Ander Viking said, "Don't wait for the enemy to make their move before responding. What we need to do is make our own move directly, without caring what they're thinking."
Matt Hona pointed at the holographic star map and shouted, "But they'll bomb the coronation ceremony!!"
Ander Viking said calmly, "They are using the bombing of the coronation ceremony to force us to follow their pace on the battlefield. If you truly worry about that, then you'll always be led around by the nose."
With a bang, Matt Hona slammed his palm onto the hollow plastic panel of the console and repeated himself—"But they'll bomb the coronation ceremony!!"
His gaze was locked onto Ander Viking, his eyes nearly crazed.
Matt Hona had staked everything on this war—his career, his body, his reputation, his future, even his faith, his principles, and... everything he had.
He had been willing to resign from the lofty positions of Commander of the Navy and Fleet Admiral just to express his dissatisfaction.
Why?
For victory!
No matter how much he failed to understand or agree with Tang Xiao's decision to forcibly hold the coronation ceremony on Coruscant, he had to ensure that this war ended in victory.
And the coronation ceremony being directly bombed by the Galactic Empire was clearly not any kind of victory.
It would be a defeat!
Ander Viking did not look at him. He merely raised a hand slowly, brushed his fingertips lightly across the star map, and said, "Step outside it. When you stop acting with the goal of preventing them from bombing the coronation ceremony, look back again. What choice would you make?"
Matt Hona's breathing stopped for an instant. He tried to think that way and suddenly felt as though a fog had lifted.
The coronation ceremony was like