So unfortunately my computer ate the first draft of this chapter, and I wound up having to rewrite it from scratch. Hence why it took so darn long and I wasn't able to finish writing the replacement for Chapter 6. Ah well. There will be time for that later!

I've been trying to find a way to shoehorn in some of the Ground Pounders stuff into this story for a freaking age, and I finally found an excuse in this chapter. We finally get to see how the ground forces of the SotS universe stack up against those of Mass Effect! ...of course, this is 50 years after First Contact, so they've had a while to update their weapons and tactics. Still, tanks and jets and orbital bombardment, oh my!

In other news, I've finally gotten around to making a TV Tropes page for Shepherd of the Stars and my other ME story, Mesozoic Effect! I mostly did it for the practice so I don't really plan on adding much more to them myself, but if anyone else feels like throwing some tropes on there feel free. One of my more prolific reviewers, Drgyen, seems to have already gotten started. Thanks a bunch dude!

The next chapter likely won't be out for a bit, since I've got to do some writing for Mesozoic Effect first, but it should feature the return of some reader favorites: the Youth United group! Maybe if they're lucky I won't kill any of them this time around...

Planetary OpFor Defense Simulation

(redirected from "PODS")

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The Planetary OpFor Defense Simulation (more commonly known by its acronym, PODS) is an annual event hosted by the Citadel Council. Originally created at the request of the Turian Hierarchy following the Geth Uprising in 1895, the stated mission of PODS is to "facilitate interspecies cooperation and increase galactic readiness while familiarizing commanders with the tactics and weapons systems favored by other interstellar nations." The simulation is annual.

While non-Council species are technically not banned from participating, only Council members and Associate Members have ever been asked to participate or requested inclusion. The involvement of Council Associates was relatively uncommon until 2167, when SolForce asked to join part of the attacking force for that year's simulation. The Tarkasian Empire and Hiver Imperium both requested to participate in 2168. The Liir/Prester Zuul Alliance remained the only Associate nation to specifically decline inclusion until 2185, when they agreed to replace SolForce as one of the defending nations with the Human nation left the program for political reasons.

PODS uses the same format every year, with one or more nations selected to be the aggressors and another nation or group of nations designated as the defenders. A single system is selected as the battlefield for the simulated invasion, with conflict limited to one light-year of the system's star. These systems are always inhabited, and host systems are selected from a list of volunteer worlds. The effects of PODS on its hosts is a controversial subject, with supporters of the exercise claiming the influx of so many soldiers often has a beneficial effect on the local economy. The program's detractors point out that the maneuvers required by the simulation often have a detrimental effect on local ecosystems, and participating in the simulation's many evacuations and urban engagements often shuts down the host planet for several months.

Though battle is limited to one system, PODS invasions do not take place in a vacuum (metaphorically speaking). Each simulation is assumed to be part of a larger war plan, and both sides must act accordingly. The timeline of the overall war determines how long the exercise will run, typically between two and four months. The overall strategic situation also determines the amount of ships and troops that are available to each side. Attackers typically enjoy a distinct advantage in the orbital theater, while defenders usually have the edge on the ground.

While PODS attempts to simulate actual conflict as closely as possible, the heavy ordinance used on any modern battlefield would inflict irreparable damage to the host planet and almost certainly be lethal to the participants. To counter this, a series of simulated ordinance is used in conjunction with virtual reality HUDs. Weapons fire computerized soft shells, tightbeam lasers, or nanite gel, all of which can interface with the vehicles, armor, and HUDs of the various participants. This allows soldiers to see the effects of their weaponry and know when they have been 'killed' without risking actual harm or destroying the environments they are fighting in.

At the conclusion of each simulated campaign, victory is determined by a series of calculated point values. These points are dependent on a variety of factors such as enemy, allied, and civilian casualties, infrastructure seized or destroyed, damage done to the environment, supplies used, etc. Due to the way points are tallied, attackers may seize the entire planet but still be defeated because they have wasted more men and resources than their overall war effort can afford. Similarly, if a defender holds a planet but reduces it to rubble in the process, they may also lose even when conventional wisdom would suggest that they 'won' the battle.

Once a winner is selected, the amount of points they have obtained will determine their degree of victory. This degree is typically used to measure the performance of the various participants. Major victories are huge successes that well exceed what would be expected of normal combat personnel, while minor victories reflect good performance with several critical areas that should be improved. In rare circumstances neither side is able to obtain a significant advantage in points, so the battle is declared a draw.

