"You syndicate creatures don't practice violence very often."
And the Grand Magus sat, the simple wooden game board in front of them on the table, sporting various pieces little carved stones and pieces of wood. They had arranged in the shape of the solar system. Across from him sat the politico Rochelle.
"I would argue, we practice it more thoroughly than your kind."
"Know what you practice we call profit, we practice violence. Violence is a spiritual matter. Profit is a more material matter. You see, you spend your entire time trying to prevent risk we spend our entire time accepting risk."
Rochelle ignored the old man. "I formally seek your council, what will the defense of the system look like where we have no information regarding our attacker and they have a technologically superior force. We have one advantage and that is that our enemy does not communicate with each other as they assault. They enter the system, and minimizing their signature and blowing up all of our communications and preventing us from escaping the system. They extract some of their sleeper agents."
The Grand Magus sat and didn't say anything for a while. A while was so long Rochelle re-prompted him.
"I am thinking, Mr. Rochelle" Rochelle was not a last name, but the Grand Magus had to taken to calling Rochelle, Mr. Rochelle,
Rochelle was pretty sure that the Grand Magus did this for no other reason then to annoy him. Eventually the grand Magus did speak
"They would win"
Rochelle was a little bothered,
"And what if they arrived unexpectedly, even if they couldn't communicate?"
"They would show up blast us to smithereens, all of our human assets and our system infrastructure. They would leave with all of their forces intact, There's nothing we can do there's no strategy we could employ to prevent them from doing this if they so desire."
"Is that seriously what we're paying you for Grand Magus? Is there no other detail you care to mention?"
"With respect Mr. Rochelle you asked what the defense would look like in the face of a technologically superior assault."
Rochelle frowned. Always with these Luddites, they read a little bit of the old law and act like lawyers.
"Am I not paying you enough to get proper answers?" Rochelle asked.
"Nonsense" said the Grand Magus "We would be working for the experience alone if only we knew where the fight was! You are young and impatient, Forgive my old and tired mind it is not as fast as yours."
Rochelle kept a poker face. He knew the grand Magus was an old man and the document said that he wasn't a foolish old man, yet. Rochelle always had hated flattery. "I am asking and I thought it was clear. What would you do in this scenario?"
The grand Magus grinned again, and seemingly for no other reason than to bother Rochelle responded with a question, "So you are interested in this scenario in particular?"
Rochelle took a deep breath. "Of course." Rochelle was invested in this particular scenario but the way the grand master asked, made it sound like saying so was a violation of operational security "yes, I'm interested in this scenario." Rochelle responded.
"Good I'll share with you my every thought"
Useless words thought Rochelle.
"First the terrestrial planet that is the jewel of your system. It is so valuable and such a prized asset that your masters are already planning to build vacation homes and tourist hotspots all across that little stone. For when they do they predict their numbers will grow to numbers they cannot imagine. that is the reason for investment in this system If I'm not mistaken. We may have nothing but precious metal mines and research stations now, but give it 50 years and your children may retire here.
It is our goal to protect that planet and you we must, in the name of your syndicate masters defend all of the investments trapped within that planet and all those system wide. As that beautiful little stone…"
The Grand Magus's arthritic hand gently caressed the polished and tumbled "Pudding Stone" that he used to represent a populated planet. Rochelle stifled the urge to break the old man's hands and start an international incident by dying to one of the old master's bodyguards. They were just outside that old wooden door.
"…was created in the ether…"
Was the old man's seriously going to start preaching about divine creation 6000 years ago and an unpriced firmament while in orbit? Rochelle needed to focus, impatience was going to get him killed. Just smile and wave, the old man liked talking.
"…so many years ago, so shall it will be your best defense against everything that may come against you. In this case of course that's assuming with nothing with unprecedented firepower is deployed by our opponents. These hypothetical enemies are not known for their salting of the earth now?"
Rochelle's poker face may have devolved into more of a grimace.
