Vale analyzed the center holo-table’s contents as the bridge crew ran about their duties with practiced efficiency. His attack force currently orbited the second gas giant in the Sella System, Dorn. He was earlier informed by Minerva the kinds of facilities that were present on Dorn’s many moons. All were mostly research facilities with several dedicated mining stations in addition. His objectives were simple; to neutralize the garrison and any defenses, and to retrieve prospective research data from the facilities themselves.

“Easy enough.”

He had ordered a company of the 4th Raider Battalion on standby in preparation for a hot landing with aide of an Odin drop-ship. For offensive strikes, when they weren’t sent into combat via drop pod, Raiders would take a ride from the Odin drop-ship as their other form of transit.

It’s a larger than most drop-ship that has two compartments for seating, with twenty seats in each compartment that is situated just behind where the pilots sit. Aft of the seating compartment, separated by a pair of sealed doors, was a larger cargo area that would normally house a light armored vehicle in the center. The ramp opening is large enough to disembark both vehicle and infantry at the same time once they landed.

“Dala,” Vale commanded, her simple geometric form taking shape on the corner of the holo-table. Her body slightly bobbed, making the impression that the AI was alive and not a static program, “Ensure Raven Company is prepped for their assault on the facilities.”

“They’re aware, Sir. They have been since the commencement of Operation Spearhead,” she replied.

Vale appreciated a Raider’s punctuality, he just didn’t like that it was always for combat, “Good, before we’re in range, put me through to Yorla. On the command chair monitor.”

“Of course, Sir,” said Dala.

The screen on his right flashed from its dormant black now to the vibrant display of Chief-Commander Yorla. She was actively twirling her hair ornament that draped on the left side of her temple, “C-commander Vale! A Pleasure! I was meaning to get a hold of you.” She sounded flushed as she spoke, and her mannerisms were barely holding their professionalism.

“I have to make a request, before our attack,” spoke Vale. Her expression grew solemn, knowing full well the situation they were in, “I would rather not attack, but my hands are tied.”

She looked questioningly at Vale, waiting for him to ask exactly what he wanted, “Can you send a message out to the research facilities to lower the defenses? No harm would come to them if they comply.”

“If it will lessen the loss of innocent life, then I would happily oblige,” said Yorla. Her expression was now a shallow smile, appreciative of his efforts to not needlessly shed blood. “One moment, my dear.”

Her words made Vale’s heart skip a beat, but he kept quiet, maintaining his decorum. Not long after muting her screen, she returned, her expression the same as when she left to speak with whoever was in charge.

“I have merged this call, Commander,” she said, her demeanor now that of a Chief-Commander. He would have to match her in display, and straightened his back and oriented the display to face him at eye level. The video of Yorla and their guest were separated from each other and Vale took this moment to analyze his guest. It was an older Sellian with graying hair with an ornamental head dress matching in color to their pastel blue skin and darker blue markings.

Their expression was one of anger instead of fear, “For what purpose does a Terran have to be in Sella?”

“I could demand the same of you and your people. Why did you attack our space?” replied Vale.

The scientist grumbled, “We have you on our scans and our defense fleet has been notified. If you cross our border, we will fire upon you! Now, I demand to know why you approached the Research Collective of Dorn.”

Vale didn’t know that the research stations surrounding Dorn had come together in a coalition, but that didn’t matter to him. He had a mission to complete, and this research collective was in his way, “This is merely a courtesy call, to notify you of your choices. I assume Chief-Commander Yorla informed you, yes?” The Sellian in question nodded, “Then power down your defenses and I can spare those inhabiting the stations.”

“And if we don’t?” said the aged scientist.

“Then I fear we would have to fire upon you. Your fleet’s fate has been sealed, but I am extending a hand to save you from a shared demise,” added Vale. They laughed, to the point of almost falling over in their seat. Sounds of others besides the lone man could be heard, but Vale opted not to make mention of it.

“From how far you are, I doubt your munitions could make it to us to do any meaningful damage. But by then, our fleet should already be engaged in combat with yours,” spoke the scientist.

Vale grew tired of their condescending tone. He wondered if they were informed at all on the status of earlier fleets that had engaged his own, only to come back a fraction of the size, if at all, “So you’re telling me you don’t plan to power down your defenses?”

“That should be obvious,” said the Sellian.

“Very well. Gunner, get ready to engage. When ready, fired a round at their largest defensive platform. Max output,” replied Vale.

