Fiction:Neraida War

"Assimilation is now irrelevant. Prepare for annihilation. Your cities will burn. Your planets will be sundered. Your civilisation will be terminated. We are the Neraida. We are coming."

- Aedanius, Highdrone of the Gigamatrix

The Neraida War was a large scale conflict fought in the between a Republic-led coalition against the invading hordes of the. An attempt by the Neraida to wipe out the threat posed by the New Republic, the conflict began when the cybernetic juggernaut launched surprise attacks on five Republic outer colonies simultaneously, annihilating them completely. Under the decisive leadership of President, the Republic would rally against the cybernetic invaders in an attempt to destroy their menace once and for all.

Opening Stages
The conflict began without warning. In the second month of 09 NE, a vast Neraida fleet appeared in the skies above the prosperous Republic world of Ithirebor, completely eradicating the planet's population of three billion. The Mou'Lhhei Star, a Aether-class corvette under the command of Commander Towoyn, was the sole vessel which returned to Republic space with the dire news of the planets destruction. The New Republic Senate was convened on the same day, with Senator Asharia Iessari lamenting the destruction of her world in a passionate speech, in which she called for the evacuation of worlds located close to Ithirebor in the event that the Neraida strike again. Just as Senator of  was about to respond, an ominous message from the Neradia appeared on every screen in Republic space. It was a cybernetic replica of Apollo: Aedanius, Primary Highdrone of Core Matrix Twelve.
 * Destruction of Ithirebor

''Assimilation is now irrelevant. Prepare for annihilation. Your cities will burn. Your planets will be sundered. Your civilisation will be terminated. We are the Neraida. We are coming.''

Thousands of light years away, the Triumvirate of One, the three Neraida overseeing their vast domain calculated their next move. When consensus was reached, the Neraida fleet had rallied. Under the leadership of the drone Aedanius and the Supercube, the Republic would fall. President quickly made an emergency address to the people of the Republic, promising that the Neraida would not succeed in their genocidal campaign. Rallying the Republic fleet, the President would claim that the Republic would not only endure the Neraida, but destroy them once and for all.

Despite Valkistair's declaration, the Republic would be wholly unprepared for what was to come. Five weeks after the destruction of Ithirebor, Republic Command lost contact with five Republic worlds in the Subrian Sector close to the Republic's core territories. The CRS Presidio under the command of Captain Dalkail was sent to investigate. To her horror, a vast Neraida Cube, the size of an average moon, was hovering over the shattered remains of the colony Barocamar, once a vibrant world but now the tomb of four billion. The Presidio managed to escape back to Republic space, bringing with it crucial information about what was dubbed the "Supercube". The Republic Military was at a loss to explain how the Neraida could attack secure worlds such as Barcocamar without leaving a trace as to the origin point of the attack.
 * The Day the Five Worlds Fell

Over the next five weeks, the Neraida would launch simultaneous attacks against multiple Republic colonies including Cernunnos, Xellunactos and Mou'Llhei. The timely intervention of the Republic's flagship, the , under Fleet Admiral managed to repel the attack on Cernunnos, saving an estimated ten thousand citizens out of the colony's original population of five hundred million. Over Xellunactos, the Liberator-class Star Dreadnought Crucible sacrificed itself to save the Cognatus Order colony from a besieging Neraida dreadnought, while Mou'Llhei was saved only barely by the quick thinking strategies of Fleet Admiral and the Star of Cyrannus.

While tracking the cube which attacked Cernunnos, Captain of the Aeolus discovered that it had utilised a hidden wormhole located deep within the uncharted Concordian Nebula located close to. Though Roslia attempted to enter the Nebula, he was overruled by his superiors and told to report to Coruanthor for futher instructions. On, Valkistair attempted to improve the morale of the Republic's citizenry, announcing that Proconsul had organised a summit of nearby allied powers which could rally to aid the Republic in their hour of need.

A week later, President Valkistair had gathered political leaders from civilisations such as the, the , the and to the surprise of all, the  and the. Though Valkistair was apprehensive to accept the aid of these former enemies of the Republic, the Proconsul convinced him that in the face of a mutual threat, even the once fiercest of enemies can come together. In the opulent halls of the Coruanthorian Capitol Building, the delegates from across known space gathered to discuss the existential threat of the Neraida. Though some questioned the lack of Imperial involvement, most attributed their absence from the gathering as a sign of President Valkistair's staunchly anti-Imperial mindset. The truth would be quite different.
 * Forging a Coalition

On, the Imperial Senate met to discuss the Neraida attacks against the Republic. Senator of Ancaoilion proposed that the Empire send a flotilla of Star Destroyers to help the Republic against their mutual foe. In his speech, Guolivian spoke of his belief that the Republic and the Empire should coexist and indeed work together to ensure future prosperity for the galaxy. Though his speech was well received in the Senate, it would be overuled by Grand Mandator, who privately confided in one of his aides that "the Republic will be destroyed, the Neraida damaged. When the dust settles, we will take full advantage."

