An excerpt from the EndGen Industries Military History textbook
Chapter 4, “The Early Years of the Vasari Invasion”
Page 223
The Matar Campaign
In the early months of the year 3714, planets under the ownership of EndGen Industries Inc and the Stunodi Trade Syndicate, lying within the Matar System, soon discovered that the Vasari Exodus Fleet had established a base in some of the outer planets at Matar. An emergency transmission was sent to the corporate HQ’s of each company, and defense vessels were dispatched to Matar.
By the time help arrived, TEC control in the system had dwindled to a mere 6 planets, out of the 39 originally colonized.
Leading Task Force 72 (TF-72) of the EndGen Defense Forces from his flagship, EDS Halcyon (BB-29), Rear Admiral Darren Siesel lead his small task force consisting of the battleships Halcyon and Drakken, as well as the Akkan-class battle cruiser Trident, along with a small contingent of Cobalt light frigates and Hoshiko repair cruisers, arrived in system in June of 3714 and imminently began an offensive to retake EndGen Industries planets. His first victory came at the First Battle for Thessalia, in which the planet was liberated from the Vasari garrisoned there. Fort Hydra was imminently constructed as a first line of defense for the planet.
Leaving the Trident and 4 Cobalts at Thessalia, Siesel took his remaining ships to defend the ice world Artemis, and Fort Scimitar, from a determined Vasari offensive coming from Okuda.
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TF-72 in action over Artemis
The battle turned out to be a giant feint, as a Vasari planet-killing strike force snuck in from Daedalus to the planet Ilos, and succeeded in defeating the defense turrets and capturing the planet. Back on Artemis, Siesel was victorious, despite losing all but a few of his supporting ships. He then regrouped, and raced toward Ilos, counting on the experience of his battleships crews to defeat the small Vasari fleet.
The battle could not have gone worse.
Vasari reinforcements jumped in, and Siesel’s support ships were quickly destroyed, and the Halcyon and the Drakken soon found themselves outnumbered and outgunned against a battle-hardened Vasari fleet.
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Alone, Halcyon and Drakken engage the Vasari in an attempt to retake Ilos
Midway through the battle, the Drakken began to suffer severe hull damage. Despite arguments from Drakken’s captain, Siesel ordered the battleship to withdraw to Artemis and Fort Scimitar for repairs. He imminently called out to the TridentHalcyon was alone in battle over Ilos.
Pushing his ship to the limit, the Halcyon managed to take out a good number of Vasari ships, as well as the Kortul- class Devastator that accompanied the fleet. But such victory was not without a price; as the Halcyon began to take sever hull damage as well, as the ships structural integrity began to fail. Just as all hope seemed lost, the Trident and her squadron jumped in, and imminently raced toward the heart of the Vasari ships. Taking his cue, Siesel ordered the Halcyon out and back to Artemis for repairs, leaving the Trident to finish the battle at Ilos.
Unfortunately, the Vasari had other plans. Another wave of reinforcements jumped into orbit above the desert world, and quickly defeated the battle cruisers escort ships. Alone, the Trident fought for her life. Literally moments after reaching Artemis, Siesel received word of the Trident’s plight, and ordered the Halcyon and Drakken back into battle. Drakken was moderately repaired, but Halcyon had yet to reach the repair bay.
The two battleships jumped alone back to Ilos, unfortunately arriving just in time to watch the Trident’s reactor collapse, causing a chain reaction destroying the battle cruiser. Despite the loss of the battle cruiser, the two battleships fought valiantly, overwhelming the remaining Vasari, and recapturing Ilos. Fort Defiant was under construction within 24 hours. for assistance. Until the battle cruiser arrived in orbit, the
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The destruction of the EDS Trident (BC-56), as taken from a pilot based off the Drakken
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After 7 long months of fighting, the Matar Campaign came to a close when the combined fleets of EndGen Defense Forces and Stunodi Military Division arrived in orbit of the deset world of Kaburaki just in time to watch the last of the Vasari fleet depart the system. The battle had come to a close, and for the first time, TEC forces were victorious in a strategic sense.
It should be worth noting, that while the EDS Halcyon and Drakken were the core of Rear Admiral Siesel’s fleet, that without the sacrifice of the battle cruiser Trident, those two battleships would not have been around to lead the assault on Daedalus, which turned the battle in favor of the TEC. In essence, the Trident’s sacrifice may have won the campaign for the TEC. In honor of the ship and her crew, the Argonev- class Star base, in orbit of Ilos, was renamed “Fort Trident”, and still stands to this day, a tribute to the courage and sacrifice of a few, who saved the lives of many.
