Things were, er, problematic in the Tollerwald League, to put it in the least offensive language. Having lost nearly a quarter of their fighting strength in a single battle, without inflicting any significant damage, a few of the more level-headed nobles began to waver.

At least their main base had been decided: Edelweiss Fortress, a powerful fortress in the subcore region of the Empire. Fortress building was always interesting; it was an area where the Republic excelled. The Empire had stolen blueprints of the Republic's 'Flying Fortresses', but Republican agents managed to tamper with it just enough: they made it less efficient, consuming insane amounts of energy; its armor too thick for no reason in one place and too thin in another; and, crucially, ruined the schemes needed to make the fortress mobile.

As a result, when the Empire built Edelweiss Fortress, hoping for it to be a mobile engine of victory, they were greatly disappointed when the mammoth fortress stood idle, unable to move. Now it orbited the planet Edelweiss V in the Edelweiss Starzone.

The fortress had always been a constant drain in resources, and political will to destroy or repurpose it had never been mustered. Now it was the base of the Tollerwalds, alongside its main gun, the Eternal Flower. "Well–now we have a good reason to destroy that good-for-nothing metal junk," the Empress half-joked.

Still, the overwhelming majority of the Alliance remained outrageously optimistic. Believing in their noble blood to carry the day, they continued their rebellion. They were drawing up plans to invade the Thalassa Starzone and nearby starzones, all of them agriculturally rich.

Once more, the Alliance sent 100,000 ships, this time under Marquis Knittlingen. Duke Dahl immediately sent word to Marshal Karl. The latter affirmed his promise of aid.

Naturally, Karl did muster his fleets. The Royal Fleet, First Fleet, and Eleventh Fleet came to roughly 120,000 ships, but he couldn't afford to leave the Throneworld undefended. The next major clash in this civil war was predicted to be in Thalassa Starzone.

Meanwhile, the Loyalist Second and Fifth Fleets were dispatched to waylay Admiral Boll, who had joined in the military revolt. It was the first independent command Vice Admirals Thompson and Radbruch had. They carefully maneuvered their fleets and caught the Eighteenth Fleet in Zelica Starzone, an inhabited starzone.

Admiral Boll was of a similar psychological build to Duke Dahl: a "true" military man who believed in the sword. He was both experienced and skilled, and the Loyalists rued that they must battle him.

When Admiral Boll detected the Second Fleet moving against him, he grew silent. "Hmm. Thirty thousand, I see," he muttered. “An entire fleet.”

Many scenarios played in his mind. Could this be a direct challenge? Or was this fleet in front of him a distraction? And what would he do? Engage or retreat?

In the end, after taking counsel with his subordinates, Admiral Boll decided to engage head-on. He massed his forces in the right flank, intending for it to smash against the enemy with temporary numbers.

"The enemy is engaging us," was the report given to Vice Admiral Thompson, commander of the Second Fleet.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Good. Fight them minimally as we have planned." Vice Admiral Thompson would be described by contemporary analysts as a jack-of-all-trades, equally able of presenting a solid defence as attacking fiercely.

The Second Fleet clashed against the Eighteenth Fleet, and the latter's commander's experience began to shine. The casualties suffered by the Second Fleet reached 10 percent as its left wing crumbled.

It was at this time that the trap sprung. The Fifth Fleet was twelve hours away, far enough to be undetected. Vice Admiral Radbruch's style of speed and overwhelming offense became famed. He, at the cost of leaving 10,000 straggler ships behind, crashed against the aft of the Eighteenth Fleet, spending four hours for a journey that would normally take thrice that time.

The Eighteenth Fleet did not lose its discipline. Admiral Boll quickly formed a wide but thin front to bluff Thompson, whilst turning the majority of his forces against Radbruch.

This was not without the two Loyalist commanders' calculation. Radbruch immediately retreated, at which point Thompson charged. It was a delicate dance.

Admiral Boll recognized the odds against him and rallied his forces, breaking through Radbruch's fleet. His offensive strength hid a defensive weakness, a weakness that now Admiral Boll exploited.

The Battle of Zelica Starzone ended inconclusively. The Loyalist fleets suffered around 16,000 ship casualties, whilst the Eighteenth around that amount. "So it's a defeat," Karl commented after news came to him. Lesser commanders would've evaluated it as a draw of sorts, but for Karl, the objective–stopping the Eighteenth Fleet from reinforcing the revolt–hadn't been achieved.

"At least it's not overwhelming," the Empress added. The Eighteenth Fleet soon joined the military revolt in earnest, and the trifecta of Dahl-Luvert-Boll posed a serious threat to both the Loyalists and the Tollerwalds.

"Despite the mandate given to us, we have failed to stop the enemy. This shame is ours to bear," was the message sent to the Empress by Vice Admirals Thompson and Radbruch, and the reply was "a minor setback cannot stop our eventual victory. Head for the Thalassa region immediately and await further orders".

Efficiency and concentration of force–a school of thought that the Empress was a believer in. She concentrated all Loyalist forces in Thalassa Starzone and released Vice Admiral Bianca Scarnhorst, allowing her to lead the Sixth Fleet once more.

Leaving behind only Admiral Holm's Eleventh Fleet to defend the Throneworld, the Loyalist fleets made way to Thalassa in two waves: a vanguard, comprised of half the Royal Fleet and the depleted Sixth Fleet under the Empress, and the main force, comprised of the other half of the Royal Fleet and the First Fleet under Marshal Karl. A total of nearly 110,000 warships marched to the fertile battleground.

The Tollerwalds marched under glittering banners of pride and haughtiness. Marquis Knittlingen, desiring to obtain more prestige, had wormed his way into being the commander. With his own wealth, he had hired a great number of mercenaries and ex-pirates, bloating his numbers to around 160,000 warships, more than twice the military revolt's number.

"Never fear," Duke Dahl said to his comrades as he sortied against the Tollerwalds, "Marshal Karl von Marbach is on his way with a fleet loyal to him. Once he arrives, the situation is salvaged."

Duke Dahl was certainly no imbecile. Splitting his fleets to small squadrons and conducting hit-and-run attacks, he slowly whittled down the lumbering Tollerwald fleets. It was a testament to his skill.

Two weeks later, the Second and Fifth Fleets joined the vanguard. Their commanders were rather surprised to see Vice Admiral Bianca in the fleet.

"Wow ... there's a thin line between bravery and–"

Radbruch held his tongue at the last moment; calling the Empress stupid in an autocratic nation hardly seemed prudent.

"Her Majesty is certainly brave. I hope it's not a ploy by the enemy," Thompson commented simply.

Empress Katharin was certainly brave–and enthusiastic to wage her first independent campaign. The parasitic nobles–leeching on the lifeblood of the Empire–and the opportunistic, thick-headed revolt who favored guns above all–she'd crush them all.