Mission 11 - Into the Unknown

## 11 - Into the Unknown

The Azrati expedition ventures into a new realm, and soon will meet it's denizens...

## Battle Information

### Aftermath

Azrati Order Victory* Cradle Stone monument found and secured.

## Belligerents

* Azrati Order

* Izlarian Creatures

## Commanders

* Adikara
* Zeraphim

* Unknown

## Forces

* Intruder strike craft
* Warpglider corvettes
* Azrati Gathering
* Drone workforce
* Shagua

* Small organisms, including Guards, Ventators and Minds
* Large Argus organism with Spawn breeding capability
* Local colonies, including Ponds and Mind Fungi
* Defensive colonies including Agarics and Helias

## Objectives

* Locate and secure the Cradle Stone.

* Fight off the unknown invaders.

## Casualties and losses

Substantial
Severe

## Involved Characters

* Adikara
* Zeraphim

*Into the Unknown* is the eleventh mission of Chapter 01 - Hostile Visitors in the Five Nations campaign.

## Setting

Immediately following the recovery of the Keystone from the EIRA facility in the Caribou System and it's use, the Azrati Order's expedition under High One Zeraphim and his consultant Adikara arrived to a new sector of space, one which Adikara herself was startled by the sector's strange properties, as if it were alive, the space filled by a strange substance. Zeraphim identified it as the Izlar, a realm he had seen in his visions, and this made him more confident that the answers the Azrati Order sought would be found there.

As the expedition ventured into the Izlar, Adikara reported their sensors caught a powerful psionic call, as if something were to be calling them. Zeraphim surmised it to be a Cradle Stone, an Architect monument capable of seeding life. Zeraphim, excited at the discovery, ordered Adikara to lead them forward.

## Waking Up the Neighbours

As the Athrael expedition approached the Cradle Stone monument, their sensors picked a number of biological extremophilic lifeforms inhabiting it's surrounds, possibly protecting it. Zeraphim ordered the expedition to eradicate the creatures, informing that nothing would deter the expedition, but Adikara advised against it, stating the few numbers the Azrati expedition had. Zeraphim thus ordered the Gathering brought into the Izlar be deployed into a Central Pyramid and a staging ground set up to assemble forces for a march towards the Cradle Stone.

Finding a proper site for a frontline base, Adikara established the Central Pyramid and basic structures, including functional Cabals to field further Intruder strike craft and Warpglider corvettes. The local creatures reacted to the invasion with a furious counter-attack, responding as a collective by hatching more of their warrior breeds, surprisingly more dangerous than expected, and deploying them against the Azrati Order. Adikara, due to the few resources and technology available at the time, had to resort to strength in numbers, capable fighter maneuverings and a compact defense.

The Azrati forces fought through to the Cradle Stone and cleared it of enemy forces, especially of it's colonies that could defend themselves and were behaving clearly more like an infrastructure. Amongst the creatures was a particularly large one breeding floating creatures, which entered gestation to become the breeds the Athraels fought.

The Azrati fought tirelessly until there was no more living creature or structure around the Cradle Stone.

## Walkthrough

The player will start commanding the Shagua and Gathering from the previous mission, a few Intruders and Warpgliders and some Drones. Right to the southwest is a Metal asteroid resource field which indicates where the player should deploy the Central Pyramid, so the Gathering should be headed there. The player, along the way, will come across some Guards and Ventators which must be eliminated before briging the Drones forward. Special care should be taken against the Ventators as their attacks deal damage across a straight line, and are thus best countered by Intruders rather than the Warpgliders. The player should deploy the Central Pyramid amongst the Metal and Helium-3 asteroid fields as the construction radius will allow to build defenses around the mining sites. The player will be unable to build additional Gatherings to deploy further Central Pyramids, so the Central Pyramid must be protected if further structures are to be built or rebuilt.

The player won't have access to any new units, only structures to allow the construction of Intruders and Warpgliders, as well as being able to convert BioSpheres into Polaron Spheres to defend themselves and the base against further Zhogarn waves. One important element for the player to note is that the Athrael's resource structure, the Mass Transmitter, requires no cargo ships to transport resources (instead transporting loads of resources over time), hence the Athraels require Central Pyramids only for static defenses, else a mobile force can protect the expansions just as fine. However, the Mass Transmitter, without upgrades, is also seriously ineffective, requiring especially the Nuclear Binding and Miniaturization upgrades for a better, faster resource income. The player may need a modest amount of BioSpheres, some Power Cores for energy production and at least two Cabals to steadily produce units. A Dome will be needed to unlock Warpgliders and Polaron Spheres, but two may be better since the player will also have access to Level 2 upgrades. As the level 2 upgrades will require Tachyon, there is a small asteroid field at the northeastern corner of the map, past a few Agarics from the green Zhogarn player which can be withered by destroying the nearby Helias, becoming totally ineffective. However, the player will be unable to build stationary defenses at this expansion so a wing of Intruders will be recommended to neutralize the attacks coming from the orange Zhogarn player.

The orange Zhogarn base, guarding the Cradle Stone, will attack with small numbers of Guards, Ventators and Minds, this last one which the player should be very careful when fighting, as their attacks are potent enough to destroy Intruders and Warpgliders in a few hits, and the attacks instantly hit. For this threat, the player will either want strong numbers of Warpgliders or take the Shagua along for either his neutron torpedoes or antimatter clouds. The best attack point at the Zhogarn base is it's northern entrance, as it has enough open space for maneuvering, the entrance is lightly defended and heads right into the enemy Metal asteroid field with a Digestivator and - the primary target when facing a Zhogarn enemy - an Argus. Destroying the Argus is crucial as it is the only creature capable of creating Spawns, which mutate into other units and structures, and also has a large construction radius that will keep Zhogarn structures in it active, even if the Helias are destroyed. Once the Argus is destroyed, the player can take the time to destroy the rest of the Zhogarn structures.

Once there are no more Zhogarn units and structures around the Cradle Stone, the mission is completed.

## History and Background

Zeraphim's visions of the Izlar and the supposed psionic call of the Cradle Stone may have been originated instead from the Transcendent Source, which was proven by the beginning of Chapter 03 - Cataclysm, to possess a vast psionic potential and foresight, capable of even reorganizing the Zhogarn creatures into a functional infrastructure and war machine. This, along with Zeraphim's corroded influence after the next mission, *Fury of the Beasts*, may be proof that the Zhogarns' release may have been engineered long before the Azrati Order's arrival.

The opportunity would only truly come however, by the time Vemana collapsed to the Thorun Empire and Zeraphim would make this suggestion, accepted to all but Adikara and High One Nephral of the Annaki Order, long since diverged from the Athrael Theocracy by then.