Yu Lian hadn't finished speaking when he let out a heavy cough. Feifei had chopped him on the neck with the edge of her hand, nearly stopping his breathing.
"Watch what you say. If you really do become the Presidential Palace's chief military aide, you'll be on the news all the time. Keeping up this sharp-tongued attitude will hurt your public image." Feifei gave him a stern lecture, then continued:
"This isn't just about the movie. The fighting in the Far Shore Nebula is still going on, and it's affecting not only public morale but also investors' confidence. The cooperation package for the Dawnstar Sector that we and the Empire have put together can't rely on our funding alone. Of course, we can't afford to fund it ourselves anyway."
By now, the small clashes in the Far Shore Nebula had stretched into their fourth week. Overall, things were still relatively stable.
It had started when the Katai fleet opened fire on Earth's border outpost. But when they tried to advance farther toward Count I's Star Rift, the fortress stopped them. The Ninth Fleet's rapid-response fleet then arrived on the scene in short order and began counterattacking with the fortress guns.
After two assault ships and a destroyer were sunk, and a cruiser was badly damaged, the Katai big cats began to retreat. With the situation unclear, the Ninth Fleet didn't pursue them. Instead, it chose to (temporarily) abandon the border system and dig in where it was.
For some reason, though, the Katai hadn't given up after taking that hit and scampering away with their tails between their legs. Before long, they had assembled their main fleet alongside their good buddies, the Barkvi birdmen. On the tenth day after the "border conflict" began, they appeared again outside Count I's Star