48hrs later
The Imperial and Rakatan fleet were lined up and ready to jump to Kalyndra Prime. Preparations had already been made with 60,000 ships being left behind to defend the planet while the rest would attack the enemy capital.
Daimon stood on the bridge of the Luminary, looking out at the armada of ships through the viewport. Behind him, Sera, Elara, Cortana, and Prince Malrik were waiting for the hyperspace jump. Each of them understood what was about to unfold. This would be the first complete annihilation of an organic empire since the Imperium's founding.
"Grand Admiral, status report," Daimon commanded.
"All ships report ready for hyperspace jump, My Lord. Logistic ships are positioned for rapid deployment once we establish orbital supremacy. Ground forces are prepared for immediate planetary assault."
Daimon nodded, then opened a fleet-wide communication channel. "Warriors of the Imperium. What we do today will echo through history. The Theocratic Dominion chose war. They chose to attack our sacred worlds, to murder our citizens and your fellow brothers and sisters in the name of their false prophets. This decision has sealed their fate."
He paused, letting his words sink in. "We do not go just to conquer; we go to eradicate their leadership and any fanatics that follow them. When we are finished, Kalyndra Prime will serve as a warning to what happens when empires challenge the Imperium's right to exist. Show them no mercy, for they would show you none. Forward, to victory!"
The fleet erupted with cheers across every channel. Daimon raised his hand, and the space before them tore open as he created another massive hyperspace wormhole.
"All ships, enter the wormhole on my mark," Grand Admiral Caedus ordered. "Mark!"
The Luminary led the way, flying into the wormhole followed by wave after wave of Imperial and Rakatan ships. The journey through the wormhole lasted only minutes, but when they emerged, they found themselves facing the most heavily defended system in the Theocratic Dominion.
Kalyndra Prime stood before them, its surface covered in massive temple complexes. Surrounding the planet was a defensive network of thousands of orbital platforms, defense satellites, and a standing fleet of 350,000 ships.
"Enemy fleet moving to intercept," the tactical officer reported. "They're forming up in their standard crusader pattern." Daimon chuckled.
"All forces, commence the attack." he ordered. The combined Imperial and Rakatan fleet that numbered over 500,000 ships had charged forward with the heavy hitting cruisers at the fore front. Behind them were the battleships surrounded by frigates, then behind them were the dreadnoughts using their long-range batteries to snipe enemy ships.
In response, the Theocratic fleet advanced with religious fervor, their ships painted with holy symbols and broadcasting prayers across all frequencies. On the bridge of their command vessel, High Theocrat Malendor watched the approaching Imperial Armada with a mixture of righteous fury and genuine concern.
They had only just received the reports of the massacre at Ossara, but seeing the Imperial fleet in person was something else entirely.
"The heretic emperor comes himself," Malendor said, gripping the railing of his command chair. "This is both our greatest trial and our most sacred opportunity. If we strike him down here, the entire Imperium will crumble."
"Your Holiness, their fleet outnumbers us significantly," his tactical advisor warned. "Perhaps we should request reinforcements from our outer territories..."
"There is no time for reinforcements, and there is no need!" Malendor snapped. "The Divine Light favors the faithful. Our warriors fight for a cause greater than themselves. The enemy fights only for a false god who bleeds like any mortal." While it was true that Daimon could bleed, it would be impossible through normal means to see that happen.
As he spoke, the first volleys were exchanged between the two fleets. Imperial turbolaser fire tore through Theocratic formations, while return fire from the religious zealots didn't do as much damage as they had hoped. Within the first five minutes, the casualty disparity showed that they were already losing the battle.
"They're using battle meditation," the tactical advisor realized, watching how perfectly the Imperial ships moved with each other. "Every vessel acts as part of a single consciousness. We can't match that kind of coordination."
"Then we overwhelm them through faith alone!" Malendor commanded. "All ships, maximum aggression! Close to boarding range! Our warriors will show these heretics what true believers can accomplish!"
