The Fall of Luna, often shortened to The Fall, is the final battle of The Rising that resulted in the death of Sovereign Octavia au Lune and the Sons of Ares seizing control of The Society's government. The aftermath of The Fall caused significant shifts throughout the solar system, as the Rising began to transition from an armed rebellion to a civil government, while the Society Remnant began the Solar War in an effort to reclaim Earth, Luna, and Mars from the new Solar Republic.
Overview[]
The Fall occurred when the Red Armada arrived in Luna orbit on November 4th, 743 PCE, two months and three weeks after the Battle of Ilium.
Prelude[]
After being installed as ArchGovernor of Mars following the end of the Martian Civil War in March 742 PCE, Adrius au Augustus began falsely reporting helium losses and mines being destroyed due to nonexistent attacks by the Sons of Ares. Rather than reselling the helium he skimmed on the market, the Jackal began stockpiling the helium for himself and creating artificial shortages.
In March 743 PCE, agents of the Jackal robbed a deep space warehouse on Asteroid S-1988 where Octavia had stockpiled five hundred 30-megaton nuclear warheads as a contingency in the event she ever felt the need to repeat the Burning of Rhea.
The Jackal smuggled the bombs to Luna and used The Syndicate to install them across the moon's surface. Once the bombs were in place, he blackmailed Octavia into agreeing to abdicate the Morning Throne to him once the Rising was destroyed.
In August 743, the Rising struck a decisive blow against the Society military when they destroyed the Sword Armada in orbit over Jupiter with the aid of the Rim Dominion. Following the conclusion of the battle, the Red Armada sailed for The Core, engaging in an active disinformation campaign to convince The Society that their target was Mars.
The Jackal realized that Luna was the true target, and coordinated with the Sovereign to have his personal fleet stationed on the far side of Luna to lay a trap for when the invading fleet attacked the Scepter Armada,[1] which ArchImperator Magnus au Grimmus had arrayed around the moon's darkside in a defensive formation.[2][3]
Though the Society had three days' warning of the Red Armada's arrival, they put insufficient effort into preparing, as countless civilian vessels remained in Luna's orbit even as the rebel fleet entered Luna space.[2]
The Battle[]
One million kilometers away from Luna, the Red Armada was hailed by Luna Defense Command, who demanded that they identify themselves and their intentions. In response, Darrow of Lykos ordered a long-range missile fired from the Morning Star at the Hyperion Citadel. When the missile was shot down by orbital defense platforms, the rebel flagship was again hailed by ArchLegate Lucius au Sejanus of the Praetorian Guard, who requested docking clearance to relay the Sovereign and Senate's intentions as a diplomatic envoy. Darrow informed Sejanus that any Society ships that approached the fleet would be fired upon.
In order to get close to the Sovereign, Darrow of Lykos, Virginia au Augustus, Cassius, au Bellona, and Sevro au Barca conspired to stage Cassius's escape as well as fake both their capture and Sevro's death in order to trick the Society forces into letting the four of them past the fleet and inside the Sovereign's personal bunker.
Accompanied by the escaped Society Praetor Antonia au Severus-Julii, their shuttle landed aboard The Jackal's flagship, the Lion of Mars, where Darrow's hand was cut off in order to maintain their cover. From there, they descended to the Citadel, where Protean Knight Aja au Grimmus escorted them to the mythical ancient gravLift known as the Dragon Maw, which took them to an ancient pre-Conquering bunker located a kilometer beneath the moon's surface.[3]
The Jackal's Bombing[]
After Octavia's death, Adrius revealed the existence of the bombs to Darrow and Mustang and explained his agreement with the previous Sovereign. The Jackal had Lilath detonate one of the bombs on the southern Mare Serenitatis, and threatened to detonate more if Darrow doesn't surrender. In response, Darrow ripped out Adrius's tongue and contacted Victra to have the Red Armada destroy the Lion of Mars.
Lilath continued to detonate more bombs, leading Lysander to suggest calling the Ash Lord to obtain his help in stopping the bombings. Mustang opened direct com channels to the Society fleet and, with Lysander's assistance, persuaded the Society Preators to help stop Lilath.[4]
Both the Rising and the Scepter Armada attacked the Lion of Mars until it crashed into the Hysperia Gardens on the surface of Luna. Apollonius au Valii-Rath was the first Martian Gold on the Society's side to fire on the Lion of Mars. By the time the ship went down, more than twelve bombs were detonated.
One of the locations destroyed by the Jackal's bombs was the House Grimmus breeding stable dedicated to creating a new generation of Obsidian warriors from the seed of Ragnar Volarus and varying mothers. Of the 200 children bred in this facility, all but one were killed during the Jackal's bombing of Luna.[5]
Aftermath[]
After the Lion of Mars is shot down, Virginia, Darrow, Cassius, Sevro, and Lysander make their way to the Senate chamber, where Virginia presents Octavia's head and is crowned the new Sovereign.
The Ash Lord takes command of the Society loyalists, and retreats to Mercury with the core of his fleet, leaving several Society Legions and Peerless Scarred loyal to Octavia's regime marooned on Luna. He returns two months later in January 744 PCE to launch a counterattack, leading to the Battle of Luna and the beginning of the Solar War.