"What is the current status of communications?”

The sergeant turned to face General Tukhachevsky.

"No change as yet Comrade General. Comms are still down. We can contact neither our units on the ground nor the space fleet. It’s this electrical storm that is causing problems.”

The general frowned grimly. The only good news was that at least his enemies on Maranos were experiencing the same difficulties. The storm the sergeant had referred to had been raging for some time and had brought all surface movement to a halt. Not only was communication disrupted but also the electrical systems in vehicles, computers were off line at best. At worst they were burnt out. Monitoring of enemy troops was impossible and his forces ECM capability was severely compromised. The Red Blok and the other belligerents on Maranos were immobilised for the foreseeable future. No one could leave the surface or land, not even the ONI force controlling the spaceport. The locals reported that this was the worst electrical storm the planet had experienced in a long time. Everyone would just have to hunker down and ride the storm out.