Posted by: Haegan2005
« on: May 09, 2009, 07:37:13 PM »The next encounter took place over a Parween world. A dozen races and their warships had beaten down the defenses and were using kinetic strikes to destroy the industry and population below when the Nephilim intervened. The first the allies knew of the Nephilim was when ten of their ships exploded. The Nephilim warships had come out of hyper behind their victims and blown them apart. Not one of the seventy ships in orbit survived the battle that lasted less than thirty seconds. The only reason the alliance knew what had happened was because of a convoy of damaged warships that were preparing to open a jump gate to head back to the fleet yards for repairs. One of them made it back. It had hit a gravity eddy in hyper and had been pushed ahead of the rest of the ships. The Nephilim, it was thought, had missed it because of the sensor jamming that gravity waves cause in hyper. It would be years before the Alliance found out the Nephilim could track them in hyper and attack nearly tracelessly.
Fortunately, about this time the technology granted to the races by the Elohim was beginning to be understood and put into true production. Improved armor, weapons, drives, and sensors were coming out in ships designed to use them properly, instead of on ships that had been hastily modified for the new techs. This merely meant that the alliance could damage the Nephilim ships, if they got lucky enough to survive that long. It was a new phase of the war that forced the aloof Elohim to get directly involved in the fighting, but only after nearly half the alliance races had been exterminated in a blitz that lasted nearly two years.
Even during this fighting, the Commonwealth had been expanding until it was hit by the Blitz as well. Despite the pressure to call the fleets home, the Commonwealth kept its defenses weakened to aid in the defense of the remaining members of the alliance. It cost them dearly before the Elohim interceded. Two thirds of the home fleet had been destroyed as well as almost half of the Commonwealths most productive planets. But they had also blunted the Horde as they counterattacked under Nephilim orders.
The Nephilim had evidently figured that with the Horde striking its targets in conjunction with other raids by the Nephilim fleet that the alliance front line would fall apart under stress as the remaining races called their fleets home to protect their own home worlds. It did and did not happen. A few of the races did call their ravaged fleets home, but others ordered a counter attack. The resulting confusion was a heaven sent opportunity for raiding and was enjoyed thoroughly by both sides. Elohim and Nephilim fleets seemed to encounter each other by accident, blowing up each others plans because of high ship losses.
During this time yet more of the races died under withering orbital bombardments by both sides. It was beginning to get hard to maintain large servant fleets by both sides. The only races not seeming to be suffering in the fighting were the primary antagonists. The Nephilim and the Elohim.
The Elohim called a council of races and informed them that there need be only one more push to win. The Nephilim had lost enough planets to weaken them fatally and it was time to end this. The few remaining races of the alliance put forth everything they had. A fleet emerged that was bigger then any seen before by the alliance. Even with its industrial ability nearly shattered, most of the races had reserves of some type and had released them all to end this war. The vast fleet went forth, escorted by the Elohim, into hell.
Fortunately, about this time the technology granted to the races by the Elohim was beginning to be understood and put into true production. Improved armor, weapons, drives, and sensors were coming out in ships designed to use them properly, instead of on ships that had been hastily modified for the new techs. This merely meant that the alliance could damage the Nephilim ships, if they got lucky enough to survive that long. It was a new phase of the war that forced the aloof Elohim to get directly involved in the fighting, but only after nearly half the alliance races had been exterminated in a blitz that lasted nearly two years.
Even during this fighting, the Commonwealth had been expanding until it was hit by the Blitz as well. Despite the pressure to call the fleets home, the Commonwealth kept its defenses weakened to aid in the defense of the remaining members of the alliance. It cost them dearly before the Elohim interceded. Two thirds of the home fleet had been destroyed as well as almost half of the Commonwealths most productive planets. But they had also blunted the Horde as they counterattacked under Nephilim orders.
The Nephilim had evidently figured that with the Horde striking its targets in conjunction with other raids by the Nephilim fleet that the alliance front line would fall apart under stress as the remaining races called their fleets home to protect their own home worlds. It did and did not happen. A few of the races did call their ravaged fleets home, but others ordered a counter attack. The resulting confusion was a heaven sent opportunity for raiding and was enjoyed thoroughly by both sides. Elohim and Nephilim fleets seemed to encounter each other by accident, blowing up each others plans because of high ship losses.
During this time yet more of the races died under withering orbital bombardments by both sides. It was beginning to get hard to maintain large servant fleets by both sides. The only races not seeming to be suffering in the fighting were the primary antagonists. The Nephilim and the Elohim.
The Elohim called a council of races and informed them that there need be only one more push to win. The Nephilim had lost enough planets to weaken them fatally and it was time to end this. The few remaining races of the alliance put forth everything they had. A fleet emerged that was bigger then any seen before by the alliance. Even with its industrial ability nearly shattered, most of the races had reserves of some type and had released them all to end this war. The vast fleet went forth, escorted by the Elohim, into hell.