Galaxy Domination Guide

The White House, United States, President Beilevin was overwhelmed as his term neared its end.

A high-ranking official from the Pentagon reported, "Air Force Commodore Connell, responsible for the San Francisco incident, has been suspended and is under investigation. The military has also nearly completed the recovery of the crashed warplane wreckage."

Beilevin nodded, knowing full well that Connell was the scapegoat for the Pentagon and the White House. After all, it was Beilevin who had approved the order to shoot down the alien warplane, and the Pentagon had issued the command; Connell was merely executing it. However, since he failed to complete this task and had triggered a series of adverse effects, they had no choice but to deal with him.

NASA Director Knight also briefed Beilevin, "It has been confirmed that the alien fleet, which was originally located near the sun, has arrived in Earth's near orbit. We lack the capability to observe them in real-time, so we can't precisely determine the time they spent on their journey. But at the most conservative estimate, it took them less than three minutes. This is calculated from the time we lost the observation of the target near the sun until we detected them near Earth, which is highly imprecise. Nonetheless, it means that they have performed an act of superluminal travel that defies physics."

This situation also caused a stir at NASA, where tech enthusiasts marveled that superluminal travel was indeed possible, and some couldn't help but be excited about the prospect. If it were possible to communicate and exchange knowledge with the aliens, Earth's science and technology could advance by leaps and bounds, vastly deepening our understanding of the world.

The prerequisite being that the aliens don't annihilate Earth.

Knight continued the briefing, "The fleet has reduced from six ships to five. We cannot ascertain the whereabouts of one of them, but the mere presence of five ships is already exerting immense pressure on us. Apart from the two largest spacecraft, even the smallest alien ship is larger than our newly constructed Ford Class aircraft carriers. Since the alien vessels have made no movements within our visible range, movements we can understand (excluding superluminal travel), we cannot judge their agility. We cannot rule out the possibility that apart from superluminal travel, their performance in short-distance motion may not be outstanding."

Beilevin was annoyed and said, "Enough, I don't want to hear your so-called optimistic speculations. Previous optimism led to the loss of two of the United States' finest warplanes in San Francisco, causing hundreds of casualties. We need to regard this alien fleet as the most formidable crisis humanity has ever faced."

Plain-spoken and decisive in appearance, Beilevin was actually somewhat indecisive. He asked, "Is there still no way to establish contact with them? If we could just communicate, things would be much easier."

Knight shook his head, "They haven't responded to any of our communication signals. We don't know if they haven't received them or if they simply can't understand."

NASA had expressed intentions of peace in their communications, and after having been kicked in the rear in San Francisco, the Americans were cautious about making any rash moves. But when five gigantic alien warships floated in outer space above Earth, the Americans' tension soared again.

Secretary of State Robinson said, "The United Kingdom, France, and other European Union countries have indicated they wish to cooperate closely with us during this incident."

Translated into plain language, this essentially meant they were looking to the United States to lead the way. These countries may be developed nations, but they lack the power and influence to lead the situation, so they had to follow in the United States' footsteps.

Beilevin was also troubled; he had just over two months left in his term. If these unfortunate aliens had come a bit later, he wouldn't have had to worry; it would have been the problem of that blustering, foolish magnate from the Republican Party. But he also felt lucky that it was him; had it been that blatherer, humanity might have really been doomed.

Minister of Defense Aidington stated, "The alien fleet is eyeing us menacingly, and by all indications, they appear to be a military fleet engineered solely for wartime objectives. Thus, their arrival on Earth is unlikely to be friendly. If we allow the aliens to strike Earth first, we will suffer more than we did in the San Francisco incident, and human civilization could be wiped out. I suggest launching a concentrated nuclear strike on the alien fleet in advance. We have a sufficient number of nuclear warheads that could target this group of aliens in outer space. Even if their technology is somewhat more advanced than ours, such a scale of nuclear bombardment would surely inflict severe damage on them. The United States has mobilized all aspects of our strength and technology to respond to this situation."

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Morse also said, "The San Francisco incident was undoubtedly a test of our Earth's military capabilities by the aliens, and we failed to pass. The aliens, reassured by our failure, may intensify their aggression against us. Thus, even if we lack the ability to completely defeat the enemy, we need to show the courage to risk mutual destruction, injuring both sides. If the aliens realize that invading us would be a Pyrrhic victory, where they cannot obtain an intact Earth and would suffer heavy losses, then they will be forced to retreat and might even consider negotiating peace with us."

Beilevin's eyes widened as he looked at the two military representatives and said, "You are gambling! You're betting the fate of Earth and the lives of billions on a gamble."

Aidington sighed, "This is our last chip. If we bet, we may still have a fighting chance. If we don't, we do not know what consequences we will have to face later—enslavement or annihilation."

Beilevin was torn and found it difficult to decide. He asked, "Should we discuss this with our EU partners, the Russians, and the Chinese?"

Morse replied, "What use is there in discussing? Other than causing us more troubles and making us miss our opportunity, they can do nothing. These people lack the strength to counter the aliens and we can't rule out the possibility that they might try to sabotage us in this process. This is a major decision that affects the future of humanity, one that should be made by the United States, the world leader."

Beilevin felt the glory as well as the burden of being the "World Ruler" at that moment. The high-ranking officials present didn't want to remain passive, for no one could predict the aliens' next move or what harm they might inflict on Earth and the United States. Hence, it was thought better to strike first than be struck. By using all of America's trump cards to intimidate the opponent, they hoped to obtain a chance for peace and negotiations.

Iridium Star's thinking was not so different; the Americans were preparing to engage in a psychological battle. The tilt of the scales of victory was not solely determined by military might and technology, but simply by subjective expectations.