We tried to capture the worlds of the Hyades intact, but the Chinese fought a vicious scorched earth campaign that left ruins in their wake. It was nothing compared to what happened to the Albion worlds in their last war of course. I have traveled through their systems. I have seen the worlds where the earth was baked and the oceans boiled until nothing remained that could support life. The Hyades was not that devastating. But it was bad enough, and whether or not the locals trusted their own government they knew one thing. We had brought War to their worlds. We were at fault for their dead. I understood. Perhaps that is why I was the one who made the breakthrough.