Seeing that the war had only started ten days ago, the Army had achieved impressive results on the Sunset Star that inspired everyone in the Federation. The commander-in-chief of the United Star Strategic Command Center in the capital of the People's Alliance, Constantine Shestako, After Admiral Husband affirmed the Army's contribution, he prepared to launch a combat plan that had been prepared within the Navy for a long time and could finally be put into practice.
In the hundreds of light-year-long border disputed star belt between the Human Federation and the Qin Empire, three-quarters of the star field is unimpeded star systems and hyperspace channels, and both sides have released a large number of unmanned detectors. and stellar outposts that serve as control hubs.
Affected by the dense monitoring network and gravity sensors everywhere in the area, all naval fleet mobilizations in the disputed star belt have a high probability of being discovered by the other party. The probability of discovery is infinitely close to 100% as the size of the fleet increases, so that from It became impossible to cross the star belt head-on.
The other quarter of the star field in the disputed star belt is the core of this People's Alliance naval operation, because this star field named "Cross" is filled with extremely dense interstellar clouds, referred to as nebulae ( Nebula).
According to research by scholars, in these interstellar clouds composed of dust, hydrogen, helium and a large amount of other ionized gases, the probability of the existence of habitable planets will be greatly reduced due to more extreme astronomical environments, but the availability of various rare resources However, the storage situation will be greatly improved by the deposition of the nebula over countless years.
Whether it is rare crystals that are rarely seen elsewhere, or explosive particles, alien natural gas, etc., they are valuable strategic resources that are indispensable for a powerful civilized empire. As long as you have enough patience to explore one by one here, you will find that many celestial bodies in the "Cross Nebula" store rare resources that are larger than usual and easier to exploit.
Although both the Qin Empire and the Human Federation have declared that they have not sent scientific research ships and engineering ships into the nebula for exploration and mining operations, in fact everyone in the galaxy knows that the Cross Nebula has been deployed on the edges of the two empires. Full of mines and refineries, otherwise how to explain those mining spacecraft and transport ships that plunge into the interior of the nebula from time to time?
But if that were the case, then Shestakov would not attach so much importance to this "Operation Cross Nebula". In addition to subtly changing the objects within them, these interstellar clouds can also effectively block all currently known detection methods.
No matter how powerful and advanced the detection sensor is, as long as it reaches the interior of the nebula, the farthest distance it can "see" cannot go beyond the star system where it is located.
This is a conclusion reached after experiments by volunteer scientists in the Galaxy Community. In dozens of interstellar clouds located throughout the Milky Way, each civilized empire has put out its own best-performing detection equipment for testing, and even The technological dictatorship of Vol, which is recognized as a leader in the field of civilian technology, all admit that their subspace probes cannot operate as smoothly as outside the nebula.
For these Vol people who live on polar planets and use prosthetic implants to overcome the dangerous environment, academic fraud is intolerable. Therefore, the galactic countries have reached an agreement on the hidden effect of the Nebula ship navigation. They even sent representatives one after another to pretend to sign a joint declaration prohibiting smuggling through the Nebula Channel.
The end result is that the interstellar smugglers become even more rampant, because as long as they enter the nebula and make a few hyperspace jumps, they can completely get rid of the navy or space pirates following them. Unless the opponent is really lucky and can select the same one among hundreds or thousands of hyperspace jump points again and again.
This time, Shestakov decided to let the federal naval fleet serve as a "smuggling fleet" and lurk all the way to the other side of the Qin Empire along the best routes passed down by the smugglers. The Nebula Refinery and various mining facilities were struck to fundamentally weaken the war potential of the Qin Empire.
According to years of investigation and understanding by federal intelligence agencies, more than half of the raw materials and at least 20% of the exported minerals in the empire's outer ring military industry are provided by their mines and refineries in the Cross Nebula. As long as these can be exported to the outer ring planets If the base that continuously transports minerals and rare resources is destroyed, the Federation's chances of winning will increase a lot.
