Aboard GTD Carthage
Flag Wardroom - Anita Lopez Commanding

"Sir."

"Captain. Please, take a seat. Would you like a drink?"

"Not today, sir. I - here - have the latest reports. Armor's back to spec, including the reactive packages. But the structural damage goes deep."

"We won't be able to transit the node."

"Not for another two weeks, minimum."

"And the battle group?"

"The Deianira and Iolanthe are both fit to fight. Crews have been cycling through Neptune HQ for decompression and psych scrub. The Radhanite has finished her drive workup. As for the rest..."

"As wrecked as our air wing?"

"Effectively."

"I hate this place, Captain."

"Sir?"

"This dockyard. This system. This war. I hate what it's done to us. I hate what we had to do."

"Saturn was a decisive victory, sir - "

"That's not the question. Was that ever the question, with him in command? The question, Captain, is what you pay, and why. What you feed the machine."

"Sir. On that note. I - several other captains and I would like to assist you with the letters you've been writing."

"That's my job. Call a staff conference for 0800 tomorrow, Captain. I'm going to detach the Radhanite for some maneuvers and I want to have the fuel to top her off when she returns. We're on our way out of this war, Captain, but we're not gone yet."