In 2482, a nomadic alien race invaded Hadean frontier space, and began systematically stripping worlds of every conceivable resource, including (and especially) Hadeans. These invaders came to be known as the Val'Turri -- Old Haedan for "Iron Horror". Their invasion forces were completely robotic, and the Val'Turri themselves almost were as well, owing to extensive cybernetic enhancements throughout nearly their entire population. Boarding parties aboard Val'Turri ships reported conditions not unlike slaughterhouses, where live Hadeans were brutally disassembled and broken down into their most basic proteins, which were then used to construct bio-mechanical subsystems for the Val'Turri hiveships.

With barely enough firepower to keep their own worlds in line, the fledgling Hadeans were hopelessly outmatched. However, although the Val'Turrian war machine could outgun the Hadeans, it couldn't outsmart them. Over the past five hundred years, the Hadean Federation had almost perfected their economic and industrial might, and when the call to arms sounded they vastly militarized themselves almost overnight.

Even after losing over half a dozen worlds and billions of lives, the Hadeans' resolve only strengthened. The Val'Turri targeted the frontier world of Eden III in early 2498, but were dramatically halted in their advance by the combined firepower of over three hundred starships, the largest orbital engagement since the start of the war. Turned around at the gates, the Val'Turri retreated from the starsystem to lick their wounds and plot their next move.

The tides turned at the climactic Second Battle of Eden III, in late 2499, when the Val'Turri again attempted to take the world. The Hadean numbers had only swelled since their last engagement, to almost five hundred starships. A crushing defeat followed in an epic battle that not only nearly exterminated the entire Val'Turri race, but spared Eden III and the rest of the Federation. The Val'Turri retreated beyond the Outer Reach and disappeared, seemingly never to return.