Meanwhile, at 4:27 a.m. on September 16, Yu Lian's fleet, having traveled a long way from the Southern Heavenly Gate, finally arrived in the I Earl-13 system. By then, they had left the Far Shore defensive line far behind and entered what was theoretically Imperial-controlled territory.
But before the war began, this system had actually been under the Commonwealth's control. It had had outposts, border customs stations, even deep-space probes and automated energy factories.
Now, every artificial structure in the system had been completely destroyed by the Empire. Of course, they hadn't had time to build the same standard facilities themselves.
The enormous star, nearing the end of its life, roared soundlessly as it poured boundless energy into the void through reactions measured in hundreds of millions of years. Flames of different temperatures formed shifting patches of light across its surface, ranging from fiery red to gentle yellow, with occasional brooding purple and pure white.
"Magnificent." Yu Lian's brow had relaxed, and his face was alight with contentment. He looked nothing like someone preparing for a major battle; he seemed more like a tourist admiring the distant scenery.
"Indeed. Magnificent," Rozesh agreed. He figured that, as an adjutant, his job right now was to agree unconditionally with everything the commander said.
Though, truthfully, he didn't think those colors looked particularly auspicious!
And the star's name wasn't very auspicious, either. It was called I Earl-13, and there were five enemy dreadnoughts heading their way. That really did make it a Black Friday.
Come to think of it, many veteran sailors had all kinds of strange sixth senses, sometimes even keener than those of psychics. They spent years at a time aboard artificial constructs in the vastness of space, and naturally developed a special affinity for the grandeur of nature, along with