The scientist was at a loss for what Vale had just ordered, but before he could issue the firing order, several ships entered their space from a short-distance jump.

“Hah! What was this about max output? A shame, but this is where we will depart-” Numerous shots from his escort frigates fired upon the unsuspecting Sellian ships with a large dose of Magnetic Accelerator, halting the cocky scientist mid-sentence.

The shots crippled their shield capability as the ships fought to keep them online even if parts of their ships were missing a large mass of metal turned molten.

“What! What did you do?!” sounded the scientist, fearful of the sudden impact of the attack.

“I have no need to explain myself. This is your final chance, power down and surrender or be turned into space rock,” their voice choked at Vales demand, barely letting by sound. Vale noted the poor choice of words and the delivery sounded off, but he decided to keep it. He was now committed.

The enemy ships that had tried to attack them were now disabled and were quickly losing power to all systems. Engines, shields, and life support. Of course, within the first volley of MAC rounds, the frigates also fired a volley of APHENT rounds that were calculated to hit just after their shields were shattered. It was a tactic devised by Minerva for a flashy entrance. Vale could have done without it but the damage done was immense. The fight had lasted for a little under thirty seconds.

“You can still save those who might have survived. The longer you wait, the more lives that could have been saved would be on your hands, not mine,” rebuked Vale.

The scientist dreadfully pondered his ultimatum before finally ceasing hostilities. Vale double-checked with Dala if their defenses were truly powered down, and she confirmed that they were, “Notify your security, if you have any, to stand down. Have them on their knees and their hands above their heads. That goes for the scientists as well.”

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“O-of course…” replied the scientist. His expression was now full of fear and dread, with their spirit broken down to the core.

The scientist was the first to cut the call, leaving Yorla and Vale together. He slumped in his chair and let out a large sigh. That made two instances where he was able to talk down an enemy, usually after destroying their most defiant force.

“Yorla,” he beckoned, “Can you send rescue parties to those ships that attacked us? There should be some who survived.”

“Of course. I’m just glad I have at least a few to save,” she said softly. Her expression now was a soft smile, to which Vale returned the same.

While in their command seats, Vale and Yorla would maintain their displays of one another if there was no immediate threat. With their current network and scans supplemented by Minerva, they had a large defense network should anything crawl through. Vale was glad that his network with Yorla during their off time.

“Dala,” he ordered, “Tell Raven Company they are cleared to board. But remind them to maintain vigilance.”

“Right away, Sir,” replied the AI. Her form disappeared leaving the hologram of Dorn and its moons left to occupy the table.

Before advancing to the research facilities, Vale acted as a defensive shroud for Yorla and her ships as they conducted rescue efforts of the recently decommissioned ships. There were reports of disorderly conduct among the prisoners but the Marine detachments aboard her ships subdued them without issue. When rescue efforts were finished, Vale and the rest of his ships rendezvoused with the Raider company that already began their operation were now finishing up with several stations at once.

As he had ordered, Drake company notified Vale that most of the occupants were on their knees with their hands on their heads like he had told the scientist before.

“They work fast,” commented Yorla upon overhearing the report.

“That’s the ODR for you. When it concerns ground combat, they’re the best,” Yorla was intrigued by his statement and inquired more about the Republic's armed forces.

“Sellians aren’t known for their prestige in ground warfare,” she started, “We mostly pour our resources into our navy, but it seems like that was wasted against you,” She said with a friendly jab.

The Sellians were indeed well suited for naval combat, but they had the misfortune of pairing against Terran might and weaponry.

“I don’t know if you’re aware, but much of Terran history is staked in ground combat. It was the one form of combat we perfected,” added Vale.

“Against each other?” questioned Yorla.

He nodded, “It was always a race against one another for the longest time on who could eliminate the other more efficiently. The same also applies to naval warfare.”

“We do have a form of infantry, but it is by far the least occupied branch to date. Most would either become a ship manufacturer or work aboard as a crewman. Why waste manpower on the ground when most battles are waged in the void?” added Yorla.

Vale thought on her words. ‘What if humanity had not spent all those years fighting? What would be different? How would they act as a people?’

He ran those questions silently across his mind, knowing that in his line of work, they got dirty so that those back home can live their lives without fearing when the next barrage would strike. His decision to join the navy when he was young was now validated by what they were fighting.

