Fiction:Neraida War/Fall of Aevarin Prime

Located on the borders of Neraida space, the Aevarin Imperium made first contact with the Terran dreadnought Everest during a patrol operation several parsecs away from the Nebula. The reptilian Aevarin people were protected from Neraida fleets by an unusually high concentration of hypermatter fog surrounding much of their star system, preventing the cyborgs from invading Aevarin Prime in the past. Nevertheless, according to the Aevarin Grand Exarch, their fleets often came into conflict with Neraida vessel outside their home system, eventually developing an unusually high level of resistive technologies capable of successfully defending their ships against Neraida technology. As such, when the Everest returned to the Allied base in the Nebula, Fleet Admiral Cretacea was keen to ally with the powerful alien civilisation, in the hopes of utilising their technology in the fight to come. Travelling to Aevarin Prime via the Star Destroyer Aeolus, Fleet Admiral Cretacea was horrified to see that much of the planet had been assimilated, likely in a Neraida sneak attack which somehow managed to breach the fog which had for so long defended their system against such an attack. Just as the Aeolus was about to retreat, it was joined by two Aevarin cruisers, which had cloaked to defend themselves against the Neraida invasion. According to the Aevarin commander, the Neraida were desperate to attack Aevarin Prime when they learned that their researchers had developed a virus capable of infecting the entire Neraida Gigamatrix. Unwilling to let such a virus disappear from their reach, Admiral Cretacea dispatched a team of Republic marines led by Commander to the research base on the southern coast of one of Aevarin Prime's southern continent. By the time Selanius exited the shuttle, much of the landscape had been overrun by Neraida assimilation technology. It appeared that the very air itself had been infected by Neraida nanoprobes, killing local wildlife of an insufficient cognitive capability to sustain a drone while turning the few remaining Aevarin into mindless servants of the Neraida's will. While Selanius had developed an immunity to the nanoprobes due to his history as a, he promptly ordered the marines to don their protective suits. As the group progressed toward the research base, Selanius became convinced that the researchers had been killed, or worse, by the Neraida, who had begun to land legions of Dronox and Caprigrox to quell what little resistance the Aevarin could offer.

Nevertheless, to his relief, Selanius discovered that three of the researchers had survived by erecting a defensive shield around the central complex. The lead researcher, a young woman called Elayna, quickly rushed to a nearby computer console, where she downloaded the data about the virus and handed it to Selanius. The Republic commander attempted to contact the drop ship for extraction, though was met only with static from his communication device. Suddenly, the group were thrown from their feet by the force of an intense explosion, followed by the sound of a large "thud". Clearly, something big had just landed outside the facility. Exiting the facility, the sky was filled with green-yellow lances of energy, which impacted against the Neraida assimilation structures spewing nanoprobes in the atmosphere. The marines in Selanius' team first thought that the allies had launched a counter-offensive, though Selanius knew better. The had entered the conflict. Massive tripod walkers had touched down all around them, attacking the Neraida and the remaining Aevarin alike. In the midst of the chaos, a squad of Conqrix troopers led by a towering Caprigrox ambushed the team, who was forced to take cover to evade their fire. The marines fired back, taking out some of the Dronox drones though they were quickly replaced as reinforcements arrived, called by the Caprigrox through electronic snarls which only Selanius could truly understand.

Before they were overwhelmed, however, the marines were surprised by the arrival of a massive Bisistar, which appeared to have weapons grafted into its skin. , the new Tabornok of the Domain, opened fire, seemingly ignoring the marines as he took out the Dronox and the Caprigrox before they could regroup again. Taking their chance to escape, the group just made to the shuttle in time to witness the Bisistar forces ascend into the skies. By the time the shuttle reached space, the Aeolus was preparing to retreat into hyperspace, joined by the surviving vessels of the Aevarin fleet. The world below had fallen to the Neraida. Just as the Aeolus was preparing to flee into hyperspace, a flotilla of Bisistar fired up their primary weapons and directed them on the planet's surface. In horror, the crew of the Aeolus watched as the planetary crust began to collapse, before the core ignited, destroying the planet and the Neraida fleet.

While the allies had successfully retrieved the virus, the loss of the vast majority of the Aevarin race, not to mention the entry of the Bisistar into the conflict overshadowed the mission's success, regardless of its significance in the future of the conflict.

Trivia

 * Originally written as a section of the Neraida War mainpage.