Mission 09 - Battle of Morael

## 09 - Battle of Morael

The Morael industrial complex in the Sedra System, the cornerstone of the Athrael naval efforts.

## Battle Information

### Location

Athrael industrial complex, Morael, Sedra System

### Aftermath

Strategic Thorun Empire Victory* Athrael Theocracy's Morael manufacturing complex destroyed. Athrael retaliation capabilities limited.

## Belligerents

* Thorun Empire

* Athrael Theocracy
* Corael Order

## Commanders

* Thalok

* Unknown consultant

## Forces

* Predator interceptors
* Marauder and Havoc corvettes
* Raider assassin craft and Grinder siege engines.
* Defenses including Guard Stations
* Blood Moon and Silent Blade

* Intruder strike craft and Lancet strike drones
* Warpglider corvettes and Flanker cruisers
* Rector platforms and Invader destroyers
* Harbinger drone ships and Martyrprobes
* Defenses including Polaron Spheres and Obelisks

## Objectives

* Destroy the Athrael industrial complex.

* Defend the Morael industrial complex.
* Eliminate all Thorun forces.

## Casualties and losses

Severe
Extensive

## Involved Characters

* Thalok
* Bleda *(Briefing only)*
* Garuga
* Kagan

*Battle of Morael* is the ninth mission of Chapter 02 - Ascension in the Five Nations campaign.

## Setting

> - "Thalok, because of your inexperience, you almost failed our mission!"
> - "Lie! Bleda, how could your scouts be so blind they didn’t notice the Athrael mind influencer device in this region? I almost lost my legion because of your hasty acts!"
> - "Be silent! A young one of your kind cannot question a Warlord! Though you are the favored servant of the Emperor, you would do well to remember that you are no monarch. You must obey me during our mission! Now stay where you are and leave the fighting to those who know how to do it!"
>
> Heated exchange between Prince Thalok and Warlord Bleda

Following the near-debacle of the Thorun Empire's initial advance in the Sedra System, Prince Thalok was harshly admonished by Warlord Bleda, despite the fact that Thalok had saved the campaign by destroying the dominating Psychic Dome which Bleda's scouts had failed to detect, almost having dominated the Thorun legions in the Sedra campaign before the Imperator-wardens under Kagan had intervened.

While Bleda ordered Thalok to stand down and leave the rest of the campaign against the Athrael Theocracy to the Warlord, Thalok, while officially obeying his uncle, in reality refused to abide, instead conducting operations on his own to protect Bleda's flank, especially as the Warlord's reckless advance would burden all logistics.

One of these operations revolved around an assault on a large, strategically important Athrael industrial complex on the planet Morael, discovered by Kagan's Raiders, and thus had to be destroyed to compromise the Athraels' military capabilities.

## Laying the Grindwork

As Thalok's forces established themselves by the vicinity of the Morael complex, Kagan and his Raiders arrived with the initial reconnaisance report of the Athrael station, which had a fortified defensive line and a full complement of industrial facilities, the Cabals, which produced more and more Athrael starships within the hour. Grandmaster Garuga suggested, for the breakthrough of the Athrael defensive lines, the use of Grinder siege engines, potent anti-station cruisers fueled by Tachyon whose short-ranged thermobaric bombs could wreak havoc on the stations' hull integrity.

In one point of the battle, Thalok's scouts encountered Tachyon deposits which would prove important in the siege of the Morael complex, but were blocked by small and medium asteroids. Per Garuga's suggestion, Thalok's grinders had demolished the asteroids with the bombs as well. During the demolition processes, Thalok's forces coincidentally encountered, through the asteroid field, a path that conveniently led behind the Athrael defensive lines and right into the heart of the complex, which was the Thorun forces' main target.

Thalok's forces eventually fought into and destroyed the Thorun's main complex from within, even despite the attempted intervention of outward Athrael reinforcements that warped in.

## Something is Rotten in Algor

As Thalok was successful in the destruction of the Morael complex, Garuga came in with a report from one of his spies aboard the Skull Bearer, which was Warlord Bleda's flagship at the time - the main invasion force, also led by Bleda, had suffered a surprise attack from the Athrael Theocracy, leading to devastating losses, and thus Bleda and his loyalists left the Sedra System, returning to the Throun homeworld in the Algor System.

While Thalok called his uncle a 'wimp' for the act, Garuga reminded Thalok that this might have been a more shrewd act than previously believed, as Bleda ordered his men to sabotage the Aether Gate within the Skull Bearer, which prevented Thalok's forces from returning to the Algor System, which favored Bleda - if Thalok were to fall in the Sedra System, Bleda would be the next Emperor by the time of Tyran's passing. Thalok thus concluded that Bleda's act was, in fact, a preparation for a coup within the Thorun Empire.

