[member="Lucianus Adair"]
"Our capital has always been vulnerable; we simply don't have the control over systems like Halm, Riflor and Varunda that would let us make a solid wall around Annaj. But the Protectorate has never taken advantage of that. Nor have they taken a shot at Phu or any other point in our path to the Core, not since we rapped their knuckles at Kayri. I believe at least part of that is a lack of institutional will, but it's also because they know we'd take a swing at Thyferra, Fondor, even Corellia if circumstances were right. Anything we hit in their Colonies territory will hurt them. There are no targets we can hit inward of the Rim that won't provoke a major response, and I believe they believe the same. A guaranteed disproportional response means that whoever strikes first, any gains on either side will likely be offset by disproportionate losses.
"Instead, I look to the Rim. The Ison Corridor, Kro Var, Gehenna -- there are some heavily defended worlds, like Eriadu and Bespin, but the Protectorate can't afford to commit first-rate defense forces to its periphery without weakening its core constituency. It's the same problem we have with, say, Yalara, Seoul and Javin. Protectorate defense arrangements are designed to harden specific worlds, because warfare in this day and age has focused on planets. I believe a broader campaign, targeting multiple systems and regions of interstellar space, but largely avoiding the invasion of planets, will minimize the risk of incurring a disproportionate response and allow us to render temporarily obsolete the massive fortune the Protectorate has put into planetary defenses. A campaign like this would reduce Protectorate core-fear, making them less likely to stage a major invasion offensive in response.
"Essentially, I believe that if you give me a hundred ships and carte blanche for the Outer Rim, I can win a war of attrition that Cater will be eager to fight. Consequences for our side would likely include some degree of disruption of supply lines between Valhalla and Thakwaa, Seoul and Lipsec. It's also possible the Protectorate would attempt to establish an operational base near Mephout or Ryoone. They may even attempt action against our shipyards at Rakata Beta. All of the above strike me as reasonable risk for a campaign that could theoretically destabilize trade from Belsavis to Zonju Five."
