There was no helping it. The situation in that star system was simply too unclear, and it was a rare triple-star system to boot, so its environment was bound to be complicated. More importantly, no one could guarantee that the other side wasn't really lying in wait there.
The safest approach, of course, was to make the jumps in batches, wave by wave. That had always been the standard tactical maneuver for the space fleets of every nation.
The problem was, the fleet had two Clear Sky-class ships that could serve as flagships. One was his own, while the other was Duke Saduran's personal vessel. They couldn't very well send the latter in first, could they? Besides, Colonel Sobeck was a Starrealm Knight, and his Clear Sky-class was supposedly a perfect heavy cruiser. It could take a beating, too. By Imperial Navy tradition, the thick-skinned main fleet was supposed to charge straight into the fight. There had been no shortage of historical examples of marshals, great electors, and even the emperor himself charging at the front of the line aboard a Titan.
Colonel Sobeck's skin was certainly thicker than that of an ordinary Starrealm Knight, but under Duke Saduran's watchful eye, he still couldn't bring himself to suggest sending the support ships in to sweep for mines.
...Of course, if the duke weren't there, he might well have done exactly that.
Captain Redhill looked at Sobeck, whose face was grave, as if he'd just steeled himself for a tremendous mental ordeal. He sighed faintly, then patiently reassured him. "Don't worry. The Aegis-class has some issues with firepower and endurance, but its built-in high-output shield is on par with a Guardian fleet's. And before we set out, you brought along three additional sets of the nanobot defense systems we imported from