The Vanguard Protocol Book 2 the Veil Awakens
Copyright© 2026 by Sci-FiTy1972
Chapter 2: First Blood of the Terran Defense Force
The distress signal came from the outer spiral arm—an unaligned mining colony known as Khepri Station.
Small. Poorly defended. Forgotten by the Concord.
Perfect.
The projection hovered over the war table in Bastion One’s command chamber, its flickering light outlining a skeletal station tethered to a dying rock. Energy signatures pulsed erratically. Life signs clustered too tightly.
“They’re testing us,” Commander Halstrom said, arms crossed, jaw set. “Seeing if the ‘new species’ is all talk.”
Thomas Morgan studied the data in silence. He didn’t need Solace to interpret it. He had seen this pattern before—on Earth, in wars that began with probing attacks meant to measure resolve rather than win territory.
“They chose it because no one would answer,” Elena said quietly.
Thomas’s gaze lifted to the fleet roster.
Three Terran Defense Force frigates. One recon corvette. The Erebus held in reserve.
No legends. No symbols.
Only people.
“We don’t send myths,” Thomas said at last. “We send proof.”
The order went out.
The ships jumped.
They arrived into chaos.
Kael’dar raiders clung to Khepri Station like parasites—boarding tethers embedded into its hull, energy siphons draining power directly from the core. Civilian transports drifted dead in space, engines gutted. On the exterior decks, heat blooms marked where resistance had already been extinguished.
“Targets confirmed,” Zara said from the Erebus, her voice sharp and controlled. “Minimal escort. High brutality. They’re not even bothering to hide it.”
Halstrom’s knuckles whitened. “Harvest protocol.”
Thomas felt something tighten in his chest.
“All units,” he said, voice steady, carried across open comms, “this is not extermination. This is extraction.”
The Terran Defense Force moved.
Not like the Concord fleets. Not like the Kael’dar.
Human ships didn’t flow into elegant formations or lock themselves into perfect vectors. They broke apart almost immediately—frigates splitting wide, corvette diving straight through the debris field surrounding the station, engines flaring unpredictably.
“Loose net,” Zara muttered, watching from reserve. “They’re flying like they don’t care if they live.”
Thomas allowed himself the faintest smile.
“No,” he said. “They’re flying like they care who else does.”
Kael’dar targeting systems stuttered.
The first volley of enemy fire went wide—plasma lances carving empty space where clean trajectories should have been. Human pilots cut thrust mid-burn, rolled hard through debris, used the station’s own superstructure as cover.
“Marine teams away,” Halstrom reported. “Breaching pods inbound.”
Boarding craft slammed into Kael’dar vessels with brutal force.
For the first time, Kael’dar soldiers faced humans who were enhanced, coordinated, and furious—not for conquest, but for protection. Na-nite-augmented marines tore through corridors designed to intimidate lesser species. Human weapons were crude by Concord standards—but wielded with adaptability the Kael’dar had not modeled.
The fighting was fast.
Violent.
Personal.
A Kael’dar raider attempted to disengage, engines flaring—
—and lost propulsion as a Terran frigate rammed its flank, firing point-blank into exposed containment nodes.
“Raider neutralized,” came the calm report.
Civilians were extracted under fire. Life pods launched. Emergency beacons flared.
Twelve minutes.
That was all it took.
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