The Martial Unity

”It worked!”

”Bodhisattva Maitreyi truly lived up to our expectations! To think she would just convert super-massive battering shields into pure light!”

”Don’t dismiss the others. Argenton and the lightweavers have proven that they can be trusted in this war. This will greatly boost morale and cooperation!”

Central Human Command erupted with triumph as they beheld the gathered footage of Bodhisattva Maitreyi ripping a massive hole in the breachhead and the interdiction force of the invading army. Operation Lightfury had always been a high-risk, high-reward tactic. It was a laterally creative operation that made use of the strengths of numerous different forces to produce a truly extraordinary outcome.

Many of the strategists, intelligence analysts, pathwalkers, and admiralty of Central Human Command quickly realized that this was an untapped well of power that human civilization had yet to harness.

The Era of Expansion did see some intermingling of races and pathwalkers; there were entire star states that had managed to have many of the pureblood and hybrid races be able to not just live in harmony, but to use their power in an integrated manner to produce outcomes that were greater than the sum of the parts.

Operation Lightfury was an example of this. By themselves and even working in parallel, the pathwalkers would have never been able to achieve such a domineering success. This was a way human civilization could grow qualitatively stronger.

Of course, this was a long-term consideration, not something that they could afford to daydream about right now. They had yet to take a complete measure of the situation.

”…according to our analytics division, half of the breachhead has been completely erased, leaving a giant hole that exposes their army to long-range sieges,” Director Foakes Sinel of the Gaian Bureau of Intelligence reported to a large table of officials. ”The analytics division has also measured the remnant interdiction measures that have survived Operation Lightfury, and has estimated that they will merely be able to strain our Greater World Bridge, but not seal it. In other words, they cannot stop our Strategic World Bridge Force from being deployed to Arima III as planned. I propose that we deploy these forces immediately to reinforce Arima III now that Operation Lightfury has been successfully completed.”

This was a measure that every single person in Central Human Command agreed with. Operation Lightfury was a tactical operation meant to batter the invading force upon entry, to inflict as much damage as could be done for every little military capital, and disorient their enemies upon entry.

The simple fact of the matter was that a large majority of the invading army was still intact. The breachhead may have been halved, but the remaining half would still be effective enough. The interdiction force being crippled was undoubtedly the biggest gain, but the core war fleets of the web-like army were entirely unscratched.

If they weren’t intercepted by a force of similar military power, then Arima III was destined to fall to their enemies all the same; nobody wanted that. Of course, everybody understood that the decision was not theirs to make. While they were honored members of the Central Human Command and possessed influence over human civilization’s future, the final decision was left up to one, and only one man.

Everybody turned to the opposite end of the table, towards its head where one man sat with a calm but composed expression. His presence loomed over the meeting not just figuratively, but literally as well.

The very fabric of reality seemed to flicker like the reflection on the surface of a calm lake. Their very existences were left feeling fleeting. Yet, unlike all of their previous meetings, his power was not the only power to infringe upon the fabric of reality.

Another power demanded influence.

It demanded attention.

VMMM…

A mild hum emerged from the world around them, spreading across the meeting room. It was the sound of heat when subject to the power of harmony. A harmony that imposed itself upon the fabric of reality.

And upon the topic of the meeting itself.

”I believe we should commence the interception immediately.”

Transcendent Dwight’s voice was one of certainty and confidence. He sat immediately to the right of the head of the table, previously reserved for the highest military officials within the Gaian Space Force. The old dwarf stroked his long, white beard in thought, turning towards the silent Emperor of Water with a pointed gaze.

”We must deploy the Strategic World Bridge Force immediately, Rui.”

The old dwarf didn’t understand why the Emperor of Water had yet to give that order. Even though this was his first meeting in the Central Human Command since his induction, he knew that this was the plan from the get-go.

Have Operation Lightfury inflict damage on the invading arakai force and, after that, have the Strategic World Bridge Force enter Arima III through the wormhole and fight their invaders head-on.

Yet, Rui’s ethereal eyes sharpened as he studied the footage that captured the complete Web of War that had entered the Arima III System. They hadn’t immediately commenced the complete capture and consolidation of the star system just yet. Operation Lightfury’s success had clearly shaken the arakai, causing them to prioritize consolidating their own forces before focusing on the war. Destroyed ships were shifted to the salvager fleets that would process the debris, while damaged ships were sent to mobile shipyards that would repair them as best as they could.

The breachhead, which had a huge hole blown through it, began to disassemble. The hexagonal ablative breachers began to reorient themselves to form a smaller, but whole shield. It was anything but ideal, but it consolidated the survivors.

However, Rui’s intense attention was not fixed on any of those movements within the invading army. No, his eyes were fixed on the supermassive six-legged spider-shaped mothership at the very epicenter of the entire web-like army.

He wasn’t merely admiring its titanic volume and the technological marvel it was, although there was also that.

Instead, a single remark escaped him.

”There’s a Divine Mother on that ship.”