BATTLE FOR STARS

Those kinds of statements had become the catchphrases of most commanders.

And under that mindset, the Hill Empire had won battle after battle. Defeats were rare.

Major General Sevitz, however, devoted himself to studying history in search of deeper patterns.

He argued that war was far too complex to be reduced to a simple collection of rules or lessons.

This pragmatic and highly analytical view earned him the respect of certain influential figures within the Empire's leadership.

Clay entered with his aide, Morris, a Two-Bear Lieutenant Colonel. After exchanging greetings with those present, he took a seat on one side of the conference table.

Across from him sat General Augustin and his Chief of Staff, Three-Bear Colonel Landon.

Most military conferences nowadays were conducted through holographic communication.

Even high-level meetings simply relied on more secure encrypted channels.

Face-to-face meetings like this had become increasingly rare within the military.

They consumed too much time.

Fortunately, the two Fleets of the First Army Group were currently operating together, so traveling aboard a communications shuttle for the meeting wasn't difficult.

The real inconvenience belonged to the two officers who had come all the way from the General Staff Department.

Why did they need to attend in person?

The answer was simple.

They were here to make the final decision on the invasion plan.

The two Fleet Commanders had become deadlocked over the two operational proposals submitted by the General Staff Department.

The Epsom System stretched roughly one hundred Astronomical Units across.

Of course, both Astronomical Units and Tactical Units here were based on Confederation standards—the distance between humanity's original inhabited planet and its star.

Approximately two hundred million kilometers.

The system consisted of five major planets orbiting a single star, along with an asteroid belt.

Given its size, the outermost planet lay roughly fifty Astronomical Units from the central star.

In conventional terms, that was nearly ten billion kilometers.

The Epsom System possessed two Stargates.

Naturally, both were heavily defended by Confederation forces.

After all, every reinforcement and withdrawal route passed through them.

Among the five planets, Antep served as the primary metal-refining world.

The remaining four were resource planets.

Antep itself produced some raw ore, but its output and quality were inferior to the others.

That was why the original Stargates had not been built near Antep.

Later, seeking greater efficiency, the Duir Republic constructed massive refining facilities on Antep.

Since the planet had relatively limited mining operations of its own, it was ideally suited for industrial processing.

As a result, ore shipments leaving the system were transported as refined products rather than raw materials.

The efficiency gains were more than tenfold.

The remaining resource worlds were Rafini, Topke, Sera, and Fijitel.

The two Stargates were located above Topke and Sera.

Although associated with those planets, the Stargates were not built on the surface.

They existed in space.

More precisely, each Stargate orbited its respective planet.

In effect, they functioned as gigantic artificial satellites—or perhaps artificial celestial bodies.

Unlike conventional satellites, however, they maintained distances of at least hundreds of thousands kilometers from the planetary surface.

Since the planets themselves were constantly moving, the Stargates were moving as well.

Their positions remained fixed only relative to their host planets.

The First Army Group faced a complicated strategic situation.

The five planets occupied different regions of the system.

According to current star charts, the two Stargate worlds sat at opposite ends of the system.

Antep, the industrial center, lay between them.

Rafini and Fijitel occupied intermediate positions not far from Antep.

"Not far," of course, was a relative term.

The actual distances involved were still six or seven Astronomical Units.

At the very center of the system burned Bilir, a star twice the size of Sol.

This created a fundamental strategic question.

The five planets were scattered across different locations and separated by immense distances.

Which target should be attacked first?

The General Staff Department had presented two plans to the First Army Group long ago.

The first proposal called for capturing the two Stargate planets.

Doing so would cut off Confederation reinforcement routes while simultaneously establishing a permanent connection back to Imperial territory.

Constructing a new long-term Stargate required enormous amounts of time and resources.

An existing Stargate, however, could be modified and recalibrated to connect directly with the Hill Empire.

The First Army Group's thirty thousand frontline Starships had required more than two weeks to cross through temporary Stargates.

A permanent Stargate could move the same force in only two or three days.

Its strategic value was obvious.

The second proposal was much more aggressive.

Strike directly at Antep.

As the system's industrial center and rare-metal refining hub, Antep processed the majority of Epsom's mineral output before those resources were distributed elsewhere.

It was also the most prosperous planet in the entire system.

Capturing it would severely weaken Epsom's ability to export resources.

That objective was, in fact, one of the primary goals of the Hill Empire's offensive.

After arriving in Epsom, the two commanders had repeatedly clashed over which target should become the main objective.

General Clay favored a deep thrust.

Seize Antep.

Force the Confederation Fleet into a decisive engagement.

Landon disagreed.

He advocated a gradual advance from the outer regions.

Secure the Stargates first.

Establish permanent logistical links.

Only then move deeper.

After all, they were fighting deep within Confederation territory.

The enemy controlled Stargates.

Reinforcements could arrive at any moment.

Caution, in his view, was essential.

Ordinarily, First Army Group Commander Augustin could have settled the dispute himself.

Instead, Deputy Commander Clay submitted a formal report directly to Supreme Command, requesting adoption of the second plan.

Given the circumstances, the General Staff Department dispatched representatives to "resolve differences" and make the final decision.

This meeting existed for exactly that purpose.

By its conclusion, the invasion strategy would be chosen.

Clay responded to Augustin's warm greeting with nothing more than a nod.

The enthusiasm was not returned.

The senior officers exchanged brief acknowledgments before taking their seats.

Then Major General Sevitz rose to speak.

He wasn't particularly tall—barely one meter seventy.

Yet the careful, methodical nature that defined him seemed permanently etched into his face.

Simply looking at him made people instinctively become more serious.

"I'll begin with the current battlefield situation."

Sevitz got straight to the point.

There were no unnecessary pleasantries.

"According to our latest intelligence, approximately ten thousand Starships from the Duir Republic have entered the Epsom System."

"In addition, roughly eight thousand Starships from the Kramic Kingdom have also arrived."

"Together, they form the Confederation's defensive force for this campaign."

He paused briefly.

"However, they have not been organized into a single Fleet."

"Instead, they are divided into three separate forces."

"The fleet stationed around Planet Antep belongs to the Duir Republic."

"As for the two Stargate worlds—Topke and Planet Sera—they are defended by Kramic Fleet forces."