The War for the Last Light
The Conflict
Prelude
Following the news of the return of Rhothaxis, the Nu-Concordat held a summit in New Andromeda on the northern coast of Jericho. It was declared here that an alliance between all military superpowers would be declared and preparation for His return would be made.
Deployment
Several predictions as to the location of Rhothaxis's return were made by scientists. Defences were constructed nearby to each location, in a hope to defeat the creature before it could make landfall near any population centres.
The Engagement
5th Hearthfire
[23:11:--] Stellar observatories reported that Rhothaxis had been spotted against the Moon, travelling towards Earth. Upon this announcement, civilians within 1000 miles of any potential landing site began evacuation into bunkers or attempted moved to a safe distance. [23:26:02] DEFCON 3 is triggered by UN STRATCOM. [23:35:59] Global television programming is interrupted by an emergency broadcast. Civilians are instructed to shelter in place, pray to Mars, and tune radios to an emergency announcement frequency.6th Hearthfire
[06:22:56] Rhothaxis makes landfall in the Moku Sea. [06:23:15] The 13th Combined Battlegroup open fire on the enemy. [06:24:58] Seismic sensors detect three nuclear explosions totalling 655 kilotons. Gamma detectors in orbit are triggered by detonations. [06:25:44] The Global Allied Air Fleet issue a scramble order for the first wave of conventionally armed aircraft within range of Rhothaxis. [06:29:05] The last communications are recieved from the 13th Combined Battlegroup. Death toll estimated 93,600 souls. [06:31:25] Hitman Team scramble from Site-02 into a holding pattern above Zelnach. [06:55:54] Weiss Willow arrives at Zelnach onboard a MV3B Condor with ROMEO-9 of the 101st Legion and The Pilot. [07:22:22] Severa Willow leaves Zelnach with the 101st Legion to assemble a defence to the east. [07:24:--] Around one tenth (233) of the first wave of aircraft return from combat. At least thirteen pilots are injured or die from self inflicted gunshot wounds after landing. [07:25:30] DEFCON 4 is triggered. [07:33:--] STRATCOM authorises the Lance of the Crimson Dawn to be fired using a modified Trident-II ballistic missile. [07:45:02] Tetrarch Special Elven Division dispatches Green Team with the Lance on board a XV-39 launched from Site-11 in the New Tetrarchy heartland. [07:58:22] STRATCOM orders the activation of twenty (20) Scranton Reality Anchors distributed around the planet as the preparatory phase of Operation Magic Carpet. [08:12:--] The final group of non-essentials are evacuated from Zelnach. [08:15:--] Weiss, The Pilot and their escort pass through the Thirteenth Layer and rig the Safeguard Dungeon (Zelnach) to activate in five years. [08:17:--] Visual contact with Rhothaxis is re-established, reports of sightings of the 13th Combined Battlegroup reach STRATCOM. [08:19:12] Analytical predictions of Rhothaxis' movement indicates his next target. Defensive lines are given orders to be manned along the eastern coast of Jericho and neighbouring states. [08:22:30] A Trident-II ballistic missile is fired from the New Tetrarchy with it's nuclear payload replaced by the Lance of the Crimson Dawn. [08:25:--] The Pilot attempts to establish direct control of Hyperium, but is rendered combat ineffective after unexpectedly high mental stress. [08:28:--] The Pilot dies after suffering a seizure following contact with Hyperium. [08:32:58] Weiss receives unanimous permission from STRATCOM to proceed with the contact experiment with Hyperium herself. [09:02:19] STRATCOM gives the green light on Operation Magic Carpet with mission codeword "IRENE". [09:05:00] Multiple SLBM launches are detected from the Moku Sea. [09:05:35] Weiss reports a failure to initiate contact with Hyperium. [09:25:55] Rhothaxis initiates contact with the 6th Combined Battlegroup stationed in Presidia. [09:29:23] Total combined power draw of all Scranton Reality Anchors exceeds 3 terawatts for 11 seconds. [09:29:34] Operation Magic Carpet is concluded and deemed a failure after the sudden destruction of the Wizard's tower and surrounding Arcane District in New Andromeda. Death toll estimates 12,000 souls. [09:44:59] 6th Combined Battlegroup attempt to retreat from Presidia Bay as they took on several thousand civilians the night prior, despite orders given by STRATCOM. [10:25:47] 6th Combined Battlegroup successfully retreat from Presidia Bay, losing three Aircraft Supercarriers, but retaining seven, and over two-thirds of the escort fleet. [10:51:11] Intelligence is reported by an AWACS aircraft, callsign "Galaxy", operating with an air wing covering the 6th's retreat: Rhothaxis has lost it's wings, suddenly, and without warning. Galaxy reports that as of 09:29:34, Rhothaxis has not re-entered airspace, and subsequent visual confirmation by elements on the ground in Presidia confirm this new development. [10:55:09] The Lance of the Crimson Dawn re-enters the atmosphere after being launched on a high-apogee suborbital trajectory. [10:55:31] The Lance is intercepted two miles from impact with Rhothaxis by a S-400i ABM fired from a missile destroyer of the 13th Combined Battlegroup. [10:57:29] STRATCOM initiates ZETA Protocol, and alters the encryption master-code for the entire Global Allied Coalition. Orders are given to deliver new codes to each friendly battlegroup physically. [11:28:11] Nuclear detonations are detected across the planet, source believed to be the 13th Combined Battlegroup. Death toll: 600,000,000 (+/-1,000,000) [11:41:57] A probing attack is launched to determine the security of the airspace around Presidia. [11:54:40] All drones launched from the probing attack are disabled or eliminated. An area 1500 miles in diameter is drawn around Presidia. [12:45:01] STRATCOM orders over two-thirds of the Global Allied Coalition to mobilise towards this radius around Presidia. [14:22:49] Severa Willow and the 101st Legion re-establish contact with the GAC and STRATCOM after being engaged with landed 13th Battlegroup marines for over two hours. [15:01:53] Zelnach is captured by hostile forces due to the evacuation of the garrisoned soldiers earlier in the day. On-site security personnel held for thirty-five minutes before being overwhelmed.Outcome
After Rhothaxis tore a path of destruction around the world, only a few hundred thousand survivors were left standing. The global ecosystem collapsed quickly following firestorms from burning cities triggered by both Rhothaxis and Allied sun-bombs detonated in an attempt to slay the beast.
The global population collapses to <100,000 by 1 6E
Aftermath
A nuclear winter lasting for milleneia begins quickly, lasting until the present day. The arcane energy drawn by Hyperium's activation causes the Sun to dim to red.
It is hypothesised that Rhothaxis slayed Jupiter before making landfall on Earth.
Battlefield Type
Planetary
Start Date
6th Hearthfire 7941 5E
Ending Date
0 6E
Conflict Result
Devastating pyrrhic victory for the Alliance of the Dawn.
Location
Belligerents
Strength
1 Hyperium-class Titan
Personnel
9,000,000+ combatants
Navy
250 Deimos-class Dreadnaughts
3,000 Additional Combined Ships
Armor
90,000 Main Battle Tanks
54,000 IFVs
Air
13,000 Fighters
7,500 Helicopters
1 Ancient Multichromatic Dragon
Casualties
8,900,000+ combatants killed
2,300,000,000+ civilians killed
unknown casualties
1 Ancient Multichromatic Dragon
Objectives
Survival
The elimination of all sentient life.
