Still dreaming of restoring Aiur!

The fleet had originally planned to remain at Charon III Colony for four days, but the stay was later extended to a week to further complete ship repairs, resupply, and replenishment of personnel.

During this period, thousands of shipyard workers—including shipwrights, cutters, and welders—were dispatched from the nearest Sigma Shipyard to repair Imperial warships damaged in the Atrias System and towed by barges to Charon III's orbital station.

The technical troops of General Harris's Sigma Sector Fleet also had to work around the clock to repair and maintain the engines, electrical systems, and naval artillery systems. Captains and ship officers additionally had to request personnel from the allied Moebius Fleet to replace equipment and components damaged in battle, patch the massive tears Tal'darim warships had ripped into the armor, and were kept frantically busy.

Most sailors in other positions were granted leave. They were even allowed to have a few drinks of the local specialty tequila at the colony's taverns. But after the taverns' limited stocks were quickly bought out, armband-wearing military police had to use flatbed carts meant for transporting high-energy gas storage tanks to haul away cartload after cartload of drunks the next morning, hosing them down with cold water produced by the reactor's liquid-nitrogen cooling towers.

The Moebius Corps fleet soldiers who had to remain aboard their warships for duty were not so fortunate. At most, they could play cards and billiards during their breaks, since their late arrival had left them with little to do in the battle of the Atrias System.

Besides showering the local young women with attention, the Imperial soldiers on leave naturally had other ways to pass the time. Officers enjoyed hunting, either stalking blue-crowned deer and wild buffalo on the plains of Charon III Colony or joining the soldiers in beach