Hale massaged both his cheeks with one hand and stared into space for a moment.

Brasikha made a very convincing argument. It was important that Outremer’s new administration was decisive on the Cradle, not least to calm public panic in the short term. That [i]was[/i] why the military had assumed transitional authority after all.

Brokering this ambitious new defensive pact would give the Lord High Admiral an impressive policy to sell domestically. It would cushion an announcement that they had collectively decided to help reunite the Cradle beings, and provide comfort when news about the Hegemon’s presumed advances inevitably went public.

Hale was a shrewd political operator, and knew there was no way to bring Outremer’s military or government totally in line. Siding with the Rothians would certainly make him very unpopular in some circles. He’d need to tread carefully.

“My lord?” Souza prompted eventually.

“Very well. We can try it your way and start a limited defensive pact, covering the Hegemon threat, with the immediate aim of de-escalating Psi-Helios. But, I want discretion on when and how we approach Earth with this offer. I want to see whether we can bring the Tindrel & Qalian-Vosh to heel first. As for the science teams - what does the savant Dr Lang think?

Souza & Sequiera looked at each other, then Souza replied.

“I believe the Cradle Institute is taking the lead on optimising our team now.”