Aquilan-Cah Binn Conflict

AQN Jaws of Defeat performing an orbital stike on Cabina, November 2906

## Belligerents

**The Empire*** House Aquila

**Alien Forces**

* The Cah-Binn

## Commanders and Leaders

**The Empire*** Empress Alejandra Ari
* General Aquila Saifi Albert

**Alien Forces**

* Kriix-aalkrik-voon

## Units Involved

**Imperial Legions*** Legio VII
* Legio XXI
* Legio XXXIII
* Legio LVII
* Legio MXXV

The **Aquilan-Cah Binn Conflict** (2905 - 2906) was a military campaign launched by the Blood Eagle with the focus of containing the expanding Cah-Binn aliens but ended with the bombing of Cabina. The conflict coincided with the larger Second Imperial Civil War.

## Prelude to War

In 2215, the Cah-Binn Interstellar Expanse came to an end. Its territory conquered, cities leveled, and population extinguished by humanity during the War for Human Prosperity. Their immense alien fleet, guided by their great Gestalt Exoframes, had been hunted down, and what remained of Cah-Binn leadership following this genocide was left with no choice but to sign a treaty prohibiting space-faring and secluding them to their homeworld of Cabina.

The Cah-Binn spent the next 400 years as objects of curiosity and entertainment. As with many alien species during this time, those who were not driven to extinction were treated as playthings by humanity. Then in 2665, humanity seemingly disappeared from Cabina, almost overnight.

After decades of silence from their captors, the Cah-Binn cautiously launched one of the few surviving Gestalt Exoframes into orbit. There, it was discovered that humanity had vanished from the system entirely, leaving nothing but ruins and corpses in their wake.

With humanity seemingly gone, and with them the imprisonment of the Cah-Binn, plans were quickly formed to take back what had been taken from them. The ground of Cabina shook as more and more alien spaceships came into being and began expanding into the system. The first colony was established on Prora, a world with a permanently frozen surface whose orbit is several hundred million kilometers further removed from the Benilli star than that of Cabina.

In 2763, Velan explores rediscovered the Benilli system and found it crawling with Cah-Binn ships hunting for resources for their Exoframes. The Cah-Binn had remembered the Imperial tongue from their centuries in imprisonment and were able to contact the human ships, much to the horror and shock of the Velan teams. This dialogue appeared to avert immediate hostilities.

Humanity, still reeling from the effects of the Scream, was in no place to mount any unified response to the reemergence of the Cah-Binn. Enterprising, desperate, or foolhardy humans formed trade relationships with the Cah-Binn, buying from them items and resources that were still rare or unavailable in the post-scream economy. In return, the Cah-Binn learned how to outfit their ships with new spike drive propulsion systems.

Over the next century, this relationship continued to grow. The Cah-Binn established void-stations in the Tsatsos and Helesco systems, seeking new markets and new opportunities.

These new opportunities came with more attention, despite the initial contacts being one of cooperation and openness, humanities broader sentiments and prejudices had survived the Scream. The encroachment of an alien power in Imperial space was received with open hostility by some. However, the unstable nature of the sector at the time prevented any direct confrontation. That is until the crowning of a new Emperox.

## The Blood Eagle Attacks

Cabina and the Cah-Binn were one of the first targets for Empress Aquila Alejandra Ari’s reunification campaign. The timing of this campaign has been a subject of debate for some time. Many historians believe it was an attempt to unite humanity against a common foe, and to gain glory through emulating the first Emperox and humanity’s initial conquest of the aliens and the sector. Others believe it was an attempt to draw focus away from the unrest slowly building among some of the noble houses in the time after her coronation.

In early 2905, the Legios VIII, XXI, XXXIII, LVII and MXXV were assembled into a battlegroup and plans were drawn up. The battlegroup was to sub-divide into three task groups, Task Group Hache containing the VIII and XXXIII, Épée containing the LVII and MXXV, and lastly the XXI given the title Flèche. Hache was to station within the Igliza system, Épée within Aliya, while Flèche would make haste for the Pavvis system and begin a rapid recruitment campaign among the world's there.

When the fleets were in position, the Empress took personal command of the Legio VIII. Hache and Épée task groups then advanced into the Tsatos and Helesco systems respectively. Upon translation in-system, the command vessels transmitted an ultimatum on all frequencies:

*“To the alien menace known as the Cah-Binn. Know that on this day, by the order of her majesty the Empress of Mankind, Aquila Alejandra Ari, we are here to enforce the long-neglected treaties of the Empire. All alien vessels are to immediately depart the system and return to the planet of Cabina, under penalty of deat*h.”

No response was received, however, the Cah-Binn vessels quickly moved to withdraw from both systems, fearful of the human armadas, or what the ultimatum represented. The stations, however, were not jump-capable, and could not leave. Imperial vessels quickly descended upon these stations, eager to cleanse the alien presence from Imperial space.

Facing the might of humanity’s warships, the stations proved largely defenseless, especially when faced with long ranged artillery strikes. After initial bombardment, boarding operations were launched to ensure no possibilities of survivors before the stations’ final destruction.

In Tsatsos, the elite marines of Legio XXXIII managed to clear the station with minimal loses after several hours of close-quarters fighting through twisting corridors against what turned out to be minimal occupants aided by automated defenses. Once the station was cleared, a series of set charges and void strikes shattered the structure and sent the remains scattering into the void.

