Ves kept thinking about what his sister told him. He never realized that stars could affect spirituality. There was something more about them than he initially thought. "Are stars alive?" Normally, that shouldn't be possible. Similar to planets, stars were just extremely large concentrations of matter. They tended to gather so much mass in a small area that the gravity generated from it tended to collapse all of that junk into itself, which initiated and sustained a lot of different physical processes. Even so, Helena claimed that the immense heat and other energies generated by something as big as a hypergiant to something as small as a brown dwarf also affected the imaginary realm. "Does this apply to any physical process that generates energy?" Ves wondered. That didn't make any sense. The battle formation attacks based on death energy wouldn't have been able to sweep through so many mechs and warships while encountering virtually no resistance. Each of these two machines ran on juice produced by extremely potent power reactors and power generators. "It could be that they do have an effect, but it is just too weak to matter." He guessed. This was a more plausible theory. It was just like gravity. A mech or a starship technically curved spacetime to a slight degree, which meant that they actually generated their own gravity. It was just that the forces of gravity in question were so infinitesimally trivial that not even an ant would get attracted! As powerful these energy generating sources had become over the years, they were still far short of matching the titanic output of stars that were many times bigger than entire planets! In the end, Ves lacked the data and the theoretical background to make any further conclusions about this subject. He could only accept Helena's claim without really being able to test and verify it through his own experiments. For a moment, he felt as if he had touched a corner to a much greater theory about life, reality and power. Then, he remembered his current situation, which was anything but ideal. Any thoughts about trying to observe how different spiritual phenomena behaved in close proximity to a star had to wait until he resolved his more immediate affairs. "Positive energy, huh?" Since physical means of infiltrating and affecting the Tower of Babel had no chance of working, Ves had fewer ways to assail it. He needed to employ unorthodox methods to break open such a powerful warship. Once he returned his flagship, he continued to puzzle over this matter together with many other people. The probes continued to observe the alien battleship, yet their sensors could only do so much. The analysts hadn't been able to figure out any further details that were important enough to change the game. People increasingly became less productive as a response. They had already formulated a few basic plans but could go no further because there simply weren't any openings to exploit. Seeing that no one was making any progress, Ves called for another leadership meeting. This time he invited everyone to shuttle over to the Spirit of Bentheim so that he could talk to everyone important in person. Numerous people who were stationed across the fleet converged upon the factory ship with the impressive prow that was shaped into the head of the Golden Cat. The only major figure who hadn't been invited to the meeting was Patriarch Reginald Cross. He needed to remain on standby with his Mars in case the Tower of Babel rapidly moved into action. Besides, his powerful and domineering domain was far too eager to bend the minds of other people. It was best not to directly subject ordinary people to his influence. While both of these reasons were valid, Ves actually had a more important reason why he wanted to keep Patriarch Reginald away from the decision-making table. The ace pilot probably wouldn't like the decisions that they were about to make in the formal conference room. Minister Shederin looked pensive as he stood in front of Ves. "Patriarch Reginald's demands have always been clear. He is eager for a challenge and does not respond well to being denied. Are you sure you wish to proceed with your current intentions?" "Patriarch Reginald may be a crucial protector to us, but he should know that we will not cater to his every demand. The logic to avoid a head-on collision is clear. Even a dummy like him should be able to understand how vulnerable we are by ourselves. Besides, it is not as if I am denying him every possible opportunity to fight a glorious battle. Hopefully the rest of the Cross Clan will see reason." Shederin Purnesse smiled. "Patriarch Reginald has dispatched Venerable Linda Cross to serve as his voice." "I heard." "Venerable Linda is known as one of the calmer and more composed members of the Cross Clan. She is a veteran who has lived through the initial downfall and flight of her clan. She should be much more understanding of our reasoning and our arguments." Ves looked intrigued. "Do you think she will play along?" "What I think is that Patriarch Reginald may have already foreseen the purpose of this meeting." The minister explained. "While he does not support it, he has access to much of the same information as us. Whatever rationality he has retained should tell him that it is best to avoid an open engagement. The problem is that he cannot bring himself to adopt this stance. It would not only contradict his strong desire for combat, but also damage his image and public persona of an unrelenting duelist and champion." "I see. I get what you mean, Shederin. It would have been much more straightforward for Patriarch Reginald to just say it outright, but I guess we should take what we can get. All I care about right now is saving us from a preventable disaster." People continued to enter the conference room and chat with each other. It had been months since some of them had met others in