(Four hours later...)

"Ugh, that meeting fried my brain," I heard Boreas groan as my ship lifted off from the launch pad.

"Hey, we at least made sure the people here on Zeunia wouldn't have to worry about another attack," I replied, too focused on controlling my ship to check if my partner had walked into the cockpit.

"Do you think leaving Alliance fighters here is going to be enough, though?" Jackson prompted me, his thudding footsteps letting me know he did in fact come up to the front of the Ravager.

"For now, it should be fine," I replied, "How much of the fleet did you bring over to the Lichten system?"

"Not even a fourth of it–General Phaerex and Ms. Osbourne were kind enough to supply almost all of their fleets to our cause. As for ships flying under the Silver Fox banner, we have forty ships overall. As far as I know, twenty of those forty came with the initial wave of squadrons."

"That's a relief," I began, "That at least means we still have more reinforcements left to bring over to the Lichten system. I know you want to leave most of the fighters in or around Sylkiir V, but we have to make sure we fortify this position."

"You're not wrong," Jackson murmured, "I'll contact Ms. Osbourne and see if she's okay with sending five squadrons worth of her fighters to help out. They still fly under the Dominion Banner, so it's not in my power to unilaterally call them over."

"You are the one in charge of this operation, Jack," I reminded him, "They fly under the Silver Fox banner because of the alliance you forged with them."

"That still doesn't mean I get to push everyone around because I have the title 'guildmaster' pinned on my breast," he countered, "I'm not the only one in a high position of power. Phaerex and Osbourne majorly outclass me."

"And yet they still agreed to your proposal," I concluded, "They may be in charge of governments, but you're in charge of a rebellion. At the end of the day, they listen to you."

"...Damn it, Cylus," Jackson hissed, "Do you argue with yourself or something?"

"No, but he argues with me," Vi'karac responded, "So I guess that counts for something."

"Wha-how did you do that?" Jack demanded.

"You are a member of Cylus' crew. As a result, you have formed a bond with him–a sort of tether, if you will. Said tether links the both of you together and, by extension, allows me to communicate with you."

"Huh...You Darka'ash still amaze me..."

"And you Terrans further fuel my intrigue."

"Okay, let's dial down the friendly banter for now," I cut in, "We have to hurry back to Ivoralis and come up with a plan to deal with Silva."

"Are you actually planning on slapping a bounty on him?" Jackson inquired as my ship flew through the cosmos.

"What else would I do? Give him a 'Grape job' sticker?"

"Okay fucker, sarcasm's not needed right now."

"But seriously though, I'm a bounty hunter, Jackson. I'm here to hunt down targets and eliminate them."

"He has a point, Jack," Alannah pointed out.

"Ali, don't take his side!"

"He's my husband, Jackie-boy. What do you want from me? A cookie?"

With grumbled curses abound, Jackson stalked out of the cockpit and left my wife and I idly chat. A few moments later, I heard another person walk up behind me.

"So...We're heading back to Ivoralis?" Ms. Flynn prompted me.

"Indeed we are. Enjoying the trip so far?"

Her laughter rose in pitch slightly, which was a decent enough answer for me. "Love the sites, but um...Not the ships."

"I get that. If you want to stay on Ivoralis next time I have to leave, don't sweat it. I wasn't planning on dragging you into a full-blown conflict, so there's no shame in staying behind."

"I'll keep that in mind," she replied, only to change subject, "Is...Is Jackson okay? He seems a bit...agitated."

"Oh, he's fine," Alannah assured her, "My husband and I reminded him he's important, and he got irate with us."

"Why?"

"The bastard's humble," I explained, "He may be a boisterous smooth-talker, but he never pushes people around. At times, Jackson has a short fuse, but it takes a lot to get him mad. More often than not, he tries to work with people and appease them rather than attempting to get them to see his side of the story."

"Ah...Well, he seems to be doing well enough," Emily replied, "I doubt I'd ever be able to run a guild of bounty hunters. I'd rather just stick to being an Administrator."

"What was that like?" Alannah inquired, turning in her seat to regard the other woman, "I'm sure it was a drag."

"At time, it was. I did have good days though, so I don't regret spending six years of my life pursuing the position," she began, a nostalgic note entering her voice, "Life on Tyraxis VII was...simple: the biggest problem I could come into contact with was dealing with a Yulpho attacking a local farmer."

"What's a Yulpho?" My wife asked.

"They're kind of like a yeti. They're bigger and meaner though, so dealing with them was a bit of a hassle," Emily explained, only to sigh, "But that's all behind me now..."

"Do you have any plans moving forward?" I prompted her.

"To be honest, I don't. For now, I'm going to stick around with your lot–if that's okay with you."

"I see no problem with that."

"Thank you, Cylus."

After she left, I focused on controlling my ship. Since the flight back was thankfully an hour long, we didn't have to worry about any...unforeseen obstacles. Part of me was worried that an unnoticed portion of Silva's "expeditionary" force was going to catch us by surprise, but my fears were unfortunately not far-fetched.