In Helesco, the Legio LVII launched straight into an ambush. One of the Cah-Binn ships had not evacuated the system, and instead hid within the station itself. Half the invading legionaries were slaughtered as they faced the void scale alien weaponry and armor unique to the exoframes of the Cah-Binn. The remaining troops were able to rally and surround the enemy vessel, detonating its alien reactor using coordinated strikes from the fleet. With their hopes of victory dashed, the remaining Cah-Binn fought not for survival, but to take as many of the remaining Legion forces with them. With the stations destroyed, the battlegroup now prepared to take the fight to the Cah-Binn home system of Benilli itself.

### Battle for Benili

Due to a communications error, Flèche entered the Benilli system weeks before its rendezvous time with Hache and Épée. The Cah-Binn, having been alerted by retreating vessels reporting the attacks on their outposts, gathered their mightiest warriors and attacked. Large alien vessels crashed into the task group soon after it translated into the system. The Cah-Binn spaceships proved difficult to combat in close range. The alien vessels emitted little to no electronic signatures and were nearly undetectable by conventional human systems. This natural stealth gave the Cah-Binn a clear advantage on the approach. However, Cah-Binn technology had not advanced equally, and their own targeting and detection systems were inferior to the Imperials. Upon discovery, the Cah-Binn exoframes were dispatched using coordinated fire from multiple vessels. However, the task force suffered losses which each engagement and withdrew from the system once it was clear it could not sustain combat unsupported.

Weeks later, Hache and Épée task groups rendezvoused on the edge of the Benilli system. It was here that the Empress would learn the full details of what had transpired during the campaign thus far. The total losses had far outstripped the initial projections, and the Blood Eagle directed her fury towards those commanders she saw responsible. The Admiral in charge of Épée was stripped of their rank and sent to some far off post in disgrace. The General of the Legio XXI was taken by Conséc, never to be seen again. Combining both task groups under her command, the Empress made haste to Cabina, wishing to end this conflict once and for all.

The Blood Eagle had studied the tactics used by the Cah-Binn closely, and would not be caught off guard, the two sides met in high orbit over Cabina and a pitched battle followed. Unable to leverage their key advantage, the Cah-Binn suffered immensely but made sure that their lives were not given cheaply. The great Cah-Binn hero Kriix-aalkrik-voon was one of the last to be shot down, and the ruins of their gigantic Exoframe lie on the surface of Cabina, not far from the present capital of Lux Gravare, to this day.

Having shattered the Cah-Binn fleet, Imperial forces quickly set up a blockade of Cabina, and dispatched teams to hunt down and eradicate what Exoframes had escaped the main engagement. Hoping to completely wipe away the embarrassment of the pyrrhic victory in the Helesco system, the Empress ordered a detachment to be sent to Prora to eradicate the Cah-Binn colony there, under the command of General Aquila Saifi Albert. In addition to the honor, General Saifi hoped to use this operation to devise the most optimal strategy and tactics against the aliens, to make the later invasion of Cabina all the easier.

The invasion of Prora is recorded as an absolute Imperial victory, however, the details and records of the operation have largely been lost. It is unknown if this is the result of the chaos and destruction that would soon overcome the sector or an intentional omission. Using a combination of recovered records and eye witness accounts gathered after the end of the second civil war, contemporary scholars suggest that the invasion cost the Empress dearly.

Attempts to create tactics and strategies to combat the Cah-Binn backfired, often disastrously so. Poor coordination on the ground coupled with the aliens varied and nuanced approach to combat resulted in enormously high casualty rates among Legion forces. At some point, General Saifi was forced to shift to a battle of attrition and utilized the overwhelming firepower of the fleet to subjugate the remaining Cah-Binn. Records retrieved from the archives give credence to the idea that the Empress’ plans for Cabina shifted as a direct result of the events on Prora, as following those reports the ground assault plans for Cabina were scrapped, and replaced with something far more brutal.

### Bombing of Cabina

Months of orbital reconnaissance, surveying, and threat assessments had produced lists of population centers, landing sites, and strategic locations. With the plans for a land based invasion scrapped, the lists for preliminary bombardments were expanded day by day. Anything that bore the faintest resemblance to a Cah-Binn construct was added. Legio XXI, now having been refitted and rearmed, translated in-system and reinforced the blockade. Though the official unveiling of the Blood Eagle’s plans was delayed until all preparations were finalized, her goal became clear to many within the battlegroup. Cabina was to become a message, the Cah-Binn would never dare to stand in defiance of humanity again.

The Imperial fleet began the process of systematically devastating every location that had the slightest potential of containing alien life. Hordes of strike craft were used to carpet bomb locations, herding and containing populations in order to make orbital strikes as effective as possible. After the first month of such unrestricted bombardment, the Cah-Binn somehow managed to transmit an offer of peace talks. The site of the transmission was bombed. The next eight months saw various offers of surrender transmitted. Every time, the site of the transmission was targeted soon afterwards. After a grand total of nine months of the near constant bombardment, the Empress abruptly ordered the bombings to cease. The Cah-Binn were decimated, and Cabina’s already fragile ecosystem had been sent into a tailspin which would end with its complete and utter collapse.

With her mission complete, and her message delivered, the Empress departed. A token garrison was deployed to the surface, tasked with little more than watching over the ruins of a dead world. Many years later, the garrison would be recalled to assist in the quickly escalating second civil war. It was only when they were gone that reports began to come in, citing living Cah-Binn rising from deep underground bunkers. The small colony of people that had sprung up around the garrison fort soon claimed the fort for their own uses. Calling their capital Lux Gravare, or “Burden of Light” they began the great work of restoring the planet.