The air in the simulation chamber sparkled, suddenly crowded with a new set of images, familiar Terran ship designs. Lanyan had trained on all of these military vessels during his climb up the service and promotion ladder. He knew the precise fighting capabilities, weapons complements, and troop numbers of each one. The computer had put together a magnificent Terran battle group, a worthy opponent to the Ildiran Solar Navy.

Now for the fun.

He felt like a child with a plethora of toy soldiers just spoiling for a fight. With the intelligence data stored in the EDF systems, he could stage mock combats pitting his best battleships against the Ildiran defenses.

The supposedly benevolent alien empire had never made provocative moves against Earth, nor had it threatened the EDF or any Hansa colonies. Even so, Lanyan wanted to keep himself sharp. Perhaps he would never actually face off in a military conflict against the Solar Navy, but by running simulations such as this, he could assess mistakes and make contingency plans.

As he tried to concentrate, he could feel a distracting vibration through the floor of the Mars base. Outside, troops suited in breather uniforms were running out to perform infantry maneuvers in the rusty canyons. Hybrid airships cruised through the thin atmosphere, painting targets and dropping simulated munitions.

Even after almost two centuries of peaceful relations with the Ildiran Empire, General Lanyan demanded that his troops remain well-tuned. His predecessors had grown somewhat complacent, but he was a more rigorous commander. Now, he personally studied ship simulations along with best estimates of Ildiran firepower. For the first time in history, the Earth Defense Forces were more evenly matched with the Ildiran Solar Navy than perhaps even the Mage-Imperator suspected.

“Interplanetary battle scenario,” he said. “Run space-time topography of—” He paused, trying to think. “Use the Yreka system in Grid 7,” he said, since he had just run an operation there. The fringe Hansa colony was near the boundaries of settled space in the Ildiran Empire, and therefore a likely battleground. Who knew what flare-ups might occur between two different species?

Lanyan pointed to empty spots in the air. “Place the planets here, here—and here.” The worlds of the Yreka system materialized in the air, and a blazing sun filled the center of the room. EDF spaceships hovered in random patterns.

“Move the Solar Navy vessels into anticipated maniple configuration.” The Ildiran vessels folded together into compact septas, groups of seven that coalesced into larger conglomerates of forty-nine ships.

“Now deploy EDF troops in engagement configuration delta.” He backed toward the wall as the holograms took up their positions, ready for an order of battle.