Chapter 167: The Vraxith Descend

Chapter 167: The Vraxith Descend

The alarm sounded across the command center before anyone had time to finish the morning situation report.

Red markers appeared beyond Khelron’s orbital boundary, multiplying so quickly that the tracking officers stopped calling out individual contacts and began reporting them by clusters.

Governor Halden moved beside the central display while Noah remained on the opposite side of the table.

The first formation contained dozens of large objects, but more contacts were appearing behind them as the planetary sensors widened their search.

"Identification confirmed," one of the orbital officers said. "Vraxith."

A second officer enlarged the nearest contact on the main display. The image was grainy at that distance, but Noah could still make out something that did not resemble a conventional ship.

The creature was long and heavily armored, with broad structures along its sides and several smaller organisms clinging beneath its body. Noah had read the intelligence reports on the Vraxith, but seeing one moving toward Khelron made the descriptions feel inadequate.

The Vraxith Swarm did not build its military around steel hulls and conventional machines. Much of its war-making capacity consisted of living organisms grown into specialized forms capable of surviving environments that ordinary creatures could never endure.

More of those living ships appeared behind the first formation, and the command display struggled to separate overlapping contacts.

Some were enormous carriers, while others had already been identified as escorts, artillery organisms, or atmospheric assault forms.

Halden looked toward the tracking officers as the number continued climbing. "How many?"

"More than three hundred confirmed large contacts."

"Confirmed?"

"We’re still resolving smaller signatures."

Noah understood immediately what that meant. The number visible on the display was only the portion Khelron’s instruments had identified with confidence.

He opened a communication channel to the Eldrathi expeditionary command. Grand Marshal Varek Dorn answered before Noah finished calling his name.

"Receiving the same alert," Varek said.

"Bring every Eldrathi unit to full combat readiness."

"Already moving."

"Keep the reserve where it is."

"Understood."

Noah ended the transmission and returned his attention to the orbital display. The Vraxith fleet did not plunge toward the surface immediately, because the largest organisms remained high above Khelron while smaller forms detached from them.

The descending groups began arranging themselves into separate formations. Several aimed toward the central region, while others shifted north and east or turned toward Khelron’s airfields and power facilities.

"They’re attacking multiple regions at once," Voss said.

Halden shook his head. "They’re forcing us to spread our fire."

Noah studied the different trajectories instead of the total number of contacts. "They’re also testing which targets we protect most heavily."

The first Vraxith organisms entered the upper atmosphere soon afterward. Heat surrounded their armored bodies as they descended, and several extended broad membranous structures once the atmosphere thickened enough to support controlled flight.

Khelron’s long-range batteries opened fire as soon as the targets entered engagement range.

Shells and missiles climbed toward the descending formations while the command display filled with tracking lines and predicted intercept points.

One Vraxith contact disappeared from the screen, followed several seconds later by another.

External cameras caught a third creature breaking apart above the clouds, but the officers in the command center had too many surviving contacts to celebrate individual kills.

The Vraxith formations separated further as they descended. Smaller winged creatures pushed ahead of the larger carriers and began twisting through the air in irregular patterns that forced defensive systems to track dozens of fast targets at once.

One of Khelron’s officers cursed quietly when the pattern became obvious. The smaller organisms were deliberately placing themselves between the defensive fire and the carriers descending behind them.

"They’re covering the carriers," the officer said.

Noah watched another cluster disappear beneath concentrated fire. "They’re sacrificing them to protect the larger organisms."

The Eldrathi anti-aircraft batteries joined the engagement moments later. Reports flowed from Varek’s command network as goblin crews in the central, northern, and eastern sectors began firing according to their assigned air-defense zones.

Shell bursts appeared above the central industrial region while mobile northern batteries engaged targets crossing their sectors. Eastern guns fired from elevated positions around the rail corridors, creating overlapping zones of fire above several important junctions.

The Vraxith began firing back before the carriers reached lower altitude. One large organism twisted part of its body toward a Khelron battery and launched a cluster of hardened biological projectiles.

The projectiles crossed the distance with frightening speed and struck around the battery position. Soil, shattered concrete, and biological fragments covered the emplacement while the radar installation beside it disappeared from Khelron’s network.

"Central Battery Four lost," an officer reported.

Another Vraxith creature released a cloud of smaller organisms toward Khelron’s aircraft. The creatures spread apart as fighters moved to intercept them, then accelerated directly toward the approaching planes instead of attempting to escape.

One creature vanished beneath cannon fire before reaching its target. Three others attacked another fighter from different angles, and the aircraft disappeared from the display after one of the organisms struck its wing.

