The Ananaki listened to the inspiring transmission of the Imperial leader from their own ships as they took their position. All warriors were dressed to appear like savages; trophies of fallen foes decorated their armors as to intimidate the enemy. Their hairs all braided and fixed to make sure it wouldn't get in the way of battle. 

All Ananaki were wearing dark goggles to gain full access to their night vision, a PDA fixed to their wrists with all the downloaded info that they need to sabotage the factories along with any known weaknesses and strengths the Helix Virus had. Covering their mouths and nose were the masks that acted as filtration systems for any odors that might distract their sensitive senses. The Magi-tech handguard to facilitate the use of dark element magic allowing limited strain on their bodies while they battle their foes.

Almost all of the ships were flanking the drop ships that carried the specialized troops to give them as much cover fire as they could.

The moment the Ananaki forces entered the planet's atmosphere, it was on. Almost immediately, cool and calculated, they took formations similar to the old Roman empires of Earth, forming a shield around the drop ships as they targeted the Helix turrets within the city. They attempted to disable as many of them as they could or at least distract them enough for the drop ships to land. 

From the noses of the triangular ships shot out one blackish-purple ball of energy after the other, leaving the enemy no respite only adding to the noise pollution; hums of flying ships, the ra-ta-ta's of gunfire, loud 'booming' of explosions and earth trembling.

Soon a handful of the X-series star ships began to split off from their battalions and began to fly towards the Helix factories situated at the center of the city. 














The Ananaki ships retreated as soon as the saboteurs disappeared from view for they were now on their own. All the ships could do was follow the orders of Maq Ra'im, to aid their allies as best as they could. Just as fast as they arrived by the factories they left to join their ground troops...

Kat has been nervously waiting for the final showdown to happen. Her pirates were ready for the battle and so were the many vehicles and ships that rolled up the the joint every-self-respecting-force-in-the-galaxy operation to hand the helix virus it's ass and take back the glory of the northern galaxy (the glory of 4 miss universes bitching at eachother backstage). She's been prepping troops, stealing from no name governments and preparing vehicles for a while to supply for this mission. She wasnt small in numbers either.

The 3 mosquito hunters accompanied by 12 virals reported to the fleet that made up the allied force. "Drosden pirate fleet reporting in. I didnt bring everything yet, the rest of my fleet will be over soon enough."

"Coalition Leader, flight check, all battalions on my mark, declare battle ready." The whir of his Crusher engine could barely be heard into his comms as he spoke. Altus double checked his instruments. All reading were optimal. He could see on screen that this would be no normal fight. He would have to resort to some shenanigans to pull off a complete victory over these Helix bastards and rightly so as that was exactly why the Imperium had asked him to not only join but, have paid them quite a handsome bit of wealth. "Mark Ready, Arc Battalion?" In less than a moment, the reply came, "Arc Leader, Ready" and this carried on for a few seconds, making his way through the different troops. Bastion, Dark, Gungho, Hell, Metal, Plasma, Rogue, Vox, and Warlord Battalions all check on ready. At that, Altus clicked the all clear onto his computer. "Move in, I want a repeat of the smash and grab 3 months ago... just with more smashing. You have clearance to set the drives to go nuclear if you feel you can pull it off. I want battalion using Rippers to focus on fighters and escorting boarding parties. Crushers, move on for damage and go for frigates to start. Once we take the front line and force it open, we make way for their capital ship." An array of understood echoed on his ears. "Alright, drop ships are ago by the looks of it. Join the fray. UNLEASH HELL!" 

The waves of fighters and Mechs suit that pored out from the Imperial fleet was nothing short of a truly frightning thing to witness. Lifetimes of spending nothing but time on the battlefield could be seen evidently in the skills of the Coalition pilots. HAMR could be seen going off all across the battlefield as the Coalition showed those military might and yet, it wasn't in that moment the Coalition showed what made them truly a force to be reckoned with. It was something that began happening a few minutes into the battle...

