The eting adjourned with plenty of people feeling bewildered and out of depth.
Nonetheless, the feelings of the doubters did not change the fact that the leadership of the three alliance partners had all voted in favor of committing to a bold attack!
The Glory Seekers maintained a secure communication channel with the Wodin Dynasty, which in turn kept in touch with the rest of the Hex Federation.
This ensured that all of the involved parties were able to communicate quickly and securely.
Even as the spies working for the Blacks Cats and the Hexer intelligence agencies worked overti to verify the leaked intelligence, the war leaders already drafted up a comprehensive assault plan.
This was a major operation to say the least because the Hex Federation needed to commit at least 200,000 chs to the assault!
In the past, the Hexadric Hegemony could easily commit millions of chs to a general assault, but those tis were over.
The Hexers were only able to evacuate a limited amount of chs, starships and industrial assets to the new frontier. Though the passage of ti allowed them to build up their colonies and erect new production facilities, it was still unreasonable to be able to deploy more than a few hundred thousand chs at once.
Still, the Hexers were so eager to take advantage of the intelligence leaks that they scraped up every available carrier that they could gather and stuff them full with as many combat chs as possible!
The spies planted by the Fridayn undoubtedly noticed the movents, but so what? Only a few high-level figures understood the truth. As long as they did not reveal that the upcoming assault was actually aid at Pima Pri, it was fine even if the defenders went on high alert!
Of course, the Hexers were keeping tabs on the Fridayn as well. As long as the Gauge Dynasty or any of the other coalition partners started to converge their troops onto the three targets under consideration, then it beca too unreasonable to proceed with the attack.
This delicate dance caused many people to grow tense. While most of the soldiers of the Hex Federation did not receive any explanation from their superiors, they already figured out that they were about to take part in a major operation!
"Finally. It was about ti we stop attacking those useless outposts."
"I've been longing for revenge!"
"It's ti to kick out the Friday Coalition out of our turf entirely!"
The Fridayn on the other hand grew graver when they noticed the Hexers gearing up for war. They all bolstered the defenses of their colonies and prepared additional fast reaction fleets in order to quickly converge their dispersed troops to a colony under attack.
So far, it did not appear as if the Fridayn were aware of the true intentions of the Hexers.
Much of the activity within the Friday Colonies went towards bolstering the defenses of the weaker core colonies that were currently in the hands of the weaker coalition partners such as the Carnegie Group and the Verer Group.
These star systems were the logical choices to attack if the Hexers wanted to make a greater impact than razing a few backwater settlents.
Interestingly enough, the Gauge Dynasty and the Konsu Clan made the least amount of adjustnts during this ti.
They already possessed a considerable amount of confidence in their own defensive asures.
Spies within their hierarchies also reported that the leadership of the two coalition partners did not exhibit that much urgency.
So far, so good.
As the plans to launch an attack beca more concrete, the official starting date of the Trailblazer Expedition also lood closer!
Many Larkinsons prepared to say goodbye to the friends and acquaintances that they had made among the locals of the Davute.
Aurelia and Andraste even cried as they had to say farewell to the little playmates that they had grown familiar with at kindergarten.
As the clan shipped more and more people and goods to the formidable expeditionary fleet, many Larkinsons still maintained the impression that they were about to travel in the direction of the center of the dwarf galaxy.
The closer they traveled to the heart of the Red Ocean, the more likely they would fight against indigenous alien forces.
The odds of encountering a hostile group of humans and entering into battle with them was not that great.
This reflected back into the Larkinson Clan's training and preparation work. A lot of emphasis had been put on increasing the Larkinson Army's readiness to fight against powerful alien warships.
That did not necessarily an that the Larkinson ch pilots forgot how to fight against conventional human ch forces, but years of reduced emphasis on these kinds of engagents may have caused the ch legions to grow rusty.
General Verle recognized this shortcoming and instituted additional simulation drills. He even suspended live practice sessions in order to get ch pilots to spend more ti on refamiliarizing themselves with pure ch combat.
It just so happened that many of the battle scenarios that the ch pilots had to go through were variations of the Battle of Reckoning.
This allowed the Larkinson soldiers to understand and anticipate the mindset, tactics, ch doctrines and overall combat approach of the Fridayn.
In the anti, Ves held a second eting with Tristan. This ti, the two old friends t at a more casual setting.
Both of them sat in the back garden of the Royal Mansion. The idyllic scenery was one of the favorite playgrounds of Ves and Gloriana's children.
Now, it had beco host to a discussion about war and bloodshed.
Tristan looked conflicted as he lifted up his teacup in order to take a sip of the chamomile tea that Ves had served.
The patriarch of the Larkinson Clan looked as relaxed as ever as he scratched Lucky's chin while sipping his own cup of tea.
The Fridayman ch designer eventually sighed and broke the peaceful silence.
