“The Empire has deployed hundreds of these weapons along the border with the Republic. If deployed, they have the potential to cripple interstellar travel within our territory—leaving us defenseless against Imperial attack. Make no mistake, this represents an insurmountable advantage, and one that we must destroy.”
- - Fleet Admiral Willelmus Cretacea
The Battle of the Ecimaex Wall (Ianuaria 39, 15 NE) was the first battle of the Second Great Cyrannus War, marking the end of the Cyrannian Cold War and the beginning of open hostilities between the New Cyrannian Republic and the Galactic Empire of Cyrannus. Discovered by the Aldárae Order in 14 NE, the "Ecimaex Wall" was a flotilla of Imperial Harrower-class Star Destroyers positioned along the Neutral Zone, each equipped with a superluminal hyperlaser capable of sniping vessels during faster-than-light transit. Intelligence gleamed from the captured Imperial Inquisitor Vandalion confirmed that the Wall was positioned directly at the heart of Republic space—representing an insurmountable tactical advantage if deployed.
Coordinating with the nascent Aldárae Order, President Nexarón Valkistair tasked the Commander-in-Chief of the Republic Navy, Willelmus Cretacea, Aev Tempaere, the Director of Republic Strategic Intelligence and General Elaen Minerchae to devise a first strike against the Wall, before it could be used against the Republic. In the aftermath of the Battle of Ambar, Strategic Intelligence Agent Rhavor Aldorón intercepted Imperial transmissions indicating that the Wall had been activated under orders from Grand Admiral Tector Decimius and would begin firing within two days. On Ianuaria 39, the leaders met with Aldárae leadership on Aldár, along with Republic Senators Apollo, Amirtae Buroa, Roth Caesenn and Ramdard Ramthrace, where they rallied their forces in preparation for the attack.
As the Grand Republic Fleet under Fleet Admiral Cretacea made short hyperjumps from Aldár to the Wall, the Empire delivered the P'ax Cyrannica Concordat to President Valkistair and the Senate, claiming that Ecimaex would be used to enforce galactic peace, in addition to a staggering number of tributes, the disbandment of the Aldárae Order and the Mou'Cyran Accords and the denouncement of the Cyrandia Resistance—which were flatly rejected by President Valkistair. Almost simultaneously to the rejection of the Concordat, the Republic fleet dropped out of lightspeed at the wall, sparking the battle against Imperial forces under the command of Captain Nirndal of the Ecimaex flagship Silencer.
With the fleet engaged in diversionary tactics, a team of Republic and Aldárae agents—Aoirtae Valaeris, Kara Inviá, Vanikaimar, Commander Corvexa and Rhavor Aldorón—infiltrated the Silencer, set explosive charges of sufficient yield to destroy the entire Wall and captured Captain Nirndal on the bridge, in addition to critical intelligence on Imperial fleet activity. As her comrades made their escape, Aoirtae duelled the Phaedric Lord Vandorallen on the bridge of the Silencer, ultimately emerging victorious. Making their escape, the group—dubbed the Coruanthor Aegis by Admiral Cretacea, detonated the charges, sparking a chain reaction which destroyed the entire flotilla.
Though considered a decisive victory in the immediate aftermath, the participants of the battle discovered that the conflict had occurred concurrently to the devastating Mou'Cyran Cataclysm, a preemptive strike by the Empire, utilising the Cyrannic Imperial Battlestation. With the death of President Valkistair and his cabinet, as well as the near-total extermination of the Senate and Republic High Command, the Empire stood on the cusp of total victory. Nevertheless, the victory at the Battle of the Ecimaex Wall provided a modicum of hope for the crumbling Republic.
Trivia[]
- The Battle of the Ecimaex Wall was the centrepiece of The Shattered Peace—the final story of the Cyrannian Cold War.