Battle of Zetta Secundus

Course of the Battle
In addition to giving them time to reinforce their positions, the Karahotdoum's offensive also gave the Alliance time to plan their first major counteroffensives. The Aeverians took initiative, focusing in a region of Rach space known as Zetta Secundus, which was on the brink of collapse after weeks of attacks by Zaretian forces. Rather than engaging the Monarchy directly, the Aeverians planned to flank Zaretian positions and disrupt their logistics, which would force the Zaretians to withdraw to defend their assets. A modest force comprised of the 371st, 482nd and 16th fleets were assembled for the task; though some officers wanted to dedicate more ships, all other available assets were tied up on other fronts, and the Alliance could not risk redeploying them elsewhere.

At the onset of the operation, forces within Zetta Secundus were ordered to hold their ground while the Aeverian fleets moved in. With the Monarchy distracted, the flanking maneuver was a success, and the Aeverians eliminated several of the Monarchy's forward-bases. When word reached Zaretian officers within Zetta Secundus, they turned their fleets around and counterattacked. Though the Zaretians outnumbered the Aeverians four-to-one, they were completely disorganized, with some fleets not coordinating with the rest. As a result, ships flew piecemeal into the Aeverian firing line. Combined with the Aeveria's advanced subspace engines and long-range beam weapons, for which the Monarchy had no counter, the Zaretians were completely routed, suffering catastrophic losses while most Aeverian casualties were in damaged ships that could be repaired.

The Zaretian defeat at Zetta Secundus was the first major setback for the Warlord Pact. Due to the number of ships lost, the Zaretian front collapsed, forming a breach that forced both the Saracin and Margan to retreat in order to close it, ceding captured territories in the process. The Zaretian admiralty board, having learned a hard lesson about the flaws in their doctrine, began the process of completely overhauling their navy. For the Peacekeepers, it was a much needed boost in their morale, particularly for the Rach, and became immortalized in Peacekeeper media as the 'Miracle in Secundus'.