"No they are not"
"Good! Very good! then you are going to want to evacuate the two healthy stations and you are going to want to transport as many of the miners from the remote locations to our Main location I believe that the main strength of this system is the remoteness of it. If the invaders are truly here for a smash and grab, we need to make a nut strong enough that they will not waste time smashing. Surely they have need of such shock troops elsewhere…"
The old man looked at Rochelle as if expecting Rochelle to spill the beans.
Strictly speaking, Rochelle was actually considering telling the old man about everything he knew about the extraterrestrials. If he had better church connections he would, but there was a non-zero chance the old man would be an operational security auditor sent to monitor him.
On the average developed planet a baby dies every 12 seconds… Rochelle's mind raced as he sat silent, cross legged in his chair. Patiently waiting for the old man to speak. Everything that this old man said was valuable information, and… the old man liked speaking,
"These stations, those miners, even us in this spaceship we are all liabilities in the face of a technologically superior enemy. Should we attempt to communicate even if the enemy cannot communicate themselves we will simply reveal our locations. And our locations reveal our intentions. Even if the enemy is not acting as a unified force, their technical superiority will force us to attrit more than they do, ultimately causing travel and comms to be liabilities. By abandoning our posts, by fleeing, by burying ourselves in the mountains of that warm planetary bosom, we shall make the invaders know only our fear of them. It is victory enough for some to be feared, we telegraph that we do not wish to fight and they may accept the simple signal and back-off if their time is more valuable. It would take a truly spiteful enemy to dig us out. Moreover, if the invasion becomes a siege we will have already collected our maximum strengths and prepared.
Rochelle stopped the Grand Magus here.
"Why wouldn't we simply evacuate the system?"
The old man nodded sagely
"We could run, we could to take everything that we can find and run away from the system. It would not be an unwise course of action if what you fear may come to pass. But I say this to you now, this entire process is not one of violence. It is one of simply mitigating risk. It is perhaps outside my realm of expertise. Every time we come into contact with a technologically superior enemy. It is the same issue, the most profitable course of action is to avoid the fight in the first place. We should both strive to minimize exposure and everybody else in this solar system should as well."
Rochelle puzzled about this, "we don't have the infrastructure to make a proper escape."
"Exactly!" said the Grand Magus. "We do have the construction equipment and the infrastructure to bury our colony in the cold but protective green rocks and we would have to abandon the stations. If we have the equipment that is. Regrettably, it would be best if we scorched the "earth" in the sky as we fall back to our "earthly home." This was the answer Rochelle was looking for
"It has been said that it is good sometimes to leave a few of your number in the wreckage to keep the enemy honest, do you believe there is any credibility or advantage this sort of guerrilla style of warfare? Should we leave soldiers on each of the asteroids in the solar system?"
"Absolutely nuts, not if you value your population, guerrilla war is intensely costly for the guerrilla fighters in terms of lives and culture. Perhaps very effective in the short term, but in the long run, it is one of the worst things that could happen to a society." it was the grand master's turn to frown. "I cannot under any circumstance, recommend such an action"
It was Rochelle's turns grin, "Even if it would deplete the enemies high tech advantage if only a little?"
The Grand Magus face was sunken, and the exhaustion in his eyes drooped out like horrible horrible goo. "I am sworn to secrecy, you understand, but I have studied history, and I have studied my own life. Guerrilla warfare is not civilized. It is the opposite of what you, a paying member of society desire. There are those in my order who would prefer guerrilla warfare be the entirety of human society and you do not understand why."
Rochelle returned to a more somber expression , "you don't like the idea of guerrilla warfare, but you admit it would be effective? Perhaps even the natural human response?"
"Know" said the Grand Magus. "It would not be effective. You are paying me and my order, my chapter… I should seek to defend the interests of your masters and the interests of your masters are also your own. Their investments in this young planet... It is not violence they desire. The invaders yes, they would take, but they would not destroy. The best course is one of flexibility and cut losses. Here we must enjoy the low hanging fruit of the invader's mistakes while hiding beneath the mantle of a generous stone. Should we reach out and bite them too powerfully, they will spitefully seek us out and destroy us turning our setback into cataclysm."
Rochelle would have rolled his eyes if he wasn't a psychopath.
"Thank you for your sage wisdom Grand Magus" he wasn't lying, it was wisdom.