The Battle of Raxus Prime (Cruentusian War) was a battle fought upon Raxus Prime, during the Cruentusian War, in a mine rich in ores and metals, as well as an economical source of wealth. It was originally fought between the Srav Federation and the Necasian Military, with Askar Invado looking to appear strong, however the Death's Tongue Militia later arrived, in an attempt to cut themselves a share of the profits. It would be one of the few battles that the Zayre would fight under Askar Invado, and the only reason that the Zayre Warlordess Storm Ironwings hadn't pulled out was because she still maintained the faint hope that Carsal Redharn would be released. The mine was in use, but was abandoned after the owners heard that the war would soon come to Raxus Prime. The end result was a victory for the Necasian Military, with Askar Invado gaining a reputation as a hardliner, with the massacre of many prisoners in cold blood adding to his ruthless reputation.
Prelude[]
Allow me, your faithful arbiter, to travel to Raxus Prime and gain a valuable asset to our war effort!
—Askar Invado to the Necasian High Military Council
After the orchestrations of Askar Invado during the Battle of Cul-Huq, Carsal Redharn had been imprisoned, with an execution pending. In his absence, the position as head of the Necasian Military was vacant, and Askar Invado had his eye upon the position. As the Necasian High Council spent its time deciding upon a new leader, Askar Invado decided to assert himself in a new position as commander, as well as gaining reputation for the election, by gaining possession of a mine, the one resource bountiful area in the toxic planet of Raxus Prime. After hearing of the terrors that had happened on the planet of Cul-Huq, the owners of the mine fled, fearing a similar fate at the hands of the merciless, warring factions. The Srav Federation, buoyed up by their recent victory and reluctant to allow the Necasians back into the war, sent a force to combat Invado's, yet Invado took few chances, sending a large, fully armed force, personally commanded by himself. The Necasians arrived on the planet first, and set up defenses in the base, but they had little time to fortify them before the Sravs arrived and assaulted them.
The battle[]
Opening moves[]
The mine entrance
Keep the fortified positions, and we'll cull these scum like the animals they are!
—Askar Invado's contemptuous description of the Srav Federation
The various walkways and corridors of the mine, as well as the deep shafts and holes, made a dangerous terrain for a battle, and the Necasians used this to their advantage, Invado recognizing the value of a fortified area, and Invado fortified areas around the mine, allowing the Necasians a safe hide away whilst the Sravs were forced to file one by one across walkways, making them easy prey for the Necasians. When Ivran Gresev realized he was no longer facing the less tactically astute Carsal Redharn, he used Drakuv assault tanks to clear a way through for the Sravs, allowing them to issue across the walkways and lay siege to the Necasian fortifications. The fortifications held up well, the Necasians defending them well, but Invado had held back his Krako Warrior Traversers, which acted like a wave and swept the Drakuvs away from the fortifications, allowing the defenders to clear out the Srav troops. This allowed the Necasians breathing space, and allowed them to mount attacks of their own upon the Sravs inside the mine, keeping them under pressure.
After the original sieges, the Srav's realized that Invado was, by no means, a pushover. After their attacks upon their entrance, they were pushed back, yet the Necasians made sure to keep their defensive positions at the fortifications, holding the Sravs back, whilst mounting sallies of their own. This led to the fact that the Sravs were weakened enough and hard pressed enough not to notice a force from the Death's Tongue Militia arriving upon the planet. This led to the DTM being able to mount an attack upon the desert fortifications, which were now lightly defended and fell easily, and allowing them a clear run to the base, which they would later infiltrate.
Meanwhile, Invado had used the Zayre to trap the retreat of the Srav Federation, meaning that retreat wasn't an option. Invado then used the Necasian Sharpshooter Cohort to assassinate key members of the Sravs in the battle, sowing confusion amongst the ranks.
Unexpected arrival[]
Who the hell are these new people?
—A Necasian soldier to his fellows.
