Andrew and Undine were woken up abruptly by the blaring of the alarms.
-Andrew, get to the command center now, it's beginning.
Runir's voice came from his comms bracelet.
-On my way.
He responded jumping from the bad and getting dressed.
Undine was not far behind.
Her body was sore after the passionate night, so she was unable to move as fast as he did.
-This is not what I expected to experience this morning.
She said, not happy that her rest and more importantly her time with her new partner was cut short by the invasion, which by the way was supposed to happen a day later.
-Me neither, but come to think about it, I should have known better.
This kind of thing always happens when I want to give awesome time off to everyone.
Andrew retorted as he was finishing putting his armor on.
-I think the creators must hate me for some reason.
The human shrugged.
-I'll see you in the command center.
Undine said, before leaving, to get to her room, since she came to Andrew's bedroom wearing only a bathrobe.
Andrew simply nodded, before grabbing her by her hand and planting a passionate kiss on her lips.
-You're not leaving without a kiss.
He grinned, letting her go, before he grabbed his helmet and left, leaving her stunned and blushing.
-What is the status?
Andrew asked the moment the doors to the command center hissed open.
-We have dozens of portals showing up all over the place, both here and in the Milky Way, additionally, the Kinokians, are back, they began arriving through the jump gate as soon as the first portals showed up and they don't look happy.
Lan reported.
-All our stations are fully stocked and on high alert, the same with the fleet, all fleet commanders are on board their ships, and Arien and Giarna are en route to link up with their fleets as we speak.
My fleet is also on high alert, and I'm going to join them soon.
Runir reported, right before she left to get to her ship, not forgetting to kiss Andrew on her way out.
-What's the status of our stealth ship?
Andrew asked after Runir left.
-It's in position and awaiting your order.
-Tell them to fire and run like hell.
Andrew ordered and a few seconds later the ship did as instructed.
The four missiles were launched simultaneously from a distance of 65,000 kilometers from the target which was a point-blank range in space terms.
The frigate didn't bother to stay and watch if the weapons hit the target or not.
Right after firing, it went full burn away from the enemy fleet which detected the launch and started to charge its FTLD, to jump away.
In the beginning, the enemy was shocked, suddenly detecting a cloaked ship right next to them and what's more the ship opened fire before trying to escape.
This gave the frigate a few precious seconds, it needed to gain the distance from Kinoan fleet which already had about three thousand ships in the system and more were incoming all the time.
However, since they didn't expect any attack they kept their shields down and their weapons powered down.
As a result, they were utterly unprepared to deal with the frigate that suddenly showed up or the missiles it fired.
In less than ten seconds from the moment of their launch, all four missiles hit their target, burying themselves in the Jump-gate, before exploding, ripping four massive holes in the device.
A moment later the portal connected to the gate started to flicker as the secondary explosions rocked the installation, and the uncontrolled energy busted out, ripping the gate to shreds.
However, what happened next was the exact scenario Vulcan had predicted.
The portal shrunk in the blink of an eye, cutting the destroyer that was emerging in half, and the debris from the gate that was hitting the fleet, slowed down, before stopping and returning to the gate, being sucked in by the singularity that was created when the gate was destroyed.
The Kinoan fleet was also being pulled in, but they managed to fire up their engines, fighting to break free from the singularity's gravitational pull, with mixed results.
Some smaller ships, that were a bit further away managed to escape, but the ones closer to the gate, were not as lucky, with some being crushed like tin cans, before being swallowed by the hungry vortex.
The stealth frigate was also caught in the gravitational pull, and could not jump away, to escape, but it had gained enough distance from the miniature black hole, that its engines managed to fight their way out.
The whole thing lasted about two minutes, during which everyone was doing their best to escape the system.
Unfortunately for the system master who was helping Kinoans, his station was way too close, and even his escape ship, a frigate with powerful engines couldn't escape the intense gravitational pull of the singularity that started ripping his station to bits.
Then as suddenly as it had begun the gravity that was pulling them in, disappeared.
It was at this moment that the captain of the stealth frigate ordered an emergency jump.
The ship, sped away, jumping into FTL as soon as it could, leaving the enemy fleet to face, the outcome of its attack.
Less than three seconds after the frigate escaped, the singularity exploded with a cataclysmic force, reaping the fleet, the remains of the station, and the whole system to shreds.
-Whoa.
Lanarine, suddenly shouted, seeing the explosion on the sensors.
-What's going on?
Andre asked.
-I'd say that the attack on the jump gate was more successful than we ever hoped it would be.
She replied, trying to get some readings, but an explosion of that magnitude blinded every sensor in the surrounding area.
Even her long-range sensors were blind, and could not see anything in the area.
However the blindness didn't last long, but when Lan saw the readings, she went pale.
-There is nothing, not a trace of the enemy fleet, station, or anything.
She reported, in a startled voice.
-You're telling me that we destroyed them all along with the gate?
Andrew asked.
-You can say that, but there is more.
She replied and with a few moves of her hands, the sensor readout was shown on the main screen.
-Lan, did you display the wrong place?
Nairin asked, unable to find the system they were supposed to see.
-No, it's the right place, but the system is no longer there.
She explained.
It took everyone a moment to process before they all went pale.
-Are you saying that we just erased a star system?
Aelita asked, still not believing what her eyes were seeing.
-Volcan what happened there and did our frigate survive?