PODS campaigns have a dedicated following of military enthusiasts, and amateur analyses of the various battles are extremely popular among Turians and Humans. Nicknamed "Poddies" or "Pod People", PODS supporters have a mixed reputation. A non-fiction book called War Games was released in 2177 that suggested the simulation actually deepens national conflicts rather than giving a safe outlet for them, listing the many xenophobic comments found on several PODS civilian discussion forums as part of its proof. Despite this and other harsh critiques of these individuals, Armax Arsenal hosts several conventions catering to PODS supporters each year, and Turian General Corinthus faced severe extranet backlash in 2180 when he dismissed them as "nothing more than hyperactive arm-chair strategists with too much time on their hands."

While after-action reports for each simulation are freely available on the extranet (less any information that is currently classified by the participants), brief summaries of the most recent exercises may be found below.

2181

Location: Taetrus (Turian)
Attackers: Tarkasian Empire
Defenders: Turian Hierarchy
Result: Defender Minor Victory

The invasion of Taetrus began when a Tarkasian strikeforce of cloaked Hunter/Killer carriers penetrated the Turian sensor perimeter and launched their battlecruisers from behind Taetrus' moon. This allowed the Tarkasian forces to largely eliminate the Turian range advantage very early in the engagement.

As the battlecruisers attacked, the rest of the Tarkasian fleet arrived and began moving toward Taetrus at high speed. Though the defenders were able to swiftly isolate the battlecruisers and focus their heavier elements on the approaching invasion fleet, the distraction proved enough to allow the Tarkasian ships to enter missile range.

The Turian ships had assumed point defense formations in anticipation of the Tarka attempting to use Blast Storm and corrosive missiles to force their artillery vessels out of position. This proved to be a mistake, as the Tarka instead utilizes large numbers of smaller antimatter missiles and swarms of drones in suicide waves to increase the pressure on the Turian GARDIAN lasers. Careful positioning of vessels equipped with deflector fields minimized the damage the Turian fleet was able to inflict in the interim, and the Tarkasian force was able to enter close range without suffering too many casualties.

Rather than be forced into a knife fight with the Tarkasian ships while their GARDIANs were partially overheated, the Turian elements instead chose to break formation and cede control of Taetrus' orbit to the invaders. While the defenders regrouped, the Tarka made a risky gamble and deployed all of their ground forces simultaneously rather than wait until beachheads could be secured.

This risk paid off, in large part due to the superiority of the Tarkasian Felix grav-fighters over their Turian counterpart, the Sarpix. Designed as a multirole craft, the older Sarpix were heavier and slower than Felix, but had better armor. In contrast, the Felix was built for air-superiority, with a high top-speed and powerful guns. This gave the Felix a significant advantage in dogfights, while its maneuverability allowed it to evade many Turian air-to-air missiles. Most Sarpix squadrons were crippled or wiped out completely in the first few weeks of the campaign, giving the Tarka almost complete air superiority for most of the invasion.

The Tarka landed in their forces in the Wildlands that dominated much of Taetrus' equatorial region. While a civil war in 2159 had caused many of the planet's cities to be heavily fortified, the marshy Wildlands were almost completely undefended. With the invaders holding the skys, the Turians were forced to deploy their forces along the ground. Taetrus' swamps bogged down many of the Turian heavy tanks, giving the Tarka even more time to prepare.

Once the landings were confirmed as successful, the Tarkasian fleet abandoned Taetrus' orbit and scattered into several smaller strikeforces throughout the system. When the Turian fleet attempted to secure the planet, they discovered that the Tarka had scattered antimatter and jump mines throughout its Lagrange points. Unable to effectively provide orbital support without clearing the mines and unable to remove the mines without leaving themselves vulnerable to the Tarkasian fleet, the Turians also abandoned the planet and attempted to hunt down the scattered invaders. Both forces would skirmish on and off for the duration of the campaign, but Taetrus' orbit would remain contested for the rest of the simulation.

On the ground, the Tarka had fully deployed their forces and immediately moved to cut off the Turian armies from the planet's fortress cities. The Tarkasian hover vehicles excelled at navigating the watery terrain and their superior speed allowed them to quickly outmaneuver the slower defenders. By the second month of the campaign, almost half of the Turian forces on the planet had been cut off from their respective points of origin.

Sensing opportunity, the invaders made a series of lightning strikes to secure Taetrus' major cities. While their initial penetrations were successful, the Tarka swiftly found themselves bogged down in miserable street fighting with Turian militia units. The superior maneuverability of the Tarkan tanks was useless in city fighting, and extensive fortifications and traps set up by the defenders inflicted heavy casualties.

