Faced with this kind of malicious joke, M'kawa, the chief of staff, would once have put on a stern face and launched into a serious admonition. But now, he only sighed faintly. "It's gratifying to see Your Excellency still as carefree as ever. However, this time, there's another matter."
The chief of staff nodded to Rozes, who immediately opened his terminal and pulled up an electronic document.
"The three Imperial Guard fleets stationed in the Celestial Domain have canceled their leave? They're preparing to deploy? That was last week! We're only finding out now?"
"All I can say is that the Empire activated its strictest security measures at the same time it began mobilizing," Rozes replied.
"...The National Security Committee's intelligence bureau really is a bunch of useless fools. What a disgrace!" Yu Lian couldn't help cursing. He was beginning to realize that, when it came to intelligence, the Commonwealth's military and government agencies were even less efficient than the Human League's public relations department. Then again, the Human League's intelligence apparatus had always focused on commerce and trade.
Maybe it really was time to set up an intelligence agency of his own.
"Neither Fist of Glory Fortress nor Golden Lance Fortress is somewhere outsiders can approach at will. It's even harder to keep track of fleet movements there," Chief of Staff M'kawa put in, offering a fair point.
Yu Lian thought, I've not only been to both fortresses, I've also visited the advanced military-industrial complex nearby. I even fought my way in and out seven times.
"Still, they did notice that six dreadnoughts and four Phoenix carriers had gone missing from the fleets stationed in the Celestial Domain. The National Defense Committee's Joint Military Intelligence Bureau believes those ships were sent ahead to reinforce the Empire's Fifth Guard Fleet,