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Feb 4 – Our forces have arrived. Aboard the WarShip, Duke Essex requests a meeting with the leader of their expedition. They arrange it over communications. He informs them that he will breaks their line, now that his forces have more troops, but will offer them to leave unmolested, with a prisoner exchange.
The commander of the local forces laughs, and points out that Essex would have to destroy much of the infrastructure of the area to dislodge them now. They have dug in around both mines and towns.
“I agree. So I won’t continue to discuss breaking your line. Instead, let’s take about something else. How much money has Johnston Industries and General Motors invested in you? How much money have they wasted for the ore from just one planet? They initially launched an assault for two mineral rich worlds. Now they have lost half of their targets, plus they have lost a lot of money for this.”
“I am a soldier, not an accountant.”
“Do you know how many jumps away Addicks is?”
“It’s close by….”
“It’s three jumps away.”
“And…?”
“The reason I ask is because Johnston Industries has a minor factory there. They make a line of tanks and another of aerospace fighters there. It’s not their major factory of course, but it’s so…….close.”
“You wouldn’t!”
“Of course, during the Succession Wars, there was an unwritten rule that you didn’t attack factories that made things like tanks or fighters. You would fight over them, but you didn’t destroy them. Those were really good rules. Of course, we aren’t in the Succession Wars any more, are we?”
“…”
“No, I could just march this WarShip right over to Addicks. We’d be there in 10 days, and then just bombard their factory from orbit, and then swing on back home in time for crumpets. Would you like some crumpets?
“You could never get away from assaulting a planet in Davion space with a WarShip!”
“Why, do you have a WarShip I don’t know about?”
“You are bluffing.”
“Are you willing to make that gamble?”
“……….yes. Yes I am!”
“Very well then.”
Duke Essex orders the WarShip to leave orbit and move to a Jump Point to jump out of the system.
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