Europa Seven had exploded, in the literal sense, meeting the same fate as its predecessor.
When an Awakened Empire deployed a forbidden weapon to shatter a planet, everything slid inexorably into the abyss of total war.
The days when fleets alone could decide victory and defeat, when starting and ending wars was as simple as playing house, were over. To inflict the greatest possible damage on the enemy, the Colossus-a dangerous and efficient weapon-was used without restraint.
War was no longer a tool for resolving conflict. It had become a fight to the death.
As Europa Seven became fragments drifting through space, its former glory, its sins, and the blasphemous, unclean lives upon it all came to a definitive end. The Starfish had dealt the United Nations of Earth a devastating blow with their Colossus.
The Colossus retracted its firing mechanism and activated the thrusters behind its ring-shaped structure. The enormous Colossus Battleship led the way, with a vast number of fleets following behind.
The fleets set off without another glance at the shattered planet, speeding toward the next star system.
The Starfish Republic had gone completely mad. They were determined to use their Colossus weapon without restriction until the United Nations of Earth was utterly destroyed.
``` [Faster-than-light broadcast signal]
{This is the Starfish Republic.}
{We hereby announce our arrival. For the suffering and humiliation we once endured, we embark on a desperate campaign of revenge, pouring fury and death upon your colonies.}
{Whoever you are, anyone who dares oppose the Starfish Republic and the Non-Aligned Organization will face our total-war Colossus strikes.}
{We have had enough of red tape. It is time to discard meaningless morality and remind you of the terror of living under the Colossus's shadow. Europa Seven was only the beginning. We are not joking,