Having already been briefed on the alien signal and its supposed origin, Outremer’s Navy Board contended that speed was favourable to stealth. Their nearest spycraft was much too far out, so they’d scrambled a nearby Fast Recon Picket to the system instead. They’d arrive marginally before the Rothians ordinarily, but after some negotiation it was agreed the forces would enter the system at the same time, albeit from different angles.

There were a lot of opinions on what this signal could mean, but the evidence seemed to point towards it coming from one of the object’s ‘family’, or it’s hunter. So the two sides agreed to proceed with caution, and continue evaluating the evidence in the meantime.

595 had already given private testimony to what she’d seen in the temple, so Outremer was not completely shocked by the Rothians’ report. Nevertheless, when the floor opened up for discussion, proceedings quickly devolved into chaos.

A few loud sceptics made evidently clear they’d prefer to leave the Object where it was and fight the Hegemon without its assistance. Other officials were clearly terrified by this unknown threat and wanted the Cradle gone as soon as possible. 

Their cause was aided by a dire update on the condition of the simulation inside the Cradle. Forty years of terraforming had been rolled back in a month, and increasingly sophisticated and violent denizens were engaged in an arms race with Outremer’s Cradle apparatus.This outraged the hardliners, who were adamant they could subdue this threat too, without the Object’s assistance.

Facing all-out rebellion, President DeWinter stepped in, recommending all due haste with progressing the Object back to Outremer. The call ended abruptly, leaving those assembled in the Barb’s conference room in stunned silence.