After approximately an hour, they encountered each other in space, more than a million kilometers away from their home planet, Zora. Once again, a communication call came in from the Zorians, this time led by King Lumis, who appeared as a Commander adorned in an even more extravagant military attire than the previous Colonel.
General Duke accepted the call and was greeted with a stern message, "Members of the space fraternity, you still have a chance to confess and reveal the reasons behind your invasion of the land of the Luminary Collective. You are trespassing in enemy territory, and the only remnants left will be your ashes," declared the Zorian Commander.
Reacting strongly to the accusation, General Duke responded, "It seems like falsehoods are inherent in your species. You attempted to violate our world, conquer our homeland, and now you claim the moral high ground? Is this what you tell your subordinates who are about to fight us? And who is this Luminary Collective you speak of? We have never received any such orders, nor do we care about them. Our only concern is with you and your blatant violation of our territory."
Enraged by the defiance, the Zorian Commander retorted, "How dare you blaspheme the name of the Luminary Collective! You will pay for this with your lives. Soldiers, charge!"
Thus, the war between the Terrans and Zorians erupted, showcasing a dazzling display of power and advanced technology. The cosmic battleground above Zora was illuminated by the blazing lights of laser beams and energy projectiles. The Terran fleet executed coordinated attacks with precision, launching barrages of missiles and photon torpedoes towards the Zorian warships. In response, the Zorians retaliated with equal fervor, deploying agile fighter jets and unleashing their own barrage of energy-based weaponry.
The initial exchange of fire was futile as the shields promptly engaged, rendering the attacks ineffective.
Observing the unfolding events from the side, Sauvik, seated with Robin, Cathrin, and others, spoke up, "This Zorian Commander seems more concerned about the Luminary Collective than the Zorians themselves. There's definitely some political play at work here."
Perplexed, Ravi asked, "What do you mean?"
"He only mentioned the Luminary Collective in his threats, not his home planet. It suggests that he might be more aligned with them or possibly takes orders from them. The King might have sent him to battle us and take a backseat himself," Sauvik explained, offering his political insight.
Rita chimed in, "So you're saying he aims to divert our anger towards the Luminary Collective to escape the current predicament?"
"More or less, along those lines," Sauvik nodded.
Robin interjected, "While that might be true, I have a feeling there's more to this than we're speculating."
"Obviosuly; politics is always a dirty game," Sauvik acknowledged.
Meanwhile, General Duke commanded his forces with skill and strategic genius, directing the battlecruisers to employ hit-and-run tactics to avoid being overwhelmed by the enemy. Everywhere there was chaos and destruction. In one such corner of the battlefield, near a Battlecruiser a young pilot's voice came through with a mix of excitement and fear. "This is Alpha-2, I've got a lock on their main battleship! Firing missiles!"
"Hold your fire, Alpha-2! They're using decoys. Wait for my signal," came the calm response from a seasoned officer. And the Terrans were not the only one who were engaged in the battlefield, the few Guardians too were doing the same.
"Warlocks, channel your Light into the fleet's shields! We need to withstand their barrage!" A Guardian with a commanding presence called out to his fellow Warlocks.
"Hunters, engage in hit-and-run tactics, use your agility to keep them off balance!" Another Guardian advised, his voice calm and focused.
"Get rid of the decoys first." Said a Titan as he was following Alpha-2 and asked his comrades to help them. They needed to get rid of one of their battleship with the minimum effort possible.
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"This is Alpha-2, I've got a clear shot on their main battleship! Should I take it?"
"Negative, Alpha-2! Focus on their support ships first," a seasoned Titan responded, his voice steady and decisive.
As the Zorian armada launched a relentless assault, a Warlock projected a protective Ward of Dawn around on Alpha-2, offering him a momentary reprieve. "Step into the Ward, find cover and recover!". This Warlock was flying in his ow Valkyrie and offering assistance.
Such scenes were happening throughout the battlefield.
