Admiral Xiao, a man who had as little combat experience as his crews, wasn't accustomed to the interminable stretches of time punctuated by short, adrenaline-charged periods of action. Alliance Fleet Command's training system for their mainline commanders left much to be desired when it came to preparing them.

The most glaring deficiency was the lack of instruction on the successful tactics and strategies the Federation had worked out while fighting two overmatched enemies. It would have not only been insightful to see how they'd engineered their own victories, but also to be able to counter those same moves when used on them.

But the Alliance Council's oversight on the military was absolute, and that included enforcing their own shortsighted political dogma. The main problem with the Alliance even admitting the Federation's brutal war against the Darshik came down to just one name:

Jackson Wolfe

Since the infamous Fed officer had been instrumental in developing and executing most of their strategic and tactical doctrines during the Phage War and through the fight against the Darshik, it created a problem for Fleet Command when it came to teaching its officers about his victories.

The Alliance Council had spent considerable political capital to make sure its citizens looked at Wolfe as a dangerous, bumbling Earther, and that he was the one responsible for all their hardships and struggles. To then have to backtrack and admit he might also be a tactical genius would harm them, thus his writings and mission briefs were banned within the ESA's military.

Xiao had obtained illegal copies of Admiral Wolfe's manuscripts submitted to the Federation War College, as well as the writings of his protégé: Celesta Wright. But without proper context, much of it was useless to him. Wolfe hadn't provided a manual that would allow others to emulate him. Instead, much of it had been useless drivel about the futility of war and some nonsense about how a small defeat in the beginning of a conflict can prevent much larger defeats in the future. Xiao needed to know how to win not how to feel.

Admiral Xiao's taskforce was one of nine, each hitting Federation resupply outposts along the border region and any other targets of opportunity. Since most of the supply dumps were just automated stations ships would dock with to take on fuel and consumables, the mission was just another harassment of the depleted and exhausted Fed fleet.

While they still struggled to fill patrols with the operational hulls they had remaining from the Expansion War, the ESA had ships to spare, outdated though they might be. Nine of their resupply platforms would disappear, and there was simply no way that the Fed could protect them all with the forces they had in the area.

"Admiral Xiao, to the bridge, please!"

"What is it, Captain?" Xiao said, scowling at the intercom panel.

"We've made contact, sir!"

"Calm yourself! How far out are they?"

"They are—" the captain was cut off by a harsh buffeting that rocked the ship. Xiao knew his ship was taking fire. Low power laser batteries, meant to get their attention. His heart hammered in his chest as a trembling finger pushed the button on the panel.