16 Hours later
On the Holonews, a scheduled government broadcast was about to begin as tens of billions from around the Imperium tuned in. At this point, the news that N'varos was attacked was well known. Videos from the civilians of N'varos had emerged on ImperiNet from the people who emerged from the bunkers. Within hours, videos and pictures of the destroyed cities spread throughout the ImperiNet catching lots of people's attention almost immediately.
Many didn't believe it at first, even when the News Stations were reporting it. But when an official announcement came from the government itself, it was no longer a secret. Journalists, reporters, and other people seeking to report the issue tried to book flights to N'varos, but all travel to the planet was prohibited for the time being.
The reason for this was because the Imperium was still counting the casualties, both civilian and military.
Now after 16 hours, the counting was complete. Daimon walked up to the podium as below him, were hundreds of nobles, reporters, and journalists. Below the podium, lined up in line, and around the podium were several Empyrean Guards who were on high alert since the attack.
After lots of investigating and research into the few captured droids that remained on the planet, the language that they were using was quickly deciphered by Cortana. In a matter of seconds, she was able to find out the name of the droid society, their empire and who ruled them. She was surprised to learn that this was a droid society that had the intelligence of an AI like her.
She tried to establish a door into their network, but she was quickly kicked out within a matter of minutes, which showed that the droids were even more sophisticated than they originally thought.
Reaching the podium, Daimon began his speech. "A day ago, the Imperial planet N'varos was attacked by an alien empire comprising of droids.
"A day ago, the Imperial planet N'varos was attacked by an alien empire comprising droids. These beings, identified as the Abominor, represent an existential threat unlike any we have faced before. Originating from beyond our galaxy, their incursion has cost us dearly."
Daimon paused briefly, "We have suffered profound losses. The attack claimed the lives of over 2.3 million of our citizens, including brave military personnel who laid down their lives heroically defending N'varos. Entire cities lie in ruin; hundreds of thousands of families mourn their loved ones. This day marks a tragedy we shall carry forever in our collective memory."
A solemn silence spread throughout the streets and houses of the Imperium, billions watching and listening to every word, their hearts filled with grief and anger. Many wept openly in the streets, families embracing as they shared the pain of this unprecedented loss of their citizens.
"But hear me clearly," Daimon's voice surged with unyielding determination, his eyes showing just a little of his anger. "Our grief shall not paralyze us, nor shall our sorrow diminish our resolve. The Imperium was forged from strength, unity, and perseverance. We are not merely people; we are warriors, scholars, and builders who will rise above adversity stronger than ever."
Cheers began to ripple through the crowds gathered across worlds, their sorrow changing into fervent chants of support and defiance. Daimon raised a fist, emphasizing each word with powerful conviction.
"To the Abominor, who dare challenge our very existence, I declare this clearly: They have awakened the might of the Imperium! We will pursue them relentlessly, across stars, across galaxies if we must! Every fallen citizen will be avenged, every destroyed city rebuilt greater than before. Our fleets, our armies, our brightest minds, every resource at our disposal, will ensure their complete and total annihilation!"
Roars of approval erupted, resonating powerfully as billions across countless worlds shouted their allegiance and readiness to fight. Soldiers saluted in unison, civilians stood proudly, and even children expressed their support, their young voices joining the collective resolve of the people.
"Our unity has always been our greatest weapon," Daimon continued, "Let this tragedy remind us why we stand together, why our Imperium has endured and thrived. Let our enemies know fear, for they face a people united by an unbreakable bond of loyalty, courage, and determination. The Abominor shall learn the price of their actions alongside any who support them. And as more information is discovered, we will post daily updates to the war in the ImperiNet so make sure that you go on there and support the Imperial military and stay up to date on the latest information on the Abominor."
Daimon stepped back slightly. The crowd erupted again, chants of "Long live the Imperium!" and "Victory or death!" echoing throughout the Imperium controlled territories.
"Today, we mourn, and we honor our fallen," Daimon concluded, solemnly bowing his head. "Tomorrow, we rise, and we fight. Our Imperium stands unyielding, forever bound by strength, unity, and purpose. Long live the Imperium!"
As Daimon finished, the thunderous applause and cheers echoed from planet to planet, city to city, resonating throughout the Imperium. The Imperium, united by grief yet galvanized by purpose, stood ready, determined to face the Abominor threat and reclaim their destiny.
Once he stepped off the stage, Cortana was waiting on his with an update. She handed over a data pad and started to explain what they found. "From what we have gathered, the droids are vastly different from each other. Most of the ones we captured are low level droids designed for certain tasks such as war, ship crew, and other support roles." She paused as Daimon scrolled through the reports, pausing at a section flagged by Cortana.
"There," she pointed, "That's their language cluster. It's a code-lexicon, recursive encryption. Every hour their network evolves, patching itself against intrusion. A living language, almost."
Daimon scrolled through the datapad further, "There's something else," she added. "The Titan you erased from existence, that was one of many special types of droids that they have in their arsenal. From the data we gathered from some of the higher tier droids, there are other types of combat droids that are more dangerous than the Titan. We can't say specifically what those these droids are until we encounter them and perform analysis on them in the field." Cortana continued to explain what they had found as they boarded the transport shuttle to head back to the Imperial Palace.
The people had quickly taken to ImperiNet to start their own discussions on the Abominor and offer prayers for those lost in the attack.
Meanwhile, the Imperial Armed Forces prepared to face off against the Abominor. New tactics were created to defeat them on the ground and fleets began to organize. The Star Forge was put into use as hundreds of ships were being produced weekly along millions of War Droids. Recruitment numbers soared after Daimon's announcement, bringing in hundreds of millions of people across the Imperium.
All Imperial planets were now put on high alert and any instance where communication was lost with any planet would result in a deployment of a quick reaction force which would consist of 1,000 ships and 20 million clones.
As the days went by, the brightest minds within the Imperium had already started working on researching the types of weapons that the Abominor used and created countermeasures for them. Specifically for the weapon that they used to break a hole in the Planetary defense shield.
Hundreds of scout ships and probe droids were sent into the unknown region, in the direction that the Abominor fleet came from. From the debris, they couldn't track the exact location of where the fleet came from, thanks to some strong encryption, but they were able to gather the general direction.
On an unknown world within the unknown regions, the Supreme Directive Core which is the five Planetary-Scale AI Minds that rule the Abominor had issued a new directive regarding the recent loss of one of their fleets. When something like this happens, they consolidate their forces and form a massive fleet to launch another attack on enemy territory to prevent any attacks on their planets.
The ships that managed to escape the battle had brought back Gen'Dai prisoners with them. These Gen'Dai were taken to labs and experimented on. Some were completely taken apart piece by piece as the Abominor wanted to learn everything about their biology.
These experiments were cruel and never ending. Ultimately the Abominor would come to regret this action as this was the first time, they were encountering a person like Daimon.