[h3]The Theocracy of Aorolach[/h3]_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[i][b]Patrol near Camp Frostbite[/b][/i]
[i]Arctic Northlands, Malthecien-Ashtarian border[/i]
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[b]The pilot cursed[/b] as he received reads of the still-functioning Ashtarian gunship. The missiles on his tail had yet to reach his speeds, but while they still could undoubtedly accelerate, he had reached the maximum speed of his fighter. The pilot calculated that he had time for one last pass before he had to break engagement - the Ashtar likely had reinforcements coming, and he had to get away from the thrice-damned missiles. He pulled on his stick, his aircraft completing a sharp upside-down turn and heading back towards the gunship. He unloaded with everything he had, prayed to Malthecior that it had worked, and headed back towards base to the safety of static anti-air emplacements.

---

Elthian gasped, ripping the helmet off his head. He tossed it aside - it was useless with the fist-sized blast marks on the visor. A wave of nausea and dizziness assaulted his senses, and he stumbled, clutching his head. A concussion at the very least. Elthian could already feel his power armor's recovery system supporting and bracing his body. He winced at his sore chest. Definitely a fractured rib or two. Blearily, he looked around. 

Utter devastation. Nothing remained of the snowy bluff he had taken cover behind just moments before. Enormous craters were all that was left. He saw no signs of his squad. Elthian coughed up a wad of mucusy-blood. He had lost his rifle somewhere, so he drew his sidearm and checked the charge. Half a battery - it would do. He scanned the area for any signs of life. Elthian recalled that his power armor came with emergency comms systems, and he hurriedly activated them. A green blip appeared on his wrist, and urgently he followed it. After a few minutes of searching and stumbling, he nearly tripped over the body of Invoker Theuron. A massive blast mark covered half his chest, and he was missing his left arm; the wound was cauterized already. But the indicator on his arm told Elthian that his commanding officer was still alive, if barely. Grunting, he lifted the Invoker onto his back, and reactivated his comms.

"Central, this is Acolyte Elthian of Patrol Squad D4N02. We have heavy casualties and request immediate evac. I repeat, we request immediate evac."

"Understood Acolyte. We are dispatching a gunship from Camp Frostbite with escort to your position. ETA two minutes."

Elthian sagged in relief, his knees weak. He lay the Invoker next to him, and sat down heavily. He readied his pistol, though he doubted there was any hostile still alive, and if there was, it was not some infantry-man he could take down with a pistol. He settled in and waited for salvation.

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[i][b]Anurian System[/b][/i]
[i]Approaching orbit of Anuria[/i]
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[b]The fleet made good time[/b], approaching at a fraction of the speed of light. They stayed strictly in formation - Missionary-class as escorts to the Patriarch-class and Inquisitors as the front-liners. Reports of a battle reached them, but the Primate ordered to avoid conflict until after their forces touched down on the surface. The Patriarch-class ships carrying the invasion force entered orbit of Anuria, with the rest of the Malthecien fleet acting as an escort. 

Upon entering orbit, the Patriarchs released twelve Bishop-class Atmospheric Carriers. Each carried one-hundred Crusader fighters along with twenty Priest-gunships, along with a force of ten-thousand troopers including their armor complements. Six made their way to the arctic, while the other six moved towards the outskirts of Kol'kira to set up Forward Operations Headquarters. The Primate ordered one Patriarch-class vessel, the [i]Unflinching Zealot[/i], along with her escort of two Missionary-class vessels, to remain in orbit to act as tactical orbital support. 

The rest of the fleet turned as one to engage the enemy over the skies of Anuria. They would wait until the two enemy fleets had weakened each other, then would strike.