag, the other lead ships report no signs of the enemy."
"Fine. Move us to the target at our best speed. Hold the Juggernauts in reserve."
Trogaan pulled up his map once again. Where would I hide a fleet in this barren system.
Hermia saw the Muero fleet enter the system. "Let them move in, and then hit them with everything we've got at point blank range. They'll be caught by surprise."
Prefect Lusana Alsyriun stood at the senator's side, "This battle will end the war."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Hermia replied dryly.
In a far corner of the bridge, Communications Officer Nicola Arsemius stood, sweat beading on her brow. Her hands shook. In her mind, a voice repeated over and over, "She is a traitor and will betray us. You must save the Dysori by killing her." With no will of her own, Nicola unhinged the safety clasp on her blaster and slowly began walking towards the Senator. She wanted to scream, to yell, to have someone stop her, but she couldn't. Time slowed, almost to a crawl of nothingness.
The Senator, her back to Nicola, hadn't the slightest inkling of what was about to occur. Two bodyguards stood behind Hermia, relaxed, fearing for nothing on the bridge of the flagship. Nicola fought, but she had no control over her actions. As the Senator turned to see who approached, Nicola fired, hitting her squarely in the temple. The Senator's head exploded in a shower of blood and tissue, and she fell to the ground. The two bodyguards tried to tackle Nicola, but before they could, Nicola, hands still shaking, turned the blaster on herself and fired. Grozz's program was perfect, and she could, after all, do nothing but obey.
Then, all at once, everything seemed to be happening. Lusana Alsyriun knelt, clutching the lifeless body of her friend and commander. The bodyguards were dragging Nicola's body away. Bridge personnel stood in shock or ran frantically, ducking for cover, fearing more assassins in their midst. An alarm was howling somewhere on the bridge. The communications console-the Dysori fleet had been found. The Muero were coming.
Lusana ran to the console. The Muero were wheeling into battle formation.
"Tell the fleet to exit stealth formation and engage the Muero fleet. By all the heavens, we will make them regret the day they ever made enemies of us!"