(The following is a short piece of fanfic I put together inspired just by the screen shots of the game and the other snippets of info we have. I don't know if others do this or not, but with these types of games I like to role play a lot, especially if they are well put together and immersive in nature. I tell myself these kinds of stories all the time so I hope Stellaris provides me with many hours of such adventures in the future.)
Admiral Toruk of the Themlar Union brought the sharp talons of his left arm/wing to his face in a postier of deep contemplation as he scratched at his beak in thought. He was observing the battle playing out in orbit of the Themlar colony of Ziamon I, as the Union forces led by his task force tried to stop the Kingdom of Yondarim from landing any more ground forces on the embattled world below. On the ground, the “bugs”, as they were commonly referred to by Toruk’s people, had been locked in a major struggle for the planet’s surface for several months now. The arrival of Toruk’s task force swung the tide of the ground combat in favor of the avian defenders, but now the Yondarim were attempting to break through the Union’s blockade of the system to land more troops and tanks to add to their assault.
The Union’s Fifth Fleet, of which Toruk’s task force was a part, had been tasked with shoring up the defenses all along the bitterly contested border with the bug kingdom after the Queen Mother of the Yondarim had directed her zealous children to launch a crusade against the “infidel” Themlar and their equally heretical Tezhnid Confederation allies. For their part, the Tezhnid were offering the union material and economic support, but so far the fungus-like creatures had offered no direct military aid since they lacked a direct border with the Yondarim’s group of hyperlane-connected systems. The Themlar themselves relied on highly advanced wormhole gates to facilitate FTL travel, which had allowed Toruk’s forces to arrive so swiftly to Ziamon’s defense, but the need to construct gates to further Union FTL travel into enemy territory made for slow offensive progress in the war.
Toruk let out a sigh as he refocused his mind away from the strategic implications of the battle on the planet below him to he reassess his forces and those arrayed against him in space.
“Prep another wave of joint missile and fighter attacks!” the admiral called out to his flag captain.
Toruk’s task force mostly consisted of warships specializing in long range engagements, as did most Themlar ships in general. In particular, the Union was well known for their dominant fighter pilots, thanks in part to their terrestrial ancestors long lost ability to fly. The evolution of the Themlar people had resulted in them giving up their innate flying abilities in exchange for larger brains and arm/wings with hands capable of grasping tools, but they still retained an unsurpassed ability to think and move in three dimensions that most other space faring species lacked. For this reason, Themlar battle doctrine called for long range fighter strikes, coupled with missile attacks to overwhelm enemy point defense systems. The Union did operate some short range heavy hitters, such as the battleship assigned to Toruk’s task force that was currently taking a heavy beating from Yondarim laser fire, but such vessels were primarily intended to provide cover for the deadly but lightly armored missile cruisers and carriers that made up the bulk of the Union forces in the system.
“Missiles prepped and ready to fire,” Toruk’s flag captain answered. “Our fighters are gathering for another attack run as well.”
“Very good,” Toruk replied, a predatory grin forming on his beak as he imagined what his next barrage would do to the Yondarim forces. “Squash the bugs!”
With that, a wave of missiles launched from the Union vessels, focused on the enemy flagship, a bug battleship trying desperately to get within weapons range of the Themlar vessels by flying directly at them at high speed.
Before Toruk could watch the impact of his salvo of missiles, his flagship’s sensors officer called out in alarm from his station on the other end the bridge.
“Sir,” the panic stricken officer exclaimed, “I’ve got unidentified warships exiting some previously unknown form of FTL directly over Ziamon!”
“What?!” Toruk wheeled around in surprise as he dashed over to the sensors station to examine the new arrivals. “How did they do that without using a hyperlane or a wormhole station?”
“No idea sir,” the sensors officer replied, “but they’ve just unleashed a torrent of energy and projectile weapons fire on the colony’s surfacing. Their glassing the planet!”
As Toruk stood in stunned silence, his beak agape as he helpless watched the destruction of millions of Themlar and Yondarim lives on the planet below, his communications officer spoke up in a trembling voice.