Halden’s expression hardened as the remaining creatures continued pursuing the surviving fighters. "They’re using living interceptors."

Noah watched the engagement long enough to understand that nearly every biological form in the Vraxith fleet served some military function. "They’re using everything they grow as part of the attack."

The first carrier reached lower altitude over the central region shortly afterward. Its underside opened, and dozens of dark shapes dropped from inside its body.

The objects fell too quickly for the tracking systems to classify at first. One of the nearest cameras finally captured a clear image of a thick armored shell with an uneven organic surface, and movement registered inside it.

"Drop organisms," an analyst said.

More carriers opened before the first group reached the ground. Hundreds of biological pods began falling toward Khelron, and new clusters appeared so quickly that the central display covered entire regions with descent paths.

Noah stepped closer and examined where the pods were heading. Several groups were falling directly toward industrial and military positions rather than open ground.

"They know the important sites," Voss said.

Noah opened the Eldrathi command channel again. "Shift light anti-aircraft fire to the pods. Heavy batteries stay on the carriers."

Varek answered immediately. "Relaying."

Across the defended regions, goblin crews changed targets and lowered some of their guns toward the falling pods. The first shell ruptured in midair and spilled pieces of a Vraxith warrior through the smoke.

Another pod absorbed several hits without breaking apart and continued falling. A third exploded only a few hundred meters above the ground, scattering fragments across the defensive positions beneath it.

The central region received the heaviest concentration. Iron Legion guns fired almost continuously while heavy machine guns joined the engagement once the pods descended low enough.

The first surviving pod struck outside one of the prepared positions and threw dirt across the trenches. Its shell split seconds later, allowing three insectoid warriors to crawl from the wreckage before the dust had settled.

The creatures stood taller than the goblins facing them and carried no separate weapons. Hard biological growths extended along their forelimbs, and the ends opened before the first Vraxith fired a burst of hardened projectiles toward the trench.

Goblin rifles and machine guns answered immediately. Two warriors collapsed under concentrated fire, while the third reached within several meters of the defensive position before a heavy machine gun tore through its armored body.

More pods landed around the first impact site. Within minutes, the outer Iron Legion positions were firing in several directions as fresh Vraxith emerged wherever the biological shells survived the descent.

The northern attack developed differently because the pods were scattered across a much wider area. Green Legion reconnaissance units began reporting landings near roads, mines, processing facilities, and isolated settlements rather than one concentrated front.

One convoy encountered Vraxith shortly after leaving a processing center, while another company reported several pods landing beside a fuel depot. Noah watched Green Legion markers move toward contacts threatening the main transportation corridors while smaller enemy groups farther away were simply identified and monitored.

The decision kept the northern force from being pulled apart. Goblin companies remained concentrated enough to respond when several landing zones began merging into larger enemy groups.

The eastern sector reported heavy contact near East-Seven. Several pods landed around the railway junction and disgorged Vraxith warriors who initially found only a relatively small goblin presence beside the station.

Machine-gun fire then opened from the ridges above them. Stone Legion mortars followed, striking the open ground around the tracks while the Vraxith attempted to reorganize beneath the elevated defenses.

Several creatures began moving toward the slopes instead of the station. Artillery landed among them before they could reach the base of the ridges, leaving the railway itself largely untouched.

A new warning appeared on the central display as the defenders fought the first ground contacts. Larger biological pods were descending behind the initial wave, and their shells appeared thick enough to survive hits that had destroyed the smaller versions.

One of the heavy pods struck near the central defenses and carved a crater into the ground. The shell cracked open from inside, and a massive Vraxith creature forced its way through the opening.

Its body was wider than a truck, with overlapping armor plates covering its front and several heavy limbs supporting a low torso. Iron Legion rifle fire struck the creature immediately, but most rounds broke against the thick outer plates.

A field gun fired from farther behind the defensive line. The first shell landed beside the creature while the second struck it directly and tore away part of its armored front.

Another large pod opened farther away and released a completely different organism. The low creature crawled only a short distance before digging its legs into the ground and raising a hollow biological structure from its back.

The first projectile launched moments later and landed behind the goblin line. Khelron’s analysts quickly identified the organism as an artillery form and began marking similar heavy pods separately.

Noah ordered counter-battery units to prioritize them before they could establish firing positions. The instruction had barely gone out when additional reports revealed other specialized forms emerging elsewhere.

Some pods carried burrowing creatures capable of disappearing beneath the surface within minutes. Others released armored assault organisms or smaller creatures that immediately began tearing apart the biological shell surrounding their own landing pod.

