Free State Conglomerate.
Supreme Council.
"After the Shannan Kingdom fell, the Oda Shogunate became one of the Conglomerate's new rivals along the border.
Since the Oda Shogunate had no Star Destroyers, it posed far less of a threat to the Conglomerate than the Shannan Kingdom.
That was why we hadn't paid it much attention before.
But now, with the Black Stone Duchy having launched a war of its own,
that star sector had descended into chaos.
The matter brought before the Council today
is whether the Conglomerate should take this opportunity to send in troops and secure some gains from the turmoil in that star sector."
The Speaker spoke in a grave voice.
"If I remember correctly, that was a barren star sector.
It had no notable resources, nor any room for further expansion.
What would we gain by sending troops there?"
One councilor asked dismissively.
"It's not true that there's no benefit at all.
The returns from direct occupation would indeed be low.
But if we could keep that star sector in a state of prolonged chaos,
the threat it posed to the Conglomerate's border would be greatly reduced.
Don't forget, not long ago,
the Shannan Kingdom had a Star Destroyer.
The Conglomerate had no choice but to deploy a valuable Star Destroyer along its border with the Shannan Kingdom.
If sending in troops to intervene could save us from having to deploy a Star Destroyer along the Conglomerate's border facing that star sector,
then for the Conglomerate,
that freed-up Star Destroyer could be deployed elsewhere, securing even greater gains for us.
That would be a very real benefit!"
Another councilor spoke up.
"But the real problem is this:
the Free Defender disappeared because the Conglomerate was preparing to intervene in the fighting in that star sector!
That deployment