The emp cannons on Altus's Crusher hit the side of the Helix freighter dead on, making what was once a lit up area go dark. It took a mere moment before his ship was against the hull. With power to this area taken down, the boarding alarm never went off inside the ship and third defences failed to target him as he cut open the hull and attached. Altus dashed forward into the hallway of the frigate, left he ran as he could see masses on the floor. It had been the former crew but, the emp had essentially taken them down, a side effect of being part robot. His jetpack erupted as he barreled down the hallway onto a area that was lit up. He knew he had to act fast. Lucky as always, he had landed in the hallway leading straight to the bridge. The moment he got to the entrance of the bridge, a door opened. A enemy stepped out into the light and Altus put a jetpack enhanced flying need right into their throat. It had been bad timing on their part, just had opened up to check the damage from the attack and had unwittingly let themselves get kneed in the throat. They died quickly much like the rest of the crew on the bridge. His twin SMGs made short work of them. He ran over to the first console he could find and shoved a small piece of hardware that the Coalition had developed after obtaining the Kyodain AI and some encounters with the Helix robots. It wasn't going to work forever but, it scrambled the internal systems and the firing coordinates of the frigates guns began to target Helix fighters and other crafts. He had turned their own ship on them. He could see on a panel how the fight was going. He wasn't the only one who had pulled it off. A few other frigates had gotten a taste of Coalition medicine as well. He noticed 2 frigates that had taken severe damage began to engine up and moved closer into the Enemy fleet. Small dots came off of the ships, a mixture of debris and friendlies escaping. Altus knew what they had done and smiled as he pressed a button and brought up the viewing window. A bright light erupted from a distance, the sign that a warp drive core had exploded. They had turned the damaged frigates into bombs and sent them back into the Enemy ranks. It was chaos... and glorious.

Meanwhile the one and only Thomas Victus(With his literaly one and only space ship at his disposal) started doing what he was suposed to do and that is fight against Helix, and by fighting thme he meant picking one of the enemies frigates and shelling it with everything he has, he especialy ordered to atack enemy ships armaments, to render it unable to defend itself, though it would be much prefered to take the ship and use it he doesn't have a time to do it, he will disarm this ship brak it's engines, and then move on.

---In Space----


The allied forces pushed valiantly against the Old-machine fleet,the elite boarding teams of the Blackguard Coalition wrestled control of the Helix flagship turning the flagship into a weapons platform that unleashed it's payload unto the other Helix vessels that Lord Victus had disabled. Like dominoes the Helix fleet lost the initiative and ship by ship began to lose number. The Imperial navy turned their attention to the hundreds of dropships still heading for planetside,the Drak-Destroyers unleashed their point-defense systems on the Helix fighters lucky enough to escape the wrath of Altuis & Victus,hundreds of kinetic chainguns calculated and unleashed deadly energized rounds that tore the fighters down. 


Another Helix fleet appeared at the rear of the main Imperial fleet,warping in from hyperspace and unleashed a deadly arc of crimson energy on one of the Imperial frigates.


The INS Ler'Ask's impact shielding absorbed the first wave of the strange energy,but the blast also seemed to drain the ship's energy.


"Lord Commodore! Energy levels have dropped to 7%......Our shields are failing....The energy...it's..draining our supply!" One of the ensigns roared in panic.


The scarred bulky frame of the Commodore screamed orders as the blue-scaled Varanus failed to regain control of the situation.


"They fired again!...." The ensign roared as the bridge flickered into red alarms.


"Reroute all systems to..." The Commodore's words where cut short as the bridge ignited into a fiery blaze,the second arc tore through the ship with little effort,the once prideful ship burned for a few seconds before it's hull split in two,some escape pods made their way to the planet among the floating frames of the crew sucked into space.





Admiral Kar'Shen watched in horror as the reports came through....The INS Ler'Ask fell within seconds of the new Helix arrivals,the robots had some sort of energy weapon that overloaded their power systems and caused it to decay rapidly. The Imperial fleet quickly reformed the line towards the new arrivals and new orders where sent.


"All fleets redirect towards the new enemy fleet designated "Helix Beta" the orders popped up on all ship communications and the Admiral redirected his battleship to shield the transports while his broadside Higra cannons delivered deadly shells of long-range artillery......


---On the Ground---


The ground forces landed and the Legion took the vanguard,the Varanus used their power armour's shields to absorb incoming fire and provided themselves as selfless shields to cover the advance of the infantry while the mechanized armour units where still deploying.


