952 - The Reopening of Old Wounds

{The number of people online is expected to continue decreasing as they finish their preparations,} Nyx said, finishing her report.

“So, do you suspect they are preparing for us, or are they trying to deal with Dreznor faster?” Aron asked. He had already escorted Rina back to the imperial palace before logging into VR to join the meeting, and now he scrolled through the information document in front of him.

{At the moment, we lack deep-cover assets, so we can't be certain. They could be preparing for us, for Dreznor, or for a third option: dealing with both of us simultaneously,} Nyx answered, highlighting their intelligence limitations.

The empire was already infiltrating these civilizations using both the "Little Protagonists" and other means, but the process required time. Their agents needed to naturally gain more access to information and install themselves in key positions. However, the situation developed earlier than expected, before the infiltrators could access top-level intelligence, leaving them with only surface-level information.

Nyx was currently collecting information from VR discussions. People were talking about massive ships leaving from unusual planets or mentioning military operations and mobilizations they'd heard about from family members in the military or government. The fidelity of this information was limited, however. It was second-hand, with no evidence to back it up, and could be either exaggerated or underreported. Consequently, this intelligence could only be used for brainstorming, not as a primary guide for their plans.

“What do you think?” Aron asked, turning to John, who was the best person to consult on military matters.

“I think we should prepare for the worst-case scenario instead of focusing on what they might do,” John said, a firm believer in preparing for the worst while hoping for the best. “If we’re wrong, we can treat this as a practice run. It will allow us to mobilize faster in the future, since the equipment from this preparation will be readily available. If we’re right, we won’t be caught off guard.”

“However,” he added, bringing up their largest disadvantage should a war break out, “our plans must account for being heavily outnumbered in both military equipment and personnel. Although we can match their one-to-one construction speed, they have a head start of a century or more. Not only that, but the size of our territory relative to theirs is very small, making it easy for them to overwhelm us with numbers.”

Everyone in the meeting nodded in acknowledgment. They were all aware of this and knew that means to minimize this disadvantage already existed.

“Contact Dreznor,” Aron said, looking at Nyx, who was still their only point of contact. “Inform him of the situation so he can prepare, and tell him to be ready to implement our plans in case the situation calls for it.”

{Understood,} she replied, immediately relaying the message to the Little Protagonist who handled the rest.

“I leave the planning and implementation to you. Keep me updated on any changes or major developments,” Aron said, getting to his feet. He had already started the logout procedure and was waiting for the timer to finish.

{Yes,} John and Athena answered in unison, accepting the orders before turning to their work.

……………….

A month later.

“I still can’t believe I’m seeing this with my own eyes,” Brook said, looking through the window of the massive ship. His gaze swept over the asteroids in the permitted section of the Oort cloud. “Just decades ago, these were mere specks of light in our telescopes. Now, not only can we see them this close, but we can even walk on them in VR.”

Due to the Oort cloud's massive size and the potential for things to go wrong, the empire had restricted access to a few select areas. These zones were easily accessible for rescue missions and had existing infrastructure, ensuring a better and safer experience for tourists.

“You’re still stuck on that? People can already travel to other star systems,” said his friend, Ursula, as she took out her camera and started taking pictures of the celestial bodies. “And soon, the Nexus wormholes will reduce that travel time to weeks.”

“I know, but I’m just admiring the speed of change. When I retired, we were celebrating the launch of the James Webb telescope and how it would revolutionize astronomy. Just a few years later, we’re on the verge of visiting places we thought only future generations would have the pleasure of stepping on. It’s as if humanity was pushing a stone to a cliff's edge for centuries, and then someone finally gave it the last shove. But who did the pushing? It can’t be the Em………..”

Before he could finish his sentence, the words caught in his throat. His brain nearly froze at the sight before them. Their faces, illuminated by the dim starlight filtering through the window, were suddenly cast in shadow as a massive number of new objects blotted out the sun.

“Oh my Go…………”

Before his prayer could be completed, the ship shuddered with a deafening BOOM that was felt more than heard, but a momentary, violent tremor before the absolute silence of the vacuum. The attacking fleets, having annihilated everything in the vicinity, vanished into light speed.

Thirty seconds after the first group of fleets vanished, a second wave arrived. Wormholes materialized and vanished within moments, leaving behind another fleet that promptly repeated the process. 

This sequence continued for more than a minute before ceasing in the immediate vicinity. But the stoppage was only temporary and local; as the activity ended there, it erupted elsewhere. In one of the locations a fleet had passed through, a single ship had remained behind just long enough to collect the area's absolute coordinates. After transmitting the data back to its command, it too vanished. Moments later, that new location was swarmed with fleets, and the cycle began again. The only common thread was the point of entry: all the fleets materialized on the outer edges of the Oort cloud, whose immense size made it impossible for the empire to intercept them all.

The truce was over. The war had restarted, and this time the attackers were better prepared than they were for the first conflict.