Road Of Advancement

Space warfare was vastly different than ground warfare or even naval warfare.

Theodore was absorbed in the three-dimensional fight that was projected before him.

It was a tactical fight between commanders, trying to secure a strategic advantage over the other as they manoeuvred around the orbit of the blue planet that was the goal of the invaders.

Tens of small scouts and destroyer vessels engaged in space as they tried to defend or attack their respective fleets. Heavy and light mechs had positioned themselves in their defensive positions along the hull of their sh.i.p.s.

The epicness and chaoticness made it hard for Theodore to discern anything. On the screens, he could see the commanders issue orders to their cadre. They called the shots on what formation to take on, where to focus fire and how to position their sh.i.p.s.

He distinctively knew he wasn't nearly capable enough to read into this battle. Where the former battle on land was pretty straight forward, it seemed the commanders were now fighting on an invisible chessboard, trying to pressure their opponent and taking positions to inevitably win the game.

There were several sh.i.p.s that Theodore had identified with the help of Summit.

The main battle-ship was a Dreadnought class Monarch-ship. Literally a flying fortress that was armed to the teeth with heavy ballistic cannons, superior laser cannons. With heavy mechs along the hull, this ship was not to be trifled with.

There a few artillery cruisers called Stabia. These sleek, dense cruisers are armed with fast-firing high power laser canons that can wreak havoc everywhere. It somewhat looks like a shard and id well known as a elite-vessel among cruisers.

Then there are destroyers like the Agosta, Dola and Brutus. Like their class makes them out to be - they are made to destroy other sh.i.p.s in combat. Their heavy firepower makes them mainstays on any outfit.

There were also some corvettes like the Dover, Fulgora and Netron's. They are fast sh.i.p.s that are hard to hit. Their armour is flimsy compared to other sh.i.p.s, but they're great additions to offence oriented outfits.

Redford had already explained Theodore how this round would work.

Because of their lack of manpower in the simulation (they can only employ one hundred men per team) it was decided that the fleets spacesh.i.p.s were to be controlled by AI.

The commander would then be responsible for their strategy. The one hundred men per team would be commanding the space mechs.

The space mechs would only become important once the attackers had found a suitable place to descend with enough tactical advantages or if the attackers became overwhelmed by the defenders.

Their purpose was to defend the descend from space, as they engaged the defenders.

Since the attackers would win when they successfully descended on the planet, the real battle would most likely ensue when the attackers were descending.

In order to reign in the scope of the fight, both attackers and defenders had been given a maximum of fifty basic AI to employ. Therefore limiting their fleet to a maximum of fifty spacecraft.

They were also given a spending budget, as fifty dreadnought class monarchs would simply be unreasonable.

In the end, both chose their fleet roster and had been testing their opponent as they engaged in chaotic space-warfare.

Commandant Reginald Trudeau helmed the defensive fleet as he tried to negate all manoeuvres by his opponent commandant Arin Levi.

In the end, commandant Levi, forced due to time limits, found a less than optimal position to start his descend. He was forced to push his destroyers closer to himself as he tried to shield his descending shuttle.

Commandant Trudeau kept pushing, beating into the armoured vessels as if his life depended on it. Quite quickly a couple of nimble cruisers made their way through the defensive line of the invaders and engaged with the space mechs.

The formidability of the space mechs quickly became apparent. As they moved quicker, nimbler and focused their fire on the few cruisers, they quickly piled damage on the corvettes flimsy armour.

Once they breached, they entered the vehicle and destroyed it from within. This happened left and right until a destroyer managed to enter the fray after knocking into one of the attackers' destroyers. His array of close to medium ranged laser-weapons quickly started to decimate the invaders' forces.

As it was heavily damaged from its assault, being fired on by the invaders' mechs and destroyers, it quickly combusted in space as it could no longer take the beating. However, at this time the damage it had done had been enough to break the invaders' defensive line around their descending shuttle.

In the end, the shuttle was taken down and the victory - even though it was a pyrrhic victory - at the cost of almost all of the defenders and attackers forces, was the defending Commander Trudeau.

Theodore however, was more impressed with the abilities of commander Arin Levi as he had more than once turned the tide using his forces in surprising but effective ways. His use of destroyers to defend and shield had almost given him the victory. These proud spacesh.i.p.s, known for their offensive prowess had become a nightmare for the defenders as the attackers protected their descending shuttle.

"There's a lot to be learned from this battle, Theodore. I do not expect for you to understand this now. We will have to dive into many theories and texts on space warfare before any of this really makes sense. What I want you to know is, is that space warfare is the most destructive warfare that mankind has to offer. Though many weapons have been strictly forbidden, as you saw, one destroyer can do much more damage than tens of mechs."

"Even though true victory can only be achieved on land, most battles are won in space."

"In reality, this clash would never occur. The losses in this battle are too severe for both parties to accept the outcome of the battle. Even when you conquer this planet, it would not make up for the losses that are sustained. In a war, we invade when we have a complete advantage. Either by surprise or by superior forces. "

"If we cannot quickly descend, with a favourable position, we'd rather break off the mission and head back to safety. In enemy territory, reinforcements will always be quicker on the defenders' side. With the speed wherein we exchange information these days, reinforcement can be expected in six to seven hours."

"This might seem long, but this is an average. If a fleet is within one light jump away, it would only take two hours for them to prepare and reinforce. Each jump away means there's a cycle wherein the engines need to rest of at least three hours."

"When you cannot achieve complete victory in this timeframe, it's better to break off the engagement and return to friendly territory."

"In this case, both defenders and attackers will be unsatisfied with the result. It was a battle not worth fighting. In the end, this is only a simulation. Take that into account when you evaluate this match-up."

"Also never forget the bigger picture of what war is about. It's about winning the war, not the battle. It's better to take a loss or to take a strategic retreat than to burn bridges." Redford addressed the short-coming of the simulation scenario as well as their relation to real war situations.

"It's about time you return to the family compound. You're free until your grandfather calls upon you. I believe he scheduled his 'lesson' at twenty-hundred hour. For your information, all your mentors will be debriefing your grandfather during the time you're free. Alright, you're dismissed, you'll be picked up in front of the building and brought home as I have to debrief the commandants." Redford stated.

Theodore nodded and alighted from his chair. He then turned around and exited the room as he returned to the front of the building. He was then greeted with a military salute as he was picked up.

He entered the trailblazer and started writing his report whilst arguing with Summit.

During his flight with the 13600-A-Y space carrier, he finalized his report and had Summit send it to second-lieutenant Redford.

He then reported to the cafeteria where he once more surprised the lunch ladies with his incredible appetite. Afterwards, he relaxed as he had Summit summarize all the lessons for him so he could peruse the contents later.

Near twenty-hundred hour his comm lit up with a message from his grandfather.