The Theocratic fleet following his orders charged forward, abandoning defensive formations entirely in favor of a reckless charge. It was exactly what Daimon had anticipated. As the enemy ships closed distance, he gestured to Grand Admiral Caedus.
"Deploy the Wraith units."
From the bellies of several Imperial carriers, thousands of newly constructed infiltration drones launched. They were small enough to avoid most targeting systems and fast enough to reach enemy vessels before point defense could track them properly. The Wraith units scattered across the battlefield, each seeking a Theocratic ship to infiltrate.
Within minutes, chaos erupted throughout the enemy fleet. Ship systems began failing randomly as Wraith units penetrated hulls and sabotaged critical infrastructure. Some vessels lost engine power and drifted helplessly. Others experienced catastrophic reactor failures.
"What's happening?!" High Theocrat Malendor demanded as his own ship shook from an internal explosion. "We're being attacked from within!"
"Unknown hostiles detected throughout the ship!" his security chief reported. "They're too small and fast to target effectively. They're heading for engineering and the bridge!"
Malendor activated his personal energy shield just as three Wraith units burst through the bulkhead. The drones moved fast, their weapons charging for an attack. His bodyguards opened fire, destroying one drone, but the other two reached their targets. One detonated near the communications array, severing the flagship's connection to the rest of the fleet. The second dove toward Malendor himself.
The High Theocrat's energy shield flickered after the impact, holding just long enough for another bodyguard to shoot the drone out of the air. But the damage was done. Without communications, he couldn't coordinate the defense, and across his fleet, similar attacks were crippling command vessels one by one.
"All ships, this is the Luminary," Grand Admiral Caedus broadcast across open channels. "The Theocratic Dominion's command structure is collapsing. Surrender now and you will be granted a righteous death. Continue fighting and share your leaders' fate."
None of the ships responded, instead, driven by religious fervor, they fought on even as their ships burned around them. They believed that their sacrifice would grant them paradise in their afterlife.
Daimon had no patience for such delusions. He extended his consciousness across the battlefield, identifying every ship that continued to fight. Then he began crushing the bridges of those ships through the force. Command crews instantly died, their ships left drifting through space.
Next, Daimon targeted a small portion of the defense platforms, destroying them which created a path for the ground forces to land. "All ships destroy the remaining defense platforms and form a wall protecting our ground transports."
Thousands of ships moved forward, forming two walls which led directly to the planet. On the other side of the walls were the remaining defense platforms that were being taken out by other Imperial ships.
In between the two walls, tens of thousands of fighters, bombers, and transport ships moved towards the planet to initiate the ground invasion.
The battle continued for another hour, though the outcome was never in doubt. The Theocratic fleet, once 350,000 strong, was reduced to scattered remnants desperately trying to retreat. But Daimon had deployed interdiction fields early in the engagement, allowing no one to escape.
"Enemy fleet destroyed," the tactical officer confirmed. "Casualty count: three hundred forty-seven thousand enemy ships eliminated. Our losses: four thousand two hundred ships damaged, eight hundred destroyed, but most managed to make it to their escape pods and rescue efforts are underway."
Daimon nodded, satisfied with the report. "Continue mopping up any remaining threats Caedus and send some cruisers to the surface for some orbital support. I will leave command to you while I go join the ground forces."
Grand Admiral Caedus nodded while Daimon headed to his own ground transport ship. Elara, Sera, and Prince Malrik had already joined the first wave that went down an hour ago, which left Daimon as the only one not in the battle.
And within this hour, Imperial forces had already made significant progress across the surface. The massive temple complexes that dominated Kalyndra Prime's landscape had been converted into fortresses. Theocratic warriors defended every approach with fanatical determination, using the sacred architecture as cover while raining fire down on advancing Imperial forces.
But they were facing the most elite forces of the Imperium which consisted of the Empyrean Guard, and the Immortals. These soldiers served exclusively under Daimon and would move mountains to execute his will.
The Theocratic soldiers saw this in person, but they could do nothing but fight and die as that was their duty.