Major General Aeduka had recognized the other man. He forced himself to raise his head, trying to look calm and resolute, but when he spoke, all that came out was a stiff, bitter smile. "Lieutenant Colonel Vayali, is it?"
"Sorry, but I was recently promoted to the third ring, so I'm a colonel now." Colonel Simon Vayali looked down at Major General Aeduka and said calmly, "General, I'm here on behalf of the Blue Star Commonwealth to inform you that your country's war against ours has begun. What you're seeing now is the result of our counterattack. You are our prisoner. Please tell all your troops on this planet to lay down their arms."
Major General Aeduka coughed up a mouthful of blood and tried to make his voice ring clear. "Lay down our arms? Colonel, surely you don't think the glorious soldiers of the Imperial Army will surrender after such a shameless sneak attack? I don't know how you managed to strike our headquarters, but the rest of the Imperial soldiers will come pouring in from every direction..."
His words were cut off by a sudden explosion. This one erupted about three hundred meters away, but its tremendous force sent the blast spreading across an area as vast as an entire sports field. In an instant, it set a hangar, the airfield, and seven or eight armored airships still fast asleep ablaze.
"The bombardment began ten minutes ago. I've already spoken with Brigadier General Schiller. We don't need to worry about those of us who carried out the night raid; just try not to hit the nearby towns. My comrades are pretty sharp, though. Most of the shells are landing on your armored camps and airfields," Simon Vayali said.
"Alongside the bombardment, our Thirty-Eighth Division is launching an all-out