Battle of Se-Huang

The Battle of Se-Huang was the opening battle in the First Hydran War. The Royal Auroran Navy's 2nd Fleet engaged and destroyed the Hydran 15th Fleet before it was completely formed and activated.

Declaration of war
The Hydran Empire declared war on the Star Kingdom of Aurora on 14 April, 420 P.E (2881 A.D), convinced that the Hydran Imperial Navy would be able to swiftly overcome the much smaller Royal Navy, and invade and occupy several worlds and systems between the two nations which had only months earlier allied themsleves with the Aurorans, forming the Royal Alliance. The Hydran emperor, Huang V, ordered the HIN to mobilize along the border to the Star Kingdom, determined to strike before the Aurorans got news of what was going on.

Initiation of conflict
The Auroran Parliament and the Royal Navy's Admiralty, however, received news of the HIN mobilization through neutral, third-part merchant captains, and ordered Admiral Duchess Catherine de Chandlier, commander of the Royal Navy's 2nd Fleet, to attack the outer systems of the Hydran Empire before the HIN could mobilize completely.

De Chandlier formed a plan of attack which focused on attacking the frontline systems of Se-Huang, New Korea and Chian. The 2nd Fleet was to perform all these attacks, splitting its forces in two to maximize on their element of surprise. De Chandlier would command the largest of the two prongs, while Vice Admiral Felipé Torrington would command the second prong.

Operation "Fungus" (named randomly from the Admiralty's computers, to much, both military and civilian alike, dismay) was launched on 5 April, 420 P.E. Task Force 2.1, under de Chandlier's command, arrived in Se-Huang on 14 April.

The HIN had started their mobilization, but most of their units were not operational. 15th Fleet, the intended spearhead of the planned offensive into the Star Kingdom, had assembled in the Se-Huang System, waiting for more units, while conducting training and inter-unit organization.

Course of battle
Task Force 2.1 arrived well outside the gravity well of the Se-Huang System's binary stars and moved into the system at high speed, already at action stations, ready to engage the HIN fleet. The HIN fleet, on the other hand, was totally unprepared for combat, many ships still missing from its order of battle, and much of its crew was on leave on the planet Singh-Huang, the only planetary body in the system.

Duchess de Chandlier noted the passivity of the enemy and moved at flank speed to engage the stationary HIN fleet. Realizing the impending doom, many HIN ship captains' tried to get their ships' systems online and bring them about to engage, independently. However, the Royal Navy fleet fell upon them before most of them managed to bring their crews to station. Most of the HIN ships surrendered, and the few who tried to fight, were quickly destroyed by the RN fleet. Admiral Sochii, on leave on the planet surface, upon realizing he had lost his command, officially surrendered what was left of his forming fleet, to the Duchess.

There were still a few ships who managed to bring up their weapons' systems and engage the forward elements of the Royal Navy fleet. At least a few light ships were destroyed or crippled, but overall RAN casualties were very light.

Aftermath
Duchess de Chandlier scrapped most of the captured fleet, left a battle squadron and a cruiser squadron to protect the system, and continued her offensive. Meanwhile, Vice Admiral Torrington won an equally important, if smaller, battle in the New Korea system, and the two prongs of 2nd Fleet converged a week later in the Tau Ceti V System, which resulted in another major Auroran victory.

The successful execution of Operation "Fungus" secured Duchess de Chandlier's position as one of the premier field commanders in the Royal Navy, and she later became a very revered and beloved public military personage, only surpassed by Sir Joseph Pennefeather. She is rated as one of the foremost tacticians in Auroran history.