The once clear marble streets where now stained with the debris of the buildings that once housed the citizens of the empire,dried crimson blood left a grim reminder of the assault three years ago. For many of the Varanus this was no mere battle but something more personal. Among the ground forces was the bounty hunter Kaiyan who quickly lended himself back to the Imperium for the chance to reclaim their homeworld.


"HOLD THE LINE" the Legate cried "PUSH THEM BACK!" Bullets tore across the formation,the Legate took the worst of it....But he had to....It was his role as a legion officer to set a example....His right arm was torn from his armoured body,staining the grained floor with blood,he fell to the ground with medics quickly moving to tend to his wound.He would survive,his arm would regenerate but the damage will remove him from the conflict for over a month.


The 404th Legion lost it's legate and Kaiyan being a former legate quickly took command,there was some hesitation of course but there was no time to debate.


"PUSH FORWARD AND CLOSE THE GAP" Kaiyan cried. The Helix forces where well dug in between the central city crossroads that led towards the wreckage crater of the former Ceaseless Citadel,three spiral towers stood in mockery visible kilometers away to remind the attackers that Helix owned this world now. The sight of the steel towers disgusted Kaiyan creating a fixed grin that he carried during the whole battle. The legion troops took covering formation and deployed a mortar that took out a helix machinegun position,the resulting blast caused a wave of dust to temporarily blind both sides but did not halt either side from firing bursts of lasers,energized bullets and kinetic rounds to each other. The dust caused Kaiyan's eyes to burn,his helm removed from his head and left on his ship in one of the Imperial ship hangers.


He heard the march of steel and saw more helix machines swarm into the very positions they had just cleared.


---In the factory---


The Helix drones where caught off guard,the Ananaki took them out swiftly and brutally,if they where organic they would have fled in fear...But these machines do not fear death...They have no understanding of the concept.


"Warning external threat detected" A mechanized intercom would yell among the alarm systems of the factory.


Deep within the spiral tower stood the foundry system that collected minerals from the planet crust and converted it through a byzantine system of assembly lines into helix soldiers ready to eliminate the organic force attacking them. For every minute it seemed that 100 new drones set out of the factory towards the front-line,threatening to overwhelm the Imperial forces in prolonged conflict.As the battle escalated the intent of the Helix strategy became clear.....They where to bleed the Imperials dry.


Without warning a hulking machine charged towards the Ananaki intruders,serrated blades where hands had once been,skin replaced by reinforced steel,two sets of red optics scanned the organic aliens and calculated their movements as best it can. It spoke in a distorted voice.


"DIE" it had spoke heavily and seemed to be in pain.It thrust it's bladed hands towards the Ananaki.....


----------


NEW OBJECTIVE {SPACE}: Engage fleet designated as HELIX BETA.


----------

The factory was an ominous place, even the interior design reflected the ruthlessness of Helix and its need for disposable utilities. Perfection didn't matter to Helix, only functionality. The grey steel design continued within the interior. Thick, loose cables hung from ceilings or were scattered underneath the metal grid flooring. They all seemed to run through corridors, disappearing into rooms. 


The Ananaki had a hunch that all cables eventually lead to the reactor core.


As Maq Ra'im and his crew ventured deeper into the facility, clinging to the shadows and staying light of their feet. Throughout their journey all Ananaki could hear the faint sounds of drills and machinery at work echoing through the halls. Heavy, metallic footsteps thumping their way as Helix-bots patrolled the steamy corridors. The heat in this factory was dense; species of cold or even mild environments would surely struggle with concentrating. Luckily the Ananaki come from a hot and humid planet, the heat not bothering them.


Dispatching one Bot after the other, it became apparent to Helix that these intruders could not be dealt with with ease. So the factories soon sounded the alarm, blaring loudly and flashing red while a distorted voice on the intercom reminded the bots, "Warning external threat detected!"




"There goes discretion," one of the female Ananaki said to her companions. "Are you almost done?"


Alx'acan looked up at her, "It's a large facility with a lot of cameras, give me a moment and watch the halls." he said as he turned back to the PDA in his hands. All crews had an extra PDA to use; it was an isolated computer with a fresh slate. So if Helix caught wind of them and tried to use a virus on them, the threat would remain contained without spreading to the rest of the Imperium.


