Chapter Thirty: The Interstellar Court

"The Krell Empire?" The leader of the Skrull Empire furrowed his brow, turning the matter over in his mind but failing to recall any conflict with their adversary; the only connection was an exploration vessel from centuries past. Yet the most pressing concern at the moment was to defend the planetary shield generator. The Speaker immediately ordered the commander at his side, "Send troops at once to intercept. Under no circumstances may the generator fall into enemy hands."

"Understood, Your Excellency!" The commander saluted and hurried to the operations command room.

Planetary shields could repel orbital bombardment, but they could not intercept landing forces. If the enemy destroyed the planetary shield generators, the city shields alone would struggle to hold out until the fleet arrived.

"Report on damage status, estimate landing zones, and confirm readiness of orbital defense weapons," the commander said upon entering the operations room, addressing the adjutant waiting nearby.

"The planetary shield generators are more than half destroyed; all exposed generators were hit during the initial assault and obliterated. Enemy landing points have been marked, but orbital defenses have also suffered attacks. The remaining facilities are active, though enemy forces have moved toward them. Military and civilian casualties are severe," the adjutant replied, handing over detailed reports. The commander quickly skimmed the casualty figures, the scarlet text making his eyelid twitch.

"When will our forces reach the defensive lines? We must hold the invaders at all costs." The commander stared at the screen, which displayed dozens of enemy landing sites, his brow tightly knit.

"The troops were assembled as soon as the attack began, but ground facilities are badly damaged. Distant defense points will take about twenty minutes to reach, though the nearest lines can be reinforced within five," the adjutant explained, while the screen mapped out troop movements and estimated arrival times.

The commander nodded, "Accelerate all operations. The shield generators must be protected at any cost."

"Yes, sir!" The adjutant saluted and immediately relayed orders to hasten the march.

Long-absent artillery thundered once more in the Skrull Empire's capital. Soldiers, summoned by emergency orders, rushed toward critical defensive positions aboard military transports. With half the planetary shield generators destroyed, the remaining units could not fully ward off bombardment from the Krell Empire, leaving gaps through which enemy fire occasionally slipped. The skies above the capital had grown perilous, and soldiers aboard transports risked being struck by stray shots at any moment.

Within the Krell fleet, Commander Loxley directed the bombardment of the Skrull capital. To ensure the operation's success, they first sealed off Skrull communications, then eliminated the capital's defensive fleet, and finally deployed their main forces at the exit of the jump point, waiting in ambush.

Only a fraction of their fleet was tasked with the bombardment. Their ultimate goal was not merely to obliterate the Skrull capital, but to annihilate the Skrull main fleet and gradually absorb the entire empire. Yet even if they failed to conquer the Skrulls outright, destroying their capital would mark a significant victory, which was why the fleet commander personally oversaw the bombardment.

"How much longer until their shield generators are completely destroyed?" Loxley asked impassively via the communications screen. The initial surprise attack had succeeded in eliminating half the planetary shield generators, but the remaining units, typically hidden, could only be located once activated.

"Commander Loxley, we are encountering fierce resistance from Skrull ground forces and require reinforcements," the landing force commander replied, wiping sweat from his brow. Their landing had met immediate counterattacks, and so far they had failed to secure any objectives—a bitter disappointment.

"Incompetent fool. Upon your return, you will answer to the Prime Minister yourself. I will send additional support; you are to resolve this immediately upon receiving reinforcements," Loxley replied coldly, making the commander shudder. He quickly promised, "Understood."

The Skrull Empire detected the Krell reinforcements. With relatively few ground troops stationed in the capital, the Skrulls were forced to arm whatever weapons could be found in laboratories and museums, conscripting all able-bodied men into the city's defense.

After the capital and other locations lost contact for twenty minutes, the Skrull fleet finally regrouped and moved toward the capital, unaware that the far side of the jump point was a trap. As each fleet emerged, it suffered grievous losses.

"Warning! Shields down by half! Warning! Armor damaged!" The Skrull fleet commander rubbed his temples in frustration. His ships had been ambushed immediately upon exiting the jump point. Though mentally prepared, the sheer number of enemy ships on the sensors chilled him to the bone—who could be opposing the Skrull Empire so fiercely?

