บท 351: The Drums of War, Pt 1

And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

– Revelations 6:8

The 5th Hegemony Fleet, or what was left of it, flashed into the Rylaren Gamede system with a bright flash. They were joined by the remaining mercenary fleet, evacuee ships, and whoever else they could get out of Conflict Sector 2.

With them was every member of the Corvus Republic, along with the Federation cruiser and crew they had captured.

In the space surrounding the beleaguered fleet were tens of thousands of ships of all sizes, from battleships all the way down to fighters and mecha. Though most were cruisers and smaller, there were dozens and dozens that were much larger, most of which seemed to be the epicenter of the armada.