Right now Alx'acan had a clip attached to one of the wires within the thick cables, having sliced one open to try and hack into the security system. Although it was tempting to try and mess with Helix by trying to shut it down from here. They were no fools. Surely Helix has taken measurements to prevent external attacks like that. But taking a peek through their eyes...?


Alx'acan was leading the third group and he was Maq's little brother and also shared a mate with him. he was proud of his big brother and grateful that he choose him to co-lead this mission. A lot hung on the balance. 


"Right, I found a safe route to the computer rooms, follow me!"




Meanwhile Maq's crew had reached the center point of the factory they were in.


According to the blueprints they had acquired from a survivor; the poor soul was about to be converted into a drone but managed to slip away. A very lucky guy with very valuable information. The anonymous man managed to provide people with a general layout of the factory by memory.





It appears that the Reactor Core was located at a hollow spire within the factories. This hollow tube that held the core was several stories high and deep, with each floor forming a circular balcony around it without any railing. 


The cables that ran throughout the facility joined up in even larger cables bundled together and disappeared into the depths from where Maq's crew was standing. It appears that they were at the highest point of the spire, they couldn't even see the Core, only a faint glow in the depths.


The Ananaki inspected the spire, looking for a way to climb down. But when Maq ran his hand over the surface of the spire he shook his head with a small irritated growl, "It's too smooth, we'll have no grip," he said as he stood up again, "We'll take the long route."


One of his crew members tapped on his personal PDA to warn the other groups of their discovery to prevent them from wasting time. A direct route was needed to reach the Core, no shortcuts....Fuck.


As the Ananaki were sending the warning, the floor began to tremble as heavy, metallic thuds were marching their way. It was a drone, a hulk of a drone. Its species...unknown. The machine was too malformed to recognize its origin.


No longer did it have hands but serrated blades forged and melted to its skin and bones, the angry redness of strips of skin that bulged inbetween the metal plating seemingly scorched to its body. Where once were eyes were now red colored optics that zoomed in and out and rotated as it made calculations for the battle to come.


A truly horrifying sight, but the Ananaki remained unfazed. Never showing any emotion as they themselves have caused many horrors themselves. 


This was war, only the results matter.


Their grip tightened around their blades, an ominous and dark aura surrounded the alien warriors as they readied themselves.


...."DIE!"....




Meanwhile Xa'ra and her crew found a clever way to avoid the bots, for now. Hiding in the shadows as they sat perched atop the thick cables on the ceiling. Watching the passing patrols from time to time, security got really tight. 


"Why are we just hiding here? We should be fighting them! Kill every one of them!" an angered and eager male spoke harshly to the small Rasenaki.


"Be silent, for every 1 we kill, a 100 more will come. That is why we are here. To stop production. This isn't about an honorable death, this about the entire galaxy and our existence. Others rely on us now and we cannot ignore that." Xa'ra explained.


"This Imperium-"


"This Imperium is an unwanted necessity!" She tapped away on her PDA, purple swirls of blueprints, one after the other. They were told to find a different route, but everywhere she looked there were Bots. Many of them. She just wanted to find a way to keep as many of the Ananaki alive as she could. 


The Imperium was making them pay a price, their involvement with the Helix War was diminishing their already low numbers...




The serrated blade narrowly missed the Ananaki's groin as he laid on the floor with legs spread from the fall. As the warrior tried to recover the others swung their blades at the arms and face of the Hulk but it didn't seem to penetrate the armor.


Alright then...brute force wasn't working so they turned to magic instead.


As another warrior took the initiative to peel the shadows from the wall and form tentacles, the shadowy limbs grasped one of the serrated arms and coiled itself tightly around them. The warrior then manipulated the shadows as it began to pull the arm back.


Others soon followed the example, wrapping the half-machine in shadows and forcing it back while the warrior -that had a scare with its 'potential loss of masculinity' - climbed on top of the half-machine. Raising its greatsword high before plunging it down the throat of the Hulk.


The red optics soon fading out as its body grew limb. The warrior could've sworn that he heard the machine let out a strangled sigh of relief.


Panting heavily the warriors recovered, a couple of them were injured with slashes here and there but with time it will be healed again. Not even a scar will remain.


With a heavy sigh and a wave of his dual-wielding blade he pointed to one of the hallways, indicating to continue their journey.