While there were less ships, I still couldn't help but swear like a sailor when I spotted a handful of the azure and white ships that made up the general fighting force of the UTF armada emerge from behind a large asteroid. Since I was traveling in a mixed group of Ae'siiri ships and Terran vessels, these stragglers were dealt with accordingly. 

When we finally touched down on Ivoralis, I allowed myself to breathe a sigh of relief. This is one game of chicken I'm more than a little unnerved by...Here's hoping the Federation folds first.

It wasn't long before I found myself standing in the Baroness' throne room again. I was mildly blinded staring up at the inhuman sovereign, but I made do.

"And so you have returned," Baroness Vlahos stated, rising from her seat to approach my crew, "What news do you bring?"

"Um, do you want the good news or the bad news first?" Jackson replied, shuffling his feet as he spoke.

"It matters not."

"Well...okay then: the good news is that Zeunia is safe and sound. The bad news..."

"There's a fleet of Federation ships under the control of one Admiral Preston Silva," I chimed in, finishing my boss' thought.

"I see...And how many flagships are in this fleet?"

"Typically speaking, there's anywhere from five to ten flagships in a UTF fleet," Boreas chimed in, tittering to himself, "This assumption is made going off of information I...liberated."

"Liberated, you say?" she repeated, a calculating light glittering in her pale gold eyes, "And tell me, Boreas Octavius, how did you 'liberate' this information?"

"What the..." he breathed, looking at the Baroness in confusion, "How did you know my name?"

"My kind have their advantages," was all Andromeda said. When it became apparent she was waiting for him to answer her previous question, Boreas sighed.

"I'm a hacker, okay?" he explained, "I've made so many Federation systems my bitch that I have a veritable-treasure trove of information pertaining to the UTF at my fingertips. While a lot of the data is relatively old, I have gotten my hands on some...rather juicy files."

"Hmm...how intriguing," she mused, turning to regard me, "I must say, jager, you are friends with some truly fascinating individuals."

"Don't call me that," I warned her, "It's bad enough the Twilight King used that name for me, so I'd rather not make death threats against another sovereign."

Jackson glared knives at me, but Andromeda's lighthearted laughter defused the situation.

"Ah...I apologize," she breathed, pacing before my group, "So, what should our next move forward be?"

"You are the queen of a rather formidable species," Vi'karac pointed out, partially manifesting beside me as he spoke, "If anything, you are the one with the most power here."

"Yes, but do keep in mind my forces have been stretched thin, Vi'karac," she replied lightly, not turning to regard him, "There are still a few cruisers and drone carriers left in functional condition, but they are meant to serve as a last resort."

"Wait, wait, wait," Boreas cut in, "Cruisers? Drone carriers? You've said nothing about these!"

"I said nothing because they have been offline for a very long time," Andromeda replied, "Do remember, the Ae'siiri are not a bloodthirsty race. Unlike the Darka'ash, we did not mass-produce weapons of war. We built what was needed to survive, and left it at that."

"You say that, and yet you managed to defeat my people," Vik countered, "You claim the Ae'siiri are peaceful, but I have heard stories of their ferocity in war. They do not hold back when it comes to defending their home."

"What would you rather have, Vi'karac: a warrior in a garden, or a gardener in a war?" the sovereign pressed him, finally turning to regard him, "We do not wish to wage war, but we are not afraid to defend our people as well as those who come here seeking shelter."

"Which makes you even stronger in the long run," I cut in, attempting to get a handle on this conversation before Vik flew off the rails, "I know they're meant as only a last resort, but we need something to contend with the flagships while our combined forces deal with the Federation's fighters and Dreadknights. Please, can you spare the drone carriers and cruisers for this fight? I don't know when Admiral Silva's fleet will arrive, but we can't let them get close."

"They probably have enough combined munitions to level this city to the ground," Alannah tacked on, "Federation fleets don't fuck around when it comes to orbital bombardments."

Andromeda sighed before calling out for someone.

"Yes, my queen?" an Ae'siiri prompted her.

"Ready the fleet," was her only order.

After the being disappeared, the Baroness regarded me. "Do you believe you can kill Fleet Admiral Silva?"

A plan was beginning to piece itself together in my head, and I couldn't help but smirk behind my helm. "More than likely, yes."

"More than likely?" she echoed.

"Give me until tomorrow, and I'll get back to you on that."

"Cylus, what are you thinking?" Boreas prompted me.

"Yeah dad, what's cooking in that head of yours?" Alex chimed in.

A slight chuckle escaped me. Tyr has no idea how right he was when he said Alannah's love for explosives rubbed off on me. "You'll see."

"Love...you're scaring me a little..." Alannah murmured.

I wrapped an arm around her waist and laughed. "Don't worry, mijn sintel. Going off your logic, my plan is just another page out of your book."

"Oh good god..." Boreas breathed, "That is so not a good sign..."

"It's the perfect sign!" Alannah chirped while throwing her arms around my neck, "I love you so much!"

"Dear me...has the world gone mad?" Vik mused.

Probably. Who knows, and who cares?