UGT (Unified Galactic Time): 12th Revol (July) 280 a.G.A. (after Galactic Armistace) / 1:12 p.m.

  Location: ASF Destroyer Aurora, Grenzmark-Heiligenwacht system (yellow dwarf), (Outer-)Noran Principality, Kingdom of Ferron, Milky Way

  The moment we dropped out of hyperspace I felt everything snap back into proper reality.

  [ Transition complete. Local spacetime stabilized. No drift, no anomalies. All systems are in order, our shields are up and weapons primed. Welcome to the Kingdom of Ferron. ]

  I exhaled slowly and tilted my head back, looking at the holoscreen popping up in front of me. Already I could see more and more Ferron ships popping up on the system map as our scanners detected them one by one. The Ferron defense fleet for their border to Inner Noran was decidedly not the meager pickets we'd hoped for.

  [ We have contact. Two Battlecruisers, three Cruisers, seven Destroyers, eight Frigates, ten Corvettes of Ferron design. Also, a Battlecruiser, two Cruisers, six Destroyers, four Frigates and four Corvettes of Association Design. A total of 47 ships. ]

  "I guess we now know where exactly the Association fleet that broke through Yra-S?l’Vareth went afterwards," I said. "They're seemingly arrogant enough to think they can stop us in our tracks with that fleet."

  The SHF fleet of Admiral Thorrison was noticeably smaller than what the Kingdom of Ferron fielded with only three Battlecruisers, five Cruisers, four Destroyers, six Frigates and four Corvettes. But they also had me and the ASF Aurora on their side. That easily pushed the scales in our favor.

  On the holoscreen in front of me I could already observe the Ferron fleet pivoting, having noticed us not much later than we had seen them. Without a doubt they had already waited for us since hearing of the fall of the Inner-Noran sector.

  [ We have multiple scans locking in on the FSF, but primarily on us. We also have an incoming diplomatic handshake request. They seemingly take us for the flagship seeing how we are by far the biggest ship fielded by both sides right now. ]

  "Do you have anything for me about the identity of who’s calling?" I asked him.

  [ According to the identity marker it's an Admiral Johann von Kr?henfels. ]

  I let out a breath. "Of course it is."

  That name had been haunting Federation intelligence briefs for weeks, a noble-born, brilliant strategist, disciplined, known for balancing brutality with precision. He fought to win, and apparently for his own strange interpretation of glory and honor. And he was the exact type who’d try diplomacy if he thought it gave him a tactical advantage.

  "Don’t accept yet," I said. "Send it to Admiral Thorrison. It's time for a little ploy on our part."

  [ Already done. ]

  A half-second later, the Federation flagship’s seal pulsed on my display. Admiral Thorrison’s voice followed, deep and steady, carrying the weight of command honed over decades.

  "FSF Aurora, this is Admiral Thorrison. Ferron apparently wants to open negotiations. Admiral von Kr?henfels is requesting a parlay before the beginning of open hostilities."

  "Figures," I muttered.

  The Admiral continued while ignoring my muttered answer. "Given your ship’s… stature, they addressed the request to you specifically, Captain Lunaris."

  I grimaced at that. I had no particular interest in making myself known to the Kingdom of Ferron just yet. "Admiral, with respect, I’m not of your 'Second Human Federation' and I'll never be. You know that. Diplomacy with Ferron is your jurisdiction unless I think I need to intervene."

  "And that," he said dryly, "is why I’m going to ignore said request. The Federation handles its own diplomacy. Still, remain on stand-by, Captain. I’ll bring you into the channel after introductions. I believe that much will be in your interest?"

  "Indeed. I'll wait for you to signal me," I replied before looking away. "Cut the connection." Before Admiral Thorrison could answer Fen reacted and the connection was cut.

  [ I did not expect you to give Admiral Thorrison more autonomy from our commands that early. What led to that? ]

  "Most of all necessity. The Kingdom of Ferron without a doubt knows about me from the Association but they don't know much. If I simply visibly show myself differing to Admiral Thorrison, it will make them think I'm under his command and enhance the picture of me being an SHF asset. It's pretty much a continuation of the lie that Admiral Thorrison told on Clinton's Beak. Also, Admiral Thorrison has proven more reliable these past few weeks and he did show quite a bit of trust towards our tactics and actions in the Inner-Noran sector. Accordingly, I think it only fair to give him a little reward."

