Meryl continued to daydream her way through chess scenarios until the Admiral began presenting. It was hard to imagine that he was nearly seventy years old, especially as he was bigger and more intimidating than just about anyone you could hope to meet, but then again, becoming a pilot did weird things to you. She listened intently and analysed the plan for her own fun as it went along. Going into the graveyard made sense. It wasn't a perfect defense, but routing them from it would require an expenditure of resources completely disproportionate in size to their own forces to destroy the graveyard and open up the fight. Even then it would take time. Time for the Elysium to pack up and leave. Potentially at least. Using it as a staging ground for a planetary invasion, or perhaps more accurately a planetary cleansing, was a big ask, but possibly doable. Not the most worrying thing imaginable.

However, the last part. About opening a warp gate to let in an army to attack the heart of the Shard took all the fun out. It was shockingly daft. The plan might not appear that way on the surface. A quick and deadly strike against the capitol of a human nation could easily knock them out of a war in a quick and efficient manner, but the shards aren't human. They aren't like any other race in known space. Its hard to say that such a strike would bother them or where they would need to go from Sundowner to achieve that end if they could.

The admiral asked for questions and they started coming in, but Meryl held her tongue for now. Serrano had an infamous temper and suggesting that the plan was so sure to lose the war it may as well be treason seemed like a sure way to get a court martial. Then Maye, Meryl's direct superior, made some comments that really set Meryl off. [color=gold]"I see, I see. Reckless. Foolish, even. Amusingly so. I approve! The higher ups finally can put my talents to use! Bennu and I are pleased!"[/color] They had not been able to get along up to this point. Mostly because Meryl wanted contribute suggestions and be helpful and all it ever got her were orders to shut up and physical abuse. The rest of Maye's words passed Meryl by. She heard them, but they barely registered. her fingers dug into the desk as she stood up, resting so much of her weight on the desk in front of her.

[color=ed1c24]"Reckless?"[/color] She spat at Maye. Her determination undercut by a trembling in her arms and legs. [color=ed1c24]"This is beyond reckless. Destroying the hive will be difficult, but we've thrown away more troops for worse odds before. It is Absolutely insane that if we actually succeed, the plan is to throw away, not just ourselves, but the whole origin system for some insane gamble that we cannot know the odds of. We don't know enough about the shard economically, logistically or politically to be able to tell that they would even be bothered by this sort of move, let alone completely broken by it. And where exactly is the army coming from to fight this second front? From the first one? because if so then there won't be much stopping the Shard from making their own blitz to the heart of our civilization. I came here prepared to sacrifice myself, and for my own reasons, I'm okay with that, but"[/color] and now she turned to Admiral Serrano and paused for a moment thinking of the possible consequences before deciding that it was too late and pushed on anyway [color=ed1c24]"The success of this mission could mean that we actually LOSE the war!" [/color]