At one of the three Ashen Prime defense stations, a technician entered the control room.
"We have received information about the computer displaying the state of tertiary systems not working correctly," he said.
The commander looked at him for two seconds, nodded, and continued working. The Ashen disliked deploying their own people to the front lines, preferring to reside in protected stations. From here, they coordinated fleets of remotely controlled ships and fighters, as well as carried out a full-scale defense of the planetary network. The network was coordinated from the Ministry of Defense's central terminal, while simpler functions were performed by human operators. There were thirty heavy battleships and a significant number of drone ships in orbit. Only the heavy battleships had crews; the rest were controlled by artificial intelligence or operators from similar stations. This is why such stations became a priority target for all Hydra agents.
The station commander didn't even have time to react when his head was suddenly crushed from behind and twisted. A sickening crunch was heard, attracting the attention of all the operators. A technician stood next to the captain, managing to slip something onto his finger and already pointing it at the operators. A powerful laser beam pierced them like a knife through butter. A couple of shots—and everyone was dead. The security system, tuned to read life signals, began to roar; if they disappeared, an alarm was sounded.
The Hydra agent closed the hermetic door, locking down the control system, and approached the command station, taking full control. The system had already been unlocked by the commander, now a corpse. The agent retrieved the crystal and adapter and connected them to the console. The program began to operate. The Asgard had only a vague understanding of the Aschen's military programming; the agents hadn't yet penetrated that deeply, but they were a sufficiently advanced race to create an adaptive virus. This virus now prioritized all signals from the central console. The military systems were sufficiently isolated to prevent anyone from seizing control. The station had an interlock system in place, isolating various compartments from each other, as well as a complete communications blackout. Fighters from this station were unable to take off, and no secret system commands were transmitted.
However, the Aschen had no time for the orbital station at the time: computers across the planet were malfunctioning. A computer virus was infecting numerous systems; it had spread with the latest update and was now infecting more and more systems connected to infected terminals. When the virus hit the teleportation system, it completely disabled it—that was the goal.
The Asgard could have created something more destructive, but, enraged as they were, they remained peaceful, so any device infected with the virus was shut down. The shutdown program became a priority, and devices became impossible to turn on; more precisely, they would turn on and then immediately shut down. This might seem harmless, but in reality, it was the collapse of the state. When not a single device turned on, or turned on only briefly, only isolated systems remained, untouched by the virus. However, given that the Aschen were a law-abiding society and regularly updated their devices at the government's request, the virus had already penetrated almost every home. Only military and research systems were unaffected; Those that weren't isolated suffered greatly, especially when it came to teleporters, automated cargo drones, and thousands of other devices, leading to a complete collapse of the system.
It all began when a signal echoed across multiple communication systems: "From the shadows we emerge into the light." This was the signal for Hydra saboteurs to act, as Szarekh's arrival was only ten minutes away, and he would take the entire system by surprise. Using the Asgardian program, the agent was able to bypass all protocols preventing harm to allied forces. In reality, the weapons were linked to a friend-or-foe system, which, according to the Aschen, eliminated the possibility of friendly fire. Of course, this would have been true if the targeting system hadn't been completely removed, and firing hadn't been conducted based on optical sensor data. The targeting system couldn't identify the optical signature of a friendly ship unless the Asgardian program replaced it.
A few minutes after the station was captured, it began firing at the nearest ship, completely shocking its captain. He didn't even have time to raise the shields, and the ship vanished within ten seconds. The remaining ships scattered, activated their shields, and requested further instructions from headquarters, as a mutiny by an entire station was unusual for them.
Headquarters was also perplexed; the military computers were unharmed, but the situation was clearly atypical. Then, a message came over the military communications systems that the station was unresponsive and firing on allies. It was logical to conclude that the virus had also infected the military systems, so special protocols had to be implemented, not provoking the mutinous station but waiting for the crew to sort things out. Meanwhile, the station destroyed the nearest orbital guns, clearing the way for the arrival of Szarekh's fleet.
The Aschen ordered the remaining stations to scan their computer systems for viruses and switch all controls to manual mode to eliminate the risk of friendly fire. While military command was trying to figure out what was happening, hyperspace windows began to appear near the station, and a fleet appeared, shocking all Aschen. Various types of starships were present, the most numerous being a pyramidal structure. A transmission came from the hammer-shaped ship.
