Bombing of Threllvia IV

The Bombing of Threllvia IV was a naval battle fought during the Xindi Conflict between the Andorian Empire and the New Xindus Empire. A Xindi cruiser entered Andorian space and in response Fleet Admiral Co'niar Hanp dispatched a fleet of Imperial Guard warships to intercept the cruiser. Four Andorian vessels made contact with the Xindi and in the ensuing engagement two ships the colony were destroyed in a bloody engagement.

Prelude
Rushed from the Northland Relay on 3 August 2153, the cruiser XSS Huyy'nal was directed to launch a distracting measure to keep the Andorian Empire off balance until a stronger military force could be moved into the region.

The Huyy'nal vectored through the territory of the Confederacy of Vulcan and entered Andorian territorial space and quickly was spotted by an Andorian cruiser and reported her position to the Imperial Guard on 4 August. Imperial Guard Admiral Co'niar Hanp, believing a Vulcan squad was making a scouting incursion sortied five cruisers and seven destroyers to sweep the border region along the with the cruisers IAG Hetaud and IAG Bhadr which were already on patrol. Four Imperial Guard warships encountered the Huyy'nal, including the two cruisers, there was the cruiser IAG Dailekh and the destroyer IAG Kavr which arrived at the very end of the action.

Order of Battle
Imperial Guard New Xindus Cooperative
 * IAG Dailekh
 * IAG Hetaud
 * IAG Bhadr
 * IAG Kavr
 * XSS Huyy'nal

Course of Battle
At about 08:45 on 6 August 2153, sensor teams aboard the Hetaud spotted a warp trail so her CO, Commander Cir'naub Awar'dal, maneuvered closer to identify what warp trail was coming from. Unbeknown warp trail was from XSS Huyy'nal. A few minutes later IAG Bhadr reported that her sensor teams had sighted a ship entering the Threllvia-system, location of the Threllvia IV colony. The two Andorian vessels closed on the Huyy'nal until within range to signal one another. First Commander Awar'dal ordered the Xindi vessel to stop and two blank rounds were fired. The Xindi signaled that they were a Denobulan freighter from Mitey Inno and were headed for Tesso Alo. At about 09:40 the Andorian were close enough singal the seemingly harmless freighter. At this moment the cruiser revealed her intentions, unmasked her guns and opened fire on the Hetaud. The first discharge struck the Hetaud's bridge which caused heavy damage, destroyed the communications equipment and also knocked out the Andorian's steering gear.

Hetaud increased her speed and began returning fire as the Xindi attempted to flee towards Threllvia IV. Her first shot struck and disabled the Huyy'nal's plasma cannon, killing the crew in the process. For several minutes the two vessels dueled at close range until gun fire was detected by the Bhadr skirting the edge of the battle area. She closed on the XSS Huyy'nal and opened fire. Her first shots struck the bridge of the Xindi cruiser and destroyed the entire facility.

The Xindi attempted one last desperate move, a torpedo attack. Huyy'nal launched two torpedoes at the Hetaud, the first one hit amidship and the second passed through the stern. By the end of the engagement, the Andorian knocked out another Xindi gun and set her fuel tanks on fire, one shot entered the hull of the Huyy'nal, exploded, and slowed the vessel. At the same time the exchange had moved progressively into Threllvia IV orbit.

The Huyy'nal and Hetaud were struck several times which left the Andorian vessel venting atmosphere and losing core control. Xindi fire ceased at 10:18 am but the Imperial Guard failed to spot life boats being launched from the burning Huyy'nal.

Commander Awar'dal became concerned and kept up fire.

The Huyy'nal suddenly began to power up its warp engines, even though doing so required her to transfer power from all other systems. Before the Hetaud could react, the Xindi ship jumped to warp speed on a blastic course for the planet-side colony. Though the jump tore most of the outer hull of the Huyy'nal off and impacting with the atmosphere shatted the craft into no more than a meter wide piece of the reactor core, when the debris struck the planet barely 8-kilometers from the colony, vaporizing the entire region.

Several moments later Commander Awar'dal ordered his men to abandon ship and at 11:02 the Hetaud's warp core detonated. Around this time the Dailekh and Kavr arrived and rescued survivors from the Hetaud. An estimated 87 Xindi perished along with seventy-two Andorians on the Hetaud, nearly 1870 colonists were killed on the surface.

Aftermath
Though the Andorian managed to destroy the cruiser, Commander Awar'dal lost his ship and Threllvia IV in the process. He was later criticized for maneuvering too close to the Xindi cruiser before knowing its true identity. Assuming the Huyy'nal was a harmless merchant ship cost Awar'dal his vessel and several men. Despite this he was recognized for bravery and awarded the Distinguished Honor Guard and eventually became a rear admiral in the Interstellar Coalition.

Losses & Casualties
Imperial Guard New Xindus Cooperative
 * IAG Hetaud
 * XSS Huyy'nal