Admiral Hidalgo sat in his chair as he looked over the transmissions they were receiving from the front. After the loss of the 13th Fleet, the Union had finally achieved its final goal: complete tactical superiority over the Union. They had spent decades developing the weapon-ship that was used for the first time in the orbit of Drexicon IX. The new weapon had worked exactly as expected. They were no longer in the era of conventional ballistic weapons, but had entered a new age of war, one where battles will be determined within seconds by particle cannons. Since they destroyed Drexicon IX, the Union simply sent small fleets into star systems on the border and were met without resistance. They had broken the resolve of the planets within the frontier. They had no Navy to protect them, the Alliance had withdrawn all their ships from the region and were regrouping within in the inner colonies.

It would be only a matter of time before the enemy will collapse. They had spent centuries working towards the end goal.

"Sir..." Said a young Ensign.

As Hidalgo chewed on the pipe, he could taste the slight flavor of tobacco as it infused with the walnut wood, putting the pipe down, he answered the Ensign. "What?"

"We just got report from one of our agents. The Spirit of Endurance, the old ship that was part of the 13th fleet..."

"Please tell me we have part of it's hull to bring back as a trophy."

"No, sir." Said the Ensign. "It survived the attack." He said, his voice slightly quivering. Admiral Hidalgo picked up his pipe once more and fiddled with it, before taking a deep breath.

"How?" Last report that I got said the entire fleet had been destroyed."

"The Agent onboard said that they performed an emergency jump during a nuclear detonation. The ship's computers weren't affected by the computer virus." The Ensign explained. "Sir what—"

Hidalgo put his hand up, and as soon as he did, the Ensign stopped talking.

"That's enough. Do we have the ships location?"

"Last report is that the ship is currently laid up for repairs in the Sigma Octanus system." The Ensign handed the Admiral the latest report. As Hidalgo read over the report, he handed it back to the Ensign. Standing up, the Admiral straightened out his uniform before grabbing the cane. "Dispatch the fleet. Burn the planet."

"Sir?"

"You have your orders. Burn the planet, destroy the Endurance." He ordered.

"Sir, there are 120 million people on that planet. It's a neutral world."

"They made their choice." Hidalgo said. "Actually, let the Endurance go. I want to know where they are headed. Plus, we don't need to lose another Agent at this point. Send a retrieval team, I want that ship."