BATTLE OF MIDNIGHT'S TOMB
The Battle of Midnight's Tomb, named for the UPT leader Darkrai who died during the battle, was an attempt by various nations to destroy an invading Vong fleet over the desert planet of Xcaret. Following a Pyrrhic victory in space against the Vong vanguard, the allied nations elected to install and defend a gravity well generator on the planet of Xcaret in order to destablise the Vong fleet by increasing the planet's gravatic pull over the course of 24 hours.
The position held for nearly 17 hours before being overrun. The allied fleets were unable to achieve air superiority over the combat zone and the allied detachments on the ground took heavy losses. Whilst the gravity well generated did allow the allied fleets to escape, it did not weaken the Vong fleet sufficiently for a meaningful counter-attack to take place. PRELUDE
The Vong were a complete unknown to the inhabitants of the FB-1 region, and a Shogunate naval task force commanded by Admiral John Cornewaille first encountered the Vong after responding to a distress call from a small merchant convoy.
The SNV Teotihuacan and its escorts were attacked by an overwhelming force of bio-engineered warships and called for assistance. Vessels of the Katasian Ryk, New Free Planets Alliance, and United Pokemon Types all responded. The opening moves of the Battle of Xcaret saw the Vong vanguard forced to withdraw, but the bulk of the enemy fleet remained intact and greatly outnumbered the allied forces. The allied command decided to land a heavy gravity well generator on the surface of Xcaret with the aim of increasing Xcaret's gravatic pull to the extent that the Vong's gravity-based defenses would be overloaded. ORDER OF BATTLE
The allied fleets landed a total of 820 special operations infantry atop a sixty-meter hill that had been chosen as the site for the generator. They promptly fortified the location, dividing the perimeter into quarters.
The north-east wall was garrisoned by 120 Shogunate infantry under the command of General Yoshi Seiha, supported by a combat walker and a dozen Matjushi-Shu agents led by Avery Johnson. To the south-east, 500 Rykmarines and a squadron of Order Knights from Katasia took position under the commander of Grandmaster Sheaker. NFPA forces, including 200 infantry and two main battle tanks, were positioned to the south-west. Finally, to the north-west, four squadrons totalling 80 Garchomp were led by Darkrai of the UPT. |
Ranged against them was a considerable force of Vong. Estimates of the number of enemy troops landed on Xcaret range from 20,000 to 300,000. They were well-equipped with giant super-heavy battle tank bio-walkers, reptilian slave infantry, veteran Vong warriors and fast attack air cover. They deployed in large column formations and quickly surrounded the fort.
COURSE OF BATTLE
0041 hrs
0321 hrs 0560 hrs 1010 hrs 1214 hrs 1544 hrs |
The first attack by the Vong was a thrust in force from the east, towards the Katasian defenses. The assault faltered at the foot of the hill under the weight of overlapping fields of fire, and so the Vong launched a second attack from the north against the Shogunate forces there. Further diversionary attacks from the south and west pinned down the NFPA and UPT forces there.
After approximately eighty minutes of exchanging fire, the eastern column of Vong began to advance again. Reaching the eastern barricades, they engaged in fierce hand-to-hand fighting. The Order Knights plugged the gap, driving the assault back. The other columns withdrew to regroup seeing the failure of the main thrust. The Vong launched a fresh attack, this time against the Garchomp squads to the west and the Shogunate infantry to the north. The UPT squadrons advanced into the desert to meet the enemy, and the NFPA stretched their line to cover the gap. The Garchomp squadrons managed to hold the Vong assault for more than an hour in close-quarter combat and then rout them, providing vital time for the Shogunate forces to repulse the northern column. A Vong fighter, shot down by fire from an emplaced laser cannon on the northern barricades, crashed directly into the Shogunate combat walker, which was destroyed. Avery Johnson led the Matjushi-Shu in a counter-attack which destroyed a Vong attack walker and threw back the enemy advance. The Vong deployed reptilian slave soldiers in a living wave assault. At 3ft tall, and with their minds conditioned and controlled by nearby psionic beasts, the slaves were no match for the defenders and died in their hundreds. The assault wore down the defenders however, and spread their defensive line even thinner. An attempt by the allied fleets to reinforce the fort failed, as the gravity well generator had not had as catastrophic an effect on the Vong fleet as expected. After landing fresh reinforcements, the Vong threw two further columns at the fort, one aimed at the juncture of the NFPA and Katasian sectors and one huge column of more than three thousand warriors at the centre of the Katasian line. This central assault burst through the Katasian line and reached the command post of Grandmaster Sheaker himself. Sheaker personally entered the battle and shot dead a Vong general, throwing the attack into disarray. As the attack stalled, reinforcements from the other sectors counter-attacked and cleared the fort's interior of besiegers. The Vong dug in at the foot of the hill, maintaining a steady fire against the fort. They deployed large burrowing creatures to undermine the fortifications, causing havoc among the rear echelons of the allied force and punching several holes in the defense. The Garchomp squadrons of the UPT engaged these creatures underground, suffering heavy losses but managing to neutralise the threat. At the same time, a multi-pronged Vong assault managed to capture the outermost ring of defenses amid intense hand-to-hand fighting, but eventually the surviving allied forces managed to regroup and hold the inner bulwark thanks to anti-personnel explosives that had been strategically placed around the innermost ring. A stalemate developed over approximately twelve metres of cratered ground. The Vong gathered more soldiers for a final assault. Storming the inner barricades all along the line, the Vong began to penetrate the allied defenses in several locations. General Seiha died in close quarters combat, leaving Captain Blunte as the senior Shogunate officer. |
1601 hrs
1615 hrs |
As resistance around the gravity well generator became fierce, the Vong launched several suicide attacks against the power generators supplying it. A Vong pilot rammed the southernmost generator, destroying it.
Two Vong walkers breached the western wall of the fort. Concerted fire from the NFPA tanks brought down one, but the other fired into the western generator, detonating it and neutralising the NFPA heavy armour. At this point the gravity well no longer had sufficient power supply to continue effective operation and the Shogunate forces began to evacuate. Darkrai used his powers to destroy the second walker and briefly secure the perimeter. |
1633 hrs
1635 hrs |
Shogunate, NFPA and Katasian forces began to evacuate. The remaining Shogunate infantry secured the landing zone and several Shogunate shuttle craft arrived, under heavy fire, to extract the survivors. Darkrai and several Garchomp elected to remain behind and the shuttles took off.
Darkrai placed himself in the gravity well generator's relay and used his powers to drive the generator, dying in the process. The power boost was insufficient to drag the Vong fleet out of orbit, but did disable them for long enough that the allied fleets were able to inflict severe damage on the Vong worldship and several capital class vessels before escaping the system. |
AFTERMATH
The defeat of the allied force at what came to be known as Midnight's Tomb was the opening move in the Vong War and a sharp blow to the indigenous populations of FB-1. Though tactical losses for the allies were relatively minor, the initiative gained by the invading forces of the Vong was a significant strategic advantage. Within a year, the Vong had conquered and destroyed Laos II, had only just fallen short of capturing the OSL Charon, and had invaded Neusattar and the United Pokemon Types. The various general staff of the allied militaries blamed one another, a falling-out that would sour relations between the Laptev Axis and the future Barlat Concordiat.
By 2430 AT the Vong had been repulsed from all major population centres, but the economic and human cost of the war was incalculable.
By 2430 AT the Vong had been repulsed from all major population centres, but the economic and human cost of the war was incalculable.