While the majority of the Tarkasian divisional commanders were focused on being the first to obtain the glory of seizing an enemy city, the encircled Turian units began to counterattack. Using their new Jiris hovertanks to overcome the limits of the marshy terrain, they struck laterally, linking up with other cut off legions and slowly isolating the Tarkan forces sieging their cities.

When the campaign finally drew to a close at the end of the third month, it was obvious that the Tarka's misstep had cost them the invasion. The majority of their best units had been ground to pieces against the stalwart Turian fortifications, and those that remained were now hopelessly cut off. While they had inflicted serious casualties and managed to seize much of the planet's major infrastructure, with no orbital reinforcements coming the objectives they had been able to capture would inevitably be retaken by the advancing Turians. A minor victory was awarded to the defenders.

2182

Location: Cyone (Asari)
Attackers: SolForce, Turian Hierarchy
Defenders: Asari Republics, Tarkasian Empire
Result: Attacker Minor Victory

The Turian fleet opened the campaign by deploying en masse and making straight for Cyone. Meanwhile, several SolForce carriers arrived through the system's node point and moved into a stable obit on the far side of Katebolo, the system's outermost planet. As the Turians continued to approach, the rest of the Human fleet arrived and assumed escort positions around the larger Hierarchy ships.

Many of the Human vessels were equipped for close battle, an obvious counter to the energy-heavy armaments of the defenders. Meanwhile, the Turians had focused on dreadnoughts and heavy cruisers, supplying the long-range firepower that the SolForce fleet lacked. To thwart this, the Tarka dispatched several heavy missile cruisers to flank the approaching formation and harass the Human ships with Blast Beam missiles. Aware of the danger presented by SolForce's own missile armaments, several Asari destroyers armed with X-Ray lasers were assigned as escorts. This would prove to be a fatal mistake.

With the defenders' point defense grid weakened by the loss of several escorts, the Human carriers launched waves of Node Fighters to attack. Using their micronode drives to instantly move between Katebolo and Cyone's orbits, they immediately began causing havoc. Using antimatter torpedoes, the Node Fighters began making hit-and-run strikes, firing their payloads and retreating back into nodespace before interceptors could be vectored to engage them. Facing the possibility of near-infinite harassment, the defending fleets were forced to abandon Cyone.

As the main Turian and SolForce fleets moved to pursue, their transports took up position over the planet and began a brief campaign of bombardment to knock out any air defenses or strongpoints. The defenders had expected this and largely dispersed their forces. Casualties were limited, and much of their air power remained intact.

After twenty-four hours of orbital strikes, the first in a series of probes began in an attempt to draw out any remaining air defenses. As any probe could in fact be an attempt to establish a beachhead, the defenders were forced to respond. Tarkan and Asari interceptors and AA platforms were met by SolForce Valkyrie air superiority grav-fighters and Turian Sarpix fighters utilizing Wild Weasel configurations. Losses were heavy on both sides, as the defending fighters enjoyed technical superiority, but the attackers had a distinct advantage in numbers.

While battles raged in Cyone's skies, the four fleets finally had their climactic confrontation. Two Asari destroyer groups attempted a Flash-Step maneuver to bring them into range of the exposed Turian and Human transports, but were intercepted when several squadrons of Node Fighters jumped in to provide support. Seeing that the carriers were now vulnerable, two Asari cruiser squadrons Flash-Stepped near Katebolo to destroy them.

The carriers, smaller cruiser-class ships, proved more dangerous than anticipated and successfully managed to hold out long enough for backup to arrive. The Asari squadrons called for their own reinforcements, and the skirmish quickly escalated into a massive brawl. When the debris cleared, the SolForce fleet had lost two thirds of its ships, and the Turian force had lost almost half of its strength. The Tarkasian fleet was completely destroyed, and the Asari lost three fourths of their compliment. The invaders had fully secured Cyone's space theatre.

Now able to fully leverage their naval firepower, the attackers commenced their primary invasion. Utilizing small assault shuttles, SolForce strike teams covertly secured several dozen beachheads under the guise of continued anti-air probing. With these teams providing ground support, the Turians dispatched several heavy transports to begin landing their main force. Exhausted by days of constant skirmishes and now facing anti-air fire from the ground, the defending air forces didn't even attempt to contest the landings.