“We have an incoming communication from the alien ships,” the young avian said, “They refer to themselves as ‘humans’ and they demand our immediate surrender.”
Admiral Toruk of the Themlar Union brought the sharp talons of his left arm/wing to his face in a postier of deep contemplation as he scratched at his beak in thought. He was observing the battle playing out in orbit of the Themlar colony of Ziamon I, as the Union forces led by his task force tried to stop the Kingdom of Yondarim from landing any more ground forces on the embattled world below. On the ground, the “bugs”, as they were commonly referred to by Toruk’s people, had been locked in a major struggle for the planet’s surface for several months now. The arrival of Toruk’s task force swung the tide of the ground combat in favor of the avian defenders, but now the Yondarim were attempting to break through the Union’s blockade of the system to land more troops and tanks to add to their assault.
The Union’s Fifth Fleet, of which Toruk’s task force was a part, had been tasked with shoring up the defenses all along the bitterly contested border with the bug kingdom after the Queen Mother of the Yondarim had directed her zealous children to launch a crusade against the “infidel” Themlar and their equally heretical Tezhnid Confederation allies. For their part, the Tezhnid were offering the union material and economic support, but so far the fungus-like creatures had offered no direct military aid since they lacked a direct border with the Yondarim’s group of hyperlane-connected systems. The Themlar themselves relied on highly advanced wormhole gates to facilitate FTL travel, which had allowed Toruk’s forces to arrive so swiftly to Ziamon’s defense, but the need to construct gates to further Union FTL travel into enemy territory made for slow offensive progress in the war.
Toruk let out a sigh as he refocused his mind away from the strategic implications of the battle on the planet below him to he reassess his forces and those arrayed against him in space.
“Prep another wave of joint missile and fighter attacks!” the admiral called out to his flag captain.
Toruk’s task force mostly consisted of warships specializing in long range engagements, as did most Themlar ships in general. In particular, the Union was well known for their dominant fighter pilots, thanks in part to their terrestrial ancestors long lost ability to fly. The evolution of the Themlar people had resulted in them giving up their innate flying abilities in exchange for larger brains and arm/wings with hands capable of grasping tools, but they still retained an unsurpassed ability to think and move in three dimensions that most other space faring species lacked. For this reason, Themlar battle doctrine called for long range fighter strikes, coupled with missile attacks to overwhelm enemy point defense systems. The Union did operate some short range heavy hitters, such as the battleship assigned to Toruk’s task force that was currently taking a heavy beating from Yondarim laser fire, but such vessels were primarily intended to provide cover for the deadly but lightly armored missile cruisers and carriers that made up the bulk of the Union forces in the system.
“Missiles prepped and ready to fire,” Toruk’s flag captain answered. “Our fighters are gathering for another attack run as well.”
“Very good,” Toruk replied, a predatory grin forming on his beak as he imagined what his next barrage would do to the Yondarim forces. “Squash the bugs!”
With that, a wave of missiles launched from the Union vessels, focused on the enemy flagship, a bug battleship trying desperately to get within weapons range of the Themlar vessels by flying directly at them at high speed.
Before Toruk could watch the impact of his salvo of missiles, his flagship’s sensors officer called out in alarm from his station on the other end the bridge.
“Sir,” the panic stricken officer exclaimed, “I’ve got unidentified warships exiting some previously unknown form of FTL directly over Ziamon!”
“What?!” Toruk wheeled around in surprise as he dashed over to the sensors station to examine the new arrivals. “How did they do that without using a hyperlane or a wormhole station?”
“No idea sir,” the sensors officer replied, “but they’ve just unleashed a torrent of energy and projectile weapons fire on the colony’s surfacing. Their glassing the planet!”
As Toruk stood in stunned silence, his beak agape as he helpless watched the destruction of millions of Themlar and Yondarim lives on the planet below, his communications officer spoke up in a trembling voice.
“We have an incoming communication from the alien ships,” the young avian said, “They refer to themselves as ‘humans’ and they demand our immediate surrender.”
- 1