By the end of the gathering on Coruanthor, the allied leaders of the Republic promised a vast contribution to the war effort against the Neraida. It was decided that the allied fleet would blockade the Concordian Nebula's wormhole.

The Invasion Begins
A week later, a vast fleet of ships gathered around one of the wormholes within the Concordian Nebula. Coordinated by Captain, the fleet included ships from the New Republic, Rambo Nation, the Order of the Cognatus, the Jenassian Regency, the Regellis Star Empire and the Indoctrinate Collective. As they awaited word from the Aeolus to enter the portal, a sinister voice suddenly echoed throughout the fleet.
 * Massacre at the Nebula

"Your cities will burn. Your planets will be sundered. Your civilisation will be terminated. We are the Neraida. We are here."

A vast Neraida fleet had emerged from the wormhole. The Undaunted, an Ares-class assualt frigate was the first to be destroyed, vaporised by a single shot from an advancing Neraida Cube. Responding quickly, Captain Roslia attempted to rally the fleet, though the order came too late to prevent the destruction of the Procurator-class Tyrena under the command of Captain Percles and the Legacy-class Bellerophon, which were both torn assunder by the cyborgs.

With a blast from a Neraida Dreadnought under the command of Aedanius himself, the Republic dreadnought Falcariae was disabled, prompting the CRS Celestes and the Cognatus battlecruiser Declaration of Triumph to rush to defend the flailing dreadnought. On the bridge of the Neraida flagship, Aedanius directed the Neraida fleet emotionlessly. His cybernetic eyes darted to the Celestes and the Declaration and with an telepathic command, ordered their destruction. The shiplord of the Declaration quickly pitched his migthy galleon to bare the brunt of the attack, saving Captain Achille and the Celestes at the cost of his own ship.

After Captain Roslia's last-ditch attempt to turn the tide of the battle, within minutes of the conflict's start, it was clear that the Allied fleet faced total defeat. Slamming his fist on his command chair, Roslia ordered the fleet to retreat. One by one, the surviving vessels retreated from the nebula–now the cold grave of over fifty thousand. Retreating back to the nearest Republic base, the allied fleet had lost over sixty percent of its fighting force to the Neraida, while many of the surviving vessels required extensive repairs.

On, President Valkistair stood motionless watching battle reports streaming into his office. The Invasion had begun.

Venetia had not yet fully recovered from the Bisistar invasion it had suffered just five years prior. And now, perhaps as a sick irony, the nemesis of the Bisistar were now descending into the atmosphere of the planet. Venetia was the first victim of the Neraida invasion, the dreaded machines ambushing the planetary defenses and showing no mercy as they battled the fleet put there to defend the new home of the. This time, it was clear the Neraida were attempting to approach the surface rather than simply destroying it from orbit, and the veterans of the Great War grew worried as they were reminded of these patterns.
 * Battle of

It was all made clear when the Neraida Cubes begun deploying armored hives, launching them down at populated areas. These hives rooted themselves into the earth, opening themselves to reveal armies of robotic servants which immediately charged the population. Among them were the Conqrix, not seen under the Neraida since the end of the Great War, accompanied by the likes of and. The hive launched at the capital of Venetius City opened itself to reveal a tall whose body had been replaced by grotesque machinery from the waist down. .

"Your sin is not being Neraida. Your civilization will crumble. We do not forget." The Republic Army deployed its heaviest gear to combat the horde of cybernetic terrors, flying vehicles being instructed to bombard the Conqrix hives in order to cease them from cloning further troops. The Republic had faced the Neraida on land before and knew leaving these machines standing would result in them being eventually overwhelmed. This came at the cost of the forced destruction of countless civilian homes, who were too close to the hives to not be caught in the fire's blast radius. Meanwhile, in orbit, the planetary defenses struggle to keep up with the invading Neraida until, like a miracle, reinforcements finally arrived and flanked the invaders, catching them by surprise. Even them, the Neraida were quick to retaliate, and continued to rip through the Republic fleets even when in a disadvantageous position.

Deinos-class Armored Transports marched into Venetius City alongside the armies of the Republic, the capital of Venetia turned into a detonating battlefield as they did their best to destroy the hive while Sakhmet and his forces cut through the capital's defenses, hoping to find whoever was identified as the planet's leader and dispose of them appropriately. Meanwhile, the soldiers of the army also noted how still-living inhabitants were being taken into the Conqrix hives, making it clear that the Neraida intended to not put all of the living beings in the planet to waste. The orders they received sent chills down the spines of lesser recruits: "Do not hesitate. They are being assimilated. Death will be mercy to them."

