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The huge meteorite had passed ages meandering slowly through space; occasionally gravity from one celestial body or another had tugged fitfully at it, causing it to deviate from its ambling course, but never enough to capture it. That was until a myriad of small craft had landed and begun to transform its purpose. Engines were bolted to its surface, drills bored deep into its interior and finally three great warships occupied their chosen places. Now it was more than a mere rock; it lacked sentience, but the feverish minds within the ship gave it purpose.

Ever so slowly its course was corrected; bursts of fire struggled with its gargantuan mass, turning it towards its target. Then one by one the warships left, a small skeleton crew remaining to utilise the manoeuvring thrusters. Deep within its bowels lay the multiple nuclear warheads, awaiting their activation codes.

The SDS recognised the imminent threat and relayed the details to the planet’s surface. It appeared that the immense rock would pass close to the asteroid belt; a not unknown occurrence. Perhaps a new body would join the many already in existence and so whilst it was monitored, few were worried.

This changed when it was still relatively far away. Movement was detected as a warship appeared in known space. The evacuation of the meteorite went unnoticed, as the remaining small craft moved quickly to reach their mother ship. The larger craft’s disappearance once more was registered and was the subject of discussion within the underground complex. Only for a moment though, as a series of gigantic explosions rocked the meteorite itself. They tore the thing apart, blasting huge chunks away which now were given their own impetus. These were flung towards the asteroid belt itself, rocky projectiles whose path spelt danger for the SDS.

Automatic defence systems kicked in, launching missiles and powering up mass projectiles. They were relatively ineffective, their impacts producing smaller explosions which did not deter the already committed shrapnel.

First impacts struck the stable belt, tearing asteroids from their orbits and creating mayhem. Drones were launched in a feeble attempt to strike back, but many were smashed into oblivion, their onboard systems unable to cope with the maelstrom of incoming fire. Some survived, racing out to attack larger pieces, but their guns and missiles were useless.

Amidst this chaos, three warships jumped into the system; two turning to fire their capital weapons on the SDS itself. Their own missiles and particle weapons adding to the confusion. The third continued on its way towards the awaiting planet, dropships disengaging, and fighters launching. It took up a menacing orbit; sufficiently distant from the planet that it could intercept any attack.

Von Jankmonn and his minimal crew watched it all happen; there was nothing that they could do. What fighters he had at his disposal were limited, not in number but by lack of pilots. The frigate itself was capable of much, but with such an untried crew they would stand little chance. Instead, he did the only thing left to him.

“Von Jankmonn for Elias, come in Elias...”