You are the leader of a growing galactic empire. 

Your recently deployed secondary fleet has arrived at the far orbit of the metal rich planet Harcenia – only recently conquered by the Advent so you anticipate minimal orbital defenses. A quick scan of the area confirms your suspicions so you order the fleet to move into near orbit and authorize each ship’s captain to exercise their own discretion in combat.

Returning your focus to empire management, you analyze the status of the local solar system. Your primary fleet is still traveling in Phase Space and construction of a third fleet is nearly finished at your home planet. Your most recent colony is warning you that they will soon reach population capacity so you requisition the construction of a new city. Finally, your laboratories have produced substantial results on propulsion technologies, so you authorize further research into more advanced sub-light speed engines.

An incoming report tells you that your primary fleet has completed their phase jump to the Vasari planet of Jindra. Sensor trajectories suggest that this is the staging ground for his harassment raids against your lucrative trade lines; it’s time to put an end to it at the source. Though well developed, Jindra has few defense platforms. Most of the orbital space has been devoted to research facilities, suggesting that the opponent is making a gambit for superior technology. It also explains why he was constantly attacking the trade lines – to keep you busy while he gains a leg up on technology. Seeking to negate his bid for this advantage, you order your veteran force to destroy the labs. Only when they draw nearer to the planet do you realize there is an operational Phase Gate on the other side of the planet. It’s quite possible an opposing fleet could use it to catch you by surprise and have you trapped. Deciding it’s worth the risk, you proceed with your original attack plan.

A menacing Vasari fleet returns, using the accelerated traveling capabilities of the Phase Gate. A quick retreat order and your fleet begins moving towards the edge of the gravity well and potential escape. Unfortunately, the Vasari use the gravity to slingshot their warships closer to your own fleet, snuffing hopes of retreat. Your fleet is simply too close to the planet and the pull of gravity is just relatively too slow. ”Last stand” combat is inevitable.

You begin combat by moving your battleships to bear the brunt of the incoming attack. As the first wave of enemy bombers zero in for an attack run, your battleships activate their Adaptive Force Fields in time to absorb the missiles and counterattack with Flak Bursts. Numerous starbursts suggest most of them were destroyed. You move one of your relatively vulnerable cruisers closer to fire an Electro Magnetic Pulse at a cluster of enemy ships to drain their antimatter and shields. Sensing an opportunity, the Vasari carrier unleashes a horde of bombers that were held back from the first wave. The bombers’ salvoes of Phase Missiles bypass your cruiser’s shields, leaving it heavily damaged by the time it deploys the EMP. You may have nearly lost a ship, but with a portion of his fleet without shields the advantage is yours. You scramble your own bombers and move the battleships into optimum firing range. Your bombers take steep losses against the enemy interceptors but there is little the Vasari can do to stop the full broadsides of your battleships’ heavy beams and Gauss Cannons. Two of his warships spectacularly explode, leaving burning wreckage floating in their place.

As you prepare to bring your just completed tertiary fleet to reinforce your offensive at Jindra, your warships at Harcenia report the arrival of enemy forces. The Advent have deployed a fleet to defend this world – and they’ve also sent another fleet to simultaneously siege one of your key population planets. With the Advent’s PsiTech powers the population on that planet will soon succumb to their influence and be serving them instead of you. Wishing to avoid such a loss, you tell most of your secondary fleet to evacuate Harcenia and defend them. You decide to leave a single siege capital ship to bomb as much as possible before the defenders close in on him. Large mushroom clouds erupt satisfyingly from Harcenia’s surface as the Raze Planet cannons unleash.

You return to your primary fleet’s fight with the Vasari – with a few of their key ships destroyed it is likely that the tides have turned and you will win the battle. Even so, it is but one of many important conflicts whose outcome will determine the fate of your empire.