The battle lasted for around an hour until the Neraida fleet finally begun gaving in to the Republic's firepower, Cubes being shot down and coming to crash at Venetia's oceans, giving some captains a grim reminder of the Battle of Carindes. As the Conqrix hive was finally destroyed, artillery fire was shot at Sakhmet's direction, obliterating the Corthrinus and his drones before they could get to the government palace. This, of course, proved inconsequential as Sakhmet was recreated near instantly once again at Aedanius's Cube, merely leaving to prepare himself for the next attack.

At the end of the battle, Senator Milinitt of the Ermitant left the government palace to find a dead Dronox Commander's body blocking the doors. Looking beyond showed the battered capital was little more than ruins and piles of bodies of both soldiers and drones.

Though the Battle of Venetia was won, it was a pyrric victory. Many thousands of Republic lives were lost to defend the peaceful world from the nefarious Neraida advance. Nevertheless, victory ultimately came, and with it, a sigh of relief echoed throughout allied space. The Neraida could be defeated. Orbiting over the Republic world Angrenos, the Aeolus was gradually being surrounded by a vast fleet of allied vessels, including the Liberty, flagship of and the , command ship of the Primarch of the,. In the primary conference room on the Aeolus, Captain Roslia sat with his hands templed at the head of the table, awaiting the arrival of his fellow commanders. Commander Sevine, the executive officer of the Aeolus was the first to enter the room.
 * Meeting on the Aeolus

"Captain, may I present Primarch Voro Acetenus and Shiplord X'elorn Tolahven of the Order of the Cognatus, Commandant Gavakar of the Indoctrinate Collective, Captain of Rambo Nation, Admiral Juliana Reynolds of the Allied Terran Republic and finally, our own Fleet Admiral  and Captain Achille."

Helo stood to his feet as the commanders entered the room, saluting, shaking hands and bowing where appropriate. "It is a pleasure to see you all. Welcome to the Aeolus."

Voro placed his hand to his chest and bowed his head. "Good tidings, friend. I have just received word of your victory over Venetia. My congratulations. May it portend further victories to come." Commandant Gavakar nodded her head in acnowledgement as she shook the Libertus's hand as well. "And here we are, once again, fighting against a common threat. This galaxy, huh."

Admiral Kuestantine nodded. "Well most of us anyway. I wonder why the Neraida haven't attacked the Empire."

"I got the feeling they want you dead in specific." Gavakar replied with her arms crossed.

As the delegates sat around the table, Shiplord Tolahven slammed down his fist. "Disloyal currs!"

"In any event, we need to capitalise on our victory on Venetia. A victory to rally our people that the Neraida can be defeated." Helo said, raising a hand to calm the Cogsangui.

Gavakar continued with her arms crossed. Her voice was rather pessimistic. "Honestly, Venetia was a massacre. The victory there was a miracle."

Garan Andarch scratched his chin, deep in thought. "Perhaps we should employ guerilla tactics?"

"That would be a logical course of action." The entire room turned to face the new arrival. He was a Libertus to be sure, but was covered in cybernetic implants. "My name is Selanius. I am a former Caprigrox drone currently serving on the flagship of the Republic. My insight will prove invaluable."

"I didn't know drones could be, well, saved." Gavakar spoke with some surprise, being unaware of a being like Selanius being possible to exist.

Some at the table regarded Selanius with apprehension, though the former drone ignored them. "Fleet Admiral Cretacea wishes to inform you that a Neraida fleet approaches Angrenos. Naturally, I have formulated a defense strategy." Selanius interacted with a holographic display which emerged from his wrist. "I am sending your vessels schematics for matter turbocannons. Fire these concentrated streams of quark-gluon plasma at the Neraida and it should allow for a more efficient evacuation."

The entire table murmured. "I advise you all to return to your ships and prepare. We make our stand here!"


 * Destruction at Narsul

The Republic was the sole target of the Neraida onslaught, and many wondered why they had not attacked the Empire. It was unlike the Neraida to go for such a direction, but these were facts that could not be ignored. At least, that was the case until a swarm of Neraida Cubes and Dreadnoughts descended upon Narsul, the Cyrannian capital of the Indoctrinate Collective, ripping through its planetary defenses with little impunity. The Gigamatrix was more advanced than the Collective in military terms, who struggled to defend themselves against the sudden appearance of the mechanical horde. There was no indication the Neraida planned to attack the planet, or the Collective at all, which took the defenses by surprise as they suddenly emerged over the atmosphere of the planet.

