Perhaps Yu Lian had been showing more and more of a great commander's bearing lately, and had thoroughly stunned Rozhes once. He had instinctively relayed the order at once, only to realize what it meant a moment later. "...You've decided to give up on rendezvousing with the Sylvester Fleet?"
"Postpone the rendezvous. The situation on the battlefield is always changing. A commander's duty is to make adjustments on the fly."
"...Understood."
Yu Lian had of course heard the hesitation in the other man's voice, but merely smiled it off. He glanced at the clock in a floating window to one side and instructed, "There's still time. Invite everyone over. And invite Mr. Eisen French as well."
Ten minutes later, all the fleet's senior commanders had assembled in the conference room on the fifth level of the bridge.
Besides Yu Lian's aides, the gathering included Chief of Staff Major General Mukawa and his staff. Also present were Fleet Deputy Commander Lieutenant General Kurlansov, stationed aboard the Zeus (online), and four dreadnought captains, including Captain Tovi of the Fuxi (the other three were online).
In addition, Major Generals Lesu and Leis, who had come over from the Outer Ring Fleet, would command the two raider squadrons. The combat core of these two groups of ships consisted of the ten Yinglong-class battlecruisers that Commander Bonaparte had assigned to them.
Yu Lian and the two men weren't working together for the first time. They had met four years ago during the Battle of the West Tail.
Further down the chain of command were Colonel Zuo Wanhu, director of the assault teams, and Colonel Mina Walter, deputy director and head of security at fleet headquarters. There were also the commanders of the four torpedo-ship groups, including Colonel Gaolanfu and Lieutenant Colonel Annie Romanova.
Also standing