Chapter 14: Edge of the Kuiper Belt

Hundreds of years ago, textbooks described the Solar System as having nine major planets.

Those were Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.

But in the early 21st century, humanity agreed on a new set of standards—a new definition for what counts as a planet.

What did they find?

Turns out, Pluto didn’t meet the updated criteria and was reclassified as a dwarf planet.

Under the new rules, a celestial body must meet three conditions to be called a planet.

First, it must orbit a star—in our case, the Sun.

Second, its mass has to be large enough for its own gravity to shape it into a sphere.

Third, its orbital path can’t include other similar-sized objects, or it has to be able to ‘clear out’ its neighborhood within three billion years.

So, when they realized Pluto’s orbit overlaps with Neptune’s and there are other similar-sized asteroids nearby…

Pluto, once a proud member of the nine major planets, was kicked out of the planetary club and became just another dwarf planet.

Since then, textbooks have described the Solar System as…

Having eight major planets!

As for Pluto, its position sits on the very edge of the Kuiper Belt, and it has five moons.

Near one of them—Hydra, specifically—

Right now, more than 120 warships of various sizes are forming ranks here. And among them…

There’s even a Warstar.

That’s right. It’s the Fourth Fleet’s flagship, the Warstar Petrov Glory.

Ten light-seconds away—about three million kilometers—more than 300 Klein warships are assembled.

Unlike the previous fleets made up entirely of small ships, this Klein armada has quite a few heavy warships.

Some of the largest are nearly on par with the Federation’s battleships.

No wonder Volkov, commander of the Fourth Fleet, looks so grim.

Because aside from the hundreds of small vessels, the rest of their ships…

He has absolutely no information on them!

For a commander, that’s a major problem.

“Captain, message sent—no response from the other side!”

“What about Alexei?”

“Major General Alexei Ivanov has reached his position and is making preparations, estimated completion in thirty minutes!”

“Keep trying to make contact. Let them know we want to negotiate. Stall for time!”

“Understood, Vice Admiral!”

With those orders, the communications officer got right to work.

Pre-drafted messages were sent out again and again by every possible means.

Minutes passed, still no response.

And just then—

“Vice Admiral! Enemy ships are advancing!”

“Speed: eighteen kilometers per second, still accelerating!”

In the next moment, a massive 3D tactical display sprang to life in front of Volkov’s command chair, the holographic interface painting the situation in vivid detail.

The Fourth Fleet’s blue icons contrasted with a cluster of red ship markers, large and small, three million kilometers across space.

Those enemy ships were charging right at them.

“All ships, open fire!”

Volkov never really expected to negotiate. The only reason he stalled was because his side needed more time to finish preparations.

But with the enemy ignoring them, no sense in pretending anymore.

He gave the order to attack right away.

Over 120 warships, including a Warstar and four battleships.

Altogether, the fleet fielded more than ten thousand railguns. Once they fired all at once—

The firepower was beyond question!

Volley after volley, relentless.

Every few seconds, tens of thousands of projectiles roared out, sweep­ing toward the enemy like a massive fishing net.

Of course, at a distance of three million kilometers…

Even with modern railgun projectiles racing through vacuum at thousands of kilometers per second, it’d still take about fifty minutes to travel that far.

Even factoring in the enemy heading their way, it’d be over forty minutes until impact.

That’s interstellar warfare for you—

Until you’re within a hundred thousand kilometers—what they call the knife-fight range—

Things move painfully slow.

——

At the same time…

Whether at Lunar Headquarters, the Federation Presidential Palace, or on the Warstars of the other four fleets—

All were broadcasting the battle at the Kuiper Belt, right at Pluto’s moon Hydra, live.

Inside the Qiongxiao Warstar’s combat conference room—

Mu Qingxue, Ye Lingwei, Serena, and Lin Yu all sat together, unmistakably present.

Lin Yu now wore a silver oak leaf on his shoulder—the insignia of Lieutenant Colonel.

Still, even with the promotion—

He was the lowest-ranking officer in the room.

Ye Lingwei and Serena both held the rank of Colonel.

Aside from those four being there in person, three more figures appeared by holographic projection.

They were the commanders of three sub-fleets under the Fifth Fleet.

First Sub-fleet Commander: Qin Xuan.

Second Sub-fleet Commander: Wang Jianjun.

Third Sub-fleet Commander: Sun Wei.

All wore the crisp insignia of Major General.

“The enemy isn’t slowing down. Are they planning to take our railgun barrage head-on?”

“Based on earlier Novaya Zemlya footage, their warships are incredibly tough. Even if you punch through the hull, it’s hard to bring one down!”

“That’s right. We slow down and maneuver at long range only because both sides can attack with long-range railguns. But… they’re built differently!”

Several commanders watched the unfolding battle, sharing their opinions as they went.

Everyone nodded in agreement at the last remark.

These aliens really weren’t like the Federation.

Their ships could take insane punishment, and their weapons included the same long-range railguns.

But…

They were slow. Painfully slow.

Data showed their weapons weren’t any faster than their ships, with shells traveling about 180 to 220 kilometers per second.

Meaning at full acceleration, their warships could even outrun their own projectiles.

Let alone try fancy maneuvers alongside the Federation, trading fire while dodging.

That kind of tactics…

Just wouldn’t work for them.

On the other hand, when the Federation unleashes area saturation barrages, the front of the ship is actually the hardest part to hit.

Add in their super-thick front armor and a hull that can take enormous damage—

Well—

Skipping the long-range duel and charging in at full speed is actually a very effective tactic.

Sure, they’ll take some losses on approach, but if they can close the gap, their three-to-one advantage will crush the Fourth Fleet instantly.

Up to this point, it really felt like—

The enemy had taken the Federation’s own tactics apart and learned them inside out.

Makes sense, though—by now everyone knows that of the ten Federation ships lost in the Kuiper Belt, the Don River frigate was almost definitely captured.

And after that—

They got a load of intel from the crew.

These days, no one can tough out an interrogation by sheer will alone.

Plenty of advanced tech can just pull the data straight out of your mind.

“If these aliens have learned all our tricks and built their entire strategy to counter us, then…”

“Why can’t we flip it over and do the same to them?”

As gloom settled over the room, Lin Yu’s voice broke the silence.