"It would be just like the Outer Rim Sieges!" Di Ti slammed his mechanical fist onto the table. "Approaching this area with that kind of strategy will tie us down worse than the Confederacy did the Late Republic!"

Asa rubbed his temples. It had been three days since the discovery of the star cluster. They had approached the area cautiously, sending out sensor probes and doing long range scans. They had managed to detect a star system within the cluster, at the very least four. They seemed to vary in size and temperament. What's more, they all seemed inhabited.

Captain Edouard Fenel, his oily black hair already receding into a widows peak, scoffed. "We are not the Republic. It would be child's play to simply pick each world off, one by one."

Captain Rathi'el smirked. "Yes, and perhaps in twenty standard years we could form a small version of the Penstastar Alignment!"

Fenel scowled in his direction as some of the officers chuckled.

Asa rolled his eyes. The conference room had become like a second home these last few days. A room full of stern faced generals and overly-aggressive Captains and Admirals (why was the Fleet always so more aggressive than the footsloggers?) Honestly, he was heavily tempted to pull a Daala and have the whole lot of them gassed. In fact, he had fantasizing about it for hours…

"Perhaps it is time for the Admiral to weigh in?" Vice Admiral Dutac stroked one of his mouth tentacles as he stated this, an odd glint in his eyes as he observed Asa.

Asa gazed at him a moment before leaning back in his chair, crossing his arms. "I was appointed to the position of Vice Admiral by the late Admiral. He believed that I was more than capable of command. But he did not anticipate this. Neither did I. Neither did any of you. Yet here we are." He held his hands open to accentuate the last part. "To be frank, I have no idea exactly what to do in this situation. Which is why I have you.' He made a sweeping gesture." You are my war council. You are my advisors in this kind of matter and as your superior officer, I will make the final decision." He stood, hands behind his back. He was silent a moment, before tapping at the conference table, making the center holo-projector bring up a holo of the star system. "Actually, I lied. I didn't know what to do, a day or so ago. As of today, as of now, I have my decision. A battle plan if you will." He tapped at the table again and the projector focused on one of the smaller worlds. "This planet is reasonably populated, with heavily population centers here, here, and here." He pointed and highlighted certain areas. "Generals Strage and Prittick have opposing strategies about how to deal with a land invasion. Strage advises that the Fleet bombard the most heavily populated areas ,as a show of power before commencing a steady land invasion. Imperial Army going forth with hover tanks and occupying the remaining population areas. Captains Vors, Fenel, Lev support this, with advice to commence a blockade of the planet with an outward defense corridor. They have no, however, considered the civilian ships. We cannot simply allow them to drift defenseless."

Asa shrugged. "It's a good plan, worthy of consideration. However, General Prittick vouches for selective, strategic attacks. Survey scouts to determine military threats. Bombardment of the military points and strongholds not through the fleet but instead through the bomber fighter wings. To make it more precise, as well as retain any useful areas. Keep civilian casualties to a minimum. Send in the StormCorps, eliminate any military retaliation before or as soon as it begins. Once we have established beach-heads, we send in the Army, commence the occupation, let the StormCorps root out any stragglers and prevent any sort of resistance from rising. As it is, Captain Rathi'el, Vice Admirals Di Ti and Dutac all support this plan. To be honest, I appreciate both plans. And so, I have decided that the best solution would be a combination of the two. We will start orbital bombardment of all designated military targets, before having StormCorps strike teams hit fast and hard all the civilian centers, followed by Army deployments. Once we have established beachheads, we will move the civilian ships inside the defense corridor, but only once we have eliminated any anti-ship elements."

All around the room there was a murmur of agreement and assent. They seemed to go along with the plan. Suddenly, one of the Captains spoke up. "How will we approach this particular world? Is it not firmly within the system? How will we avoid any defense vessels?"

Asa nodded. "That is a dilemma, one I have a plan for." Another tap of the table caused the holo to twirl, showing of the system. "The fleet will adjust position and go down. We will rise up, on the dark side of the planet. 3-space thinking requires a certain planning." Once again, the officers muttered their assent.