The top leaders of both countries know one thing well, that is, no matter whose hands the ownership of Tianxixing or Krohoka ends up falling, this war must not evolve into a full-scale war. In order to control the scale of the war within a range acceptable to everyone, it became the tacit bottom line of the commanders of the two countries not to attack the administrative planets that both sides had colonized for many years.
As a veteran of the Star Sea, Shestakov would naturally not break the tacit understanding that was finally formed without authorization, so the Federation Navy's "Operation Cross Nebula" was launched.
In the view of this well-known "Spear of the Human League", there is no need to go through a huge fleet decisive battle that wastes people and money and a ground war that is a hundred times crueler than now, as long as the industrial capacity of the outer ring of the Qin Empire can be paralyzed, and the empire can be cut off With Tianxixing's supplies, the tens of millions of Qien's troops on the planet are fighting naked and hungry, and then this war will not be far from over.
Participating in this operation were the three major assault fleets of the Human Federation dispatched early by Admiral Shestakov - the Phoenix, Kraken and Hydra fleets. Each of their fleets has no less than three battlecruisers and ten strike cruisers and other capital ships and heavy support ships, not to mention small screen ships used for reconnaissance and harassment.
Behind every assault fleet with extraordinary combat power is the sweat and hard work of the citizens and scientists of the Human Federation. Without their frugality and hard work, the Federation would not have been able to do in just a few decades what other civilized empires could not do in two hundred years - build a first-class navy in the galaxy.
Therefore, Shestakov's operational idea is to destroy fixed-position civilian and military facilities. If it encounters an enemy patrol or support fleet, the navy should try to avoid it and not engage in combat to avoid being attacked by the empire one after another. The fleet drags its feet and incurs losses.
Compared to Tianxixing, which is closer to the federal border, this time the navy is equivalent to wreaking havoc under the eyes of the empire's outer ring fleet, so no one can be too careful.
After sending his blessings to the three vice-admirals in charge of commanding the fleet through quantum communication that could span thousands of light-years in an instant, Shestakov stopped the communication and turned his attention back to the Sunset Star. The ground battlefield gradually became fierce.
Although he is an admiral of the Federation, but because of this, he has a deep understanding of the navy and is not worried about the resistance that the assault fleet will encounter. Moreover, since Marshal Beauclair has given up the command of the army out of trust, And handed it over to himself, then he has the responsibility to treat the battlefields of the army and navy equally, and not to produce any partiality that may cause discord between the two armies.
In a remote galaxy in the Cross Nebula, a large fleet consisting of more than 500 ships was quietly parked in the orbit of a deserted planet that was temporarily used as an advance base. From time to time, there were several transport ships. and transport craft shuttled back and forth between the surface and the fleet.
Using the building materials and supplies carried by the fleet, the People's Alliance Navy built several medium-sized supply bases on the surface of the planet. If the assault fleet runs out of ammunition or eats up food during its mission, it can return here at any time. Or other secret supply planets for replenishment.
After confirming the attack order issued from the Joint Star Strategic Command Center, more than 500 ships of various sizes quickly separated in an orderly manner in orbit, and finally turned into three fleets of similar sizes, carrying tens of thousands of people. The naval crews sailed in different directions.
Within a few hyperspace jumps away from them was the border area of the Qin Empire near the Cross Nebula.
The reason for being so close to the outer ring of the empire is that these three fleets were hidden here according to Shestakov's plan a few months ago, but they have been moving from time to time between various supply planets hidden in the nebula. Change the mooring position to avoid being discovered by passing smuggling ships and the Qian Imperial Navy.
During these months, the crew of the battleship ate the same food day after day, brought to them by the transport ship that jumped dozens or hundreds of times from behind, and suffered in endless drills and instructions from their superiors. Suffering, the only way to entertain yourself is to play non-addictive games in the entertainment room of every battleship, or go to the crew lounge with large portholes to gaze at the boundless starry sky.
But now, the long wait has finally come to an end, facing the men of Renlian who have accumulated endless resentment and anger in their hearts.
If nothing else goes wrong, the major industrial bases of the Qien Empire in the Nebula will soon encounter an accident.
