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The Battle of Ilion was a conflict between the Alliance Fleet and the Syndicate World's Mobile Defense Force that took place in the abandoned star system of Ilion.
The battle began following the Battle of Vidha, when Falco's Mutineers, a group of rebelling ships that had broken off from the rest of the Alliance Fleet were beaten in battle, and retreated to Ilion, where Geary expected to meet up with them. They were pursued by two separate Syndic forces- a high pursuit force made up of 12 battle cruisers and a larger follow-up force.
After Falco's Mutineers arrived, Captain Cresida led Task Force Furious in Operation Barricade, the heavy mining of the jump point into Ilion. The Task Force used the mines built with resources stolen from Sancere to do this, and this action seriously damaged the first force. The second force arrived sometime after, and after a small battle with the remaining mutineers and the Alliance Fleet, were defeated.
Following the battle, Geary held a fleet conference where he ordered the arrests of the leading mutineers, Captains Falco, Numos, Faresa and Kerestes. However, when it became clear that Captain Falco had compounded medical issues (including Geary complex), Geary decided he was unfit to be sentenced to jail and instead sent him to be looked after by the fleet's medical service.
Preparation
Alliance
After the Battle of Corvus, when Falco's Mutineers left the Alliance fleet, Geary sent the departing ships a single message- Ilion. This message was where Geary wanted to meet up with the mutineers if their attack on Vidha failed (which Geary knew it would).
Following their decisive defeat at Vidha, the Mutineers were forced to flee through several systems, with Triumph holding off the attack Syndics. The remainder of the Mutineers continued to run, with the Syndics drawing closer and closer. Eventually, they made it to Strena, from where they jumped to Ilion.
Meanwhile, the main body of the Alliance fleet had defeated the Syndic presence at Sancere and moved to Ilion. During the four day wait that they had to wait for the mutineers to arrive, Captain Cresida- who had been promoted for her part in the Battle of Sancere- formed a battle plan called Operation Barricade, where the fleet heavily mined the entrance to Ilion. The Auxiliaries used the rescources looted from Sancere to build these mines and weapons.
Syndicate
The Syndics took few precautions since they did not expect to be attacked by a hostile force in their own territory. The Syndic commander split the pursuing force into two. The first wave would be twelve fast battle cruisers sent ahead to slow down the Alliance fleet, followed up by the heavier battleships and their escorts.
The Syndics pursued the Alliance relentlessly, chasing them through several star systems. Eventually, the first wave of Syndic attackers reached Ilion, where the battle began.
The Battle
Operation Barricade
Orion, Majestic and Warrior were the first to arrive in Ilion. They were followed by the badly damaged Polaris and Vanguard, and the severely damaged Invincible, which had lost propulsion. Only 2 heavy cruisers and 7 destroyers had survived the Battle of Vidha.
Geary warned the Mutineers to move to a safe position behind the Alliance fleet. He also ordered the arrests of Falco, Kerestes, Numos, and Faresa and replaced them with their executive officers. Task Force Furious then began laying a dense minefield at the entrance to the jump point. The Force had to move quickly as they knew that the Syndics would soon arrive.
The Main Body of the Alliance Fleet began accelerating so that they could cover Invincible. Some of the Mutineers tried to rejoin the battle lines so that they could fight, but Geary, realising that they had sustained a lot of battle damage, instead assigned them to protect the auxiliaries. The Main Body did not slow until Invincible was covered.
The Task Force finished the minefield and managed to escape just as the Syndic pursuit force arrived at Ilion. The first pursuit force, made up of 12 fast battle cruisers, was designed to slow down the fleeing Mutineers. However, they instead ran into the mines straight away. Their inferior armour meant that they were easily damaged. Three were destroyed completely, and another eight were so severely damaged that they could not control where they moved.
The final battle cruiser staggered on in an attack run, with Warspite intercepting and destroying the cruiser. With the preliminary strike force completely destroyed, Geary reformed his lines and waited for the next attack.
Second Wave
The second wave of the Syndic force was arranged in a broad rectangle, with the destroyers and cruisers in the centre, and the capital ships on the flanks. The Syndic force was manned by 20 Capital ships and 73 escorts. Geary judged that the reason that there so few Syndic ships because they had left vanguards in other systems, to protect them from the Alliance fleet.
Geary told the fleet to focus their fire on the flanks, at the capital ships. The escorts in the center took damage from mines remaining from Operation Barricade, many Hunter-Killer's destroyed or severely damaged.
The Syndics now tried to maneuver upwards, so that they could fire on the Alliance ships whilst staying out of firing range. Geary replied by moving his fleet upwards as well, and the Syndics attempted to hit the Alliance Fleet on their port flanks. Geary once again adjusted his fleet so that the Syndics were headed straight towards the Alliance's overwhelming firepower. Geary sent Task Force Furious to act as a rear guard, preventing the Syndics from fleeing to Tavika.
The two formations passed each other, ripping into each other. The Syndics took heavy losses, but Terrible, damaged by the attack, rammed out of control into a Syndic Battle Cruiser, and was destroyed instantly.
The Syndics Break
At this point, the Syndics broke and began fleeing to Tavika. Though the Main Body of the Alliance Fleet could not turn and catch the fleeing Syndics, Cresida led the Task Force on a charge through the enemy formation.
The Task Force cut through the center of the Syndics, taking out most of their cruisers, and then came up and around, hitting the retreating capital ships. As the Task Force pursued the remaining ships, three Syndic Battleships fell behind. Geary sent the Second Battleship Division, who had been protecting the auxiliaries, to intercept and destroy the damaged battleships.
Cresida focused on destroying the enemy ship's propulsion system and slowed them down. The rest of the Alliance fleet caught up and dealt massive damage to the broken Syndics. The Alliance Fleet managed to destroy or capture the remaining Syndic ships, securing victory.
Aftermath
Following the battle, Invincible had to be scuttled, and her crew placed on other ships in the Alliance fleet.
Geary held a fleet conference after the battle, confronting Falco and his accomplices for their mutiny. Captains Kerestes, Faresa, and Numos were all arrested for their part. However, Captain Falco, who was suffering from compounded medical issues, was judged by Geary to be insane and so was sent to be cared for by the fleet's doctors.
The remainder of the Mutineers were given a pardon by Geary, as they had still tried to fight during the battle, and many had remained with Invincible even though they endangered themselves. Following this, Commander Gaes, commanding officer of the Lorica, a former Mutineer, became a loyal supporter of Captain Geary. She continued to inform Geary of events in the Kila-Caligo conspiracy until she was killed for doing this at Padronis.