The negotiations did not go well. Maxim went in for a total of more than two hours, during which time the fleet continued to maintain a high intensity of fighting. Several times there were messages urging from Gates, but I stopped them on the grounds of waiting. There were constant sounds of scolding and arguing from the bridge. It was time for Verelli to be at the bridge of the Mothership, and he told me to wait patiently.

"If the devil wants to kill Maxim, then he should do it from the moment he enters the door, and the reason why there is still a quarrel and is still yelling shows that there is room for everything to talk about. We should believe in Him. ”

I was ashamed of my suspicions, and even Verelli, who was extremely unsociable to Maxim, was speaking for him, while I, the prefect, were still suspicious of him. If I were Maxim, wouldn't it be chilling? Compare your heart to your heart, and those who doubt him at this time are really not qualified to stand in front of people again.

Just as I was troubled by my own nature, the roaring and bickering on the bridge ceased. After all the banging of the table, everything was quiet.

Maxim did not make us wait any longer. Broadcasts in clear code spread throughout the battlefield.

Broadcast: "Now in the name of Captain Aaron, order all Neptune's ships to stop fighting, and we accept the request for merger from Jupiter's fleet. ”

Although the tone of the broadcast was still strong, and there was no mention of surrender, the result of its order, the so-called demand for merger, was in fact surrender.

The fiercest battle in the universe came to a halt for a moment. The world, which had been a moment of glitter and death, where everything was moving towards death in a white light, suddenly became quiet. In the darkness of space, artificial and non-artificial light adorns the canopy, and Saturn and its glittering rings rotate at a natural frequency in the direction of heaven and earth.

A communication from the flagship arrives.

"There is no need to continue the battle, Neptune has stopped all resistance and is ready to put an end to it."

I can't see his mood from Gates' attitude, and those who are still alive on the battlefield at this moment are the winners.

......

......

The finishing touches of the battle lasted more than 20 hours. However, as a major officer, most of the things to be concerned about are over. The fleet concentrated the flagship, as well as ships such as the Wanwang, and went to Titan to take over the entire Saturn system. There was no resistance in the process, but Brent, the governor of the Saturn colony, repeatedly emphasized in his correspondence that Saturn was also involuntary, and hoped that the fleet would not settle accounts with them. Although Gates kept assuring that he would not settle accounts with them, Brent was like a repeater, repeating the same request, knowing that Gates threatened not to open the port and related jurisdictions again, and when the fleet was going to bomb Titan, the other party stopped chanting and repeated.

The Saturn system fell into our hands, and the greatest obstacle to the Provisional Government was lifted.

A week later, the Jupiter system began a massive thaw of hibernating refugees, and the Provisional Government finally began to live up to its name.

......

......

The detachment did not return to Jupiter's fortress, but continued to the Neptune system, where it continued to accept the surrender of Proxima Centauri and Neptune's resident fleet.

The so-called surrender is not as simple as it is understood on the surface. The biggest problem is that even though the former enemy commander has decided to give up, many Proxima Centauri soldiers, including some mid-ranking officers, still don't think they're at the end of their rope.

Encountering resistance is a predictable event.

The problem is that not all people will openly express their refusal to surrender. The troops responsible for the surrender are often attacked from behind. In order to avoid the escalation of the situation, it will not cause an overreaction from the troops who have already surrendered. We, as well as the senior officers of the former Neptune fleet, have worked hard.

Basically, during the period of surrender, there was no war, and it was the norm to keep making small fights.

The news of that incident reached the intelligence department of the fleet at a time when the surrender operation was nearing its end and everyone was looking forward to a good rest for a few days.

It is said that the head of the Intelligence Department was drinking coffee at the time, and the shock caused him to pour all the coffee in front of him, a female liaison officer. It just so happened that the two were in a relationship again, so when the intelligence department urgently passed on this important news, it was against the backdrop of the couple's quarrel.

Whether it is true or not cannot be verified, anyway, when the tired officers and soldiers heard the news, they would smile knowing because they thought of their soaked girlfriend angrily scolding the commander as their boss. This state of happiness in the midst of suffering is the best description of the current situation of our outgoing fleet.

