VICTORY?
The Red Destiny’s power output doubled again and now exceeded the maximum output of an antimatter reactor core.
"Asymptote in 45 minutes", reported Fae
Alexander stood and resumed his holo broadcast. The anxiety-wracked population yearned to be soothed.
“I know many are shaken and unsure because of what just happened–that is only natural when the course of life rapidly takes an unexpected turn. Please give me a chance to explain to you what has happened and to assure you that our future is brighter than it ever has been.”
“First I want to clarify my position: Commander Mudd’s belief that unification is a prerequisite to victory is absolutely correct. I differ with him because of his vain and self-serving approach to merge our forces into one.”
“Consider the conflicting nature of our strategies: The Ronin fleet’s doctrine is that the Zell should be aggressively attacked whereas Mudd has reduced his fleet's options to purely defensive responses; when faced with a true challenge he favors making a cowardly escape using the civilian fold drives.”
“And consider our track records: The Ronins have scored many decisive victories. We have also experienced loss but never a major defeat. By contrast Mudd’s leadership was responsible for at least three catastrophic defeats in the early portion of the war--defeats that decimated the Alliance to the extent that we still have not recovered our full strength. Then he effectively quit the war and followed defensive policies out of fear that he would lose again.”
"One ancient truth that successful war strategist accepted long before the book of Astro Battle was written: 'He who abandons attack and embraces defense alone has already lost the war.' The harsh reality is that if we maintained a strictly defensive posture we would without question eventually be overrun and annihilated by our enemy."
"Mudd already lost four years ago. And had I not taken the bold action you just witnessed, the moment that Mudd took control of the Ronin fleet would have marked the moment that the entire human race lost to the Zell. Our complete extermination as a species would only be a question of time."
“But some may wonder what action I took exactly so I will share with you: I ordered clandestine elements of the Ronin’s to infiltrate the bridge crew of Mudd’s flagship--this took over a year to complete--our agents waited for this moment to surprise and apprehend him and his top ranking officers. This course of action-–quite uncharacteristic of the Ronins who favor direct conflict--this course was chosen because it was the least destructive option. Had we escalated to militarily conflict our total fighting force could have been greatly diminished and the only benefactor of the scenario would have been the Zell.”
"Also, I want to announce that I am now in possession of the control codes for the assets of the Alliance fleet AND control codes for the Arks and their fold drives. I have charged myself with the safety and survival of EVERY living human and I accept this noble burden with the utmost sense of responsibility–I hope that brings you comfort."
"Finally I will tell you how we will ultimately stop running away and bring an end to the Zell menace once and for all. Our first engagement towards this aim will commence in less than one hour: The complete destruction of the Zell armada that has been intimidating us for the last week. We will then launch a campaign that will bring us to the Zell’s strategic weakness–for just as we have three arks that carry our precious civilizations, the Zell also have three major vulnerabilities to their survival. We have recently learned that the Zell have three planetary hatcheries–-", Alexander’s speech was interrupted."
A holographic disturbance grew in a contorted fashion just in front of Mudd’s flagship. An unpleasant and loud audio feedback screech drowned out all other sounds for a moment. The holo projection operator was clearly inexperienced but after his initial stumble he successfully dialed the parameters in a generally correct vector. It took some seconds for the hologram’s form to become recognizable. It was Supreme Commander Mudd’s ten-story head and neck again. His hair and the collar of his uniform appeared to be quite disheveled. A trickle of blood flowing from his hairline suggested he had just been in a scuffle. He gave a look that hinted that he was resolute, determined and completely furious.
Mudd’s audio became coherent mid-sentence: “...CANNOT BE TOLERATED!”
Mudd rambled on excitedly touching on such topics: 'Alexander the traitor', 'Decent people would not stand for this' and various threats born from his insecurities asserting that Mudd could best Alexander in any combat scenario…
"Asymptote in 35 minutes", Fae reported.