[center][h2]Cardia system, Tallarn space[/h2][/center]

"We have reports of multiple ships entering real space in our vicinity! It must be hundreds, thousands!" This line was uttered in one for or another dozens of times on the command deck of the TCS "Invictus", a Legate class Dreadnought and flagship of the Cardian defence fleet. Baron Jullaran did not only get these frantic reports from his own bridge but also from all the other ships in his fleet. Slowly he also got requests from other the barons living on Cardia what was going on. In all honesty, he didnt know. Last time he checked the war for the fringe world colony with the Draconians was over and resulted in victory, though at a heavy cost of life. Duchess Azazel had been victorious in conquering the planet and right after that the higher ups brokered a peace agreement with the Draconians. But now... Would the Draconians have betrayed them?

"My lord, we are being hailed by the unknown fleet!" One of the junior communications officers yelled in panic. "What should I do sir!?" Jullaran thought the exact same thing... What should [b]he[/b] do. If only the Duchess was there to guide them, she would know perfectly what to do. He was but a mere baron who got his position just by birth right... No, that wasnt true. The Duchess gave him this position, that meant that she trusted him. But what could he do against this?

As he was contemplating things were far less chaotic on the surface. Cardia was probably the worst world to encounter next to Tallarn itself. For Cardia was the gateway to the Confederacy... Cardia was the fortress to protect the Confederacy against invaders. All of the citizens were trained from birth to fight and die for the Confederacy. It supplied over half of the Army's troops and even more of it's commanders. Even the children were to be used to defend the planet, be it as couriers or saboteurs. At this very moment, the moment that the orbital fleet was doubting, the people of Cardia reported in to their assigned posts. The surface-to-orbit weaponry was pointed up in the skies. Tanks and troopcarriers were rolling through the streets and the airforce was preparing to launch. If an invasion were to come, the Cardians were ready.

Ofcourse... that was the theory. But this was the first time any alien force entered Confederate space in centuries. The people on the surface were unprepaired for this and the mobilisation went alot slower then expected. At the moment Jullaran made his decision only 5% of the population was under arms... And half of those were part of active the Planet Defence Force.

After half a minute of thinking someone else hailed the "Invictus". After a brief exchange of words the other end of the line broke it's contact and Jullaran knew what to do.

"Get me in direct control with their commander! Meanwhile, make sure that the fleet will be protecting the defence stations. If any battle were to occur they would prove vital to the defence of the planet." The comms officer responded and asked what the hailing message should be. Jullaran responded with: "That they are on Cardia, souvreign Confederate space and that they are transgressing! We will allow them to state their business, if it's not to our liking then they have half an hour to leave. If they wont accept that offer then we will show them how we Cardians deal with intruders!"

And with that message the Cardian Defence Fleet responded.