What followed was a massacre as Conqrix Hives were bombarded into the surface in high numbers. It was clear the Neraida intended to assimilate the planet rather than destroy it like they were doing with the Republic, and the Draka Fang quickly saw itself overwhelmed by swarms of Conqrix, Marinox and Caprigrox who showed no mercy to their enemies. Neither Aedanius nor Sakhmet led this invasion, as this was merely a branch of their fleet - an afterthought - led by many Dronox Commanders, who were already some of the most powerful warriors the First Gigaquadrant had ever witnessed. As the Hives root themselves to the capital of Narsul, the Commanders, typically silent, let out electronic hisses at the Collective soldiers around them.

"Do not interfere."

Now it was clear: the Neraida wanted the Collective out of their way in their march against the Republic. And to do so, they would consume it. The Collective stood no chance as Narsul was quickly destroyed, the population which did not manage to evacuate being kidnapped and processed at the Conqrix Hives to be assimilated. And once they were done, the Neraida abandoned the planet as quickly as they arrived, leaving no survivors on their wake. Reinforcements from the Borealis Galaxy were immediately called as the empire lost their galactic capital in a matter of hours.

Coru Secundus Campaign
On the bridge of the flagship Republica, Admiral —sentinel of the Republic—sat with his hands templed on his command chair. Around him, his various crewmembers worked overtime to organise the massing fleet positioned over the critical Republic shipyards over Angrenos. His executive officer, Commander Reemuckeeus, ensured that they remained within protocol as calls rose from various divisions announcing their battle readiness. Soon enough, he received reports confirming the arrival of the other captains of the fleet, including Admiral Kuestantine, Commandant Gavakar, Shiplord X'elorn Tolahven and Captain Helo Roslia. When the last ship had arrived, Commander Selanius approached the Admiral's command chair.
 * Defense of Angrenos

"All vessels are accounted for, and fitted with the weapon, Admiral. We await the arrival of the Neraida."

Admiral Cretacea nodded his head solemnly. "So be it."

Pushing some buttons on the arm of his chair, Cretacea addressed the fleet.

"We must make our stand here, my friends. You all know the power and ferocity of our foe, but know this: We will never relent! The enemy will give no quarter, expect none. And give none. Prepare for battle and one day, this galaxy will be free from the scourge of these mechanical monstrocities. All ships, combat alert!"

One by one, thousands of Neraida vessels materialised in orbit over Angrenos. They were soon joined by the largest Neraida vessel ever constructed, the vast Neraida Supercube, commanded by Aedanius himself. The drone scrutinised the assembled allied fleet hovering above the blue-green marble, a flash of uncertainty appearing in his cybernetic optical implant. "Unexpected enemy resistance detected in sector 149000. All units, converge. Suppress enemy units." Beams of brilliant green light lanced across the black void toward their targets. The allies were prepared, with the beams impacting relatively harmlessly against the larger vessels' shields. On the bridge of the , Shiplord Tolahven stood with his hands behind his back, overlooking the vast field of battle. Sitting in the command chair in front of him was Primarch himself, who longed to experience what he considered to be the last battle of the Neraida. "If fortune favours us", he thought to himself.

"Unleash the wrath of our cannons, shiplord! Let these abominations taste plasma!"

The Cognatus vessels of the fleet opened fire before the others, firing their upgraded weapon systems with all the ferocity one would expect. Smirking on the bridge of the Republica, Admiral Cretacea gave the order to join the Cognatus' warships. Soon the entire allied fleet was unleashing Commander Selanius' upgraded weapon systems on their cybernetic foes. As the lances pierced across space, the commanders of the fleet waited with baited breath for the result. The Cognatus energy bolts were the first to impact against the closest Neraida cubes.

The shields of the cubes flashed green, though no damage was done. Crestfallen, Admiral Cretacea turned to Commander Selanius, a grave expression on his face. Selanius never once removed his gaze from the viewscreen. "Patience is a virtue, Admiral."

The second wave of energy impacted against the Neraida shields. They flashed green momentarily. Cretacea sighed deeply and resigned himself to retreat. This tactic clearly wasn't worki-

Suddenly, the shields of the Neraida vessels ignited violently—sparking hundreds of what seemed to be microsupernovas. Ripping apart the hulls of over two hundred Neraida cubes, the central mass of the largest explosion suddenly began dragging nearby vessels into a sprawling mass of energy and debris. Even some undamaged vessels were torn off their course and into the hellish maw and once it had gained sufficient mass—it unleashed a vast wave of energy which incinerated a sizable portion of the surviving Neraida fleet. On the bridge of the Republica, cheers rang out, though Selanius remained stoic. "Satisfactory."

He gazed at the undamaged Supercube. "Still not sufficient."

Within the Supercube, Aedanius stood expressionless as he watched his ruined fleet collapse into nothingness. Suddenly, the Supercube and the surviving cubes vanished into nothingness. Aedanius had one last gambit up his sleeve.

Trivia

 * Primarily written by and.