The airlock for the military personnel carrier opened and the ramp lowered to the ground. Out stepped a young man with dark hair in his late 20s with two other militiamen behind him. The young man climbed to the bottom of the ramp and saluted a much older, slender man with short, gray hair

"Captain Rall, nice to see you " said the older man. They both began walking towards the space port of the large Fort Alpha Complex.

"We have a special guest here today, Captain. Have you met Ava Baxter yet?" the Colonel asked.

"No, and I'm not in the mood to smile for a photo op right now."

"Well, you're going to circumvent that mood and help her out now. It's really the least we can do for her. She has been an immense help in helping to rally our forces here." The two men walked towards the great hall at the heart of the city."

"I have good news for you, Colonel", Victor said. "At least I think it's good news."

"Save it" the Colonel said not seeming interested. "Baxter wants to be briefed on everything, and she's short of time. No need to go over it all more than once." The two men followed the path from the spaceport all the way to the middle of the complex and into the great hall and rode the lift to the top floor. The door to the situation room opened to reveal a well-dressed, somewhat chunky brunette in her late forties talking on a phone. Victor could tell that she was talking to the pilot of her campaign carrier.

"Go ahead and get started" she said on the phone to whoever it was she was talking to "I will call you back in about half an hour." She disconnected the call and stood up to shake Victor's hands.

"Captain Rall" Baxter said in a really warm tone. Victor shook her hand and exchange pleasantries with all of the politeness he could muster. "Sit down" she said. "We have a lot to go over and I don't have a lot of time, here." Rall and the Colonel sat down.

"Well, what's the latest?" Ava asked.

"The reptilia have landed even more hoplites right here on this planet. We should assume that they intend to strike." Ava nodded her head.

"I have spoken with elven sector commander Tal Roggle . He has offered us a dozen ships to evacuate everyone from the border worlds if this situation arose. I told him to pound sand. We have enough militia and outworld forces here to make our stand." Ava turned her head towards Victor.

"We're you able to meet with the rebel leaders, Captain?"

"Yes, I did" Victor said. "They're more than willing to fight for us, but Roggle's men have seized most of their munitions."

"Do we have any means of arming them?" Ava asked. Victor hesitated for a moment.

"Yes we do. There are plenty of weapons around the black market, but the rebel militias have no money."

"How much will they need?" Ava asked.

"Enough for 30,000 H30 photon rockets, 50,000 M90 rifles, and 15 million rounds of ammunition." Victor said. "Can you really make that much money disappears with no trace?"

"Yes" Ava said with a sound of full confidence. "Leave that to me."

"We've got to be really careful here" the Colonel said. "Having to rely on rebel forces and some unknown black market weapons dealers isn't ideal."

"Don't worry, Colonel" Ava said. "I know all of these men and women. Disagree with these people on principle if you want, but they are trustworthy and will help us if we help them. Plus, this issue is a lot bigger than Quildalar accords or royalties."

"With respect, ma'am" Victor said "it's a bigger than your election as well." Ava gave him a complete unsurprised and expressionless face.

"Let me be frank for a moment with you, Victor" Ava said. "I know you don't like politicians. Join the club. I don't even like what I've become to get where I am sometimes. Politics is a ridiculous game but it's a game that is scored and shaped by those that vote. Take some time to think about that one. The only thing that allows me to look in the mirror every morning is knowing that I'm the one playing the game on behalf of outworlders and not just guild barons and the royal armada. You absolutely cannot afford to think of me as an adversary, here. We cannot think each other adversaries. You're in too deep, now. I could easily be tried for violating outworld law for the things I am doing and have my candidacy nullified or suspended through the election you could be put up for court marshall, so let's work together here." Ava took a drink from a canteen she had lying on the table. Victor did not respond, but just sat in silence. There was nothing that she could really to do to assuage him, and he figured it best to not bring about an argument.

"If we're going to do this, we need to hurry" the Colonel said. "We probably don't have a lot of time."

"Might as well, we are already past the point of no return" Ava said. "Captain, go back to the rebel leaders and tell them we will give them whatever they want and provide ships to get them here." Victor nodded his head and left the room. He hated to admit it, but he did feel somewhat better about the situation.