On the Wanwang, the cadres and captains of the detachment gathered together. Since the 15 starship cores in charge of the destroyer are all teenage girls, even if they deliberately maintain a solemn expression, the whole meeting feels more like a middle school pre-class meeting than a military meeting of the Star Warfleet.

"Jupiter has reported that the unmanned fleet has opened a mirror near the asteroid belt, as evidenced by the destruction of the probes and reconnaissance satellites we have placed there at full speed. As for the biochemical fleet of the Belters, it is not idle, and is hovering around the meteorite belt of the Trojan and Centaur herds. I don't know what kind of agreement these two large fleets that are supposed to be hostile have come to fight, anyway, they don't mean to fight a decisive battle immediately, but carry out a flanking operation similar to encirclement and suppression against us. That's the situation we're in right now, and you can talk about what you think. ”

In the center of the circular conference table, a stereo projector intuitively identifies that the fortress of Jupiter is in a state of being pinched. and the arming of existing control areas.

Verelli took me to the meeting. After he finished speaking, he looked helplessly at the little girls who were sitting in danger, and then looked away.

This is the state described in the old saying that the so-called house leak coincides with the overnight rain. I see that Mrs. Wall and the Billands have made an agreement to destroy us and the power of the Proxima Centauri Empire before they fight it. ”

Maxim's look was not bad. Since successfully persuading the Neptune fleet to surrender, his status has risen and the warriors have stopped giving him a blank look. The more critical this person is, the weaker the impression of the original self-interested villain, but instead shows a kind of fearless heroism.

As the saying goes, people will see people over time. I really grasped the meaning of this sentence in him. Being able to have such a person by your side to help is both unexpected and reassuring. In fact, he is now firmly established in the detachment, and has gained the same trust as Verelli.

"It's hard to imagine that even if Avalon and Gaia were separated, they would still be at odds with the muscle monsters of Bellland, how could there be any agreement?"

Kiana is the representative of the starship cores, and is very popular among the girls. Because of her leadership temperament and super-first-class ability to deal with people, she has a high popularity even among starship generals and marines. It's not just a matter of popularity, but the wisdom she shows is much beyond that of ordinary humans, and for this woman who is both smart, beautiful and powerful, almost at the same time as she blurts out, I already believe that what she says is the truth.

Since it was impossible for her to reach an agreement, there would be basically no agreement between the Avalon side and the Belland fleet.

"Is it really completely impossible? Will there be any expedient or temporary collaboration? ”

Verelli was visibly moved by what Maxim had said, and he spoke with an unusual look of confusion on his face.

"Surely it can't be, it's beyond the limits of what any Mrs. Wall can accept. This is an isolation that transcends politics and is imprinted deep in our cells. None of Mrs. Wall, or the Artificial Intelligence, went back to consider the question of cooperation with the Branders. ”

When she speaks, Kiana, who always smiles or shows a gentle side, rarely purses her lips and makes a decisive gesture.

I realize she's not talking about anything, and if we're going to work with the Branders now, the Starship Core will break with us. It's just speculation, but I'm almost certain that this is the way it will go.

Wei Leili narrowed his eyes, staring at the situational projection motionless. Silence was restored to the scene. Since there is no way to even divide the fleet's supreme brains, it is natural for others to remain silent.

I cleared my throat and grabbed everyone's attention.

"The reason for this meeting is not to discuss a practical solution. That's the work of the higher-ups, the fleet commanders, and the staff officers. The limit of what we can do now is to prepare in advance. After all, the strategic situation is extremely unfavorable, and only some extreme tactics at the tactical level can save the decline, if we can guess in advance the possible command to send us instructions and make advance preparations, it should be able to play some role, you can discuss around this idea. ”

Before anyone asks questions, I let you know my idea of holding a meeting, so that people don't have to say that since it's not our job, the people who are holding the meeting have something wrong with their brains.

The venue was still very quiet, some people were nervous, some people were uneasy, and more people were watching the situation projection without thinking about anything.

As the commander of the detachment, he actually has many worries, not only about how the powerful enemy will be, but also about the troops, the willingness of the soldiers to fight, and the backup plan for logistics and supply. This was a completely unthinking issue when he was a soldier, but now that he is a colonel, most of his work is focused on these trivial matters.

