The Illadrian / Kromas Stellar Impasse

Prelude

Tensions between the Illadrians and the Kromas had been heating steadily for a while. Ever since the coup on the Kromas home world and their subsequent withdrawal from the galactic council, the two major superpowers of the galaxy had never been at ease. The Kromas's brutal new advancement, enslaving and annihilating the people of countless systems was too much for Illadria to stand by and watch. With heavy hearts, Illadria made the difficult decision to declare war on the new Kromas Dominion in response to the massacre of Lyra.

The Illadrians extended their arms wide to protect every world it could from the Kromas's destructive advances. Both advanced species known to the council and lesser worlds still developing fell under the Illadrians protection. The species on the council, for their most part however, took a neutral stance in the conflict with only a few assisting in Illadria's steadfast guard with major players such as the Ulain and Xalax opting to stay on the sidelines. While their favour was clearly evident towards their benevolent protectors each had their own reasons for not becoming directly involved. The Ulain saw the importance of ensuring unhindered trade was maintained and did not wish to become active targets should they side openly with the Illadrians, while the Xalax with their greatly diminished population still not recovered from the tragedy of Seta Prime did not wish to risk their species any further.

Battlefield

The conflicts unfolded on various fronts throughout the galaxy as Illadrians and the Kromas engaged in a long and arduous series of battles. Illadrias forces fortified their ranks with advanced tactics and supreme defensive might against the Kromas' powerful weaponry and brute force. While the Illadrians initially thwarted the Kromas with ease, brute force being no match for the Illadrian shield matrices the tide of battle was soon to change. The Illadrians who had pledged themselves honourably to the defence of countless innocent worlds gained a profound understanding of the consequences that come with stretching their forces, and resources, beyond their limits.

These two great armies once perfectly matched in strength versus guile, had started to see the balance of power tip towards the aggressors. Despite their weakening resources and thinly stretched fleet Illadrias defensive was still making headway for a time, with many of their enemies supply lines cut off, the Kromas were starting to feel the pressure. Even as the Illadrians begun to lose conflicts and surrender worlds to their aggressors, victory was coming too slowly for the Kromas leading to their most despicable act.

Ultimatum

The resistance of the Illadrians was unlike anything the Kromas Dominion had ever expected and over the years the conflict raged their attitudes towards the Illadrians changed greatly. Shock turned to anger. Anger turned to hate. Hate turned. To festering rage. It was no longer enough to secure resources, slaves and worlds, the Illadrians had to be neutralised. On one fateful day, the Kromas amassed their great fleet and set course for Illadrias home system, targeting their three core worlds, Illadria, Relara and Ehter. At first the Illadrians scoffed when their sensors detected the incoming fleet, even with their resources spread thin the Kromas had no hope of succeeding in a direct conflict against the heavily fortified Illadrians home.

But none could have predicted what came next.

While skirmishes raged throughout the system the Kromas stealthily deployed a series of powerful Singularity Projectors in orbit above each of the Illadrian home worlds and moons. Once activated, these projectors generated and sustained stable micro-singularities, harnessing the immense gravitational forces within them. These miniature black holes generated a gravitational pull so strong; it began to disrupt the space-time fabric of the Illadrian worlds, effectively trapping them within a localised region of space.

These weapons not only impeded long-distance travel and communication but also began to exert such strain on the planets in question the Illadrians had no choice but to extend their shields and dial up their strength to encompass not only their great cities, but their entire planet, allocating a significant portion of their resources and energy to prevent their worlds being torn apart, atom by atom.

By pushing their defences to the limit, the Illadrians rendered themselves inert, as travel to and from their worlds became nearly impossible. The Illadrians found themselves trapped in a prison of their own making; each world being threatened by the Kromas's cosmic guillotines. With their main contender removed from the game, the Kromas returned to their pillage as the remaining Illadrian forces fell like dominoes unable to receive orders or supplies from their home. With their galactic conquest resumed unimpeded, there was only one task left for the Kromas to complete to disable the Illadrians shields once and for all.

Conflict Type

War

Battlefield Type

Space