The Star Navy's Fourth and Fifth Fleets spent a single day crossing more than a hundred light-years to reach the two most important locations in the Provence Sector: the Provence Sector Capital and the Adeptus Mechanicus's Dokra Forge World.
As the Fourth Fleet slowly sailed into the Provence System like a pack of steel behemoths, the once peaceful and tranquil system was instantly plunged into tension and panic.
In an instant, sharp, piercing, heart-stopping "woo-woo-woo" alarms echoed throughout the entire system. The spaceports and all three planets were enveloped by the sudden warning sirens.
Ever since the Imperial Combined Fleet had forcibly seized countless able-bodied men, the defensive forces within the Provence System had become extremely weak.
Yet the remaining soldiers swiftly sprang into action under the command of their newly appointed commanders, hurrying to the defensive positions under their charge and preparing for the coming fierce battle.
They stared blankly at the fleet that had appeared out of nowhere, their hearts filled with doubt and shock.
The Imperial Expeditionary Fleet had left only a few days ago. By all reason, no other hostile force should have been able to send a fleet to attack the Provence Sector Capital so soon.
This sudden turn of events left the gathered senior officials racking their brains, but they still could not understand why it had happened.
Under such urgent circumstances, the Astropathic Court acted swiftly and began sending calls for aid to the expeditionary fleet.
They anxiously hoped for a response and prayed that the expeditionary fleet would dispatch a powerful fleet as soon as possible to reinforce them and save the Provence Sector Capital from disaster.
Yet those people waiting hopefully for rescue knew nothing of a cruel fact: the expeditionary fleet they had pinned their hopes on had already suffered