Escalation of Hostility Part 3

Retaliation was to be as swift and as merciless as the Phaelen demonstrated... and a little more.  If the Phaelen felt that killing millions of civilians was justified to secure the release of just one Phaelen agent then surely the killing of billions of Phaelen was just as appropriate in turn. 

The Arn Consortium's First Fleet assembled at a system known as Jaka, a strategic position purchase a year previously in blood.  Back then it was first contact with the Phaelen and could have been thought of a foreshadow of things to come.  Radio silence was maintained, the fleet knew exactly what the mission was and would not break that silence until it returned to Arn space. 

The phase jump was initiated, the vortices grew to maximum size and one-by-one the fleet entered phased space.

Inside phased space the "Republik", a massive capital ship armed with state-of-the-art bombardment weapons, led the charge into the target world... Haelix III.  Haelix III was located in a densely populated region of Phaelen space.  Little more than a planetesimal it was still home to four billion souls, it's interior honeycombed throughout with passages, living quarters, industrial areas, etc.

The Republik arrived, scanned the system and confirmed the defenses were minimal.  The Phaelen did not expect the Arn Consortium to be so bold as to launch a massive attack on one of their core worlds.  Perhaps the Phaelen also underestimated the range of the human phase jump technology.  Either way the opposition was minimal, a mere two small vessels patrolled.

When the rest of the First Fleet arrived locations of the defense ships were instantly transmitted to them and...

... without delay the attack began.

Not a single shot managed to leave the Phaelen vessels. 

The First Fleet remained nearby while the Republik closed in on the primary target.

A beacon was dropped before the attack on Haelix III itself began.  There was a prerecorded message to what ever Phaelen would find it.  "In the light of the Haelian sun let all bear witness to the vengeance to be exacted this day in the names of all those who perished at the hands of Phaelen attack on Landau.  It was an act that could only be considered cowardly and without honour.  The Arn Consortium considers that single act as an official declaration of war." 

The beacon began to record the moment the first three nuclear charges neared the planetesimal...

... and exploded on impact. 

Each volley launched impacted Haelix III, killing hundreds of millions.  No mercy was requested by them and none would be given.

As the last explosion dissipated the scans read no life signs on Haelix III, a now dead world.

With the mission complete the Republik set course back to the fleet.  The Phaelen first fleet was on its way and in minutes would arrive.

The mission and the message would not be served well if the First Fleet was lost in the process of delivering justice.

With that in mind the phase jumps were initiated...

... and the Haelix system was left to the ghosts of four billion.


[to be continued in part 4]