From cannon fodder to sweeping across thousands of stars.

Chapter 547: Brigadier General Duwell's Tactics
Unknown coordinates in deep space, 3 jump standard distances away from the Rubion V jump point.

Two huge, fully staffed fleets, totaling 520 warships of various types, were quietly lurking in this lightless universe. Only the pinpoint lights in the warships' portholes proved their existence, just like anglerfish lurking on the seabed.

The 17th and 18th main fleets of the Federal Navy were also one of the negotiating cards of the "former" Secretary of State Davis. Unfortunately, these two fleets, which were deployed in deep space as "back-up" fleets, were unable to provide any help when Davis was attacked.

It was not until the Navy Headquarters passed on the news that Secretary of State Davis was attacked and killed on the Rubion V to the 17th and 18th Fleets that the commanders of these fleets learned of the incident.

At the same time, I was also confused.

Because they are here to cooperate with Secretary of State Davis in the negotiations and to show off their muscles when necessary.

Of course, the two fleets are also prepared to intervene militarily in the worst-case scenario.
But no one expected that Davis, who went to negotiate, was about to return, but died at the last step.

After the incident, the federal government was also in great shock, and the Rubion Galaxy Autonomous Government contacted the capital immediately to indicate that the attack was not caused by them.

As a result, the two fully staffed fleets could neither advance nor retreat, and could only wait for orders in this deep space.

However, when the Navy Command finally issued an order for them to contact the Rubion Galaxy Garrison Fleet and go directly to the vicinity of Rubion V to support operations and "declare" the sovereignty of the federal government.

There was another sudden incident where the garrison fleet lost contact.

Of course, it can't be considered a complete loss of connection.
After all, three hours ago, the two federal fleets received the last message from the Galaxy Garrison Fleet:
"My unit was attacked by the Atlas main fleet!"

Afterwards, the fleet that was supposed to cover them at the 'predetermined jump exit point' simply lost contact.

From the perspective of the two fleet commanders, this was truly a 'naval horror story'.

No matter how weak the garrison fleet is, it actually has that many warships.

Being beaten to the point where you can’t even send a follow-up message?
Benelli and Stoner, the commanders of the 17th and 18th fleets, believed that there were only two possibilities for this matter.

First, the entire incident was directed and acted by the Rubion Galaxy Autonomous Government, and the emergency message sent at the end was also a trap to lure them there.

Second, the garrison fleet was really attacked.
But if this was true, the two fleet commanders felt that it seemed even more terrifying than the first possibility.

This shows that the Atlas 'main fleet' that attacked the garrison fleet has enough strength to suppress a full-strength fleet.

"Which possibility do you prefer?"

Benelli asked as he looked at the three-dimensional model of the Rubion galaxy on the holographic projection platform.

After hearing his partner's question, Stoner thought for a moment and said, "I am more inclined to the second possibility. After all, from the intelligence we have so far, it is unlikely that the Rubion Galaxy Autonomous Government will 'direct and act' on its own. They are still counting on the federal government to help them."

"I think so, too." Benelli nodded, then smiled bitterly and said, "But if it is the second possibility, then the problem seems to be even bigger."

Stoner also sighed: "That's right. The main force of an entire garrison fleet lost contact after the attack. Whether it was electronic suppression or direct annihilation, it shows that the attacking Atlas fleet is far more powerful than them." "So we just wait?"

As Benelli asked, he recalled the order sent by the Naval Headquarters, the content of which could be summarized in four words: act according to circumstances.

Stoner also thought of this order, and then shook his head: "Although the Navy Command hopes that we can play a 'subjective initiative' and let us decide on the next action plan, we can't just sit here and wait for things to ferment.

If we really wait until the 23rd and 24th fleets arrive before taking action, I'm worried that Atlas will use this time to make full preparations. By then, even if we meet up with the reinforcement fleet, it may be too late."

Hearing this, Benelli had already roughly guessed what his colleague was thinking, but he still asked politely, "So what are your plans?"

"I have a senior who is very close to me. He once served as the fleet commander of the Robert IV garrison fleet."

Stoner's expression suddenly became a little sad, as if he was reminiscing about something.

"However, at the beginning of the war, he was one of the first members of the Federation Navy to encounter the Imperial Celestial Fortress, and he and his fleet disappeared in the attack of the 'Focusing Iris'."

"Wait. Are you talking about Commodore Duville?"

Benelli was a little surprised. He didn't expect that his colleague, who was also the commander of the main fleet, actually had such a personal relationship with the commander of a border galaxy garrison fleet.

"Yes, it's Brigadier General Duwell. My father has a good personal relationship with him, so I also got to know him."

Stoner nodded and asked:
"Do you remember why Brigadier General Duville was posthumously named a hero of the Union?"

"Of course I remember. It was because he led a group of remnants to fight against a full-strength expeditionary strike group of the Empire, and eventually delayed the arrival of the main fleet." At the end, Benelli's eyes also lit up.

"Do you want us to imitate the task force at that time and conduct a high-speed raid?"

"That's right. Brigadier General Duwell dared to launch an attack on the Imperial Fleet with just a few remnants of his army. Now we have two fully staffed fleets at hand. Should we continue to be timid?"

Stoner turned his head to look at Benelli on the other side of the screen, and then stated his own inference:

"And according to the intelligence from the Navy Intelligence Department, even if we overestimate the strength of the Atlas Group's fleet, the number of fleets that can appear in the Rubion system is limited, so the risk we need to take now is much smaller than that of Commodore Duville at that time."

"So what do you want to do?" Benelli had obviously agreed with Stoner's point of view, so he didn't waste any words and directly asked about the other party's plan.

"It's very simple. Abandon the original 'predetermined jump departure point' and use another 'alternative coordinate'.
I have calculated that if we set off within two hours, when we exit the jump, we will just enter the shadow of "Satellite No. 2". If we are lucky, this satellite can even help cover up the noise when we exit the jump.

Then, we can use the satellite's rotation to accelerate, and then maintain a high speed to break into the Rubion V high orbit 45 kilometers away, and then use the planet's rotation to complete the second acceleration. In this way, the fleet can maintain a high speed throughout the whole process and complete a raid and armed reconnaissance! "

(End of this chapter)