Voss enlarged one of the feeds when several insects dragged pieces of the shell into a low circular formation. "What are they doing?"

Noah watched more Vraxith gather around the position. "They’re building something."

The answer became clearer as the structure grew. The Swarm had not merely dropped soldiers onto Khelron, because some of the pods contained everything required to begin creating temporary battlefield positions.

Noah opened the Eldrathi network again and issued a new priority. "Do not allow landing zones to settle. Destroy them before they can establish positions."

Varek answered first. "All legions receiving the order."

Halden pointed toward three expanding concentrations already marked on the map. "They’re established here, here, and here."

"Then those become immediate targets."

"Storm Legion?"

Noah looked toward the orbital display instead of repeating their previous argument. The first descending formations represented only part of what remained above Khelron, and many of the largest organisms had not yet released anything.

"The main descent is still above us."

Halden followed his gaze and stopped pressing the issue. The reserve remained concentrated near the central transportation network while the engaged legions fought the opening attack.

The next twenty minutes brought no pause in the fighting. Khelron aircraft intercepted Vraxith flyers over the east, goblin batteries destroyed another cluster of descending pods, and Iron Legion reported close combat after several pods landed behind its first defensive belt.

Green Legion units changed routes repeatedly as new contacts appeared around the northern corridor. Stone Legion engineers demolished a small Vraxith position forming beside a maintenance road while keeping the nearby railway intact.

The defenders adjusted their responses as new threats appeared, but the Vraxith began adapting as well. Several flying organisms approached anti-aircraft batteries at lower altitude, while carriers started releasing pods farther from their intended targets.

Some pods glided through the atmosphere rather than falling directly beneath the defensive guns. Others split open before impact and released winged Vraxith that scattered toward separate positions.

"They changed their drop pattern," Voss said.

Noah watched the new trajectories spread across the screen. "After only one wave."

The implication settled across the command room because the Vraxith were learning while the invasion was still unfolding. The defenders were no longer fighting an enemy that would repeat the same approach until it failed.

Varek’s voice entered the command channel a few minutes later. "Confirmed surface contacts now exceed eight thousand. Actual number is probably higher."

"Major losses?"

"Nothing critical yet."

"Central?"

"Holding."

"North?"

"Transport corridor remains open."

"East?"

"East-Seven secure. Fighting at two other junctions."

Noah looked once more toward the orbital display. "Keep your formations in place."

"Understood."

Another carrier died over the northern region before Varek disconnected. The creature did not explode but instead folded in on itself as its flight surfaces failed and began falling toward the surface.

Tracking officers calculated the likely impact zone and sent warnings to nearby settlements. The enormous body struck beyond the main defensive lines and threw a plume of dust high enough to appear on multiple observation feeds.

The command center had barely processed the crash when the orbital alarm changed tone. One of the monitoring officers looked up as new contacts separated from the main Vraxith fleet.

"Additional descent formation."

Fresh markers appeared across the display. The second group was larger than the first, and preliminary counts placed more than two hundred atmospheric carriers in the formation before the sensors finished resolving the smaller organisms.

Halden stared at the numbers. "That first group was only the advance."

Noah did not answer because the battlefield map already showed the consequences of the first assault. Vraxith forces were fighting on the ground across all three major defended regions, while several landing zones had been destroyed and others continued expanding.

Iron Legion still held the central approaches, Green Legion kept the northern transportation corridor operating, and Stone Legion remained in control of the key eastern junctions. Khelron’s major refineries, airfields, and power network were still functioning despite the attack.

The first wave had failed to cripple the planet immediately. That did not mean it had failed in every purpose.

It had forced Khelron to fire its weapons, reveal defensive positions, and show the Vraxith which approaches were most heavily protected. The new atmospheric trajectories were already shifting toward regions that had received less pressure during the opening assault.

Noah opened the general command channel as the second formation began descending. "All sectors, prepare for another wave. Do not leave your positions to chase retreating groups."

Acknowledgments returned from the legion commands one after another. The Storm Legion marker remained in the center, still uncommitted while the rest of the battlefield grew more crowded.

Khelron’s anti-aircraft guns turned toward the sky again as the first new carriers entered the upper atmosphere. Below them, the surviving Vraxith from the opening assault continued fighting around their landing zones.

The enemy had arrived in force, but neither side had yet committed everything it possessed. Noah watched hundreds of fresh contacts descend toward the mining world and understood that this was only the beginning of Khelron’s defensive war.