Space was ablaze with exploding warships. The Skrull fleet suffered catastrophic losses. After destroying several fleets, the Krell withdrew, realizing that further ambushes would not yield more targets since the Skrull forces had stopped sending reinforcements. Their objective of annihilating the Skrull main fleet could not be achieved, so they moved to join the assault on the Skrull homeworld.

The Skrull Speaker watched the battle unfold on his screen; casualty figures were now mere statistics. He cared only if the Krell could be stopped. At last, a report arrived: all Krell landing forces had been eliminated. Yet, before he could breathe a sigh of relief, new urgent intelligence arrived.

"Detected a large number of enemy ships approaching the capital. High-energy reactions observed; enemy intent appears to be the outright destruction of the planet." The Skrull commander listened to the adjutant's report, stunned. "How long can our shields hold?"

"At current strength, ten minutes. All orbital defenses have been destroyed; we cannot retaliate," the adjutant answered somberly. The recent defense of the capital had preserved only three planetary shield generators, while all orbital defenses had been destroyed by the Krell.

The Speaker slumped in his chair. Was the Skrull capital truly doomed to destruction this day?

Star Spirit Empire – Capital, Eyr

After confirming the establishment of the Interstellar Tribunal, the Star Spirit Empire had monitored the Krell-Skrull war closely. Upon discovering the Krell's impending destruction of the Skrull capital, they decided to send information regarding the Tribunal to both empires, declaring the day as its founding and urging both sides to cease hostilities.

The Skrull Speaker, still slumped in his chair, suddenly received the Star Spirit Empire's statement about the Tribunal, immediately noticing the clause prohibiting the destruction of life-bearing worlds. He sprang up, exhilarated. The Krell Prime Minister, upon receiving similar news, swiftly reported it to the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother, unwilling to let the Skrulls slip away and ignorant of the Star Spirit Empire’s true strength, had grown bloodthirsty and savage under years of influence, forgetting that the Star Spirit executive had once saved her. Her command to her minions was to ignore the message and ensure the Skrull capital was destroyed, eliminating any who dared intervene.

Thus, when it became clear the Krell were ignoring the Star Spirit signal, the Star Spirit executive dispatched an expeditionary force to halt the war and warn the Krell Empire.

A colossal mothership, accompanied by dozens of carriers, suddenly appeared near the Skrull capital. The Krell fleet was startled by the Star Spirit’s sudden arrival and soon received a communication demanding their immediate withdrawal and submission to Star Spirit enforcement.

The Krell commander’s eyes reddened with rage. Receiving an urgent message from Hara, he ordered an attack on the Star Spirit fleet.

The Star Spirit expeditionary force was caught off guard—rather than heed their warnings, the Krell had launched an assault. After three ignored warnings, the Star Spirit ships retaliated.

With the deployment of the temporal field, all Krell offensive maneuvers were rendered futile, and the purifying beam destroyed whatever it touched. Thousands of Krell ships were quickly reduced to wrecks by the Star Spirit’s restrained counterattack. The Krell commander, forwarding these developments home, finally received new orders: surrender immediately and accept judgment.

After sending his capitulation to the Star Spirit Empire, Commander Loxley departed the Skrull capital in disgrace, while the Skrull fleet successfully reestablished contact with the capital.

As soon as the Krell departed, the Star Spirit ships vanished as suddenly as they had appeared. This display of sudden arrival and disappearance deeply unsettled both the Krell and Skrull empires, making them realize that jump points were not the only method of interstellar travel and prompting research into faster-than-light engines. Yet that would come later; the most pressing matter now was that the Krell Empire had been brought before the Interstellar Tribunal by the Star Spirit Empire.

To ensure swift proceedings, the Star Spirit Empire constructed a mobile combat space station—the Judicator—which would serve as the Tribunal's headquarters, capable of reaching any point in the universe. This would allow for rapid adjudication of disputes across empires, eliminating concerns about distance.

Presently, the Judicator hovered above Hara. Representatives of the Krell and Skrull tribes entered the newly built courtroom. The Star Spirit Empire appointed several executives as temporary judges and jurors; the Krell representatives were led to the defendant's bench, the Skrull to the plaintiff's.

Because the Krell Empire had disregarded the Star Spirit's directive, not only failing to halt hostilities after the Tribunal's establishment but continuing their destructive assault on the Skrull capital, the Star Spirit judges unanimously decreed: the Krell Empire was forbidden from any territorial expansion or offensive military action for a thousand years and must provide resources for the reconstruction of the Skrull capital.