By now, the Sravs realized that, if they must die, they would give their lives in battle, in a glorious death. However, Invado hadn't expected the flair of Nataska Vergulva to arrive with reinforcements from the outside, and nor had he expected the presence of the DTM, who would soon attack. Vergulva's skill managed to clear a path through the back, allowing reinforcements to reach the stretched Srav troops and push the Necasians back, managing to gain control of half of the mine, evening the battle. As the Necasians pushed forth once again, the DTM arrived, cutting into both factions equally, and forcing them to change their attention from each other to the DTM. DTM suicide bombers, riding explosive-ridden Lynx attack quads that were too fast to be shot down by the tanks of both sides, rode straight into the ranks of both sides. Meanwhile, DTM soldiers snuck into the mine and brought down several tunnels using demo traps on both the Necasian and Sravs, pushing both sides onto the desert surface.
On the surface, the Necasians began to change their focus onto the DTM, despite Invado's orders that the Sravs were the greater threat. As DTM Stinger buggies and Hopper craft performed hit-and-run attacks on the Necasian, Vergulva used the laser sights on her sniper rifle to guide Drapeznik gunships to key Necasian targets, their nuclear-tipped missiles causing damage to Necasian armor. Nonetheless, Srav armor was running low due to both DTM attacks and Necasian attacks, and Vergulva gave out orders to prioritize on seizing the anti-air defenses on the mine to clear out the Zayre to give them a retreat window.
Closing moves[]
Attack, Zayre! Forget the Necasian commands, we are the Zayre!
—Storm Ironwings to the amassed Zayre.
They're loose!! The Zayre are loose!
—Sabsa Junn to his soldiers
Necasian troops hunt the DTM in the desert wastes
As the Sravs made for their remaining transports, the Necasians turned the tide against the DTM, using their Toronian tanks to clear out DTM vehicles, which were ineffective against heavy vehicles, and their DarkBird fighters managed to bring down several Srav Drapezniks. Some Zayre warriors, however, got bored with flying around aimlessly and descended and joined in the battle, despite Invado's desperate orders not to. They flew over the wastes above the mine, taking out pockets of DTM resistance. Quickly, the Sravs took the opportunity to escape in their transports, although some Necasian DarkBirds managed to intercept some. Nataska escaped on the last transport, after installing some explosives in the mine. However, the Necasians were now clear possessors of the mine, and the definite victors. As they celebrated, they failed to notice DTM troops come out of hiding in the desert sands and relocate to other areas of the planet.
Aftermath[]
Let all who see this bear witness! Here we have all our prisoners! Sharpshooter Cohort? Shoot these dogs.
—Askar Invado ruthlessly ordering the mass murder of numerous prisoners
Immediately after the battle, Invado took the opportunity to gloat about it to the Necasian High Council, stating that Redharn would have totally bungled the battle had he been in command, and that thanks to him the Necasians were a step closer to winning the war, having gained a very valuable asset and gained entrance into the war once more. Meanwhile, he had all DTM and Srav prisoners rounded up and shot, their bodies scattered in the desert wastes above the mine for all to see. Some Necasian commanders were disturbed by this; others applauded his ruthlessness. Ironwings, meanwhile, was angry at the fact that Invado had kept the Zayre out of the main battle, and tried to have Redharn released, but to no avail. Meanwhile, she was starting to study the crimes committed by the Necasians on Cul-Huq and on Raxus, and was starting to question the alliance.
Meanwhile, Yuiln was furious at the defeat, but nonetheless applauded Vergulva for rescuing the Srav survivors. Gresev took no responsibility for the defeat, blaming his troops and poor intelligence, and stated that the battle was a mere minor setback anyway.
However, unbeknownst to both sides, the faction that profited most was the DTM. With their numbers on the planet depleted, the Necasian forces were only concentrated in the main mine. This allowed the DTM to set up their own side-mines discreetly by stealing mining equipment, and soon they were stealing ore from right under the noses of the Necasians, and began stockpiling it, for reasons unknown.