Andrew asked, having as hard a time as everyone else believing what just happened.
-According to our data from right before the explosion, the singularity received a powerful surge of energy just as it was about to collapse, which triggered an explosion, many times more powerful than predicted, destroying the whole system.
The source of the power surge is unknown.
The Frigate did survive, it managed to enter FTL approximately three seconds before the explosion, giving it ample time to clear the area.
Just as the AI spoke, the icon of the stealth frigate reappeared on the sensors.
-We have communications from the frigate.
Sarill reported and put the captain on the speaker.
-Boss, mission accomplished, but that explosion fried my FTLD as well as over half of the other systems.
If possible, please send someone to pick us up.
The captain reported.
-I'm sending a tug to get you, so sit tight and if possible, use the stealth system to hide.
Andrew responded.
-The stealth system is offline at the moment but the repair droids are working on it.
The captain replied.
-Good work, the help is on its way.
Andrew said and the transmission ended.
Just as it did, a tug from the Sol system entered FTL as it was the closest one to the damaged ship.
It took a few minutes for everyone to come to terms, with what just happened, but once they did, they remembered that they were in the middle of an invasion.
-Lan, status of the portals?
Andrew asked, bringing her back to reality as she had the hardest time getting over the destruction of a whole star system.
-The number of new portals is increasing, however, for some reason, there seem to be no ships coming through them.
Andrew thought for a moment, and then an idea popped into his head.
-Lan, take the data from the first wave and display it over the map of currently opened portals.
He said.
The geologist didn't understand, what he was trying to do but she did as she was told, only for her eyes to go wide, once she saw what was displayed.
All the portals currently opened were precisely in the systems where the combat fleets tried to hold out.
-Sarill, is there any sort of communication coming from the portals?
-No, there is nothing, or at least nothing that we can pick up.
The girl reported.
-We have more portals, three in our territory.
Lan said a moment later, as the portals popped out in Rodil's, Drevon's, and Zira's systems.
This time however the enemy feet, immediately sent the ships through after the portals stabilized.
Unfortunately for the invaders, the three systems were fortresses, filled with all kinds of nasty surprises waiting for anyone dumb enough to challenge them.
Using their previous experience, the three system masters, opened fire the moment the first enemy vessels came through, ripping them apart before they even got the chance to activate their shields, and leaving debris fields, in the way of the following forces.
This was a great idea as each ship that emerged from the portal, hit the debris first before being destroyed, by the defense satellites or ships from the defense fleets, adding more and more scrap, to the barrier, making it harder for their allies to get through.
The invading fleets, unaware of the danger ahead, went through the portals like lambs to the slaughter and were destroyed by the dozens, without even a chance to retaliate.
Unfortunately, while this was happening, more and more systems came under attack, and not everyone used the tactic, despite Tanira's effort to share it with everyone.
Some station masters grew arrogant, after the first wave and were now engaging the invaders in an open battle, quickly realizing, their mistake as their fleets and defenses were slowly but surely annihilated, by the enemy's numerical advantage.
Andrew watched this, with disbelief, at first then with anger, as many systems fell in a matter of minutes, making way for the enemy fleets to capture a foothold and bring in more of their forces.
But soon, he had more pressing matters to attend to, as a portal opened in his system again, demanding his attention on the defense efforts.
At this time most of the territory's thirty stations were engaged in battle, all of them using the same strategy and succeeding at holding the enemy at bay.
-Andrew we are receiving a request for assistance, from system master Zenra, she is holding the enemy at bay, but she needs some help to resupply her fleet.
-Runir, can we spare some ships?
Andrew contacted the fleet commander immediately.
-No problem, I'm sending 50 ships with three destroyers and two cargo ships with defense satellites as well.
Runir answered.
She was ready for such a possibility so she designated three units of fifty ships, to serve as a quick reaction force, in case they needed to help someone in need.
-I have a fleet commander Sarud on the line asking to speak to you directly.
Sarill said a moment after sending a message that help was on the way to Zenra.
-Patch him through.
A moment later an alien looking like an oversized goblin on steroids, showed up on the main screen.
-Lord Andrew, My previous lord is dead, the station was destroyed a moment ago.
Half of my fleet was also destroyed and the rest switched to the tactic shared by your diplomat.
We are holding on and managed to bottle up the enemy for now, but that won't last long.
I request to join your territory with all of the forces under my command.
The fleet commander said, in a pleading voice.
-I accept your allegiance, my orders are to hold the portal for as long as possible, I'm sending help and supplies your way, if it becomes impossible to hold on, you are authorized to retreat.
Andrew ordered.
-Yes my lord.
The Alien said, with a deep bow, and the connection ended as he turned to his crew to give them orders.
-You don't have to say anything, the second unit is already moving out, they will be there in about half an hour.
Runir said over the comms as the second unit was going full burn before jumping into FTL.
-How are we holding out in our territory?
Andrew asked.
-All the stations and their defenses are holding the enemy at bay.
-Any losses on our side?
-We lost a few dozen satellites and some fighters, but that's it.
Most of them fell prey to the debris of the enemy ships, so we don't have any reason for concern for now.
-Good, keep it up.
Andrew said and focused back on the battle in his system or rather a slaughter since every ship that appeared was immediately scraped and the shipyard didn't even fire a shot off, since there was no need for it, with all the defenses, fighters, and ships guarding the system.