person, so this was a nice opportunity to catch up and talk in a more intimate setting. Fifteen minutes later, everyone took their seats. Ves commenced the meeting himself by summarizing the current situation. "As you can see, there are at least two significant threats." He said as he pointed at the central projection. "As this star map shows, we are currently residing in the same star system as a first-class alien battleship that is at least as powerful as the V'gahnt-Zezne. If that is not bad enough, there are guests on the way in the form of a sizable fleet hailing from Cenatus Prospecting." Everyone already knew this, but by mentioning these basic facts again, Ves deliberately emphasized the precarious situation of the expeditionary fleet. He continued his explanation. "Both of these parties are hostile towards us. The ship codenamed the Tower of Babel is hostile towards all humans, and would have probably attacked us already if she isn't concerned with exposing her location. The fleet under the command of the notorious Mr. Otrus Magrin is also hostile towards us. It had already shown signs of targeting us, but the recent sabotage action has ensured that its volatile leader has developed a deep grudge against our alliance. That said, the vulture fleet is unlikely to attack us directly once it arrives due to its lack of a numerical advantage." Everyone looked grave. No one wanted to be stalked by vultures. Minister Shederin attempted to lighten the atmosphere. "The only saving grace we have is that the aliens in charge of the Tower of Babel and Mr. Magrin are unlikely to cooperate with each other." That still didn't help that much. Just the Tower of Babel alone could easily crush the expeditionary fleet in battle, especially if the alien battleship was able to fight at long range. Ves grimaced. "Both Mr. Magrin and us are pioneers. We have pledged an oath to the Big Two to serve the common interests of humanity. This means that the right course of action is to set aside any animosity that exists and combine our strengths so that we can have a better chance at eliminating a powerful alien force." Marshal Ariadne Wodin snorted. "That is extremely unlikely to happen. Mr. Magrin is more likely to stab us in the back than to stand side by side." "The Red Ocean is a dwarf galaxy where might makes right." Master Benedict Cortez concurred. "Oaths and promises mean little when the enforcers of the Big Two have been stretched to breaking point." "So what do you propose, Patriarch Ves?" Venerable Linda Cross spoke up for the first time. "It sounds to me that you are much less eager to be proactive than before." "The reason why I encouraged everyone to travel to this star system was because I thought we possessed the strength to handle any difficulties that we might encounter." Ves replied. "That is not the case anymore. The information that we have managed to gather from our scouting actions have made it clear that our main objective is too well-protected. Do you truly think we have the means to defeat the Tower of Babel or rescue Lord Pearian Yorul-Tavik?" No one was able to come up with any valid reasoning. They all understood their own strengths well to know that they could do little against a powerful alien battleship. Ves let out a deep breath. "Given this untenable situation, there comes a time where we just have to... let go. There is no harm in giving up. At most, we have wasted a lot of time and made a lot of unnecessary movements. Although it is painful for us to abandon a venture when we have not completed it, our lives and the integrity of our fleet is more important than any profit that we can gain from attacking the Tower of Babel. Let's leave this star system and put any thoughts about attacking the alien battleship when she still retains a lot of combat power." Though his words sounded heavy, no one really objected to his suggestion. More than half of them even felt relieved. None of them were eager to test their mettle against such a powerful opponent. "So we are just going to pack up our bags and leave?" Venerable Linda Cross asked on behalf of her patriarch. "We're not going to try anything to create an opening and find a way to exploit the weaknesses of the Tower of Babel?" "I did not say that. I have not given up on rescuing Lord Pearian Yorul-Tavik. While we should obviously rule out a direct assault against the alien battleship, there are other ways to make her vulnerable." That confused a lot of people. "Aren't you contradicting yourself, Ves?" Marshal Ariande looked confused. "In one moment, you are telling us to leave this star system so that we can distance ourselves from a powerful alien threat. In the next moment, you are telling us that you still plan to harm the Tower of Babel." Ves grinned at the Hexer leader. "Who says we need to be in the same star system to damage the alien battleship? We can fulfill this goal without being physically present as long as we employ a bit of trickery. The most obvious way of doing that is to force a confrontation between the Tower of Babel and the Cenatus Prospecting fleet. So long as our ships are no longer in this star system, neither of the two will be able to gang up on us. They can only target each other!" Several people looked thoughtful, but others did not look optimistic. "I seriously doubt that Mr. Magrin will allow himself to get ambushed like this." Master Benedict Cortez spoke. "If he and his forces have any sense, they will never take the initiative to provoke the Tower of Babel. They will try and run as fast as possible. The same goes for the Tower of Babel. There is a significant chance that she will flee from this star system without attacking any human fleets upon discovery." "You are not wrong, Master Benedict. However, I think I can come up with a few ways to ensure that the two parties will come to blows against each other." Ves slowly began to grin.