"I ca to Davute in the hopes of brokering peace between my people and the Hexers. Instead, I beca the catalyst to another war, one that will extend the hatreds and animosity that should have been buried after the Komodo War has co to an end."
Ves' lips curled upwards in amusent. "Don't act so innocent, Tristan. Your actions have benefited the marginalized groups of the Friday Coalition. The only ones who are in trouble at the mont are the mbers of the Gauge Dynasty. They all deserve to get beaten for their arrogance. If they did not want to get targeted like this, then they should have treated you all better. Since they refused to value their fellow compatriots in the Coalition, then they have only themselves to bla when they are left to fend for themselves."
Though a part of Tristan agreed with this stance, his sense of duty towards the Friday Coalition still could not co to terms with this developnt.
"The Komodo War has left its mark on . I spent a decade of my life contributing to the war effort and dealing with the aftermath of widespread destruction. I have seen more death and destruction than I ever wanted. War is terrible, Ves. I do not wish its horrors on anyone, even the Hexers. I cannot fathom why the Hexers are so eager to resu the fight when they have suffered more than anyone else. Is it too much to ask for them to recognize how much harm they will do to both the Fridayn and themselves?"
Ves leaned back on his garden chair and chuckled. "That's unlikely. They're like bloodhounds. As long as they see weakness, they will pounce. I bet that the secret cabal from your state that is behind the leaks is aware of this as well. Why else would they turn the Gauger core colonies into irresistible targets?"
Though Tristan had agreed to beco the spokesperson of this so-called cabal, he was anything but happy with what he had put into motion.
Yet he also agreed with the analysis that if the Gauge Dynasty's ambitions continued to go unchecked, the very fabric of the Friday Coalition might change for the worse.
Tristan was just a ch designer. He was never ant to get involved in matters of such import. He still struggled with the burden that his actions might set events into motion that would lead to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Fridayn and the worsening of the quality of lives of many more innocent civilians!
Compared to the obvious discomfort shown by the Fridayman ch designer, Ves remained as unconcerned as ever.
"What you have done is not that different from designing chs, Tristan. Did you never think that the chs that you have designed or took part in their developnt will go on to fight and kill a lot of people? We are both makers of destructive weapon platforms. War is part of our business. If there is no fight, then our profession loses a lot of aning. The ch industry that we are a part of would have never beco so large and prosperous if humanity was dominated by pacifists."
"That is different, Ves." Tristan frowned. "Neither of us are soldiers who are responsible for pulling the trigger. Our chs may be used for destructive purposes, I admit, but they can also be used for other purposes. Deterrence is one of them and defending against external alien enemies is another. Back when I originally decided to study ch design, the Komodo Star Sector used to be a lot more peaceful, you know. The Friday Coalition and the Hexadric Hegemony maintained their restraint for four straight centuries. I thought that they could easily hold it in for four more centuries."
Ves chuckled again. "Assumptions do have a way of turning us into fools. I don't bla you for holding this sentint. I also thought that the two second-rate states wouldn't have been stupid enough to risk everything on a single throw of the dice. Even so, you shouldn't complain about what has co to pass. Humans like you and are accustod to taking what we want by force. We did so on a massive scale during the Age of Conquest and we have never gotten rid of this habit now that we are living in the Age of chs. War between the two states would have broken out eventually. Peace in this cosmos is a lie, and you are a fool to ever believe in it in the first place."
"I don't know, Ves. I would rather be a fool in a ti of peace than a clever person in a ti of war."
The two ch designers differed too much from each other. Their stances, their life experiences and their ideologies were all shaped by vastly different circumstances.
Though both of them had seen their fair share of bloodshed and tragedy, Ves still maintained his eagerness to seek confrontation while Tristan had beco far too jaded to feel any eagerness for more conflicts.
"You're not cut out to be a ch designer if you continue to maintain this mindset." Ves eventually told his old friend. "The work we do is intricately tied to military action. We are not responsible for what others wish to do with the chs that we design, but we should be cognizant that we are actively contributing to a climate where fights have beco more common. If you don't want to take part in this, then I suggest you reconsider your career options."
Tristan cynically snorted. "There's no use. There are so many ch designers in the industry that my departure will change nothing. The Friday Coalition alone still has lots of Journeyn who are more than eager to take my place. Besides, what will I do? I have dedicated most of my life to learning how to design better chs. I painstakingly developed my design philosophy around empowering chs with special gems of my own making. To put that all aside would not only invalidate much of my life, but also disappoint Master Katzenberg and everyone else who believed in my potential."
When Ves looked at Tristan, he saw a ch designer who had lost his passion and drive for ch design.
It was a sad sight, to be honest. How could ch designers ever put their all into designing chs and progressing their design philosophies if they questioned the righteousness of their work?
This was an absurd situation!
Ves treated Tristan as another bad example and resolved to never turn into a similar kind of loser!
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