While everyone was getting seated for dinner, General Ming came running in with a data tablet in his hand. He didn't say anything, just stared at Max for a moment and then ran back out, leaving most of the rest of the table in confusion.
"Interesting, so he is with you as well. We had been looking for the inquisitor for months, but as it turns out, he had been sent to infiltrate the Reavers." General Kirkland mused as General Ming left the room.
"Not the most successful attempt ever. We all knew who he was from the start since he was friends with our former Commander. But he doesn't cause problems, and having an inquisitor around when you're plotting a course through troubled areas is a real benefit." Max shrugged.
"That is true, I suppose. Can you tell us what the big message was that he couldn't speak it out loud and had to skip dinner?"
Max considered how much of the message he should tell the Cygnus Noble, knowing what the plan was for the upcoming weeks.
"The Rebels have staged a false surrender ceremony, and it seems that the Emperor is playing into it. He has left the Capital and is headed out to meet them with the Royal Compliance fleet." Max finally decided to explain.
It wouldn't change anything on their end. If he succeeded at whatever he was planning, the Rebels' plan was likely going to go down in flames, but if they succeeded, it was better for Cygnus to have the advance warning because they were the most stable force in the region and it could avoid a lot of unnecessary bloodshed within Kepler.
Max's mind was torn by the situation. He was a Kepler loyalist through and through, but at the moment, Cygnus were allies, even if they were planning to betray that at the first opportunity. The other nations would need to send their fleets a week or more in advance due to the distance, so Cygnus could make out just as well by taking their territory while it was nearly undefended if Kepler defeated the Rebels, and that was a big win for Kepler.
But on the other hand, the information would also prepare the Cygnus fleet to invade.
Not exactly a great option, but in balance, Max thought that it would save the most lives and shorten the chaos.
The Cygnus delegation let it rest at that and simply sent a message to their Commanders to verify the information and update their strategies for the mission should it turn out to be correct.
The primary concern that General Kirkland had was that if the Emperor was moving now, any plan to act against him or the military wasn't going to be able to wait for weeks. When the Emperor took direct action, Central Command was shelved and exchanged for the Emperor's own confidantes, eliminating their chance to corrupt orders and even accomplish the central part of their plan to order the majority of the fleet to the edge of the Empire to deal with the Narsians.
"How about we show you around the ship, and you can take an early night? They expect us all back at the meeting first thing in the morning anyhow." Max suggested.
General Kirkland knew that he would be the only one getting any rest, as the Innu were incredibly eager to speak to his team about the intricacies of Cygnus technology and culture.
"That sounds excellent, but I propose that we arrange another meeting before I go. There is a vacation world much like Comor set on the southeastern edge of Cygnus space. With your Colony ship's speed on its trip here, it would only take a week or two for you to arrive.
If you leave right after the meetings, it might help clear your mind, as well as show your guests a few new things about our lovely and backward Galaxy." Lord General Kirkland suggested.
What his thoughts showed was that the region was as far as possible from the fighting and the territories that were likely to become unstable, as the Nation that bordered that region of Cygnus hadn't signed on to the Rebels' plan.
"Unfortunately, I think we will have to stick around for a little while, we have customers to service before we can head so far out, but I will consider it," Max replied politely, wondering what exactly the best course of action might be.
Max left the guests to their own devices and returned to his office while they explored. Nico was with them, so they could only get into so much trouble, and he had far too much paperwork to do.
[Commander. We have multiple messages for you. Rae 5 reports that the Tapani fleet is using gravity technology to redirect Klem pod waves toward Reaver-friendly worlds, The Death Wind Mercenaries report that an unknown force has attacked near the border of Cygnus, and the Reavers report chaos among the Kepler fleet.
Dozens of ships have changed directions in the last three hours, most headed our way, but many of them are scattering out all through the northern Regions or headed to the galactic core border to deal with the Narsians.]
So much for having two weeks to plan and get things in order. Events were already in motion that couldn't be stopped, and even a warning from Inquisitor General Ming might not change anything at this point.
Max sent him all the details that he had about the plans that the Rebel Alliance had made, but how much good the Inquisitor General could do with it was questionable.
[One more message for you, Commander.] The communications officer informed Max as he glared at his screen.
[What is it?]
[Nico has intercepted foreign signals headed to your location at warp 7. Nationality unknown, all vessels larger than a Kepler Destroyer. Signal patterns and scans indicate that they aren't from the Alliance, and the probes that they have passed indicate that they are most likely heavily armed.]
Max sighed and made up a battle plan, assuming that they were about to come under attack by someone who had seen the same thing Nico had. A large group of vulnerable nations whose emissaries had gathered in one spot.
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