The Raid on Caliphane

The emergence of the Supremacy of Kannis was the main reason the Exiled Tribes were offered a deal by the Selenoids. A deal they took. The Selenoids stabilised the biology of the Exiles, they offered them improved equipment, and free passage through space (once the Tribes had acquired their own ships). In exchange, the Exiled Tribes would have to fight against the Supremacy of Kannis, take territory and put a stop to all terraforming and mining on the planet.

The Supremacy struck back hard, calling upon elite mercenaries and pirates along with their own formidable forces to deal devastating blows to any Tribe positions.

The attack on Caliphane had three main elements:

The first were the Ascended, which still formed the spear tip of any Supremacy offensive. They were the peak of Darros Mortan’s genetic experimentation. They were faster, stronger and more resilient than any human.

The second element were the Pirates of the Fourth Moon. They were experts at raiding ships, but now had turned their hand to open battlefields where they proved equally effective.

Finally, the Kanrae Kings, who still preferred training for Warsport on real battlefields, and utilised the Pirate network to travel to both Kannis and Jendar. They commanded a high price as mercenaries. which for them meant warfare was a win win.

In defence of Caliphane, were the Exiled Tribes:

The Exiled Tribes lacked in combat experience but were growing. For centuries they had been used as cannon fodder for Mortan’s Men, and that was accepted when their destabilised biology meant they could drop dead at any moment for no real reason. Some would even spontaneously melt or explode. But now, with a fixed biology, the Exiled Tribes were able to live longer, and fight harder.

The Selenoids provided a number of Hunters. Selenoid Hunters were a newly seen threat on the battlefield. They moved quickly and silently, leapt onto enemy forces and would tear them to shreds. Where troops had become used to hitting Selenoids hard by utilising Destroyers, the Hunters forced them to split their focus and overall weakened their fire power.

Finally, the Pirates of The Burning Star were one of the handful of crews commanded by a synth – Captain Kursus Exton and as such were given contracts by desperate elements, in this case the Exiled Tribes. The Pirates of the Burning Star were violent, even for Pirates.

The edge of the settlement of Caliphane had suffered grievously from bombardment as the Exiled Tribes had taken it from some of Mortan’s Men weeks earlier. Amidst the smoke and rubble of another round of bombardment, the Ascended, Pirates of the Fourth Moon and Kanrae Kings advanced.

The first contact came as an Ascended gunned down a Selenoid Hunter on the edge of the settlement.

The Pirates of the Fourth Moon pushed hard on the left flank.

As the Exiled Tribes burst out from the urban zone, and headed towards the attacking forces. They stalled however, not advancing at they should have. It was believed this may have been down to a disagreement between the Tribe Chiefs and Captain Kursus Exton. The Pirates of the Burning Star were forced to bear the brunt of the attack, and as such suffered heavy casualties.

The Kings pushed on the right as the Ascended held the centre.

A vicious melee occurred as the Kings clashed with some Hunters. The Kings quickly overcame the alien beasts, and then charged into the Pirate flank.

It was at this point that the morale of the defenders started to falter. The Kings swept into the centre, and the Pirates of the Fourth Moon developed a strong base of fire on the left flank.

Only two attackers had been slain, one Ascended struck by a Destroyer shot from a Tribesman and one of the Kings, bitten by a Hunter. Whereas half of the defenders had been killed. The raid on Caliphane had been a tremendous success.