Chapter 181

The Ascendency forces were holding against the Kynthari forces who had outnumbered them 3 to 1. The ground Commander, Brigadier General Lars Madsen, rallied his troops as they held the perimeter of the shield, a wall of firepower forcing the Kynthari back.

From his vantage point overlooking the battle, Madsen issued orders and occasionally yelled words of inspiration at the soldiers defending against the Kynthari. "Hold your positions, soldiers!" he yelled. "We are Ascendency soldiers, the best the Ascendency has to offer. We hold our ground today and live to see tomorrow!"

As he spoke, dozens of soldiers and MCUs roared in response. The Kynthari were using directed energy weapons which are similar to the Ascendency's own energy weapons, only with some slight differences. The Ascendency utilizes energy weapons, ion weapons, and in some instances plasma weapons.

The Kynthari are utilizing directed energy weapons such as Lasers, microwave weapons, sonic weapons which utlize concentrated sound waves to damage or disorient targets.

Despite facing a new race using new types of weapons, Madsen was able to adapt to the enemies' advantages on the spot and counteract them tactically.

"Sir, I have the Titans ready for tasking from command," informed one of his subordinates.

"Good, have them split up and reinforce both the west and east. Also have air support focus fire on that enemy postion over there." ordered Madsen pointing to a position where the enemy was amassing.

"Understood, Sir," the soldier as he started issuing orders over his comm link.

On the Northern frontline, MCUs were facing the brunt of the attack as the Kynthari attempted to break through this position. However, this was the most reinforced position that the Ascendency had. Weapon emplacements, thousands of MCUs, airsupport, and a constant supply of reinforcements made sure that the North could hold against the onslaught of Kynthari forces.

Sitting within the command room of the flagship, Axel was monitoring the battle while giving out orders when he needed to. So far, they have managed to secure the airspace around the flagship.

Axel observed the tactical data flooding his screen. He leaned forward, his brow wrinkled in concentration as he watched the Kynthari forces push their assault from orbit and the ground. Despite the high-tech defenses and the tenacity of the Ascendency forces, the sheer numbers and aggressive tactics of the Kynthari were proving to be a formidable challenge.

The Kynthari's laser fire and microwave pulses caused the ground forces to take cover and shift positions constantly, but they couldn't hold forever. It was only a matter of time before their defenses would be tested to the breaking point.

"Status report, Captain Horne," Axel said, his voice filled with an edge of impatience. His attention was fixed on the feed of ground troop movements as the Kynthari pushed forward.

"Still holding, Sir," Captain Horne's voice came through the comms. "The north perimeter is stable, but we're seeing increased pressure on the eastern flank. Ground forces are starting to feel the strain, and the Kynthari are deploying more heavy weaponry. Titans are on route to reinforce, but it's going to take time."

Axel's eyes switched to the feed showing the Titans, the massive war mechs charging toward the frontline, their heavy weaponry thundering as they moved to bolster the defenses. The Titans were tough and heavily armored, made to fight exactly like their name implied, like Titans, on the battlefield.

"We need to speed up those reinforcements. Deploy more MCUs and Yanme'e drones to the eastern flank immediately," Axel commanded.

"Understood, sir. Deploying additional forces now," came the response.

Axel's hand hovered over his comm terminal, considering his next move. While it wasn't confirmed, it is obvious that the Kynthari tracked the MCU task force through slipspace and then sent a fleet to attack them. And if that's the case, then any attempts they make to flee would only put them in the same position again.

For now, Axel's plan was to try and defeat the Kynthari forces then flee to another system once all enemy forces in the system were defeated.

However, things were about to get a lot more complicated. "Sir," called out an officer as Axel turned to face him. "There's another unidentified ship that just entered the system and is attacking the Kynthari ships."

"Keep monitoring that ship and keep the planetary defenses firing on the Kynthari ships, we don't know if the occupants of the ship are friendly or not, so let's proceed with caution." Axel ordered. Whether the ship was here to help or not would only be proven in time.

And prove it was as a few minutes later, another report had come in, "Sir, that unidentified ship has destroyed the Kynthari ships and has now taken an orbital position above the planet."

"Pull up the visual" Axel commanded; his attention now focused on this unidentified ship. In front of him a live video feed of the unidentified ship popped up. The ship was sitting just outside of the planetary defenses weapon range as if they knew the range of the defenses.

