The storm had been brewing for years. The Overlord Dominion, an empire built upon conquest and submission, had pushed its forces deeper into the Velmara System, claiming world after world under its iron grip. Velmara-4, known as Velmara’s Reach, was more than a planet—it was a bastion of resistance, one of the last free outposts standing between the Dominion and total dominance over the sector. The planet’s significance lay in its hypergate relay, a network capable of launching fleets across multiple star systems in minutes. If the Dominion captured it, they could flood the surrounding systems with warships, cutting off entire civilizations from aid. The defenders knew what was coming. The Casualties of Mars, the Galactic Justice, the Zone Warriors, and the Knights of Karock had gathered their forces, preparing for what would be the most decisive battle of the campaign. Across the planet’s surface, trenches were carved, defensive grids activated, and last-minute fortifications raised. In orbit, battlecruisers formed into strategic positions, creating a wall of firepower to meet the incoming Dominion fleet. The defenders were outnumbered, but they were not afraid. Velmara’s Reach was the line. And they would not let it break.

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The Curak, an ancient and enigmatic extraterrestrial race, had always operated from the shadows of the galactic stage. Unlike the Overlord Dominion, whose power was defined by conquest and brute force, the Carasii Vait ruled through subversion, manipulation, and an insidious grip on the political and economic systems of entire civilizations. They did not wage open wars. Instead, they seeded puppet governments, infiltrated ruling councils, and reshaped societies through technology and ideology, bending entire planetary populations to their will without ever firing a single shot. For centuries, few understood the extent of their influence. Even among the Thirteen Star Systems, they were seen more as whispered myths than tangible threats. But those who dug too deep, who strayed too close to uncovering their presence, disappeared—without a trace, without a struggle, as if they had never existed. But control breeds resentment. And resentment, left unchecked, turns into war.

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The Knights of Karock emerged not from empire or conquest, but from catastrophe. Their genesis occurred during the 'Age of Collapse', an era when vast galactic civilizations crumbled under the weight of their own ambition. Amidst the wreckage on planet Karock, a lone figure known as Avok Buox arose to unite its survivors.Avok Buox, once a war general cast out for opposing genocidal doctrine, gathered warriors, monks, scientists, and exiled tacticians from broken worlds and carved a singular ideal into their hearts known as the Vallah Rule. A codex that bound its followers to principles of duty, justice, and above all, honor. Karock itself was a planet of extremes, mountainous crags, scorched deserts, and subterranean oceans, where only the relentless could survive. It was here, in the ash and silence of fallen cities that the Knights trained. They were taught not merely to fight but to endure, to protect, and to carry valor into the darkest corners of the galaxy.

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The Casualties of Mars is a name given to the descendants, survivors, and remnants of those who lived, fought, and died during the Fall of Mars, an event that shattered the once-great civilization of the Red Planet and sent its people fleeing into the cosmos. They are not a singular group, but rather a lineage of warriors, rebels, and exiles—men and women who now roam the Thirteen Star Systems, carrying with them the pain, legacy, and unfinished battles of their ancestors. Some became mercenaries, some revolutionaries, and others mythic warriors who shaped the fate of entire star systems. But all of them bear one unshakable truth: They are the last echoes of a world that no longer exists.

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