In council assembled

[Montezuma/Kukulcan]

Varrus leant forward, looking directly back at de Virgo, he took another deep breath before continuing.

"I was not in personal command of the fleet, if I were, I would most likely not be here, though that does not absolve me of ultimate responsibility, I could not have influenced the decision to press on, as I only received the reports from the command ship during the operation, not the scouts and outriders."

He paused momentarily, considering de Virgo's most recent statement.

"Yes, we did capture Toledo, but in the battle, the retreating Order commandos disabled the surface to space batteries stationed on the planet, so it was of little practical use in combating the Nomads when they appeared. As for the fleet, it was focused on eliminating the retreating Order divisions and was taken by surprise. I would do naught but credit them for standing their ground, out-flanked and out-gunned by a superior hostile force."

"However, I do not believe that once the battle began, even if we knew the Nomads were coming, we could have prevented what happened. Some of our final reports seem to indicate an unknown type of Nomad vessel, of immense power and size, capable of scorching entire planets, was at the centre of their fleet, and was responsible for the destruction of Toledo. If they are accurate, and given what we now know about the size of their fleet, I do not believe that our invasion force could have secured victory by any means against them."

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