One of our ships were on it's way to Earth as Tachibana's battle group was making it's way to where we thought the ruling seat of the Imperium was. In the meanwhile, the main fleet was trying to enter formation. Warships were creating a protective shell around the vulnerable civilian vessels. This way, they could destroy, block or distract anything that could be launched towards the cargo and mining ships.
"Our two cargo vessels report that they've safely arrived on Makemake. The Order's ground crew is unloading the materials." Mei said.
"Understood."
A few hours ago, I had agreed to send raw minerals to The Council, so they could build the early warning satellites I've proposed earlier, when we were still captives. These satellites would warn us if any AI driven ship or probe came dangerously close to human settlements.
"The Order's ground vehicles are waiting to transport the minerals to forges." Mei continued to report the progress.
"I wonder what their forges look like." I said.
"I don't." Mei commented. "Probably a bunch of people burning their sorry arms and legs in giant furnaces."
"Right..." I said as slowly as possible.
"Doesn't it hurt you to know that?" Mei asked. "Those are our citizens down there, even though they don't know it."
"Those are our citizens down there." I said. "But we've been through this before, Mei. Overthrowing The Council by force wouldn't be any better. Everything is ruined enough already, we don't need another civil war."
"Yes, yes; we've been through this." she murmured. "Haah... It just hurts not being able to do anything!"
"Get off your console." I said. "You are stressing over things you shouldn't. I don't want your emotions clouding your judgement on duty."
"You are really sending me away from the bridge?" she asked as if she was threatening me.
"Don't worry, I won't crash your ship anywhere while you are gone."
Mei got off the navigation console and walked out of the bridge without saying anything else to me.
A few minutes after she was gone, Lodos received a message. I got up and went to the communications console.
'---IDENTIFICATION DATA MISSING---
Commander, this is Tachibana. We have interesting news.
Our battle group has reached a relatively large body which appears to have been settled some short time ago, however, it is in ruins now. We have detected many destroyed man-made structures, but there are no signs of life inside.
Judging by the way these structures have been struck, I presume that this was either a hostile attack, or a series of asteroid strikes. In case this is an enemy attack, kinetic kill devices were in use.
The battle group will remain in high orbit as I approach the site via shuttlecraft. I hope to find more clues down on the surface.
Be careful out there, Commander.
---END OF PACKAGE---'
"This is odd." I said to myself. "...and most certainly unsettling."
If Tachibana's first presumption was right, and this was an enemy attack on the Imperium; this meant we had at least one powerful enemy in possession of dangerous kinetic kill devices such as hypervelocity missiles or advanced railguns... or perhaps asteroid accelerators.
The hardest part of fighting against that kind of enemy, however, wasn't the technology they had; it was the brutality and pugnacity of the person who would dare launch such an attack on civilian settlements. Nothing could melt the iron heart they had...
"Mei! Come back to the bridge. Urgent."
I heard her footsteps just outside the bridge, and she was next to me within a minute.
"I thought you wanted me to go away, missed me already?" she tried to tease me.
"Things have changed." I said. "Tachibana just sent this message. There is something weird going on."
"Let me read." she said. I pointed at the communications console.
Mei read the message over and over again, putting her fingers over her chin, thinking deeply about something.
"That was the presumed capital of the Imperium, right?" was the first thing she asked.
"Yes." I said. "Was."
"I... hate this message." she said. "What if..."
"What if?" I asked. "What if what?"
"What if they were detected, you know, by a Quasistellar Corp. fleet?" Mei asked.
We looked at each other as our pupils shrunk and expanded with various unpleasant feelings.
"Tachibana might be in danger." I said. "We need to have him return here."
"No, it's too late, he is already in a shuttle." Mei said. "Besides, if the enemy is still observing the area, they would track Tachibana's fleet here, and then destroy everything on Makemake."
"Lose-lose situation, huh?"
"Yes, nothing we are unfamiliar with." Mei said. "But... Tachibana should find a way out of there in case of trouble."
"You are trusting him too much." I said. "Overconfidence is not nice. He might've survived everything so far, but he isn't immortal. He will eventually make a mistake and this will be his end."
"Should we go rescue him then?" Mei asked.
"No, this is not it either..." I said. "We would leave the civilian ships vulnerable."
"Then I don't think we can do anything but hope for the best." Mei said.
"I hate to admit it, but... yes, exactly." I replied. "I will try to push The Council to accelerate the manufacturing of those early warning satellites. The engineers and workers won't be getting any rest for a week or so, but we must have these satellites in time."
"That's cruel." Mei said. "You start to sound like them, Kagan."
"You know what?" I said. "Maybe The Council was right about one thing - when it comes to the survival of humanity, we can put compassion and niceness aside for a while, if it means the difference between life and death."
Mei paused and thought about what I said for some time.
"If that's the case... if that's the right choice..."
"As long as those people know they are fighting for the survival of humankind, I'm sure they will understand the situation." I said. "They just have to see the bigger picture and know that their sacrifices make all the difference."