  [ How generous of you. ]

  I rolled my eyes at Fen's cheekiness but didn't otherwise react to it. Not that I had time to do so, for the comms lit up once again.

  [ Admiral Thorrison has opened parlay. He's now going to bring you in as a silent observer, though he knows you will intervene should you believe it necessary. Surprisingly he has not expressed any unhappiness with that. ]

  I straightened in my seat. "That's good to know. Put it on."

  The Bridge dimmed, and another holographic display bloomed open, revealing the Ferron flagship’s command cathedral. And cathedral was the right word in this case. A vaulted ceiling, ribbed supports, architecture sweeping upward like frozen wings. Ferron never did things small. At the center stood Admiral Johann von Kr?henfels, unmistakable if he hadn't worn the Ferron insignia next to that of his noble house. His face was practically carved with the kind of noble stoicism old Ferron families practiced like a religion according to the SHF. Moments later his voice carried across the void.

  "Federation fleet," he began, "I am Admiral Johann von Kr?henfels of the Kingdom of Ferron. You stand in violation of the galactic war convention by bringing a Super Battleship, an unregistered one at that, into foreign sovereign territory. I ask you to leave this system at once or at the very least hand over the Super Battleship so that it can be secured until the galactic council convenes and decides if the Second Human Federation is allowed to keep an illegally built second Super Battleship."

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  A third holoscreen opened in front of me, this one showing Admiral Thorrison standing aboard the FSF Defiance. Compared to the young Ferron Admiral he looked older, broader, for once wearing his formal uniform that was already heavy with medals but worn with the casualness of someone who cared more about survival than ceremony. "Admiral Kr?henfels," Admiral Thorrison said, "we do not recognize this system as part of your territory. We still see the borders after the Galactic Armistice as the true borders of the Second Human Federation. Therefore, as far as the SHF is concerned, your forces invaded unprovoked and remain here illegally. You know exactly why we’re here."

  Admiral von Kr?henfels did not look amused at that. "Federation sovereignty is a matter of interpretation and your unrealistic claims are one of the many reasons we are at war," he said coolly. "What is not interpretation is that your presence threatens the stability of this region and that most of the galaxy doesn't support your ridiculous claims."

  "And I frankly don't care. It's not like it was me making these decisions," Admiral Thorrison replied. "We're at war. You really shouldn't talk about any kind of stability right now, Admiral."

  Admiral von Kr?henfels inhaled, visibly reining in irritation. "I requested parlay to prevent unnecessary bloodshed. But you seem intent on coming here as conquerors, not even trying to pretend otherwise."

  "You say that, but you still tripled your forces in the system. I believe you knew from the very beginning how that would play out. Therefore I will kindly ask you to surrender yourselves to our Marines and allow landing operations on all of your ships. Then no one will come to harm, you have my word for that," Admiral Thorrison replied mostly indifferently.

  "You think just because you brought in a Super Battleship you can freely order us around!?" Admiral von Kr?henfels snapped. Then his eyes shifted to me. "You must be Captain May Lunaris."

  I inclined my head slightly. "That would be a correct assumption, Admiral."

  "You are in lone command over that vessel?"

  "Yes.”

  "And you are part of the Federation?"

  At that I could hear Fen laughing in my head, but my face remained a stony mask. "I would like to be more nuanced than that, but in very rough terms, yes," I replied. A lie, of course, and Admiral Thorrison sent me a look for not simply saying yes and being done with that, but even in front of him I had a certain image to maintain.

  Admiral Kr?henfels stepped closer to the holo-emitter on his side. "Then answer me this, Captain Lunaris. Why would such a young Captain, one that the K?nigliche Admiralit?t never even heard of at that, suddenly command the most valuable ship the Federation currently has access to? No, you are hiding something. And I want to know what."

  At that point Admiral Thorrison cut in sharply. "She doesn’t answer to you, K?nigliche Admiralit?t or otherwise! Tell your spies to do a better job if you want to know more of our inner workings!"

  I decided to reply anyways while keeping my tone even. "My ship serves the Federation because I do. That’s all."

