In just another insignificant area in the endless space, four of the strongest fleets were gathered together.

The scarlet tal’darim fleet. The red Dominion fleet. The yellow Purifier fleet. The black Warden fleet. If there was a list of the strongest fleets in the sector all four fleets could be in the top 10. Together the four fleets might be invincible.

Meanwhile, the commanders of the fleets were having a meeting on the new Warden flagship of B110.

“What is our ship count?” Jean didn’t waste time being polite. It was pointless and there was no need for her to be thankfully. She won them over by deals. That was it. She got right down to business.

“I have brought 70 ships. All made up of warriors willing to die for victory. You will find them useful in battle.” Highlord Nyon was the first to speak. Jean nodded. She was glad all the effort she put in to make Nyon the Highlord had paid of. Nyon stayed true to the deal and brought the tal’darim to her side, not only strengthening her but also weakening Amon.

The representative of the Dominion was general Warfield. Unlike the tal’darim, the leader of the Terran Dominion didn’t really go to the frontline. Instead, Valerian handed the Dominion fleet to his most trusted general.

“I’ve brought 20 Gorgons and 300 Minotaurs. Got enough nuke to blow a hole in any planet.” Warfield said in his armor. “I just hope you’re telling the truth and we’re not wasting our soldiers’ lives for nothing.” Warfield seemed displeased, and Jean knew why. A battle against the Golden Armada and then Amon would result in massive amount of casualties. Warfield wouldn’t hesitate to do what had to be done, but that didn’t make him ok with his men being sacrificed.

“I assure you, general, that what we are doing here is absolutely necessary.” She reassured and turned to her girlfriend.

Jean had given Nova the command of the Purifier fleet. Nova’s new mechanical body made it much more easier for her to connect to the purifiers than Jean.

“All 150 carriers are in place and ready for battle.” The ghost was as explicit as ever.

Jean gave a small smile. The Warden fleet still had around 75 battlecruisers. All her planning, all her deals, all her backstabs, finally came down to the fleet she had this moment. Over 600 capitals ships and nearly ten thousand fighters was just impressive.

Of course, that didn’t mean she would throw them away in a mindless trade with Amon and the Golden Armada. The more she preserved in terms of purifiers and wardens the more she could bring to her next world. Plus, Nyon and Warfield came to him as allies. If things got really bad they would abandon her.

“What’s the plan?” Warfield questioned.

“We have enough to hit the Golden Armada straight up, but the trade will be too inefficient and losses will be too great.” Jean said slowly, “We need to weaken the Golden Armada.”

Nyon’s tal’darim nature wanted him to say something like ‘the tal’darim are not afraid of death’, but then he caught himself. He knew the girl didn’t want to keep more men and ships alive because she was kind and valued lives. She wanted to keep them alive so they can die later.

Warfield nodded in agreement. “How do you suppose we do that?”

“Well, how much firepower can the Daelaam armada maintain,” Jean’s words were bone chilling. “If we destroy their homeland?”

“Shakuras?” Warfield frowned. “How will that change anything? Our problem is the Golden Armada. Even if we wipe out their home as long as the Golden Armada is present they can still pose a threat.”

“Imagine this, general.” Jean explained. “If you are leading a fleet in battle, and suddenly your enemy sneaked a smaller fleet behind your defenses and destroyed the entire Dominion. Can you still fight? More importantly, can your fleet still fight?”

Warfield wasn’t really fond of the example, but he nevertheless considered the possibility. Jean added as the old general was thinking.

“You will no longer receive any reinforcements. There will be no more supply coming in. Damaged ships can’t be repaired because there will be no shipyards to go back to. You soldiers have lost their families and their faiths. You will be surrounded. Every missile you fire will be one less missile to your overall ammunition.” Jean pictured a menacing situation.

“If that happens my fleet will fall apart in days. Weeks at most.” Warfield wasn’t convinced. “But the protoss fleet is different. Their soldiers are connected by nerve cords, and desertion is impossible. Plus, Shakuras is their homeworld after Aiur. If we hit Shakuras the Golden Armada will be hunting us down with everything they’ve got.”

“Protoss or terran, a fleet needs energy to fight. Take away the Daelaam’s energy supply, and the strength of the Daelaam will be cut in half. As for hunting as down with all they can, well, the Golden Armada is going to be our enemies anyways. An irrational foe is much weaker than a calm one.” Jean reasoned.

“Still, how do you suggest we get past the Golden Armada?” Nova asked. Destroying Shakuras would be nice, but the Golden Armada would do everything they could to protect their homeworld.

Jean tapped something on a computer. “I have a plan…”

When Jean was done, all three other commanders were pretty satisfied.

“It could work.” Nova tapped her chin.

“It will work. The pride of the firstborn will lead them right into our trap.” Nyon said wickedly.

“You are one good trickster, girl.” Warfield, from his experience, knew the plan would likely work. The honorable Daelaam would never realize the trap they were walking into until the last second when the trap was sprung, which would be way too late.

“Then let’s carry it out. The faster we can disable the Golden Armada, the safer we are.” Despite her giant fleet and her carefully crafted plan, Jean had a bad feeling about this. Amon might seem like an idiot in the original history, not able to stop a single Daelaam ark with the entire Golden Armada, but a god that slaughtered the rest of his fellow gods with ease was certainly not stupid. There was no reason for him to stand by and do nothing while his underlings get picked off one by one. Jean had sent Narud back to the void with nukes, which meant Amon knew about her presence.