The Battle of Tandankin (Cruentusian War) was a battle in the Cruentusian War, which occurred a few weeks after the first battle of the Necasian/Zayre alliance on Alaris Prime, which was a victory for the alliance. The Necasians and Zayre hit a fortified Srav base on Tandankin, with the objective of obtaining several batches of high explosives from a Srav storage bunker. Lead by the brilliant commander Askar Invado, and the great warrior Haveer Jarn, the Necasians and Zayre were full of confidence following their victory on Alaris, but by this time the Sravs were prepared for them. Lead by their hero Nataska Vergulva, the Sravs put up a fierce fight, with Nataska and the Necasian hero Haveer Jarn themselves fighting in a Srav missile silo, while the Necasian Sharpshooter Cohort operating effectively under the command of Askar, impressing his troops. It was the first appearance of the cohort, and was also the first appeaance of the new Necaisan vehicle, the Krako Warrior Traversers.
Beginnings[]
Commander Jarn. You returned from your exploits in the Outer Rim.
Invado. I see you haven't died since I was last here
—Askar Invado and Haveer Jarn
After the Battle of Alaris Prime, the Srav's had been forced to abandon all outposts and positions on the planet of Alaris, a huge loss for them. A large portion of troops, weapons and vehicles had been lost, and the Necasian Zayre alliance had opted out of chasing the Srav's onto another planet, preferring instead to spend time strengthening the troopers and alliance, whilst taking Srav weaponry from the battle field and working upon it. The Srav weaponry they investigated led to two new, important discoveries; the Krako Warrior Traversers were created by the Necasians, in an attempt to strengthen their ground troops, whilst Askar Invado had a batch of rifles made especially for sharpshooting, before establishing the Necasian Sharpshooter Cohort, transferring himself from the position of SpecOps commander. The Sharpshooter cohort made its debut in the Battle of Tandankin, and was a success. In addition, Haveer Jarn returned from campaigns in the Outer Rim to lead the ground troops, now leaderless since Invado'd transfer. After these developments, they turned their attention upon the planet of Tandankin, where the Srav's had fled to. Under the command of Nataska Vergulva, they had established camps upon Tandankin, and the Necasians were confident that the alliance, combined with the new technology, could gain them a victory. Mass landing on the planet in a stealth landing, they established prefab camps, only planning to stay in time to beat the Srav's off the planet.
The battle[]
First encounters[]
Despite wanting only to storm the Srav's and get out of there, the Necasians had more sense than to charge in blind. Scouting out the area, they sent Haveer Jarn in with a large group of soldiers, to mount guerrila attacks on the Srav's, and scout out numbers. All new technical developments were withheld from the field, in an attempt to surprise the Srav's later. After seeing the extent of the Srav's base, Jarn led an attack upon a missile silo, using guerilla attacks on an unguarded part of the encampments fencing to infiltrate a way in. After infiltrating a way in, an attack on the silo was mounted, and Jarn attacked. The tactical genius of Vergulva however, the woman who he would later duel, drove them off, with reasonable losses. The Srav's didn't chase them, preferring to stay inside the base.
Main Battle[]
Welcome to Tandankin, comrade. I trust our little welcoming committee was sufficient? Please, make yourself at home. I'm very excited about seeing how you get on with my sniper rifle.
—Vergulva addressing Jarn for the first time
After the guerilla attack, the alliance knew the numbers and strategic position, and wasted no time before attacking. They organized a large storm assault instantly, with the Krako Warrior Traversers, Elthior-class IV Assault Frigates and Zayre infantry storming the base. The Elthiors managed to bombard the front line of Srav defences into complete obliteration, before the Srav Warships engaged them, and the Krako Warrior Traversers moved in. The Drakuv tanks had never encountered these before, and were overwhelmed, before the brilliance of Nataska Vergulva engaged them, and held them back. The Srav fighter planes then engaged the Zayre flight battalions, holding the alliance at a standstill.
After this, the alliance sent in their ground troops. With both sides having their artillery enaged and, effectively, taken out of the battle, the brilliant Haveer Jarn, honed by experience in the Outer Rim, led his troops in. Expecting an easy victory, he was encountered with the military might of Nataska Vergulva, and held back. Vergulva ordered Srav Yukels to fly low over the battlefield, creating sandstorms which disorientated the Necasians. Storm Ironwings led a small contingent of troops down to the surface, but was preocuppied with the skies, and so was held up. The Drakuv's moved forwards, and the battle was held at a relative stalemate, before the Krako Warrior Traversers broke through the line, and shattered a way into the base. At this moment, Askar Invado introduced the Necasian Sharpshooter Cohort, which struck and caused disaster amongst the Srav's, breaking their resolve. However, Vergulva herself took out several Necasian snipers with her own snipering skills, evening the odds slightly.
The way into the base was now clear, and the Srav's momentarily retreated, before rallying around a large missile silo inside the base. Inside, Vergulva rallied her troops, sending them outside to combat Jarn's. Before she reached the outside herself, she was confronted by Jarn, who battled her back into the silo, before the two engaged in a violent duel, the confined space forcing them to use hand-to-hand combat, both of them using various acrobatics on the gantries and fuel lines within the silo. The Sharpshooter cohort outside was causing trouble in the Srav ranks, yet the Elthiors had been beaten back, and the Krako's held by the Drakuv's once more.
As the battle raged, however, a small squad of Necasian SpecOps teams penetrated a Srav munitions dump and secured the batch of explosives they had been looking for. As the Zayre and Necasian fighters kept Srav anti-air hardware occupied, a Necasian transport shuttle picked up the explosives and made a quick getaway.
Back in the silo, Jarn got word over his personal communications that were built into his suit that the objective was complete and that all Necasians and Sravs were to quickly escape. Not wanting to waste any more time with Vergulva, he worked quickly to strap a bomb to the missile in the silo, before using a grappling hook to quickly get away. To his surprise, Vergulva defused the bomb in seconds, and she quickly chased him up the silo with her acrobatic skills. Upon exiting the silo, however, Jarn was picked up by a Necasian transport, the guns of which prevented Vergulva from carrying on the chase.
By now, most Necasian forces were in the process of strategically withdrawing. Ironwings, however, upon getting the signal that the Zayre had to fall back too, was confused and angered, as she was under the impression that they had come to wipe out the Sravs entirely. Nonetheless, she quickly complied, as without Necasian backup the Zayre were sitting ducks.
As all Necasian/Zayre forces left Tandankin, Vergulva silently thought about Jarn, and likewise Jarn thought about her. Although they barely knew anything about each other, they were both silently impressed with the other.
Aftermath[]
Coward! When you start a battle, you are supposed to finish it!
—Ironwings ranting at Askar
As soon as the Necasians and Zayre returned to the Necasian homeworld, Ironwings immediately got into an argument with Askar, stating that they should have finished the Sravs off. Askar coldly replied that she was in no position to argue and that taking the Srav base would simply be a waste of time. Ironwings pointed out that many Zayre had died to further the Necasian cause, but Askar simply stated that that was their purpose. Feeling put off, Ironwings sought a meeting with the Necasian supreme commander, Redharn. Redharn agreed with her, but he also added that Askar was a good commander and that listening to him was worthwhile. Although still angry, Ironwings decided that she was beginning to like Redharn.
Meanwhile, Srav propaganda made sure that the battle was viewed as a victory by the Srav people. Vergulva assured her troops that what the Necasians had stolen was easily replaceable. However, she soon got word that she would be relieved of her command and that she would soon be following the orders of Ivran Gresev, the brilliant but unstable chief of the Srav armed forces. Although she stepped down without protest, Vergulva was still worried about this new development.