Operation Retribution Begins

2267, August 21st: The 1st Imperial Armada comes out of warp travel around Gliese. They move into a battle formation as they close in on the ECF world. Scion Emperor Balthazar peers from the observation deck of his flagship, the S.E.S "Imperator", a Titan Class interstellar warship. He gives the order to deploy strike fighter and bomber forces from four accompanying carriers. From the Imperator, the Archnoids deploy, leading a squadron of Mechanoids to the front line of their formation. Off in the distance, thousands of miles away, the ECF's fleet "Hammer of Gliese" takes up a defensive posture. Governor General Audrey Burns of the ECF Gliese Colonial Guard leads her forces with her flagship the "Emerald Titan", the only ECF Titan Class Warship to have escaped the Battle for Terra. ECF strike craft and Mechanoids take up positions to counter the SE attack formation. 20 years of hiding have allowed them to build a substantial fleet for this precise moment. SE analysts expected a fleet of smaller size; however, Emperor Balthazar was unperturbed. "My enemy, we meet again... This time, not a miserable maggot of the Earth Colonies Federation shall remain! Commence the attack!" the Scion Emperor ordered, as his forces accelerated at maximum speed towards the Hammer of Gliese; Operation Retribution begins.