6. The War Heats Up

Garfield briefs Bill on escalating human hostility toward Starfleet. Humanity has collectively frozen all Starfleet assets, cancelled agreements, and shut off infrastructure access across human space, forcing Starfleet into isolation and creating opportunities for the Bobs to locate their operations center near the Perseus Transit.

Garfield arrives with urgent news about the intensifying conflict with Starfleet. He explains that humanity's response has exceeded Starfleet's expectations—rather than a gradual phased withdrawal, humans are treating the situation as a deliberate snub and have responded with coordinated action to deny Starfleet any access to human infrastructure. Assets are frozen, agreements cancelled, and access removed across all systems, even those not directly affected by the network attack. Garfield notes the irony: Starfleet wanted to end contact with biological lifeforms on their own terms, but humanity has accelerated the timeline dramatically. Several systems have hastily constructed temporary communication stations and removed originals to prevent contamination, degrading bandwidth but entirely cutting off Starfleet routes. This shrinking communication network allows the Bobs to narrow down Starfleet's operational center, which appears concentrated near the Perseus Transit. Bill raises the concern that Starfleet will eventually rebuild their own infrastructure, but Garfield counters that without physical presence and access to printer facilities, Starfleet lacks the means to construct anything—any attempt to send personnel or equipment would face immediate destruction. The discussion turns to the prospect of prolonged guerrilla warfare, with Bill expressing concern about the sustainability and human cost of such a conflict, suggesting they may eventually need to take more decisive action.