What I didn't tell you was that the second purpose of the meeting was to observe the reaction of the crowd so that we could predict how well the troops would survive in difficult times.

The results of the observations are not reassuring. In fact, the detachment I led was a standard tired division. Fighting continuously, without a good rest or repair. Finally defeated Neptune's fleet, and then even if he was surrendered to the Neptune Fortress, and then faced two enemy attacks, any normal person, in the face of so many enemies, after fighting for such a long time, can still maintain normal order, it is already a miracle not to collapse, not to mention that they have to bear the pressure of superfluous battles, that is the difficulty of a strong man.

Wei Leili's face was not good, it was rare to not see him come up with a feasible plan for such a long time.

"Why should we hold on to the fortress of Jupiter, can't we retreat somewhere else? Like the Kuiper Belt or places like Venus and Mercury. It's not that I'm not determined to fight. It's just that instead of staying here and fighting with the superior enemy, as long as we give them a certain amount of space, the two opposing forces will naturally fight. Why are your hands so hard here? ”

Zach raised the doubts in his heart with a sharp voice. This person has always been the most unpopular presence on my team. At first, I just felt that he was pitiful and had nowhere to go, so I let him stay in the form of an intake. However, as the squadron was established for a long time, Zach became more and more aware of his characteristics.

He can be said to be a mirror, and a mirror reflected in the negative emotions in people's hearts. Any situation, order, or action, I can see from him how the most negative and annoying emotions manifest themselves, and with him, I can prepare in advance for the negative reactions that the fighters may have.

I specifically used my brain domain perception to probe Zach's opinion, the bioelectric signals in the brain, and the results surprised me that he himself did not have any negative emotions. Those harsh words and disgusted and anxious emotions turned out to be due to his acting skills.

In subsequent communication, he told me that this was what he believed to be the role he played in stopping it, and that based on his experience, I still recognized the value of his existence. He was mainly responsible for mobilizing the negative emotions of the soldiers and officers, giving them an outlet before the volcano actually erupted, so as to prevent problems before they occurred. While I may not agree with his approach, Zach is contributing to the detachment in his own way.

Sure enough, at the end of Zack's words, a whisper rang out at the meeting, and I could tell from the murmur in the communication loop that the mid-level and junior officers in the fleet, who were observers, resonated with this idea even more strongly. Everyone seems to disagree with the idea of holding on to one place, perhaps due to the idea that the solar system is big enough for the fleet to gallop, and since the earth has fallen, why not the fall of Jupiter's fortress. The general idea can be derived from Zach's idea.

"This is absolutely not allowed, until Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, these central solar system systems are broken, we leave is an act of death."

It is not an exaggeration to say that Wei Leili's reply should be categorical, and the whispering immediately stopped. Everyone is waiting for his follow-up.

"On the surface, there is a market for such an idea. After all, the solar system is very large, and there are two forces that will fight when they meet, so we just need to let him kill each other and then take advantage of the left-handed fisherman. But have you ever thought about how terrifying the combat power of these enemies, who have come from afar and have insufficient maintenance, supplies, and ammunition, to be supported by the most resourceful places in the solar system? You must know that we are now waiting for work at ease, facing the enemy's expeditionary force in the war, no matter how hard we fight, geographical advantages and supplies are our constant advantages. Once we get out of these places, head to the Kuiper Belt, Venus, or the Mercury system. It is tantamount to abandoning the supply depot and the place where it can be repaired, and then no matter which of the enemies on both sides wins the final victory, do we think that we can pose any threat to them as weak? ”

"But what if we can't hold on? At the same time, in the face of the top firepower and scientific and technological power of human time, with our second-rate ships and third-rate firepower, can we really be able to stop it? ”

Zak didn't back down from Verrell's wise explanation and firm tone, but instead argued against it.

"Hehe, who said it was going to be a hard gear. I'm just saying that you can't give up these places, you can't give up the areas where resources are concentrated, and as for what to do, it's not to stop the enemy from attacking a way from the front. ”

"Humph! It's just what you think, the fleet doesn't necessarily do this, what if they give us an order to defend the Saturn system? ”

"No, no, in fact, the order has not been given so far, which means that the command has other ideas. While I can't fully dissect the fleet's upcoming actions, it's certain that it doesn't include an order to defend itself. ”