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The black clad Marlin silently traveled towards Fort Winchester, after being cleared by the Harlow CIC to enter the secure area. Not only several weapon platforms were trailing the Marlin, but a veritable array of scanners kept taking readings of all shape and form so that the decision makers aboard the Fort would either choose to disintegrate or allow it in their berths. As the blast doors of bay number three opened, the weapon turrets resumed their pre-assigned alert position and the Marlin quickly landed. The red klaxons inside kept spinning until the bay doors closed and its posterior pressurization had finished. The Marlin, an already known piece of technology by the Bretonian Armed Forces, started its engine shutdown procedure, its HN-C11 engine stressing to downgrade its power, leaving a red plume as three men, fully armed and in tactical gear quickly ran towards it, followed by a four meter high combat exo that kept its heavy repeating blasters trailed at the ship. The exit side door, commonly known as the 'rat hole' by the pilots that had flown the Marlin, opened up and a lithe woman slid, not bothering with the support stairs that come out from the hull plates and landing graciously onto the bay floor. The men quickly saluted as they saw the pilots face and rank and issued the all-ok onto their comms. Three technicians appeared from a near elevator, and ran towards the Marlin to service, already issuing commands by remote to several robotic arms, that had come off from the bay's walls and ceiling.

Kaze Nelson Reidman Dagon stood in attention inside the Fleet Admiral's office, her pilot uniform, black, simple but already showing some wear with only her Commodore insignia on the collar. McIntire was silently reviewing a report and signaled her in, moments before. Obviously, he was not enjoying whatever he was reading since the frown was very heavy, indeed. He caressed his mustache, deep in thought and finally laid the data-pad onto his red oak desk, styled in the old Sol eighteenth century, heavy, robust and with very intricate details, reminiscing waves from a sea. Very fitting for the First Sea Lord of Bretonia, she thought. Her bionic hand opened up and closed into a fist, behind her back.

Her teeth gritted in a silent fury. For the past years, she has trained and been training for whatever would come regarding Gallia. And now, to see her effort, her fate denied in the last hour was borderline torture for her.

"Why me, sir?"

Was all the boiling hidden rage induced mind could say without showing sentiment or actually exploding. The bionic hand flexed once again, closing into a fist with all the strength that it could muster.

The stress on her jaw rescinded with each word that McIntire voiced. Not only he was a brilliant mind on its own, he had his way with words, no doubt. He did not painted the scenery pretty and fabulous, but true and raw. For years she knew he would get far, but she did now wonder how far he would get. And if she would follow him as she did everyday. Sighing, she replied and relaxing somewhat.

"'The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.' That is what I think about the zoners, about the Hessians, about the Coalition, about our politicians. You need me to show a iron made wall in Omega-49, I will. For the sake of our people."

Yet, the problems kept rising in her thought. Her eyes trailed McIntire and she removed herself from the position of attention. This now was not a talk between the Fleet Admiral and a Commodore. It was a meeting between two strategists.

"I do foresee issues coming from the SCRA and Heinrich. They might try to falsely call upon themselves the high moral ground. An in force annexation of O-49 gives them the footing for such. So I do hope the political powers do have an agreement with the SCRA regarding that. But.. There is also something you need to see."

Kaze extended her hand and delivered a small data-chip to McIntire. He looked at it somewhat puzzled but placed it in his data-pad and opened up the main file, showing several readings, recordings and still frames of a certain place in Sirius.


"Since you gave the excuse for Weber to not use me in SIS operations, I have to.. use a network of my own to keep up with matters that transpire far away from our borders. In this case.. Frankfurt. Also, I am receiving worrying reports from Dresden. The Rheinland Government may well abandon it, giving it to the Hessians. Which may be.. troublesome."

Crossing her arms, McIntire leaned and sat at the edge of his desk, taking in the details of the intelligence report he now held in his hands.

In her mind, she was already trying to create a reasonable timetable and operation of annexing not only Grand Canaria but also the entirety of Omega-49, minus the bloodshed and the delaying politics involved. Heinrich, Selim, Keller, a lot of very volatile variables aching to cause a situation, no doubt. But while kids discuss tactics in a war, men discuss logistics.

"I will require.. Captain Richard Harlowe, from the Norfolk. He's experienced in dealing with zoners, corsairs, hessians and the ilk. Also, the Merchant Navy 2nd Unit to handle the supply chain to the Stirling TF. The Hellbound would be a good tool in this, as its old systems are prepared for planetary bombardment, JiangXi being a prime example of its capability. Fully kitted in NEMPS too. Just a precaution, nevertheless. I am not in the business of slaying innocents, but if I must, I want to use the most efficient tools for it."

She picked up the gin glass, and although it was not her favorite beverage, it was slowly growing on her, over the course of the late night meetings with the Board and when mingling with the upper echelon of the Armed Forces.

"Annexing the whole system will fall badly onto the ears and eyes of the Coalition, and ultimately, the Hessians. I will contact the Toys and Games to prepare and to set up an early warning sensor system throughout Omega-49 so that we do not have.. unwanted surprises. So, in that regard, I hope the pencil pushers in the government are already contacting the Coalition and Hessians to give them a heads up. Lastly, I want the 2nd and 3rd Armed Infantry, alongside drop capable craft from the Merchant Navy, for planetary occupation. We must do it fast. We must shock everyone."

The liquid burned her throat harder than she was expecting. McIntire did treated himself well in that regard and the veritable barrage of request to enact the occupation of Omega-49, the first aggressive move in years of a long hurt beast called Bretonia. And Kaze was ready to go for the jugular, eyes and tongue.

Catching the glass midway, the metal hand clinked against the glass, and as McIntire ended his question, she sipped the beverage once again, thinking in the last minute general details and going through the invasions she had planned in her mind. Leeds. Harris. New London. Cambridge. Sprague. Quillan. New Paris.

"For pre-deployment recon I already have a recon unit in mind. The 1st Light Dragoons from the Ark Royal. I know they are pilots, but I trained them myself and thus I know they can get a report compiled and done within the week without even making the zoners, corsairs and others look twice at them. The standard MO of insertion would be junkers for that AO, something we can get quite fast. With your order.."

McIntire nodded, looking at Kaze as he sat at the edge of his desk, hand in one pocket, savoring the gin.

"Good. Which leaves me to the two last issues on the desk. The Ark Royal. I have spent the last months training them, I hired veteran mercenaries not only to train them but also as a wildcard in any situation. They are ready and willing. To whom will I hand them? Also. I do not trust the backroom politics and deals made in the shadows by our politicians. Coalition, Hessians.. They do not mix with us. They are pariahs, fueling their causes by shooting innocents whenever it is worth it. Common pirates, but with a different color and speech. It will explode in our faces if we depend and allow them in our midst."

She placed the glass down and crossed her arms, looking at the window.