Strategic Miscalculation

The Earth Council Chairman told Galactic Broadcasting yesterday that the initial phase of Operation Proxima Freedom successfully “neutralized key targets” - targets that, according to his own staff briefings three days earlier, were supposed to become the new provisional government.

The manifest doesn’t match the cargo. Again.

The Numbers Don’t Add Up

Operation cost so far: 847 billion Standard Galactic Credits. Projected installation budget for new Proxima leadership: 2.3 trillion SGC over five years. Current status of preferred candidates: vaporized in the opening bombardment.

“We had excellent intelligence on their locations,” explained Fleet Admiral Chen during the emergency briefing. “Perhaps too excellent.”

The Proxima Opposition Coalition - the group Earth allegedly invaded to support - issued a terse statement: “We appreciate the gesture, but our entire leadership council is now dead. Difficult to govern from that position.”

Free Installation, They Said

Three months ago, Terran Intelligence Bureau reports promised a “surgical transition” that would “preserve existing governance infrastructure while replacing hostile elements.” Cost projection: minimal. Timeline: six weeks maximum.

Current timeline: indefinite. Infrastructure status: crater. Hostile elements: also crater, along with the non-hostile ones.

“Look, regime change is complicated,” the Chairman explained to reporters. “Sometimes you have to break a few eggs. Sometimes those eggs happen to be the chickens you need to lay more eggs.”

That’s one version of events.

The Real Manifest

Stellar Financial Corporation holds 847 million SGC in Earth military contracts. Orion Trust manages reconstruction bonds worth 1.2 trillion SGC. Neither corporation expressed surprise at the leadership targeting “error.”

“Reconstruction is more profitable when you start from zero,” noted one anonymous Ceres Exchange analyst. “Hard to bill for rebuilding institutions that still exist.”

Defense contractors rushed to provide replacement leadership candidates - for appropriate consulting fees. Current rate: 50 million SGC per candidate, plus installation costs.

Ancient Wisdom

This scenario played out identically during the Mars Integration (2891), the Titan Stabilization (2903), and the Europa Incident (2917). Each time, initial strikes eliminated the very people supposedly being “liberated.”

Each time, reconstruction contracts exceeded original operation budgets by 300-400 percent.

Each time, everyone expressed shock at the targeting “miscommunication.”

Nobody ever asks what it costs to enforce this kind of strategic brilliance.

The Next Load

Fleet Command announced Phase Two will begin next week. Objectives: “Establish stable governance with reliable partners.” New leadership candidates are being vetted from a secure location - approximately 15 light-years from Proxima Centauri.

“We’ve learned from our mistakes,” insisted the Chairman. “This time we’ll know exactly where they are before we start shooting.”

Who writes the targeting lists?