Eirenne answered, "Possibly ambition. Possibly fear. Possibly both. The records imply that Rell had been preparing to expand once Varensk became distracted by the war deeper along the Kharov border. He appears to have avoided sending his full strength to assist Karven Spire or the outer chain."
"So he held back."
"Yes."
"That may make him cautious."
"Or selfish," Astra said.
"Both can be true."
The two mining systems were easy targets. Each had only a small defense group and several Kharov overseer stations controlling forced labor extraction.
The real test would be Nhalis. It had the main starport, the hidden fleet, and the habitable planet.
It was also close enough to Virell's Reach that a warning from Nhalis could complicate the next major operation if handled poorly.
Cassian assigned the Serrow Belt operation to Aurelian's command, with support from Orvain's branch and a limited family reserve.
