First Battle of Sol

"***There will be many unsung heroes and unremembered villains in the twilight hours of the human race, and it is humanity’s twilight."***

The **First Battle of Sol** was the final major battle of the Compact-Confederacy War. Following the battle between Task Force 97 and Expansion Fleet Bankala, the Compact of Species had obtained the location of Sol from the databanks of CSFWV *Curse of Prophesy* and become incensed over both the loss of the Triarch aboard CSFWV *Bringer of Light* and the creation of the AI used aboard the ship that destroyed it, UECNS *Nemesis*.

Taking place just under a month after that battle, the Compact organised a beheading strike against the Confederacy in order to destroy any shipyard in which another of the *Nemesis*-class deep space fleet engagement vessels might be being constructed, as these were the only Confederate ships capable of going toe-to-toe with a Compact Chariot and have any hope of victory. Deeming humanity too dangerous to allow to exist after the construction of an AI, total species death was ordered under the pretext of "racial insanity" and it was this order that resulted in the deaths of nearly every human inhabitant of the Sol system - 22 billion people, in total. Faced with extermination, many human ships chose to stand and fight, regardless of their combat capability or prior allegiances. Liners and freighters attempted to ram Compact ships or merely take shots meant for Confederate warships, while former pirates used their skills at hit-and-run tactics to pick off seperated Compact ships. Others attempted to run the blockade as the Compact's forces closed in, with very few escaping and even fewer lasting beyond another year of being hunted.

The battle served mostly as an attempt by the Confederacy to draw Compact units away from other human worlds while they launched refugee ships with the hope some might escape. These colonies were themselves destroyed- by a mix of orbital bombardment and bioweapons- within several weeks of the battle, likely resulting in several billion more deaths.

## Background

Following the Battle between Task Force 97 and Expansion Fleet Bankala, CSFWV *Curse of Prophecy* was able to survive an relay the location of Sol to the rest of the Compact's expansion fleets. This information, along with the fact that the Confederacy had built an AI controlled dreadnought, led to the Compact deciding to commit genocide against the human race, beginning with a decapitating strike against Humanity's homeworld. A secondary objective of capturing the Red class AIs along with their *Nemesis*-class hulls for study was also part of the attack.

The Confederacy had been aware of the loss of *Nemesis* for some time before the battle, and prepared to send evacuation fleets into deep space as well as surrender unconditionally to the Compact should they invade Sol.

## Preparations

Every available Compact ship was gathered for the invasion, leaving several units in other systems without backup to be overrun by Confederacy forces. Over a thousand ships, including the remaining two Chariots fielded against the Confederacy prepared to destroy everything in Sol by any means necessary.

Sol's defenses were also bolstered, the Confederacy withdrawing what it could from the fronts in a desperate bid to protect Sol and Earth. It managed to gather over 600 battleships, and twice that number of smaller capitals and escorts. Additionally, evacuation efforts away from the UEC had been ongoing once the loss of Task Force 97 was confirmed.

## Aftermath

With the loss of Sol, the rest of the Confederacy was left helpless against the Compact's Extermination Fleets. Conquered human worlds were glassed, and what few exodus fleets managed to escape the battle were hunted down in the following years and similarly destroyed. The region that the UEC inhabited would become known as the Kaedan Vault, and become slated for redevelopment and colonization after the fleets moved on. Of the evacuation fleets, only two survived: One landed on Rally, and the other made it to the Triquetran League.

The captured incomplete *Nemesis-*class hull was taking for reverse engineering of its displacement engine, however it and its testing facility were destroyed during a test firing of the weapon, prevent the Compact from gaining any useful research.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Last Angel - Chapter 37
2. ↑ The Last Angel - Chapter 33