Skyfire Avenue - Chapter 735

Chapter 735

Chapter 735: Battle Plans

“I’ve got no problems here . ” Lan Jue said .

A steady procession of speakers flit across the screen . Each one described how they would deploy their forces to support the operation .

The plan was separated into three stages . First stage; control surrounding space by overwhelming enemy forces with superior firepower, and prepare for planetary invasion . At the same time, attempt to get any intel possible on the alien planets and their condition .

Stage two; deploy the ground troops and try to retake control of the human planets as quickly as possible . Save anyone left alive .

Stage three; order all ships to converge on the alien planets and begin their all-out assault . Continue until the enemy is annihilated .

That was the main idea . Discussions continued over details and planning . Through the process smaller command teams were established, with their own objectives . Lan Jue and his crew were put in charge of taking the planets .

Primarily they were to eliminate any aliens they encountered, then Eastern forces would sweep in to clean up . Afterwards they would establish a planetary defense system . The North was bringing a host of railguns meant for installation on the planets, which would them be used as forward bases and reserve firepower . Once the planets were recaptured, the aliens would be surrounded .

The first step was the easiest . Although the aliens were strong, without the aid of their home worlds humanity overpowered them . Retaking the human planets would be harder, especially without air support . It made Lan Jue’s task dangerous and challenging .

Discussion turned to scenarios and how to respond to them . For instance, what to do if the alien planets joined the first during the first stage . In that case, how many bastions would fight against which planet? These questions were carefully examined .

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It would still be several days before everyone was ready for the final assault . In the meantime, soldiers were a flurry of activity, preparing for war . Everyday Lan Jue joined his brother for meetings and listened dutifully as plans were discussed . Over many hours the plan were hammered out, to the point where even Lan Jue didn’t hold any concerns .

Scouting missions would proceed once the human planets were retaken . For now that didn’t seem too late, and easier once the enemy forces were cleared out . The North had a detailed plan in regards to how they would proceed .

As the days progressed, Lan Jue also came to learn more about how Middle Heaven came to be . In truth, calling it a Bastion ship wasn’t entirely correct . It was, after all, still a planet . It was also one of the East’s best-kept secrets .

Once the East had taken An Lun they started with a detailed survey of the planet, as they did with any new acquisition . They discovered it was not suitable for widespread human habitation, but it did have a wealth of resources including rare metals . Because of its riches and it’s located in contested space, the East fortified An Lun with soldiers and defensive capabilities .

As the operations on An Lun continued, An Lun’s army was born .

Much of An Lun’s refined materials were used to develop An Lun itself . Military leadership recognized the importance of an installation on the border with the North, even if An Lun’s wealth was depleted . Thus the plan was never to abandon the planet when its mines were dry . They would continue to develop it for military use .

Time passed, and one day a geological surveying team made a new discovery . Deep in the An Lun mines was a unique sort of substance . It was similar to the materials used to create nuclear weaponry from the old world, and thus very dangerous for humans to be around . However, the unstable element produced a tremendous amount of energy, and composed the planet’s core .

The scientist who uncovered the element was initialized frightened by what he’d found . The recommendation was made to immediate halt all mining activities on An Lun, and to pull the miners out of danger . Among the dangers was the possibility that one mining accident could cause a chain reaction, resulting in the obliteration of the whole planet . The blast would be so intense it would put neighboring star systems in jeopardy . In short, An Lun was a ticking time-bomb – the moment its core became unstable it could blow .

This came as a great shock to Eastern leadership . However, they had already poured a tremendous amount of time, energy and manpower into the planet . Simply abandoning it would be unpalatable . What’s more, without An Lun acting as a vigil it left their borders open . The decision was made to dispatch a science team to see what they could learn .

Research continued for two years . In the end it was determined the unstable element could be safely utilized . That meant they could stay on An Lun . As a result the government poured funds into learning everything they could about the element and its uses . It was named after the geologist who first discovered it; Molinite . It was defined by its instability, but under the right conditions it produced vast amounts of energy . The scientists’ first problem was finding a way to stabilize molinite and prevent it from harming An Lun’s population .

As research continued scientists discovered that stabilizing the element wasn’t too difficult . However, simply stabilizing it wasted its potential . So they set about finding ways to guide and utilize its potential .

It took five years for them to find the best use for molinite . Since the planet’s core was entirely composed of the material, the potential energy it stored was virtually limitless . Through ceaseless experimentation the rudimentary concept for Middle Heaven was born . The East’s military deficiency made them determined to follow through with the plan . If successful, it would mean the East was in possession of the largest Bastion ship in human history .

Initially they’d called it An Lun Warplanet, and kept it secret from anyone not directly involved . All throughout the building process only the highest echelons of government and military were privy to the information . This was, in part, why An Lun was so stringent in its defense .

The first obstacle was stabilizing molinite on a large scale, and converting it into a power source that could move an entire planet . Research revealed that using too much of the molinite at once caused it to become dangerously unsteady . However, they could transfer energy to reserves . Then, once the energy was refined, it could be converted into stable energy .

To achieve this scientists developed a plan wherein the planet’s core would be hollowed out . Surrounding it would be a series of reactors and energy refineries to convert and store the energy . They used this energy to continue An Lun’s transformation, and ultimately as Middle Heaven’s source of power .

Over time the bastion took shape . When Lan Jue went to visit An Lun, the planet was in the final stages of conversion . It was for this reason Lan Qing required that he and Star Division be restricted to a small area of the planet .

Middle Heaven’s greatest advantage was its maneuverability . Through the tremendous energy molinite provided, Middle Heaven could maintain high speeds and fight, all while remaining relatively stable . The planet’s rocky exterior became its armor .

Precious ores were still present in large quantities on An Lun’s rocky surface, still available to mine . There was enough molinite in its core to keep the planet running for a thousand years, and that was if it was in constant flight .

Middle Heaven was the greatest technological achievement the East had ever produced . It was worth it just to see the shock on the faces of Northern officials . Unfortunately for them they couldn’t know about the molinite, or how the warplanet came to be .

Middle Heaven was the crowning achievement of eastern science . It had as much firepower as Terminator had before its fall, but for a slight reduction in fighter drones . That was to be expected, of course, since the cost in creating this bastion was astronomical . Rumors of another bastion in production had been a lie to deceive anyone trying to look too closely .

Eastern hopes were lain squarely on the bulky shoulders of Middle Heaven . They hoped it would lift their Alliance from military inferiority .

Lan Jue also learned from his brother that Middle Heaven stored a lot of human, plant and animal DNA, as well as other important things from the East . If humanity lost and the aliens took over their section of space, Middle Heaven would act as their ark . The seeds of humanity would be conveyed to a distant star far from danger to start again . It was the same idea they shared with the Poseidon group .

As for Hua Li’s people, they weren’t going to directly participate in the battle . However, in secret they had their agreements with the East .