  Kr?henfels stared at me a moment longer, eyes narrowing with a warrior’s intuition, but he said nothing more on the matter. Instead, he shifted. "Admiral Thorrison," he said, "I once more implore you to withdraw your forces from this system. Do so, and I'm willing to negotiate a permanent ceasefire on this border for the duration of the war. The Kingdom of Ferron has no desire to escalate this conflict any further than it already has."

  "You invaded the Federation first," Admiral Thorrison repeated. "You don’t get to negotiate conditions for where we move our fleets and where not. And the Outer-Noran principality sounds like a nice place to start from."

  Admiral von Kr?henfels stepped back, regaining icy composure. "Then negotiations are concluded," he said coldly. "You refused the peaceful option."

  "We refused surrender or leaving the system," Admiral Thorrison corrected. "You, however, still have time to withdraw your forces."

  The Ferron Admiral’s jaw clenched. "My fleet is prepared to defend every piece of Ferron's territory."

  Admiral Thorrison’s voice hardened to iron. "And mine is prepared to take it with force."

  For a moment, no one spoke. The two Admirals simply stared across the void, men who, in another life, might have shared a drink, but now stood on opposite ends of a war that neither could afford to lose. The Ferron admiral turned his gaze toward me one last time.

  "Captain Lunaris," he said quietly, "whatever the truth is that the Federation tries to keep hidden so desperately, there's always more than one option. Tread lightly and keep an open mind." The connection cut before I could reply. The Bridge lights returned to full brightness moments later while most of the holoscreens closed themselves.

  [Well, that was more tense and theatrics than I had expected. From the very beginning they only wanted to clearly paint the SHF as the aggressors. And they also tried to subtly inquire about your loyalties and if they were eventually shifting for the right price. ]

  I blew out a long breath. "I'm too bound to the Federation's success for that. Ferron unfortunately won’t retreat, but maybe that's for the best. It means we can trike them before they can gather an even bigger fleet."

  Before I could say anything more Fen wordlessly opened another holoscreen in front of me. Admiral Thorrison's image returned to this one, but it was clearly a private channel. "Captain," he said, "as you've undoubtedly noticed we’re going to battle."

  "I know. Don't worry, the FSF Aurora will manage most of the heavy lifting. But as always looking at the sheer numbers, if your fleet could distract them long enough for me to clean up that would be appreciated."

  "That will not be a problem," he replied. "You can start whenever, my fleet will follow. I trust your judgment." And just like that the connection cut as well.

  [ I might have to update my profile on Admiral Thorrison once more. He trusts you now more than I expected him to. It's like he's a completely different person by now. ]

  I snorted at that. "He's desperate and out of options. What else would you expect? He will prove valuable to us. But we'll need to keep him alive, because there is no way we'll be able to continue working with the Federation should Commander Ashcroft take over as next in command. Anyways, show me the tactical map again."

  Fen did so promptly and the last open holoscreen shifted as Ferron ships began moving into attack formation, Battlecruisers forming a forward spear, Cruisers reinforcing the flanks, Destroyers peeling outward like blades. The smaller ships disappeared into the bigger ships cover, ready to swarm out when needed.

  "So they're spreading wide open, trying to encircle us with their superior numbers," I muttered to myself. "Thereby they want to flank us while committing with their spear of heavier ships, probably to take out the ASF Aurora while the SHF fleet is occupied with defending against the flanking attacks. Not a bad strategy,"

  [While they're powering up their shields, weapons and target scanners, they are barely moving. They seem to be content simply holding their position deeper within the system. Admiral Thorrison won't act until we give the clear. So for now we're stuck in a cosmic staring contest for now. Am I allowed to make the first move Captain? ]

  I sighed once more. "Yes, but not yet. Scan the surroundings down to the smallest object. My best guest are drones or some kind of minefield, but if Admiral von Kr?henfels wants us to come to them that must have a reason. And he's not even close to any stationary support weaponry to make that worth it. He's willing to remain an unmoving sitting target. There must be a reason for that. "

  [ As you wish. I'll make a detailed check while aligning the ASF Aurora properly with the SHF fleet. ]

  Fen did as he announced and once the coordination closed, he still hadn't detected any kind of trap, even with the ASF Aurora's superior scanners. So, either it was truly masterfully hidden, or it simply didn't even exist.

  I nodded to myself. "Fen, share the order with the SHF fleet. We advance. If there's no obvious trap, further hesitation would only be a waste of time. We advance."