As Turian and SolForce armor began deploying, the invasion progressed rapidly. Human assault teams would deploy from orbit to capture critical objectives ahead of the main advance, while the Turian legions brought up the rear and secured what their allies had taken. This cooperation proved essential to the continuing campaign, as Tarkasian Ranger teams and Asari commandos were a constant thorn in the invaders' sides. Even the methodical Turian advance was unable to completely curb them, and without orbital supply drops the invasion might have ground to a halt.

The alliance was not without its friction. A famously controversial incident centered around the SolForce Raiders, a newly-created unit designed to operate behind enemy lines with minimal supervision. When securing an antimatter generator, they were engaged by a squad from the Serrice Guard. The Asari put up enough resistance to convince the Raiders they were engaging a full platoon of commandoes. The Humans requested orbital support, destroying the valuable generator and causing forty civilian casualties in the simulated antimatter detonation. Even with this, the Guard squad suffered only two casualties from the battle and successfully managed to exfiltrate in the confusion. Following this debacle, the Turians requested that the Raiders be recalled for the duration of the campaign to prevent any further collateral damage from their poor judgement. SolForce complied.

Despite almost constant resistance from dispersed Asari and Tarkasian elements, the outcome of the campaign was almost inevitable. Surgical strikes from orbital laser batteries destroyed any strongpoints the defenders could assemble, and once the Turians secured an objective they could not be budged. SolForce assault shuttles and jump-capable Brawlers could be vectored in minutes to support any area that was about to be overwhelmed. This lethal combination turned the final two months of the invasion into a bloody but ultimately futile guerilla war.

The attacking forces finished the campaign in complete control of Cyone's major settlements and infrastructure. Much of this infrastructure had been destroyed by Asari and Tarkasian sabotage, with very few of the planet's critical antimatter generators surviving. The Turian and SolForce forces suffered heavy casualties, with many elite squads completely wiped out by the constant raids and ambushes. Because of the degree of damage done to the planet and their extensive casualties, the invading force was only awarded a minor victory.

2183

Location: Capella (Human)
Attackers: Salarian Union, Tarkasian Empire
Defenders: Hiver Imperium, SolForce
Result: Attacker Major Victory

The Capella campaign remains the shortest in over a decade. Cloaked Salarian carriers opened the battle by covertly deploying hundreds of electronic warfare drones into the system. As the defenders attempted to sort through the massive amount of jamming and false contacts created by the drones, Salarian cruisers with improved cloaks and complex ordinance launchers moved into position around their defensive perimeter. By the time their presence had been detected, they had already begun dropping 'Cracker' and 'CryBaby' ordinance around the enemy parameter. The Cracker rounds released clouds of the Union's new cloaking antimatter mines, holding the Human and Hiver fleets in place while the main invasion force moved in.

Using the minefields as a screen, the attackers began a campaign of long-range bombardment with torpedoes, missiles, and spinal accelerator cannons. Though the Human and Hiver ships attempted to respond with their own guided ordinance, these weapons fell prey to the Wild Weasel signals emitted by the Salarian Crybabies. Very few ever made it to their intended targets. With their scanning vessels being systematically destroyed by the Salarian spinal guns, the defenders were forced to risk a reckless dash through the minefields or face complete destruction at range.

The effort proved futile. Though a combined wedge of Human and Hiver point-defense vessels was able to clear much of the mines, this left the rest of their fleet exposed. Volleys of pulsar torpedoes from the invading force disabled many of the vessels assigned to support the escorts. Now vulnerable, the point-defense ships were quickly annihilated by Tarkasian battleriders armed with antimatter cannons. Without their main source of point defense, the defending fleet chose to abandoned the system rather than lose the rest of their force to torpedo and missile barrages.

Capella's orbit now secure, the attackers began making preparations for their invasion. The conflicting effects of repeated Human and Tarkan terraformation attempts shrouded much of the planet in almost constant electrical storms during its wet season, a fact the defenders were counting on to protect them from the worst of the orbital bombardment. To counter this, STG and Ranger teams were deployed in the Union's new Viper stealth shuttles. Equipped with adaptive thermal camouflage and vectored gravity thrusters, they were able to use the storms to land completely unnoticed by the defenders.

Over the next week, these teams sought out supply depots, command posts, airfields, and other critical facilities. To prevent suspicion, several attempts were made during this period to insert recon drones below the cloud line using Tarkasian fighters as escorts. These missions were quickly repulsed by Human interceptors and Hiver AA batteries, but they succeeded in keeping the defenders occupied while the recon teams completed their missions.

