Jack of Harts

One thing to understand about the Hyades Cluster during The War is that there were no uninhabited systems. It is a common myth amongst most people that there are thousands of systems were nobody goes just within a few hundred lightyears of Earth. That is less true than people think, but also partially accurate. Most systems are inhabited by probeswarms and the relatively small industrial bases they generate. They have long kept watch over our flanks, so it is more accurate to say that there are thousands of systems near Earth where no biological human lives. This was not the case in the Hyades. Every single system, every star no matter how minor, had people there. They were watching for us. Waiting for us. Ready to send word of intruders at a moment’s notice. It was impossible to penetrate the Hyades Cluster without being discovered. That is why we did not try.