"Ashen Confederation, I am Supreme Commander Thor, speaking on behalf of the union of worlds. You are accused of the genocide of numerous peoples. You have been sentenced to a ban on all electrical-level technology. Surrender, and your lives will be spared."
Immediately, small ships began to separate from the pyramids and dive onto the planet through the corridor created by the space station.
The Aschen fleet commander decided to immediately engage, but this was difficult, as the enemy now had their own station, as well as various energy signatures from their ships directed at the planet. The commander, though calm, didn't understand what was happening. The Aschen never fought with standard galactic weapons; their choice was biological weapons. True, they possessed advanced technology, but the fleet commander had no idea what to do. He decided to first deploy remote-controlled and robotic fighters. But the attackers' own fighters entered the fray.
The enemy fighters were manned and armed with missiles. Their salvo rained down hundreds of missiles on the Ashen drones, which immediately began shooting them down. Following in the fighter formation were large ships armed with railguns, which began firing on the drones immediately after the missiles exploded. The inexperienced Ashen fleet commander was unsure how to react. Meanwhile, the teleporters deployed troops, and the fighters launched preemptive strikes on the robot barracks.
The Ashen were shocked when warriors in golden armor began appearing near the central government buildings and headquarters, mercilessly shooting at everyone in sight. They tore through guards like a knife through butter, taking no more than a split second to fire on each person. The automated defense systems attempted to speak, but were quickly overwhelmed by powerful plasma fire. The explosions turned into a cacophony of sound. Szarekh had arrived on Ashen Prime, and it was terrifying.
Five minutes after the attack, a significant portion of the orbital defenses was reduced to rubble, and the government had fallen. Asgardian sensors detected any bioweapons that had fallen into the hands of Hydra agents and been beamed aboard. The deployment of an entire army via beam teleportation seemed like a fairy tale, as they quickly appeared and launched missiles and grenade launchers at government buildings and robot barracks.
Patrol drones took off, but they were mercilessly shot down by pinpoint shots. The Ashen had extremely weak laser shots; they merely bounced off armor, and only rarely did they hit a single person more than once. The Immortals were too experienced and ruthless. Any Ashen who attempted to resist received a plasma blast to the head. The armies of Galaran and Svorin weren't as coordinated, but they needed to secure secondary positions.
"Fleet Commander, your government has been captured, your defenses have collapsed. We suggest you surrender," Thor said again. "You will only perish in a futile battle."
The Ashen disobeyed and decided to continue the fight. Thor's Beleskiner advanced, followed by the Hattaki. They demonstrated phenomenal coordination. However, some allied ships were late. Ten seconds before impact, Alkesh appeared in the rear of the enemy fleet and fired their missiles at the exposed ships. It was a classic pincer tactic, with special beacons and targeting aids used for more precise exits from hyperspace.
Powerful plasma cannons engaged, exchanging fire. The shields of both ships flared. The Asgard Fleet's flagship was powerful enough to withstand intense fire, ignoring plasma and missiles. Its weapons destroyed the enemy ships, which, moreover, were outnumbered. The Alkeshi launched missiles with multi-gigaton warheads. They detonated in the center of the Aschen formation, creating artificial suns that demonstrated the true power of both weapons and shields.
The Aschen fought desperately, fulfilling their duty, but their opponents outnumbered them. Surrounded on all sides, the ships exploded one after another. Meanwhile, the crews of the other two stations watched in horror as their fleet was completely destroyed. Another battleship was reduced to a cloud of debris, impaled by the Beleskiner. It was accompanied by two Tollan Hattaks, whose guns methodically smashed the remnants of the enemy fleet. A classic breakthrough, when the enemy is surrounded from many sides. Missiles flew in a continuous stream, and the Asgard's electronic warfare systems reduced all Aschen communications to white noise.
Two Aschen ships collided due to a clumsy maneuver. Their shields flared, and dozens, if not hundreds, of missiles immediately flew at them. The protective fields were instantly breached, and then the missiles blew through the bulkheads. The humans were thrown into the void of space. The enemy fleet dealt mercilessly with the enemies of humanity.
Meanwhile, drones capable of transmitting broadcasts were scattered across the planet, announcing their destinations. This sowed unspeakable terror among the Aschen. Those who hated them had arrived, those who sought to destroy everything they had built, and perhaps even them.