Envisioning Interstellar War

The relations of Berlings and the Imperial Duchy of Wisbeck have been steadily deteriorating, mainly centering around an argument over their respective spheres of influence in the spread of worlds directly coreward of the so-called Festrian Empire. The whole subsector had been a major battleground during the Witch Wars, and much of it is still recovering from that cataclysm. Wisbeck and Berlings both claim authority over the twenty-odd worlds, Wisbeck doing so in the name of Fester III. Patrols of both powers have been dogging each other throughout the subsector, though they have not yet actively come to blows. The establishment of a Wisbeck naval base on Doula brought about an ultimatum stating that any Wisbeck naval elements located in the Doula system after a certain date would be fired upon. The date has come and gone, and Wisbeck's navy is still there.

Both before and after the date, the outer system has been active: fast Berlingi corvettes and have kept the system under constant scan, always staying far enough away to avoid interception by Wisbeck's cruisers and fighters. It is impossible to prevent their coming and going. To reduce the effectiveness of these spies, Wisbeck keeps the bulk of its fleet elements in the system mobile; nevertheless it is constrained to leave a large contingent near the mainworld defending its highport.