Chapter Twenty-Nine: Failure at the Brink of Success

At the invitation of Yanan, Director of the Space Administration and Chief of Wartime Intelligence, the Supreme Military Commander of Quatpa, Sade, arrived punctually at the appointed destination. First, after obtaining the consent of two Mantids and undergoing necessary security checks, Sade and Yanan were led by another Mantid into the aerial palace of Sphere Leader Abbott.

Sphere Leader Abbott waved his antennae, transmitting in their wave-language, “Welcome, welcome! You’ve finally arrived. I have been waiting for some time.”

There was little small talk; the Sphere Leader went straight to the point: “First, let me commend Military Commander Sade and all those fighting bravely on the front lines. I am grateful for your valor. Now that Supreme Commander M of the Tar Army has taken his own life after defeat, the morale among their troops is extremely unstable. When their new commander takes charge, the Tar military will surely restructure and alter the strategies and deployments previously set by their late leader. The intelligence we have painstakingly gathered may soon become obsolete. I urge you both to intensify your cooperation to monitor the enemy’s movements in real time. We must guard against the possibility that the new commander could risk launching an asymmetric strike against our Centaurus-based interstellar carrier fleet—or even attack our home planet, Quatpa.”

Commander Sade replied, “According to the latest reports from the front, our special forces deployed to Proxima B to destroy the Tar pyramid have lost contact with the rear. Our fleet cannot provide support without knowing the situation on the ground. Given the current circumstances, we cannot bomb the Tar pyramid on Proxima B, as our own soldiers are intermixed with their troops. Our special forces can only fight alone. I am now considering whether we should send our main fleet directly to the Solar System and destroy Earth in one decisive strike. If we succeed, with Earth gone, the Tar Army would have no reason to continue the war—they would be forced to withdraw.”

Sphere Leader Abbott said, “Delivering a heavy blow to the Tar special fleet is wise, since the Tars have always viewed their pyramid system as invincible. We should strike flexibly, keeping the enemy guessing about our tactics. As for whether to launch a direct assault on Earth, I advise you and Director Yanan to strengthen your collaboration and intelligence gathering. Let us not be lured into a trap; after all, we still do not fully know the deployment of Tar forces in the Solar System.”

Intelligence Chief Yanan said, “According to the latest intelligence, the remnants of the Tar special fleet have reached the edge of the Solar System and linked up with their garrison there. Although we’ve long known about their deployments in the Solar System, we still have little idea about the specifics of their force distribution. Moreover, Earth lies deep within the inner Solar System. If the Tars have complex deployments there, we must not act rashly. Right now, we lack critical details about their positions—this is a failure of our intelligence work. We must urgently gather more reliable information about the Tar military in the Solar System. Therefore, I also suggest the military commander refrain from attacking Earth until I have gathered enough actionable intelligence. Once I have it, I will support an assault on the Solar System and an attack on Earth.”

Sphere Leader Abbott agreed: “Yanan’s proposal is sensible. There is another matter that has long troubled me: the presence of M-liquid material on the planet at the edge of the Solar System. Have the Tar people already begun exploiting it? Or are the actions of Tar scientists within the Solar System truly aimed at harnessing M-liquid to create genetic weapons? Or is this simply a misunderstanding born of our own over-caution?”

Commander Sade replied, “M-liquid indeed exists on that planet, and our scientist Kos has already brought back a sample. This is an undisputed fact. That planet has become a new and grave threat to us, more terrifying than any terrestrial bacteria. We must destroy it as soon as possible, and by doing so, we can observe the Tar military’s reaction.”

Hearing this, both Director Yanan and Sphere Leader Abbott expressed their support for Sade’s stance.

Yanan added, “Based on the latest updates, the Tar king, unsatisfied with the heavy losses suffered by their special fleet near Proxima, has initiated a new strategic deployment. The Tars are sending another, even more powerful interstellar fleet from their home system toward the Solar System. Additionally, they’ve dispatched a high-ranking official—Director G of their intelligence bureau—on a diplomatic mission to the Celtic civilization. I believe the Tars seek an alliance with the Celts. Taking all this into account, I don’t think the Tar side will surrender easily. We are likely facing a soon-to-be-forged Tar-Celtic alliance. If we fail to act decisively and with sufficient deterrence, the consequences could be dire.”

Learning that the Tar king was showing signs of allying with the Celts, Sphere Leader Abbott’s attitude toward the situation began to change fundamentally.

He said, “Commander, you must make thorough preparations to guarantee supplies for a protracted war. I hereby grant you greater authority to launch preemptive strikes at your discretion. Judging from the situation on the front, even without destroying their pyramids, our forces can shatter their special fleet—this suggests we can abandon the assault on their pyramid. Now, we can dispatch our large interstellar carrier fleet to bypass Proxima and head straight for the Solar System, annihilating all Tar military forces nearby before easily destroying Earth. However, given current developments, the destruction of Earth is no longer the most critical issue. Of greater concern is whether Queen Van Celt will ally with the Tar Army, which would greatly increase the risk of an attack on our home planet. We may need to adjust our entire strategic deployment.”

The two subordinates analyzed and discussed Sphere Leader Abbott’s words from multiple angles. After this deliberation among the three top leaders, consensus was swiftly reached: the Quatpa military would alter its previous strategies and tactics. They had come to realize that the Tar pyramid on Proxima B was nothing more than a distraction, a smokescreen. Especially in this large-scale space war, the pyramid had lost all real military value. The Quatpa forces would no longer concern themselves with the Tar pyramid on Proxima B, as it was now clear that the Tar Army had withdrawn from Proxima B and their fleet near the Solar System no longer had any operational link to the pyramid. Quatpa could now boldly attack the remaining Tar fleet near the Solar System.

From here, the Quatpa carrier fleet had two choices: either proceed directly to the Solar System to eliminate the remaining Tar forces and then destroy Earth, or return home to redeploy and prepare for the possible threat of a Tar-Celtic allied invasion of Quatpa itself.

Regardless of whether they continued to pursue the Tar special fleet near the Solar System or returned home to counter the looming Tar-Celtic alliance, the Quatpa military now had to first destroy the M-liquid planet at the edge of the Solar System. If the M-liquid fell into Tar hands, their biologists could easily manufacture genetic weapons targeting Quatpa’s people.

Owing to their lack of precise intelligence about Tar deployments in the Solar System, the Quatpa forces did not dare to launch a full-scale invasion. Thus, it was decided that an attack on the M planet at the Solar System’s edge would be a prudent first move, both to eliminate the threat and to test the Tar Army’s reaction.

The Tar reinforcements were still en route to the Solar System, and their intelligence chief’s diplomatic mission to the Celts was ongoing. The willingness of the Celtic queen to ally with the Tar civilization remained an unknown. Although the Quatpa military was not yet planning a large-scale assault on the Solar System, the question remained: when the Quatpa forces struck the M planet at the system’s edge, would the Tar Army intercept them? If they did, it would increase Quatpa’s suspicion of the Tar regime. If not, it could lead to a dangerous misreading of the situation. In wartime, it is unwise to rely solely on the judgments of the highest decision-makers of each side. Far more, it is a test of the wisdom of those on the front lines.