## Walkthrough

The player will start in command of a small base, the Blood Moon, some Marauders and a couple of Grinders, as well as a small force of Extractors, a Zoner and a couple of Welders. The player should immediately start expanding the resource income by building more Extractors, possibly a second Zoner to help haul resources faster until the Mastodon Reactor upgrade is researched in the Material Silo. Shortly after, the Silent Blade and a couple of Raiders will reach the base and be rescued by the player. The player should leave the Silent Blade by the starting position's Capitol due to it's vulnerability, and the enemy Athrael bases will send more Explorers frequently with their attack waves. The player, at best, should establish a strong defense line of at least three to four Guard Stations barricaded by Habitats by the base entrance to the North as most Athrael cruiser attacks will come from there, but the resource asteroid sites shouldn't be ignored a defense either.

The player, in this mission, can build two new unit types, Grinders and Havocs, both from the Siege Yard. The Grinder is a heavy siege unit that can attack only structures (including asteroids) at a very close range, but has a large hull count and armor that can be further upgraded with the Platinum Alloy upgrade at the Anvil, making it useful to tank direct damage and distract enemy defenses as it closes in on it's target. The Havoc, on the other hand, is arguably more frail then the Marauder, but possesses a longer firing range and deals additional damage to shields, being particularly effective against heavy shielded units such as Rectors and useful for attacking enemy defenses from a longer range, to draw enemy defenders out. Grinders require both an Anvil and Tachyon, whose rich asteroid field will soon be revealed to the player (within 5-10 minutes on the mission), as well as the destructible asteroids which lead to it, on which the player can use the Grinders to destroy, and then move in and establish a second Capitol, a Material Silo and defenses before starting extracting the local Tachyon and Metal asteroids. Tachyon will also be useful for acquiring Raiders as well as researching Level 2 upgrades at the Guild.

There are two Athrael bases in the area - the Morael complex (green) to the west, guarding the Cabals that are the player's main objective and the Corael Order (white) at the northeastern corner that will send larger, heavier forces against the player. The green base will attack mostly with Intruders, Warpgliders and Flankers, but the Corael Order will later escalate with Lancets, Harbingers, Martyrprobes and Rectors. For handling Harbingers, the player will want a wing of Predators - with Positron Thruster researched at the Guild - on standby, while the Rectors should be dealt with a group of Havocs behind the Guard Stations. The player will also want a reasonable amount of Welders, at least 10, with Friction Welding researched at the Forum for repairs.

Because the white base will be modestly defended, including an Invader in Hard difficulty, the player has the alternative to instead use the Grinders to destroy some blocking asteroids close to the Tachyon asteroid field *(see image)*, which grants a direct backdoor access to the green base and thus the Cabals. Regardless, some of the defenders present as well as the defenses itself will demand the player has a rather large fleet of Marauders and Havocs on stand by, as well as at best a dozen Raiders - with Absorptive Plating researched at the Forum - to be stationed at the southwest corner, when the asteroids are destroyed. The reason for this is that, as soon as the first Cabals are destroyed, Kagan will inform of an Athrael fleet warping in, consisting of Intruders, Warpgliders, Flankers and at least a pair of Invaders, who will then charge the attack force from behind, and this can be devastating if they do reach the flank or rear of the player's attack force.

While taking the Blood Moon to the assault is optional, it's not as much recommended both because of the warping reinforcements than can destroy it, and there will also be too many units for Overcharge and Tractor System is best applied for defense. When attacking the base, the player will prefer to use the Havocs to target a structure and thus draw the defenders to the main group, before charging the Grinders and the main force in. The player should also have Welders on the ready after the initial engagement for repairs, as the white base might be able of sending in an attack wave right through the green base and will thus clash with the attack force.

When all Cabals are destroyed, the mission ends in victory.

## History and Background

Bleda's departure from the Sedra campaign to return to the Thorun Empire foreshadowed the Thorun Civil War, which would culminate in the Battle of Onarion, depicted in *Dethronement* in Chapter 04 - Endgame. This, however, also allowed Thalok to gain full control of the campaign and thus acquire actual battle experience and the loyalty of the Thorun forces in the Sedra System, whom would finish the campaign in victory for the Thoruns before returning to the Algor System.

The Battle of Morael was the beginning of the downfall of the Athrael Theocracy that would culminate in the destruction of Vemana by Thalok's fleet, by the end of *Mission 12 - Death Blow*. This would set the stage for the Zhogarn Onslaught phase of the First Galactic War, shortly later.

## Trivia

* While the parentage connections to both Thalok and Bleda are a reference to Attila the Hun and his brother Bleda in real life (unlike the game, on which this Bleda is Thalok's uncle), the fact of Bleda returning to the Algor System to claim the empire draws closer references to the Gallic Wars led by Gaius Julius Caesar, prior to the Roman civil war with then consul Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey), which is reflected later in the game on the Thorun Civil War between Thalok and Bleda.