Cosmic Era 2225.
A star system on the XT-489 Extermination Unit's southern border.
Sentinel Specimen No. 1145, stationed at the Outpost, had been manufactured over fifty years ago. Throughout that time, it had worked for the empire, watching over the border region as a member of the Southern Border Outpost.
The machine population had no emotions. Vast quantities of data and calculations led them to only one shared conclusion: the southern border was extremely safe.
The fleets had conducted basic surveys of the surrounding area and found nothing, encountering an organic empire only to the southeast.
That empire had instantly translated their language, then warned them not to approach the star systems under its control.
The Rixian Seed Empire was undoubtedly an ancient and powerful empire. It regarded the surrounding nations with disdain, but the Iron Purifier's habit of declaring, "Organic life detected. Communication terminated," then hanging up on it had deeply annoyed it.
Although the XT-489 Extermination Unit wanted to destroy those organics, its limited strength forced it to abandon its designs on the Rixian Seed Empire and focus on the newly emerged Zirick Cooperative to the east.
Apart from those Militant Isolationists, who were exceptionally sensitive about border issues, the southern border consisted entirely of unclaimed star systems with no other civilizations. No calculation could therefore produce the conclusion that this region was dangerous.
That was precisely the flaw of early machines: they firmly believed in the results of their calculations and carried out their actions without hesitation.
No fleet guarded the southern border. Most of their fleets had now been transferred to the eastern front.
The Zirick people's resistance had exceeded the XT-489 Extermination Unit's expectations. What had been a planned surprise attack had turned into a protracted war, forcing these Determined Exterminators to send more main