 Result: Crushing Defeat for Defileron | |
| Dates: November 28-December 24, 2376 | Location: Defileron |
| Nations/Groups Involved:
Imperial Reydovan Empire |
Empire of Defileron Gorak'nar Rebels |
| Commanders:
Emperor Kieran Devaneaux (RE, Supreme Commander) |
Emperor Demon-Kieran Devaneaux (DF, Supreme Commander) Executor Dawson Crenshaw (DF) High Inquisitor Jaeden'laek XVI (GR) |
| Space Forces:
Fleet of the White Emperor: 15,000 capital ships, 150,000 squadrons (1,800,000 ships) of fighters |
Grand Fleet of the Demon: Mobile Omega battlestation Hand of Joshmaul, 16,000 capital ships, 200,000 squadrons (2,400,000 ships) of fighters |
| Ground Forces:
2,500 Imperial Protectors, one million Imperial Marines, 10,000 ground vehicles (RE) |
Two million Demon Guards, four million Defileron militia |
| Losses:
6,000 ships, 8,000 squadrons, 650,000 men, 3,000 ground vehicles (RE) |
Emperor Demon-Kieran, mobile Omega battlestation Hand of Joshmaul, 12,000 ships, 150,000 squadrons, three and a half million men |
The Battle of Defileron was the second and final battle of the Defileron War. Pitting Emperor Kieran Devaneaux against his maniacal clone nemesis, the evil Demon-Kieran, the Battle of Defileron became a siege, similar to the siege of Earth months earlier. Ending with the death of Demon-Kieran, the destruction of the last Omega particle contained by the Reydovan Empire and the consumption of Defileron itself in the fires of volcanic eruptions, the Battle of Defileron was a turning point in the galactic playing field - cementing Kieran's position, and that of the Empire as a whole.
Preparations[]
Following Demon-Kieran's humiliating defeat at Earth in August 2376, Imperial and Federation strategists knew that the Demon had only committed a very tiny fraction of his forces in the battle for Earth, thinking the Federation so weakened that its capitulation was only a matter of time.
The UFP/Gorak'nar/Reydovan Alliance[]
The Starfleet Marine Corps' ranking strategist, Major General Jonathan Ross, had implanted a tracer on the commander of Defileron's military, Dawson Crenshaw, to allow the Federation to locate the elusive world. But the Emperor realized that the forces available were inadequate. Joined with Federation President Talus of Vulcan and High Inquisitor Velenkayn VI of the Gorak'nar Commonwealth, Kieran found a new sense of purpose, and the three leaders rallied what military forces they could muster to converge on Defileron itself.
Over the next three months, the Imperial and Federation forces - weakened by long years of war with the Dominion and with the Separatist Confederacy - managed to find ten thousand ships and sent them across the galaxy to meet Velenkayn at Gorak'nar, where the High Inquisitor had rallied five thousand more capital ships. After giving every commander in the fleet - which became known as the Fleet of the White Emperor - a description of their objective and wishing them "all the best", the Emperor gave the order to proceed.
Defileron[]
After his splinter force was destroyed, Demon-Kieran knew that they had found Defileron - and that upon gathering their forces, would attack him next. With sixteen thousand ships - about one thousand less than the forces arrayed against him - and the powerful Hand of Joshmaul in his possession, Demon-Kieran was confident of his chances against his enemies. However, the Demon knew that his "brother", the Emperor, would be leading the fleet, and would undoubtedly have the commanders that opposed him on Earth return for the killing blow.
Battle is Joined[]
On November 27, 2376, the commanders of the combined fleet met onboard the Absolution for the tactical briefing of the senior commanders. After it was concluded, the Fleet of the White Emperor left Gorak'nar and made its way across the treacherous Imperial Fringes to Defileron itself. Arriving a day and a half later, the fleet found itself on nearly equal footing with their foes - though Demon-Kieran had fewer capital ships, the Hand of Joshmaul loomed heavily over them. Commanding the situation from the station's control center, Demon-Kieran informed them that he would swat them from space like insects, and he would destroy Defileron itself if any attempt were made to rescue Empress Celest, who had been captured by Crenshaw before the invasion of Earth. Knowing that it would require a great power to eliminate the Omega weapon, Kieran ordered the fleet to deploy, but to remain out of the firing arc of his flagship, the Absolution. The space battle lasted for almost a week, but by its end, the Imperials could land on the surface...
The Necrowave is Unleashed[]
The Absolution was equipped with a weapon known as the Necrowave cannon, which mysteriously caused the targeted system to simply disappear - causing massive failures that would cripple or destroy the enemy. Knowing that the Empire only had one shot at destroying the weapon, the Emperor ordered the ship into position...and the weapon to be charged.
Onboard the Hand of Joshmaul, Demon-Kieran saw the power buildup on the Absolution. Assuming it was some kind of phaser cannon, the Demon thought nothing of it - the station had thick protective armor, nearly impenetrable by any kind of energy or projectile weapons. The barrels of both weapons - the Omega-charged particle cannon and the Necrowave - pointed right down at each other, but the Necrowave had a shorter charging time than the Hand of Joshmaul...which gave the Emperor the advantage he needed. With the cannon at full charge, Kieran gave the order to fire.
The induction coils inside the Absolution's split bow pulsed with energy, as the cannon between the split hulls prepared to deliver its blast. Unleashing an energy not seen since Omega was harnessed into the weapon it was preparing to destroy, the Absolution fired the cannon down the barrel of the Hand of Joshmaul, directly into the Omega reactor itself. The incredible energy pulsing down the barrel caused the station's induction coils to overload, and the beam itself struck the Omega particle reactor...causing it to shimmer, then blink out of existence entirely.
Demon-Kieran was astounded. With klaxons ringing all over the station and the power coils overloading, he knew that the weapon was lost. Snarling, he made a site-to-site transport with what little power remained, and beamed into the hangar. His personal transport, the Demon's Will, waited for him on the pad. Not waiting for the doors to open, the Demon armed the forward disruptor array and blew the doors open from inside, where the plating was weak enough to be blasted apart. Running back to the surface, Demon-Kieran prepared for the eventual ground attack.
The Siege of Artimopolis[]
With the space forces of Defileron defeated, Emperor Kieran - joined by Chancellor Underwood, High Inquisitor Velenkayn and General Neill - landed on the ash-plain surface of Defileron itself, in a region called the Steppes of Abaddon. Their target, the mountain fortress-city of Artimopolis, loomed over the plains like a forboding giant.
Underwood, Neill and Velenkayn agreed that the best way to break into Demon-Kieran's inner defenses was by attrition - besieging Artimopolis and forcing its perimeter guard to capitulate before moving in on the fortress itself.
Under Construction