Nexus.
As the future hub for all inter-civilizational space travel, it was a bustling center of activity. Construction was ongoing, a constant effort to build a station massive enough to accommodate the projected traffic.
Furthermore, every civilization knew its absolute coordinates, as the Nexus was the starting point for the entire wormhole network. Since all civilizations were jointly providing materials and labor for its construction, the constant opening and closing of supply wormholes was the norm.
A single wormhole opened in the usual place, but instead of one ship erging, ten massive fleets poured out. They wasted no ti, imdiately attacking the station’s defenses, whose locations they already knew.
Flashes of light and constant explosions erupted as the small defense contingent was almost instantly overwheld. The station itself went into full lockdown, sealing all entry and exit points to protect those inside. The attackers could have breached the station, but they didn’t. Instead, they enveloped it in a shield, turning the massive structure into a prison as they seized control of the surrounding space.
“Nexus has been secured. I repeat, the Nexus has been secured. Operation Overwhelm is a go.”
A single, Conclave-wide communication was sent out. Within seconds of the broadcast, nearly fifty wormholes tore open across the Nexus vicinity. Fleets poured through, one after another. Then, a single, massive wormhole, one of the first to appear, stopped expanding. From its depths, a colossal space station began to erge.
This new fortress was to be their command center for the war. Its strategic value was imnse. Positioned centrally between the two main imperial territories, it left no cover for approaching fleets. From this single point, the Conclave could foresee all of the imperial governnt’s reinforcents. They could intercept any fleet that took a direct route, forcing the empire to take long, circuitous paths. This would effectively halve the number of forces the empire could muster for the defense of its capital star system.
But the fleets, now numbering nearly a hundred, didn’t linger. They dispersed imdiately, jumping through new wormholes or accelerating to light speed, all heading deeper into imperial territory.
..................
[MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION PRIORITY ZERO ANNOUNCENT: DUE TO A DETECTED ENEMY ATTACK, THE IMPERIAL GOVERNNT HAS ASSUD CONTROL OF ALL VESSELS TO ENSURE YOUR SAFETY. UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, MANUAL CONTROL IS SUSPENDED.]
Such an announcent was sent to all imperial vessels as their controls were forcibly overridden. All light-speed-capable ships were imdiately sent into FTL, while those incapable were pushed to maximum sublight velocity. They were all directed toward Earth, the Trade Hub, or the nearest governnt-controlled space station. This was done to prevent the monuntal chaos that would have erupted if countless ships had been left to fend for themselves, which would have needlessly increased casualties as everyone scrambled for safety.
While the announcent was a shock, the override itself wasn’t a surprise to anyone involved in shipbuilding or piloting. They were all aware of the mandatory technologies embedded in every vessel: an always-on transponder pinging exclusively to the empire, and a remote override system. This system was designed for ergencies like this, to prevent ships from being used as battering rams against imperial targets, or to easily deal with pirates. The technology was embedded deep within the ship’s core ROM, making it untamperable. Any attempt to disable it would crash the entire system, effectively rendering the vessel dead in space.
[MINISTRY OF WAR PRIORITY ZERO ANNOUNCENT: DUE TO DETECTED ENEMY ATTACKS, INTERPLANETARY TRAVEL IS TEMPORARILY RESTRICTED. DEFENSES AT YOUR CURRENT LOCATION ARE BEING RAISED TO MAXIMUM LEVELS TO ENSURE YOUR SAFETY.]
Simultaneously, this announcent was sent to everyone on planets and space stations, halting all traffic to prevent congestion in space, which was already filling with evacuated ships.
“What the fuck?” Berkay muttered, reading the announcent. He felt his surroundings take on a yellow hue, which was nearly impossible on Earth at this ti of day. A shallow shadow fell over him. As he raised his head, he felt his heart hamr against his ribs. The entire sky was slowly being overlaid with yellow, hexagonal grids, the planetary defense shield revealing itself.
But it wasn’t just one layer. He could see at least three shimring into existence, a clear sign of how serious the situation was.
“Why aren’t we being told to head for the bunkers?” he asked his AI, realizing the gravity of the empire’s response.
{You may have forgotten, but the empire constructed all cities as fortress-cities,} his AI replied. {The city itself is designed to function as a bunker in case the atmospheric shield is breached.} She displayed an image of the massive walls that were part of the city’s original construction. They had later been modified to retract into the ground, reducing their visual disruption and protecting them from the wear and tear of atmospheric forces.
“Ah, right. It was so long ago I forgot about them. They haven’t been in our faces for decades,” Berkay said, the distant mory returning.
“So, what’s the situation? Update ,” he asked after calming himself, wanting to know who could force the empire into such a drastic response. The AIs were the best source, providing only official and verified information.
{The breach occurred three minutes ago,} the AI answered, displaying accessible footage of fleets erging from wormholes, but censoring any images of the actual attacks. {The Nexus and the outer regions of the Oort cloud are now occupied by enemy forces. They have been identified as the Conclave. The governnt has not yet provided a reason for the attack. The Emperor will be making an address shortly to provide more details. At the mont, all efforts are focused on stabilizing the situation.}
“Why would the Conclave attack us when we have a mana-secured agreent?” Berkay asked, surprised to hear the identity of the attackers.
His AI hadn’t shown him the full scale of the invasion, but he could gauge its severity. He rembered the first war; even then, only a single planetary shield had been activated. The three layers now shimring above him made it terrifyingly clear: this was a far greater threat.
{The reason has not yet been made public. It will most likely be revealed by the Emperor during his address,} his AI answered.
Berkay lowered his gaze from the sky to gauge the reactions of those around him. Despite the small crowd, the responses varied wildly.
The few people from Proxima looked calm. Even by human standards, their loyalty to the empire, the cause of their creation, and their benefactor was absolute. The empire had never given them a reason to doubt, so when their AIs told them to remain calm and await the official address, that is precisely what they did.
The reactions among the humans from Earth were more divided. The younger generation, having never experienced the horrors of war, remained mostly calm and continued with their day. The older ones, however, were different. While they weren’t panicking, a palpable nervousness and fear clouded their faces. Most of them canceled their plans and began heading ho, preferring to follow the developnts from the safety of their own four walls.
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