Jack of Harts

The secret of the Chinese defense of the Hyades Cluster was that it was a defense in depth. First, they kept an eye on every star system within a hundred lightyears of the Hyades. That was mostly passive sensors to track our movement, but there were some ships or permanent bases in the mix. We spent years giving them good tracking information on our raids. The second layer of their defense was the constant occupation and monitoring of all stars within fifty lightyears of the Hyades core. We raided them often, destroying whatever monitoring platforms we could find. The third layer was composed of their nodal fleet bases. Their reaction times to our incursions were measured in hours once we reached the Hyades central core. We hit them from time to time to keep them on their toes. The fourth layer included the deep fleet anchorages inside the Hyades core. That is where Chinese or Shang ships went to rest, relax, and repair. They were the key to holding the Hyades. They were also the key to taking the Hyades. That is why we never attacked them during the Pre-Invasion buildup.