The admiral took the unusual step or having the reserve and support elements simply jump two light-years out of the system into the interstellar void. For Aotrs Gate drives, it was a trivial distance, but it placed them well outside the gravity wells, meaning that if the Azura intended to follow (which they would have to do in a very predictable line and vey pobviously, given they remained in normal space during any FTL transit) they would not only have to split up further, but their mobility would be crippled - and the Aotrs fleet could simply jump to another position easily regardless.

Against a normal opponent, such a tactic would be largely pointless - the transit time was negiligable over those kind of distances (it took longer to set the co-ordinates) over being in the system and the enemy would immediately know where the went and could follow just as quickly.

But, of course, aside from the maneouvering issues, the Azura did not have good sensors, and seemed to have even worse FTL detection capabilities. So if the Aotrs jumped out of system, short of literaly having to wait TWO YEARS until the light from the fleet reached Tanshin, either the Azura would demonstrate some kind of long-range sensor (unlikely, short of FTL capability) or they would have to rely on divination to even work out where the Aotrs had gone. (Even IF the Gates opened linarly in the directino the ships entered Gate space, at those distance, with no references, be out by a tiny fraction and you'd be astronomic units off at best.) And divination as a primary means of detection was always risky, since it was subjected to disruption (or outright blockage) by anti-magic. 

Velinkar had his aide make the request while they were fighting. Given the threat the Azura posed (and the looming presence of the various sun-destroying weapons) yanking in a load of anti-magic field generators was not grossly outside normal operational parameters for once. Anti-magic fields would at best inconveniance the technologically-based Aotrs starfleet on a ship-wide level (aside from the few thaumic lighting cannon-equipped vessels) - while it might be annoying at the personell level - but would likely have a major effect on the Azura who seemed to rely more on magic than technology; at the very least, Velinkar hoped it would mess up any long-range diviniation they tried, but it would really depend on what their initial response to the jumping out was.

(At the back of his mind Velinkar was also aware that this might be a good test, since the United Concorde of Divine Realms also used a lot of magitech and anything they learned on the Azura might be applicable back to the other power too.)

In the meantime, the Aotrs vessels were not winning, but they also were not loosing, either. While the Azura were retreating and repairing, the Aotrs vessels were themselves extremely durable with their armour and shields. So though the Azura did not appear to be taking much damage, the Aotrs were also not suffering extensive damage in return, and moreover, ships that were damaged could break off via Gate much more easily.

He kept the attack fleet in action, continuing to pick away and kite around the Azura fleet. If the Azura started to flag, good. Even if they ran otu of railguns and missiles, the coldbeam and plasma-pulse cannons were solid enough they could withstand an unusually prolonged period without maintenance and the bulk of the Aotrs themselves were of course tireless. If it seemed like the Azura were gaining the upper hand - the the attack fleet would jump out-system too. 

He wondered if the Azura would try flying into an open Gate if one was deliberately around long enough. Some of their commanders might just be reckless enough to try, and if they did... There was almost certainly [i]something[/i] they could do abuse it. A thought for later...