"Try to contact them," Ordered Axel, "Let's see if they are friendly,"

The officer nodded and attempted to establish contact with the ship, "Unidentified ship, you are in an active warzone, please identify yourself now," said the officer as he repeated it a few more times. After 5 times, he stopped and simply turned towards Axel who was already looking his way.

"We don't know who these aliens are, but so far nothing in this galaxy has been going well, so let's move forward with the intention that they are hostile. If they enter our weapon range, I want every defense cannon to fire on them." ordered Axel. They didn't have the means to take the risk of trying to figure out whether or not these new aliens were hostile or friendly.

As he said this, a few smaller ships had detached from the main alien ship and started travelling towards the surface of the planet. Once it entered the range of the defenses, the defense cannons opened fire on the incoming enemy ships, but there were just too many to target at once.

Just from what they saw, it appeared to be transport ships, mixed in with fighters and other craft which they couldn't identify.

"Omni, prepare for another ground assault," Axel ordered, Omni got to work on preparing for more alien forces to attack them. "The Kynthari are cut off from reinforcements and these aliens aren't their friends either, so let's start mopping them up so we can prepare for whatever this is."

A wave of acknowledgement spread throughout the room as everybody prepared for another ground assault. Back on the battlefield, Madsen was pushing his men hard to eliminate the remaining enemy forces.

Then, craft from the unidentified ship started to touch down onto the planet's surface. Out of them emerged an alien species that none of them recognized.

Then that's when a fast-moving object had struck the shield surrounding the flagship which was protecting the Ascendency forces from getting hit by enemy air support. The shield collapsed almost instantly, and a large object had crashed right on top of Brigadier General Madsen's position, killing him and any surrounding soldiers instantly.

The shockwave from the impact of the massive object crashing through the Ascendency's shield sent ripples through the battlefield, shaking the ground beneath the soldiers' boots.

For a moment, the chaotic sounds of battle paused as the ground trembled. But only for a moment. As the dust began to settle, the sound of combat resumed, now tinged with a sense of confusion and panic.

"General Madsen!" a voice shouted through the chaos. A group of soldiers rushed to the site of the impact; their weapons raised as they scanned the debris field. But what they found only deepened the terror.

The massive object that had breached the shield and crashed into the heart of the defensive line was something beyond their comprehension, a dark angular vessel of some unknown design.

The wreckage was still smoking, and the eerie silence that had followed the explosion only underscored the gravity of the situation. Madsen and several other soldiers were gone, their bodies crushed under the debris or vaporized by the impact, leaving nothing behind but scattered bits of armor and shattered weapons.

As the soldiers approached cautiously, their motion sensors picked up something unnerving, a strange thermal signature that wasn't consistent with the normal patterns of energy they had come to expect from the Kynthari. They weren't alone.

"Move up, slowly. Weapons hot," a senior sergeant barked, his voice sharp with urgency.

But just as the soldiers advanced, one of them, Sergeant O'Connor, let out a gasp. His HUD blinked urgently indicating an alien signature was nearby.

A piercing, inhuman screech split the air. The ground around them erupted as shadowy figures, monstrous in size, leaped out of the dust and rubble.

They were not humanoid and looked similar to the Flood, with long limbs that stretched unnaturally, and faces that were barely recognizable as anything close to what they had seen before. The creatures' skin was slick and black, shimmering in the light as they charged with brutal speed, their sharp claws slashing through armor like paper and penetrating their shields like it wasn't even there.

Before O'Connor could react, a creature lunged at him, its clawed hand driving through his chest. His body jerked back, and the sergeant's screams echoed across the battlefield as his squad mates opened fire in a frantic attempt to save him.

"Take them down!" another soldier yelled, firing with pinpoint accuracy at the attackers, but the creatures were too fast, their bodies seemingly absorbing the damage from the Ascendency energy weapons. Their claws sliced through shields with ease, and their agility made it impossible to pin down.

In the chaos, more of the creatures emerged from the wreckage. As if summoned by the initial attack, they crawled out of the dust, appearing faster than any of the soldiers could keep up with.

"Shit! They're everywhere!" a soldier yelled over the comms; his voice cracked with fear.

Seeing this chaos happen within their backlines, Axel sent a squad of Spartans to deal with the matter who appeared instantly via the nearby portal. As soon as they emerged the Spartans wasted no time in engaging these strange alien creatures.