Battle of the Scouring Star

The Battle of the Scouring Star was the name given to the climactic battle of the First Stratos Contention, when the allied mercenary forces were slaughtered by the Golden Empire battle group under the command of the  Centurion Vos'elk'eetash.

Since the Battle of Cheff and the Empire's entry into the Contention, Selkee and her fleet had chased Lugubraa forces through the, defeating those they found but unable to force a decisive engagement. Pursuing the fleeing enemies deep into the Stratos Distribution, Selkee and her fleet arrived only to find that they had been led into a trap; the Lugubraa had united against the common enemy, pooling forces to overwhelm the Royal battle group.

With retreat cut off, Selkee ordered her fleet deeper into the system, going as close to the system's primary as she dared despite the protests of her captains. They objected all the more strongly as Selkee ordered all fighters back to their ships and all power diverted to shields, with weapons and engines powered down and even life support set to minimum. As Selkee entered a meditative trance, Captain Ariadne Sonay dutifully ordered the rest of the fleet to comply even as she struggled to position both the Starhammer and other ships to withstand the oncoming fire.

Selkee, meanwhile, used the Force to cause a massive solar flare. The maxed-out energy shields of the Royal fleet barely withstood the resulting electromagnetic and radioactive storm, and two ships whose captains had defied Selkee's orders to put up some fight were destroyed. However, the Lugubraa and their mercenary allies had not expected the tactic, and the overwhelming majority of enemy ships were destroyed. Most of the few left intact had been so overloaded with radioactive poison that their crews would be dead in days at most. Only a handful of ships limped from the system.

As most of the warring factions had been present to defeat Selkee, the First Stratos Contention came to an end after the battle for want of sufficient forces to continue fighting. Though victorious, the Royal forces had suffered damage both from the Lugubraa and Selkee's solar flare, and they limped back to the Empire. The indecisive conclusion to the war led to the founding of Ord Vos.