Vale chucked at her attempt of philosophy, “You can control the skies all you want, Yorla, but you would need an effective ground element to control what matters on the ground, and to hold it. Taking important structures, depots, government buildings, etc. If you want to preserve a planet you intend to take, sometimes it’s best to wage a ground war.”

She took his words into herself as did her best to understand them. As far as he was aware, he knew her to be a naval fanatic. That wasn’t bad, as a fleet commander, but it was also critical to understand all fields of combat.

He felt Yorla staring at him as he finished his explanation, “Yes?”

“You are so cute when you talk,” she said with an enduring smile. Snickers and chucked were heard from beyond his station and when he looked up, those responsible turned quickly, trying to maintain their bearing. Vale knew it to be unprofessional, but he reasoned that the Sellians didn't have such strict decorum.

Her demeanor was different when she was with him, as she was easily flustered, but across the screen, the took a different form. He wasn’t sure which one he liked more. Before they could continue what should normally be reserved for post warfare, he received a call from Vice Admiral Wolf, “Vale. How did you fare at Dorn?”

“No issues. The defense fleet tried to get the jump on us, but we saw it coming,” replied Vale.

“And your secondary objective?” asked Wolf. His countenance was stoic, but knew that he was being analyzed for his every move, especially with his close assistance with essentially Sellian Rebels.

“Raven Company is working it as we speak, Sir. We might need some assistance, though. They’re reporting a possible deletion in the records, and we could use the help of Minerva,” replied Vale.

Wolf thought for a moment, his expression lost in thought. Yorla’s screen stayed quiet as he spoke, as she was situated on an opposite display from Wolf. Even if they didn't share the same conference call, it would be possible to hear through ambience alone.

“We’ll have a secured network ready for use. Ensure the teams on the ground have a receiver, so she could try to recover what they tried to get rid of,” said Wolf.

“Of course, Sir. Anything else you need?” replied Vale.

Wolf shook his head no, “Just be ready in six hours for our push past the next asteroid belt. You’re taking a flanking route while we get their attention.”

“Understood,” Vale replied, silently urging for the Admiral to end the call.

“Oh, one more thing…” Wolf began. He wanted to scream but held his impulse, “Give Yorla my regards,” and cut the call.

In addition to Vale and Yorla, the rest of the crew also shared in their awe. ‘How did he know?’was a commonly asked question among the crew. Both Vale and Yorla grew red in embarrassment.

“Ahem,” Vale said, trying to maintain order among his crew, “Dala, notify each lead in Raven Company to set up a receiver so that Minerva can restore any lost data.”

“Already done, Sir,” she said.

He heaved a large sigh after her form disappeared once again as she delivered the Raider’s new orders, “I’m not going to hear the end of it, am I?”

Yorla chucked at the notion, “Would that be so bad?”

Vale thought for a moment about her implications. It wouldn’t be terrible and many things could go right, and he was single now. He remembered a past flame as he rubbed an absent ring, with its imprint still vaguely visible. But as much as he wanted to dwell on it, he had a duty to do, first and foremost.

“All hands. Prepare a route with the given coordinates. Scan the new AO for any surprises. We leave for it when the ground teams return,” ordered Vale.

“Aye sir!” The crew replied in unison, as did Yorla in a jovial manner.

A couple of hours would pass, and the ground teams would all return. Some noted that they were fired upon, but such cases were so few and far between that it didn’t warrant a response from the teams in general.

With all teams aboard, and all ships in formation, Vale ordered their drives to spool for a slip-stream jump to their new coordinates. It was a straight shot, and he wanted to hold out on using the Slip-Space drives for short-distance travel.

Vale reviewed the data from the teams returning from their excursion but much of it revealed what they already knew. Upcoming plasma technology, cheaper more effective antigravity modules scaled down for personal vehicles, and mobile ground forces shield generators.

“Well, that’s something,” Vale muttered to himself. They had already progressed far into the tech, applying its large form factor to protect larger assets. “This intel could be useful for the ground teams…” he said, this time passing the information to Wolf for approval. With all accounted for, Vale ordered the countdown for the jump.

The trip itself wasn’t long, it was the anticipation before combat that stretched one’s nerves to its ends. Overall, the trip was uneventful when they reached their target destination, The Teela Belt.

Their section was light on known artificial structures. It was no wonder his group was given these coordinates. Vale ordered a preliminary scan before advancing. When nothing of concern returned, he prepped again for another jump. This time aimed at the heart of the Sellians Empire, Sellia.