Throughout the battlefield, Guardians used their Light-based abilities to disrupt enemy advances and protect their allies. Arc lightning crackled, Solar explosions erupted, and Void energy shielded their fleet from harm.
This was a menacing battle which would go on for quite some time.
On some other end of the open battlefield of space, another scenario was presented.
The Zorian armada closed in, a Warlock with fiery Solar abilities took to the forefront. "Guardians, channel your Light! Ignite the skies with Solar flares and push back their advance!"
"Hunters, we need your precision shots. Target their weak points and disrupt their formations!" A Hunter leader called out, her voice a beacon of focus and agility.
The Titans, embodiments of raw strength and resilience, moved to protect the Terran battlecruisers. "Form a defensive perimeter around the flagship! We'll shield them from the brunt of the attack!"
It was becoming increasingly evident that the Guardians were proving to be a significant asset in the field with their Light-based abilities. The Zorians were left dumbfounded when they encountered the Guardians, as their sensors and charts could not comprehend their abilities.
Typically, spaceships had limited visibility and sensors to detect life using heat, infrared, and other signatures. However, the Guardians, being deceased and wielding paracausal Light abilities, were undetectable by these conventional sensors. This allowed them to exploit the blind spots of the small fighter spacecrafts, outmaneuvering the Zorians with ease.
Additionally, the Zorians were perplexed by the fact that these abilities seemed to originate directly from the bodies of the Earthlings. Such powers were believed to be exclusive to the royal clans of the Luminary Collective, passed down through generations of carefully bred and trained individuals.
King Lumis observed the unfolding events from his highly secured room, alongside his close advisors.
"Your Highness, have you seen such kind of species before?" An advisor asked. "No. Nor have I ever heard of them. And these abilities. Such abilities are only wielded by the royal clans of Luminary Collective and that too by those who had been born and raised by the clan for many many time units." The King said. (1 time unit = 3.5 Earth years )
"These abilities are astounding, and yet these species appear to be mere soldiers," one advisor remarked, adding to the confusion in the room.
"That's what makes it all the more astonishing. Perhaps they are from another galaxy, using this invasion as a pretext to assert themselves, and take over us." King Lumis speculated, wary of the potential for a galactic war. While he had limited knowledge of species from outside their galaxy, he had heard of the various galactic wars that had occurred throughout history.
The last being 2.5 million time units old. Their planet didn't even have an intelligent species at that time and it was the Luminary Collective that had faced the ancient war. One could now understand how powerful and old the Luminary Collective was. Though their power have dwindled if the rumors were to be believed but even then, they could wipe out their planet with a single wave.
"Then Your Highness, don't you think it is quite unfair for not to help our own soldiers and leave the politics for this time around." One advisor said, in a hushed tone.
"Have your forgotten the atrocities the Luminary Collective has stamped upon us?" King Lumis turned around and looked at the advisor with glare in his eyes.
"No, your Highness." The advisor said.
"We will defend our home when it's required. Have the Luminary Collective being alerted?" King asked.
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Good. Make sure that they could never pin down the blame on us if we lose the war. Drag it out as much as possible." King said.
"As your wish, your Highness."
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The battle went on for quite a bit of time before both the fleet decided to take their steps back. The soldiers had been fighting for quite a lot of time and though it wasn't exactly a physical fight like the Terrans were accustomed to, they did fight on spaceships. This was quite draining mentally.
"Send the dead to Earth. Let the Traveler change them into Light for those who want to continue to do so." Robin said.
"Yes, Supreme Commander." Duke replied and asked the officers to send a Battlecruiser laden with dead Terran soldiers to the solar system.
"Supreme Commander, we have lost 569 Terran soldiers, 21 Valkyie and 1 medbay craft while the enemy has lost 956 soldiers, over 80 small fighter jets and 1 battleship with no casualty among the Guardians." Duke gave a report on the losses face by the them in the first bout. Robin and others became a little ad hearing the numbers. It might not be a big number but the war had just started and from the look of it, it might go for sometime.