Once the weaknesses in the enemy defense had been identified, the Ranger and STG teams used targeting lasers cut through the interference of the storms and call down a series of devastating orbital strikes. These attacks coincided with dozens of landing attempts and a huge aerial surge designed to seize control of the skies. Though much of the Human command structure survived the strikes, the Hiver's primary Strategist was killed when an X-Ray laser strike wiped out his command post. This caused huge disruptions in the Hiver defense and prevented them from effectively coordinating with their allies.

The orbital strikes destroyed many of the defending aircraft on the ground, so most of the Tarkasian and Salarian landings were uncontested. Attempts by ground forces to respond were delayed as the infiltration teams began a campaign of rapid sabotage. Roads were mined, fuel depots destroyed, tunnels collapsed, and rations poisoned. Autonomous listening posts dropped from orbit began intercepting the defender's communications, allowing the attacking fleets to easily locate and destroy enemy formations with saturation bombardment.

The chaos fit perfectly with the standard Tarkasian battleplan, and the swift Tarkan vehicles were ruthless in hunting down the reeling defenders before they could coordinate or regroup. Within a single month their landing, the invaders had secured the entirety of Capella. Much of its infrastructure was captured intact, with Ranger and STG teams striking with lightning precision to seize objectives before they could be destroyed.

The defenders took massive casualties and were able to offer little in the way of active resistance. They also failed to inflict serious damage to the Tarkasian or Salarian fleets. Though the attackers were forced to expend a great deal in expensive ordinance to secure their victory, the decisive way they did so earned them a major victory.

2184

Location: Azkep (Hiver)
Attackers: Turian Hierarchy, Vol Protectorate, Elcor Courts of Dekuuna, Salarian Union
Defenders: Hiver Imperium, SolForce, Asari Republics
Result: Defender Minor Victory

Recalling the role Salarian ECM and stealth technology played their defeat the previous year, both the Hiver and SolForce fleets allocated a portion of their allotted defense budgets to deploy additional system satellites throughout the system. This measure proved unnecessary, as the Salarian Union made the controversial choice to trade their usual assortment of stealth vessels for projector-equipped siege designs.

The invading fleet deployed in a single huge wave, making a decisive strike to seize the planet. Due to the limits of Orion ballistic technologies and the Asari's fondness for skirmisher vessels, the attackers assumed that the enemy would attempt to engage them in close battle and planned accordingly. While the Turian ships occupied the core of the formation, Salarian ships protected their flanks with their more powerful energy weapons. The heavy Elcor cruisers were assigned to support the more fragile Salarians, and the Volus bombers were arrayed in the middle of the combined fleet, ready to pounce once the enemy was too heavily engaged to respond effectively.

The assumption that the defenders would immediately attempt to close would prove a costly one. Learning from its previous mistakes, the Human fleet made its first combat deployment a new design: the Siege Platform. A variation on the Council's tradition of spinal guns, Siege vessels were first introduced in 2182 and measure 840m long, almost as long as a Turian dreadnought. Though they lack the range and accuracy enjoyed by Council spinal guns, their rounds are considerably more massive, capable of destroying cruisers in a single hit and inflicting serious damage to larger ships.

The artillery duel between the two sides was brief but violent. SolForce's Seige Platform, Durendal, was able to destroy the Turian flagship Immortalis and disable the main gun of her sister ship Vigil before she was destroyed by focused fire from the enemy. The Asari and Hivers focused their efforts on the Salarian ships, using kinetic missiles and spinal cannons to soften them up so they could safely close the distance, while the Elcor and Turians attempted to knock out as many point-defense and interceptor ships as possible so the defenders would vulnerable when the Volus attacked.

With their largest gun now out of action, the defenders chose to yield Azkep to the invading fleet rather than be drawn into a prolonged slugging match where the Turian and Elcor ships would hold an advantage. They regrouped on the outskirts of the system, but disaster struck before a counter-attack could be launched.

SolForce's new super-dreadnought, the Leviathan, vanished from its dock in the Agros Naval Yards, inflicting heavy damage. In response, SolForce declared a state of emergency and recalled all of their ships, including those participating in the Azkep war game. Their ground forces were permitted to remain only until enough transports could be rerouted to collect them. With a third of the defending fleet removed and less than a month before the terrestrial defenses were similarly depleted, the moderators agreed to adjust the conditions of the simulation.

