Siege of Embran

"Gar is my son, and so Gar is me. And my trees are his to command. As long as he lives, no enemy shall pierce their shade."

-- M'nunga of his son Gar

Date: 1164:807888:3:1-4

Factions: War Council, Heroes, People of Embran

Leaders: Arm Zilch, Marcus, Belrador the Titan (Heroes), Gar (People of Embran)

Location: Embran, Embran System, Tau Quadrant, Human Galaxy

Size: 8,000,000 soldiers, 90% War Council, 9.9875% People of Embran

Casualties: 3,216,000 Tau, 1,288,000 Scumalien (War Council), 4,900 People of Embran, 792,000 Trees (People of Embran)

Causes
The War Council had been searching and hoarding Arnium since it was discovered. They discovered that the core of Embran was made of Arnium, so they sent shipd to the planet.

The People of Embran were very natural, and especially loved trees, and they did not want to give up their planet. Luckily, the hero Gar was a native of Embran, and he was able to call for help in the defenses.

Planning the Defenses
When the people of Embran started to see new stars light up in the sky, Gar realized that they must be ships orbiting the planet, and because they made no effort to contact the natives, he could only assume that they were hostile. With this in mind, he called upon the Heroes for aid.

Arm came quickly, riding on a StarHarley (a type of space travelling motorcycle). He joined Gar in his city where they built up defenses and sent word to the other clans that they would need to unite in battle.

The People of Embran are in close contact with many minor gods, including the one they call M'nunga (god of tree) and the one they call Embran (god of earth). It was discovered during the planning that Gar was the son of M'nunga, and he called upon his father's aid. He received an army of living trees, as well as a bow that grew a tree from the body of any it struck down. It was also discovered that Arm had killed Embran in a battle in the God Worlds, and that some of Embran's powers had transferred to him.

The First Wave
Nearly 10,000 Scumalien soldiers dropped down to the planet that same day. With only 7,000 men, and spread thin across the planet, even then chances of an Embran victory were slim. Luckily, they were able to hold the War Council at bay with their forces of walking trees and Zilch's newfound terrakinetic powers.

Gar had been out in the forests praying to M'nunga, and was only half a mile away from where some of the first aliens arrived. He was able to rally a small force of woodsmen for an ambush so that when the Tau finally reached the city, they were scattered and disorganized. They ran into the outer walls, with the woodsmen still in pursuit.

Eventually the aliens got into the city. At first it would have seemed like an Embran victory was probable, but with Scumaliens already in the city, the War Council was able to send more men directly into the town center.

As the battle raged on, the two Heroes determined that they would need to hold out three days, at which point Kale and the Ninth CMD would arrive.

The Reinforcements
On the third day, the Terran reinforcements arrived as planned. Unfortunately for the Embrani, the War Council had called reinforcements, and over 7,000,000 Tau were in orbit by midday. They poured onto the planet regiment after regiment, affording the defense no opportunity to regroup.

Luckily, Kale's reinforcements arrived as well. He came with almost half of the Ninth CMD, and brought Marcus with him as well. This allowed Zilch to enact something he had been planning. Because the entire Tau force was under the command of a single admiral, his death would certainly be a blow to their organization. Zilch sent Marcus to assassinate the admiral, a successful mission.

Regardless of this success, the Tau already on the planet were still overwhelming the Embrani forces. The Heroes gathered together to summon the titan Belrador, who had been imprisoned in the underworld for petty crimes. He agreed to help them fight, but took Zilch's terrakinetic powers as payment.

The End
Midmorning on the fourth day, a new Tau admiral arrived, and the War Council invasion resumed. This admiral was more effective than the last, and he managed to bribe Belrador into joining the invaders.

With nothing going for them, the Embrani decided to use their last effort. To prevent the War Council from taking Embran's arnium core, the planet had to be destroyed. Kale and the other Heroes evacuated as many Embrani as they could, but less than a quarter of the survivors escaped the planet. The plan did work, however, and the planet detonated. Many Tau were killed, and Belrador with them. A handful of Tau cruisers were close enough to be destroyed by the blast. Enough Tau died in the explosion that neither side could claim a victory.