The attackers were awarded an orbital victory by forfeit, but now had only until the SolForce transports arrived to fully secure the planet. No longer permitted the luxury of a methodical invasion, they elected to attempt an all-or-nothing assault. Volus heavy bombers, escorted by Turian and Salarian fighters, descended in huge waves to attempt surgical strikes against strongpoints while larger fortifications were subjected to extensive orbital bombardment. While this progressed, dozens of heavy Elcor transports began making landings as strike teams used stealth shuttles to deploy behind enemy lines.

The Turian and Volus bombardment inflicted serious damage to the planet's surface defenses, but the rocky terrain of Azkep provided considerably better support for the Hiver's underground fortifications than the soft soil of Capella had. Most of the planet's military infrastructure remained intact. So when the landings began, the transports were met by Human and Asari fighters launched from subterranean airbases. Anti-air silos built into the sides of mountains and hidden under tons of rock also caused serious problems, requiring precision strikes from neutronium bunker-busters to finally silence.

Once on the ground, things continued to go poorly for the invaders. Though their strike teams were formidable, consisting of elite STG operatives, Volus Biotic Protectors, and Ghosts from the Turian 26nd Armiger Legion, they proved unable to inflict serious damage. The Asari ground forces had already spread themselves out across the planet, using their clairvoyance to sense the arrival of enemy teams and stall them. Once the enemy was engaged, SolForce assault transports would be rerouted to the area carrying reinforcements. Even in cases when the Huntresses were overwhelmed, Human strike teams were on the ground in minutes to retake the objective.

The main landings also encountered stiff resistance. The Asari and Hiver forces took advantage of the invaders' inability to control the skies by deploying large numbers of ground-attack aircraft such as the Republics' A-61g Mantis and the Imperium's Hagmoth erzortari. The heavy battlesuits of the Elcor made excellent targets in the open terrain of Azkep's plains, and elaborate cat-and-mouse battles between Elcor AA teams and Hiver gunships were common. While Turian and Elcor fireteams began a bloody, grinding advance from the landing zones, Volus engineers began setting up pre-fabricated breastworks, bunkers, and other defenses to secure what they had claimed. This foothold allowed the invaders to finally unload their heavy tanks and several of the Protectorate's famous Locil artillery platforms. Bolstered by the addition of armored units and several well-placed close orbital strikes, the invaders began making real headway for the first time.

As the main enemy force moved further from their landing sites, the defenders sprung their trap. Burrowing Hiver Erza tanks cut tunnels deep under the enemy lines, emerging at their landing zones to unleash havoc. Hiver IFVs containing Asari huntresses and large Warrior forms followed, sparking a vicious melee in the invaders' rear. This sneak-attack coincided with a massive push by SolForce, with several battalions of Jiguang and Hannibal hovertanks emerging from hiding to support sudden blitz attacks by air cavalry groups.

Under pressure from both sides and unable to provide orbital support without hitting their own forces, the invading armies crumbled. Within forty-eight hours of the first Hiver breakthroughs, a group decision by the commanders of the invading force pronounced all of the landing sites irretrievably compromised and called for a full withdrawal.

In a final attempt to salvage something of the disaster, the remaining Turian legions voluntarily declined evacuation to keep the enemy forces out in the open. Several Elcor and Volus companies also elected to remain. Once their other troops were evacuated, the Turian fleet began a limited purge of Azkep, unloading on all known enemy positions with the maximum amount of ordinance the planet's biosphere allowed.

This lethal barrage was followed by a prolonged bombing campaign, with Salarian seismic sensors pinpointing tunnel complexes for the bombers to target. With the extent of the Hiver fortifications now apparent, the Volus bombers began using low-yield warp bombs to soften the bedrock before dropping their main ordinance. This tactic proved extremely effective, collapsing several major installations. The remaining defense aircraft and AA positions opposed these assaults at first, but quickly learned that responding only highlighted their bases for orbital strikes and future bombing runs. Eventually the defenders were forced to resort to blending with civilian populations or scattering to smaller tunnels that would be more difficult to detect. Despite several days of constant bombing, the invaders were unable to do enough damage to justify a second landing attempt. They conceded defeat, ending the campaign a week early.

The damage done by the attacker's orbital bombardment and bombing runs was extensive, destroying almost all of Azkep's infrastructure. While civilian casualties were limited, the ecological damage to the planet was extreme. Combined with their massive casualties and complete failure to seize any objective, this penalty was enough to ensure that victory was awarded to the defenders. Their losses and the massive damage done to Azkep prevented this from being anything but a minor victory for them.